Crow really didn’t like how bold Gavin was getting in his pursuit of winning Penelope back. It was already hard enough for him to know that the knight could offer her much more than he ever could. He didn’t need that fact shoved in his face. Besides, he had already made up his mind that he was going to do anything in his power to give her the life she deserved. It may not look the same as what Gavin could give her as a nobleman, but he hoped it would be enough to make her happy.

As the two knights continued to debate the subject, he remained quiet, unable to speak much into the conversation since he had little knowledge of the affairs of the inner kingdom. He didn’t agree that Penelope was being selfish in her decision to be with him. It seemed like it would be easy enough for Gavin to take over her plans, and, as he had told her, there was still plenty that she could do for the peasants from within the outer villages. She didn’t have to give up being with him to make a difference.

The thief glanced at Olivia as she complained that they were boring today. He rolled his eyes. It seemed like she was still hoping for some squabbling between the two men to entertain her. Unfortunately for the knight, he had no intention of breaking his word to Penelope. So, as much as he wanted to tell Gavin off for openly trying to win her back, he kept his mouth shut and contented himself with listening to her refuse the knight’s advances instead.

For a while after Olivia’s interruption, the group fell quiet. The female knight appeared to still be nursing a slight hangover, Gavin had given up on trying to convince Penelope to come back to him for now, and Crow couldn’t think of any other topics to bring up that wouldn’t start a fight with the male knight.

The silence was eventually broken when the thief detected the faint sound of rushing water up ahead. “The river is right past this hillside,” he announced to the others in case they hadn’t noticed it yet. Turning to Penelope, he offered her a smile. “We should stop and rest for a bit. We still have quite a long walk ahead of us, and the forest on the other side of the river can be tough to navigate because of all the hills. What do you think?”