The next morning, Crow stirred at the sound of his door opening and closing again, followed by the quiet voices of two people. He shifted tiredly on his bed, only opening one eye to see who had come into his room. Despite Naida’s constant reassurances that he was safe in the castle, he didn’t trust anyone to watch his back beside himself, so he wanted to make sure whoever had come into his bed chamber wasn’t going to try to smother him in his sleep.

Fortunately, the two men who had come into his room were both people he recognized. Unfortunately, one of them was the court physician, Eldon. He groaned and buried his face against his pillow. Out of all the nobles he would want to greet him in the early morning, the healer was at the bottom of his list. He wondered if the arrogant man would go away if he pretended he was still asleep.

“Collin, there’s someone here to see you.”

No such luck.

“Tell him to come back later,” Crow muttered to Preston. “I’m busy.”

“You’re not busy,” the boy crossed his arms.

“I am busy,” the viceroy grumbled. “If you must know, I’m conducting a very important meeting in my head. We’re currently trying to decide what to do with the annoying servant who keeps waking me up so early in the morning.”

Preston ignored him. “Good luck,” he murmured under his breath to Eldon before moving to stand off to the side.

The physician said nothing in return as he approached the thief’s bedside and set down his bag of supplies. “Sit up, Lockton,” he said curtly. “The sooner you work with me, the sooner this will be over and we can both return to our separate lives.”

“What even needs to be done?” Crow frowned without complying. “I don’t need anything more from you.”

“Perhaps not,” Eldon replied. “But I need to make sure. The king instructed me to treat you until you’re fully cured of your ailments. Now, sit up.”

Crow hesitated for a moment longer before he reluctantly did as he was asked, sitting up on the bed with his back against the headboard. Though he disliked Eldon’s methods of treating him, he didn’t want the man to stick around any longer than he had to. If that meant complying with his demands, then he supposed that was what he was going to have to do.

Like the last time, the physician proceeded to examine his body, checking for any new health issues. Finding none, he moved on to his chest. The healer pressed down with two fingers on different places until he hit the spot that had triggered the thief’s coughing fit before. As expected, Crow doubled over coughing, but when the brief episode passed, he was surprised to see that hardly any blood had come up. The physician seemed pleased.

“Good,” Eldon nodded, reaching into his supply bag and digging around. “It seems that medicine is working perfectly.”

Crow said nothing in response as he stared at the small, scarlet droplets of blood in his palm. There was so little, he could have counted them all on one hand. He wasn’t sure what to think about that. On one hand, he was elated to know that he was going to be healed after all, but on the other hand, this meant that there really had been a cure for the Creeping Death in the inner kingdom all along. The villagers of Myrefall shouldn’t have been dying—his mother shouldn’t have died either. The thought made him feel a mixture of sadness and anger over their unnecessary loss.

“Here,” Eldon’s voice drew him from his thoughts. He handed the viceroy another dose of medicine. “A few more of these will clear that cough right up.”

“Thanks,” Crow muttered with halfhearted sincerity. He lifted the vial to his lips and downed the whole thing, handing the container back to the physician after it was emptied.

Eldon dipped his head in a curt bow and then turned to exit the room. Crow watched him go until he disappeared through the door. The physician seemed to have at least a little more respect for him now that he was the viceroy, but he was still just as unfriendly as before. Of course, this didn’t bother the thief. He still wasn’t seeking to be liked, so he didn’t care what Eldon thought about him. He was just glad that the man had stopped making snide comments about his peasant background.

“Breakfast will be served in the Great Hall soon,” Preston spoke up as he picked a few clothes from the wardrobe to give him. “If you want to eat this morning, you should go towards the beginning. Your tutor will be arriving before midday, so you won’t have another chance until lunch.”

“Tutor?” Crow repeated with a frown. He got up from his bed to get dressed when the attendant handed him the clothes he’d selected.

“Yes,” Preston nodded. “The king said you need to be educated now that you’re his viceroy, so he’s assigned a tutor to begin teaching you.”

“I see,” Crow slid his shirt over his head and smoothed down his clothes. This time, the attendant had given him black trousers and a royal blue tunic adorned with a plainly decorated leather belt. It reminded him of the garments he had worn as a peasant—aside from the fact that these were much finer and more richly colored—and he found them to be more comfortable than the layered outfit he’d had to wear for the titling ceremony the day before.

But, of course, he could never get away with being comfortable in the castle.

Just as he was about to put on his boots, Preston walked up to him with one more piece of clothing in hand: a black hat with a short top and a feather from some sort of bird protruding from the side. Crow took one look at it and wrinkled his nose. “I’m not wearing that.”

“You have to,” the boy insisted. “It’s what distinguishes you as the viceroy. All high-ranking nobles have headdresses that set them apart from everyone else.”

“Well, I don’t need any more attention than I’m already getting,” Crow shook his head. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m not going to put that thing on my head.”

“It’s not that bad,” Preston kept trying. “You only have to wear it when you’re in public. Just put it on for breakfast and take it off when you get back.”

“Public is exactly where I don’t want to be seen wearing a hat like that,” Crow snorted.

“But the king said—”

“I don’t care,” Crow held up his hand. “It’s too early in the day for me to make a fool of myself. My answer is ‘no,’ and that’s final.”

Preston fell quiet for a moment before he gave a reluctant nod, “Fine.”

“Alright then,” Crow put on his boots and walked indignantly to the door. “Now that that’s settled, I’d like to have my breakfast.”

Heading up the stairs and down the corridor, the knight made her way to the princess' room once again. Glancing around at passing guards and other nobles, she thought about the ceremony from the day before. Even from a distance she could tell most were a bit more bitter today than usual. Other then that, it seemed that things in the castle were carrying on as they always had. She couldn't help but feel a bit strange as well.

She was picking up where she left off in her plans for her future after the war and now she had Crow with her. Or rather, nearby. It had only been a day but she could already tell this distance between each other wouldn't be easy. She had seen him for most of the afternoon the day before but had only managed to steal a short conversation with him and even then it hadn't been alone. The knight let out a long sigh, praying that their days apart would go quick and that her father would give Crow his approval soon enough. Still, it still felt a bit surreal that Crow was now viceroy and there would come a day when she'd be able to walk through the castle at his side as his lover—and eventually wife. The days she stood besides him as a guard were done.

