Penelope waited a bit anxiously for him to say something, worrying about how he would react. When he finally spoke again, she was  surprised by his words, both because he seemed to hold no anger towards her and because he had thought she had been dead all this time. It made her feel another stab of guilt for not telling him sooner. What didn't surprise her too much was to hear that Olivia had been the one to speak to Crow. [i]So that's why she wanted me to take her guard shift..[/i] Penelope realized. She wanted to be annoyed with the other knight but part of her was thankful to see Crow again. 

As he went on, Penelope felt her heart begin to beat nervously as he took her hands in his. When admitted to still loving her, she felt her heart skip a beat despite her better judgement. She held his gaze for a moment, falling silent at his question. After two years, she had given up on any hope for a future with Crow and it felt rather unreal to have him there offering it to her again. However, this time, she couldn't agree to it. Gavin flashed through her thoughts and she reminded herself of her feelings for her actual suitor. She cared for him deeply, perhaps even loved him, and the work she had done over the two years as a knight wouldn't be wasted. It was just more logical for her to give up Crow, since she had already done that.. Or at least, she thought she had. The emotions she currently felt at seeing him again didn't make her as certain as she had once been.

"I," She finally spoke up, though reluctantly. "I can't, Crow. I'll always care for you.. I don't think I could ever fully get rid of my feelings for you but I-I have someone else now. A suitor." She pulled her hands away from his and kept her gaze lowered. "And I really like him. He's a good guy.. At the rate the war's going, we'll probably even be married before it ends." 

She finally lifted her gaze to look over at Crow. Her throat felt tight with emotion, it wasn't easy saying no to him even after all this time. Penelope tried to deny how hurt she felt at her own words. "It's probably better this way.. There's no telling if I'd even make it to the end of this war. Or if we'd even win." She added, trying to convince him as well as herself. It made sense to her, especially after seeing how well the last time they made plans for the future went.