Penelope watched as her comrades hurried around preparing for the ambush on the thief's camp. It was nearly night but with their plans to leave for the camp had just been made and the selected knights were hurrying to get ready so they wouldn't have to waste much time in the morning when they finally set out for the trip. She was glad that everything seemed to be coming together well. The barons had approved to give her a good number of knights and they had even agreed to let her lead it alone. Now it was just a matter of time before they would leave and put an end to the murderous thieves that were threatening them. "Looks like we're nearly ready." Gavin mused as he moved to step up besides her. Penelope had specifically asked to include Gavin and Olivia in her patrol. Both wanted to see the mission through to the end and it was likely safer for Gavin to leave camp than to stay while he still had a target on his back. He swept his gaze over the camp before his dark gaze moved to rest on her with a look of concern. "How are you doing?" he asked in a softer tone. "I'm alright." Penelope answered, lowering her gaze. That wasn't quite true. She still felt like a mess and the only reason she seemed put together was because she managed to distract herself with the work that needed to be done to capture Jaxon. Now that things were slowing down for the night, she could already feel her mind wandering to the thief and what he had done. Gavin studied her expression for a moment and frowned slightly. He moved to rest a hand on her back. "You can talk to me about it you know... Why don't we go find a spot to sit down?" he offered. "No." She mumbled and shook her head. The knight let out a small sigh and stepped away from her friend. "I'm sorry, Gavin. But.. I think I just want to be alone for a little while." "Alright.. Just come find me if you need me." Gavin said before turning to walk off. Penelope watched him go for a moment before heading off to her tent. Now that the day was winding down to an end and she had a plan to deal with Jaxon, she needed to start figuring out what to do with Crow. She slipped into her tent and laid back on her bed, silently staring up at the ceiling of it as she thought about all that she had learned and all that the thief had done. It was painful to think about and she already felt her eyes growing tearful again but now that she was alone, she didn't shy away from it. She let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes, causing a couple tears to stray down her cheeks. [i]I just need to figure out what's important and what I want...[/i] she thought, reminding herself of what Gavin had told her. The knight considered what she wanted. For a while now it had been the future she had talked about with Crow. At the thought of it, she felt herself still yearn for that life after the war. The very thought that letting him go and giving that future up was on the table made the knight feel a fresh wave of heartache. It made one thing to her clear; she didn't want to give Crow up. She wanted to figure things out with him and hope that he'd be on her side from here on out. But she wasn't sure if she could afford to do that. Penelope loved him but there were other people she cared about that she wanted to protect too. If something like this occurred again, trusting Crow could put everyone else at risk. She ran a hand through her hair as she thought of how he was the night before, how hurt he had seemed at her unwillingness to trust him again. [i]What if it was just a bad mistake?[/i] The knight shifted a bit at that thought. He had lied to her before, that was true, but it had never been anything to this damaging extent. He had kept secrets, a couple had hurt like how she had found out about him kissing Rikki, but they had never been this big. She had forgiven him for all of those. Perhaps she could forgive him just one more time. If it had just been him trying to protect her, even if it was in a way that she didn't approve of, she didn't want to let him over it. Once they caught Jaxon, she'd know that he was telling the truth and from there, she might be able to talk things out with him. It sparked a small flame of hope in the knight and put her a bit at ease now that she had figured out what would come next. A bit of unease still lingered about the lead he had given her, as there was still a chance he could be lying, but for now, she decided not to focus on it. After all, she'd find out soon enough. ---- The next day came quick and Penelope didn't even remember when she had fallen asleep. It must have been some time after she had made her decision about Crow. As she stepped out of her tent, she felt her heart beat anxiously. The time had come for the knights to begin their journey to Wheldrake where they would, hopefully, ambush the murderous thieves. She grabbed a quick breakfast, barely eating any of it, before she moved to wait for her patrol to gather. It wasn't long before the other knights joined her and among them were Gavin and Olivia. Her two friends kept near the front. Olivia looked tired but didn't complain like usual and Gavin stepped up besides Penelope with a half-hearted smile. "Ready for this?" he asked quietly. "As I'll ever be I suppose.. Are you?" she replied as she studied his gaze. "Yeah. I just hope you're right about trusting this.." Gavin mumbled as he shifted his gaze back ahead. "Me too." Penelope sighed as she felt her stomach churn at his words. Without waiting any longer, she signaled for the patrol to begin its departure and lead the way out of camp and towards Wheldrake.