“Really, it’s fine,” Crow hissed, trying to convey his urgency without waking Hartley. “You don’t need to come with me.”

[color=fff79a][b]“I wasn’t sleeping anyways,”[/b][/color] Penelope said, ignoring his argument. [color=fff79a][b]“Besides, if you happen to get into trouble, you might need someone to get you out of it… again.”[/b][/color]

“I can handle myself just fine, thanks,” Crow rolled his eyes at her gibe. It looked like there would be no getting rid of the knight. He exhaled softly. So much for getting some practice runs in before they got to the palace… unless he could convince her to turn a blind eye. He watched her thoughtfully as she put her boots on to follow after him. Would she let him steal if he explained his reason for doing so? It didn’t seem likely, but it was worth a shot.

Crow held the door open as Penelope stepped past him to leave the room. As he followed after her into the hallway, he closed the door quietly behind him, hoping Hartley wouldn’t wake up before they got back. Although he didn’t have much to worry about. By the sounds of the boy’s incessant snoring, he would probably sleep well into the morning unless someone woke him.

[color=fff79a][b]“Couldn’t sleep, huh?”[/b][/color] Penelope asked when they were alone.

“Yeah,” Crow nodded, keeping his voice low so as not to wake any of the other travelers sleeping at the inn. He fell into step with the knight and met her gaze, observing the flicker of light in her green eyes that reflected the lantern. “I slept quite a bit on the ride over, so I have too much energy to sleep now.” He shrugged, turning to look ahead once more as they reached the front door of the inn. “Why are you still awake?”