Crow was relieved that Penelope understood his desire to overcome his fear. He had been worried she would think he had lost his mind when he admitted he had cut himself with the arrow. Instead, it seemed like she supported his motive. He looked down at the small laceration in his forearm again and wiped away the rest of the blood. While his method had worked that morning, he definitely needed to come up with a better way to deal with his fear. He didn’t want to slice up his body just to get over it, after all.

“Lucky for you, I’m pretty capable with a dagger,” he smirked when she said she needed a new sparring partner. The few times he had needed to use the small blade, he had been able to stave off his enemies. Granted, he had done nothing more than knock them unconscious with the butt of the weapon, but it still counted in his opinion. He may have been a complete novice with a bow, but he had enough experience with blades to consider himself at least somewhat skilled.

As Penelope stood up again, he climbed to his feet as well. He felt a rush of excitement at the prospect of learning how to use the dagger better. If he could master it along with the bow, he would have a versatile arsenal of weapons at his dispersal when they reached the castle. The wheels of his mind began to turn as he thought of new ideas. He could take out some guards from a distance with henbane laced arrows, and then defend himself with the dagger on the inside of the palace walls… He was already starting to feel his confidence in the mission returning.

“True,” Crow nodded when Penelope said they should leave. “The stable boys are probably going to come and make sure the horses didn’t get injured during last night’s storm.”

Gathering his things, he headed for the doors that led back outside. He paused briefly to make sure there were no servants that could see them before he hurried back into the tree line, where they would be safe from prying eyes.

Once they were far enough away from the manner, he turned to Penelope with a challenging grin, “So, are you ready to find out which one of us is better with a dagger?”