“It’s nice to know I can still steal something,” Crow teased Penelope breathlessly in return. As he spoke, he shifted his weight to prop himself up more stably on one forearm while he leaned over her. In the back of his mind, he still kept an idle watch of their surroundings, just in case anyone tried to attack them while they were distracted. Alone in the middle of the woods, this was the most vulnerable position they had put themselves in since they’d left the castle. However, he wasn’t terribly concerned about being interrupted. Laying in the grass with the knight, it was hard to think about anything that could go wrong at that particular moment. The peace of the quiet trees and the babbling river was infectious.

When she trailed her fingers over his cheek, he turned his head slightly to kiss her palm. Her soft-spoken words made his heart flutter like they always did, and he smiled against her lips as she kissed him. He couldn’t wait until they would be able to be together like this more often. It would be nice to return to groups without being accused of being irresponsible too. He wasn’t looking forward to being chewed out by Otto when they got back to the inn. Hopefully the baron wouldn’t be so furious that he ruined their night by shouting.

“Speaking of stealing,” he met her gaze again with a mischievous smirk after they parted again. “I [i]might [/i]have gotten a little carried away the last time we left the castle…” Feigning a sheepish expression, he sat up again, freeing her from being trapped beneath his weight. He offered her a hand to get up as well and reached into his cloak pocket, digging for the object in question. When they had left the inner kingdom, he’d made sure not to forget it because he had wanted to give it to the lieutenant before they parted ways for two weeks.

“Close your eyes,” he instructed her, his sly smile returning as he grew more eager. “If you want to know what I did, you’ll have to play along. Those are the rules.”