Penelope stepped a bit hesitantly into the throne room and swept her gaze over the nobles that had gathered there. A few she recognized almost immediately. A woman with long ginger hair in a lavish light blue gown stood chatting with two men. One of the men eyed her adoringly while the other, another ginger, looked tired and far from interested. [i]Of course Gavin's sister and brother would be here..[/i] she cringed. It had been a while since she had last seen them but was in no hurry to get reacquainted. Dimia hadn't exactly been welcoming in the past and Merek wasn't worth greeting if it meant having to deal with his sister. 

Looking away, she quickly spotted some of her own family and made her way over. Her father was dressed up like the other noblemen for the event and was talking casually with two other familiar faces. It seemed Krea and her daughter Lucy had been invited to the castle, likely in place of Edward since he was busy at the war front. She wasn't exactly fond of those two but not wanting to stand awkwardly alone, she stepped over to join her father's side. 

"-well the king certainly has me curious. I was hoping you'd know more about this than just that, John." Krea sighed and then paused as her gaze shifted over to Penelope. "Ah, I was wondering if you were coming." 

"Yeah it took you long enough." Lucy piped in as she folded her arms over her chest. "I was beginning to think you forgot how to put on a dress... Speaking of which," she eyed Penelope with some envy. "When did you even get a dress like that?"

Penelope rolled her eyes at her cousin. "A friend let me borrow it for tonight."

"Be sure not to ruin it then." Krea commented with a sigh. 

"I'm sure it'll be fine." John spoke up now as he looked over at Krea. Though stoic, Penelope detected a hint of annoyance in his tone that made her smile faintly. She could easily handle Krea and Lucy's snarky remarks, she had for years, but the additional support was always welcomed. He smoothed out his shirt and flickered his gaze towards the throne. "Come on. I think it'll be starting soon." he muttered as he moved to lead the Vermillions towards where the rest of the crowd was gathering. 

Penelope shifted a bit as she stood besides her father, her gaze fixated on the throne ahead as she noticed the Mannering children take their spots. Naida seemed to spot her and flashed her an eager smile. She returned it with a small smile before her gaze shifted to look over at the king as he stepped out. Her heart began to beat a bit excitedly as he addressed the crowd. Crow would really be a noble after this. Her gaze glanced around at the crowd as Albin said he'd be announcing his viceroy. 

Nearby her, she noticed an older blonde man grow a bit tense, clenching his jaw as his gaze was locked on the king. Besides him, a younger, blonde man stood with his gaze lowered defeatedly. It was clear to her just by their expressions they had been hoping to get that title. [i]If they're already upset they lost now, it's only going to get worse..[/i] she cringed slightly and was quickly pulled out of her thoughts as the king's words caught her attention.

"...to introduce you to your new viceroy, Collin Lockton." 

The knight paled slightly as the king introduced Crow by his real name. It shocked her to learn that the thief would be giving up his alias and it also made her recall how he had been acting the night before. Now she understood why he had seemed rather stressed out. It must have been because of that fact that he had to use his real name. Her gaze shifted onto the thief—no, viceroy now—as he stepped out. A new wave of surprise took over her as she stared dumbfounded at his appearance. He certainly cleaned up nice. The thought made her blush slightly but luckily not a single person would notice as the room had fallen silent in shock.  

"This is outrageous!" the older blonde man suddenly decreed. "He's a thief!"

Coming back to herself a bit, she looked around as the room erupted into protest. Luckily all of it seemed to just be verbal as they demanded an explanation from their king while throwing hateful looks and words at Crow. Penelope glanced over at her family, noting they were some of the quiet ones. John merely watched the crowd around him, eying for any sign of someone taking their protest too far, while Krea and Lucy both had their noses wrinkled in disgust. Penelope let out a sigh and turned to focus her gaze back towards Crow. She wasn't sure if the thief had even spotted her in the crowd but she offered him a smile nonetheless while hoping the king would be able to handle the upset nobles quickly.