Crow watched quietly as the knights discussed what to do with him amongst themselves. He didn’t know what to expect, since none of his options looked promising. Worst case, the knights would deem him useless and kill him to be done with the matter; best case, he would have to suffer through whatever sadistic interrogation Layth was able to come up with. Neither choice sounded very appealing to the thief. He let out his breath in a soft sigh, [i]What have I gotten myself into this time?[/i]

As Penelope tried to intervene, he gazed at her with interest. He picked up instantly on what she was trying to do. If the barons let her take over his interrogation, it wouldn’t be hard for her to give him an opportunity to slip away. He bit the inside of his lip, trying to keep a neutral expression, so he wouldn’t give anything away as she worked to persuade the others that she was the better choice to interrogate him. Unfortunately, his hope was short lived. The scraggly baron shut her idea down quickly with the reminder of how she had lost him the last time he had been under her watch.

In the end, the decision was made for Layth to head the interrogation. Crow glanced at the knight, swallowing nervously. He didn’t know what Layth planned to do, but he did know that it wasn’t going to be very pleasant. [i]I’ll be fine,[/i] he thought, taking a steeling breath. [i]I just have to get through one day. That’s it. When night falls, I’ll make my escape.[/i] Feeling slightly more reassured, he walked hesitantly with the two knights as they directed him away from the tent.

“You won’t be disappointed,” Layth said to the barons with a confident smirk as he dragged the thief away. “I’ll report back as soon as I get the information we need.”

[i]‘If’ you get it…[/i] Crow corrected silently. [i]I have no intention of giving my companions away.[/i] With that stubborn thought on his mind, he held his head high as the knights lead him to wherever they planned to interrogate him. Just before they moved out of sight from the others, he casted one final glance back over his shoulder at Penelope and smiled. It was hard to tell outwardly if she was worried about him or not, but if she was the same Penelope he remembered, he knew she was probably hiding her true feelings about what was happening. He hoped his small gesture would ease her mind and reassure her that everything would work out.

--

“I’ll ask again: Where are the other thieves?”

Crow spat blood on the ground, breathing heavily as he glared at the knights from the tree they had chained him to. Layth had recruited two other knights to help him “interrogate” the thief—by this point, he had learned that ‘interrogate’ really just meant ‘beat and occasionally interject with a question’—and they both stood in front of him now with various blunt and sharp weapons drawn, ready to come at him again if their lieutenant gave the command.

So far, they’d had no luck getting anything out of him. Despite the rather creative methods they had come up with to try to get him to tell them what they wanted, he remained unwavering in his commitment to keep his companions safe. He also refused to tell them that he had sold off their weapons out of concern that they would find any other details unnecessary and kill him. Since neither side was willing to back down, they stood at a standoff.

“If you just tell us where they are, all of this will be over,” Layth’s voice was laced with frustration as he stepped closer to his prisoner. It was obvious to Crow that the knight hadn’t expected him to be so resilient, and it was beginning to grate on his nerves. “Why won’t you just say it?” he went on irritably. “What do you have to gain from protecting them? You’re all just a bunch of selfish criminals. They can’t be that valuable to you.”

“Maybe,” Crow grinned at him obstinately. “I suppose I could tell you, but I don’t know… I think I’d rather have the satisfaction of making you look like an ass in front of your superiors.”

Layth curled his lip and swung a fist at him, and Crow inhaled sharply as a burst of pain exploded across his jaw. His legs trembled slightly as he fought to hold himself up. The interrogation had been going on from about midday into the evening, and despite his haughty words, he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. He hoped Layth would tire of fighting with him soon and give up for the day, so he could rest and start working on a plan to escape.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get his wish right away. Layth signaled to the other two knights to beat him again, and the process was repeated three more times before he finally called it quits just as the evening light was starting to fade.

“Stubborn fool,” the knight muttered as he looked down at the thief, who leaned heavily against the tree, barely able to hold himself up after the last few beatings. He turned to his comrades, “I’m sure it goes without saying, but just in case, make sure the rest of the battalion knows not to give the prisoner any food or water.” He glanced hatefully at the thief once more. “I’m going to break him tomorrow.”

“Good luck with that,” Crow panted, grimacing from the pain of his fresh wounds. He managed to give the knight one more mocking smirk as he went on, “Don’t worry. I’m sure your barons will understand that you weren’t competent enough to give them what they wanted today.”

“Why you…” Layth swung at him again, landing a punch to his stomach this time that made him gasp for breath. Satisfied that the thief couldn’t make any more snide remarks, he stepped back and turned to walk away with his comrades, leaving him behind.

As soon as they were out of sight, Crow sank to the ground and closed his eyes, finally able to rest. Every part of him ached, and he was fairly confident that the knights had broken at least one of his ribs. Each breath he took pained him on his left side. He shifted slightly against the chains that bound him to the tree. They were thick, very similar to the ones he had worn in prison two years ago, and he shuddered at their sickening familiarity. He was still sure he could find a way to escape, but it was going to be harder to do with the heavy metal restraints.

[i]I’ll figure it out later,[/i] he thought wearily. [i]Right now, I just need to rest.[/i] Between his exhaustion from the day, the lack of food and water, and the relentless beatings of the knights, it didn’t take long for him to drift off into a light sleep.