Rikki sat aside while the others added in the herbs they had ground up for her. Everything seemed to be in order, so she scooted toward the pot once they were done and resumed stirring the mixture. As she worked alone, her thoughts continued to wander back to what Hazel had said. She was still convinced that she was better for Crow than some noblewoman could ever be—nothing could change her mind about that—but she was bothered by the herbalist’s insistence that she should stop pursuing the thief.

Everything inside her protested against the thought of simply giving up on being with him, but she was worried that Hazel was right about his feelings for the knight never changing. Penelope may have nearly gotten him killed, but to look at it from another perspective, she had also gotten him treatment for his wound that had saved his life. Knowing Crow, he was probably going to focus on that part and forget about receiving the injury in the first place.

Rikki let out her breath in a sigh. She loved the man, but he could be too optimistic for his own good sometimes. As long as there were positive things for him to see about Penelope, he wasn’t going to acknowledge the truth that the knight was bad for him. If she was going to open his eyes to that fact, she was going to have to find a way to prove to him that the noblewoman wasn’t what she seemed. But that was easier said than done when the snake seemed to have even convinced [i]Hazel[/i] that she was a good person. She couldn’t help but wonder how the knight had pulled that off. Hazel was one of the most hateful people she had ever met towards nobles, so it would have taken quite a bit of persuading to change her mind.

The thief tensed slightly as she heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see none other than Penelope standing before her. She narrowed her eyes slightly and averted her gaze, thankful for the darkness that had hopefully hidden her bitter expression from the other woman. At the knight’s question, she just shrugged. “It’s coming along,” she answered vaguely, stirring the medicine again. From what she could tell, it was almost done, but it still needed a little more time. She would have to ask Hazel to check on it soon to be sure.

Furtively, Rikki glanced up at Penelope again. She couldn’t help but wonder what it was about this knight that continued to keep Crow’s attention. Before she knew what she was doing, she spoke up to the noblewoman: “Tell me something.” She paused, pursing her lips together hesitantly before going on. “What is it that you want with Crow?” She turned her head to meet the knight’s gaze straight on. “There has to be something, right? I mean, why else would you keep him alive?”