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Crow cursed silently when Gavin didn’t back down. Of course the knight wouldn’t be deterred by an empty threat; he was far too stubborn for that. He hated the fact that among all the knights who could have caught him with Jaxon, Gavin was the one to have done so. He could have come up with a lie to fool Penelope or even Olivia, both of whom were much more trusting of him. However, the determined man standing before him now would never be so easily deterred. It would have been a waste of time to even bother trying.

He tensed, keeping his gaze fixed on Gavin’s sword as the knight took a step towards him. His following words sent a sharp pang of anger and frustration through the thief. He wanted to scream at the hard-headed man that he hadn’t been the cause of his comrades’ deaths, and he wasn’t using Penelope. While he normally didn’t care what noblemen thought of him, the knight’s repetitive accusations were becoming too much for him to bear. He tightened his grip on the daggers in his hands and took a calming breath to keep himself level headed. If he acted out of anger and attacked Gavin now, he would practically be admitting that he was the enemy here. For the sake of finding some sort of reasonable way out of this mess, he had to keep a handle on his temper.

However, that was much easier said than done as the knight began to question him about his dealings with Jaxon, even going so far as to accuse him of working for pay. You don’t know how wrong you are, Crow gritted his teeth. He would never sink so low as to work for such a vile man for money. Everything he was doing was for Penelope—every last bit of it! But he couldn’t tell Gavin that. Not as long as there was still a chance for him to make it out of this with some secrets intact. If he didn’t admit to anything, Jaxon couldn’t accuse him of fully breaking his promise, and there was still some hope left of keeping Penelope safe.

“You don’t know what you’re getting involved with,” Crow said in a warning tone, taking a subtle step backwards as he began to discreetly look over the area for his exit points. “There’s more to this than you think.” One clear path to the southwest, and another to the north… “If you don’t want to die, just wander on back to your camp and forget you saw anything.” He finally looked back to meet the knight’s gaze with a serious expression. “Trust me. It’s better for everyone if you do.”
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Gavin was growing irritated as the thief continued to avoid answering him. It seemed the other man was determined to keep him in the dark, which didn't bode well over all. Despite being caught, Crow was clearly intent on not coming clean. The knight clicked his tongue in annoyance as the thief gave him another warning, one that he of course brushed off. If the thief wanted to try and silence him, he'd have to use force rather than lowly threats. I'm not letting him get away with this.. Our camp is in ruins because of him. He clenched his jaw at the thought, finding it added fuel to his anger and determination.

"Better for everyone?" Gavin scoffed at his words. "I doubt that. The only one who could possibly benefit from me keeping quiet is you. And as for that threat," he shifted into a more defensive stance, preparing himself if the thief decided to strike. By the sound of his words, it seemed that he would if Gavin didn't give in and just act as if he hadn't discovered anything. That didn't sway the knight into listening though. He wasn't about to give in like a coward, especially when he was confident enough in his skills to take on the criminal.

"-you can try to kill me but I'm not just going to ignore this thief. You're putting my whole battalion in danger and I will fight to keep them safe." He paused and then sneered. "And so will Penelope once she learns what you've been doing behind her back." Perhaps it had been a bit petty of him to taunt the thief about Penelope but he couldn't help himself. After so long of having to sit back and watch him, not only be with her, but trick and use her, the male knight couldn't help but beam at the thought of making her realize he was the enemy.
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Crow wanted to rake his fingers through his hair in frustration. As hard as he tried to convince Gavin to let it go, the knight refused to see reason. He wished he could explain himself or do anything to make the other man understand what was going on, but he couldn’t do so without breaking his word to Jaxon. To make matters worse, it seemed that Gavin had mistaken his warning for a threat. He groaned inwardly as the knight took on a defensive stance, as if he expected the thief to come after him. Of course he wasn’t going to attack anyone. As infuriating at the man could be, he didn’t want to see him die. They may not have gotten along well personally, but he didn’t think Gavin was a bad person, and the knight certainly didn’t deserve to be killed for stumbling upon something he shouldn’t have.

He was just about to try another approach to get Gavin to back down, when the knight added something else that made him bristle: “And so will Penelope once she learns what you’ve been doing behind her back.”

Crow narrowed his eyes at that. It was quite clear that no matter what he said or did, Gavin had every intention of telling the others that he had seen him with Jaxon. He’s going to ruin everything, he thought scathingly, trembling slightly from a mixture of anger and fear as he restrained himself from lunging at the knight. After everything he’d done to keep the knights from finding out about his alliance with Jaxon, Gavin was going to spoil it all and get Penelope killed anyway! He took a shaky breath, trying to calm down so he wouldn’t do anything irrational.

“That’s not going to happen, because she’s never going to find out,” he snarled. Well, so much for being rational. “Tell her whatever you want, but I’ll deny it tooth and nail. She’s never going to believe you.” Knowing the conversation was going downhill fast with no resolution in sight, he glanced over his exit points again. He needed to get away from Gavin before the situation got any worse.

