Crow walked with the others other to the hearth, already feeling his heartbeat begin to quicken with anticipation. He sat down next to Penelope, while the thieves gathered somewhat across from them in wait to hear his story. Once everyone was settled, Rikki reached for the pot of stew and poured a bowl for Crow. “Here,” she offered him a smile that looked forced in her unease. “We were saving this portion for Hartley, but he’s still napping in the tunnels, so you can have it.”

“Thanks,” Crow nodded appreciatively as he took the bowl from her hands. He shifted to rest it on his thigh near to Penelope so she could have some too if she wished. While he was quite hungry after making the trip from Wellspring, he didn’t want to eat all of the food if she wanted some too.

“Speaking of Hartley,” Alistair spoke up. “Do you want us to go and wake him up before you tell us what’s going on?”

“No,” Crow shook his head. “What I have to say, I would prefer to only be heard by your ears.” Though the foreign thief had earned some of his trust during their travels in Younis, the information he was about to admit was too personal to be shared with someone he barely knew. He didn’t want to make talking about his past any more uncomfortable than it already was.

His companions exchanged a confused look before Hazel turned back to him and asked: [color=fdc68a][b]“So, what exactly happened?”[/b][/color]

Crow took a steadying breath, casting one more glance at Penelope for comfort before he began, “Before I tell you that, there’s… something else you all need to know about me.” Already, he could tell that his words were making the other thieves leery, but he couldn’t let their discomfort stop him from telling the truth. He continued before he could lose the nerve to go on: “I’ve told you before that I’m a peasant, but that’s only half true. My mother was from the outer villages, but my father was a nobleman—”

“What?” Rikki’s eyes widened as she interrupted him. “How is that possible?”

“I’m getting there,” Crow said though a quick bite of food. He took a moment to swallow before explaining, “My father met my mother while he was passing through the outer villages on a trip to Younis. They had a one-night stand and, well,” he gestured to himself with a shrug. “At the time, my father didn’t want to take responsibility and left her to return to the inner kingdom, leaving my mother to raise me alone. That’s why I only consider myself to be a peasant—even though I’m the son of a nobleman, it’s the only way of life I’ve ever known.”

“Sounds like a typical noble, only caring about himself,” Alistair scoffed and then knitted his brow. “I don’t get it though. Why are you bringing this up now? It’s so far in the past that I can’t see how it matters anymore.”

Crow shifted his weight, looking off to the side as he went on in a low voice, “The part that matters is who my father is… His name is Albin Mannering.”

“[i]What[/i]?” Rikki gaped at him in shock. “As in Albin, the King of Brerra? [i]That[/i] Albin Mannering?”

“Well, he was just the ambassador to the last king at the time, but yeah,” Crow nodded without looking up. He could feel their astonished gazes boring into him. It was still hard to tell what they were thinking, but he knew their opinions of him had to be changing. How could they not? They had just learned he was the estranged, first-born son of their king. They had to be looking at him differently. He remained quiet to give them time to process the news.

“I can’t believe this,” Alistair spoke up after a moment, running a hand perplexedly through his hair. “Why are you telling us this—that you’re the king’s son? What do you want us to do with something like that?” The frustration in his voice was apparent, though it was difficult to tell if it was because of the content of his leader’s news or the fact that it was simply being discussed at all.

“I don’t understand either,” Rikki said softly, eyeing Crow with a strange expression, as if she wasn’t sure what to think about him. “We didn’t need to know that, Crow. We… we like you for who you are. We could have lived with not knowing you’re related to a nobleman.”

“Believe me, I know that,” Crow sighed solemnly, finally looking up to meet her gaze. “I didn’t want to tell you, but now, I have a reason.”

“And what reason could that be?” Alistair crossed his arms warily over his chest.

Crow took a steeling breath, “I never told any of you this either, but… about a year ago, close to the beginning of the war, my father tried to reach out to me. He sent a letter to Evelyn that she passed on to me while we were staying with her. At the time, I chose not to have her read it to me, and I was hoping my father would take my silence as disinterest in whatever he wanted from me, but it didn’t end there.” He wavered for a moment before going on: “While I was bedridden at the knights’ camp, he sent a knight from the inner kingdom to find me and offer an invitation to meet with him at the castle.”

“No way,” Rikki breathed worriedly. “You didn’t take it did you? Tell me you didn’t go.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice,” Crow shook his head. “The alternative was turning down the invitation and staying in the camp to suffer the punishment the knights had decided on for me.” He winced and rubbed his wrists. “They may have been gracious enough to let me recover from my wound, but they weren’t going to overlook my past crimes against them. If I stayed, they were going to cut off my hands so I couldn’t steal from them anymore.”

“That’s horrible!” Rikki gasped, covering her mouth.

“Merciless bastards,” Alistair curled his lip.

“It was persuasive,” Crow gave a one-shouldered shrug. “But I also went because I was curious. I mean, this is the first time my father has ever tried to reach out to me. I had to find out what he wanted.”

