When Penelope finally agreed to at least keep her guard up around Gavin for him, Crow felt himself relax. He still wished she wouldn’t keep spending time with her former suitor anymore, but he supposed the compromise was good enough. As long as she stayed alert, he could be sure that the nobleman wouldn’t be able to get away with anything funny if he really was biding his time. It was the next best thing, so he was just going to have to be content for now.

He met her lips as she kissed him again, letting the subject drop after they had reached an agreement. Closing his eyes, he laid his head back in the grass and exhaled softly as she leaned against his chest. He didn’t find the position overly comfortable, since all of her weight was directly on top of him, but he could tell that she was enjoying it, so he didn’t complain. Her contentedness was more than enough reason for him to deal with the mild discomfort.

As he felt her breathing slow, he ran his hand soothingly over her back and smiled to himself. He felt a sudden burst of affection for the knight. Lying with her now, alone in the forest, he longed for a time when they could sleep beside each other again with no time constraints to follow or disapproving companions to answer to. [i]We just have to wait until this war is over,[/i] he thought with a sigh. [i]It’s been going on for a year now. The end can’t be that much further, right?[/i]

Feeling Penelope shift against him, he glanced down at her again and nodded tiredly when she said she should leave soon. He rolled onto his side to face her when she laid down in the grass beside him, resting his arm beneath his head for support. At her following words, he nodded again. “I think you should decide when we meet next,” he said with an amused smirk. “Because if it’s up to me, I would say we should get together again tomorrow night.” He reached out to rest one hand on her arm, craving her touch now that there was some space between them.

“You know your comrades better than I do,” he went on, holding her gaze. “How soon do you think you can get away from them again?”