Crow and Hartley lapsed into silence as they continued towards the edge of the town. The older thief stared down at the ground, kicking a small rock ahead of him and thinking about the remainder of the journey. He chewed on a number of ideas about how he could infiltrate the Younisian king’s castle without getting caught. Though he had never been there before, he had enough experience from his raids in Brerra to know a few things about the life of royalty. There would be palace guards to patrol the corridors—they were the dangerous ones—but there would also be numerous servants. Maybe he could take advantage of that somehow.

He looked up again, “Hey, kid. Do you know anything about the king’s attendants?”

“Not much,” Hartley shrugged, eyeing him curiously. “Why do you ask?”

“Just an idea,” Crow said. “Tell me what you know.”

“If you’re thinking of disguising yourself as one of them, you might as well abandon that plan now,” Hartley sighed. “I’ve heard that all of the staff in the castle share living quarters. They’re like family, and they support the king. They would recognize an outsider instantly and they definitely wouldn’t harbor you.”

“Maybe not me,” Crow’s eyes wandered to Penelope. “But what about a woman fleeing from an abusive husband?”

“That… might work, actually,” Hartley blinked. “It isn’t unheard of for communities here to bring a stranger in trouble into their homes. But that only gets her inside. What about you?”

“I have a few ideas,” Crow answered vaguely. “With so little time to prepare, I’d rather keep my options open than pin myself down to just one plan though.” He smiled down at the boy. “Don’t worry. I’ll get in one way or another.”

“I hope you can back that cocky grin up with action,” Hartley frowned, seeming unconvinced.

“Just head to any tavern in ten days’ time,” Crow said confidently. “I guarantee they’ll be telling stories about how we stole the king’s staff and got away.” He was glad to have the beginnings of a plan put together now. When they got closer to the castle, he could refine the details, but at least he had something to work with. He just hoped he wouldn’t have to go with the riskiest option—his last resort—to get himself into the castle with Penelope.

At last, they reached the town line. Kip, Hartley, and Penelope all said their goodbyes. However, the quiet young girl had a few words for Crow that caught him off guard.

[color=fdc68a][b]“She really loves you, so you better treat her right,”[/b][/color] Kip said with a wink.

Crow quirked a brow in surprise at her mischievous words. He hadn’t been expecting the soft spoken girl to say such a thing. After taking a second to recover, he cast her a smirk of his own, “Don’t worry. I will.” He glanced at Penelope, his wry expression softening. [i]At least, I’m going to try,[/i] he added silently. Part of him still felt unworthy of her affection, since he couldn’t give her the life that a nobleman could have offered, but he reminded himself that she had chosen him too. She loved him in spite of what he was; it didn’t matter if it made sense of not. 

He stepped up next to her as they got ready to leave the others behind, nodding when she asked if he was ready to leave. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” he exhaled, looking back at Hartley and Kip. “See you around.”

“You better,” Hartley waved. “Good luck.”

Crow raised a hand in a lazy wave back at him and then turned to walk on down the road with Penelope. After putting a bit of distance between them and the town, he nudged her with his shoulder. “Looks like it’s just you and me now, love,” he smirked. “No more chaperones or annoying brats to deal with.” He slid his hand into hers. “I think I’m going to enjoy this.”