The knight was pulled from her thoughts as she arrived at the princess' room. She came to a halt and knocked on the door before standing back. There was a short pause before it opened but this time, instead of Naida, it was a young servant girl who peered out. She blinked as her gaze fell on Penelope. "Did you need the princess, ma'am?" she asked in a soft, polite voice.

"Ah yes. I just want to return this dress." Penelope explained with a small smile.

The attendant was about to reply when Naida popped up from behind her, looking tired. She rubbed her eyes for a moment. "Who's here?" she asked. Her gaze fell on Penelope and she grinned. "Oh! Penelope! Come in, come in!"

"I just came to drop this off real quick. I've got a busy day ahead of me." Penelope explained with a shake of her head.

Naida deflated slightly and seemed ready to agree until Penelope's stomach rumbled again, this time louder. The princess smirked. "Well, nothing gets done on an empty stomach! Let's go get breakfast together." she said eagerly.

Penelope blushed slightly and then gave a small nod. "Alright."

"Here, I'll take the dress." the attendant offered. The knight complied with a small word of thanks as she handed the clothing over to her. As she took care of the dress, Naida stepped out to join her friend, waving her to follow her down the hallway. Penelope smiled and fell instep besides her as the two headed to the Great Hall. The knight glanced over at her she noticed the princess' gaze focused on her with a devilish smirk on her lips. She raised an eyebrow questioningly at her. "What?"

"Oh nothing." Naida quickly looked away and began studying her nails as if they had suddenly become interesting to her. However a smirk still tugged at the corner of her lips. "It just seems someone might fancy the new viceroy."

Penelope's eyes widened slightly and her heart began to beat nervously. It seemed she hadn't played off Naida's questions from the night before as well as she had thought. It seemed like Naida was just guessing so there was still time to keep her in the dark about her relationship with Crow. "What are you talking about?" she asked crossing her arms.

"Don't try to act like you don't know! I saw how flustered you got yesterday." Naida grinned. "You like him don't you?"

"Naida, you've got it wrong." Penelope rolled her eyes. "I was just caught off guard yesterday."

"A likely story." Naida snickered. "Do you blush every time you get surprised?"

"When you're asking questions like that, yes." Penelope huffed. "Don't be ridiculous."

"It can't be that ridiculous. You two clearly get along alright and he's attractive." The princess smiled excitedly at her. "Plus I certainly wouldn't mind having you for a sister Penelope."

Penelope pursed her lips together. It seemed convincing Naida that she didn't like Crow was more difficult than she anticipate. "That's nice but you've got the wrong idea. Besides I don't really feel like courting anyone right now." she stated. Naida studied her for a moment and began to open her mouth to object further but didn't get a chance to as they stepped into the Great Hall, which gave Penelope an opportunity to change the subject.

"Come on there's an open table over there. I don't know about you but I'm hungry." Penelope mused as she headed over to the empty seats.

"So I've heard." Naida smirked as she trailed after her friend. "I'm surprised you're still hungry after that feast yesterday."

"Well I didn't gorge myself like some of the nobles there." Penelope mused with a shrug. As the two reached the table, she sat down and waited for the servants to bring them their plates while striking up a different conversation with Naida, hoping to keep her from asking anymore about her feelings for Crow.

As Crow walked down the hallway with Preston, he noticed that the guards they passed seemed even grumpier than usual. Instead of casting him cold looks, they avoided his gaze completely, as if they wouldn’t be able to restrain themselves from coming at him if they looked into his eyes. Their tension made him cautious, and he made sure to keep them within his sight as much as possible just to be safe. He wished he was able to carry the daggers he’d taken from the thieves’ camp, but in the clothes he was currently wearing, there was nowhere that he could easily hide the blades.

After a while of walking in silence, Crow casted Preston a sideways glance. Since the boy was going to be his personal attendant for the foreseeable future, they were probably going to spend quite a bit of time together. However, he still knew next to nothing about him. Thinking about it now, the viceroy realized that all he knew was that his attendant’s name was Preston Bossard and that he was a servant of the palace. Everything else about the boy was still a mystery.

“So,” he spoke up, turning to meet Preston’s gaze with a curious expression. “Have you always worked at the castle?”

The attendant looked up at him, seeming mildly surprised that he wanted to know anything about him. “Not always,” he answered after a moment. “But for most of my life, yes.”

Crow noticed that the boy only answered his question with a bare minimum of details, though he couldn’t tell if it was because he was shy or if it was because he didn’t feel comfortable talking about himself in front of a superior. Somehow, he found the latter idea off-putting. Just yesterday, he had ranked far below the servant, since he had been a criminal, and criminals were seen as the lowest members of society in Brerra. The attendant shouldn’t have been nervous around him.

Suddenly recalling how frightened Preston had been when he’d tried to dismiss him when they had first met, he decided to ask another question: “What did you do for work before you were assigned to be my attendant?”

“Well,” Preston said thoughtfully. “I was just a general servant, so I mostly cleaned around the castle, washed dishes during meals, and took care of the horses in the stable.”

“That sounds dull,” Crow shook his head.

“It was,” the boy’s lip curved upward slightly in a faint smirk.

“If you weren’t born as a serf, and you didn’t enjoy the work, then why did you choose to come here and become a servant?” Crow queried, pressing for a little more information.

At that, the boy hesitated slightly, and the viceroy wondered if he’d pushed him a bit too far. However, in the next moment, he answered in a low voice: “Because peasants who serve the king have much better lives than those who live in the outer villages.”

Crow blinked, not expecting a reply like that. “I don’t think so,” he shrugged. “I’ve lived my whole life on the border, and I was perfectly happy. You don’t need luxury to enjoy your life.”

“You don’t get it,” Preston sighed, lowering his gaze. “I didn’t come here for the luxury. I just saw how awful life was in my village and wanted to find something better. For most peasants, this is as good as it gets.”

Crow studied him quietly for a moment. “I’m not trying to say you made a bad decision by coming here, but life in the outer villages doesn’t have to be bad either,” he said, tentatively defending his homeland. “We just made the most of what we had and learned to appreciate the simple things in life.”

