As they walked, Crow found it difficult not to think about how close Penelope was to him. He felt his arm around her waist and remembered how they used to embrace; he felt her arm around his shoulders and remembered how she used to pull him in for a kiss; he felt her slender body against his side and remembered their first night together in the stables. Her touch was so familiar to him, and yet now so distant. It was like a ghost of the past he couldn’t bring himself to forget—bittersweet.

He sighed softly, adjusting his hold on her as he felt her lean a little more heavily into his side. He felt torn in two again. Part of him wished Penelope hadn’t gotten injured so they could have parted ways and returned to their separate camps. With her ankle twisted, it was going to be tricky to figure out a way to get her back safely before anyone noticed she was missing. He was sure the thieves had probably gone to sleep already and wouldn’t miss him if he came back late, but what if they were stranded until the next day? He dreaded to think of what they might do on impulse if they thought something had happened to him.

As Penelope spoke up, he glanced down at her and shook his head, “I’m not sure yet. Let’s just focus on getting to safety right now, and I’ll work on a plan from there.” Following his own advice, he looked around for a good place to stop and rest. They had reached the western part of the forest, so the ground sloped and curved quite a bit with natural variations. It didn’t take long before he spotted a place that looked promising.

“Let’s try over here,” he said, changing direction to guide her towards the ridge. Fortunately, his guess had been correct. On the other side of the short ridge, the ground dropped off, revealing a small hollow that had formed from erosion around the roots of a large tree. He helped her down the side of the ridge, moving slowly so she wouldn’t strain her ankle any worse, and let go of her arm once they were beneath the overhang.

Finally able to stop, Crow sat down and leaned back against the dirt wall. He eyed Penelope’s ankle again, “Is anyone waiting up for you at your camp?” He looked up at her concernedly. “I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea and thinking I did something to you.”