Now that he had a way to keep warm, the pain in Crow’s body finally began to pass. He laid on the bed with his eyes closed, relaxing into the peacefulness of being able to breathe easily after spending most of the morning—or what he guessed was the morning—forced to hold his breath every time the ache got worse.

Absently, he noticed that the injury was making him grateful for things he normally didn’t even think about, such as simply being alive without pain or being able to inhale without his breath catching in his throat from said pain. The thoughts put him in a strange mood that he wasn’t sure he liked, but since he was trapped in the physician’s tent with nothing else to do, he couldn’t help but dwell on them.

“Thank you.”

Crow opened his eyes and looked across the room at Gavin, surprised to hear him speak up. Since Jane had left, the two men had fallen into a somewhat awkward silence. Crow hadn’t been sure how to approach him, since he was still just getting used to the idea that the knight didn’t want him dead anymore. He wasn’t sure what was going on in Gavin’s head, but it was clear that the other man didn’t feel comfortable speaking openly with him either. For him to say something now, especially an expression of gratitude, was strange.

“For what?” the thief asked, unsure what the knight was talking about.

Gavin shifted slightly in his chair. “I hadn’t said it before, but… I saw what you did in the battle,” he explained slowly, seeming uncomfortable with talking so openly with a criminal. “If you hadn’t stopped that sword, Penelope would be dead right now, so… thank you.”

Crow stared at him, not expecting to hear the knight say that he’d witnessed his exchange with Jaxon in the thieves’ camp. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “I just did what I had to,” he said with a shrug, looking away from the other man again to gaze up at the canopy. He could see Gavin observing him from the corner of his eye, and he wondered if the knight was going to add something else. However, before he had a chance, the flap of the tent pulled back as another person entered the room.

Crow turned, expecting that Jane had returned to check up on him again, but instead, his heart skipped excitedly as he saw Penelope step inside. His lip curved upward into a smile of its own accord, but in the next moment, he faltered slightly when he noticed something seemed off about her. She was acting quieter than usual, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something had happened since the last time he’d seen her. What if the conversation with her barons didn’t go well? He swallowed nervously.

The thief watched her in silent contemplation as she spoke briefly with Gavin before walking up to his bedside. At her question, he paused before answering. In truth, he was feeling worse today than the day before, but he felt fairly certain his pain was only because of the brisk night. So, not wanting to worry Penelope unnecessarily, he chose to respond with a simple: “I’m alright.”

He offered her a smile and reached out to take her hand, longing for her touch. “I mean, I’m doing as well as I can be in this condition,” he added and then frowned as he held her gaze, hoping to find out why she seemed more subdued than normal. “Did you have a chance to speak with your barons yet?

Penelope intertwined her fingers with his as he took her hand. She gave a small nod of understanding at his words. Her own near fatal injury from the mercenary had taken her quite some time to heal from in the past. She could still recall being bedridden for over a week and how restricting it could be with both the inability to move as well as the pain that came from even moving slightly. She was about to reply to him but fell short as she noticed him frown and go on to ask her about speaking with her barons.

"I just got done doing that actually." she admitted with a small nod. Thinking he was worried about the outcome of her meeting, she gave him a half-hearted smile. "It didn't go too terribly. The barons were a bit reluctant but they agreed to my choices for guards." she assured him then hesitated as she thought of the small issue with Layth and potentially other less than friendly knights. Her smile faded slightly and she moved to lean down against the bed so she could be closer to him.

"There might be one problem though.." she admitted softly as she lowered her gaze. "I got control of the guard but they're only here to make sure you don't cause trouble... The barons made it clear that if other knights wanted a word with you, they were entitled to it.. Especially Layth." Penelope shook her head and let out a quiet sigh. "I couldn't argue against that and I'm not sure how much I or any other guard can protect you if they do choose to utilize that fact."

Penelope gave his hand a soft squeeze and looked over at him with an apologetic gaze. "I'm sorry.. I would have fought them on it if I could but that'd just draw more attention to our relationship and I don't think we can risk much more of that right now."

Crow felt a wave of relief when Penelope said that her barons had agreed to the guards she had chosen for him. It would be nice to not have to worry about being attacked in his sleep by a bitter knight while he was stuck recovering in their camp. Even if some of his guards weren’t overly fond of him, he would at least be able to rest easy knowing that Penelope had deemed them safe enough to leave with him unattended. He was glad that she had managed to protect him one more time.

However, the moment of respite didn’t last long before Penelope added something he wasn’t as thrilled to hear. As she leaned closer to tell him that Layth had been given permission to stop by unannounced, the thief felt a shiver of nervousness run up his spine. Her brother probably hated him more than any other knights in the camp. After their fight in Grimsby and his last escape from the ‘interrogation,’ he dreaded to think what the temperamental man might do if he decided to visit while he was unable to defend himself this time.

Crow squeezed Penelope’s hand subconsciously, his heart beginning to pound as his instinct to run kicked in. He hated feeling so vulnerable, but with a severe wound still fresh in his abdomen, there was nothing he could do if Layth chose to interrogate him again. It was already going to be hard enough to heal from the injury he had. He couldn’t imagine recovering from being impaled and having the rest of his body be battered from another round of ‘questioning.’ If Layth and his goons were as vicious as they had been the last time, they might even kill him while he was too weak to even eat. The thought made him shift restlessly.

