Crow held his breath, hoping Penelope would hear the edge in his voice and drop the subject. He’d already given her an answer, even if it had been a vague one. Surely that was enough now that she knew he had gotten himself worked up over nothing more than a dream. There was no more reason for her to be concerned about him when she knew that he wasn’t in danger or otherwise hiding anything crucial from her. As he’d said, it really hadn’t been important.

However, the knight didn’t seem to agree. As she shifted to lay on him more comfortably, he groaned inwardly, already expecting that she wasn’t going to let it go as he wanted. “You just can’t make this easy on me, can you?” he grumbled, lifting his arm to rest across his eyes in exasperation. Part of him still wanted to refuse to go into detail—especially since it was already late, and he was worried that if he described the nightmare now, it would be more likely to return when he slept—but he knew that now that she’d fixed her mind on it, she wasn’t going to drop it until he gave her an answer she deemed acceptable.

After a long pause, he took a slow breath, deciding it would be less painful to just get it over with now than deal with her pestering later on, and shifted to drape his arm over her back. “I don’t remember if I’ve told you this before, but when I was younger—long before we ever met—I used to have the same nightmare every night,” he started, finally meeting her gaze. “It started after the… incident in that village, where I got the scar on my side.” His voice became slightly absent as he went on. The memory of the slaughter always stirred uncomfortable emotions inside of him when he dwelled on it, so he found it easier to simply detach from the feelings.

“The dream always started out the same way. I was standing in the marketplace with a crowd of people who were just going about their normal routines. Nothing was wrong, but I’d always get this feeling that I was in danger. Eventually, it would get too overwhelming to ignore, and the sky would turn red just before the market changed into the bloodbath that I remember.” He shuddered at the image. “When that happened, I would run to take cover, but a knight would cut me off. He’d stab me with his sword, and I would wake up.”

His expression turned bleak, “It’s been years since the last time I’ve had that dream, but it came back last night… and this time, it didn’t end the same way.” He held her a little closer as the nightmare replayed in his head. “When the knight stabbed me, I closed my eyes as I normally would, but instead of waking up, I was suddenly back in Jaxon’s camp with his sword through my chest instead. He was the one who killed me before I woke up this time.”

Finished recounting the morbid dream, he fell silent for a moment and then shook his head. “I know it shouldn’t bother me as much as it did. It was just vivid,” he sighed and then wavered as he decided whether or not he should tell her that Preston had heard him scream the night before. Ultimately, he saw no reason to cause her to worry about it, so he omitted that detail. “I guess I’m just a little nervous that it could start recurring again,” he admitted in a reluctant voice.

Penelope gave a small smile as he grumbled and shook her head in response. While she never intended to make things difficult, she was very determined to find out about what had been bothering him that day. Besides, in her opinion, she had given him a warning that she would if it continued to bother him. Not to mention she believed he was making things more difficult than they had to be to begin with. For a moment, the knight thought he was still going to resist her but as she felt him take in a slow breath, she prepared to listen.

She fell quiet as he began to tell her about how he used to have reoccurring nightmares after the slaughter that occurred in the village he visited. A small frown crossed over her lips as he began to depict the dream. As his expression grew bleak, she shifted to run a hand comfortingly over his shoulder. Her frown deepened as he explained that the change in the nightmare had been of Jaxon killing him in camp. The image of it in her head made her stomach twist slightly, like a lingering ghost of the panic she had felt when the murderous thief had almost killed him.

Though he said it shouldn't have bothered him that much, the knight partially disagreed. After all, these weren't just normal nightmares in her opinion. They were terrible experiences he managed to live through, which likely explained why they were so vivid. The thought of even having recurring nightmares of what happened at Jaxon's camp alone was already enough to make her feel uneasy.

As he admitted that he was worried about them starting up again, she gave a small nod of understanding. "I think that's a valid concern." she mumbled softly, reaching over to caress his cheek with hand. Recurring nightmares weren't unheard of to the knight. While she had never experienced them herself, she had heard of other knights experiencing them. Especially after gruesome battles. It made her think that Crow's worry about them starting up again was likely quite accurate. With things slowing down now that they were away from the warfront, there was likely less distracting his mind from what had happened at Jaxon's camp. However, she didn't want to make him more nervous by saying any more.

The knight paused for a moment, thinking the situation over. "Hopefully it was just a one time ordeal... Even if it's not, I know there might not be much I can do to help with that but... Maybe Eldon or someone else can." she gave him a small smile. "I know some knights around here have had nightmares over things they've seen. Especially ones who've experienced the battlefront. They might have a way to deal with it other than just having to suffer through them every night."

