“I see that now,” Crow laughed softly at Penelope’s ‘I told you so.’ His expression softened as he looked up at her. He was quite grateful for all the help she was giving him while he was unable to do anything for himself. From saving his life to getting her comrades to take care of him to everything she had accomplished the night before at the thieves’ camp, she had already done more for him than he could have ever asked her. The thought made his heart swell with affection for the knight. No matter how long they were together, he still couldn’t believe how lucky he was that she had chosen to be with him. He doubted he could ever return all the favors she had done for him, but he was determined to try his best.

As soon as I’m back on my feet, I’ll think of something to do for her, he thought as he took the jar of medicine from her hand. He wasn’t sure what he would do yet, but he knew he wanted to come up with something. She deserved to be treated especially well after all the work she was doing for him. He wasn’t going to let her kindness go unrewarded.

As Penelope went on to say that she intended to hide the other medicine in the tent with him, he nodded, glad that she was thinking ahead. The remedy for his illness could be taken at any time of the day, but if he needed a painkiller for his injury, he was going to want to take it right away. He turned his head to watch as she moved away from his side and stepped over to his discarded clothes. His lip twitched upward in an amused smirk as he guessed what she was planning to do. The knight had gotten quite clever throughout the time he’d known her. He was proud of how quickly she had thought to use his tunic as a hiding place for the medicine.

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” Crow said, uncapping the jar and bringing it to his lips to down the liquid inside. As always, the bitter medicine made him wrinkle his nose slightly in distaste, but he was getting used to it, so it didn’t bother him as much as it used to. He was just about to hand the empty container back to Penelope but faltered when he noticed her let out an audible sigh. Glancing up at her absent face, he wondered what was on her mind that had caused her to look so distant. However, before he had a chance to ask, she turned back to him, acting like nothing had happened.

“I am,” he answered, passing off the jar to her. “And it was just as rancid as I remember.” He paused, studying her face again. Though she had recovered quickly, there had been a brief moment when he’d felt convinced something was off with her. If he was right, he didn’t want to just brush it off. “What were you thinking about just now?” he asked tentatively, reaching to take her hand again as he held her gaze with a concerned expression. “You seemed upset. Is something wrong?”

Penelope nodded and stashed away the jar in her pocket again. She was about to relax at his side again until he spoke up and took her had. The knight looked over at him as he gazed at her with a concerned look. Realizing that he must have noticed her momentarily get wrapped up in her thoughts, she hesitated and gave a small shrug. She hadn't told Crow about her conversation with Gavin, mainly since she simply hadn't felt the need to with everything else that was going on. Perhaps now wasn't a bad time since she could also mention what happened with Rikki. She at least wanted to give him a heads up that things would likely be a bit different between them once he returned.

"Nothing's really wrong." she assured him giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "I've just had a couple of..rough conversations in recent days so they were on my mind is all." Penelope shook her head and moved to lean a little closer to him, subconsciously finding comfort in his presence. She shifted her gaze up to the canopy of the tent. "We might still have challenges to face because of our current situation but I think we won't have to worry about Gavin or Rikki trying to get between us anymore."

Penelope kept her gaze focused above as she continued on, recalling her conversation with Rikki first since it was the most recent. "Last night I.. I may have gotten into a bit of an argument with Rikki." she admitted with a hint of guilt as she remembered being rather petty towards the female thief. "I don't know if its because you weren't around or because she blames me for all of this happening but she was a bit more confrontational than usual and it got on my nerves...I ended up accidentally striking some cord with her that got her a bit upset. Not so much with me specifically but-" she shifted a bit. "-but with why you'd choose me over her. I tried to comfort her about it and get her to realize that even if, logically, she was the better choice for you, that stuff like logic doesn't count for anything when it comes to matters of the heart and love."

The knight gave a halfhearted smile. "The crazy part is that, even though she wasn't happy about it, she thanked me and seemed to understand it.." Penelope's smile faded slightly as she went on to add, "Of course my words didn't do too much. I think she's dealing with heartbreak now.

"And that's not all." she added with a humorless chuckle. "On your first night in our camp, Gavin told me he finally accepted that I was choosing you over him. I guess you taking a blade for me made him accept the reality of things. He's hurting now too and he's keeping a distance from me." She finally lowered her gaze from the ceiling to look down at Crow as she let out another soft sigh. "Rikki's situation just reminded me of it and I was just worrying about him. I mean, Rikki's got time to deal with her heartbreak away from both you and me but Gavin doesn't... I told him he could stop helping with guard shifts but he's stubborn and insisted on at least doing that. I don't know." Penelope shook her head and offered him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to dump this on you all at once...I just.. had a lot on my mind I guess."