“I guess,” Preston didn’t seem to believe him. He wavered before adding, “The people in my village tried to do that too, but it’s hard to make the most of your life when it’s always cut short.”

Crow faltered at that. He stared at the attendant with newfound intrigue. The boy’s story sounded eerily familiar to his own. Could he be…? “If you don’t mind my asking: Which village are you from?” he asked suddenly.

Preston looked up at him with a frown, “Myrefall.”

“No way,” Crow’s eyes widened. He brought a hand to his chest. “That’s where I’m from too.”

“Really?” Now it was Preston’s turn to look surprised.

“Yeah,” Crow grinned.

For the rest of their walk to the Great Hall, Crow and Preston spoke eagerly with each other about their shared home village. They both found kinship in knowing that they had similar experiences during their childhoods and had seen the same hardship of losing people they had cared about to the illness that plagued Myrefall. By the time they reached the dining area, Crow felt much closer to the attendant than before and found that he no longer minded his presence.

Crow stepped into the Great Hall through the door that the servant had been holding open for him and took a look around. Like every other time he’d been in this room, it was full of noblemen and women who were sitting around at various tables to eat and talk amongst each other. This time, they didn’t make him as nervous though. He was slowly getting used to being around standing in the midst of large groups of nobles, so he didn’t feel the urge to run away as strongly as he had before.

The viceroy was just about to make his way over to an empty table he’d spotted, when he caught sight of his sister on the other side of the room. She had her hand in the air and was waving eagerly to get his attention. A small smile tugged at his lip as he noticed that Penelope was with the princess again. After barely seeing the knight the day before, he wanted to spend more time with her, and this was a perfect opportunity. He made his way through the crowd to join them at their table.

The two friends chatted casually until the servants placed their food in front of them on the table. Both of them gave a word of thanks before they turned their attention to their food. Penelope began to eat but Naida hesitated as someone seemed to catch her eye since in the next moment she grinned and waved to gain their attention. The knight noticed and followed her gaze until it landed on Crow. Seeing him again made her smile faintly. She was glad that she was able to see him again so soon, especially since she had only been able to talk very briefly with him the day before.

"Morning!" Naida greeted him cheerfully.

"Hey." Penelope gave him a casual greeting, not wanting to draw anymore attention to her feelings for him. Naida had already been hounding her about it this morning, the last thing she wanted was for that topic to come up again. Especially with Crow around. However, it was a bit difficult. Not only did she wish to be closer to him but she wanted to be able to speak with him more freely. But until things calmed down, she supposed she'd just have to settle for what she could get with their time together around Naida.

"So how's your first official day going?" Naida asked him with an eager grin.

"I was curious about that too." Penelope mused as she looked over at him. A hint of concern crossed her gaze. "Especially with the king using Collin instead of 'Crow' yesterday." It was a change that she'd have to get used to as well. Sure she had already known his real name, but she tended to only use it during moments she was certain no one else would over hear. Being able,and likely encouraged, to address him as that in public now felt a bit strange to the knight.

“Morning,” Crow greeted Naida and Penelope in return as he sat down across from them at the table. He was glad that they all happened to be getting breakfast at the same time, since otherwise he would have had to spend the meal by himself. Well, either that or he would be harassed by the nobles who had been trying to win his favor in order to be looked upon highly by the king. He wasn’t sure which idea he disliked more, and he was relieved that he wouldn’t have to find out.

At his sister’s question, Crow shrugged. However, before he had a chance to answer her, Penelope spoke up first. He glanced at her and shifted uneasily as she brought up the name his father had used during the ceremony. He wasn’t sure what to say. It wasn’t like he had been on board with the idea of giving away such a personal part of himself, but Albin hadn’t given him a choice. For the sake of the life and future he’d promised to give the knight, he’d had to do it.

“Right, well…” he started slowly, looking up to meet her gaze. “When I met with the king the night we got back from the outer villages, that was one of the things he spoke to me about.” He sighed, deciding he might as well tell them what had happened. “He said that if I was going to be representing him and the kingdom, I had to go by a ‘respectable’ name. My title as a thief wasn’t good enough, so he asked me to tell him what my birthname was, and, well…” He shrugged again.

Naida glanced between him and Penelope for a moment. “If it was that important to you, why didn’t you just give him another fake name?” she asked. “Father wouldn’t know the difference.”

“I considered it,” Crow admitted. “But there were already a few other people who’ve learned what my real name is, so I guess I just thought ‘what’s the point?’ Besides,” he offered her a smile. “I’m already getting used to hearing people call me Collin again. It was uncomfortable before, and it still is, but it doesn’t make me cringe the way I used to.”

“That’s good,” Naida grinned back at him. “I certainly like it.” She nudged Penelope teasingly. “What about you?”

Crow rolled his eyes at his sister’s obvious attempt to get a reaction out of the knight. In the next moment, his attention was drawn away from the conversation as Preston appeared with a plate of food for him from the kitchen. He said a quick ‘thanks’ and was about to eat, but the attendant stopped him.

“Oh, right,” Crow muttered, folding his arms over his chest as the boy tested to make sure his meal hadn’t been poisoned. “I forgot you do this now.”

“It’s for your own safety,” Naida chuckled, seeming amused by his reaction.

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Crow said blandly, taking a bite of his food once Preston had finished inspecting it.

Penelope gave a small nod as Crow explained how the king insisted he needed a 'respectable' name. She didn't think his alias was any less respectable than his real name but she did suppose that it'd eventually help with people viewing him as a noble rather than the infamous thief once things began to calm down. As he went on to say that he was getting used to it, she gave a small smile. It was true that his real name had become less of a secret. Especially amongst the knights she hung around. Gavin and Olivia had figured it out by accident and her own father had figured it out when he saw the name written down.

She rolled her eyes as Naida nudged her teasingly. "It's fitting." she responded, with a hint of annoyance she glanced over at her friend. The knight shook her head as Naida smirked and turned her head away as she took another bite of her food. Penelope flickered her gaze over to the young servant as he returned with Crow's food. She realized she still didn't really know who he was and figured she might as well introduce herself. After all, they'd likely be seeing each other quite a bit in the future.

"So you're his attendant?" she asked after swallowing her bite of food.

