Pulling back the flap of the tent, Penelope quietly stepped inside. Even though she tried to be a bit discrete, all eyes were on her almost instantly as Mia trailed off in whatever she was discussing with the others in the room. The lieutenant offered her baroness a small smile and dipped her head. "Sorry to interrupt. I just got back." Her gaze briefly flickered over the faces in the room until stopping on one in particular. 

Gavin looked over at her with thinly veiled surprise, sitting in her regular seat besides Tomas. It made the female knight feel a small sense of joy knowing that Mia had taken her advice in letting the male knight temporarily take her place. It also made the knight feel a bit awkward. She had done that with the intention of helping Gavin rise in rank so that he'd be able to do what she couldn't once the war ended and she left to be with Crow. Now that she wouldn't be leaving her noble life behind, she wouldn't be stepping down from her position. Although, perhaps she could still temporarily give her position to him if she managed to convince Mia to let her leave.

"That's quite alright, Penelope. It's good to have you back." Mia smiled. 

"What took you so long to return anyways?" Edward grumbled. 

"And what about the thief? Did the king hang him?" Layth quickly piped in, eying his sister for answers. "Or did he throw him in a cell to rot?"

"Things... Took a different turn than I was expecting at the castle." Penelope admitted slowly, unsure how to go about delivering the news to nobles who despised the thief.

"What do you mean by that?" Bennett questioned, raising an eyebrow at her. 

Penelope glanced at him before looking back over to Edward and Layth. "The thief is neither dead nor in prison, he actua—"

"What!?" Layth snapped. His eyes narrowed at Penelope and he curled his lip. "Don't tell me that bastard slipped away from you again! Damnit you of all people should have never accompanied father to the castle."

Penelope shot a glare at her brother. "He didn't escape." she grumbled, irritated by her brother's demeaning words. 

"Then what did happen?" Edward challenged.

"I'm not exactly sure but the king gave him permission to travel to the outer villages." Penelope explained shifting her weight uneasily. "And he isn't to be harmed. The king even gave him a signed letter stating so."

The room fell silent and they all stared at her in shock. Layth was the first to snap out of his shock and glared at Penelope. "That can't be right! Why in the world would the king allow that cretin to walk free?" he growled. 

"This is absurd." Edward muttered in agreement as he seemed to be trying to piece together some explanation. 

"I don't know but that has what he had decided... Besides the thief is suppose to return to the inner kingdom before the end of this week." Penelope explained with a shrug. "I'm sure the king will give an explanation soon enough."

"I suppose we'll just have to trust his reasoning for now then." Gavin spoke up giving her a small nod of support. Tomas gave a mumble of agreement despite looking a bit concerned by this new development. Though Edward, Bennett and Layth were clearly having a tough time accepting it, she was glad to gain the support of her friend and fellow lieutenant. 

"Speaking of which," her gaze shifted over to the barons. "The thief will be returning to this camp tonight. We should make sure word gets around throughout the camp that he's a guest for now and isn't to be harmed."

"Why is he coming here if he's supposed to return to the castle?" Bennett asked crossing his arms. 

"I'm curious too... Why didn't he just accompany you here? It sounds like you traveled out here with him correct?" Mia asked calmly. 

"We left at the same time. But he had some business to take care of in the outer villages and I had business to take care of here so we went our separate ways." Penelope shrugged then glanced at Bennett. "He's planning to rest here before he starts his trip back to the castle tomorrow."

"Ridiculous! Why would we let a criminal who's been stealing from us just waltz into our camp?" Edward growled. 

"Because the king has given him the pass to." Mia pointed out with a shrug. 

"Yeah well.. As soon as he gets here, that cur better show us this letter." Edward growled. 

"If he even shows up! I can't imagine he'd willingly show up or return to the castle after all his crimes. We should be getting ready to hunt that bastard down again." Layth grumbled in agreement.

"We'll see.." Penelope mumbled, not bothering to argue further with her brother. Instead, her attention focused on the next task at hand, which was the much more concerning one of getting Mia's approval for her to leave. She shifted her gaze over to her baroness and dipped her head. "I'd also like to speak with you once the meeting is over." 

"Of course." Mia mused. "We're about to wrap things up anyways. Tomas, Layth, Gavin I expect you three with deliver the news that the thief is not to be touched if he comes to our camp. And if he does, he must present us with his letter." After the three gave nods of agreement, she rose up to her feet and turned to address Penelope again. "Come let's go to my tent. I feel there's much to talk about since you've been gone."