Crow knitted his brow slightly when Penelope told him that she’d had some difficult conversations. This was the first time he was hearing about them, so he listened attentively as she went on to describe her argument with Rikki. At first, he felt a twinge of frustration with the female thief for treating the knight so hostilely. He didn’t want Rikki to keep trying to get between them when he had already told her time and time again that he wasn’t going to leave Penelope for her. It was irritating to know that she was still up to her usual antics and holding onto the hope that he would change his mind. As soon as he was well enough to get back to his camp, he intended to give her a piece of his mind.

However, in the next moment, Penelope surprised him by saying that Rikki had actually seemed to listen to her. He hadn’t expected that the knight’s words would have gotten through to his stubborn friend, especially when all of his efforts to convince her hadn’t worked. Still, he disagreed with what Penelope had said to get through to the other thief. No matter what anyone thought, he was firmly convinced that the knight was better for him than Rikki ever could have been. He and the other thief were simply too similar to work well together. Penelope came from a different world, and at times it was hard for him to understand her, but it was their differences that made him so glad that he was with her. She challenged him to become a better man in a way that Rikki, in all the time they’d lived together, never had.

With the other thief, secrets and independence were a normalcy, and he often felt like she was dragging him down into old habits of living solely for himself that Penelope was forcing him to break. If he had chosen to be with Rikki, he probably would have continued to operate with his own desires at the forefront of his mind, while she would have done the same by looking out for herself. The only difference would’ve been that they’d have chosen to be exclusive instead of sleeping around. Perhaps they would have gone on to get married as well, but he couldn’t imagine that they’d work well as a team as long as they both had separate agendas to keep. So, even though it might have looked strange to anyone on the outside, he was much happier with the knight who was different from him.

Feeling a burst of affection for her, Crow held Penelope’s hand a little more tightly as she went on to tell him about her conversation with Gavin. He wasn’t too surprised to find out that her former suitor had finally come to terms with their relationship. The knight had been acting much more tolerant of him than he used to, so the thief had suspected for a while now that something had changed between them. However, he wasn’t sure why she was so concerned about the lack of space between herself and the other man.

When she finished speaking, Crow smiled at her amusedly. “You have no reason to apologize, love. I’m always going to be here for you, and that includes listening to what’s going on in your life. Besides,” he looked up at the canopy. “It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do in this oh-so-entertaining tent.” Giving her hand a playful squeeze, he turned back to meet her gaze again a bit more seriously. “I don’t think you should concern yourself with Gavin. He obviously thinks he’s in a good enough place to sit around guarding the man you left him for all day, so I say leave him be unless he starts to cause any trouble.” He shrugged. “Space or not, he’ll work through it on his own in his own time. It’s not your job to force him to heal, so pushing distance between him and us will just make it worse. I’m sure he’ll come around eventually, anyway… He seems hardy like that.”

The thief blinked and reddened slightly as he added with a groan, “Please don’t tell him I said that.” He hadn’t realized until this point, but he’d developed a bit of a respect for Gavin since the knight had started treating him more kindly. He supposed the admiration had always been there to a degree, but since the other man had been at his throat with constant accusations before, it had taken a while for him to admit that he respected Gavin’s heart for the villagers of their kingdom as well as his tenacity to do what he thought was right, no matter what anyone else said about it. But, of course, he had a reputation to uphold, so he wasn’t about to let the other man know he held such thoughts.

Penelope gave an amused look at him at his words as he reassured her and mention there wasn't much else for him to do. As his expression turned a little more serious and he went on to advise her about Gavin, she gave a small nod. She supposed he was right that forcing more distance between them and Gavin would likely make things worse. After all, Gavin had said that he still intended to be her friend so, if she did push him further away, it would likely come off as her wanting nothing to do with him, which wasn't true. He was a close friend in her eyes and she hoped they could continue to be that until the wars end.

As Crow complimented Gavin, she gave a small giggle as she noticed him redden. "Wow, I never would have expected you to develop a soft spot for him." she said with a teasing smirk. "Don't worry though. Your secret is safe with me." Penelope's smirk softened a bit and she gave his hand a small squeeze. Though the male knight had been at odds with the thief for some time now, she felt glad that both of them seemed to have developed a mutual respect for each other. Once things got back to normal and Crow was healed, it would take a small weight off her shoulders as she wouldn't have to be concerned about keeping her guard up around Gavin or worrying about Gavin turning on Crow.

"I think you're right though. Gavin'll be fine with time, I'm sure." she mused on a more serious note. She gave him an appreciative smile and pressed an affectionate kiss to his cheek. "Honestly, I'm just glad we won't have worry about either of them as much anymore... Between both of their attempts to get between us, I'm ready for this new change." she said with a soft chuckle. Though she did wish it hadn't come with pain for the two, it was quite a relief after having to put up with them both during the mission.

“It’s not a soft spot,” Crow mumbled defensively, still kicking himself for the slip up of admitting his respect for Gavin to Penelope. “I just think he’s not quite as unbearable as all the other knights here. That’s all.” He was glad she agreed not to say anything to her former suitor though. He really didn’t want the other man to know he held such thoughts about him. It was already embarrassing enough that the admiration was even there. If the knight found out how he felt, he didn’t think his pride as a thief could take it.

