“So,” Naida spoke up again once she and Crow had put some distance between themselves and William. “What was that about?”

“What do you mean?” Crow casted her a sideways glance.

“What William said about thinking I was someone else,” Naida studied him with a curious look. “Who else did he think you would be walking with?”

Crow hesitated, averting his gaze. While his sister had gained some of his trust, he didn’t want to tell her much about what was going on between him and Penelope. They were still trying to keep their relationship a secret from anyone who didn’t already know about it. Even though he felt like Naida wouldn’t go running her mouth about them, he didn’t know her well enough to say so without any doubts. So, instead of explaining what was really happening, he shrugged, “He’s never liked me very much, so I think he just doesn’t trust me with Penelope. He’s probably hoping to catch me doing something unsavory to report back to the king and get me arrested.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Naida wrinkled her nose. “You wouldn’t hut Penelope… right?” She added the last question with slight hesitation, as if she seemed to realize that she still didn’t know him very well and couldn’t make the claim with certainty.

“Of course not,” Crow snorted. “I may be a thief, but there are some lines that even I won’t cross.”

“I thought so,” the princess seemed to relax slightly. She cracked a smile and elbowed him in the side, “And you [i]were[/i] a thief. Now, you’re Father’s viceroy.”

“Almost,” he smirked. “I’ve accepted the offer, but I still have to formally take the title, from the sound of it.”

“Ahh, that’s just a formality,” Naida waved her had apathetically. “You’re already the viceroy. Father just has to make a show of it so the other people in the palace know too.”

At the mention of the other nobles, Crow grimaced faintly. “If it’s that easy, then couldn’t we just skip the ceremony altogether?” he muttered. “That sounds much more pleasant.”

“I wish,” she sighed. “Ceremonies are boring, but unfortunately, Father has to put them on to keep everyone else happy around here. If he just made you his ambassador without involving the other high-ranking nobles, I’m sure they would throw a fit.”

“Is that so?” Crow said dryly.

“Yeah,” Naida nodded. “But they’re not all bad. On the bright side, there’s always great food at titling ceremonies, so we’ll get to enjoy that.”

“I suppose so,” he gave a one shouldered shrug. Usually, the prospect of good food was more appealing to him, but the luxury was starting to wear off a bit after he’d been able to eat venison for a few days in a row now.

Naida studied him with a thoughtful frown before speaking up again, “Hey, did I tell you about the time Braden got drunk and dueled against a baron in a tavern?”

“No,” Crow turned to look at her bemusedly, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic, but grateful for the distraction.

“Oh, that’s a good one,” she snickered. “We had just gotten back from a messaging errand that Father had sent us on in Bexley…”

--

By the time Crow and Naida arrived at the viceroy’s room, the thief was in a better mood again. He was glad that his sister was able to lift his spirits so easily. His discomfort about being given a noble title in front of a room full of nobles had faded quite a bit as she kept him occupied with more stories about herself and his other siblings during their childhood. It was interesting to hear about the family members he’d never known he even had, especially since the princess seemed intent on sharing some of their more embarrassing memories with him.

When he opened the door to step into the room, the two were still laughing over another amusing tale that she had told him about Braden and barely registered that Hunter was already waiting for them inside. The attendant’s eyes flicked between the siblings, and he bowed deeply to Naida, “My Lady.”

“Oh, stand up, Hunter,” she smirked at him amusedly. “You know you don’t need to act like that around me.”

The attendant straightened right away, shuffling his feet bashfully. “O-Of course.” He turned towards Crow and gestured to a packed bag that was sitting on the edge of the bed. “His Highness wanted me to inform you that everything you’ll need for your journey is ready for you here.”

Crow blinked, mildly surprised that the supplies had been prepared so quickly. It seemed that if the king wanted something done, the castle staff worked efficiently to get that something done swiftly as possible. “Thank you,” he nodded to the servant as he stepped over to get a closer look at the bag on the mattress.

“This has been fun, but I should get back to work,” Naida said with a reluctant exhale from behind him. “I’m sure Tybalt is going to complain that I’ve even been gone this long.”

“Right,” Crow turned back to his sister with a smile. “Thanks for accompanying me back to my room. I’ll see you again when I get back to the castle.”

“Have a safe trip, Crow.” she winked at him playfully. “I’d better be the first person you seek out when you come back, you hear me?”

“Naturally,” he grinned at her in return.

With that, the princess exited the room with Hunter, leaving Crow to behind to wait for Penelope alone.