Taking a shaky breath to calm down, he shook his head. “No, it’s not your fault,” he said, looking up to meet Penelope’s gaze again. “You were right not to fight it. Layth could have used your objection to put his own guards in place.” He offered her a halfhearted smile, tracing his thumb gently over her hand. “If putting up with your hardheaded brother means you’ll get to keep working as a lieutenant, then that’s just what I’ll have to do.”

As Crow reassured her, Penelope gave an uncertain look. While she was glad that he wasn't upset with this outcome, she couldn't help but wish there was something more she could do. She hated feeling like her hands were so tied in this situation, one wrong move and their relationship could be discovered but if she didn't fight back against some decisions, Crow would be put at greater risk. She let out a conflicted sigh and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"I suppose.." she mumbled and nestled her head against his for a moment, seeking comfort in his touch. Things were complicated now and she still worried for his safety. She wished there was a way to prevent her brother from doing anything that might harm Crow. Perhaps she could if he visited during one of her shifts, but if it was a different knight, there wasn't much she could do if she wasn't even there. "This whole thing is going to be messy until we can get you out of here...I'll try to figure out a way to keep Layth at bay... There has to be something I can do."

She closed her eyes for a moment and relaxed a little. There had been a way around nearly every issue they had faced so surely she could figure something out, right? She just need a bit of time to think it over. Content with that, she shifted away from Crow and glanced over her shoulder towards the tent entrance before looking back to Crow as another thought came to her. "How was Gavin?" she asked him, wondering how the male knight was holding up since the other night. He had said that he was fine with continuing to stay on guard duty for Crow but she wondered if it still might be better to remove him from it.

Crow closed his eyes when Penelope kissed him on the cheek, and he leaned his head against hers as she nestled closer to him. No matter what might be coming in regard to Layth, he was content that he could at least be near her while he recovered from his wound. It was much more tolerable than when he had been bedridden in his own camp from his illness. Back then, he had been completely on his own, since his companions had had better things to do than sit around and wait for him to get better. Even Hazel’s presence hadn’t helped much, since the herbalist had been focused on making sure he healed and wasn’t very good at small talk. Being close to Penelope was much nicer and made the waiting more bearable for the thief.

When the knight spoke up again, Crow opened his eyes to look at her. Her words stirred mixed feelings inside of him. He was hopeful that she might find a way to keep her brother away from his tent, but he was also worried about the risks she could be planning to take to accomplish that. “Just be careful,” he warned, letting go of her hand to wrap his arm around her back instead. He rubbed his hand soothingly along her shoulders as he went on in a low voice, “I know you’ll do your best, but it’s more important that you keep your position right now. I don’t want to get you labeled as a traitor while there’s still so much you can do here.”

A brief moment of silence passed before he heard her speak again. “Gavin?” he mused, unsure why she was bringing her former suitor up now. “Well, he seems to have stopped threatening me, so I’d say he was fine.” He studied her curiously, suddenly wondering if her earlier stiffness had something to do with the other knight. “Why do you—” He didn’t have a chance to finish the question before he felt his chest tighten with a familiar sensation. In the next moment, his eyes widened slightly, and he turned his head away from her as another coughing fit wracked his body. The motion sent a sharp pain through his middle, making him wince, but there was nothing he could do to make it stop.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a long episode. However, when it passed, Crow was left cringing as the more serious wound had begun to send an intense ache through his abdomen. “Ow… Gods, that hurts,” he whimpered in a strained voice, closing his eyes and bringing his hand down to the bandages. “Being ill and getting run through with a sword is not a fun combination…” Suddenly, he frowned as he noticed something else and lifted his head slightly to look down at himself. Lifting his hand from the wrapping, he saw that the cloth was beginning to turn red over his wound.

“I think I busted my stitching,” he muttered with another wince, glancing up at Penelope again.

Penelope gave a small nod as responded to her question about Gavin. It was hard to make any judgment based on Crow's response about the male knight. She was glad to know that he was still treating Crow better than before at the very least. Her attention focused back to Crow as she noticed his question fall short. She gave a confused look, wondering what had cut him off, only to quickly find out it was his illness. The knight frowned worriedly and moved to rest a hand on his shoulder as the coughing fit took over.

As it passed, she gave his shoulder a soft rub, wishing there was more she could do for the pain he was in. "I'm sure it's not.." she agreed. Noticing him shift to look down at his wound, her gaze followed his and widened at the sight of the red on the cloth of his wound. At his words, she gave a small nod, muttering a quick, "I'll go get Jane." before quickly turning and heading out of the tent to find the physician.

She walked briskly down the row of tents towards where some of the other patients were located. The knight assumed Jane would be there taking care of the injured knights as well as checking in with the other physicians in the camp. Worry bubbled inside and she struggled to not let it show. She couldn't risk coming off as too concerned about Crow and his health, she was certain that it would cause for some suspicion if not worse if she did. Ducking into the tent, Penelope forced herself to calmly sweep her gaze over the knights and physicians inside until she was able to locate the familiar figure of Jane.