The boy seemed a bit surprised to be address and nodded his head. Penelope offered him a smile. "I'm Penelope. I worked as his guard for a while so I know he can be quite troublesome. So in other words, good luck." she explained, shooting a teasing glance at Crow.

Crow glanced up from his plate when he heard Penelope speak up to Preston. The attendant looked uncertain about how to respond to her, and the viceroy had to fill his mouth with another bite of food to stifle the amused smirk that threatened to take over his lips. Now that he knew a little more about the boy’s history at the castle, he was fairly certain that, like Hunter, the servant wasn’t used to being addressed by anyone who held a higher rank than himself.

As the knight went on to make a teasing comment about him, Crow rolled his eyes. “I prefer to think of it as: I know what I like, and I don’t like to settle for anything less,” he said flippantly, casting her a wry grin. “If anyone finds that ‘troublesome,’ that isn’t my problem.”

“It’s no trouble,” Preston shrugged in response to Penelope’s remark. “I used to take care of Duke Adeney’s unbroken horses, so I can handle a temperamental viceroy.”

Naida snorted and quickly brought a hand to her mouth to hide her laugh.

Crow reddened slightly and shot the boy a glare, unappreciative of being compared to a horse. “You’re getting cocky with those comments, kid,” he growled.

“What? I said you weren’t as bad as the horses,” Preston frowned.

“I don’t think that’s the part he’s upset about,” Naida snickered.

Preston glanced at her and shrugged again before giving a curt bow and turning to walk away.

Crow watched him go and then turned back to the others with a shake of his head. “Sometimes I can’t tell if he says stuff like that on purpose,” he muttered, lifting another bite of food to his mouth.

Penelope gave a small chuckle at Crow's words. She shifted her gaze over to Preston again as the servant replied to her. The knight blinked and bit the inside of her lip as she held back a laugh. She was a bit surprised by how bold the servant was with his comments. Had it been any other nobleman, she might have worried that such comments would get him into actual trouble. She looked over at Crow and gave an amused smile as the servant stepped away.

"Hard to say." Naida agreed with a shrug then smirked. "He certainly doesn't seem to have much of a filter though that's for sure."

Penelope nodded her head in agreement and glanced down at her finished plate. Letting out a sigh, the knight leaned back slightly and glanced towards one of the windows. The light that was coming in was getting a bit stronger now and though she didn't want to part with the two, she figured it was about time for her to get going. "I better head off. I've got got a long day ahead of me." she sighed.

"Did they put you on guard duty already?" Naida asked with a frown.

"I've got the night shift by the front gates but I've also got to work to do in the library today." she explained with a shrug. "Plus I'd like to make sure I get in time for a nap so I don't fall asleep tonight."

"Oh, well good luck." Naida grinned.

"Thanks." she smiled then rose to her feet to leave. Penelope glanced at Crow and offered him a small smile. "Guess I'll see you guys later."

Crow snorted when Naida said Preston didn’t speak with a filter. “Yeah, well if he keeps up with those little remarks, I’ll make him wish he was still dealing with the horses,” he muttered annoyedly. While he didn’t mind bantering with other people, he preferred to be at the administering end of a joke rather than the butt of someone else’s. Still, he supposed he should be glad that the boy felt comfortable enough around him to let his tongue slip—even if the comments he made were rather rude. He wanted him to know that he wasn’t going to treat him like the other noblemen in the castle treated their servants. Social hierarchy meant little to him, so he had no intention of having Preston punished or thrown in a cell for simply speaking his mind.

He was drawn from his thoughts when Penelope spoke up to announce that she had to go. His shoulders fell slightly. He’d been hoping they would have more time together now that he had gone through the rites to become a noble, but it seemed they wouldn’t be able to see each other much more than they had the day before. He felt a pang of disappointment at the thought but managed not to show the emotion on his face as he returned her smile.

“See you around,” he said as casually as he could.

“Later, Penelope!” Naida raised her hand. “If you’ve got any free time later, be sure to find me!”

As the knight left, Crow turned his attention back to his plate, finishing off the rest of his breakfast and chasing it with a draught of water. Without looking, he could tell that Naida’s eyes on him. “What is it?” he asked, looking up at her with a frown. Despite his question, he had a feeling he already knew what she was going to say.

“So?” Naida fidgeted slightly in her excitement, tipping her head towards the door Penelope had left through. “What do you think of her?”

“Not this again,” Crow groaned.

“Oh, come on,” Naida pressed. “You said we could talk about it later, and it’s officially later. So, tell me: Do you like her?”

“I told you I don’t want to court anyone right now,” he reminded her shortly.

“I didn’t ask if you wanted to court her,” Naida grinned cunningly. “I just asked if you like her.”

Crow glanced toward the door, stalling for time as he debated how to answer her. He knew he couldn’t lie and say that he disliked Penelope, but perhaps he could at least throw his sister off their trail.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, turning back to her and resting his chin in his hand. “She seems kind of… serious. I mean, she’s pleasant enough to be around, but even when she was my guard, her priority was always her work.”

“Well, yeah,” Naida frowned. “She’s a knight. All knights are serious about their work.”

“You’re not,” he pointed out.

“That’s only because I haven’t been given a real job in ages,” Naida reached across the table to flick him on the arm. “If I was on a mission, I’d be serious too.”

“I don’t know if I believe that, but go on,” Crow smirked at her teasingly.

Naida rolled her eyes, “I was going to say that she’s not always serious. When she’s not working, she’s a lot of fun to be around. I think that if you give her a chance, you’ll see that too—What?” She crossed her arms as she realized he was staring at her with an amused smile.

“Why is this so important to you?” he asked with a laugh.

“Because…” Naida blushed before going on hurriedly. “Because it just is! She’s one of my closest friends, and you’re my family. Why shouldn’t I want you to end up together?”

“Because you’re being meddlesome,” Crow poked her on the forehead and then stood up from the table. “Look, if it happens, it’ll happen on its own, but you shouldn’t try to force us into a courtship just because it would make you happy, okay?”

“Okay,” Naida muttered, although the tone of her voice didn’t convince him that she was going to stop.

“Anyway,” he went on, changing the subject. “I should get going. From what I’ve been told, I’m going to have a long day of being lectured at by a tutor.”

“Ooh, good luck,” Naida’s smile returned.

