Penelope pressed closed to him as wrapped his arms around her. She returned his kiss and met his gaze as he drew back. “I will.” She promised, moving one hand up to cup his cheek. “I love you too... And the same goes for you. Be careful, Collin, please.” She stepped away from him to leave but paused as she realized they needed somewhere to reunite again. “Once you get out of here, head for the cluster of trees we camped at the other day. I’ll try to meet you there.” She added before turning to head back towards the staircase she had came from before. She casted one glance back at him and frowned a little before focusing her gaze back ahead as they parted ways yet again. 

The sudden change of plans didn’t bode well for her despite the fact that she was the one insisting on it. If something happened to Crow while they were separated, not only would she be unable to do anything but she also wouldn’t know about until he never met up with her. She felt her throat tighten at the thought of never seeing him again. [i]He’ll be fine.. He’s the expert at this stuff..[/i] She took in a deep breath trying to push away such thoughts as she carefully maneuvered her way to the staircase, keeping a watch out for any guards. 

It wasn’t long before she reached the stairs as she was able to retrace her steps fairly easily. She headed down them at a slow pace, worried that once she reached the second floor she might find a swarm of guards if they had discovered what had happened in the great hall. As she neared the bottom of the staircase, she was relieved to see that the coast was still clear for the time being. [i]No time to waste then..[/i] She picked up her pace slightly as she headed past the closed doors of the great hall and down the second staircase onto the first floor. She was barely at the last step when heavy footsteps sounded from the front entrance. The knight slipped off to duck away into the shadows of the staircase behind a medium sized statue. 

The door swung open and knights swarmed in with narrowed eyes and angry looks. “In the great hall! I-I don’t know what happened! Everyone’s dying!” Cried a familiar voice with clear panic. [i]Dotty![/i] Penelope tensed as she realized that the short servant girl must have run out to get the knights as soon as the rest of the staff fell victim to the poison. She didn’t doubt that the servant had been waiting for her to return, which likely meant that Dotty would know that the poisoning was her doing. Penelope bit her lip and held her breath as she listened to the knights storm up the stairs to investigate. 

Penelope peaked around the corner of the statue to see that two knights remained behind to watch the front entrance, making sure no one came in or out. [i]Guess I’ll just have to go out a different way...[/i] Penelope thought as her gaze drifted over towards where the kitchen and pantry were. She’d just have to figure out a way to sneak past them.