“Two years, to be exact,” Crow casted Penelope a wry smirk as he finished piling food onto his plate. The last time he’d been able to eat venison was when they had been traveling through the wealthy parts of Younis on their mission. Since then, he’d never found the opportunity to have it again. He and the other thieves didn’t want to hunt deer unless they could be certain that they would be able to use at least most of the meat, but with no way to store it properly and only four mouths to feed, it would have been a waste to even try. Additionally, most nobles on the edges of the inner kingdom—their main targets on their heists before the war—didn’t seem to eat it often, and when they did, their large family clans always finished off the food without leaving anything leftover that he and his companions could steal. So, he had just come to accept the fact that he would likely never eat it again.
I’m so glad I was wrong about that, he thought with a satisfied sigh as he swallowed a mouthful of the savory meat. Though he disliked almost everything about nobility, he supposed there was one perk to accepting his father’s offer if it meant he could eat like this every day. The flavorful foods that nobles enjoyed were the one thing he had always been a bit envious of. Compared to the bland dishes peasants were able to prepare, the plates of richly spiced entrees with real meat—not the dry, tasteless chicken commoners consumed—were heavenly.
Crow popped another bite of food into his mouth and glanced up as Penelope introduced herself to Hunter. It was quite obvious that the attendant was intimidated by her, and he even seemed to know her family name. The thief smiled softly as she reassured the nervous man that he had nothing to be afraid of, appreciative of her kindness to the servant. It was why he had bothered to invite Hunter to sit with them in the first place, since he’d gotten the impression that the other man wasn’t used to being treated like anything more than a serf.
Perhaps it was possible that Hunter had been avoiding eye contact because he was uncomfortable about being around a known thief, but he suspected it had more to do with the fact that Albin had personally invited him to the castle and was treating him like a royal guest. Even if the attendant didn’t know about the offer the king had made to him, it wouldn’t have been difficult for him to guess that the thief was there for a rather prestigious reason. Of course that would make it confusing for the other man to figure out how to act around him.
Crow turned to Penelope again as she suddenly asked Hunter about arranging an audience with the king. For a moment, he stared at her confusedly until he remembered her experience with Toreus the previous night. After everything that had happened between himself and his father, he’d nearly forgotten that she’d met the Brerratic god and that he’d told her to convince the king to end the war with Younis peacefully. He glanced back at the attendant as he waited to hear what the other man thought about the request.
“Of course,” Hunter dipped his head politely. “The king has retired to his chambers for the night, but I can give him your request first thing in the morning. I’m sure he’ll be eager to hear about your battalion’s progress in the war.” Finished with his small portion of food, the attendant rose from the table and dipped his head in another courteous gesture to Crow. “Thank you for your generosity. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to around the castle.” With that, he turned and exited the room, shutting the door behind him as he left the two alone.
Once he was gone, Crow turned to Penelope with a grin and leaned in to press a quick kiss to her lips before he returned his focus to his food. “Sorry, darling,” he said with a teasing smirk. “I’d give you more of my attention if I could, but I’d like to finish the rest of this food before it gets cold.”
I’m so glad I was wrong about that, he thought with a satisfied sigh as he swallowed a mouthful of the savory meat. Though he disliked almost everything about nobility, he supposed there was one perk to accepting his father’s offer if it meant he could eat like this every day. The flavorful foods that nobles enjoyed were the one thing he had always been a bit envious of. Compared to the bland dishes peasants were able to prepare, the plates of richly spiced entrees with real meat—not the dry, tasteless chicken commoners consumed—were heavenly.
Crow popped another bite of food into his mouth and glanced up as Penelope introduced herself to Hunter. It was quite obvious that the attendant was intimidated by her, and he even seemed to know her family name. The thief smiled softly as she reassured the nervous man that he had nothing to be afraid of, appreciative of her kindness to the servant. It was why he had bothered to invite Hunter to sit with them in the first place, since he’d gotten the impression that the other man wasn’t used to being treated like anything more than a serf.
Perhaps it was possible that Hunter had been avoiding eye contact because he was uncomfortable about being around a known thief, but he suspected it had more to do with the fact that Albin had personally invited him to the castle and was treating him like a royal guest. Even if the attendant didn’t know about the offer the king had made to him, it wouldn’t have been difficult for him to guess that the thief was there for a rather prestigious reason. Of course that would make it confusing for the other man to figure out how to act around him.
Crow turned to Penelope again as she suddenly asked Hunter about arranging an audience with the king. For a moment, he stared at her confusedly until he remembered her experience with Toreus the previous night. After everything that had happened between himself and his father, he’d nearly forgotten that she’d met the Brerratic god and that he’d told her to convince the king to end the war with Younis peacefully. He glanced back at the attendant as he waited to hear what the other man thought about the request.
“Of course,” Hunter dipped his head politely. “The king has retired to his chambers for the night, but I can give him your request first thing in the morning. I’m sure he’ll be eager to hear about your battalion’s progress in the war.” Finished with his small portion of food, the attendant rose from the table and dipped his head in another courteous gesture to Crow. “Thank you for your generosity. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to around the castle.” With that, he turned and exited the room, shutting the door behind him as he left the two alone.
Once he was gone, Crow turned to Penelope with a grin and leaned in to press a quick kiss to her lips before he returned his focus to his food. “Sorry, darling,” he said with a teasing smirk. “I’d give you more of my attention if I could, but I’d like to finish the rest of this food before it gets cold.”