Crow had been hoping that Penelope would just take the hint and move on to tell him about what she had learned about the knights since their last meeting, but to his surprise, she didn’t do so right away. He hung on her words, unsure what to think about the sincerity in her voice as she spoke them. It sounded like she still cared about him to some degree at least. He shifted in his chair, biting his tongue as the temptation to spill everything to her resurfaced once more. Why did she have to make everything so confusing? They weren’t close anymore, but she was still so kind to him. It was hard for him to think of her as just a formal acquaintance when she spoke with such concern. He found himself wanting to reassure her that even though he had changed, he was still the man she had known two years ago.

[i]It doesn’t matter,[/i] he reminded himself sternly. [i]Whether I tell her or not, nothing is going to change between us. There’s no point in even bringing it up.[/i] Feeling a bit more resolute, he listened quietly to Penelope while she went on to tell him that there wouldn’t be as many patrols for a while, and the knights didn’t plan on attacking Younis again for at least a couple weeks. It was all good news to the thief, since he knew that his group needed time to recover as well. Rikki would be unable to leave the camp for a while, and he and Alistair needed to wait for their wounds to heal before they could safely take on an enemy again. Among the four of them, Simon was currently the only one in any condition to risk a fight.

Crow was about to get ready to leave again when Penelope said something else that piqued his interest. He eyed her curiously as she said that the knights might be willing to put a rule in place to protect the villagers. It was something that he had never expected them to even consider, since they had been so focused on winning against the Younisians that they didn’t care who got in their way until now. He felt a small bubble of hope rise up in his chest. If Penelope could pull this off, it would be good news for all of the people in the outer villages, and he and the other thieves wouldn’t be so strained to protect them against both sides whenever battles occurred in the future.

“That’s great,” he said with eagerness slipping into his voice that he was too excited to contain. “When will you be speaking to them? Do you think they’re going to listen?” He blinked, realizing he had broken his stoic façade, and forced his emotions into check as he went on, “You’ll have to tell me how that conversation goes. I’d like to know.”