Without waiting for a reply, he lunged at the knight with the dagger in his right hand poised to strike. Of course, the attack was merely a distraction. As soon as Gavin blocked or dodged it, he intended to sprint for the closest escape route to get away from him, using his superior knowledge of the outer villages to get away.
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Gavin curled his lip up aggressively at Crow's words. He wasn't sure if the thief was actually that confident that Penelope wouldn't believe him or if he was just trying to get him to give up. Either way he didn't appreciate the words. Unfortunately he didn't get a chance to rebuttal though as the thief suddenly lunged at him with his dagger. Gavin swiftly brought his sword up to block the attack with relative ease.

Just when he thought it was a fight that the thief wanted, Crow took off sprinting to get away from him. "Bastard." Gavin spat and quickly gave chase as he recovered from the initial attack. He mainly did it out of anger and frustration, not really having a set plan for dealing with the thief. However, as the distance began to grow between them and Gavin fell further behind, he decided it might be best to deal with Crow another day.

He slowed to a stop and glared after the thief as he escaped from him. "Run while you can! Once Penelope finds out about this, it's all over!" he snapped as he caught his breath. It was likely better it worked out this way anyways. If he had captured Crow, Penelope would have likely found a way to get him free and if he had killed him, she'd likely never forgive him and be rather heartbroken. Now alone in the woods, he let out a long sigh as Penelope came to mind. Though he was eager to prove that he had been right all along, there was also a sense of bitterness that came with the idea of telling her the man she claimed to love was the enemy.

Even though Gavin believed that with time she would have changed her mind, he couldn't deny that she cared for the thief. To learn the truth would surely hurt her greatly. It's necessary though and I'll help her through it. he thought to ease a hint of guilt that he felt. He'd be by her side just like always and hopefully, that would be enough to help soften the damage the thief was sure to cause to her heart.

Turning the knight began to make his way alone back towards camp. It was late and he was a bit anxious to return back. Gavin remained on high alert, a bit paranoid that the thief would double back and try to use the element of surprise to finish him off before he had a chance to tell Penelope about all he had learned.
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Crow braced himself as Gavin brought up his sword to block his dagger. The sound of clashing metal filled his ears as the blades bounced off of each other, giving the thief just the momentum he needed to sprint for the surrounding woods. Taking advantage of the knight’s momentary surprise, he turned and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, weaving between the trees to lose the other man, whose footsteps he could hear pounding on the forest floor behind him.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before those footsteps began to fade as the distance between them grew. Crow glanced back over his shoulder as Gavin shouted one last threat at him just before he disappeared from his sight. However, even though it seemed like the knight had given up on pursuing him, he didn’t slow down quite yet. Heart hammering, the thief continued to race through the forest until he felt certain that he had left the other man far behind.

Eventually, the waterfall came into view up ahead, and that was when he finally slowed to a walk, panting lightly from the exertion of running all the way back from Myrefall. Now alone, he felt the frustration of what had happened all the more sharply. He couldn’t believe Gavin had caught him with Jaxon. It was the worst possible thing that could have happened, especially since the knight was just going to go straight to Penelope with everything he had seen. Now he was going to have to lie to her again when he would inevitably deny her ex suitor’s claims.

In a fit of anger, Crow stopped walking and swung a fist at the nearest tree, inhaling sharply as he felt the rough bark cut into his knuckle. The gesture did nothing to ease his inner turmoil. He pulled his arm back and clutched his bleeding hand in the other one, grimacing at the sting of the shallow scrape. It hurt, but he supposed it was better than taking out his frustrations on Gavin. If he had attacked the knight, he would have given him proof to bring back to Penelope of their encounter in the woods.

He let out his breath in a sigh and kept walking to the camp again, the pain of his cut somehow helping him calm down. As unfortunate as Gavin’s appearance had been, it wasn’t the end of the world yet. He felt sure that Penelope wouldn’t believe her former suitor over him, especially after the knight had already tried and failed to accuse him in the past. He would have to tread more carefully around the other man from now on, but as long as she still trusted him, he could still keep her safe.

Feeling a little better, Crow slipped quietly inside the cavern and made his way over to the sleeping area. After everything that had happened that night, he wanted nothing more than to get some sleep so he would be well rested to think through his next steps in the morning.
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Penelope let out a small yawn as she surveyed the treeline. She had taken over an extra guard shift since it was the least she could do after missing a battle. Her return back to camp had been messy to say the least. Luckily her brother and friends had made it out of the battle alive—though Layth had received a rather nasty wound on his left side that would likely leave him off duty for a while—and now it was just a matter of repairing all of what had been damaged. Mia seemed relieved that Penelope was back. It was clear to her that the baroness was now stressing a bit as their battalion was at a rather severe disadvantage until they received more supplies.

The female knight let out a long sigh and ran a hand through her hair, feeling worry grip at her. They needed to locate Jaxon before anymore damage could be dealt. If the murderous thief chose to keep attacking the battalion like they had, it wouldn't take long for Younis to over power them. The thought made her shfit uneasily. She couldn't let that happen.