As Penelope caressed his cheek with her hand, Crow leaned into her palm, finding her touch comforting. Even though she had pushed him to open up about the reason why he’d been acting strangely, he still wasn’t sure if it had been a good idea to do so. After all, it wasn’t like she could do anything to help him. The source of his distress was in his consciousness. It wasn’t the same as a physical injury or a problem that could be solved with effort. He had no control over the things that appeared in his head during the night, and neither did anyone else.

As far as he could tell, the only thing that had changed since he’d confessed his nightmares to her was that he felt more ashamed of himself. Despite her assurance that his concerns were valid, he was frustrated with himself for letting something so harmless affect him this much. It had just been a dream. He knew it wasn’t real, yet he couldn’t stop the nervous flutter of his heart at the thought of going through it again. It was pathetic to be so frightened of something that only existed inside his mind.

Crow glanced back at Penelope as she spoke up again, though he wasn’t fond of her suggestion. It had been hard enough for him to admit his fear to her, and she was the person he trusted most in the whole kingdom. He didn’t want to spread the word to anyone else that he had been suffering from nightmares. Castle gossip was like wildfire, and while he didn’t know what someone could do with that knowledge, he knew he didn’t want anyone else to find out about it. He was trying to build a more respectable reputation amongst the other nobles here. Letting them know that he was afraid of his own dreams wasn’t the way to do that.

“I’d rather not speak about this to anyone else,” he finally said, looking away from her again to stare up at the ceiling. “Even if it comes back, I’ve dealt with this before, and I can do it again. I don’t need to get anyone else involved.” Perhaps he was being stubborn, but it felt like the right decision to him. What could a physician do to treat an intangible symptom anyway? If he went to Eldon, he suspected that the healer would just report to his father and make the whole situation worse. It was better to keep it secret and try to avoid letting anyone else find out.

Sighing softly, Crow wrapped his arms around Penelope and looked down to meet her gaze. “I know you worry about me, but I promise I’ll be fine,” he offered her a small smile and gently stroked her shoulders in a reassuring gesture. “I’m just a little shaken up, that’s all. If it was just one nightmare, I’ll move on. And if it does come back again…” His smile wavered slightly despite his best efforts to conceal his fear. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to get used to it.”

Penelope let out a sigh as he denied her suggestion. She supposed she should have seen that coming. It had been difficult enough to get him to speak to her about it. Still, the knight found herself wanting to argue against his decision. Even if he had gotten through it once, that didn't mean he should force himself to deal with it alone, especially if there might be a better way to handle it. After all, if others had gone through it, especially being nobles, there had to be some way to cope with it.

However, she knew he wouldn't be willing to budge. He hadn't even wanted to tell her. To try to convince him to tell a stranger would likely be impossible. As he tried to reassure her, she gave him an uncertain look that only grew into a frown as she noticed his smile waver. Penelope shook her head and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Gods you're stubborn." she murmured as she pulled back. "I don't like your decision to just handle it but alright..."

The knight trailed off for a moment as she thought over the situation. Needless to say, she was already thinking about trying to get answers and ideas for him. Just because he wouldn't say anything didn't mean she couldn't ask other knights. They'd likely just think she was having nightmares about her time on the warfront afterall. Her thoughts began to drift off for a moment and her eyelids grew heavy. Despite the topic of conversation, she was quite comfortable between the softness of the bed, the warmth of the blanket over them and Crow's comforting presence.

She blinked, forcing her head back up as she caught herself from closing her eyes. The knight frowned a little as she glanced towards the window. It was late and she needed to get going but now that she knew what was bugging him, she didn't want to. She wanted to stay besides him, even if she wasn't able to do anything to keep him from having the dream again. With a thoughtful look, an idea came to the knight.

"Do you want me to stay?" she asked him softly. "Just until right before dawn. The guards should switch out then and William will probably think I just snuck past him when I left somehow... And the guard that replaces him will likely just assume I'm getting off my shift. I'll just stay awake so I won't over sleep." The knight offered him a half hearted smile. "What do you think?"