“Thanks,” Crow grinned back at her. “I’ll probably need it.” With nothing else to say to his sister, he turned to make his way out of the Great Hall, while Preston, who’d been chatting with a few other attendants off to the side, fell in step beside him.

Penelope made her way down the corridor in the direction of the library. It was a fairly short walk from the Great Hall since the two rooms were on the same floor. As she stepped inside, she swept her gaze over the large room filled with shelves of books and scattered tables were nobles could read or write. It had been quite a while since she last stopped by the library. She usually didn't have much use for it aside from writing the occasional letter or two.

She collected a few papers off of one of the supply desks and grabbed a quill and ink as well before making her way over to an empty table towards the back of the room. There weren't many people in there but the knight preferred the privacy that the spot offered. Setting the supplies down, she took a seat and dipped her quill into the ink as she shifted one of the pages in front of her.

To the Barons of my battalion,

The first letter would be to Mia and the other barons. She wanted to write them both to inform them of the happenings in the castle as well as try to see if she could gain the additional support of Edward and Bennett.

The thief once known as Crow Lockton is now officially the King's ambassador. The announcement was sudden, made only a day after our return to the castle. The king has explained that his decision to promote him was made because of the former thief's knowledge of languages aside from our own. It seems he has quite the talent. Enough so that it has earned him a spot amongst nobles as well as the king's favor.

Penelope paused in her writing and smirked faintly to herself as she imagined the reactions of the barons as well as the other knights of her camp. While she imagined most of their frustrations to be amusing, she did cringe slightly at the thought of how Edward and Layth would react. She let out a sigh as she looked at the paper in front of her. In all honesty, the knight was rather grateful she wouldn't have to be dealing with them anytime soon. Hopefully when time came around for them to find out about her and Crow courting, their frustrations with the thief would be greatly lessened.

Aside from such news, I also write to encourage support for a peaceful end to the war...

Focusing back on the letter. Penelope continued to write out her call for support from Edward and Bennet, hoping that if Mia hadn't already convinced them that her letter would help in swaying their opinions.

At the end of his walk from the Great Hall, Crow got back to his room only to find out that someone else was already waiting inside. He froze by the doorway, caught off guard by the man’s sudden appearance. The stranger stood by the small table near the window with his hands folded behind his back. He was a bit advanced in age with silvery hairs sprinkled throughout his neatly trimmed beard, but he still stood with perfect posture without fidgeting or shifting his weight.

“You’re late,” he said in the clipped tone of a man who had little patience for tardiness.

Crow stepped a little further into the room but remained close to the door, eyeing the stranger warily. “Let me guess,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re the tutor.”

The man’s stern expression was broken with a faint smirk, “Oh, good. I see you’re not a completely hopeless case.”

Crow narrowed his eyes, but before he could speak, the man went on. “My name is Udolf Walter,” he said, walking slowly forward to approach the thief. “I’ve been a tutor in this castle for over twenty years. The king has tasked me with giving you an education, so that is what I’m going to do.” He stopped in front of him. “Of course, this means we’re going to be spending quite a lot of time together, so you should put that dirty look away before it gets on my nerves.”

“If we’re going to be spending so much time together, then I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak to me as if you think I’m a fool,” Crow growled. Though they had just met, he could tell he wasn’t going to like this man. He seemed like some sort of unholy cross between Eldon and William, neither of whom were people the viceroy thought of fondly.

“If you don’t want me to think you’re a fool, then prove me wrong,” Udolf said with another smirk. He turned to walk back to the table, gesturing for the thief to follow him. “As it stands right now, I know you to be an uneducated, illiterate peasant-turned-noble with no practical skills or knowledge of any trades worth developing.”

Crow gawked at the tutor with unrestrained astonishment. He’d been insulted for his lack of education before, but somehow Udolf had managed to say the exact same thing in a more demeaning manner than anyone else he’d come across. “I know four languages,” he huffed indignantly, attempting to restore at least some of his pride to the other man.

“That’s a start,” Udolf sounded unimpressed. “But simply knowing the words is not a practical skill. You do not yet have the manners or cultural knowledge to put those languages to use for His Majesty.” He held out his hand to the empty chair at the table. “Come and sit.”

At first, Crow lingered by the door, toying with the thought of disobeying just to be obstinate. However, upon thinking about it a little more, he realized that the sooner he complied with the tutor, the sooner the lesson would be over. He walked to the chair.

“Your first lesson,” Udolf announced, moving to stand next to his seat. “Will be proper etiquette.”

“Etiquette?” Crow wrinkled his nose. “I thought you were going to be teaching me practical skills.” He pointedly emphasized the last words in a mocking manner to get under the older man’s skin.

“Etiquette is quite practical,” Udolf went on, unperturbed. “As the king’s viceroy, you are going to be acting as his representative to the rulers of other kingdoms. The men and women you will be meeting and interacting with from now on are not like the unwashed masses you’re familiar with. They are people of class, and as such, you will learn to have class as well.”

“Sounds like a lot of unnecessary work to me,” Crow said with distaste.

“Perhaps it seems that way to a savage such as yourself,” the older man said carelessly, walking off to gather a few dishes and utensils he had brought, likely to set up a demonstration. “But no man or woman of culture is going to respect you, let alone listen to anything you have to say, when you’re leaning on the table, eating your supper with your hands.”

“I don’t see why they shouldn’t,” the thief muttered, mostly to himself.

Fortunately, Udolf didn’t seem to catch his comment. “Stop slouching,” he chided as he set up the empty dishes on the table in front of him. “When you sit up straight, you exude confidence. That’s an important trait for an ambassador to have—chin up, shoulders square, feet apart. Yes, yes, that’s much better.” He nodded approvingly when the viceroy corrected his posture.

As Udolf went on to give a long-winded explanation about the proper way for a nobleman to behave at a meal, Crow let out a quiet sigh, staring longingly at the door. This is going to be a long day…

The knight finished writing a small handful of letters. One to the barons of her battalion, a couple to other various barons she knew of in charge of the battalion to the west of her own, and a few other letters to nobles within the inner kingdom, including that of Oliver Lenz who was Dimia's husband. She figured the snotty woman likely wouldn't mention anything to her husband, whom Penelope found to be quite sensible, so she took it upon herself to ask him directly for his assistance.

