Penelope casted a small smile at Crow, grateful for his small attempt to reassure her before they parted. She gave a nod to the two as they headed off down the corridor, parting from her. The knight took in a deep breath and headed off to the council room to meet with the king. A feeling of anxiousness began to bubble in her but since she was about to face the king, she attempted to force it down. 

As she reached the room, she tentatively knocked on the door and waited to hear a clear "Come in." before opening the door and stepping inside. Once inside, her immediately fell on the king, who was sitting there clearly waiting for her. For a moment, she worried she had been late but he seemed rather relaxed so she doubted he had been waiting long. His gaze flickered over to her and she bowed respectfully to him.

"Penelope Vermillion... I was wondering when I'd get to properly meet you, lieutenant." Albin mused and gestured to the open chair across from him. "Come in. Have a seat."

The female knight nodded and moved to sit down in the open. Now closer to the king and speaking to him directly, she already found it a bit difficult to keep her guard up. While seeming inviting, he also reminded her a great deal of Crow due to his physical appearance. That alone made it difficult not to relax. "Thank you for accepting my request, your majesty." she said with a small dip of her head. 

"Of course." Albin smiled. "I'm eager to hear how things are progressing on the warfront."

Penelope shifted a bit. "There is no progress." she responded quietly, making the king raise his brow in confusion.

Albin eyed her. "So why exactly did you request an audience with me if you have nothing to report on?"

She cleared her throat and met his eyes, trying not to let her nerves get to her. She had to convince him and acting uncertain wouldn't help. "Neither us nor Younis has made any progress. It's been a consistent stalemate." she explained. "It's true there's not much for me to report on and one of the main reasons I wished to speak with you is because I think you should seek a peaceful end to this war."

The king let out a small sigh, seeming a bit disappointed with her, as he leaned back in his seat. "Now, why would I do that?"

The change in his attitude with speaking to her wasn't encouraging to say the least but at least he wasn't denying her suggestion right away. "Because there is nothing to gain from continuing it." she stated with a small frown. "All it's doing is leaving a path of destruction along our outer villages." The knight paused as she recalled her father's advice. "And it's draining your gold. This war has gone on for over a year and there is no sign of a winner."

"So, you don't believe we can win?"

"I don't think winning will be worth it." Penelope responded. "Even if we do win, the amount of resources and gold you'll have to spend in order to do so will not be worth it in the long run. Just look at how often we've had to send in requests for more supplies." The knight was careful not to mention that a great part of the reason for requesting more supplies was because of the thieves they had to deal with on the battlefront. She studied Albin for a moment. His slight disappointment seemed to fade a bit as he seemed to take her words into consideration. Her heart began to beat excitedly, encouraged by seeing the king listen to her.

"And I'm sure you could convince the king of Younis into seeking a truce as well. This war surely must be costly for both sides after all." Penelope went on. She gave a hopeful look as the king met her gaze. "I'm not saying we roll over to them but rather, at least try to seek a peaceful end to the war before it drains both of our kingdoms."

Albin remained quiet for a long moment, lightly tapping his finger against the arm of his chair as he thought over her words. "Interesting." he finally mused and gave Penelope a small nod. "I'll take your words into consideration.. But if that's all, then you are dismissed."

It wasn't quite what she was hoping for but at least it seemed that some of her words had gotten through to him. Only time would tell if he'd actually listen to her advice though, which didn't ease any of her anxiousness about failing. She dipped her head respectfully and rose to her feet. "Thank you again." she said politely before rising from her chair to leave.