The female knight walked over to her with a quick pace and dipped her head in greeting as Jane noticed her approaching. Penelope paused slightly before speaking, nearly tempted to address Crow as Crow rather than just simply as 'the thief' as most knights referred to him if not using other more insulting terms. "The thief needs your attention. He broke his stitching." she informed the other woman.

"I told him not to touch it." Jane grumbled, shaking her head. She hesitated before adding, "I'll be there after I finish here."

"I'd rather you just come with me now." Penelope said with a hint of sternness. The knight Jane was currently treating was clearly just getting a quick check up on his healing wound. It wasn't anything that needed urgent attention and it annoyed her that Jane was trying to push off aiding Crow. "He busted it open by coughing. He's already bleeding rather badly."

Jane gave a small sigh and nodded her head reluctantly. "Alright... Let's go now then."

"Thank you." Penelope mumbled before turning and beginning to lead the way back to the tent.

"He has a cough, huh?" Jane asked.

"I guess so.." Penelope shrugged as she focused her gaze ahead.

"It must have been pretty bad to open his stitches." Jane mused and shook her head. She paused then added,"He keeps getting more troublesome.. Are you sure it's worth it to keep him alive?" She glanced subtly towards the knight with a hint of hope in her expression. The physician clearly didn't want to keep treating the thief.

"Yes, of course it is." Penelope stated a bit protectively. Realizing how her words likely came out, she looked towards Jane and shrugged as she tried to play it off. "At least until the barons decide otherwise. And until then, you've got to treat him like any other patient." Jane frowned a little at Penelope's words and looked a bit ready to argue. However, before she could, the female knight picked up her pace slightly and hurried towards the tent, signaling that she wasn't going to speak on the matter further. She lead the rest of the way back in silence and ducked back into the tent with Jane following behind.

Crow just nodded wordlessly in response when Penelope said she would get Jane. At the moment, he was in too much pain to care that the physician would be interrupting their time alone. All he wanted was for the sharp ache in his body to stop. He closed his eyes again, leaning back into the mattress of the bed as the feeling worsened briefly. Vaguely, he was aware that Penelope had gotten up and left the tent to retrieve her comrade, but her absence didn’t bother him as much as he had thought it would. He just hoped she would be back soon with Jane, so the physician could fix whatever had been strained in his suturing.

After a while, the initial burst of pain subsided, and he was able to breathe a little easier. He let out his breath slowly and opened his eyes again, staring up at the canopy over his head. With everything else that had been happening lately, he had forgotten about the lingering remnants of his illness. If the coughing fits didn’t stop on their own, he had a feeling the process of healing from his wound was going to be much longer than he’d originally thought it would be.

He gingerly traced his fingers across the bandages that adorned his abdomen, wincing slightly as the wound stung in response to the light touch. Something had definitely gotten strained when he’d coughed. He shook his head to himself. If he busted his stitches every time he had an episode, the injury might not heal properly at all. He didn’t even want to think about what might happen if he was never able to recover. The idea of being bedridden and dying a long and slow death made him shudder.

Eager to focus on something else, he turned his head as he noticed that his coughing fit had left a spatter of bloodstains on the mattress next to him. The sight made him shift uncomfortably and glance towards the entrance of the tent. He didn’t want any of the nobles in the camp to find out about his illness—not even the physician who was treating him. There was no telling what any of the knights might do if word got out that the most infamous thief in Brerra was sick, but he knew it couldn’t be good.

So, even though it hurt to move, Crow forced himself to shift on the bed so that he was lying on top of the crimson stains. Apparently, he’d had good timing too, because in the next moment, the flap peeled back, and Penelope stepped inside of the tent followed by Jane, who trailed behind the knight with obvious reluctance. The physician hesitated for a moment before approaching his bedside, and he watched as she looked over his bloodied bandages.

“Can you move at all?” she asked dryly, clearly unhappy about having to deal with him again.

Crow just shook his head faintly in response, grimacing as his wound sent another wave of pain through him. Moving on the mattress had made it worse again.

Jane muttered something under her breath and then dug through her bag of supplies to retrieve a knife. The sight of the weapon made the thief tense reflexively, but she just rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to kill you,” she said, lowering the blade to his abdomen. “Since you can’t sit up, I’m going to have to cut these off.” As she finished speaking, she slipped the knife beneath his bandages and gave the fabric a sharp tug to rip through it.

As always, her rough touch made Crow flinch, but he endured it with the knowledge that she would soon fix whatever was causing the deeper pain in his body.

Once the dressing had been removed, the physician clicked her tongue annoyedly. “I’m going to have to redo this suturing,” she muttered, reaching into her bag again to get more supplies. Pulling out a rag, she worked on cleaning away the blood from around his injury to prepare it for new stitching.

“It’s a good thing you can’t move, because this is going to hurt,” Jane added just before she began removing the torn suturing from his wound. Crow groaned and bit the inside of his lip as the process sent another sharp pang of pain through his middle, but the physician ignored him. She worked mercilessly until all of the old catgut had been extracted and didn’t waste any time stitching him up again with a new strand. By the time she was finished, he was panting lightly from the exertion of enduring the procedure without anything to dull the pain.