Crow smiled when Penelope kissed him on the cheek and then shrugged carelessly as she proceeded to call him stubborn. He had gone most of his life relying on himself to survive and handle his own problems, and he wasn’t about to stop now. Of course, he allowed for some exceptions, including the knight and the other thieves he’d been living with during the war, but he had no intention of expanding that circle—especially not with the nobles in the castle. Telling someone else about his nightmares would mean telling them about the reason for his dream, and he didn’t trust anyone here with that personal of a secret.

So, when she was willing to let the issue drop, the viceroy was relieved. He leaned his head back on his pillow and left his arms wrapped around her as he relaxed on the bed. For a while, the room was quiet, and he didn’t think much of it until he realized she hadn’t said anything to him for some time. Curious, he glanced down at her and then smiled affectionately when he saw that she was falling asleep against his chest. He gently ran his hand down and up her back in a soothing gesture. Even though he knew it was risky for her to fall sleep in his room with him, he couldn’t help but find her tired face endearing.

The moment didn’t last long. As Penelope lifted her head again, Crow exhaled softly and turned his head to let his eyes wander aimlessly over the side of the bedchamber. Fighting sleep was such a dull activity. He wished he could do more to entertain himself, but he didn’t want to draw any attention to his room by lighting a lamp or making noise. His eyes flicked back to the knight. He supposed there was one thing they could do… again. However, she was clearly tired, and he was only interested for the sake of staving off boredom. He doubted she would take him up on it if he offered.

“Do you want me to stay?”

Crow blinked, surprised by the sudden question. He’d thought it had been established that it was too risky for her to stay longer, so he hadn’t expected her to make the offer now. As she went on to explain her logic, he looked up at the ceiling to think it over. He would have been lying if he’d said he didn’t want her to stay with him, but he also didn’t feel right about it.

“I couldn’t ask you to do that for me,” he shook his head after a moment, glancing down at her with an amused smile. “You can barely stay awake as you are right now, love. You should get some sleep. I’ll be fine by myself.” He leaned down to press a tender kiss to her lips and then pulled back to meet her gaze again, running one hand softly over the back of her head. “It was kind of you to offer though. I appreciate it, but I really do think it would be best if you go back to your own room.”

Penelope waited quietly for his response and was a bit surprised that he denied her offer, especially since it was clear from before that he had wanted her to stay. Though she was worried about him and didn't really want to leave, the knight had to admit he was right about her being tired. She was certain she could force herself to stay up if she tired but getting sleep was much more appealing.

She gave him a small smile and leaned in as he kissed her. "Alright, if you're sure." she mused with a small nod. Moving off of his chest, she slowly sat up and stretched out her back for a moment before letting out a small yawn she wasn't able to suppress. "I better get going then. With any luck, I can still get past William without him trying to bug me." she sighed.

Now a bit more awake from moving, she shifted to get up from the bed and collect her clothing from the floor. Once she finished getting dressed, she stepped over to the table to collect the letters that they had written as well, making sure to put Crow's underneath her letter to Olivia. She folded them neatly so they'd fit into her pocket and then turned back to Crow. Even though she was ready to leave, she was still a bit hesitant to leave, especially after learning about his nightmare.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow." she murmured, stepping up to him. She leaned in and pressed an affectionate kiss to his cheek and ran her hand down his arm. "Try to get some sleep and hopefully it was just a one time thing."

As Penelope got up from where she had been laying on his chest, Crow stretched languidly and rolled onto his side to settle down more comfortably on his bed. He was still nervous about falling asleep, but as the night wore on, it was growing harder for him to fight the urge to let go. His eyelids drooped wearily as he watched her get ready to leave, and he lightly bit his tongue to stifle a yawn. Even if he had decided he was going to sleep by himself, he didn’t want to pass out until she had left his bedchamber.

When she stepped back over to his bed, he nodded and smiled tiredly at the kiss she planted on his cheek. “I hope so too,” he sighed, shuddering slightly at the thought of reliving his nightmare again. Despite his brief moment of distress, the knight’s touch calmed him. He gave in to the impulse to close his eyes as she ran her hand down his arm. “I love you, Penelope,” he murmured.

He waited for the sound of her receding footsteps followed by the turn of the door handle before he rolled over again, suddenly a little more nervous about falling asleep than he had been when she’d been with him in the room. Part of him was tempted to fight his exhaustion by getting out of bed and pacing, but he was so tired. With each passing second, the temptation to let go and risk the nightmare grew more appealing.

Maybe it won’t happen this time, he thought to himself, drawing his blanket up to his chin and letting out a slow exhale. The dream had only appeared once, after all. That didn’t mean it was going to plague him as it had in the past. With that thought in mind, he finally relinquished control and let himself drift off to sleep.

