The following days didn't come easily for the knight. If the battle wasn't enough, the random attacker in the middle of the night set the whole camp on further edge and Penelope was no exception. She had still convinced herself that it was a failed raid and the barons seemed convinced of that as well. As Gavin had predicted, the camp was much more on guard. In fact, the barons had decided to up the number of guards, placing two in each spot. While it wasn't a bad idea, it stretched their numbers thin, causing for to pick up extra shifts. 

On top of that, Penelope had also caved to Gavin's insistence of following Crow to find out the truth. It seemed like it was enough to make the male knight stop constantly pestering, as he appeared overly certain that she would find out Crow was indeed lying to her. It wasn't a very comforting sentiment, especially since she still had lingering doubts and worries since the night he was attacked.  

Surely it was just Gavin getting into her head though. She had to remind herself that it didn't make sense for Crow to be working for Jaxon. While Gavin might not have known about the history Crow had with the group, she did. She had seen first hand the regret he held about even joining that group and how he had loathed the murderous thief. All of that surely couldn't have been a lie so there was really no reason for Crow to be working for Jaxon. At least, not one that she could think of. 

---

As their fourth day apart came to its end, Penelope felt a tangle of emotions in her stomach. She was excited to see him again, especially after having to be apart longer this time, but the uncertainty about the truth weighed her down slightly. It made her feel a bit anxious, wanting to both hurry to see him and avoid the meeting at the same time—especially when she realized that if they had waited five days it would have lined up with whatever meeting Gavin suspected was happening. 

She let out a long sigh, trying to push away her worries. [i]I'm getting worked up over nothing..[/i] she told herself firmly as she prepared to leave. [i]Tomorrow night will come and Gavin will see that he's wrong and I'm right. There's no sense in ruining tonight just because I'm a little worried.[/i] Regaining a little confidence, she slipped out of her camp, having to be extra careful due to the extra guards, and headed for the meeting place. 

Penelope walked at a fast pace and kept her gaze focused ahead as she walked. It wasn't long before the clearing came into view and with it the familiar figure of Crow. Her heart beated excitedly but her stomach churned nervously as she made her way over. Doing her best to ignore the two clashing emotions, she stepped into view and made her way over to him. "Hey stranger." she greeted with a grin.