“There,” Jane nodded, seeming satisfied with her work. “That should hold so long as he doesn’t tear it again.” She turned to Penelope. “Help me get him sitting up, so I can redress his bandages.”

Penelope stood back as Jane moved to help Crow. The knight found it increasingly difficult to merely stand back and watch as she noticed how roughly the physician handled treating the thief. Having seen the physician work before on such injuries, she knew she could be much more delicate. It frustrated her that the physician wouldn't treat Crow with the same kindness as other patients and seeing him having to go through such pain made her feel helpless as she was unable to do anything more. So, she bit her tongue as she shot a subtle glare at Jane's back as she shifted uneasily from where she stood near the exit of the tent.

As Jane finished re-stitching the wound and turned to her, the knight quickly reverted back to her stoic expression, despite still lightly biting her tongue. She gave a curt nod at Jane's request and walked over to Crow's side to help sit him up. Taking a careful approach, she slipped an arm around him and used her other to help pull him up. As he began to lift up, her gaze caught sight of the bloodstains on the mattress from his coughing.The knight doubted it would be a good idea to let her know about Crow's illness, especially since she could go running to the barons with such information and argue that letting him die would be the easiest solution. Penelope couldn't risk letting her know more than him just having a simple cough.

The physician was luckily looking away as she gather the bandages to rewrap his wound. With her distracted, that meant there was still a chance to hide them from her. Penelope strained as she held Crow up with one arm and briefly freed the other from him to subtly scoot the blanket over stain to hide it from view. She narrowly managed to avoid Jane noticing as the physician looked up to start wrapping his wound. She eyed them for a moment and then sighed.

"You're going to have to help me hold him up a bit higher." Jane instructed.

"Right. Sorry." Penelope mumbled before moving to use her other hand again to lift him up enough so Jane could bandage him up. She waited for her to get done, watching as Jane worked effectively but with little care for her patient, before gently laying Crow back down on the mattress.

"Now then, I better go finish treating my patients." Jane said as she looked to Penelope for approval to leave. The knight took a step back from him and dipped her head to Jane, silently dismissing her. She supposed the one good thing about Jane's dislike of Crow was that she was willing to leave them alone without any arguments, which meant it gave them a good amount of time alone. Penelope watched as Jane headed out of the tent again, wasting no time to get away, before she turned back to look at Crow with a frown.

"I'm sorry she's like that...Gods, I wish I knew more about healing." she mumbled shaking her head as she moved to his side again. She brushed back his hair and met his gaze with a worried expression. "If your illness keeps acting up like this.. we'll have to do something..I don't know what."

Crow averted his gaze embarrassedly when Penelope stepped closer to help him get up. He found it humiliating that he needed help to do something as simple as sitting again. Enjoying being able-bodied and independent, he’d thought that he was done with being assisted in menial tasks once the worst of his illness had healed, but apparently, the gods liked to watch him be forced to swallow his pride and accept help from other people. He just hoped he would recover quickly, so he wouldn’t have to keep doing so for much longer.

As Penelope began to lift him up from the bed, he remembered something else that made him tense apprehensively: If he was sitting up, there would be nothing to hide the bloodstains on the mattress. He glanced furtively at the knight to find that she had noticed the crimson spots as well. Fortunately, she also seemed to understand that he didn’t want Jane to know he had a severe cough because, while the physician was looking away, she used his blanket to cover the stains without him having to say anything.

Relieved that he didn’t have to worry about getting questioned by Jane over the blood, Crow relaxed slightly. However, the moment of peace didn’t last long before the physician went to work rewrapping his wound. He cringed at her roughness, which was especially painful since he’d just been freshly sutured. As always, if the noblewoman noticed his discomfort, she didn’t care. She worked quickly but effectively as she finished redressing his wound, and once she was done, wasted no time in excusing herself from the tent.

He followed her with his eyes as she exited the room and then rolled them once she’d left. However, he said nothing about it as another sharp pain blossomed from his injury. The thief winced, wishing he had something to numb the ache, but knowing the physician would never “waste her supplies” on a criminal like him. It would have been pointless to even ask. He was just going to have to put up with the pain until he healed enough that it went away on its own.

Penelope’s voice caught his attention, and he turned to her with a faint shrug. “I’m just glad one of the physicians in your camp was willing to treat me at all,” he shook his head. While he disliked how careless Jane was about making the procedure unnecessarily painful for him, he really was relieved that she was tending to him. With a wound as serious as the one he’d received from Jaxon, he doubted even Hazel had the skills to keep him alive. The grumpy physician was the only person standing between him and a rather painful death. So, despite her attitude, he did appreciate the work she’d put in to save him.

At Penelope’s following words, Crow met her gaze with a nod. “I don’t know if there’s anything we can do,” he admitted, reaching for her hand again now that they were alone. His illness was concerning to him too. Not only would it cause problems for his recovery, but he also doubted they could hide it from Jane forever. If he coughed up blood every third day, as had been the trend recently, the physician was bound to notice it sooner or later. He shuddered to think what might happen if he had another episode when a different knight was stationed to guard him. As far as he knew, even Olivia and Gavin weren’t aware he was ill. Either one of them might panic if they saw him cough up blood and report his symptoms to Jane.

