When he met up with Penelope at the inn, Crow took her hand and returned her smile. He nodded when she said she had gotten a room with two beds. It wasn’t as good as a separate room would have been, but he wasn’t about to complain at the prospect of sleeping on a soft mattress again, even if William was there too. As she went on to warn him that the older knight planned to make him sleep on the floor, he rolled his eyes, “Of course he is. That jackass can’t stand the thought of us sharing a bed.”

At her question, he nodded again, “I hid them in the back of their extra stores of hay. I’d be impressed if anyone managed to find them there, even if they were looking.” He glanced down the hallway and then back to Penelope, “We should go to the room before William thinks of a way to make me sleep on the floor tonight. Come on.”

He walked with her to the room they had been assigned and opened the door. Inside, William had claimed one of the beds by throwing his cloak over it and was standing next to the other one with his arms folded sternly. His eyes swept over Crow and Penelope in the doorway, lingering on their intertwined hands, and he curled his lip, “Penelope, you take the bed. Thief, your spot is over there.” He jabbed a thumb towards the opposite corner of the room.

“Yeah right,” Crow snorted, closing the door after they stepped into the room.

“You think this is a joke?” William narrowed his eyes at him. “I’m not about to stand by and watch a criminal disgrace my comrade. You [i]will[/i] be sleeping on the floor tonight.” 

“And what are you going to do if I refuse?” Crow shot the knight a glare.

“Back down now and you won’t have to find out,” William warned, cracking his knuckles threateningly.

The thief hesitated near the doorway, eyeing him warily. [i]He’s bluffing,[/i] he thought. [i]He can’t be stupid enough to start a fight in a small room like this and risk getting us all kicked out.[/i] Feeling more confident, he disregarded the knight’s warning and began to make his way towards the bed. However, as he moved to step around William, the knight caught him off guard by throwing a punch that connected with his jaw. He staggered from the unexpected impact and brought a hand up to his cheek, staring at him in surprise.

“Don’t test me, Lockton,” William growled. “Consider that your final warning.”

“You’re insane,” Crow spat.

“You two are the insane ones,” William snapped. “It’s indecent for a criminal to share a bed with a knight. You are both going to stop while she still has a chance to reclaim her title as a respectable knight of Brerra.”

“You call looking down on anyone lesser than a noble respectable?” Crow scoffed. “Where I’m from, we call that shallow.”

“You can fight it as much as you like, but this is the way of the world,” William stood up slightly straighter. “Some lives are worth more than others, and yours, [i]thief[/i], is worth nothing.”

“Like I give a damn what you think,” Crow snarled at him. “All you nobles care about is status. I could save your gold plated ass a thousand times and you’d still say I’m just a criminal. There’s no point in trying to convince you that maybe—[i]just maybe[/i]—there’s more to life than simply following the law.”

“The law is what holds our kingdom together. Without it, we have chaos.”

“With it, people are dying!” Crow said sharply. He took a calming breath, forcing his temper into check, and glowered at the knight. “Forget it. I’m not going to waste my breath on you. Now, stand aside. You can’t take on both of us at once, and I refuse to sleep on the floor.”