“Okay,” Abraxas said slowly. He looked between Crow and Hartley as if unsure how to follow William’s order to separate them. He knitted his brow and sat up a little straighter in an attempt to be more commanding, “One of you two, go sit over there.” He pointed at the opposite corner of the wagon. “And the other one, stay where you are.”

“Oh, yeah?” Hartley said with a sneer. “And what are you gonna do about it if we don’t?”

Abraxas hesitated, seeming unprepared for resistance. After a moment, he drew his sword, “I-I’ll make you!”

“Come on,” Hartley laughed. “Crow could take you in a fight any day, isn’t that right?” He elbowed the older thief.

“Now, now,” Crow held up his hands with mock humility. “Let’s just do what he wants.”

“Wha—” the boy started and then stopped when he caught sight of Crow’s devious smirk. Catching on quickly, he shrugged: “If you say so.”

“I’ll go to the corner of shame,” Crow volunteered, rising to his feet. He passed by Abraxas, resting a hand on the young knight’s shoulder. “I guess you got us.”

“Keep moving, thief,” Abraxas growled with unpracticed authority. His attempt to sound threatening was amusing to Crow.

“Sure thing, Sir Knight,” Crow complied, plopping himself down in the corner farthest from Hartley. He looked up at the young thief, “I just thought of a game we can play.” He held up a dagger, tightly sheathed in leather. At the sight of it, Abraxas’s eyes widened and his hand flew to his hip, where his dagger had been a moment before. As the truth of the situation hit him, he narrowed his eyes at the thief, “Give that back.”

“Ah ah ah,” Crow waved the weapon back and forth. “That would ruin the game.” He tossed the dagger up into the air. It sailed over Abraxas’s head, spinning rapidly, and landed in Hartley’s outstretched palm. “If you want it back, you’re going to have to [i]steal[/i] it from us.” He caught the sheathed blade as the young thief threw it back to him, grinning smugly at Abraxas. “Or are you too good for that because you’re a noble knight, full of glory and honor and whatnot?”

“I’m not going to play a game with criminals!” Abraxas said. He held up his sword, but Crow could see the worry in his eyes. William wasn’t afraid to disobey the king’s orders for the sake of his pride, but Abraxas was too obedient to lay so much as a finger on the thief. Crow flung the dagger over his head once more.

“This is worse,” the blonde knight muttered as he tried futilely to intercept the small object that hurtled over him. “This is so much worse…”

--

Eventually, they reached the outskirts of another small town. William stopped the wagon far enough away from it that he could have Penelope dismount before anyone would be close enough to question why a woman was riding alongside a knight. As they travelled deeper into the Kingdom of Younis, they needed to be more careful about keeping their heads down. The knight turned to the group, “We didn’t get everything we needed at the last market since [i]someone[/i] decided to cause trouble.” He shot Crow a venomous look, to which the thief simply shrugged. “So we’ll be making a brief stop here.” He turned to Penelope. “Since you’re the most adept at the native accent, I’m putting you in charge of picking up whatever we didn’t get in the other town.”

“I want to come too,” Hartley piped up, stepping forward.

“You’ll stay here, thief,” William glowered at him. “Penelope will be just fine on her own.”

“You obviously don’t know anything about Younis,” the boy rolled his eyes.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It [i]means[/i] women aren’t allowed to walk around in public without the escort of a man,” Hartley explained. “She’ll be arrested if she goes by herself.”

“Then Abraxas can go with her.”

“Not exactly…” Hartley tilted his head. “You two are dressed up like Younisian knights. It would be just as strange for one of you to be accompanying a peasant woman. She needs to be seen with someone of her own status.” He sauntered up to the female knight, waggling his eyebrows flirtatiously. “I’d be glad to escort a beauty like you, Penelope.”

“Alright, kid,” Crow stepped up to intervene. “You’re not the only one here who could escort her. I think it would be more realistic if she’s seen with someone her own age.”

“You’re not going anywhere, Lockton,” William growled. “You’ve caused enough trouble for us. I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”

Crow turned to him in surprise, “But—”

“Don’t bother,” William pinched the bridge of his nose. “As much as I dislike it, the boy can go with Penelope. You,” he pointed back at the wagon. “Can stay put in there.”