The next day was a bit more eventful than usual for Crow. Instead of being chained up in Jane’s tent for the entirety of his waking hours, John decided to let him have a bit more free range in the camp. With their trip to the inner kingdom fast approaching, the knight wanted to make sure he would be prepared to cover the distance to the castle. Thus, he was allowed to walk about and exercise his disused muscles a bit as long as he stayed within John’s sight at all times. He still wasn’t given complete freedom back—the knight had chained his hands together so he couldn’t cause any trouble while he was out—but even being in daylight again was a huge step forward for the thief, so he appreciated what he could get.

The other knights in the camp weren’t nearly as happy with the change. They gibed and spat at the thief whenever he got close to any of them, angered that he had even been permitted to stand in their presence. Their hostility didn’t bother him though. John had made it quite clear that any knight who laid so much as a finger on him would be punished, so he was safe from anyone who wished to cause him physical harm. It also gave him a fun game to play.

Whenever any of the nobles were particularly put off by him, he decided to intentionally stick around and bother them until they grew frustrated enough to walk away. He continued doing this long enough that eventually, the knights actively tried to avoid coming close to him and would turn the other way if he walked towards them. Crow was very proud of this accomplishment, because in his mind, it meant that he had won control over the camp. Wherever he went, the nobles would flee.

Unfortunately, his fun was put to an end around midafternoon when John decided he’d had enough time to walk around and forced him to return to the tent. The rest of the day passed by slowly and dully, and the thief ended up sleeping through most of it, since he’d had nothing better to do. So, when the day of their departure finally came, he was quite well-rested and rose early to assist John in packing up their supplies for the trip. The help he offered had little to do with the knight, and more to do with the fact that today was the first time in three weeks that he’d been freed from his restraints. It felt good to have a full range of motion again, and he wasted no time in appreciating it as he packed his own things in a bag provided—reluctantly—by the nobles.

It was just looking like the start of a peaceful morning, when Gavin showed up to say his goodbyes to Penelope. Crow tried to ignore them, knowing the other man had only come to keep up the charade of their courtship, but he found it impossible not to sneak occasional glances in their direction. Even though Gavin had earned more of his trust over the past few weeks, he still wanted to make sure the knight didn’t do anything more than what he had to to fool Penelope’s father.

When the two kissed briefly, Crow tensed and averted his gaze, busying himself by going through his bag to make sure he’d gotten everything he would need for the trip. Though the sight unsettled him, it didn’t bother him nearly as much as it had the first time he’d seen their lips meet. He supposed he must have been growing numb to watching them pretend to be in a relationship. Plus, his genuine kiss with Penelope two days ago was still fresh in his mind, so that helped take the edge off as well.

Once Gavin finished saying his goodbyes to Penelope and John, the knight casted a brief glance towards Crow, who forced a polite dip of his head in farewell. The gesture seemed to relax the other man a bit, which made him guess that Gavin had been nervous that he would be angry over seeing him kiss Penelope. Even though it had bothered him, he wasn’t going to hold it against the knight. After all, he had explicitly said he could handle it, so he had no right to hold it against him anyway.

After Gavin left, it didn’t take much longer for the Crow and the others to finish packing their things. The thief stood nearby Penelope, leaving some intentional distance between them and trying to keep his excitement off his face as John performed one last check of their supplies. Once the older knight seemed satisfied that they were well prepared, he shouldered one bag and handed another to Crow to carry.

“Let’s get going,” he said curtly, glancing between his daughter and the thief. “We’ve got a long walk ahead of us to Wellspring.”