After finally giving Crow up and attempting to move on with the life she had planned out before, Penelope found it difficult and regretted having to leave behind the thief just as much as she guessed she would. She blamed herself for the failed mission and that was guilt that has yet to fade. She returned to her regular job as a palace guard, without much issue despite the failed mission. It was there that she ran back into Olivia and the two female knights forged a friendship. Olivia came to be the one person who knew more about what happened between her and Crow than anyone else. Though, Penelope was still careful to not share to much with her unlikely new friend, even building up walls and bottling away the times she grew lonely or sorrowful. The two female knights got along especially well now, mainly due to Penelope's less strict attitude. 

At first, Penelope had intended to keep a low profile, losing a bit of her ambition to push her career further. However, that changed when she met Mia Chandler. The baroness was eager to enlist Penelope as a lieutenant. Though she was hesitant at first, she eventually agreed, hoping that focusing more on her career would help fill in the parts of her life that now felt missing. Not to mention that the baroness was rather enjoyable company as she wasn't arrogant or greedy. Though it appeared to Penelope that Mia preferred to ignore the issues of the outer villages rather than playing a hand in making them better or worse. 

Things seemed to get back on track. That is, until her brother and father returned home. John was terrified to learn about all that Penelope had been through but his fear of losing his daughter, came out as unbridled rage. He forced her to resign from being a knight with the intent of making her just another noblewoman. Layth was amused and glad to see Penelope forced to step down. It was a rather difficult time for the female knight as she momentarily lost the career she had been focusing on to forget Crow. Penelope didn't fight back against her father's decision though, feeling powerless as the things she loved seemed to continue to be taken from her, and kept her negative emotions bottled away.

Eventually her title as a knight was restored thanks to the influence and power of Mia. Though not without John getting a bit of what he wanted. When Penelope learned she would be forced into a marriage, her frustration with her father grew but once again she kept it to herself and an unspoken distance between them continued to grow. She had low expectations for the marriage and when she finally met Gavin, it was just as bad as she imagined. He didn't seem to care much for her but was at least polite. Penelope mainly kept to herself when spending time with him and rarely makes an effort to talk to him. However, as time goes on, he begins to grow on her. She finds herself just finding respect for his career goals, understanding the desire to help and change the state of the outer villages. 

Then, after letting a young thief escape, she finds herself forced to open up to him a bit and surprisingly, he doesn't turn on her or think less of her for her past decisions. Gavin grows from an unwanted suitor to a trustworthy friend and over time, Penelope finds herself slowly developing feelings for him, which surprises her as she didn't think she'd fall for anyone again after Crow. Luckily, it's not one sided either, as she late comes to find out. Their courting becomes a bit more serious as they grow close. It's the first time that Penelope truly begins to have hope for a happy future again, provide they can both survive the upcoming war. 

--

[i]It's been two years since I've been this far from the castle..[/i] Penelope thought as she looked around the outer village that her battalion had finally reached. Around her, some knights busied themselves with moving supplies and setting up tends while others relaxed and checked in on their comrades who had already been at the battle front for some time now. Penelope stood away from it all, her mind drifting to a different time. 

She had avoided the outer villages, mainly out of the fear of running into Crow. It was unlikely they'd even be in the same village at the same time but the thought of crossing his path, seeing his resentment towards, and having to just ultimately say goodbye to him again was something that still left her with a small sting of grief, despite believing to have moved on. She sighed to herself as she began to think about him more. It had been a while since he had crossed her thoughts. The first year apart, she had thought of him often. The second year, thoughts of him grew less frequent and even farther apart until she had a couple months where he finally didn't cross her mind. That streak was quickly broken though now that she was back at the border. She supposed it was only natural, considering it was where she had last seen him. 

"Penelope," Murmured a concerned voice. "Are you ok?"

Penelope blinked, a little startled by Gavin's sudden appearance as she hadn't heard him approach her. "Oh, yeah.. I'm fine.. Just a little nervous I guess." She mumbled with a shrug. 

Gavin moved to take her hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze before letting go. "Yeah, me too. But we'll be ok." He assured her, his gaze shifting away from her to look over towards the distant border. "I've been eying the campside over and it seems like we haven't lost too many. I'd have to speak with one of the barons to confirm, but it seems like we've got the numbers right now." 

"That's good." Penelope mused crossing her arms. She flashed him a small smile and then turned to head towards one of the wagons filled with the supplies. "Come on, we should go help set up."