Penelope smiled softly at the former thief. "I love you too." she murmured back before turning to leave. She headed to the door and pause as she cautiously opened it, peaking out to make sure the corridor was clear before stepping out of his room. Now alone, she made her way to the staircase, treading a bit carefully as she neared William's post. Luckily the older knight just shot her an accusing glare that she was quick to brush off with a snort.

With no resistance upon her return to her own room, the knight quickly retired to her room for the night. Since it was a late hour, she wasted no time in settling down for the night and fell asleep without any difficulty.

--

The next morning came and the knight began to stir. After a late night, she was nearly ready to sleep in a bit later than usual. Tybalt had yet to assign her a shift and the warmth of her bed felt much too comfortable to leave during the cold morning. Penelope nearly let herself fall back to sleep until her eyes widened with realization. The letters! She still had to get them sealed and to the messengers before they took their leave.

Suddenly more awake, she scrambled to get up, slipping her boots on and sealing the letters as quickly as she could. The knight didn't bother to straighten out her appearance like usual before heading out of her room and off towards the stables where the messenger's usually kept their bags. With any luck, she still had time to add her letters to their pile of deliveries. It seemed she'd just have to catch the tail end of breakfast that day.

That night, Crow found himself in the marketplace of Tamsworth yet again. He knew he didn’t want to be there, but he couldn’t remember the reason why. Everything seemed so peaceful, and the villagers were so welcoming, yet he couldn’t rid himself of the fear that he wasn’t safe. As he stopped walking to look around, he had a strong feeling of déjà vu, as if he’d done this before. Then, out of nowhere, came the familiar impulse to look at the sky. He tried to fight it, but inevitably lost the battle as his gaze lifted, and the village was plunged into brutal chaos once again.

As the panic set in, Crow spun on his heels and ran to take cover beneath the overturned cart that he remembered so clearly. However, before he reached it, he was cut off by the knight on the ebony, bloodstained mare. The man raised his sword, and the thief closed his eyes, preparing for the inevitable sting of the blade.

In the next moment, the scene changed, and he found himself in Jaxon’s camp once again with a different sword piercing his chest. The murderer’s cruel, twisting smirk was the last thing he saw before the weapon was ripped out and everything faded to red…

--

Crow shot upright on his bed, grasping at his chest and gasping for breath. His body trembled compulsively as the adrenaline from the nightmare fueled him with panicked energy, and he stared down at his lap with wide eyes. Still shaken by the vividness of the dream, he barely registered where he was. All he could think about was the consuming shock that he was alive and unscathed. Tamsworth was gone. Jaxon was gone. There was no sword in his chest. He wasn’t dead. The thoughts came to him in rapid succession, but it took some time before he was able to process through them and acknowledge them as the truth.

In fact, he hadn’t quite worked through them before the door to his room swung open and someone hurried inside. It also took him a moment to realize that the man now at his bedside, saying something and shaking his arm, was Preston. He couldn’t bring himself to speak though. His thoughts were still in shambles, and his throat stung painfully, though he wasn’t quite sure why.

The attendant continued to try and snap him out of the panic, but the viceroy just found his efforts overwhelming. He leaned away from the boy’s touch and brought his hands to his head to block out the sound of his voice, which at the moment, reminded him frighteningly of the panicky shouts of the villagers in his dream. At the thought of them, another image of the slaughter returned, and he squeezed his eyes shut, willing it to go away.

Vaguely, he was aware that there was now a second person in his bedchamber, whom Preston was speaking with in a hurried tone. Crow forced himself to look up just enough to see that the other person was a knight. At once, their conversation reached his ears:

“…should get Eldon, right? This is the second time in two days.”

That was Preston.

The knight’s voice responded: “I think so. He’s clearly unresponsive.”

“He didn’t want me to get a physician last time.”

“That doesn’t matter. He’s the king’s ward. His Majesty will be furious if something happens to him, and you’ll be the one to blame, since you’re his servant.”

A pause.

“…I-I suppose you’re right. I’ll get Eldon.”

That was enough to draw Crow from his haze.

“Don’t,” he managed to rasp, drawing the attention of the other two as he let his hands fall to his lap. They turned toward him, and he swallowed to sooth his sore throat—by now he’d figured out that it hurt because he must have screamed again—before going on in a slightly stronger voice, “I don’t need a physician. I’m fine.”

