As they lapsed back into silence, Crow’s mind wandered back to the other thieves and what he was going to do with them once the war was over. After living together for over a year, they had become an integral part of his life, and he found that he was unexpectedly sad to leave them. Of course, he knew that he didn’t necessarily have to leave them the same way that Penelope would have to leave the other knights. He wasn’t being forced out of a high status or job, and his companions would still accept him if he brought her in to live with them.

However, even though he knew nothing would likely change for him, he was concerned about how they would treat Penelope. She was giving up everything to be with him, but he didn’t know if the other thieves would understand that. At the very least, he was certain that Simon would never trust a noblewoman—even one who had abandoned her social class. Alistair and Rikki seemed like they would be more accommodating, but he couldn’t be sure about them either, since they also had their reasons for disliking knights. They might be friendly now, but would they continue to act that way if he announced that she would be joining them permanently? He didn’t know the answer.

Besides that, he wanted to give Penelope the best life that he could provide for her. Bringing her in to live with a rogue band of thieves wasn’t what he had promised her. He wanted to give her a life where they could start over together, far from anything that would get between them or cause them more trouble. Unfortunately, that included his companions.

Eventually, Crow could see the valley up ahead where they had made camp, and he felt a burst of relief. After such a long day, he could feel his exhaustion finally catching up with him, and he wanted nothing more than to lay down and get some sleep.

As they neared the camp, he glanced over at Penelope as he heard her speak up about her excitement for the war to end. He laughed softly at her teasing smirk. “I’ll say,” he squeezed her hand fondly. “You haven’t even been involved in this war for a full season, yet you’ve already done so much for your kingdom and its people. There are many who owe you their lives… including me.” He shuddered as he thought about how he and Hazel probably would have died if the knight hadn’t warned them about the patrols. Even after doing that, she had helped him get to safety when he had been in no condition to save himself.

[color=fff79a][b]“Fair warning, I might just become lazy and sleep most of the day,”[/b][/color] Penelope’s expression was somber. [color=fff79a][b]“It’s going to be strange not being a knight though.”[/b][/color]

Crow eyed her for a moment and then slowed to a stop. Moving to stand in front of her, he tugged on her hand to pull her close and slid his other arm around her back. He then leaned in to meet her lips, kissing her passionately before drawing back to hold her gaze. “You may not be a knight anymore, but I’m sure you’ll find something else to give you purpose,” he smiled confidently. “There’s a lot of brokenness in the outer villages that need people like you to help fix. Even if you don’t have the power of a noble, there are still ways that you’ll be able to protect the people out here.” He shifted his weight, blushing slightly as he went on, “A-and maybe if you feel like you’ve done enough there… you could find purpose in your family… [i]our[/i] family.”

He averted his gaze uncomfortably. They had never discussed anything like this before, so he suddenly felt awkward being the first to bring it up. Clearing his throat, he went on hurriedly, “Anyway, I think there are still a lot of things left for you to take pride in, so I doubt you’ll actually spend the days sleeping as you think you will. And even if you do, you deserve it after everything you’ve done for your kingdom.” He smiled softly. “You’re an amazing knight, love. Whatever sort of future you want, I’ll do my best to make it happen.”