As Penelope went on to agree with him about her ex suitor, Crow nodded, softening slightly at her kiss on his cheek. “Me too,” he said with a tired sigh. “I’m tired of being flirted with and accused of being untrustworthy all the time. If you’re right about both of them, it’ll be a nice break.” If Rikki and Gavin really had decided to accept that he and Penelope were staying together, it was going to be a huge weight off his mind. He had already seen the change in Gavin for himself but, having not seen Rikki since before the fight with Jaxon, he still had some doubts that the stubborn thief would be so quick to let it go.

But who knows? he thought, studying Penelope’s face with interest. Maybe she did get through to her after all.

“With both of them out of the way, all that’s left is to figure out how I’m going to get out of this place before your barons decide to cart me off to prison,” he mused, tugging thoughtfully at the chain around his wrist. Despite Mia’s agreeableness, he still didn’t think the knights’ leaders were going to let him off with anything less than another prison sentence, and even that was the best-case scenario. As long as people like Layth were still screaming for his execution, he was going to have some sort of penalty for his crimes. He shuddered at the thought of being sentenced to have his hands cut off or otherwise mutilated. It was something he’d heard of happening to other thieves in Brerra, so it wasn’t impossible for the barons to decide it was a fitting punishment.

Crow shifted on the bed, leaning a little closer to Penelope as he sought comfort in her touch. “I just hope I’m well enough to get away before they come to any final decisions,” he muttered nervously.

With the mention of having to figure a way out of her camp, the knight's light-hearted expression faded into a serious one as her gaze drifted down towards the chains on his wrist. She hadn't come up with any solid plans to get him out yet, mainly because he was still barely able to even move. Noticing the nervousness in his voice as he added his concern about healing in time, Penelope frowned slightly, feeling worry rise at the thought of the barons coming to a decision faster than he could recover.

She let go of his hand only to wrap her arm around him in an embrace. "Hopefully with the medicine you'll be able to and I'm going to try and buy you as much time as I can." she murmured as she looked down at him. Even though she wanted to believe that he would heal before any decisions were final, it was also very likely that the barons would come up with their decision before that. There was only so much she could do to stall them without drawing more suspicion to herself after all.

Penelope didn't know what she would do if they reached their choice before Crow was well enough to escape. Even if the barons were 'merciful' they certainly wouldn't be merciful enough to just let him go. At best they'd decide to send him to prison and at worst they'd decide to kill him. He may still have been alive thanks to her efforts but she had yet to truly save him. As she quietly studied his face for a moment, she felt a spark of protectiveness and worry for the man she loved so much. The knight buried her head into his neck and closed her eyes tightly for a moment.

"Even.. Even if you aren't, we'll figure out someway to get you out of here." she promised softly. If things did go wrong for the thief, Penelope had no intention of simply standing back to watch. She surely she could figure out a way to protect him or get him out of the camp completely, even if it put her position as a lieutenant at further risk. If it came down to saving Crow or keeping her title, the knight wouldn't hesitate to choose the thief.

Crow closed his eyes and wrapped his free arm around Penelope’s back as she embraced him. At her hopeful words about the medicine, he nodded faintly, not feeling quite as optimistic. As long as Jane was checking on his condition every day, it was going to be difficult to slip any improvement past the barons if the physician reported it to them. He supposed he could pretend to be immobile longer than he actually was, but even that would only get him so far when she was inspecting the wound itself. He couldn’t hide the improvement of his body from a professional healer.

Additionally, he was starting to get concerned about the fact that he still couldn’t eat. Even taking the medicine for his illness, which was mostly liquid, had irritated the wound on his inside. At this rate, it was entirely possible that he would be too weak to get away from the camp, even if he could move. He needed to heal enough both to get some food into his stomach and to be able to walk on his own if he wanted to have any hope of escaping before the barons decided his fate.

As Penelope suddenly buried her head against his neck, Crow lifted his hand to trail his fingers gently through her hair. Her presence relaxed him. He leaned his head against hers, taking in the feeling of her arm wrapped around him, the warmth of her body pressed against his, and even her smell—something that had become so familiar to him during the time they’d been together. He let out his breath in a soft exhale. Despite the apparent hopelessness of the situation, it was impossible for him to completely lose hope. He was still clinging stubbornly to the future they both wanted, and he wasn’t going to give it up without a fight.

“I’m sure we will,” he agreed quietly, stroking the back of her head with his hand. Despite his lingering uncertainties, he still tried to sound optimistic. “We’ve made it past worse obstacles than this, so I’m sure we’ll think of something.” Turning his head slightly, he pressed a tender kiss to her cheek. “I love you, Penelope, and I promise I’m not going anywhere.”