“Well… did you find out?” Rikki asked tentatively.

Crow nodded, looking between the two thieves’ faces as he worked up the nerve to tell them what he had come to say: “My father said he wanted to right the wrong he had done to me and my mother and asked me to be his viceroy… I accepted the position, and I’m starting my training at the castle in five days.”

A shocked silence fell over the group as his companions absorbed the news. Rikki was the first to speak. “W-What? I don’t…” she stammered, her eyes glistening as they welled up with fresh tears. “Y-You’re leaving us? Why—why would you do that? Crow, we need you!”

He looked away, pained by the hurt in her gaze. “This isn’t a decision I made lightly,” he murmured. “I have my reasons for it, and I’ve made my choice… I’m going back to the inner kingdom in two days.” He purposefully avoided mentioning that he was returning for Penelope’s sake, since he didn’t want the thieves to turn on her.

“This is bullshit,” Alistair growled, narrowing his eyes at his leader. “We’ve been here for you for a whole year, and now, at the first opportunity, you’re abandoning us for the cushioned life of a nobleman? How could you do this?”

“Nobles are awful people,” Rikki’s voice quaked as she spoke. “They treat us like dirt, and they wouldn’t care if we all died. Why would you want to become one of them?”

Crow grimaced as Alistair and Rikki continued to throw questions and accusations at him, trying desperately to persuade him not to leave. Subtly, he reached to take Penelope’s hand, needing the comfort of her touch under their ceaseless attempts to hold onto him. He didn’t bother saying anything to defend himself. They could never understand why he had made his decision, so there was no point in even trying.

[i]Looks like we won’t be parting on peaceful terms after all,[/i] he thought disappointedly as the thieves went on.

Once Alistair and Rikki ran out of things to say, the group lapsed into silence again. Crow still refused to open his mouth, knowing there was nothing he could do to change their minds. As the quiet dragged on, he suddenly furrowed his brow, noticing that there was one person who had yet to say anything at all. He glanced up at Hazel, who sat with her head lowered, staring absently down at her lap. Her cheeks were wet with tears, which surprised him, since she didn’t normally show such emotion in front of others.

Rikki seemed to notice too. “Hazel, are you okay?” she ventured, resting a hand concernedly on her friend’s shoulder.

The herbalist bit her lip, taking a shaky breath and wiping the tears from her eyes. At first, she said nothing, and the others didn’t push her to speak. However, after a long pause, she finally answered Rikki’s question in a soft voice, “If Crow has already made up his mind, we need to let him go.”

Crow’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. Out of all his companions, Hazel despised nobles the most, so he’d been expecting her to be the most vocal about wanting him to stay. For her to not only accept his decision but tell the other to do so as well was quite unexpected.

“What?” Rikki sounded just as unprepared for the herbalist’s words. “Hazel, he wants to be a [i]nobleman[/i]! How can you be okay with this?”

Hazel took another breath before responding quietly: “Because my husband was a nobleman too.” The others stared at her in shock, so she went on without interruption, “Simon was afraid of how you would all react if you found out the truth… That’s why he told you he was born in Coalfair, but really, he was the son of a duke and duchess from Everton.” She looked up to meet their stunned gazes. “I’m sure you’ve all noticed how hard he squinted at books whenever he read… He had an issue with his eyes. When he tried to read, the letters would get all mixed up on the page, and he couldn’t understand the words.

“To nobles, literacy is a point of pride, and his parents disowned him for bringing shame upon their family. That’s how he became a thief in Jaxon’s group… He needed somewhere to run to when he had no other place to go.” She brushed another tear from her eye. “He told me that was also why he practiced reading and writing so much… Despite the cruelty his parents showed him, he’d always wanted to prove that he could learn to be literate and regain his title all on his own.”

Hazel smiled faintly at the memory of her husband, “He was determined to go back because he believed that he could get more nobles to see the suffering in the outer villages and bring change to our kingdom from the inside out. If Jaxon hadn’t cut his life short, he might have done it too.” She turned to meet Crow’s gaze. “That’s why you should go. Simon may not have been able to see his dream come true, but you still can. I know you hold the same values as the rest of us, and the king just offered you the highest title any non-royal could obtain in Brerra. You have the chance to bring about the change my husband wanted.” Her determined gaze softened. “We’ll be alright without you, Crow. You don’t have to worry.”

Crow held her gaze for a long pause before dipping his head in an appreciative gesture, “Thank you. I’ll do my best to fulfill Simon’s wish.”

Hazel smiled at him and then turned next to Penelope. “You too,” she added. “I know you care about the villagers here as well. So please, help open the eyes of the other nobles in the inner kingdom to our suffering.” Her expression turned slightly less serious, and she tipped her head towards Crow. “Also, make sure this idiot takes care of himself in the inner kingdom. I don’t want to hear that he ran his mouth to some important noble and landed himself back in prison.”