Preston exchanged an uncomfortable glance with the guard. “You’re clearly worse today,” the attendant objected. “I think you need to—”

“I don’t need anything,” the viceroy interrupted with a cold glare that he turned on the knight next. “What are you doing here anyway?” he snapped, his eyes flicking warily to the sword hanging at the man’s belt. With the memory of his nightmare still fresh in his mind, the presence of the weapon made him leery. He wanted it gone. “This doesn’t concern you. Get going.”

The knight blinked, seeming surprised by the viceroy’s hostile attitude, and then indignantly tossed his head. “If you’re ever really in danger, I hope you suffer,” he scoffed as he turned and walked out of the room.

Crow curled his lip at the guard’s back and then scornfully turned his head to the side. In the back of his mind, he knew he was just making things worse by lashing out at the people who had come to help him, but he couldn’t help it. He was embarrassed that they had heard him scream yet again and was worried that they were just going to try to get more people involved if he didn’t fight them off now. He had to keep them at bay for his own defense

By the door, Preston shifted his weight nervously, seeming unsure how to approach the viceroy while he was still heated. “Do… do you want me to help you get ready for breakfast?” he asked after a short silence.

Crow shook his head. “I’ll get up when I’m ready,” he muttered, refusing to meet the boy’s gaze as he laid back down on his bed and pulled the blanket over his eyes. In the privacy of the bedsheets, he let out his breath in a shaky exhale, trying to calm his still-racing heart. He couldn’t believe his nightmares had come back—and in the middle of the castle, too. He could already tell he was going to have a difficult time hiding his dreams from others when there were so many people around him all the time.

He took another slow breath and closed his eyes. To make matters worse, he felt like he hadn’t slept all night. If things kept up like this, it was going to be hard for him to focus on his studies. He had come so far already. If he started having trouble keeping information straight, he just knew his father was going to be disappointed in him. He couldn’t afford to risk losing his position because of a few bad dreams. It was pathetic.

Crow stayed beneath the blanket for a while longer until he felt like he had calmed down enough to get up. When he pulled the fabric down from over his head, he saw Preston sitting at the table by the window. The attendant turned toward him and hesitated for a moment before he asked, “Are you ready now?”

“Yes,” Crow answered him in a low voice as he climbed down from the bed. In truth, he would have liked to stay there all day—he was dreadfully tired—but he was supposed to meet John in the Great Hall for his lesson that afternoon. He had to at least make an effort to get food in his stomach before he spent the day sparring with the older knight.

Preston nodded and stood up. “I’ve laid out some clothes for you near the wardrobe,” he announced. “The kitchen should still be serving food, so if you get dressed quickly, you may still be able to get something to eat.”

“Alright,” Crow yawned. Following the servant’s instructions, he dressed himself as fast as he could manage, and they headed to the Great Hall together to find out if there was any breakfast left.

Penelope made her way out to the stables and was able to locate a messenger that would be headed to the northern outer villages as well as a different one for the other barons she had written located further south. It came as a relief to the knight to be able to get the letters off in time. While she'd likely only have to wait a couple days longer for different messengers to take them, it was just better to get them out as quickly as she possibly could. With only two months to make progress on the end of the war, time was not on her side.

She began to make her way across the courtyard and let out a small yawn. As she made her way back into the castle, she dipped her head to Tybalt as she noticed him stepping outside. He paused as he spotted her and then began to walk towards her. Realizing he likely had something to tell her, she moved to meet him.

"Ah there you are Vermillion." he sighed crossing his arms. "I was trying to find you."

"Sorry. I had letters to send off." Penelope explained with a shrug. "What did you need from me sir?"

"I just wanted to tell you what your shifts are going to be for this week." Tybalt explained. "Starting tomorrow you'll have the night shift on the third floor, second hall for two days. After that, you'll switch over to midday front gates for the rest of the week."

Penelope nodded her head as he gave her a quick summary of where she was going to be stationed for the coming days. It was interesting to hear that she'd be stationed over night at the hallway near Crow's room. Though she wouldn't be able to really spend any time with him while on watch, she was at least glad to be close by. "Alright. Thank you." she said dipping her head. He returned the gesture and the two continued on their separate paths.

The knight ran a hand through her hair, trying to smooth it down as she headed to the Great Hall. As she suspected, she managed to make it just in time for the tail end of breakfast. The crowd was dwindling down, leaving plenty of empty seats, and she was unable to spot any familiar faces. Well, at least not friendly ones. She offhandedly spotted Fischbach who sent a glare her way once he looked up from his meal. Thinking she must have missed her friends and Crow, she moved to take a seat at one of the empty tables and waited for her breakfast.