Penelope relaxed a little at the feeling of being so close to him and him stroking the back of her head. The motion eased the knight's nerves a bit. She gave a small nod at his words, hoping they were both right. They were in a pretty tight situation, especially since she had lost a bit of credibility with her comrades, so she still had quite a few worries that refused to go away. Still, Crow was able to comfort her a bit as he pressed a kiss to her cheek and reassured her that he wasn't going anywhere.

She pulled back slightly, just enough so she could met his gaze, and gave him a small smile. "I love you too and I'm going to make sure you keep that promise." she murmured before leaning down to press a soft kiss to his lips. The knight sunk into his lips, getting a little lost in his warm presence. It nearly turned a bit dangerous as she didn't pick up on the sound of approaching footsteps.

As they grew a little closer, Penelope blinked and quickly pulled away from Crow as she stepped away from him. Turning to face towards the entrance, she felt her heartbeat anxiously as she realizing how close she had been to slipping up. The anxiousness only got worse as the flap of the tent shifted and her brother stepped in. The female knight tensed reflexively at the appearance of Layth and she eyed him as he walked into the tent.

"What are you here for?" she asked him, trying to keep a calm mask despite feeling tense. She was rather certain she already knew why he was there but she was hoping to buy a bit of time to figure out a way to get him to leave Crow alone.

"Why do you think?" Layth snorted irritably. His gaze shifted past her to narrow in coldly on Crow. "I haven't gotten the chance to speak with our resident criminal... Unlike you, traitor." He glared at her before moving to push past her to approach Crow.

"Remember we're keeping him alive, Layth." Penelope warned as she clenched her fists at her side.

"I'm aware." Layth growled with disapproval as he glanced back accusingly at Penelope. His gaze shifted back over to Crow and he sneered. "I won't kill him but that certainly won't stop me from getting a few answers out of him."

When Penelope pulled back to meet his gaze, Crow smiled softly. “I’m a man of my word,” he assured her before leaning in to meet her lips in a kiss. It started out tender, but quickly grew more passionate as they pressed into each other. He trailed his hand up her shoulders to the back of her neck, losing himself in the feeling of her lips moving against his. With the knight so close to him, he grew distracted from both the worries they had been facing as well as what was happening around him. So, when she suddenly pulled away, he stared at her confusedly until he caught the sound of footsteps outside the tent.

Immediately, he tensed and dragged his hand across his mouth to hide the fact that they had been kissing mere seconds before. In the next moment, the thief’s heartbeat quickened as Layth stepped into the room. Even though he knew he needed to keep his temper in check, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at the knight, unable to hide his hatred for the other man. Out of every noble in this godsforsaken camp, Layth was the last person he wanted to see.

Crow curled his hands into fists at his sides as Penelope tried to keep her brother at bay with a delaying question. Of course, it didn’t work, and he gritted his teeth as the hotheaded knight called her a traitor. He didn’t care what Layth said or did to him, but it struck a nerve hearing him accuse his sister of being something she wasn’t. She may have been working with him since she joined the battlefront, but he had done nothing but help the Brerratic battalion with the information she’d shared with him—well, aside from the few knights he had killed who had hurt the villagers, but even then, he hadn’t been trying to influence the results of the battle. Regardless of their affiliation, she was just as loyal to her comrades as ever before, and it frustrated him to see her brother ignore that.

He glanced at Penelope as she warned Layth not to kill him and then back at the other knight when he replied with a sneer. “Are you sure about that?” the thief smirked at him arrogantly, forgetting to hold his tongue as his annoyance with the knight outweighed his sense of reason. “You couldn’t get any answers out of me before, and the only thing that’s changed since then is that I’m chained to a bed instead of a tree.”

“Insolent wretch,” Layth snarled. “I’ll make you beg for death.”

“Funny,” Crow said dryly. “You said that last time too, yet here I am, not begging.”

“Gods, you’re infuriating,” Layth snapped, reaching for the hilt of his sword. “You will answer my questions, or I’ll give you something else to heal from.”

Of course, Penelope had no expectations for this 'interrogation' to go well. Layth was already clearly hostile towards Crow and Crow clearly wasn't restraining himself when it came to speaking with her brother. She glanced at Crow disapprovingly then shifted her gaze back to Layth as she noticed her brother reach for the hilt of his sword. Without thinking over her actions, she advanced towards her brother to place a hand firmly on his arm so he wouldn't draw the weapon.

As he turned to meet her gaze with an cold look, she faltered a bit but didn't let him go as she held his gaze. "Don't do anything rash, Layth." she growled warningly. "I know how excessive your 'interrogations' can be and you can't do that when the barons want him alive."

Layth snorted and roughly yanked his arm away from her. "He can survive a couple more cuts. Besides that," he curled his lip at her. "you need to stop defending this cur. You're becoming more of a disgrace to our family with each passing day." He shook his head. "Working with a criminal... Being so weak that a criminal has to save you.. And yet you have the gall to try and tell me how to do things."