He sighed, unsure how to even begin approaching the issue. “Honestly, it’s never gone away completely, even when I was taking the medicine Hazel made for me…” he added in a soft voice.

Penelope frowned at his less than certain words. She gave his hand a small squeeze as she took it in hers. The knight wanted to hold on to the hope that they could figure out some way to help with keeping his illness at bay while he recovered. However, the more she thought about it, the less possible it seemed. She didn't have experience when it came to healing so she couldn't be of much help. Not to mention they couldn't risk going to Jane. While Penelope trusted the physician's abilities, she'd likely be less than willing to treat Crow and if she spread the word about him being ill, there was no telling how the barons or other knights would react to such information.

As Crow spoke up again, she shifted her focus back to him and a small gleam of hope relit in her gaze. She had briefly forgotten about Hazel. Though the herbalist didn't have professional training, her knowledge and skill were still respectable. If anyone could help them deal with his illness, it'd be her. "Maybe I should go speak with her." she wondered aloud before her gaze moved to met his.

She offered him a hopeful smile. "We can't do anything but maybe she can... Maybe you need to take the medicine more regularly again to help fight it off more. Or maybe she has something that can suppress it a bit better so your coughing fits aren't as bad." She shrugged her shoulders and shifted her gaze over to the makeshift shelves of books and medicine in tent before moving to rest it back on him. "It couldn't hurt to try and we don't really have any other options... What do you think?"

As his mind wandered back to his companions, Crow grew quiet again. Based on the current rate of his recovery, it was going to be quite a while before he could get back to them. Part of him was worried that, since they probably believed he was dead, they would uproot their camp to get away from the frontlines of the war until they could figure out what to do without a leader. If they did, it was going to be difficult for him to locate them again, especially if they ended up going back to the inner kingdom. He knew that area to a degree, but he was still mostly unfamiliar with it, so he wouldn’t know the first place to start looking for them.

As Penelope spoke up again to suggest that she could speak to Hazel, he looked up at her with interest. He hadn’t thought about it before, but just because he was confined to a bed didn’t mean that no one could travel to his camp to see his companions. The thought made his heart beat a little faster with anticipation. Illness aside, he wanted them to know he was alive. If the knight could tell them for him, it would be a huge weight off his mind. Getting the medicine for his cough would just be a bonus.

“I think you should do it,” Crow answered without hesitation. He shifted slightly as he held her gaze. “But if you go, you’ll have to do it soon. If they think I’m dead, they might move their camp out of the outer villages. You’ll want to try to catch them before they leave.” He paused, thinking something over before adding: “Also, you might want to bring at least one other person with you. They’ll be wary of anyone who approaches them right now, so they might attack you without thinking, just like they did the first time you all met.”

Penelope gave a small nod as he replied, glad that he seemed to approve as well. "I'll try to slip out of camp tonight then." she mumbled as he went on to explain that the other thieves might move. If there was a chance that she'd miss them, she wanted to act as fast as possible to alert them that Crow was alive so they'd stick around the area. Though she was mainly concerned about his illness, she also wanted to make sure they'd be around for when he did finally recover enough to escape since it was likely he'd still need a bit of help along with wanting their companionship.

"At the very latest, tomorrow night.. I'll try to see if I can get Olivia to go with me then.. I have a different knight on watch tonight." She gave him a small smile. "He's another lieutenant, one that actually helped train me. He's kind so I doubt he'll cause you much trouble." Penelope shrugged her shoulders. She was just about to say more when the sound of approaching footsteps caught her attention. Cutting her words short, she quickly stepped away from Crow and looked over towards the entrance of the tent. The flap shifted and her baroness stepped in. She blinked in surprise at Mia's sudden appearance and respectfully dipped her head to her higher up.

"Did you need me, Mia?" she asked, thinking that the baroness must have come to get her for some reason.

Mia studied Penelope for a moment before shaking her head. "No... Actually I came here to speak with our resident thief." she announced with the corner of her mouth tugging subtly upward into a smirk as her gaze shifted over to Crow. "Take a break, Penelope. I'd like to speak with him alone."

Penelope shifted slightly at her baroness' words. While she knew Mia wouldn't harm Crow, she was worried about what the baroness would ask him. If she questioned him more about them working together, there might be a chance for her realizing they were closer than Penelope claimed. However, she couldn't insist on staying without drawing suspicion. The knight looked furtively at Crow before nodding her head to Mia.

"Of course." she said before turning and stepping out of the tent. She felt her heart beat anxiously as she wondered what the baroness was looking to learn from Crow.

Crow nodded gratefully when Penelope said she would try to slip out of camp as soon as possible. It had only been two days since the battle in Jaxon’s camp, so he doubted his companions would have moved yet. Chances were, they were still holed away in their hideout to mourn the loss of their leader. The thought made him feel a pang of sadness, and he was even more eager for Penelope to go to them, so they would know he wasn’t dead, and that he would be returning to them as soon as he could move on his own.