She also hoped that the fairly powerful vassal would know of other people to contact. While Penelope had written to some outside of her own battalion, it was a limited number as she had fairly limited knowledge on the order and placement of other battalions fighting in the war. She hoped that perhaps Mia or one of the others she wrote to would be able to aid her in expanding her reach.

Aside from work related letters, she also wrote two for Olivia and Gavin. In both, she recounted how Crow's ceremony had gone and how people reacted. To Olivia, she also included the fact that Naida seemed rather set on them courting and how it was rather awkward trying to avoid speaking about it. To Gavin, she wrote about her brief run in with his siblings, telling them that Dimia asked about him and that she had let them know their courtship was over. All in all, Penelope found the letters rather enjoyable to write. In the castle, it felt like she was constantly having to watch what she said or did, especially around Crow, and she missed having her friends who she could speak freely with.

Penelope let out a small sigh and glanced over towards one of the windows. It was getting later in the day and it was likely time for her to take her nape. She folded the papers neatly and rose up to her feet to leave. Since it was almost afternoon, she'd have to wait to send out the letters tomorrow. Feeling a bit stiff from sitting for so long, she stretched for a moment and then carried on her way to the exit as she made her way back to her room for a nap.

----

By the time the knight woke up again, it was already getting late into the evening and she woke up feeling groggy rather than refreshed from her nap. Penelope let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair before rising to her feet, trying to jog herself awake. Since it was already late, she nearly wanted to get straight to her guard duty. However, she figured she'd better stop at the Great Hall for dinner if they were still serving it. While she wasn't particularly hungry, she also hadn't eaten since breakfast and decided it'd be best to at least have something small so her hunger wouldn't strike later on her shift.

Penelope made her way into the Great Hall, finding that it seemed most of the castle residents had already finished their meals and now only a few remained. Easily finding an empty table, she made her way over and sat down, letting out a small yawn as she waited to get her meal.

For the rest of the lesson, Udolf continued to walk Crow through a variety of different etiquettes for different situations that he was likely to encounter as the king’s ambassador. Some of the rules were more practical than others—at one point, the tutor showed him different types of bows for nobles of different ranks, which were so subtly unique that the viceroy doubted he would be able to remember which one was for which title—and overall, Crow had a feeling he wasn’t going to adhere to a lot of them.

Having quite a few deeply ingrained habits already, he preferred to continue acting the same way as he always had. After all, most of the traits he’d developed had helped him survive in the outer villages in some form or fashion. He was reluctant to let go of them just because one stuffy old man thought he was uncultured.

As the day dragged on, the viceroy put up with most of Udolf’s teachings. However, there was one correction that irritated him more than all the others.

When the older man saw him step briefly to the other side of the room to retrieve something, he told him he needed to learn a more gentlemanly walk. He called the thief’s movements “feral” and stated that they were unacceptable in the royal court. Crow then spent the remaining time going through the motions of walking properly at the tutor’s instruction, but silently vowed that he would not put the change into practice.

He liked to think of his walk as lithe and graceful, and there certainly wasn’t anything wrong with it. He’d spent years developing a gait that would allow him to move quietly over practically any type of flooring, and he was quite proud of the accomplishment. Even by a thief’s standards, he was talented at masking the sound of his footsteps. In his opinion, it would have been a waste to relearn how to walk and give up such a useful skill, even if it was unlikely that he would need it in the castle.

By the end of the lesson, Crow was exhausted from the effort of keeping up with so many different rules and longed to take a nap until supper. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance before Preston returned to his room from whatever errands he had been running during the day. The boy stepped in right as Udolf began telling the viceroy when he would be allowed to speak during council meetings with the king and other high-ranking nobles. At his appearance, they both looked up at the door.

“Supper is being served in the Great Hall now,” the boy said, glancing between Crow and Udolf as he lingered by the door.

“Thank the gods,” Crow sighed. Even though it seemed he wouldn’t be able to fit in a nap, he would take any excuse to get away from his tutor. He moved to stand up from his chair, but Udolf held up a hand to stop him.

“You can eat when your lesson is over,” the older man said in his usual clipped tone. He turned to the attendant. “You, sit over there until we’re finished here.”

“But they’re serving food now,” Crow objected. “I’ve done enough learning for one day. I want to have my dinner.”

“If you think you’ve gained enough knowledge to be rewarded, then prove it,” Udolf challenged. “Recite back to me what I’ve taught you today.”

“Everything?” Crow squawked, wide-eyed. “We’ve been at this all day though. By the time I finish, there won’t be any food left to eat.”

“Then I suppose you’ll just have to be as fast and accurate as you can,” the tutor smirked.

The viceroy shot him a glare, disliking how much the older man seemed to be enjoying his frustration. “What if I refuse?”

“Then I’ll just tell His Highness that you were uncooperative for your lesson, and I will decline to tutor you any further,” Udolf answered casually, though his smirk remained just as smug as ever. “I’m sure he will be displeased.”

Crow clicked his tongue. While he normally wouldn’t care what anyone else thought of him, he didn’t want to give his father the impression that he wouldn’t be a capable viceroy during his first day on the job. Albin might decide he wasn’t fit to be a noble and rescind his offer somehow, and the thief’s plans to give Penelope the life she deserved would be ruined. He couldn’t risk that.

“Fine,” he growled under his breath.

“That’s better,” Udolf nodded. “Now then, show me what you’ve learned.”

It was fortunate for Crow that he was a rather quick learner. He went through each etiquette that he had been taught with precision that seemed to surprise his tutor, who had probably been expecting that he would stumble over himself and forget most of the details. It still took some time for him to get through everything, since Udolf had taught him a lot, but he finished early enough that he still had high hopes that he would be able to catch the tail end of dinner.

“So,” Crow crossed his arms as he stood across from the older man. “Am I free to go now?”

“Seeing as you completely everything with… unexpected accuracy,” Udolf said, his dark eyes studying the viceroy with new interest. “I suppose you may leave.”

“Sounds like you don’t think I’m a fool anymore, huh?” Crow grinned, feeling pleased with himself for having caught his tutor off guard.

“You’re certainly not what I was expecting, I’ll give you that,” Udolf admitted, meeting the thief’s gaze. “I now understand why His Majesty chose to give you the position… despite your criminal history.”

