Crow blinked in surprise at the innkeeper’s sharp reaction to his presence and glanced back over his shoulder at Penelope as she responded calmly to the man’s frightful request for help. It was a bit strange to him that the innkeeper didn’t seem to realize they were traveling together, but then again, his attention seemed to have been completely absorbed by the book he’d been reading. The man hadn’t seen him until he was standing right in front of him, so he probably hadn’t noticed that they’d walked in together either.

[i]If I[/i] was [i]here to steal from you, I could’ve walked out with everything in you own by now,[/i] he thought dryly, folding his arms irritably over his chest as the innkeeper continued to argue with Penelope about putting him in chains. He wished the man would just stop fighting and let them purchase a room already. After walking all day, he just wanted to lay down and rest. Fortunately, the innkeeper seemed to shrivel slightly at the mention of the king giving permission for the thief’s freedom.

“A room with two beds will be two gold pieces,” he muttered after a long pause, shooting the thief an untrusting glare.

“Thank you,” Crow slipped the bag from his shoulder to retrieve the coin purse his father had provided him with. He withdrew two pieces of gold and passed them off to the other man, who snatched them quickly, as if he expected the thief to try and trick him somehow in the exchange.

After holding the gold up to the light and testing to make sure it was real, the innkeeper gave a satisfied nod and held out a room key to Penelope. “It’ll be down the hall on your left.”

Crow rolled his eyes as he shouldered his bag again and turned to the knight, “Let’s go. I want to get some sleep.” He led the way away from the innkeeper, waiting until they’d put some distance between themselves and the skittish man before he turned to her again with a mischievous smirk, “By the way, what do you think?” he held out his right hand, which was now adorned with a gold-plated wristband that he’d swiped from the innkeeper when he’d handed him the money for the room. “Too gaudy?”