As Penelope went on to tell him about the knight who would be watching him that night, he frowned slightly, unsettled that there would be a stranger in the tent with him even though she vouched for his trustworthiness. He did believe that whoever this man was, he must have been a person of character to earn her approval, but he still disliked the idea of being guarded by someone he had never met before while he was going to be sleeping and vulnerable.

It will be fine, he thought, trying to reassure himself. Not all the knights here want me dead. I’m sure Penelope weeded out the dangerous ones already. Feeling a little better, he gave her hand an affectionate squeeze, appreciating the work she had already put in to keep him safe from her less accommodating comrades. If it wasn’t for her efforts, Layth probably would have stationed guards that would take advantage of the fact that he couldn’t defend himself.

Suddenly, Crow tensed slightly as he heard footsteps outside the tent. At first, he thought that Jane had come back again, but when he turned his head to see who was coming, he was surprised to see one of the decorated knights step inside. He studied her cautiously, unsure what to make of this unexpected visit. Apparently, this baroness—Mia, her name was—hadn’t come to retrieve her lieutenant, but to speak with him. Somehow, knowing that just made his guard raise higher. What could someone of this woman’s rank want with a thief like him? Whatever it was, he didn’t like it.

The thief glanced at Penelope disappointedly as she complied with Mia’s request to speak with him alone. He wished she would stay with him but, not wanting to give away anything about the true nature of their relationship, he bit his tongue to keep from fighting against the order. Instead, he watched silently as she exited the tent and then turned back to the baroness with a guarded expression, preparing himself for whatever it was she planned to say or do to him.

Mia turned her head to watch her lieutenant exit the tent. Her gaze lingered on the exit for a moment before she turned back to look at the thief in front of her. She studied him for a moment. Normally, she would have simply tasked Penelope or Tomas with questioning him but since most of the questions were about his dealings with her lieutenant, she had decided it was best to take matters into her own hands. Edward was still labeling Penelope a traitor and while she didn't completely agree, she did have her concerns about how far her involvement with this criminal went.

She moved to take a seat in Jane's chair. Leaning back comfortably, she crossed her arms over her chest and met his gaze. "So, Crow, was it? I'm Mia, one of the barons of this camp... Although I'm assuming you probably already knew that." she mused and gave her shoulders a small shrug. Another smirk crossed her lips as she went on, "This is your second stay at our camp so I figured it was about time I introduced myself. Especially since it seems you'll be staying for quite a while."

The baroness offered him a small smile. "Now that formalities are out of the way, I do have a few questions for you and I'd advise you to answer. Otherwise I might have to let Layth take over.. I'm sure you haven't forgotten him. The cruel lieutenant that took care of you last time. I don't agree with his methods but if mine don't work I see no reason not to try his." she warned with an air casualness. Mia had yet to decide if the threat was hollow or not. She didn't really want to give Layth any control, knowing that the lieutenant would be quick to abuse it, but was also intending to keep her options open. Nothing was completely off the table when dealing with a criminal after all.

"Now then, why don't you tell me a bit about how you started working with my lieutenant, Penelope. How long, for starters?" Mia asked with her gaze studying him closely.

Now alone with Mia, Crow took a moment to assess just who he was dealing with. Right away, he got the impression that he was going to have to be careful about what he said to this baroness. She had a stern and calculating demeanor that made him feel like she would be able to see through him if he wasn’t cautious enough with his words. Luckily, he was usually good at lying under pressure, so it wasn’t an overly concerning issue. He was just going to have to focus on staying alert enough to keep from giving anything away. After all, this woman was Penelope’s direct superior. She was the last person the knight would want to learn about their unorthodox relationship.

As Mia sat down and began to speak to him, Crow studied her warily. He wasn’t sure he liked the way she used his name when she addressed him. Knights never did that. They always called him “thief” or “cur” or whatever other insults their tiny brains could come up with. For this woman to call him by anything even remotely more respectful than those names was strange, and he had a feeling she was only bothering to do so to make him lower his guard around her.

Too bad I don’t care about kind treatment from nobles, he thought with a faint upward turn of his lip. This baroness could be as friendly or as cruel to him as she wanted. It wouldn’t change the fact that he was determined not to give her any honest answers.

At Mia’s abrupt change in approach, Crow nearly snorted in amusement. It was clear to him what she was trying to do. She wanted to persuade him to give her answers under the threat of resorting to more extreme measures, while setting herself up to seem like a kind and trustworthy confidant at the same time. Not bad, but not good enough. If she wanted to get him to admit that he and Penelope had been working together for a long time, she had another thing coming.

“Really? That’s the question you’re going with?” the thief laughed and raised his bound hand. “You’ve got the most infamous thief in the kingdom chained to a bed, and your first thought is to question him about his dealings with some knight?” He met her gaze across the tent with a grin. “You have some interesting priorities, love.”