“I’ll take it,” Crow shrugged. He turned away from the older man and gestured to Preston. “Come on. I’m hungry, so I want to go to the Great Hall before they stop serving supper.”

The attendant dipped his head in acknowledgement and stood up, following closely at the viceroy’s heels as they made their way through the corridors that led to the Great Hall.

"You sure got here late."

Cedric commented as he came to a stop besides Penelope at her table. The male knight had already finished his own meal and had happened to notice Penelope enter on his way out. She looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders. The female knight still wasn't quite sure how to act around him. It still felt strange to be friendly towards him but acting spiteful felt even more wrong. She supposed she'd just have try ignoring their history a bit and treat him like any other comrade.

"I took a nap and woke up a bit late." She explained with a shrug.

"I'm surprised you even took a nap. I've never known you to be one for resting." Cedric commented with a small look of amusement.

Penelope rolled her eyes at him. "I have the night shift so I wanted to make sure I wouldn't be half asleep on the job."

Cedric shrugged his shoulders and paused as he glanced around the Great Hall for a moment before looking back over at her. "I already finished my meal but I wouldn't mind sticking around a little longer if you want company." he offered with a smile.

"No, I'm fine.." Penelope trailed off slightly as her gaze shifted towards the entrance of the Great Hall, noticing someone else step in. She was a bit surprised to see Crow arriving there rather late. The knight had figured that she had missed him and was glad to know that she had been wrong. Biting back a smile, she flicked her gaze back onto Cedric, now wishing for him to leave more than before. "I don't plan to stick around here long anyways since I've got my guard shift to get to."

"Alright." Cedric sighed hesitantly and gave a small nod. "I'll see you around then, Penelope."

She gave a small nod to him as he walked off and her gaze shifted back over to Crow. With few people in the Great Hall, the knight dared to give him a small wave, smiling a little as well as she hoped he had spotted her.

On his way to the Great Hall, Crow yawned and lifted his arms over his head in a long stretch. Having not been able to take a break since breakfast, he planned to have a quick supper and return to his room to get some sleep. After enduring a full day of Udolf’s company, he felt like he deserved it. The tutor was difficult to be around since everything that came out of his mouth was a criticism of some form or another. Even the viceroy, who considered himself to be a level-headed receiver of most critiques, found the constant berating to be exhausting. He wasn’t sure how he was going to last through another lesson like that, let alone enough of them to become as educated as the rest of the noblemen in the castle.

As he walked past another patrol of guards, Crow noticed that the knights were giving him dirtier looks than usual. He rolled his eyes. Like Udolf, they probably found the way he casually walked through the castle “improper” or were judging him for some other superficial nonsense. Normally, their condescending looks didn’t bother him, but after being told all day that everything he knew and did was wrong, he found their bitter looks more annoying than usual.

“Mind your own gods damned business,” he snarled the next time he caught one of them staring.

The knight blinked, seeming surprised by his reaction. He turned to his comrade to mutter something about ‘entitled criminals,’ which, of course, did nothing to better the thief’s mood.

Crow slowed his walk slightly as he glared at the guards, toying with the idea of staying to prod at them some more, but before he could, he felt someone’s hand press against his lower back, ushering him past the other men. He looked down to see Preston eyeing him with a wary look as he hurried them both through the hallway. “It doesn’t seem like a good idea to pick a fight with the royal guard,” the attendant said, justifying his actions before the viceroy could question him.

“Who said anything about fighting?” Crow shrugged. “I just wanted them to stop their staring.”

“You swore at them,” Preston pointed out. “It definitely sounded like you were trying to start a fight.”

“They started it,” Crow muttered.

“They’re going to look down on anyone whom they think is beneath them,” the attendant said dismissively. “Your opinion isn’t going to change that.”

“Well then, gods damn them too.”

When the two arrived in the Great Hall, Crow took a moment to look around. Unlike the last few times he’d been there, the room was nearly empty, so he doubted he would find anyone he knew. He let out a quiet sigh and took a step toward an empty table, resigning himself to eat alone. However, in the next moment, he realized there actually was someone he knew that was still in the Great Hall.

Crow’s heartbeat quickened slightly as he spotted Penelope off to his right. This time, it looked like she was eating alone—Naida was nowhere to be seen. He smiled to himself and turned to walk over to her but then faltered as he suddenly realized she was speaking to the same nobleman who’d sat with her at the banquet the night before. He shifted his weight slightly. It still wasn’t well known around the castle that they were even friendly with each other, so he didn’t want to tip this nobleman off by interrupting their conversation.

Luckily, it seemed that wouldn’t be a problem, because it wasn’t long before the strange man walked away, leaving Penelope alone. Crow’s heart fluttered excitedly as the knight waved at him, but he forced himself to keep a neutral expression, since Preston was still by his side. Thinking about the attendant now, he casted him a thoughtful glance. “Why don’t you go to the kitchen and find out if there’s any food left?” he suggested, gesturing at the knight’s table. “Just bring out whatever leftovers you can find. I’ll be sitting over here.”

“Of course,” Preston bowed and walked off to comply with the request.

With the boy gone, Crow fixed his attention back on Penelope, making his way over to her table. It was the first time they’d been alone—or at least, as alone as they could get—since their trip back from the outer villages. He wanted to make the most of it while he could.

“Long time, no see,” he said with a teasing grin as he sat down across from her. “I’m surprised you’re still here at this hour. I hope you weren’t waiting for me.”

Penelope turned back to her food, lowering her head slightly to hide the slight smile she had as Crow walked over to join her at her table. With Naida not around, it would be the closest thing they'd get to having alone time. It might not have been much since there were still other nobles around them so they'd have to continue to keep a distance but at the very least, she could speak a bit more freely with him without drawing any suspicion. That made the knight excited to be in his company once again.

As he sat down across from her, she smirked and rolled her eyes at his teasing words. "Well, I would if I could but no. I have the night shift for guard duty and I decided I better take a nap before then." she shrugged. "I ended up over sleeping a bit more than I intended so I got here late."

The knight swept her gaze over the remaining nobles in the Great Hall, noting a few glancing in their direction. Luckily it seemed more so to shoot glares at Crow's back than to give any critical gazes about the two of them sitting with each other. Relaxing a bit more, she shifted her gaze back to Crow and offered him a small smile. "How's your first day of being viceroy going? Busy or were you late because of nap too?" she asked curiously.

