“We’ll see about that,” Crow nudged Penelope playfully. Despite his words, he knew that sparring against her would stretch his limits with the weapon. After all, she was a skilled knight. It was true that he had managed to overpower William for a moment during their fight in the wagon, but that had only been because the knight had underestimated him. He wouldn’t have the same advantage with Penelope. She had fought at his side before and knew he had some talent with a dagger, so he would have to come up with some other way to catch her off guard.

He turned to look at her when she asked how he had learned to fight. “I was never formally trained,” he answered. “Honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time. I just let my instinct drive me and hope for the best.” He shrugged. “I also use what I know from my experience as a thief to help me in battle. You see, I figured out that it doesn’t matter how skilled an opponent is if you can take them by surprise. Even the most fearsome swordsman can be tricked if you’re clever enough.

“Now, if you’re asking how I learned to use a blade, that’s a little different though,” he went on. “It remains true that I was never [i]formally[/i] taught, but I did learn a few things from the knights in the outer villages. I used to watch them spar. It was mostly because I was trying to figure out how to avoid their swords, but I was also interested in the complexities of dueling.

“I also told you that I used to steal and sell weapons, right? Well, I didn’t always ‘get away’ without being seen,” he smirked. “I remember one time I was feeling especially daring, so I let myself get caught by a one of the knights as I was leaving their camp. He had been drinking and was in no condition to fight, which meant we would stand on equal footing. He tried to attack me, and I got to practice some of the techniques I had watched the others use during their sparring matches. Of course, it was easier then because of how intoxicated that knight was, but situations like that were how I gained my competence with a blade.”