Penelope rolled her eyes at her brother's words. "I'm just trying to do what's right, Layth." she argued.

"The law is right and anyone outside of it is wrong." Layth growled. "If you're too weak to handle dealing with criminals like the rats they are, then go outside. I'm not letting you,of all people, tell me what is right and wrong."

Layth focused his gaze on Crow again and Penelope pursed her lips together as she nervously watched her brother. She refused to leave since she wanted to be there to stop him if he did go too far. Unfortunately, it felt like it was more likely for him to do that then handle his temper. She shifted uneasily as she tried to think of a way to convince Layth to leave but knowing how stubborn her brother was, she doubted he would until he was done harassing the thief.

"I want to know how much information you have about us,thief. Especially after work with my foolish sister, I'm sure you managed to manipulate that situation to your advantage." Layth narrowed his gaze on Crow. "I'd recommend answering before I give our physician more work."

Crow stiffened as he eyed Layth’s sword hand, preparing himself for the painful part of the interrogation to begin. However, before the knight even had a chance to draw the blade, Penelope intervened. The thief watched as she stopped her brother and tried to convince him not to use such harsh measures. Of course, he didn’t expect her efforts to go very far, and they didn’t. Layth was clearly set on using whatever force he deemed necessary to handle their prisoner, and he wasn’t going to be persuaded otherwise.

Crow glared venomously at the knight as he belittled his sister yet again. It was a good thing he was chained to the bed, because he would have had a hard time staying still if he had a free range of motion at the moment. He clenched his jaw, fighting the urge to defend her verbally. Even though he couldn’t stand hearing her brother talk to her like that, he couldn’t say anything about it without giving away how close they were. So instead, he forced himself to simply glower at the knight’s back while it was turned to him. Perhaps when he eventually escaped from the camp, he could pay Layth an extra visit and steal something valuable from him as revenge.

When Layth turned back to him, the thief was quick to regain his composure, meeting the other man’s gaze with a look of mild irritation rather than hard anger. Of course, the knight’s first impulse was to ask him about what he had learned from Penelope. Somehow, it annoyed him more that his first question was designed to get his sister in trouble as well, and he wasn’t about to play along.

“I already told you the last time we went through this,” Crow curled his lip at him ferally. “I’m not going to tell you anything, so you might as well save your breath.”

“Answer the question,” Layth spat, drawing his sword from its scabbard. “This is your last warning.”

Crow swallowed as he eyed the blade, remembering how persistent the knight had been during the last interrogation. However, he was too strong willed to give in after just a few threats. Looking up again, he met Layth’s gaze doggedly, “Do your worst.”

“Idiotic cur,” Layth raised his sword to inflict a blow, but at the last second, he wavered as something seemed to cross his mind. In the next moment, a sinister smirk crossed his lips and instead of cutting the thief with the weapon, he brought down his free hand over the bandages around his torso, leaning his weight into the wound beneath.

Crow cried out as an intense pain spread like wildfire through his body, but his reaction only seemed to encourage the knight.

“Maybe you’ll think twice about fighting with me now,” Layth said without easing up. “Now then, tell me everything you know, thief!”

Penelope chewed on the inside of her lip nervously as Layth turned back to Crow to question him. The female knight felt her gaze dart around the room as she tried to figure out what to do before things got worse like they inevitably would. However, it was difficult to come up with any other excuse other than the barons simply wanting to keep Crow alive. That wouldn't be enough to stop her brother from interrogating the thief as he pleased. Unfortunately it didn't seem like she had much time to figure it out either as she noticed Layth raise his blade.

Her eyes widened and it took every inch of her self-control not to dart forward and stop her brother. However, she soon noticed that her brother wavered and for just a brief second, she nearly thought that he was second guessing his decision to hurt Crow. Turns out he was but not in the way she had hoped. She watched with horror in her gaze as he suddenly brought his hand down onto Crow's wound. Hearing Crow cry out in pain fueled the knight with both panic and rage.

Rationality and self-control went out the window as she charged towards her brother and roughly shoved him away from the thief. The knight barely cared about how her actions might appear, all she cared about was getting Layth off of Crow. She glared at her brother and forced herself in between him and Crow as she held her head up defiantly. "That's enough." she growled.

Layth stumbled from the unexpected force and had a brief look of shock until his gaze fell on Penelope. Shock quickly turned into rage at her interference and he glared at her with more venom than she had seen him look at her with ever before. "You little—" he didn't finish his sentence as he suddenly striked her across the cheek with his hand. The hit caused her to stumbled from the unexpected force he had put into it. Penelope brought a hand up to her cheek as she felt it sting from the hit.

"Stop getting in my way." Layth growled threateningly. "Are you trying to keep me from finding something out?"

