Heading back to his own room, Crow yawned tiredly, his exhaustion finally catching up with him. He hadn’t done much all day aside from sit through his father’s council meeting, but being sedentary had been more draining than working on horseback riding with John for an entire afternoon. It also didn’t help that his thoughts were weighed down by the conversation he had yet to have with Albin. He looked forward to forgetting about asking the king for permission to court Penelope during the hours he would be asleep. Nothing would change before tomorrow no matter how much he dwelled on it, so there was no point in continuing to fret anyway. He just had one more thing left to do before he climbed into bed.

When he reached his bedchamber, the viceroy went through with his usual routine of exercising to stave off his nightmares. The trick had been working well since he’d started it, so he was careful to remember to wear himself out every day that he wasn’t able to go outside. His time, he used the tall, four-post bedframe to do pull-ups until his arms trembled too much to continue. Although it wasn’t his main purpose, he had also noticed that his new habits had helped him recover what musculature had atrophied during the time he had been bedridden in the battalion’s camp. He felt just as strong as he had been at his peak.

Satisfied that he had done enough to lessen the intensity of his nightmares if they appeared, he changed into his nightclothes and settled down beneath the warm sheets on his mattress, drifting off almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.

--

The next morning, Crow woke up slightly disoriented. His sleep hadn’t been as dreamless as he would have liked, but this time, the nightmare that plagued him had only been part of a series of dreams that flitted through his subconscious while he’d slumbered. He had also dreamt of his old companions in the outer villages, courting Penelope—though in his imagination, he had pictured them in Farhill—and his looming trip to Younis. With so many different images in his head, it took him a moment to remember where he actually was.

As always, Preston had arrived just before he’d risen. “Good morning,” the attendant greeted him, putting away the viceroy’s clean laundry in the wardrobe.

“Morning,” Crow yawned broadly and rolled his shoulders. The left side had an annoying knot, and he assumed he must have slept on it at an odd angle.

“Hunter told me about the meeting yesterday,” Preston went on without looking at him. “It sounds like we’ll be leaving for Younis soon.”

“We?” Crow repeated with a quizzical frown.

“Of course,” the boy nodded, turning away from the open furniture to meet his gaze. “I’m your personal attendant, so I’ll be coming with you even if you leave the kingdom.”

“Oh,” the viceroy said, realizing that he should have guessed that on his own. “Will your sister be all right while you’re away?”

“She’s been doing better,” Preston nodded again. “I told her this morning, and she said she’s excited for me. Neither of us have ever left Brerra before.”

“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of stories to tell her when we return,” Crow mused, thinking back to the first time he had visited Younis as he slid down from his bed.

“I hope so,” Preston agreed.

The former thief dressed himself, and they made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. With the request to his father still looming in the back of his mind, Crow wanted to fill his stomach before he went to the king’s private chambers to find out if he would be willing to allow him to start courting Penelope for marriage.