Letting his hand fall back down on the bed, he went on, “I suppose you’re expecting me to tell you that we’ve been secretly meeting behind your back for some time, right? Or maybe that we’ve even been doing a little more than simply working together.” He held the baroness’s gaze with a mischievous expression. “Well, as much as I’d love to string you along with some story about how your right hand is sleeping with a criminal, I do hate that other knight of yours… Layth, was it?” He shook his head. “So, to answer your question truthfully, we just happened to cross paths about two weeks ago. That’s all there is to it.”

As the thief laughed at her choice of questioning, the baroness' expression didn't change. She merely shrugged her shoulders. Her interest was purely on his involvement with Penelope, if he thought it strange that made no difference to her. The fact remained that she needed answers about how her lieutenant had been operating and working with a criminal. As he went on to taunt about them meeting behind her back and sleeping together, a hint of annoyance entered her expression.

She didn't like how openly he suggested it. Of course Mia didn't believe that Penelope would be that involved with the thief. At worst, she suspected her lieutenant viewed him as a friend. It was a bit concerning if he did string together some tale of them being intimate to someone else like Layth or Edward though. Though they were her family, Mia didn't doubt they'd take his words as the truth and turn on Penelope without hesitation. Which is exactly why I have to figure things now. she thought determinedly.

"Is that so?" she mused with a hint of disbelief. Mia let out a sigh and shook her head. "See, I'd like to believe that, truly it would make things easier for me if I did but I believe evidence says otherwise." She leaned her head back and stared up at the canopy. "I know you and my lieutenant have had a few run ins. Like that mission two years ago and at this camp before." She gave a faint frown and looked back over to Crow, her gaze trailed down towards his injury. "Penelope's a skilled knight with a kind heart... Though I admire her for both, I worry that the latter has gotten her far too involved with a criminal. After all, why would a thief like yourself take a blade for a knight if there wasn't something more going on?"

Unfortunately for Crow, it seemed like Mia wasn’t as gullible as he’d been hoping she would be. Her face remained unreadable to him as she took in his rather obstinate answer to her question. He didn’t like the way she paused to think over everything he’d said, since he had been trying to bait her into finding his suggestion so absurd that she would decide he couldn’t have been involved with Penelope. Instead, she was just as calculating as he had originally suspected her to be, which made things a little trickier for him. Perhaps he needed to try a different approach with this baroness.

He listened carefully to her response as she confirmed that she wasn’t going to be so quick to believe his word. When she revealed that she knew a few things about his history with Penelope, he was slightly surprised. Although, he supposed he should have known that. Word of their mission in Younis two years ago had spread quite far around the kingdom, since it had been a big deal at the time. It honestly would have been more shocking if Mia hadn’t heard about it.

I can still work with this, he thought, formulating another direction to try.

“You’re right,” Crow shrugged. “We did know each other before, but that’s the only reason why I was willing to work with her again now. She’s proven to me that she can be trustworthy—unlike the rest of you coldhearted fools.” He narrowed his eyes slightly at the baroness as he went on, “You know, you should take a few notes from your lieutenant. I’m the only reason your knights were able to stop the thieves that attacked your camp, and I’m the reason you aren’t rotting in a Younisian dungeon right now. If she had treated me like the rest of you nobles so often do, I would have been content just sitting back and watching them run your battalion into the ground.”

He casted her a cheeky smirk. “As for this,” he gestured to the bandages around his middle. “I’m flattered that you think ‘a thief like me’ is honorable enough to take a sword for someone out of the goodness of my heart, but I’m not that noble. You see, I’ve had a personal vendetta against the leader of those thieves for quite a while now.” His gaze darkened slightly. “I disapprove of the way he would kill without discrimination. Men who murder without cause are the worst sort of criminals, and I got sick of seeing him get away with it time and time again. We may have both been thieves, but in my eyes, he was a danger to these villages that needed to be dealt with.

“So, when I saw him about to take yet another life, I just intervened without giving it much thought,” he looked down and gingerly touched the bandages over his wound. “Call it petty revenge if you will, but I just couldn’t let him have the satisfaction of doing it again when there was a way for me to stop him.” He turned to meet her gaze again with a thoughtful expression. “I would like to say it was a coincidence that your lieutenant was the one I happened to save, but who knows?” He smiled at her amusedly. “Perhaps subconsciously, I saw it as a way to repay her for the respect she’s continued to show to me whenever our paths have crossed.”

Mia listened to Crow with a hint of curiosity in her gaze as he mentioned Penelope being trustworthy. A thief thinking her lieutenant was trustworthy was a bit concerning to say the least. She cared little about him going on to try and remind her about how he was the reason the other thieves had been stopped. Perhaps she was more accepting of that fact than her other equals, but she still disliked taking down criminals with the involvement of more criminals. If it had just been a simple peasant, it would have been a far different story.

The baroness raised an eyebrow at Crow as he went on speaking about disapproving of the other thief as well as chalking up him saving Penelope as 'petty revenge'. She returned his smile with a small one of her own, looking amused by his words. This thief was an interesting person, regardless of how much truth was or wasn't in his words. "I never underestimate what my enemies are capable of, kindness included. Perhaps it's a bit a navietivity on my part, but humans are humans. Compassion lies in all of us just as cruelness does as well. From the lowest criminal to the highest noble. The only difference being which a person chooses to be more of."