Before her worries could spiral, some rustling caught her attention. The female knight blinked and moved to rest a hand on her sword warily eying the treeline. It wasn't long before she caught sign of moment and Gavin stepped into view. The male knight was walking at a brisk pace with a determined expression on his face. His dark gaze finally landed on Penelope and he visibly relaxed as relief flooded his features. Penelope blinked as she watched him hurry over to her. She hadn't seen him since they had first arrived at camp, which made her wonder where he had been all this time and what had caused for him to look so tense.

"Thank gods you're on guard duty tonight." he sighed as he reached her.

"Why? Gavin, where have you been? I haven't seen you since we first got back to camp." she gave him a confused look. "Did something happen?"

"You could say that." Gavin clenched his jaw and looked down at Penelope. He hesitated for a moment and then met her gaze. "After we got back to camp... I was angry. I mean, our camp is devastated after this last battle and we weren't even here for it." he shook his head. "I..I went after Crow."

Penelope's eyes widened at his words and she felt her heart beat anxiously. Had he done something to Crow in his state of anger?
She wasn't sure but the mere thought that he might have made her fearful. "You what?" she question with a twinge of both nervousness and frustration. "Gavin, what did you do?"

"Penelope, I didn't hurt him." he said, catching the hint of accusation in her voice. "I managed to track him down and I started following him.. I was just going to confront him about my suspicions again but it turns out I didn't even have to." He crossed his arms with a hint of confidence in his voice. "I caught him meeting up with whom I'm assuming is Jaxon."

The female knight stared at him for a moment, caught off guard by his words. It was a big leap to go from crafting together theories to outright claiming he had seen Crow speaking with the very criminal they were looking for. Either way, she didn't buy it. "Gavin," she sighed tiredly. "how do you even know it was Jaxon?"

"They talked about some sort of alliance and that he was apart of his group. I wasn't close enough to hear all of it but I'm certain the man he met with has to be linked to the raid and Crow is working with him. I'm telling you Penelope, he's a lying criminal who's responsible for the deaths of our comrades." Gavin insisted fiercely.

Penelope frowned a little. "Maybe you just misunderstood the meeting? We've never seen Jaxon before... Crow wouldn't turn traitor like that.. He hates Jaxon and he wouldn't betray me like that." Not to mention Jaxon had killed one of Crow's companions. The idea of the thief working alongside the very man that killed Simon seemed rather unlikely to her.

"I'm certain I didn't. I confronted him about it right after and he threatened me." Gavin growled. "He wouldn't tell me a thing about what they had talked about in further detail. He's guilty Penelope."

"Look.. I'll speak with him about it when we met into two days." Penelope sighed.

"He's just going to lie to you." Gavin shook his head vigorously. "He said he'd deny it tooth and nail. That you wouldn't believe me. Penelope, please, think about it. When have I ever lied to you?"

Gavin's tone turned a bit pleading as he looked at her hopefully. It caused the female knight to shift uneasily again, wishing there was a clear answer to all of this. She didn't think Gavin was lying—she had never known him to be a liar after all—but she couldn't bring herself to believe he was right about Crow. Surely there had to be another explanation. "I'll keep that in mind when I talk to him. I still think there's just a misunderstanding going on here though." she said and reached out to rest a hand on Gavin's shoulder. "You should go get some sleep now. You've had a long day and there's plenty of work to be done around camp tomorrow."

Gavin hesitated, opening his mouth slightly as he wanted to continue to insist his story but seemed to decide against it for now and merely nodded his head. "Fine.. Good night Penelope." he took a step closer to her and sighed. "Just please consider my words." With that he turned and headed off towards his tent, leaving Penelope alone with the rest of her guard shift.
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The next day, Crow spent most of his time with Hazel on a halfhearted search for Jaxon. The group of fugitives had split off into patrols of two—Alistair and Rikki made up the other—to scour the forest on the southeastern side of their camp in an attempt to find the band of thieves. Of course, he knew they would find nothing, since they weren’t even close to the part of the outer villages where Jaxon’s camp was really located, but he pretended to look anyway, so they wouldn’t know he knew more than them.

As he had expected, they came away empty-handed at the end of the day and had to turn around with no new information about the criminals they were after. The failure of the hunt was beginning to take its toll on Hazel, who broke down crying on their walk back. The sight of her tears sent a stab of pain through Crow’s heart, but he had no words to console her. How could he even try, when he was the sole reason why they hadn’t caught her husband’s killer? So instead of offering any words of sympathy, he said nothing and simply waited for her to let out her frustrations without interruption as they headed back to the camp.

The second day didn’t go much better either. This time, Alistair went with Hazel, and Crow went with Rikki as they searched the northeastern side of the forest. At first, Crow kept his guard raised high around the female thief, but as time passed, it became clear that she didn’t intend to make any moves on him today. He supposed her new tactic was to strategically time her attempts when Penelope was around, since he had proven to her that he wasn’t going to do anything with her behind the knight’s back. Besides that, she was surprisingly focused in her search for Jaxon. He had never seen her put so much effort into anything before. He hadn’t realized it until now, but Simon’s death must have impacted her much more than she had originally let on.

