“Right,” Crow frowned as he recalled the last inn they had stayed at. The lack of lodging wasn’t the only thing that worried him. Back then, it had been hard enough for him and Penelope to share a bed. He could only imagine the awkwardness of the situation if they couldn’t find a place that had more than one bed to sleep in this time. He was exhausted from all the travelling, so he was going to fight for it if William tried to make him sleep on the floor again. After being spoiled with soft mattresses on their way to the castle, he didn’t plan to settle for anything less on the journey back.

Leaning against Penelope, he closed his eyes to rest for the last leg of their trip that day. The warmth of her body against his made him relax despite his efforts to stay alert, but he enjoyed it too much to move. After all, the other two were still keeping watch for danger. He could afford to let himself unwind for a little while. He let out his breath in a long exhale, holding her by the waist as he reclined comfortably against her back.

--

When they finally arrived at a small inn, it was getting close to dusk. Crow slid down tiredly from the horse’s back, wincing slightly at the soreness in his legs and back from riding on the animal all day. He would be glad to lay down on a bed again after spending the last few nights on the ground in the woods. Casting a furtive glance at William, he silently prayed that the inn Penelope had found would accommodate multiple people this time.

[i]Or maybe we could get our own room,[/i] he blinked as the idea suddenly came to him. It would be nice to get away from William and all of the tension that lingered between them. He wondered if Penelope would think it was worth the extra money too. However, there was no way for him to ask her while William was standing so close, so when she said a quick goodbye, he just nodded and hoped that she was thinking the same thing he was.

Taking the horses by the reins, he guided them over to a stable behind the inn. He pulled the door open and peered inside to see if anyone else was there. Fortunately, it appeared to be empty aside from a few other horses left by other travelers. He smiled to himself and stepped into the stable, closing the door behind the horses.

The thief led them over to two empty stalls and managed to get them in without too much trouble considering his lack of experience with the beasts. Once that was done, he slid the bow and staff out from their hiding place and began searching the room for a place to hide them where they wouldn’t be found accidentally. It wasn’t long before he spotted a good location behind some bales of hay. Any stable boys that came to check on the horses would have a hard time noticing the stolen objects lodged back there.

[i]That should do it,[/i] he thought as he finished hiding the bow and staff. Satisfied with his work, he turned and headed back to the inn to meet Penelope.