Crow nodded thoughtfully when Penelope said that his companions would still be glad to see him again. He supposed she was probably right about that. It had been nearly a month since he’d been stabbed by Jaxon, and he hadn’t been able to get in touch with the other thieves at all during his recovery. They were probably worried about him, so at least he would be able to let them know that he was still alive and healthy. Even if they didn’t take his decision well, they would know he hadn’t been executed by the knights. That had to count for something.

As Penelope added that she hoped everything would work out alright, he murmured his agreement. It was hard to imagine a scenario in which his companions wouldn’t be upset with his decision, but he hoped they would respect him enough not to fight about it. He knew he as going to go through with his choice, but it had been hard enough for him to choose it on his own. He didn’t need to hear their dissenting opinions about it and deal with the temptation of running back to the outer villages. After all, he still had some hesitation about becoming a noble. If the other thieves challenged him, it was going to be hard for him to stand firm in his decision.

[i]I just have to remember who I’m doing this for,[/i] he thought, taking a steeling breath as he glanced at Penelope. [i]Even if they beg me to stay, I already committed to taking the job for her. I’m going to keep my word.[/i] No matter how hard it was, he couldn’t go back. His companions were just going to have to accept that he was leaving. Besides, they had already made it a month without a leader, so surely they had figured out some sort of routine to get by without him by now. The thought was reassuring to him, since one of his main concerns before had been uprooting himself from their lives suddenly and leaving them without a leader. At least this way, they had already had time to get used to going on without him.

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out, even if they don’t like it,” Crow said with a bit more confidence, meeting Penelope’s gaze with a smile.

--

Like the day before, the rest of the trip to Wellspring went by without any trouble. The farther they got from the inner kingdom, the less people stared at Crow as well, which was relieving to the thief. It seemed the rumors of his supposed “execution” had yet to spread this far north. Eventually, they reached the inn, and he decided to linger by the entrance while Penelope got the key, since he didn’t want to cause another scene if the innkeeper here recognized him. While he wasn’t worried about being recognized by itself, he did worry about drawing any more attention than they already had. He preferred to keep his head down and avoid confrontation, so he could enjoy the time he had left with the knight without any unwanted interruptions.

Fortunately, if the innkeeper knew who he was, he didn’t say anything, and they managed to get to their room without any trouble. Once the door was closed and they were safe from prying eyes, Crow set down his bag and stretched to loosen up his back, which had grown a bit stiff from walking all day. “Is it just me, or did the walk between Sarton and Wellspring feel longer today than it did last time?” he said with a yawn, sitting down on the closest bed. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.”