Recovering from her initial shock, Penelope stood up a bit straighter and glare coldly at her brother. "Idiot! I'm just trying to keep you from ruining everything." she spat. "Doing crap like that with his wound will only made it worse!"

"So?" Layth snorted. "Let it! I gave him a chance to start talking."

"Thinking like that is going to kill him before the barons even have the chance to make a decision." Penelope growled.

"He should be dead anyways!"

The female knight struggled to reign in her temper. After hearing Crow cry out like that and receiving a hit from him as well, she could barely keep herself from throwing a punch at him as he continued to speak so cruelly about Crow. "That's not for you or me to decide, Layth. And if that's how you're going to keep interrogating him, you can leave now." she said with venom in her voice.

"You have no authority over me." Layth growled.

She held her head a little higher and narrowed her gaze at him. "No. But I'm sure the barons won't appreciate hearing about an out of line lieutenant who—is not only pushing the boundaries of killing the exact person they said not to—but also assaulting a fellow lieutenant. Stay and risk that or leave and keep whatever respect they still have for you."

Layth hesitated at her words. He wavered for a moment before clenching his jaw out of frustration as his gaze landed on her now red cheek. "Fine!" he spat. "But as soon as they decide to kill that bastard, I'll be the one to take his life. And I suggest you figure out your loyalties by then, traitor." He turned sharply and stormed out of the tent, clearly still fuming over the whole situation.

Penelope didn't relax until he disappeared from sight. Once her brother was gone, she let out a shaky breath and quickly hurried over to Crow's side with a worried expression. "Oh gods Crow I'm so sorry. Are you alright? He didn't bust the stitching did he?"

Crow’s vision swam as he felt his consciousness slipping away from him with the intensity of the pain. With the brunt of Layth’s weight pressing down on his still-fresh injury, he couldn’t even breathe in. It hurt nearly as badly as when Jaxon had driven his sword through him in the first place. He closed his eyes, fighting the temptation to talk just to make the knight stop leaning on him. He couldn’t let Layth win. If he gave in now, he would be giving the knight exactly what he needed to bring both him and Penelope down. For her sake, he had to keep his mouth shut and tough out the interrogation until her brother decided he wouldn’t learn anything.

Just when he was starting to think he would pass out, Crow felt the pressure disappear from his body. He gasped, finally able to inhale again, and quickly brought his own hand to the wound. Despite the fact that Layth was no longer bearing down on him, the pain didn’t fade very much. He grimaced, biting his lip to suppress a whimper as a sharp ache wracked his torso. It was hard to tell how bad the damage was at the moment, but he knew it wasn’t good. The knight had definitely made something worse.

Vaguely, he was aware of the two knights arguing hotly nearby, and he turned his head to pay better attention to what was happening between them. When he did, he noticed that Penelope was cupping the side of her face as if it pained her. He knitted his brow, momentarily confused by the gesture, until he made the connection that Layth must have struck her. With the realization came a flash of anger, and he shifted on his bed, wanted to get up to come to her aid. However, the motion of moving his body sent another wave of fire through him that made him freeze in his tracks. He squeezed his eyes shut, silently cursing the wound that was keeping him restrained from helping the knight.

After a while, he managed to open one eye again, just in time to catch Layth storm out of the tent. Thank the gods, he thought with relief, glad that Penelope’s brother had given up so quickly. After their last encounter, he had expected the hardheaded man to insist on finishing the interrogation no matter what his sister thought. However, now that the immediate threat was gone, there was also nothing left to distract him from his aching wound. He grimaced again as it sent another thrill of pain through his body.

That moron probably undid whatever healing already started, he thought scathingly.

When Penelope hurried to his side, the thief shook his head faintly, panting from the strain of breathing through the pain. “I don’t know… I don’t know,” he managed to say between breaths, some fear seeping into his voice in his repetition. “It hurts.” Another wave of pain coursed through him, and he moaned. “Gods, I think he was really trying to kill me.”

Penelope felt her heart beginning to race with panic as Crow replied to her with a bit of fear entering his voice. She glanced down towards his bandaging before looking over her shoulder. The knight was nearly about to run off to get Jane but she paused as another thought came to her. He was in a great amount of pain so perhaps it was more important to get him a painkiller before worrying about the stitches. Even if it did cause him to be delirious and she still needed to get Jane for his stitches, at least he wouldn't be in so much pain.

Deciding that was the best course of action, she turned and hurried over to his tunic where she had hidden the jars. Fumbling, she managed to pull one of them out and rushed back over to his side. "Here! Here. This'll help with the pain." she murmured. Fumbling, she got the lid of the jar off and let it drop carelessly to the floor. Holding the jar in one hand, she then moved to slip her other arm carefully under his head to prop him up enough to drink the mixture since she doubted he'd be able to on his own at the moment.

