Penelope shrugged her shoulders. She could tell Crow was trying to lift her spirits about the situation. Though she had some doubts about his words, she forced a small smile at his words and nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah. I’m sure that he’s not giving them an easy time.” She agreed softly. 

The knight fell quiet on the manner and began to look around as they walked. Though the village was not nearly as busy as the market place, it still had a lively feel as locals went on with their daily lives. The streets were certainly not empty or quite as the peasants busied themselves with work for the day. One thing she had began to notice was the general public of Younis felt proud and happy of their kingdom. [i]Likely because they have enough wealth to support themselves..[/i] She thought, having noticed even the peasants seemed guaranteed some luxuries in their life that simply wasn’t found in Brerra due to the king’s greed. The outer villages of Younis even had a market place that likely helped with the flow of their money. 

[i]I wonder if such a thing could help our own outer villages... If only the king could take some time away from filling his own pocket..[/i] Penelope thought with a hint of bitterness. She found herself growing a bit envious of the rival kingdom as it seemed to operate a lot more smoothly than her own. The thought of knights working with the public rather than fighting them crossed her mind once again. 

However, she soon found herself wondering about the criminals of Younis and her gaze flickered briefly over to Hartley. She hadn’t thought much of it before but she wonder how he ended up as a thief when things seemed better off here. [i]Perhaps it has to do with the thrill of stealing?[/i] She wondered. With how impulsive the boy was, the idea didn’t seem that far off. The knight’s thought were disrupted as Hartley suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Unlike his usual self, he didn’t even notice Penelope looking over at him. His eyes were wide with alarm and he even seemed to pale slightly.

“Uh, hey guys! I just got an idea, let’s go down this other way I think there’s a short cut.” Hartley said speaking fast and nervously. 

Penelope raised eyebrow at his strange behavior. “What?” She question in confusion. 

“Hartley?” The boy was already turning to slip off down an alley when a questioning and cold voice sounded from ahead. She soon realized that a man was making his way towards them, his eyes narrowing in on Hartley.