Crow kept his gaze fixed straight ahead as he walked with Preston through the castle halls. It had become clear to him now that his nightmares seemed to have begun recurring again. Just like when he had been younger, that meant he was going to have to start compensating for the turmoil he felt inside. As such, he pointedly avoided making eye contact with the guards they passed and kept his head up to put on a façade that nothing was wrong. He refused to admit any weakness to the other people in the palace.

Unfortunately, Preston, oblivious as he was, didn’t seem to catch on to the fact that the viceroy was trying to keep his night terrors a secret. For a while, he said nothing as they walked, but after some time, the questions he was holding onto seemed to boil over. He turned to Crow with a curious yet wary gaze, keeping on his toes in case the viceroy snapped at him again. “Are you going to tell me why you’ve started screaming at night?” the attendant asked, subtly putting some distance between them as if he was afraid of getting swung at.

Crow shot him a warning look, “I told you before, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Still?” Preston frowned. “That was yesterday. You still won’t tell me today?”

“I’d rather not tell you at all,” Crow muttered, shoving his hands defensively in his trouser pockets. “Why do you want to know so badly anyway?”

“Because I’m your attendant,” Preston answered, seeming upset. “If something is wrong, I need to help you. It’s my duty.”

“Well, there’s nothing you could do even if I told you, so you might as well drop it,” Crow averted his gaze.

Preston stared at him for a moment longer before he looked away as well. He appeared to finally be learning whose will was stronger between the two of them, which was something the viceroy was thankful for. He was getting tired of fighting with the servant over the subject. After all, what he’d said was true: There was nothing the attendant, or anyone for that matter, could do. It was a battle he was going to have to fight alone, just like he had before.

When the two arrived at the Great Hall, Crow performed a quick sweep of the room, not expecting to see anyone he knew so late in the morning. However, he was surprise to find that Penelope was still here, sitting alone at a nearby table. He blinked, wondering if she had waited for him to see how he was doing. The thought made him shift his weight. He didn’t want to discuss what had happened earlier. All he wanted was to force a bit of food into his roiling stomach and get started on his fighting lesson with John.

However, blatantly sitting at a different table would have looked just as bad. He knew her well enough to expect that she would just worry more if he did something so out of character, so in the end, he took a steeling breath and headed over to join her.

Penelope crossed her arms on the table as she waited for her food, silently glancing around the Great Hall. The knight's mind wandered to what her plans for that day would be. With the letters sent out, there wasn't much else to do but wait for replies and keep an ear out for any possible nobles that would be willing to support her. It lead her to think about her next topic of concern which was Crow and his nightmares. She felt a bit of worry bubble inside her as she wondered if the viceroy had had the same dream again.

If he had, she needed to start doing some research. While he may have wanted to just deal with it on his own, the knight knew she'd have a difficult time letting him suffer through the nightmares. She drummed her finger tips against the table, frowning to herself at the thought. Her frown faded though as she caught sight of him entering the Great Hall. She was a bit surprised he had gotten there so late but perhaps he had just slept in due to the long night before.

Which could mean the nightmare was a one time thing. The thought was enough for her to cast him a small smile as he made his way over to join her. Despite her wishful thinking, Penelope still kept an attentive eye on the viceroy. "Morning. You sure got here late." she greeted him as he sat down at the table. She paused for a moment and shuffled her feet as a hint of concern seeped into gaze as she studied him. "How'd you sleep?"

As Crow had been expecting, he noticed right away that Penelope was observing him more closely than she usually did. He breathed an internal sigh as he sat down across from her at the table. The last thing he wanted was for her to get more involved than she already was. She had plenty of her own worries to tend to without being dragged down in his, and since there was no way for her to magically stop the nightmares that plagued his sleep, her concern would do no good for either of them.

At her comment about how late he’d arrived for breakfast, the viceroy shrugged without saying anything. After all, touching on that subject would mean that he would have to admit the reason why he hadn’t eaten earlier. He didn’t want to tell her that he had stayed in bed all morning because of how shaken up he’d been, nor the fact that he had only come to the Great Hall because he knew he needed to eat before meeting with her father later.

