When Penelope said she hoped that the talk with her father would go smoothly, Crow nodded in agreement. In a way, he felt some pity for her, since he already knew that John was going to be unhappy when he discovered their intentions to leave on a weeklong trip alone; but he was also relieved that he didn’t have to be the one to break the news to the older knight. After her father had caught them the night before, he had a feeling he was on thin ice with the other man. If he went with her to talk to John, he would probably just be chided about his ‘risky behavior,’ and that was [i]not[/i] a conversation he wanted to have twice in two days.

He glanced at Naida as she spoke with Penelope and smiled to himself, finding her enthusiasm just as infectious as last time. While there was still a lot about noble life that was going to take him some time to get used to, he was glad to have a half-sister around who was so eager to welcome him into it all. Really, she was the first person in his life who had ever greeted him with such open arms. Everyone he’d met before had either disliked him for being a thief or had maintained at least some level of distrust while getting to know him. Penelope and his companions were no exception. Though they had all warmed up to him over time, none of them had been this friendly to him right away. It was a nice change that made him feel more at home in the castle. 

“See you later,” Crow said when Penelope headed out of the room, leaving him alone with Naida. He watched her go until she disappeared from sight before turning to his sister with a tip of his head. “We might as well get going too. Come on.”

“Alright,” Naida fell in step at his side as they made their way to the hall that led to his room. “So,” she spoke up again, lacing her fingers together behind her back as they walked. “Are you getting excited yet? You’re about to take up the position our father held for over twenty years. That’s pretty impressive, if you ask me.”

“Sort of,” Crow shrugged. “Honestly, it’s more overwhelming than anything else. I mean, I’ve been a thief my whole life. I don’t know any different. There’s going to be a lot I’ll have to learn in a short amount of time.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” she grinned at him confidently. “Udolf says that we Mannerings are the fastest learners he’s ever taught. If you’re anything like the rest of us, you’ll pick up what you need to know in no time.”

“Udolf?” Crow quirked a brow at her.

“He’s our tutor,” Naida explained. “He’s really boring, but he’s good at helping us understand complicated subjects like the history of Brerra.” She looked up at him with a smirk. “He’ll probably be the one to teach you too, since he’s a close friend of Father.”

“I see,” Crow mused, still finding the idea of having a tutor strange. Until now, he’d always assumed that being educated was a luxury he simply would never be able to afford. To find out that he was suddenly going to be taught things that the peasants of the kingdom never even dreamed to learn about was a lot to take in.

“Mhmm,” Naida murmured thoughtfully. “And even if you still don’t understand something with Udolf’s help, you can always ask me.” She beamed at him. “I never liked schooling, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t learn anything. I’m sure I could help you figure out whatever you don’t get.”

“Thanks,” the thief sighed. “I’ll probably need it.”

“Of course!” his sister brightened. “I want to—”

“There you two are.”

Crow blinked at the sound of a new voice and peered back over his shoulder to see none other than William approaching them from behind. The knight had a pleased look on his face, as if he seemed to believe he’d found something he wasn’t supposed to. “You managed to get away from me yesterday, but I’m not going to let that happen again,” he growled. “Wherever you’re going now, I’m—” Suddenly, he faltered as Naida turned around to look at him with a frown. His eyes grew wide, and he stumbled, clearly not expecting that the female knight was someone other than Penelope. The sight made Crow snort in amusement.

“You’re what?” Naida asked, studying the older knight curiously as they all slowed to a stop in the corridor.

William’s mouth flapped wordlessly as his mind seemed to go blank. After a moment, he leaned forward in a deep bow, finally coming back to his senses. “I’m sorry, My Lady. I thought you were someone else.”

Naida exchanged a devious look with Crow before turning back to the knight and folding her arms over her chest in mock sternness. “I’ll forgive your tone this time, but you’d better not speak to me like that again, or I’ll be sure my father finds out. Do you understand?”

“I-I understand,” William stammered, remaining lowered in his bow. Crow had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at how frightened the hot-tempered knight was by his younger sister. Naida wasn’t the least bit threatening in his opinion, but he supposed the weight of her title was enough to scare off even stubborn men like William.

“Good,” the princess nodded, returning her gaze to the thief as she kept up her unamused façade. “Let’s go, Crow. I’ve much more I wish to speak with you about.”

“Of course,” he grinned at her before glancing back at William. Just as the knight straightened his posture again, the thief made a face at him and then fell in step beside his sister, both siblings snickering softly as the other man stared, dumbfounded, at their backs.