So, by the end of the day, when they had found no trace of the thieves they were after yet again, she was in an especially foul mood.

“That rotten, no-good bastard,” she cursed viciously as they walked back to their camp, empty-handed once more. “I want to wring his neck!”

Crow flinched slightly at the intensity of her voice. “I’m sure we’ll find him eventually,” he said slowly, trying to reassure her. “The outer villages are vast, but he can’t hide forever.”

“Yeah, well he’s doing a pretty damn good job so far,” Rikki shook her head and raked her fingers through her hair, causing the long, black waves to cascade around her slender neck. “I just don’t get it. We’ve been searching for him everywhere, and there’s been no trace. How can anyone be so skilled at hiding their tracks?”

Because we’re not even close to the place where he set up camp, Crow answered silently. “I don’t know,” he lied. “But no one is perfect. He’ll slip up eventually, and when he does, we’ll catch him.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I just wish he would hurry up and make that mistake already.” He expression turned cold. “I want to make him pay for what he did to Simon.”

Crow nodded wordlessly. He understood her hatred of Jaxon perhaps better than anyone else. Not only had he lost one of his closest companions, but the murderer was now threatening the life of the woman he loved. He wanted to see the thief leader’s head roll probably even more than she did, but he couldn’t do anything about it. As long as Jaxon had his sword against the knight’s throat, his hands were tied. The murderer would continue to roam free, and there was nothing that he or anyone else could do to stop him.

Rikki seemed to catch his desolate look and placed a hand comfortingly on his arm. “Come on,” she said quietly. “Let’s hurry back for supper. Maybe we’ll have better luck tomorrow.”

“Maybe,” Crow nodded, averting his gaze so she wouldn’t see him grimace at the lie. He followed her lead as she picked up her pace, eager to get back to the camp and forget about their futile search for Jaxon as the next problem of how he would approach Penelope that night arose in its place.

--

Crow spoke little to his companions as they all sat around the hearth for supper together. Fortunately, his silence didn’t stand out, since they were all in a sour mood from the unproductive patrols. However, while they were probably all mulling over their failure to find Jaxon, he was busy formulating the lie he would tell the knight to convince her that Gavin had been lying about his meeting with the killer. He needed to come up with something solid enough to throw her off without leaving room for suspicion.

Once he felt like he’d come up with a reasonably believable story, he set his empty plate aside and rose to his feet, stepping over to grab his cloak in preparation to leave for their next meeting. He murmured a quick goodbye to the others and then walked out into the brisk night air, sending up a prayer to the gods that she would believe him as he made his way north towards the clearing where they had last met during the night.
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The following days felt just as hectic as the day prior. The knights were still scrambling to repair their camp and prepare for any future attacks. It left a rather unified sense of anxiousness amongst all of her comrades and Penelope was no exception. Having felt a little guilty for not being there when Younis attacked, she put in extra effort in helping to make sure the camp recovered.

Her report to Mia and the other barons didn't go over well. Since her lead had gotten them to a dead end, it was clear that Mia had no intentions of letting her wander off on another patrol anytime soon. Penelope didn't argue against it much. She doubted much would change Mia's mind at the moment and aside from that, she didn't want to leave the camp with the state it was currently in. Whatever plans her and Crow would make during their meeting would have to wait until she felt the camp had recovered enough for her to leave again.

Speaking of Crow, there was still the issue of whatever Gavin had caught him doing. The male knight hadn't let her forget that and brought it up on occasion, pestering her in hopes of her opinion about it changing. Unfortunately for him, it wouldn't. At least not until she spoke with Crow about it. Still, parts of his story did unsettle the knight slightly, even though she refused to admit it out loud.

Eventually night fell and it came time for her to sneak off to see Crow. She let out a small yawn, tired from the work she had put it, and slipped quietly out of her tent. It had been a while since the last time she had to sneak off to meet him so nearly felt a bit rusty at it as she carefully snuck past a couple of her comrades. She had nearly reached the edge of the camp when she noticed Gavin was positioned on guard duty. The knight let out a small sigh, already guessing that he had done so purposely. She was tempted to try and sneak around him but decided there was no point in doing so. He already knew she was going to see Crow after all. She stepped out into his view and gave him a small nod of acknowledgement.

"Off already?" he asked her with a concerned look.

"Yes. It's late enough." Penelope replied with a shrug. "I'll see you later Gavin."

"Penelope," he frowned. "please be careful. And remember what I told you. He's going to lie."

"I'm still certain you're wrong about this." she muttered and shook her head. "I'll be fine." With that, she turned and began to make her way towards the clearing at a brisk pace.
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As Crow made his way through the woods, he recited the story he was going to tell Penelope in his head. The more he thought about it, the more his worries gave way to peace. Penelope had made it clear that she trusted him, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to get her to let go of whatever Gavin had told her, and that was if she even believed her former suitor in the first place. The only thing he was still concerned about was if the stubborn knight chose to follow her again.

