Crow glanced back at the wagon when Penelope curtly shouted at them not to come inside. For a moment he wondered why she would say such a thing, but then he remembered the dress. The knight must have decided to put it on before they crossed into Younis. Clever plan. He turned away again and looked for a place to wait while she changed clothes. Off to one side, there was a shady spot beneath a tree. He glanced at William, “I’m going to lie down for a bit. And before you say anything, this isn’t an escape attempt. I’m just tired.” He ambled over to the tree and laid down in the shade without bothering to wait for a reply. To his annoyance, the knight followed him and stood nearby.

“Can I help you?” he looked up at William irritably.

“No,” William crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the tree trunk. “I’m just making sure you don’t try to run, thief.”

“You’re wasting your time,” Crow muttered, closing his eyes. “Besides, I have a name, you know.”

“Criminals don’t deserve the same treatment as upstanding citizens,” William growled. “If you wanted to be called by a name, you should have thought of that before you became a thief.”

“It doesn’t matter to me if a few knights don’t recognize my name,” Crow said simply. “I just wanted to make sure you knew I have one. As for my life decisions, I regret nothing. Now, be quiet so I can get some rest.” He rolled onto his side so he was facing away from the knight.

He had only just begun to drift off when he heard someone approaching. He lazily opened one eye to see a young peasant woman standing beside William. She was quite pretty with a slender frame, wavy brown hair, bright green eyes… [i]Wait. Penelope?[/i] He sat up and stared at her. There was nothing particularly eye-catching about the ensemble she was wearing, but to Crow, she looked stunning in the simple dress. If she had been an actual peasant girl from the outer villages, he would have wasted no time introducing himself. He found it hard to believe he was even looking at the same person.

“Wow,” he said, lost for words.

William snorted, “It seems you’ve found the cure for our thief’s incessant prattling. I only hope you can fool the men of Younis just as easily.”