While my uncle ruled the country, I found things to do in and out of the palace. I read in the library, snuck baked goods from the kitchen, and walked around the gardens. Then I finally visited my father’s grave. A statue of him was built over his casket to honor him and mark his grave. I kneeled by the statue and laid my head on the base for a long time. 

When I opened my eyes again, I noticed a pitch black crow in front of me, its feathers shining in the sunlight filtering through the trees. It was staring at me. I sat up and it hopped back a few steps. 

“It’s alright…” I said. I stuck my hand out as a peace offering. 

The crow twitched its head before stepping closer again. It lightly pecked at one of my fingers. 

“Are you all alone too?” I asked. It went still and continued to stare at me as if it understood. I smiled weakly. “Well, at least we won’t be alone together. Will you visit me and my father again in the future?” 

The crow twitched its head before lifting its wings and flying away. I waited until I couldn’t hear its fluttering anymore before carefully getting to my feet. I stared up at the statue. 

“I’ll visit again soon, father.” 

The next time I visited, I brought some bread to munch on while I sat on the statue’s base. I tore off a small piece to offer my father and placed it next to me. 

I was surprised when a flurry of black feathers came down next to me. The crow was back. I couldn’t tell the difference between almost identical-looking animals, but I couldn’t help feeling like it was the same crow. It stared at me before pecking at the bread. 

“Wait, that’s for my father!” 

It didn’t listen and soon finished off the small piece. Then it came closer and began to peck at the bigger piece in my hand. 

“Hey, stop!” I jumped up and moved the bread away from it. “This is mine!” 

The crow was persistent as it flew around my hand to get to the bread. 

“Wait!” I exclaimed as I fought and tried to run away. “Is bread even good for you?! If you stop, I’ll get you some good seeds or something!” 

It suddenly stopped and flew back to the statue, perching on my father’s shoulder. I stared up at it, feeling winded from running around. 

“Do you just want me to bring you food?” I sighed. “Fine… As long as you don’t steal my food anymore, I’ll bring you whatever you want!” 

With that, I had struck a deal with the crow. Every time I visited my father’s grave, the crow was there too. I had inquired to the kitchen staff about what crows like to eat and they helped me gather the necessary diet. We ate fruits and nuts together and I couldn’t help being disgusted when it caught the occasional insect to munch on. 

One day, when I said goodbye to the crow and started home, I noticed it was following me. 

“Are you following me home now?” I asked as it made circles above me, trying to match my pace. “Are you going to steal from my dinner now? You’re such a glutton.” 

It flew lower and cawed at me as if it was offended by what I said. I didn’t fully believe it would follow me all the way home, especially indoors, but I paused at the door to see where it might perch. 

That’s when it landed on my shoulder. Its right eye blinked at me and its head twitched. 

“If I walk in with you, do you promise not to cause trouble?” I asked. 

It only blinked at me again. I wondered if I really was going to let a wild animal into the palace. I waited a moment longer but the crow didn’t move. I decided to stop stalling and enter the palace with a crow on my shoulder. 

The servants who I passed by all looked at me weirdly and I began to feel self-conscious. I kept an eye on the crow but it still didn’t move besides its twitching head looking around. I tried to make it to my room as quickly as I could. When I finally made it and closed the door behind me, I sighed. 

The crow finally took flight and circled the room once before landing on my desk. I wandered over to it and watched what it was going to do. 

“You’re a good crow when you want to be, huh?” I said. 

The crow hopped around and began pecking at one of my fountain pens. 

“I knew you just wanted to cause trouble here.” I picked up the pen to get it out of its reach. 

It tilted its head at me before flying elsewhere. It stopped on my vanity. I followed over and it began poking inside my box of jewelry I rarely use. 

“Are you just interested in shiny things?!” I asked as I moved the box away from it too. 

It blinked at me before taking flight. Not elsewhere, but right at me and the box of jewelry. 

“Quit it!” I said while trying to protect my face with my arms. It was flying around my hands but I didn’t want it to end up pecking my eye out. 

“Okay fine, take it you thief!” I dropped what I was holding and backed away. As expected, the crow landed by the jewelry on the floor and began poking at it again. 

I sighed and tried to fix my hair that got messed up in the tussle. Just then, there was a knock at the door. The crow looked up and seemed to meet my eyes. I hoped it would stay put and not cause more trouble when I opened the door. 

The butler was outside the door. “Your highness, Master Fergus has requested to have dinner with you in the dining room.” 

“Right now?” I asked as I glanced back at the crow. It was still captivated by my jewelry. 

“Yes, dinner is ready and waiting now. I advise you not to let it get too cold.” 

“Then I’ll be there in a moment.” 

“Understood. I will relay the message to Master Fergus.” With a bow, he began to walk off. 

I carefully closed my door again. I glanced at the crow, wondering what I should do about it. Then I decided to open the window so it could leave while I’m gone. Hopefully it doesn’t wreck my room first… 

“You can leave when you’re ready,” I told it. “I have to get to the dining room now.” 

I made sure my hair looked neat in the mirror on the vanity. I turned and headed for my room door. Then a flurry landed on my shoulder. I met the crow’s eye. I noticed it held a gold bracelet in one of its feet. 

“You really are a thief, huh? And you’re going to come with me? I’m not sure if my uncle would like you…” 

The crow didn’t seem to care. It stayed still. I thought about how crazy it would be to bring a crow to the dining room but decided to do it anyway. What’s the worst that could happen?