Crow nodded when Penelope said he could use her as a ‘guard’ if his father insisted that he shouldn’t go back to the outer villages alone. Though he hadn’t even made the request yet, he had a feeling he was going to need to take her up on the offer. He already had a reputation for running, so he doubted that the king would trust him enough to let him leave on his own, since as far as anyone knew, he could just disappear while he was there. Plus, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to go alone anyway. While it would be nice to speak with the other thieves in private, he knew he could very well lose his nerve about returning to the inner kingdom. If his companions tried to convince him not to go, he was going to need some help in keeping his resolve. Having the knight by his side would be the reminder he needed of why he was doing this in the first place.

As Penelope brought up the suggestion that he could always try to arrange a meeting with his companions in the inner kingdom, Crow cringed. The idea itself wasn’t bad, but if he went about it that way, the other thieves would find out that he had lied about recovering from his wound before he could have a chance to tell them in person. Given his history of deceiving them over and over in the past, he wanted to be the one to explain himself to them first. That way, he could also tell them the whole truth of the matter as well as why he had kept everything a secret from them until now.

Additionally, If the other thieves found out he was at the castle from someone else, there was a chance that they wouldn’t even show up to see him. For one thing, his companions were cautious. They could come to the conclusion that he’d been arrested while he’d been staying in the knights’ camp and assume that the knights were trying to draw them out of hiding with fake word from him requesting that they should meet him in the inner kingdom. However, even if they did believe he was the one who had really arranged the meeting, they could be so upset about the fact that he’d kept yet another major secret from them that they chose not to see him. The thought made his heart sink.

“No,” Crow shook his head after a moment of silence. “I have to see them in the outer villages. I’m certain that it’s the only way they’ll listen to me.”

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock at the door that drew the thief’s attention. He turned in his chair, surprised to see Hunter step inside the room. Did the servant have news for him already? It hadn’t even been that long since he’d sent him out to speak with the king. He shifted nervously in his chair, feeling a bit more anxious about meeting with his father so soon.

However, Hunter wasn’t the only one to visit, it seemed. Shortly after the attendant entered the bed chamber, Crow wrinkled his nose as he saw the physician, Eldon, come inside. After the way the old man had treated him the day before, he was the last person the thief wanted to see. Unfortunately, if Eldon noticed his displeasure, he didn’t care.

“Ah, you’re here,” the physician said curtly, making his way over to where Crow was seated at the table. He held out a corked vial filled with a yellow-green liquid. “I was going to give this to you yesterday, but no one was here when I stopped by. This should cure that cough of yours right up.”

Crow raised a brow as he studied the medicine. “You say this is a cure?” he asked with a hint of disbelief. After going through remedy after remedy in search of a way to heal his illness, he had come to accept the fact that there was nothing more to be done. Now, suddenly, this old man thought he had a cure? It felt a bit farfetched, in his opinion.

“I do,” Eldon grunted impatiently. “Now then, I’m not going to have any more of that ‘untrusting peasant’ nonsense of yours. I have been curing diseases longer than you’ve been alive, boy. Just take it, and I’ll be by tomorrow with another dose. That your cough will be gone before the end of the week.”

Crow shot the physician a glare, disliking his attitude. However, he still accepted the vial from him, studying the liquid curiously for a moment before he uncapped the container and lifted it to his lips to down the whole thing. Like all the other medicines he’d taken, the stuff was bitter, and he was quick to chase it with a swig of wine to get rid of the aftertaste.

“Good,” Eldon nodded, seeming pleased. He took back the vial from the thief’s hand and turned towards the door, heading back out of the room almost as quickly as he’d arrived.

Once the physician was gone, Hunter took his turn to approach Crow and Penelope at the table. His eyes flicked between the two before settling on the thief, “The king wishes to meet with you right away.”

Crow blinked, casting a sideways glance at Penelope before meeting the attendant’s gaze with a nervous frown, “[i]Right[/i] now?”

“Yes,” Hunter nodded. “He asked me to escort you to the council chamber at once.”

[i]Sounds like Father has been eager to hear my answer,[/i] Crow thought, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright. I guess I’m going now then.” He stood up from his chair, and turned to Penelope once more with a hapless shrug. “I’ll see you when I get back.”