Hating the silence, Declan spent the rest of the day prodding Crow with questions that he answered with barely one word. He was beginning to seriously question his mental health and attribute the deterioration of it to his acceptance of the prince's quest when Declan asked if he had ever been in love. They had passed through three towns since Knob and the sky was becoming a burnt orange color. Now, on the edge of the Forest Nocturne, Crow tugged against the bit in his horse's mouth, pulling her to a halt.
"Princeling, I'm sorry if you don't like silence but I really don't think you need to know if I have ever been in love. We are not friends. Even if we were friends, which we never will be, I wouldn't tell you that. Please, for the love of Sedna, please just stop talking," Crow said to the prince. Declan's eyes went wide and looked utterly terrified. "For one thing, it's bloody annoying. For another, we're about to enter the Forest Nocturne and I don't think you want to be drawing any more attention to yourself that you already do. There are some nasty things inside the forest and I don't feel much in the mood for saving your sorry ass."
Still Declan was silent, staring at Crow with big eyes. Crow tossed his head back and sighed.
"Did you hear me?"
"Yes sorry. Yes I did. I'm sorry," the prince stuttered out. Crow rolled his eyes but there was a mysterious twang of something that he didn't want inside of him. Damn prince had never been yelled at before. That didn't mean he had to feel bad for being the first one to.
Pushing his feelings aside, Crow turned his mare around and started down the path into the Forest Nocturne. He had been through the fores many times, fought the creatures that lurked in the depths, and wasn't worried about spending the night under the canopy of black trees. However, he wasn't so sure how the prince would fare.
A single road wound through the forest. Almost every road in the kingdom either started or ended here. There was a fainted branch of the road every few steps of the way.
"Stay away from these," Crow said to Declan. "Don't wander down any of them. Stay close to me."
"Is it really as dangerous as they say?"
Crow glanced behind him at the prince and nodded toward his sword. "You know how to use that thing?"
Declan's hand fluttered to the hilt. "Yes of course."
Crow nodded once. "Don't let your guard down."
In the Forest Nocturne, the trees creaked and the leaves whistled in a manor that it was hard to tell if it was truly the trees at all. Every shadow seemed to be watching you and every rustle sounded like footsteps. Crow kept his eyes forward and on the road but felt the prince behind him, could hear his skittish breathing as the shadows grew longer and the pools of golden light began to fade. When they could no longer see in front of them any longer, Crow slowed his horse and lead her to the edge of the road near a clearing.
"We should stay here for the night," Crow said softly.
"Are you sure?" Declan whispered.
"We'll be fine. We'll keep a fire burning and take turns minding it," Crow said as he dismounted his horse. "I'll take first watch. You get your sleep."
"I'm not an infant," Declan scoffed
"Did I say that?"
"Well no."
"Then take your sleep first. Or stay awake with me. It doesn't matter," Crow snapped at him. He began gathering sticks and twigs lying around the forest floor once he tied his horse. Declan slid down to the ground and began helping. Thankfully, he did so quietly.