He shuddered slightly as the image of Gavin’s furious expression appeared in his mind. The knight already had a tendency to tail others, so the thief wouldn’t put it past him to do it one more time. It would be much harder to get Penelope to listen to him while her ex suitor was screaming “liar” in her ear the whole time. He hoped she had been able to get away from her camp alone, so they wouldn’t have to put up with the man’s impulse to get involved in things he should have kept his nose out of.

When he eventually reached the clearing, Crow stood with his back against a tree, forcing himself to stay still despite how tempted he was to pace in anticipation. He wanted to appear as calm as possible when Penelope showed up, so she wouldn’t have any reason to suspect how restless he really was. So, instead of walking in circles around the small space, he contented himself by fidgeting with the hilt of his dagger beneath his cloak. The motion helped to relieve some of the nervous energy inside of him, and the thick fabric of his cloak made it difficult to see in case the knight walked up anytime soon.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long before he saw a figure step out of the trees. Crow looked up and was relieved to see that it was Penelope. He glanced past her shoulder towards the woods she had come out of, but it looked like she was alone. He narrowed his eyes slightly. Despite the fact that it looked like Gavin hadn’t followed her this time, he didn’t want to take any chances. The knight could have easily followed her without her knowledge again.

Recovering from his moment of suspicion quickly, he stepped away from the tree to meet Penelope halfway across the clearing, grinning at her excitedly. When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her in an eager embrace and leaned in to kiss her. However, just before their lips met, he paused and looked up again with a frown. “Are we alone this time?” he asked softly, gazing into the trees with a concerned expression and hoping she would mistake his worry about her ex suitor for worry that their moment of privacy would be interrupted.
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Penelope kept alert as she traveled towards the meeting place. Gavin didn't try to push his way into the meeting this time so she assumed that he was planning to remain at camp on his guard shift. However, she couldn't be too sure knowing him and keep a lookout for signs of the other knight following her. There weren't any so she eventually relaxed as she neared the clearing where Crow was.

As the thief came into sight, she smiled a little, finding her heartbeat excitedly to see him again. They hadn't been separated for long but after all the chaos going on in her camp,it had felt much longer. She moved to meet him in the middle as he walked towards her and quickly returned his embrace. As he leaned in to kiss her and then stopped to ask if they were alone, the knight blinked and frowned slightly as he reminded her of the issue with Gavin. Though she had been planning to bring it up to him anyways, she had been hoping to put it off for a little bit.

"I believe so. He's on a guard shift and he wasn't trying to get me to let him come with me." she responded as she looked up at his concerned gaze. It seemed he was just concerned about Gavin interrupting them again, which confused her a little since she was surprised he didn't mention anything about having run into the male knight the two days ago. Penelope hesitated and then pulled back from him slightly as she met his gaze.

"Speaking of Gavin," she spoke slowly, still a bit hesitant to bring it up. "the day we parted, he said that he tracked you down and saw you meeting with some man." The knight shifted a bit uneasily as she studied his gaze. "He seems convinced it was Jaxon because of whatever he heard you two talking about. What happened that night?"
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Crow nodded, feeling relieved when Penelope said she didn’t think Gavin had followed her this time. Just to be sure, he casted one more look at the forest around them but, seeing no movement or other signs that they were being watched, he let himself relax. Without her stubborn ex suitor around, it was going to be easier for him to convince her that that the knight had fabricated the story of his meeting with Jaxon, and he wouldn’t have to worry about arguing with anyone to prove himself.

“Speaking of Gavin…”

Here it comes, Crow thought, turning back to Penelope with a confused look, as if he wasn’t sure what she was about to say. While she went on to tell him when Gavin had told her, he listened quietly without interrupting to defend himself. He had been hoping she would be able to tell him a little more about what her former suitor had overheard of his conversation with Jaxon, but it seemed like she didn’t know very much either. At least, she wasn’t telling him if she did know.

“Gods, I told him not to tell you that,” he groaned, shaking his head in frustration. “The hardheaded fool…” Turning back to Penelope, he offered her a hapless smile. “I was going to tell you this on my own, but after we parted ways two days ago, I found another potential lead in Myrefall. One of the men of the village overheard me and my companions talking about Jaxon and approached us to say that he may know where we can find him. He knows how dangerous the men in Jaxon’s group can be, so he refused to talk until after nightfall, when we could be sure we were alone.”

He shrugged, “Anyway, I went out to meet with him, and he told me that he heard rumors of a band of thieves in Black Hollow. He thinks they’re the ones we’re looking for.” His smile grew slightly more hopeful. “I know it’s not much, and it will be difficult to convince your baroness to let you leave again, but it’s better than nothing right?”
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Penelope listened as he explained that the man he had met with was someone with a potential lead for them. She felt a small spark of hope at the mention of a new lead. After feeling like everything was going down hill after losing Jaxon's trail in Wheldrake and returning to the aftermath of a battle, the knight was relatively quick to cling onto the same hope that Crow seemed to be showing.

"It's definitely something." she agreed with an eager nod. "Although... I'm not certain if I'll be able to look into it with you this time." She paused and frowned, lowering her gaze for a moment. "The day we were coming back from Wheldrake, a battle occurred and my camp's in a pretty bad state at the moment. My baroness definitely won't let me leave right now while we're recovering and honestly, I don't think I should until things are a little more stable."

