Crow shifted carefully against the chains, readying himself to run as Penelope went to work on the lock. His heartbeat quickened in his chest with a rush of adrenaline at the thought that he would be free soon. However, it didn’t take long before he realized it was taking her longer than he expected to get the lock open. He eyed the guards in the camp warily. It was Penelope’s first time using a pick lock key, so he knew he shouldn’t have expected her to get it right away, but he was nervous that the other knights would notice something was happening and come over to check it out.
Come on, come on, he thought, fidgeting impatiently as he glanced between the guards. None of them were looking in his direction so far, but he didn’t want to keep waiting around until one of them did.
In the next instant, his eyes widened with excitement as he felt the chains around his torso fall loose. She had done it—she had gotten the lock open. He jumped to his feet, hardly noticing the pain of his injuries, and hurried to the other side of the tree to retrieve his key from Penelope. Before he had time to think, he gathered her in his arms in a brief embrace and whispered into her ear, straining to keep his voice down in his elation, “Thank you!”
With no more time to spare, he slipped his key from her hand and stepped away from her, turning to run into the woods just as the knights began shouting to each other to go after him.
--
Being free from armor and knowing the area well, Crow had no trouble losing the knights before he even came close to his own camp. Once the sounds of their voices and footsteps had faded completely, he slowed to a walk, glancing back over his shoulder proudly as he took a moment to acknowledge his victory.
With no more reason to rush, he continued to head for the ravine at a leisurely pace so he wouldn’t aggravate his injuries any more than he already had. However, now that the immediate pressure of the knights was gone, he was also able to think clearly again. He flushed as he realized what he had done to Penelope when she freed him from the chains. The moment had felt so familiar to him that at the time, he had forgotten they weren’t together anymore. It had felt natural to embrace her, so he didn’t even think twice before he did it.
Stupid, he brought a hand to his face in embarrassment and closed his eyes. He hoped she would just write it off as him thanking her, but he had already told her before that he still loved her, so it wouldn’t be a stretch for her to guess he still felt the same way now. He groaned. Gods, I hope she doesn’t think I’m trying to get between her and her suitor… He didn’t want to drive a wedge between them when they were just starting to get along again.
Feeling especially uncomfortable, he hastened his pace slightly, now more eager to get back to the other thieves so he could forget about what had happened.
--
When he arrived back at the ravine, he didn’t even make it down to the bottom of the ridge before he felt a pair of slender arms wrap around his middle.
“You’re alive!” Rikki’s voice trembled as she held him tightly to herself. “I can’t believe it. We all thought you were dead!”
“Yes, I am alive,” Crow gasped. “But I won’t be for much longer if you keep squeezing me like that.” He pressed a hand on her shoulder to push her away.
She blinked as she stepped back and looked him over, eyes widening in shock as she took notice of his wounds, “Oh gods, Crow. What did they do to you?”
“The knights wanted me to tell them where the rest of you were,” he shook his head, rubbing a hand along his chest to ease the ache of his broken ribs. “Let’s just say they were very determined to get the information.”
“You didn’t tell them anything, did you?” Simon spoke up, crossing his arms as he gazed at Crow unsympathetically.
“Not a word,” Crow grinned. “They still have no idea where our camp is.”
“Good,” Simon nodded, seeming satisfied.
“I’m just glad you’re back safe,” Rikki murmured, reaching to take his hand as if she couldn’t believe he was really in front of her.
“Me too,” Crow sighed. “I don’t think I’ll be leaving camp again for a few days after all that.”
“How did you escape?” Alistair spoke up now, seeming intrigued.
“It wasn’t hard,” Crow smirked and held up the pick lock key that was still in his hand. “I just waited until everyone was asleep, aside from a few night guards. Penelope helped too.”
“Wow,” Alistair whistled. “She helped you escape from her own comrades in the middle of her own camp? That woman’s got guts.”
“She’s something else,” Crow’s expression softened slightly, but only for a moment. Not wanting to give away his feelings for the knight to the other thieves, he changed the subject, “Anyway, I need to get some sleep. It’s been a long day.”
“Understandably,” Alistair nodded. “We should all get some rest. We’ve been waiting up with Rikki all night, because she couldn’t sleep.”
“Shut up,” Rikki shot him a glare, though her cheeks turned red at the accusation. “You were both just as worried as I was, so don’t pretend like it was only me.”
“Maybe, but you were the only one who cried,” Alistair prodded her.
“I did not!” Rikki’s blush deepened.
“Guys, can we save it for tomorrow?” Crow yawned. “When I said I needed to sleep, I kind of meant right now.”
“Sorry,” Alistair shrugged sheepishly and turned to head into the shelter. The others followed him as they all got ready to go to bed.
Inside the shelter, Crow laid down tiredly on his mat and threw his blanket over himself, closing his eyes to sleep. However, before he could drift off, he felt something press against his side. Opening one eye, he looked down to see that Rikki had scooted onto his bed and was lying curled up beside him. It seemed Alistair hadn’t been that far off when he had said she was worried about him. He smiled and rolled over to wrap his arm around the female thief, holding her close as they both fell asleep against each other.
Vaunivor
Tlazolteotl
Syrenrei
AHeartlessNobody
nachonacho
Vampiretwilight