"I'll get Jane after this if I need to. You'll be ok." she mumbled reassuringly to him as she held the jar up to his lips for him to drink. "I'm so sorry I didn't do anything sooner." she added shakily as a small stab of guilt mixed with her panic and concern for him. Penelope knew Layth trying to interrogate Crow wouldn't go well and she wished she would have come up with a way to stop him before he hurt Crow as much as he did. If Layth had busted his stitches, it could possibly set back Crow's healing even more, which only added to her fear as she still had lingering worries about him recovering before the barons made a decision.

Crow was barely aware that Penelope had left his side to retrieve the medicine Hazel had given her. He had closed his eyes again, focusing on breathing through the pain as he tried not to let himself pass out. While being unconscious sounded much more pleasant than what he was going through now, he didn’t want to risk being even more vulnerable if Layth decided to come back and attack him again. After all, he wouldn’t have put it past the knight to injure him even more to wake him up again. As unbearable as it was to stay conscious at the moment, it was the safer thing to do.

“Here!”

Penelope’s voice drew his attention, and he opened his eyes again in time to see her come back to his side with a small jar in her hand. It took him a moment to remember what it was, but as soon as he did, he felt a burst of eagerness, leaning his head up slightly when she propped him up to take the medicine. Right now, he didn’t care about the side effects. He just wanted the pain to stop.

The liquid tasted bitter, but he ignored it as he downed the draught. Once it was gone, he let out his breath in a sigh and leaned his head back against Penelope’s arm. “It’s not your fault,” he mumbled, wincing slightly as his wound smarted again. He hoped the medicine would take effect soon. “That was a dirty trick. I didn’t know he was going to try it either.”

A short period of time passed before Crow began to feel a tingling sensation spread throughout his body, slowly replacing the ache of his wound. “I think it’s starting to work,” he sighed, looking up at Penelope with a weak smile. “Thank you.”

Once Crow had finished the contents of the jar, Penelope stashed away the empty container into her pocket for the time being. She let out a soft sigh as he leaned his head back against her arm and assured her that it wasn't her fault. "I know...I just wish I could have gotten him to leave before he even tried anything." she mumbled. Her gaze shifted down to check on his bandages again, looking for signs of blood. However, she didn't see any like when he had busted his stitches from coughing so she relaxed a little more now.

If he had bled from Layth's cruel method of questioning, it hadn't been enough to bleed through the bandages. Though just because the stitches likely hadn't busted, that didn't mean Crow hadn't received any damage. She hoped that whatever damage had been done could wait until his pain died down. With him on the painkiller, she was a bit reluctant to go get Jane now that he didn't seem to be in immediate danger. Both because she didn't want the physician finding out about the painkillers as well as worrying that Layth might change his mind and come back. He was in a lot of pain though.. she thought with a frown as she looked back to him as she weighed out going to get the physician.

As he thanked her, the knight gave a small smile before leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead. "Of course... Though I hardly think you should be thanking me after it was my own brother who did this.." she mumbled with a small frown as she looked down at him. Penelope let out a soft sigh and brushed his hair back with her free hand while she let him rest against her arm a little longer. "I might go get Jane still.. But I want to see how the painkiller effects you first."

“Somehow, I doubt he would have listened no matter what you tried,” Crow pointed out, breathing a little slower now that he was no longer fighting against the pain. As the medicine continued to work inside him, he was starting to feel lethargic. His eyelids drooped slightly, and he found it difficult to move his muscles. It was a strange feeling, but it was much more pleasant than what he had been going through just moments before, so he wasn’t about to complain. As long as the pain was gone, he was content.

When Penelope kissed him on the forehead, he looked up at her with a slight frown. “It doesn’t matter that he’s your brother,” he insisted. His tongue was starting to feel heavier in his mouth, so he spoke slower than usual, though his thoughts were still coherent. “You’re not responsible for the actions of your kin.” He smiled softly. “If we were, then that would mean I’m responsible for everything my father has done, and that’s just not true.” He tried to lift his arm to rest his hand against her cheek, but the effort was too strenuous, so he just stretched it out to touch her side where she was standing beside him instead.

The longer the painkiller stayed in his system, the more disoriented Crow was beginning to feel. His head lolled slightly as he gazed up at the canopy over his head. It almost looked like it was moving, though he was still just clearheaded enough to know it was just the medicine that was making him see things. As Penelope brushed his hair from his face, he blinked dazedly and turned to look at her instead. He didn’t register what she said, but it didn’t seem important. Right now, he was too transfixed on her face to care about anything else.

“You’re so pretty,” he said, grinning up at her a bit dumbly. By now, he had forgotten about what had just happened between himself and Layth, and he wasn’t quite sure what was going on at the moment either. “Did anyone ever tell you that?” Suddenly, he knitted his brow confusedly as he looked around the tent, which, to his hallucinating mind, now looked like trees. “When did we go outside?”