Crow raised a brow when Penelope explained that she had taken a nap before supper in preparation for a guard shift that night. He supposed he shouldn’t have been so surprised though. It made sense that the royal guards would want to put her to work right away since she was going to be around for a while. Offhandedly, he wondered if their already limited time together was going to be cut even shorter now that she was working again. The though made him feel a pang of disappointment, but he tried not to dwell on it. After all, even if they were going to be strained to visit with each other in the future, they still had right now. He didn’t want to ruin the moment by moping.

“It’s not very different from what I was expecting,” Crow answered her question with a shrug. He was about to go on, but then paused as he caught sight of Preston walking over to the table with a plate of food for him. The attendant set his supper down on the table, and the viceroy restrained himself from commenting as the boy proceeded to do a quick taste test. Upon deciding the food was safe, he bowed and walked off, leaving them alone again.

“I’ll never get used to that,” Crow muttered with a shake of his head and then turned back to Penelope. “But to answer your question: No, I didn’t have time for a nap. I had to spend the whole day being tutored by one of the dullest men I’ve ever met.” He wrinkled his nose distastefully. “I thought he was going to educate me on writing or math or something useful, but instead, he had me memorizing upper-class etiquette. It was awful.”

He gave an exaggerated shudder and popped a bite of food into his mouth with one hand, blatantly disregarding the way Udolf had taught him to eat his meal. “I hope he was just getting the boring part out of the way first, because if every lesson is like this one, I swear I’m going to start daydreaming about the gallows.” He met her gaze once more and smiled. “But enough about me. How have you been? I haven’t been able to see very much of you lately. Are you settling back in comfortably?”

Penelope gave a small nod as Crow began to answer her question. Her gaze flickered over to the servant as he returned to drop off and test Crow's food before stepping away once more. Looking back to the viceroy, she gave a small nod of agreement at his first words. Since she was a lower ranking noble, she could only imagine what it was like to have a personal attendant. It certainly wasn't something she envied him for though. Just the thought of having someone waiting on her constantly felt strange to the knight.

She listened and ate as Crow went on to answer her question and wrinkled her nose slightly as well in shared distaste as he mentioned having to learn etiquette. The knight had grown up with basic etiquette taught within her family but she knew it could get much worse. Part of the learning her father had put her through during her short period of not being a knight had been learning proper etiquette for a noblewoman. Needless to say that the lesson had bored the knight to death.

"I'm sure it was terrible. Although, from my experience, it's never just one lesson so good luck." she sighed and flashed him a small smirk. As he asked about how she was, the knight returned his smile and
shrugged her shoulders. "I've been good. I worked on writing to the barons of my battalion and a couple others that I know of for support today. I also went ahead and wrote to Gavin and Olivia since I had the time. As for settling in, I've been fine there as well."

The knight folded her arms as she leaned slightly on the table. "I got to admit I miss having Gavin and Olivia around but it's also nice to see Naida again." Penelope paused and shook her head as another thought came to her, lowering her voice as she added, "That is, when she isn't trying to push me into a courtship with you." She looked over at him amusedly. "I'm assuming she's been bugging you about it too, right?"

“Well, that’s not encouraging,” Crow grimaced when Penelope said that there would probably be more than one lesson. He wondered just how many rules there really were for noblemen to follow on a day to day basis. Just one day of going through proper dining, greetings, and other such public behavior had been enough of a nightmare. He couldn’t imagine learning anything more than he already had, but if she was right, then Udolf probably had much more in store for him tomorrow.

As Penelope went on to talk about what she had been doing that day, Crow listened to her quietly. He was pleased to hear that she was already writing to so many of the knights on the warfront about her call to end the feuding between Brerra and Younis. After going back and forth with the other kingdom for a whole year, he knew the people of the outer villages were longing to see it end as well. If she could get the barons on board with her plans, then they might actually see their wish come true.

At the knight’s mention of Naida, the viceroy rolled his eyes. “Yes, she’s been very persistent too,” he casted her an amused smile. “It’s kind of ironic though, isn’t it? Before, when we couldn’t court, nearly everyone we’ve come across has thought the idea of us being together was insane; but now, when we technically could start courting anytime, someone is finally being supportive, and we have to pretend like we’re not interested in each other.” He shook his head. “Nothing ever comes easily for us, does it?”

Crow took another bite of his food and chewed thoughtfully. “Although, hopefully it won’t be much longer before that changes,” he said in a low voice. His expression softened slightly as he held her gaze. “Once things calm down and the other people in the castle get used to me being around, there won’t be any reason for us to keep pretending—well, as long as your father doesn’t make a scene about it.” He winced at the thought. “He doesn’t still hate me, does he?”

"Tell me about it." Penelope sighed as Crow pointed out how ironic the situation was. After having so many look down upon their relationship, Naida's support was refreshing to say the least. Though her efforts to push the two together were a bit frustrating now, the knight was glad to know that her friend would support them and was eager for the day to come when they didn't have to keep acting like they had no interest in each other. It was a difficult thing to do when she was a bit more than just 'interested' in him.

She met his gaze as he mentioned it might not be too much longer. The knight gave a small smile, hoping he was right. It had only been two days but having to rely on their common connection of Naida and chance meetings was a bit frustrating to her. Not to mention the distance they had to constantly keep. She was eager for the day to come when she could properly spend time with him again. Especially since, when it did come, they wouldn't have to worry anymore about hiding their relationship from anyone. It was a strange feeling after having to hide for so long but also an exciting one to the knight.

As he mentioned her father, Penelope hesitated to answer as she gave an uncertain look. "It's difficult to tell how he feels but... I don't think he hates you." she replied after a short pause. Meeting his gaze, she smiled reassuringly. "From what I can tell, I don't think he'll make a scene. He knows that we intend to be together so if he really wanted to get in between that, I imagine he'd be actively trying to set me up with some other suitor." she pointed out quietly.

"Honestly, I think it's just a waiting game now." Penelope sighed. Her gaze flickered over to one of the windows and the knight frowned slightly as she noticed it was getting late. "And unfortunately, I should probably get going. I don't want to be late my first day back."