When Penelope returned his teasing words with her own, Crow laughed. “Thank you,” he smiled at her, taking her point about his tricks as a compliment. “You certainly saved yourself quite a bit of trouble.” Despite his teasing words, he felt like their relationship had actually brought her far [i]more[/i] trouble than he would have by himself if they had never fallen for each other. On the bright side, at least there was a light at the end of the tunnel they had chosen. Instead of fighting as enemies forever, they would eventually get married and be together as they wanted. The thought of it brought warmth to his cheeks.

As the knight spoke up again, Crow turned back to her curiously. “Okay,” he nodded, following her lead. Unfamiliar with the city they were traveling through, he trusted her to get them where they needed to go without any issues. He also just enjoyed walking with her. It was a luxury to be even this close to her since he’d moved into the castle. As long as they could keep spending time together, he had no complaints about where they went.

“That’s fine by me,” he shrugged when she said it would take them longer to get back. Casting her a fond smile, he added, “I’m just happy to be with you.” With their backs turned to the main road, he risked leaning over to press a swift kiss to her cheek. He was glad she’d thought of taking the alleys. Now that they didn’t have to worry as much about being spotted, he could let his guard down a little.

As Penelope confessed that she’d learned the streets from her years of chasing criminals, he smirked. “Oh yeah?” he mused, looking over the narrow passages they were walking through now. “Poor saps. I bet they had no idea who they were up against.” He shot her a mischievous look and strode closer to lace his fingers with hers. “You’re lucky this isn’t one of the cities I frequented though. I bet I would have gotten away if you’d been chasing me.”