“No complaints here,” Crow nodded when Penelope began to lead him down the side street. He was eager to get away from the crowd and the pesky nobles that came with it. However, he did worry about how much time the detour might add to their trip. They were already behind where he guessed they should have been by now. He wondered what was happening back in Brerra. Was the king still waiting for them to return? Or was he moving forward with another plan instead? He shuddered to think of the possibility that they might return home to find the kingdom in the middle of a war. The outer villages were already hard enough to live in as it was. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to make it through the battles that would inevitably ravage them to the ground.

However, that was no longer the only reason why he didn’t want the war to happen. Now, he had much more at stake. If Brerra engaged with Younis, all of the able-bodied knights would be called to fight for their kingdom… including Penelope. At the very least, he wouldn’t be able to see her again until the war ended. At the worst, he would lose her to the flame of war. He couldn’t bear the thought of it.

Coming back to himself, Crow realized they were surrounded by trees. He looked up, finding that they had reached the forest just outside of the town. He had been lost in his thoughts for quite a while.

“So,” he said, turning back to Penelope. “How about you teach me to use this bow now? We’re far enough away from the town that we should be safe to stop for a while.” He also just wanted something to distract himself, so he would stop thinking about the ‘what-ifs’ of the future. After all, there was no point in worrying about something that hadn’t happened yet when he could focus on learning to fight—something that was within his control.