The rest of the trip felt long to Crow. His mind was wrapped up in thoughts about how much everything was changing in his life as well as concerns about how he was going to handle his companions’ reactions to the news he was bringing them. It was a lot to take in, and he felt rather sure that the full weight of his decision to leave the outer villages hadn’t hit him yet, because when they finally reached Myrefall, he wasn’t as sad as he’d expected to be.
As he looked around the village, he felt a strong sense of nostalgia, but it wasn’t that strange, since he experienced the emotions every time he came to Myrefall. He had quite a few memories here from his childhood, so it was only natural that he’d look upon the place so fondly. It was hard to tell if his wistfulness this time was because of that or because he knew he wouldn’t be back for a long time. Either way, he was glad he’d managed to find a way to visit his hometown once more before returning to the castle.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have time to stay for long before they continued westward into the forest that led to the waterfall. Crow remained quiet for most of the walk, mentally preparing himself for the inevitable anger of his companions. While he was still hoping they would be at least somewhat understanding, he knew it was too much to expect them to simply accept his decision without fighting back a bit. He wanted to be prepared to handle their arguments when they tried to convince him to stay.
Suddenly, he blinked as he felt Penelope take his hand. Glancing down at her, he smiled, appreciative of the comforting gesture. With all the worrisome thoughts running through his head at the moment, he needed her touch. He laced his fingers with hers and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, moving to walk a bit closer to her side so their arms brushed. Her presence gave him confidence as he remembered why he couldn’t let the other thieves convince him to stay in the outer villages. He could handle their comments.
“I am,” Crow nodded sincerely when Penelope asked if he was ready. Despite his concerns, he knew he could get through the uncomfortable conversation. No matter what the results would be, nothing would change. He was still going back to the inner kingdom to begin his training as the next viceroy, and he was still going to be parting ways with them when he did. It was already decided.
When the waterfall finally came into sight, Crow took a steeling breath and let go of Penelope’s hand. The passage to the cavern was too narrow for them to walk side by side anymore, so he took the lead as he made his way to the entrance—he wanted to be in front of her, just in case the other thieves didn’t recognize them right away and tried to defend their home. Just before he rounded the bend to step inside, he wavered briefly. Once he showed his face to his companions there would be no turning back.
This is it, he thought, forcing himself to push past his hesitation and step into the entrance. Inside, he saw all three of his companions sitting by the hearth. They gawked at him in unbridled astonishment, all with bowls of fresh stew in their hands. At the sight of them, his unease gave way to fondness as he laid eyes on his friends for the first time in a month. “Guess who’s back?” he said with a grin, barely getting the words out before the band of criminals scrambled to their feet and ran to him, leaving their unfinished food behind.
“Crow!” Rikki wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace, followed shortly by Alistair and even, surprisingly, Hazel. The force of their weight crashing into him made the thief stagger.
“Easy,” he laughed. “I’m still not fully healed yet.” Despite his words, their affectionate greeting made him feel warm inside. After all, he’d missed them quite a bit over the past month too.
“Sorry,” Alistair said, pulling back with the others so they could converse without smothering their leader. “But gods, it’s good to have you back.”
“Hear hear,” Hazel sighed, meeting Crow’s gaze with a weary smile. “It’s about time you came back to us. Filling in for all your responsibilities has been exhausting.”
“I would have come back sooner, but I was a little preoccupied,” Crow shrugged, casting her a lopsided smile as he lifted his tunic to reveal the bandages around his torso.
“Preoccupied?” Hazel echoed incredulously as she studied the dressing. “You’re lucky to be alive after taking a wound there.”
“You can thank Penelope for that,” Crow glanced at the knight with an affectionate look, reaching out to take her hand again. “If she hadn’t been so determined to save me after Jaxon ran his sword through my gut, I wouldn’t be standing in front of you now.”
“I bet,” Alistair folded his arms over his chest and shook his head. “I can’t even imagine being injured so badly that I’d be bedridden for a month. That sounds like hell.”
At that comment, Crow shifted his weight uncomfortably. “Well, it wasn’t exactly a month…” he admitted, averting his gaze off to the side.
“What do you mean?” Rikki frowned. “If you weren’t bedridden, then why didn’t you come back to us sooner?”
“Yeah,” Alistair eyed him with knitted brows. “Olivia said you were still recovering in her camp.”
Already, Crow could feel his unease settling over him again. He shuffled his feet awkwardly, “That’s actually what I came here to talk to you all about… I left the knights’ camp a little over a week ago.”
“What?” Rikki’s eyes widened. “If that’s true, then what have you been doing all this time?”
Crow’s gaze flickered back to Penelope briefly before returning to his companions faces. He let out his breath in a resigned sigh, “We should all sit down… It’s going to be a long story.”