Crow glanced at John with a shrug when the knight denied his offer to eat the food the king had given him. He didn’t really care one way or the other if Penelope’s father joined him, since he’d just wanted to extend the invitation in case either of the knights were hungry. Casting a fond smile at Penelope, he walked with her over to the table and sat down again, filling his empty plate with a second helping of rye bread and fruit. Perhaps it was just the atmosphere of the room, but it felt like even the simple food had a richer flavor than the bread and fruit he ate in the outer villages.

[i]Everything in the inner kingdom is fancier than what we have,[/i] he thought as he popped a grape into his mouth and chewed slowly, letting the flavorful juice of the fruit coat his tongue.

He looked up again at John as the older man announced that he had something to tell them while they were staying in the castle and listened attentively as the knight went on to explain what his privileges were. It wasn’t that surprising to learn that his father had chosen to give him free reign of the castle grounds, especially since it was so obvious that Albin was trying to convince him to take the job as the next viceroy. However, hadn’t been expecting to be allowed to wander without the company of the royal guards. Apparently, the king had decided to give him even more freedom than he’d thought.

As John continued on to tell the thief that he and Penelope would be acting as his guards, Crow sat up a little straighter with interest. While he felt rather certain that he could take of himself if any of his enemies decided to try and come after him while he was staying here, it was nice to know he’d have a couple extra sets of eyes watching his back. Plus, if Penelope was one of his guards, then that would give them the chance to spend even more time together, which was something that he was grateful for.

“Alright,” he nodded when John finished speaking. Leaning back in his chair, he lifted his glass to his lips to take a sip of the wine. Though the flavor of the drink had caught him by surprise initially, he found that it was starting to grow on him now that he knew what to expect. [i]Just one more thing nobles get to enjoy that peasants never do,[/i] he mused thoughtfully as he set the goblet down again. Offhandedly, he wondered if he could find a way to take some of the drink with him back to his companions in the outer villages when he returned.

[i]‘If’ I return,[/i] he silently corrected himself with a faint wince. It still felt strange to him that there was even a chance that he wouldn’t go back to his home, but he didn’t want to make up his mind yet. Just because he knew he would have preferred to return to the other thieves didn’t mean that was the best choice for both him and Penelope. He could tell she was excited by the prospect of getting to be with him without giving up her status, and he didn’t want to shut down the opportunity without giving it some serious thought first.

Suddenly, the thief’s thoughts were interrupted by yet another knock on the door. He looked up again to see that Hunter had returned, along with another man he didn’t recognize. The attendant looked between the three seated at the table, only to quickly avert his gaze when he realized John was with them. “Ah, good, you’re all here,” he muttered hurriedly. Turning towards Penelope, he lowered his head slightly in a respectful gesture, “I told His Highness about your request, and he agreed to have an audience with you at midday today.”