Unfortunately, she didn’t give him as much room to dodge around the topic as he would have liked. At her follow-up question, Crow looked away from her to let his gaze wander over the few other people in the room, as if they were suddenly interesting. “I slept through the night,” he answered vaguely, hoping she would assume he meant that he hadn’t had any more nightmares. At least this way, he hadn’t openly lied to her about it. He had slept until the early morning before he’d awoken in a cold sweat.

“How did you sleep?” he added, glancing back at her in prompt to change the subject.

His vague reply was enough to tip the knight off to the subject he was clearly trying to avoid. Her smile faded and was replaced by a small frown. Normally his vagueness would have likely been shrugged off by her but since she knew what was wrong, she was able to read into it probably more than what he would have liked. The way he looked away from her and answered was enough to tell her that the dream had happened again. Surely if it hadn't, he would have told her that there was nothing more to be concerned over. Or at least addressed it directly rather than dancing around the topic like he was now.

She opened her mouth slightly to say something but didn't get the chance to as he attempted to change the subject. The knight pursed her lips into a thin line, hesitating to answer. She nearly didn't until she caught sight of a servant stepping over to place her food on the table. The knight gave a grateful dip of her head to her before shifting her gaze back on Crow. "I slept fine. Woke up a bit late and nearly didn't get the letters out in time.." she replied with a shrug.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the servant leave before shooting Crow a frown. "You're still having that dream, aren't you?" she asked him in a low voice.

For a second, Crow nearly thought Penelope was going to press him for more details. As she pursed her lips, he held his breath, waiting for her to challenge his claim. However, the brief tension cooled down when a servant came by to set her food down on the table. He fidgeted uncomfortably beneath the table, watching the girl from the corner of his eye and hoping the distraction she had caused would be enough to keep the knight from reading into his vague answer to her question.

When Penelope went on to tell him a little about her morning, he let himself relax for a moment, but quickly discovered that he’d dropped his guard too soon. As soon as the servant had left, he stiffened as the knight accused him of having the same dream again. He didn’t think he’d been that obvious, but apparently, she had gotten better at seeing through him than he’d thought. Well, either that, or she had taken a shot in the dark and he’d given himself away by cringing. Whatever the case, there was no way to get out of it now.

“Fine, yes,” Crow admitted under his breath, glancing off to the side to make sure no one else was listening in on their conversation. His eyes flicked back to her face as he continued with some reluctance, “It came back last night, and I’m fairly confident it’s back for good—at least, for a while... However long it takes me to get past it again.”

Penelope watched as the viceroy cringed at her words, confirming her suspicions. The knight wished she had been wrong in her assumption, especially knowing how the nightmare likely made it another difficult morning for him. She casted him a concerned look and let out a soft sigh as he mentioned the dreams would likely be back for a while. "I wish you would just try to talk with Eldon or someone to get help rather than suffering through it." she mumbled, shaking her head disapprovingly.

The knight poked at her food and then looked back over at him. "I know you won't budge on that but still." she paused and took a bite of her food as she saw Preston returning with his plate. Though she knew she couldn't get Crow to agree to asking for help directly, she decided she might as well tell him about her own plans to get him help. After all, it wouldn't involve anyone finding out about his nightmare. Although, she had to wait for the servant to leave before she said anything.

Once Preston stepped away again, she turned back to him with a hint of hopefulness. "Since it is back.. I'm going to start asking around for solutions for you. I've been thinking about this since last night but if I ask Eldon or other knights about ways to deal with such dreams, they'll just think it's because I recently came back from the war front." she explained in a hushed voice. "I just think there has to be a way to help you deal with them better than just powering through the dreams."

Crow huffed when Penelope said she wished he would speak to the physician about his dreams. He didn’t understand why she was trying so hard to convince him. What good could Eldon do when his troubles were all in his head? As far as he was aware, healers could only treat physical symptoms. The physician had been helpful enough when dealing with his chronic cough, and he was glad that he was pretty much cured of that, but this was far different. He doubted Eldon could do anything more than try to connect his nightmares with something physical, and he didn’t feel sick in any other way.

He was about to tell his thoughts to the knight, but fell quiet instead as Preston approached the table with his breakfast. The attendant performed a quick check of his food as usual before leaving them alone again.

Once he was gone, Crow turned back to Penelope, who had gone on to say that she was going to ask around for him. At first, he felt a pang of annoyance, jumping to the assumption that she was going to ignore his request to keep his nightmares quiet. However, as she went on, his frustration simmered down. Thinking about it a little more, he supposed there was no harm as long as no one suspected she was speaking on his behalf. Even though he still wasn’t overly fond of the idea, he decided he had no reason to object.

