Crow nodded in agreement when Penelope said she was getting tired of the gawking. Because of his reputation, the thief was used to drawing some attention to himself, but this was excessive. He supposed it was because of how openly he was walking in front of the crowds though. Normally, when he visited the inner kingdom, he would wear a cloak and try to keep to himself, since he only ventured this far south when he wanted to steal something. To blatantly show himself to the locals was something he hadn’t ever done before. It wasn’t something he was very fond of either. He rolled his eyes as a woman dragged her child away from the road when he and Penelope walked by, as if she expected him to try and take the boy from her.

[i]These people are ridiculous,[/i] he huffed irritably and shoved his hands into his pockets, hastening his pace slightly in his eagerness to get off the road and into a private room at the inn.

--

It took until the end of the day before they finally reached Sarton. Crow yawned tiredly, stretching his arms and back as the inn came into view up ahead. After spending the whole day walking, he was ready for a hearty supper and a good, long rest. He felt like he deserved it after enduring the nosy stares of the locals all day.

He glanced down at Penelope, matching her eager smile with a smirk of his own. “Finally,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. “Let’s hurry up and get our separate rooms, so we can go to bed without feeling tempted to touch each other.” He winked at her teasingly as he referenced her father’s absurd restrictions before he led the way to the entrance of the building, opening the door for her to step through first.

Once they were inside, he stepped up to the innkeeper’s desk, where a man was leaning back in a chair with his nose in a book. “Excuse me,” he tapped on the table to get the noble’s attention.

“Yes, what can I do for—” the innkeeper looked up and then yelped in surprise as he recognized Crow. Fumbling with his book, he quickly stood up from his chair and looked frantically around the room in search of aid until his wide-eyed gaze landed on Penelope. “Help! It’s that thief! Arrest him before he steals my money!”