Penelope fell quiet for a brief moment. She was getting too caught up in her hopes of taking down Jaxon that she was buying perhaps a little too easily into Crow's words. The knight trusted him but there were a few things that didn't quite add up to her as she thought about it. While normally she wouldn't bother to press about it, Gavin would be expecting answers when she returned and if she wasn't able to clear up what had happened enough, then she feared he would try tracking Crow down again.

"But then, what happened between you and Gavin when he found you?" she asked with a hint of confusion. "He said that when he confronted you about you threatened him and there was something mentioned about how you'd deny everything that happened to me.. Gavin seemed pretty certain you were speaking with an enemy."
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Crow frowned when Penelope said she didn’t think she would be able to follow the “lead” with him. He would have thought she’d be excited to go on another trip with him, if not for the prospect of catching Jaxon, then at least to be able to spend more time with him. Her hesitation struck him as unusual. However, as she went on to tell him that her camp had been attacked while they were gone, his eyes widened in shock. It seemed like the Younisians weren’t wasting any time in taking advantage of the band of thieves’ efforts to give them a foothold in the war. He shuddered to think what would happen if the planned second raid was successful. If the Brerratic battalion was going to survive another attack, it sounded like they were in desperate need of that next shipment of supplies. Again, he found that he had to bite his tongue to keep from telling her about the thieves’ intentions.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured honestly, holding her close to himself in an attempt to offer her some comfort. The war was taking a turn for the worse much more quickly than he had expected. At the current rate, it wouldn’t be much longer before the Younisians overwhelmed the northern battalion and conquered the outer villages as a whole. Even though the battles had been going on for about a year now, neither kingdom had managed to take over that much territory yet. If Younis did, it could be the leverage the enemy kingdom needed to finally crush his homeland. The thought made him swallow nervously.

Crow was drawn from his worried musings when Penelope spoke up again to ask him about his confrontation with Gavin. He took a calming breath, trying to stay focused on the matter at hand. Right now wasn’t the time to fret about the outcome of the war, when the more pressing matter at hand was convincing her that her former suitor was mistaken about his meeting with Jaxon. Fortunately, he had prepared for a question like this too.

Pulling back to meet her gaze, he laughed uncomfortably. “Right, well… that was sort of my fault,” he admitted, shifting his weight awkwardly. “When he jumped at me out of nowhere, he took me by surprise. I was upset, both with him for eavesdropping on what was supposed to be a private conversation and with myself for being careless enough not to notice him spying, and I didn’t handle it in the most mature way.” He offered her a bashful smile. “When he started questioning me, my gut response was to be as unreasonable as I could, so I refused to answer anything he asked about.

“As for the threats, he already had his sword out and, like I said, I was mad, so they just… came out, I guess.” He shrugged. “That was when he said he was going to tell you that I was meeting with an enemy, which of course I was going to deny. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?” He scoffed and shook his head. “In hindsight, I suppose I didn’t handle the situation very well, but what can I say? He startled me, and I didn’t have time to think anything through. I just can’t believe he actually went through with trying to convince you I was meeting with Jaxon of all people.”
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Penelope gave a small nod as Crow explained himself. She felt a little relieved at hearing his explanation as it became more obvious to her that her guess that it had been a misunderstanding had been correct. A small part of her must have been a little spooked by Gavin's words but now everything seemed to make sense. Gavin had admitted to only hearing a small portion of what the two had talked about anyways so it wasn't difficult to assume that he had gotten things mixed in his eavesdropping.

"You know how paranoid he is." she said with a small sigh. "He didn't even think Jaxon was real until he thought you were working with him." The knight shook her head and leaned into him. "I just hope I can convince him he was wrong before he does anything irrational about it. I think seeing the aftermath of the battle really pushed him over the edge with all of this...The sooner we can track down Jaxon the better."

The knight felt worry stirr inside of her as she thought about the possibility of Jaxon and his thieves striking the camp again. The war would easily swing in the favor of the other kingdom and there was a big chance that she would lose family and friends because of it. There was already enough risk of that during the battles but being put at a disadvantage would increase that—signs of it could already be seen in the wound that Layth had sustained in the recent fight. Not to mention her life was on the line as well. She didn't think about it often, as she was more focused on keeping her loved ones safe, but there was just as much of a chance of her getting engulfed in the flames of battle as the others. Penelope shifted to hold Crow a little tighter. She had never particularly been afraid of death but she had always been afraid of losing her future—especially now that it included Crow again.

The knight paused and looked up at him before giving an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I had to question you about it. Gavin's been breathing down my neck about this ever since he came back that night.. I just needed to hear an explanation for everything he was saying." she said and then leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. Penelope smiled at him as she pulled back. "On completely different note, having to go back to meeting like this is going to be hell after traveling with you so much."
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Crow could see Penelope visibly relax as she bought his explanation for the past events. The sight brought him a strange mixture of relief and guilt. On one hand, now that she believed him again, he wouldn’t have to worry about watching his step around her for a while, but on the other hand, he had lied to her again, and that alone was enough to make his stomach churn. After all of the promises he’d made to try harder to be the man she deserved, he was falling right back into old habits like they were second nature. He wished he could genuinely get on track to being honest with her, but unfortunately, everything and everyone continued to stand in the way of that dream. He just hoped it would all be over soon, so he could be free to earnestly live up to her expectations.