Mia leaned forward with a gleam in her dark gaze as she looked over at him. "The fact of the matter is, Crow, it seems you have quite a bit more compassion than most give a criminal like yourself credit for. You got involved in a matter that you didn't have to, which put yourself at more of a risk than staying out of it would have. Being discovered by either knight or one of those other thieves could have spelled disaster for you, yet you still showed up and you still jumped into the battle. Which leads me to think that nothing was subconscious about saving my lieutenant."

Her smile faded a bit as she grew more serious, believing to have found a lead. "So I have to ask, what kind of respect has she been showing you? I know you've escaped from her before but now I'm beginning to wonder if it's more of being 'let go' instead."

This baroness’s persistence was really starting to grate on Crow’s nerves. He narrowed his eyes at her slightly in annoyance. She continued to question the nuances of his words and bring in more information he wasn’t aware she’d already had. It made it difficult to lie to her when he didn’t know if she would spring more facts on him that made his explanations obsolete. He would have had a much easier time pushing a fake story on her if he’d known up front what sort of background knowledge she had on him and Penelope. With the way things were turning out now, he had to wrack his brain to come up with a believable way to answer every wrench she threw into his lies.

As Mia leaned closer to him, he shifted uncomfortably, disliking how fixated her dark eyes were on his face. It almost felt like she could read his mind, though he knew such a thing was impossible. He took a slow breath, forcing himself to keep calm. If he reacted visibly to her accusations, his body language alone would be enough to give away at least some of the truth. He clenched his jaw stubbornly. For Penelope’s sake, he couldn’t let this woman find out the real nature of their relationship.

“I find it insulting that you would give a knight credit for my work,” Crow curled his lip at her hostilely. “Yes, your lieutenant has treated me like an equal, but I’m perfectly capable of escaping from your incompetent guards on my own. I don’t need her or anyone else’s help to take care of myself—and that goes for my escape two years ago too.” He let out an irritable huff. “I did my part by stealing that godsforsaken staff, so I think I quite deserved to have my freedom returned to me, regardless of whether you nobles agree with that or not.”

He turned away from the baroness to look up at the canopy again, “You know what? If you really want to believe your lieutenant is consorting with a thief, go right ahead. She may have been respectful to me during our past encounters, but I have no ties to her strong enough to care what her fate becomes, so it makes no difference to me what you choose to do with her.” He toyed absently with the chain around his wrist, as if growing disinterested with the conversation. “Anyway, I gave you my explanation already, so take it or leave it as you will, because I’m not going to repeat myself.”

Mia watched as she seemed to strike a cord with him at crediting his work to her lieutenant. She supposed that might check out. After all, Penelope hadn't been the only one on that mission. William had been there as well. The baroness hadn't worked with him much but she knew him to be quite serious and stubborn. Surely even if Penelope had kindled some sort of friendship with this thief, he wouldn't have allowed her to use it against her comrades or the law.

As he went on growing disinterested in the conversation, she let out a small sigh as it seemed she wouldn't be getting anymore answers out of him about Penelope. That was fine though. Mia figured she had enough to go by. It was enough for her to deem that Penelope wasn't a traitor like her uncle and brother claimed, as it didn't seem like the lieutenant had made any decisions that would make one question her loyalties aside from merely working with him.

However, Mia still guessed that a friendship of some sorts had blossomed between the two during their time working together. The thief may claim that it hadn't but he seemed fond enough of her and how she had dealt with him, which wasn't the typical of guards and their prisoner in the first place. Even if the bond wasn't particularly strong, it was still concerning. I'll have to put an end to that before it gets any worse.. she thought with a glance towards the exit.

"Very well." she mused with a shrug. "I believe I got what I needed anyways so thank you for your time... And for saving my lieutenant." Mia added on a more genuine note. Though she disapproved of the situation, she was grateful that Penelope had made it out of that battle alive. The girl may have occasionally stirred trouble with her ideals but Mia still cared for her young lieutenant and still believed in her potential.

The baroness rose to her feet and moved towards the exit. Just as she reached it she paused to look over her shoulder at Crow. The thief was a strange one. She hadn't dealt with many criminals but anyone against murdering without cause deserved a bit of respect so long is it didn't get in the way of duties. She added briefly, "I'll stop by again once we get closer to deciding your fate, Crow. Think of it as any last rebuttals against our judgement, as I believe you've at least earned that... So long as you don't cause any other issue, I mean." With that said, she turned and dipped out of the tent.

---

Penelope stood a short distance away from the tent, nervously fiddling with the hilt of her sword while the two spoke. It felt like ages passed before her baroness finally stepped out of the tent. She looked over her shoulder as she heard the flap shift and saw Mia step out. The knight searched her gaze, looking for any signs of anger or coldness as she approached her, however, Mia seemed as calm as when she had entered. Penelope could only hope that meant that whatever they had discussed had gone decently enough.

"Did it go well?" she asked her.

"Well enough." Mia mused with a shrug. She paused and eyed her lieutenant. "Anyways, you better get back on duty."

Penelope dipped her head respectfully to the baroness and turned to head back inside the tent, letting out a soft breath of relief as Mia seemed to be the same as always.