Crow glanced over at Hartley as the Younisian boy cut into the conversation. He stepped back from Penelope, letting his arms fall from around her so that she could converse with the young thief while he ambled back over to his companions’ sides. As he approached, he noticed that Rikki avoided his gaze, and he guessed she had been made uncomfortable seeing him kiss the knight a moment before. Alistair, on the other hand, had a broad grin on his face.

Once Crow was standing at his side, the other thief leaned over and nudged him in the side, “You’d better not forget to invite us to the wedding.”

Crow casted him a sideways glance, “Where did that come from?”

“Well, you’re not going to be a peasant anymore, so I’m assuming that means you’re not going to be waiting any longer to marry her, right?” Alistair explained, tipping his head towards Penelope. “I just want to make sure your closest friends are there when you two finally tie the knot.”

“It might not be as soon as you think though,” Crow shifted his weight slightly. “I may be taking a noble title, but there are still other obstacles left for us to get past before we can be married.” He fell quiet for a moment as he thought again about how the knight’s baroness might not allow her to return to the inner kingdom with him. Not wanting to linger on the worrisome thought, he turned back to Alistair with an amused smirk. “Besides, even if we did get married soon, how do you plan to get into a wedding in the inner kingdom?”

“Easy,” Alistair’s grin turned foxlike. “You may have built up a reputation there, but Rikki and I never have. They don’t know our faces, so all we need to do is steal some nobles’ clothes, and we’ll blend right in.”

Crow snorted at the image of his friends pretending to be nobles. “I think that as long as you avoid talking to anyone, you’ll be alright,” he snickered. “Just don’t open your big mouth or the real nobles will see through you in an instant.”

“Hey, I can pass as a nobleman,” Alistair rolled his eyes. “It’s simple. All you have to do is start some petty rumor about someone who doesn’t exist, and they’ll eat it right up. Watch.” He leaned over to Rikki and spoke in a low voice, “Did you hear that Sir Gand and Lady Harcourt are having an affair?”

Rikki casted him a surprised look, eagerly playing along with the game, “Oh my gods, [i]no[/i].” She spoke in an exaggeratedly arrogant voice. “Do their spouses know about this?”

“Not yet, but they will,” Alistair went on with a barely suppressed smile. He dropped his voice even lower as he added, “I heard Lady Harcourt is going to bear their love child.”

“I absolutely [i]must[/i] tell every other person I know about this!” Rikki gasped before taking a few steps as she pretended to hurry off.

Alistair turned back to Crow with a garish bow, “And now there’s no more line for the food.” He gestured at an imaginary table.

“Fine, you’ve convinced me,” Crow laughed, finding their antics entertaining. “Whenever we do get married, I’ll make sure you both know about it.”

“Thank you,” Alistair shot him a pleased smile.

In the next moment, they all turned back to Penelope as she said a short goodbye to Alistair and Rikki. Crow met her lips in a brief parting kiss and smiled at her fondly, “See you tonight, love.” He watched as she left, waiting until she passed out of his sight before letting out his breath in a soft sigh. It wouldn’t be much longer until they found out if she would be coming back with him or staying on the warfront. He just hoped Mia would be reasonable enough to let her go.