He nodded wordlessly when she spoke about tracking down Jaxon, wishing he could agree with her, but knowing things would never be so easy. As she held him tighter, he mirrored her gesture, feeling a surge of protectiveness at the thought that Jaxon could still deem his word broken after everything that had happened with Gavin and come after her. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. He didn’t know what he would do if the murderer took her life or if she died in a one-sided battle against the Younisians.

At her apology, he shook his head. “I knew it was coming,” he sighed, gently stroking her back with one hand. “Gavin left in such a fit that I figured he would try to pull something like this. Hopefully he’ll back down now that you know the truth about what really happened.” Again, he loathed himself for how smoothly the deceitful words flowed off his tongue. He wished he didn’t find it so easy to lie to her, but he couldn’t help it. It didn’t matter how close they had become. The habits had simply become too deeply ingrained in him for their relationship to make any difference in how he treated her.

“On the bright side, at least we don’t have anyone else around to give us nasty looks,” Crow said optimistically when she mentioned going back to their regular meetings. His eyes wandered desirously to her soft lips. “And there’s no one around to stop me from doing this either.” In the next moment, he leaned in to press a deep kiss to her lips, pressing one hand to the small of her back and the other to the nape of her neck as he pulled her close to himself. His heart pounded as he forgot about the troubles they faced and focused instead on the woman in front of him, kissing her passionately in the dark.
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Penelope gave a small nod as he assured her that he knew the questioning was coming. She was glad that he didn't seem to hold any hurt feelings because of it. Now she could only hope that Gavin would understand the situation and believe her when she told him Crow wasn't the enemy he thought he was. It wouldn't be easy to convince the male knight. He had already made it very clear multiple times that he believed Crow to be the one responsible for the raid on the camp.

She looked up at him, noticing his eyes drift down to her lips as he spoke. The knight smiled and eagerly met his lips as he kissed her. Letting out a soft sigh, she sank into his lips, enjoying their closeness. It was a much needed distraction from all the worries she had and his touch easily got her heart racing excitedly. She eventually pulled back and grinned at him. "That is one bonus I suppose." she mused softly before moving in to press a series of kisses along his neck.

As she got down near his collarbone, she stopped and let out a small sigh as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I probably shouldn't stay too long tonight. This week is going to be a long one because of the attack." she mumbled, closing her eyes as she still tried to enjoy the short time they did have together. "In fact, it'll probably be a while before we can meet up again.. Maybe five or six days?" She frowned a little at that. They hadn't been separated that long since his illness had been at it's worse and she certainly didn't want to go back to meeting only once a week, especially after getting to spend so much time with him as of late. However, her camp needed her and she couldn't afford to be sneaking out a lot while they did. "I wish we could make it sooner but I don't think I'll be able to get away from camp very much right now. I barely managed today."
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Crow shivered at the feeling of Penelope’s lips moving against his skin, and he closed his eyes, enjoying the time they had alone. He trailed his hands absently down her sides, slowly making his way towards the hem of her shirt, but then paused when he felt her stop kissing him to rest her head against his shoulder. Looking down at her, he frowned disappointedly as she said that she shouldn’t stay out too long that night. Considering everything that had happened at her camp, he supposed he shouldn’t have been so surprised. It was lucky that she had even been able to come out to meet with him for as long as she already had.

As she went on to say that they probably couldn’t see each other again for a while, he nodded faintly and closed his eyes again as he rested his head against hers. The thought of going nearly a week before they could meet next was disappointing to him, but he could understand why she would need so much time. So, as much as he wished they could see each other sooner, he decided it would be better not to pester her over the timing of it.

He was just about to agree to five days, when another thought suddenly entered his mind that made him falter. He had almost forgotten that he was supposed to be meeting with Jaxon again in exactly five more nights. If he scheduled another rendezvous with Penelope then, the other thief would probably assume he was running and go after her. He shuddered as he realized just how close he had come to making such a terrible mistake.

Turning his head slightly, Crow pressed a few gentle kisses along the side of Penelope’s neck. “I understand,” he sighed. “But… do you think you could manage to get away in four days?” He kissed her once more, lingering for a little longer this time before he pulled away to give her a pleading smile. “I know you’ve got a lot going on in your camp, but I don’t want to wait so long before I see you again.” He leaned in to meet her lips in a deep kiss, nipping playfully at her bottom lip before he pulled back just enough to murmur flirtatiously: “Next time we can make the meeting no business and all pleasure. What do you say, love?”
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Penelope sighed serenely as he began to press a few kisses along the side of her neck. She was enjoying the feeling of his lips on her skin again until he stopped to try and change the number of days before their next meeting. The knight was a bit hesitant to change it, given that she wasn't so certain she could make it in four days. However, as he kissed her deeply, she already began to be swayed by his words. Surely it wouldn't be too harmful to meet him just a day earlier than she was already planning.

