Crow eventually awoke to the sound of his door opening as Preston came into the room. He rolled over on his bed and stretched his legs, yawning broadly as he woke up a bit more. After getting some much-needed rest, he felt better than he had nearly a week. He wished he could take naps after all of his afternoon lessons. The additional sleep would surely do him some good, but he knew his father would never allow him to take that much time to himself when the king didn’t know what was going on.

“Supper is ready,” Preston announced, stepping over to the viceroy’s bedside. The attendant seemed relieved to find him waking up without screaming for once. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did,” Crow nodded, stretching one more time before he moved to climb down from the tall mattress. He located his boots on the floor and bent down to put them on.

“I’m happy to hear it,” the servant nodded, waiting for him to finish getting ready before he followed him to the door. “I heard a rumor that the kitchen staff prepared a venison stew this evening.”

“Well, I’m happy to hear [i]that[/i],” Crow casted him a grin. “Come on, I want a bowl while it’s still hot.” With that, he hastened his pace slightly, eager to fill his empty stomach with one of his favorite dishes.

--

It didn’t take long for the two to arrive in the Great Hall. Crow took a moment to look over the faces of the nobles who had gotten there ahead of him. He didn’t see Elizabeth anywhere, but there was one familiar face that caught his eye. Naida was sitting alone at a table near the back of the room, looking down at her food instead of flagging him over as she usually did during a meal. The sight made him grimace as he recalled what he’d said to her the night before. After everything that had happened with Liz, he’d completely forgotten to make amends with the princess.

Tentatively, he made his way to the other side of the room to sit down across from her. She glanced up briefly from her bowl before looking away again, fidgeting nervously with her silverware. “Hey, Collin,” she said in a quiet voice, nearly acting like she expected him to snap at her again.

Crow frowned, remaining silent for a moment before a sigh escaped his lips. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, shuffling his feet beneath the table. “About how I treat you last night… It wasn’t right of me to raise my voice at you like that. I know you weren’t trying to do anything wrong. I just overreacted, and I hope you can forgive me.”

His sister blinked, seeming surprised by the gentleness of his tone. She looked up at him and laughed softly, “Gods, I’m just glad that you’re not still mad at me. You could start a fire with that temper of yours, you know.” The viceroy blushed, but she waved her hand, “It’s fine though. No harm was done.”

Crow relaxed a bit, offering her a half smile, “Thanks.”

“Of course,” Naida grinned. “Besides, being on the sharp end of your tongue was worth it. You and Penelope were just [i]adorable[/i] last night.”

“Not this again,” Crow groaned, though inwardly, he was relieved to hear her go on like everything was back to normal between them. He relaxed as they continued to banter, enjoying spending time with his sister now that the tension had faded between them.

The rest of his supper went by, thankfully, without any more issues, and by the time Crow was ready to turn in for the night, he found himself in a rather good mood again. He bid a curt goodnight to the princess and then headed back to his bedchamber, ready to lay down again as his stomach worked on digesting the heavy meal.