“I think it would be more exhausting than nostalgic,” Crow wrinkled his nose as he thought back to William’s attempts to keep them apart on the return journey from Younis. There had been multiple times when they had literally come to blows over their disagreements. He didn’t want to arrive at the Younisian castle frustrated and unfocused because of an insubordinate guard. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure if William would let their personal feud interfere with his work for the king, but the knight had been angry enough today that he wouldn’t put it past him. Either way, he preferred the company of Naida, his sister, and Percival, someone whom he was slowly warming up to as a possible friend.

He glanced down at Penelope with a fond smile as she leaned her head against his shoulder. Even more so than the two guards he’d chosen for the trip, he was glad that she would be coming with him for the first leg of it. He was feeling better about his assignment since he’d started his training as Albin’s viceroy, but having never negotiated with a monarch before, he was still a little nervous about doing something wrong. The end of the war hinged on whether or not the peace treaty went through. It was quite a burden to shoulder, and the lieutenant was the only one around who would understand, since she’d been through the same thing when preparing to give her speech at the party.

“We finalized everything today,” he nodded in response to her question and then casted her a wry smirk. “I made sure the servants who packed our supplies allotted us larger rations than the tiny ones we had on our last mission. I’m not giving up full meals ever again.”

At the knight’s next inquiry, he paused to consider it. “You’ll want to be up early. My father made it sound like we’ll be leaving the castle right after we eat breakfast. I’m not sure if he knows you’re planning to go back to your battalion at the same time too, so if you’re not there before we take off, he probably won’t let us wait for you.”