“I doubt you’ll find much of anything,” he sighed, poking despondently at the food on his plate. “But if it will make you feel better, then I’m not going to stop you... Just make sure no one traces it back to me.” Looking up at her again, he managed a soft smile. “Don’t spend too much time on it though, alright? I can get past this. I have done it before, after all. Your priority should be convincing the king to end the war.”

Unsurprisingly, Crow didn't hold very much hope in her plan. Still, she was at least glad he didn't completely refuse her idea. Even if the former thief didn't have any hope, Penelope did and she figured that was enough for both of them. After all, she had heard stories of knights returning from war with recurring visions or nightmares about the gruesome things they had seen. She may not have known what came after for them, but she had a feeling they likely discovered some way of coping with it.

As smiled at her, she looked over at him and gave a soft sigh. "I know you have but I'm sure that doesn't make it any easier...And you shouldn't worry about that. I can manage two things at once." she assured him with a small grin. "Besides, there's only so much I can do in a day for the war's end. I just sent out the letters so right now I've got to wait for replies."

The knight shrugged her shoulders and turned attention back to her food, falling quiet for a moment as she ate. A couple of the letters had been to vassals that worked within the inner kingdom. Since her letter to Oliver clearly hadn't gone over well, she hoped that her letters to the others would prove to be more fruitful. As she finished food, she rested her elbow on the table and glanced over near one of the windows.

"I should get going... If I'm going to have any answers for you by the end of the day, I should probably get started." she mused looking back over to him with a small smile. "Good luck with your lesson today."

Crow shook his head faintly when Penelope responded. He’d almost forgotten just how stubborn she could be when she cared about something. He just wished he wasn’t at the center of her concern right now. Even if she spoke with other knights who may have had nightmares too, he would have been shocked if anyone had actually found a way to get rid of the dreams. It seemed impossible to him that a man could control the inner workings of his mind when he was unconscious.

Maybe she’ll let it go when she finds that out for herself, he mused, taking a small bite of rye bread.

“Progress is progress,” Crow shrugged when she told him she’d already sent letters out and was in the middle of waiting for replies. Glancing up from his plate, he casted her a confident smile. “Hopefully they’ll get back to you soon with good news.”

As she announced that she had to go, he nodded and then winced when she wished him luck with his lesson. Her words reminded him that he was going to be training with John today instead of Udolf. “I may need luck this time,” he sighed. “Your father is supposed to be teaching me this afternoon.”

“You won’t need luck if you pay attention and follow directions.”

Crow jumped at the sound of a voice behind him, inwardly cursing himself for neglecting to pay attention to his surroundings. Just because his nightmare had thrown him off didn’t mean he should have been letting his guard down this much. He turned around to see John standing behind him. The knight must have arrived to take him to the training grounds, as Udolf had said.

“You’d be surprised how difficult that is for me,” the viceroy muttered under his breath, still disgruntled by the older man’s sudden appearance.

“What was that?” John raised a brow.

Crow just waved his hand and shoveled one more bite of food into his mouth. He chased it with a quick gulp of water before standing from the table. “I guess I need to be going too,” he said to Penelope with a lopsided smile. “I’ll see you later, love.”

Penelope was about to question him what he meant by needing luck until her gaze flickered onto the approaching figure of her father. She blinked, mildly surprised to find out that he'd be training with him. Although, she supposed it shouldn't be too shocking. After all, John had been asking her about what Crow's fighting knowledge was and with so many nobles still looking down upon the former thief, it made sense for the king to choose the man who he had been trusting to handle situations with Crow so far.

While she was glad Crow wouldn't have someone like William training him, she also wasn't sure how much better her father was. John was a good teacher, she had learned quite a great deal from him as she was growing up. He was strict yet patient, but she wasn't sure that would extend to Crow. Her father still wasn't fond of the man his daughter loved so Penelope was a bit worried he'd be a bit harsher on Crow than most.

She glanced between the two men before settling her gaze on Crow and returning his smile. "See you." she said then looked over to John, dipping her head politely to her father before turning and heading off. Even though the thought of those two training together made her quite nervous, she knew there was nothing she could do to get in the way of it. Besides, she had other matters to focus on. She focused her gaze ahead and headed off down the corridor. Her first and most important stop for the day would be Eldon's office. With any luck, he'd have the answers she was looking for to help Crow.