Penelope blinked as Crow suddenly broke the silence. She turned her head to look over at him as he went on. Her heart sank at his words as he addressed what had been worrying her. The knight frowned as he spoke about her having a way out. The mere thought of leaving Crow and carrying on with her life as usual after the mission pained her. She reached over and took his hand, giving it a small squeeze. She fell silent for a moment as she thought about his words.

“Collin,” She began, lowering her gaze from his. “there’s a lot I’m still not sure how I feel about. Leaving behind my family, my job, that whole life, it..it’s all I’ve known and you know how important my family is to me. I’m just kinda of scared.” Penelope shook her head. “But I’ve spent every moment of my life living and working for someone else... Becoming what my father wanted me to be. Doing everything in my power just to prove those that looked down on me were wrong. I mean, I like being a knight. I’m proud of what I accomplished but it was never my desire.. my choice.  

“And I think I’ve repaid my father enough..” She lifted her gaze to meet his green eyes once again. “At the end of this mission, we’ll have stopped a war, which means my family will be safe. I might miss things from my old life and my family but they won’t make me regret anything. I think I’d regret more if I left you.. Crow... Collin, you’re what I choose.” She gave him a small smile, that still held a hint of nervousness in it. She was still worried he might not want her around as she thought he might view her as too much of a risk. [i]Maybe he said all that in hopes of me agreeing to end it...[/i] Her stomach churned at the thought. Perhaps he was just trying to say it delicately due to both of their feelings. Her smile faltered as she lost confidence.

“If you’ll have me, that is.” She added quietly.