Crow just nodded when Penelope said she had slept alright. From the tone of her voice, he could tell that her night must not have been much better than his. He wanted to talk to her and find out if she had changed her mind about being with him after listening to William’s criticisms the day before, but there wasn’t time for that at the moment, since the older knight was standing nearby and they needed to keep moving soon. He felt slightly more at ease when she squeezed his hand, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed between them. Whatever it was, he didn’t like it.

He met her lips when she kissed him, shooting William another glare when the knight curtly insisted on leaving. As if they didn’t have enough to worry about already, it looked like William was planning to stand between them as often as he could. It was going to be especially annoying to be around him for the remaining part of the trip.

[i]I wish I had socked him when I had the chance,[/i] he shook his head.

Crow stood aside as Penelope mounted the horse and then took her hand to climb up after her. He adjusted himself so that he was sitting comfortably behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle. Already, he could feel the effects of his lack of sleep. With that in addition to the swaying of the horse and the comfort of having her beside him, it was going to be even more difficult for him to stay awake than the day before.

“When we get to the edge of the forest, you and I should go to the market to buy what we need,” he suggested, wanting to talk about anything that would take his mind off of how tired he was. “William has the accent mostly down, but it isn’t perfect yet, and I’d rather not risk sending him into a crowd of Younisians that might notice his mistakes.”