“I expected nothing less,” Crow smiled. “As long as you keep your end of the bargain, I’ll be content.” Suddenly his stomach decided to chime in, letting out an audible growl. He laughed bashfully, “Although… a decent meal would be nice as well. Now that we’re working together, do you think I could get something to eat?”

The noblewoman chuckled softly, breaking her stern façade for a moment, “Of course. Come with me.” She got up and led the thief back outside. As they exited the tent, he glanced back at the tree where the three knights were still chained and let out his breath when he saw a guard attending Penelope. The rebels were keeping their word so far. He just hoped he could find a way out of the camp so his efforts to gain their trust wouldn’t be in vain. He turned away from the knights and followed after the blonde woman before she noticed his lingering stare.

“Gavin,” the woman called to a young guard. She waited for him to walk over before she went on, “The thief is with us now, but he is to be under constant observation. I’m assigning you to be his guard. All you have to do is monitor his movement and make sure he doesn’t try to run off. Is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Gavin nodded.

“Good. Now then, our new ally is hungry. Show him where the food is.”

“Um, one more thing,” Crow jumped in, holding up his bound hands. “I can’t eat with these ropes on.”

“Fine,” the woman nodded at the guard. “Untie him. It’s not like it makes much of a difference now that he’s under our supervision.” With that, she walked off to speak with one of the other guards, leaving Gavin to remove the thief’s restraints.

Once he was free again, Crow sighed and rubbed his wrists in relief, “Thanks a lot, Gavin.”

“Mhm,” the man grunted noncommittally. “The food’s over here.” He turned and led Crow to another tent that was filled with a number of boxes and barrels and stood in the entryway while the thief looked around. “Take your pick, but don’t take too much. We still have to make it last.”

Crow opened one of the boxes and gave a whistle, “Wow, salted venison? I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.” He found a bowl in a box of utensils and filled it with the meat. As he did this, he also slipped a bit more food into his pocket, angling his body so the guard wouldn’t notice the motion. He closed the box of venison again and stepped back out of the tent.

“Think that’s enough?” Gavin scoffed when he saw the amount of food piled into Crow’s bowl.

“I’m a hearty eater,” Crow shrugged. He popped a strip of venison into his mouth and let his eyes wander over the camp once more, stopping to pointedly rest his gaze on Penelope. He stared at her for a moment before glancing back at Gavin, fidgeting slightly as if he were nervous, “Hey, could I go talk to her for a bit?”

The guard looked from the knight to the thief and snorted, “Got a thing for girls in armor, huh?”

“No,” Crow scoffed, looking away. “She’s not even wearing armor.”

“If you say so,” Gavin shrugged. “But I suppose I can let you speak with her for a short while.”

Crow grinned and walked over to the tree while the guard followed a few paces behind him. When he got close William shot him a furious glare, but he ignored the knight and crouched down near Penelope, speaking loudly enough that Gavin would be able to hear him, “Feeling better? I pulled a few strings so they would treat your shoulder.” He reached out to take her hands in a seemingly romantic gesture, but in reality he dropped the extra food he had hidden earlier into her palms. He lowered his voice to a whisper as he went on, “Hide that in your apron pocket until your guards aren’t looking. There’s just enough for all three of you to share.”