Penelope raised an eyebrow as she noticed her last words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the thief stared up at her. As he suddenly complimented her, she gave an amused smile as she realized the medicine must have begun to really kick in. She doubted he'd be able to hold a coherent conversation now as he went on to ask when they had gone outside. "Oh boy." she mumbled with an amused look as she looked down at him. Suddenly she was rather glad Hazel had warned her about the strength of the painkiller.

She heard footsteps approaching and she immediately stiffened. Worried it was Layth again, she gently pulled her arm out from underneath his head and moved to put a bit of distance between them as she turned to face whoever was approaching the tent. A second later, Gavin and Olivia both stepped inside with rather serious looks. Penelope relaxed at the sight of her two friends and let out a breath of relief. If Layth had come back while Crow was drugged, there would have been multiple problems.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked curiously.

"We saw Layth storming out of the tent not too long ago and figured we'd better check to make sure nothing happened." Gavin explained as he looked her over then looked towards Crow.

"Yeah. I'm surprised everything looks pretty calm in here." Olivia said with a grin.

Penelope snorted. "It wasn't a minute ago. The only reason it looks calm now is because I gave Crow a painkiller the herbalist made for him." she shook her head and shifted move closer to Crow's side again now that she knew it was just her friends. "That bastard brother of mine hit me and was pressing down on Crow's wound to the point where he could barely stand the pain." She sighed and moved to place her hand on top of his before looking back at the other two knights. "He's a bit delirious right now though.."

Crow stared up at Penelope blankly. His mind was too hazy for him to think straight anymore, so instead of wasting his energy trying to understand why she was looking at him so amusedly, he simply took in her features. He couldn’t believe this was the woman he was with. She was standing with him in the middle of a forest he didn’t recognize, for gods’ sakes. It was clear to him that they were lost, but she was still staying by his side. He really appreciated that. For some reason, it was hard for him to move, so he doubted he could find his way out of this place without her help.

Suddenly, he felt something move beneath his head, and he pouted as the knight pulled away from him. “Where’re you going?” he tilted his head confusedly. She couldn’t have been leaving him now. After all, neither of them knew where they were… right? He certainly didn’t recognize the strange waving trees around him. If she did, he would have expected her to tell him.

The thief was just about to question her further about it, when two other figures appeared. He eyed them for a moment before he realized it was Olivia and Gavin. “Hey, look who it is!” he grinned at them dazedly. Of all the people to show up in this strange forest, he was glad to see it was them. Maybe with the extra help, he and Penelope could finally find a way out of this place.

He watched the three knights talk amongst themselves, unable to comprehend much of what they were saying but trying hard nonetheless. In the next moment, he saw Penelope return to his side, and he smiled more softly, feeling a flutter of affection for her as she rested her hand over his. He wanted to lace his fingers with hers, but quickly found that he didn’t have control over his hand. Well, that was fine. This was nice too. He looked up at her as she said something about him that he didn’t quite catch.

Deciding it wasn’t worth asking her to repeat, his eyes wandered back to the other knights. He studied them both for a moment before breaking out in another delirious grin. “You know, I like you guys,” he said, his head lolling to the side as he gazed at them. “Don’t tell Gavin and Olivia though… It’s a secret.” He squinted at them for a moment and then widened his eyes. “Wait… you’re Gavin and Olivia.” Suddenly, he began laughing in a sort of mindless giggle, finding the situation amusing. “Whoops… guess they know now.”

“You’re right,” Olivia snorted, turning to Penelope with a smirk. “He’s gone.”

Penelope looked over at Crow as he commented on Gavin and Olivia's appearance. She blinked in surprise as he suddenly complimented them and say it was a secret onky to realize that it was them. She shook her head and turned to look back over at Olivia and Gavin. The former looked rather amused with this turn of events while The other just shift awkwardly, unsure what to make of the situation he walked into. As Olivia turned to her, Penelope gave a small nod of agreement.

"I know." she mused as she glanced back down at Crow. "Hazel wasn't playing around when she said it was strong."

"Hazel?" Gavin questioned as he looked over at Penelope.

"The herbalist that I had Jane work with before. She's staying with Crow's companions so I went to her to get him some additional help." Penelope explained, careful to leave out the fact that she had went to visit to get him medicine for his illness. Though she trusted Gavin, she figured it was still better to keep the amount of knights who knew about the thief's sickness to a minimum. "Jane's made it pretty clear that she's only going to do the bare minimum to help him after all. Although I'm wondering if I should get her soon.. Layth hurt him pretty bad."

Gavin looked over at Crow and let out a quiet sigh. "You should probably wait for the medicine to wear off.. He's far too out of it to be seen by anyone else." he advised and Penelope gave a small murmur of agreement. The male knight crossed his arms and then turned to Olivia. "Well since things are ok here, we should get going."

"What? And miss this entertainment?" Olivia snickered and sauntered over to the bed with a mischievous gleam in her gaze. "I see no reason to rush off. Besides, I'm sure Crow wants us to stick around. Right Crow?" She looked down at him with a grin.