At his flirtatious words, the knight smiled at him and gave a soft giggle. "Alright you win." Her gaze studied his for moment and she brushed a strand of hair back from his face as she felt a swell of affection for the thief. "It's hard to say no when you say it like that." she murmured with a coy smirk as she leaned in slightly to teasingly brush her lips against his before pressing in with a tender kiss.

After a moment, she pulled back and let out a small sigh, feeling reluctant to move from his arms. She wished she could stay out longer but knew that likely would be wise as there was much to do and she needed to be prepared. It was going to be difficult to go back to their normal meetings. The thought of seeing him in four days nearly made her want to find a way to accompany him on a trip to Black Hollow. However, that wasn't possible at the moment. "I should get going before it gets any later." she mumbled and pressed a kiss to his cheek before letting him go and moving to step out of his embrace. "I love you and I'll see you in four days."
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As Penelope giggled and agreed to meet him in four days, Crow couldn’t help but grin. He always liked the sound of her laughter. It was both endearing and calming to him, and he took pride in being able to draw it out of her. He leaned in when she moved to kiss him and then chuckled softly as she teased him before meeting his lips. Her playfulness sent his heart racing, and he wished they had more time to be together. At least now, they would only have to wait four more days before the next time they met like this. Surely he could manage that much, especially considering the fact that they’d had to go whole weeks apart for a while before.

When Penelope eventually pulled away from him, he nodded at her words. “I shouldn’t keep you then,” he sighed, letting his arms fall as she stepped out of his embrace. “I love you too… Be safe.” He added the last part after a moment’s pause as he was reminded again of Jaxon’s threats. But it wasn’t even just that anymore. Now that her camp was at such a disadvantage against the Younisians, she was also in danger of getting swept up in another battle. If the thief didn’t kill her first, the enemy knights still could.

It’s just four days, he thought, taking a calming breath. She’ll be fine. Right now, he needed to focus on more pressing things, such as how he was going to play off his latest lie about hearing a rumor in Black Hollow. With no way out of it now, it looked like he and the other thieves were going on yet another time-wasting trip to the northern village. He sighed. It was going to be a long four days.

With nothing left to say to Penelope, Crow leaned down to touch a final parting kiss to her lips and turned to head back to his camp for the night.
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"You too." Penelope replied as he told her to be safe. She leaned in to meet his lips for a parting kiss before turning to head off towards her camp. She let out a small sigh as she walked, glancing back once over her shoulder towards where Crow had left. The knight wished she could have stayed out a bit later like usual but knew she needed to get back to camp so she picked up her pace slightly as she focused her gaze back ahead.

--

It wasn't long before she reached the knight's camp, however, she hesitated at the edge of the forest as her gaze landed on Gavin. She had been thinking about how to approach him during her return. Knowing how paranoid the male knight was with Crow, she figured it was best to face him right away and explain the situation as Crow had. Though, she wasn't quite sure how well he would take it given how certain he was about Crow meeting with Jaxon. She inhaled quietly before moving out of the forest and into view as she walked towards Gavin.

The male knight spotted her quickly and perked up upon seeing her returning to camp. "You're back. How did it go?" he asked studying her gaze. He frowned slightly. "You did confront him about it right?"

"I did." she said with a small nod. She paused and then let out a soft exhale. "Gavin, I think you just jumped to conclusions when you saw him meeting with that man. He told me it was just someone with a possible lead to Jaxon."

"And you believe him? Penelope, I told you he was going to lie to you." Gavin said with a hint of frustration seeping into his voice.

"I know. But I think his story checks out. I asked him about the threats and all but it just seemed to be a moment of poor choice on his part." Penelope explained shaking her head. "He even talked about the man telling him about a lead up in Black Hollow."

"Bull shit." Gavin growled quietly. "He's lying to you, Penelope. I didn't hear one mention of Black Hollow or any lead."

"You barely heard anything at all." Penelope retorted as she crossed her arms.

"Well what I did hear doesn't match up with that at all. He mentioned a 'suspicious knight' which I can only assume was me and what about the alliance I talked about?" Gavin argued.

Penelope rolled her eyes as Gavin went on, even adding new information. "Gavin, they were probably just talking about them working together because of the lead and a suspicious knight doesn't mean you. Can you just drop this already?"

Gavin clenched his jaw and shook his head. He looked ready to argue further but hesitated. "What if I can prove I'm right?"

"And how would you do that?" she questioned raising an eyebrow at him.

"They mentioned something about a week. So in about five days something should happen.. I think either another meeting or a raid. Will you believe me then?" he asked hopefully.

Penelope pursed her lips together, getting a bit annoyed with how certain he was that Crow had been meeting with Jaxon. "Enough Gavin." she muttered. "It's getting late and I'm tired. Nothing is going to happen."

"But Penelope-"

"Goodnight Gavin." She said curtly before walking off towards her tent to settle down for the night.
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