Crow smiled as Penelope thanked him. He was glad that his words had helped ease her worries. After all, it seemed like an honor that the gods had chosen them of all people to fulfill their plans to save the kingdoms of Brerra and Younis. He didn’t want her to be constantly fretting about losing control over her life, when what they were really doing was voluntarily accepting a task from a higher power like she would do with her barons or the king. Granted, this task had some serious repercussions to it if they failed, but it wasn’t very different in any other way.

Besides, if they succeeded, there would be even better benefits: The kingdom would be saved, a war of monumental scale would be prevented, and they could finally be together to have the life they’d been dreaming about. Just thinking about it made him feel giddy with excitement. If anything, the gods’ trust in them allowed them to have even more control over their lives. Instead of waiting around for the war with Younis to play out, he and Penelope could work from the inside of the castle to turn everything in their favor. They could have an active role in the fate of the kingdoms. If that wasn’t control, he didn’t know what was.

As Penelope said that she didn’t think she would be fighting against the gods’ request of her, Crow nodded. “Alright, then I’ll be right beside you when you confront the king,” he assured her confidently, bringing his hand up to run his fingers through her hair. “Maybe I could even use whatever he wants from me as leverage to get him to listen.” It was an interesting thought, but he wasn’t sure how well it would work out in practice. If Albin was as conniving as he was—which was likely the case, since his mother had been an honest woman, and he didn’t know where else he could have gotten his skills for deceiving people—he was going to have his work cut out for him.

When Penelope pulled back from his arms, he laced his fingers with hers and followed after John again. “Yeah,” he murmured in agreement. “I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long day…”

--

When they got back to the inn, Crow was reluctant to part with Penelope. After everything that had happened that night along with his nervousness about confronting his father the following day, he longed to sleep with her by his side again. However, with John in the room as them, he was too uncomfortable to suggest the idea. Even though the older knight seemed to be more tolerant of him now, he didn’t want to brazenly share a bed with the man’s daughter while they were right next to each other. He wasn’t that cocky.

Deciding to return the respect that John had begun to show to him, the thief chose to press a tired kiss to her cheek and murmured a quick ‘goodnight’ to her before he settled down on his bed alone. It took a while for him to fall asleep, since his mind was so wound up with anxiety about meeting with the king, but eventually, he managed to drift off into a light and somewhat fitful slumber.