Crow cringed as William prepared to swing at him again, taking a step back to run. However, he didn’t need to move because Penelope was quicker. His eyes flitted between the two knights as she stopped her comrade from swinging at him again and moved to put herself between the two men. He was relieved that William seemed to backing down for now—at least, he wasn’t trying to throw anymore punches—but he remained tense, ready to bolt if the situation got worse.

[i]Well, if there was ever any hope of him respecting me, it’s gone now,[/i] he winced at the hate-filled look on the older knight’s face. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, not sure what to do as the others began to argue. Part of him wanted to defend Penelope, but he knew anything he had to say would just further infuriate William and hurt her honor. There was nothing he could do but stand aside and let her fight her own battle.

After a moment of silence, William turned to him and told him to go back to the camp. The quiet tone of his voice sent a chill down the thief’s spine, like the calm before the storm. He swallowed, hesitating rather than following the knight’s command immediately. He didn’t feel right about leaving Penelope to deal with her comrade alone, but he knew he couldn’t possibly do anything to help her. The older knight thought he was a snake. Staying would only make things worse than they already were.

Crow glanced back at Penelope. He wanted to kiss her or squeeze her hand or do anything to show her that he would support her from a distance, but he didn’t want to risk setting William off again. So instead, he simply gave her a nod to silently convey that everything would be okay, and then turned to head back to the camp by himself.

“Damn it all,” he muttered as he walked through the trees. How had William found them? They had been so careful to make sure he didn’t know what was going on between them. He exhaled in frustration, tilting his head back to look up at the darkening sky. Now that the knight had caught them, he didn’t know what to expect. [i]He’s probably going to make sure we never have another opportunity to be alone,[/i] he grimaced, imagining all of the creative ways William could keep them apart. [i]This is such a mess... Why did he have to show up![/i]

After a while, Crow made it back to the clearing. It was strangely quiet without the other two around. He sat against a tree and looked over the camp, finding the silence to be disturbing rather than peaceful. He wished he had some way to know how their conversation was going. The stress of not knowing was eating him alive.

Unable to sit still any longer, he got up again and picked up his bow, busying himself by shooting at a tree as he waited for William and Penelope to return.