The meeting lasted most of the day. The barons spoke about possible plans and hashed out a few details about their next move when the supplies arrived. Penelope mainly hung back from the conversation, doing more listening than anything else since she didn't feel the need to add anything. At the end of the meeting, Layth volunteered a couple of comrades he happened to trust to be sent to help protect the incoming of supplies. The idea of them being picked by Layth made Penelope a bit uneasy but unable to come up with a reasonable excuse to have someone else go, she didn't oppose her brother. The barons agreed with his picks and as the meeting was dismissed, he quickly headed off to alert his companions to their new task. 

Penelope stepped out of the large tent and glanced up at the sky. It was early evening and before long night would fall, at which time she'd have to go on her guard shift. The knight headed to her tent to get some rest before she had to take over the late guard shift. She retired to her tent and laid down, soon falling into a light sleep as she still felt a bit drowsy. 

Her sleep didn't last long as it was soon time for her guard shift. Luckily she didn't sleep for too long and woke up in time to head to her post. She stretched and threw on her armor before heading off towards the south end of camp. As she drew closer, Alan came into view and she gave him a small wave in greeting. However, he didn't return it. Instead he looked at Penelope with a hint of annoyance in his gaze. 

[i]Gavin must have said something to him..[/i] She flinched, quickly guessing the reason for Alan's coldness. The two were close friends and Gavin wasn't exactly subtle in how he was hurt over how things had ended between them. Her stomach churned nervously, wondering exactly how much he had revealed to Alan. Taking in a shaky breath, she stepped over to the male knight. "Hey Alan.. I'm here to take you off."

"Obviously." Alan said rolling his eyes before beginning to move past her. However, he paused and looked over at her with narrowed eyes. "I'm curious though... Last time I checked, when your parents got you into a courtship, aren't you supposed to stay in it?"

"Probably. But my father's not here to stop me from making my own decisions and Gavin respected my choice." Penelope responded, holding his gaze. 

"You messed up and one day you're going to regret it. I just hope Gavin is sensible enough to turn his back on you when that time comes." Alan sighed crossing his arms. "You were lucky he even wanted to marry you.. A peasant playing noble." He taunted. 

"A peasant who outranks you might I add." Penelope said feeling a bit of anger spark from Alan's words. She usually stayed above getting worked up over such a thing. It wasn't like she hadn't heard it before but Alan had been someone she had gotten along with up until now. Plus she didn't like Alan giving his input. "Go to bed Alan." 

He shot her an glare but turned and headed off towards his tent anyways. Penelope let out a soft exhale and moved to focus on her guard shift. 

---

Penelope didn't wake up until late the next morning after her guard shift. The day started as usual and without a meeting between the barons and lieutenants, she decided to practice a bit with her sword. She headed off to the spot in the camp that the knights had made into a makeshift training site. However before she reached it, she heard someone call her name. 

"Penelope! Wait a second." 

She turned her head to see Gavin heading towards her, dragging Alan with him. The female knight stopped and looked over at the two questioningly. Alan had appeared rather clear on his poor opinion of her and she thought Gavin was still avoiding her so she was confused why they were suddenly approaching her now. 

Gavin avoided meeting her gaze and instead gave Alan a shove forward as they reached her. "Go on. Tell her." He grumbled. 

"I don't understand why you're making a big deal about this..." Alan grumbled, shooting his friend a glare. He looked over at Penelope. He wrinkled his nose then let out a sigh, muttering, "I'm sorry about what I said last night.."

"And?" Gavin inquired. 

"And it's none of my business and I should have just kept my opinions to myself." Alan grumbled, before adding in a quieter voice, "even though most of them are right." Gavin shot a glare at his friend before looking apologetically at Penelope. Alan rolled his eyes and pulled away from Gavin, looking a bit embarrassed. "You're both ridiculous." He muttered before turning to storm away before Gavin could stop him. Gavin sighed and looked back at Penelope. "I don't know exactly what he said but from what he told me it wasn't anything good. I forget how childish he can be sometimes. I didn't think he'd go running his mouth like that... I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Penelope assured, a little amused by the scene. She looked up at Gavin, meeting his gaze for a moment until he looked away causing for her to do the same. She shifted a bit awkwardly. "You didn't tell him the whole story... Right?"

"Of course not." Gavin told her with a small frown. "I told you, you can trust me Penelope.."

She gave a small nod then turned to continue on her way. "Thank you, Gavin." She mumbled before heading off to practice alone with her sword.