“I’m sure they will,” Crow rolled his eyes. “I have no loyalties to anyone that they know of, so they’re probably already trying to figure out how to form ties with me.” The thought of a bunch of noblemen scheming to use him to gain favor with the king was disturbing to the viceroy, but at least they were going to make it easier for him to start assimilating. If he could build a web of connections quickly, it would, as Penelope said, prevent the nobles who wanted him gone to do anything. He supposed he should start working on that as soon as he could.

When the knight announced that she had to go, he looked up at her and nodded. “Thanks,” he offered her a smile. “I’ll probably pass by your post sometime tomorrow, since you’re so close by. Good luck persuading the lieutenants.”

As she left, Crow finished off the rest of his drink and stood up from the table as well. “I should get some sleep too,” he said to Preston, who was still waiting for him on the bench. The servant dipped his head and rose to his feet too, following him out of the Great Hall.

For a while, neither of them said anything, but the attendant eventually broke the silence.

“You and that knight seem close,” he said, studying the viceroy curiously.

Crow turned toward him, caught off guard by the sudden comment. He’d forgotten how observant Preston could be sometimes. “Sort of,” he shrugged, attempting to act casually. “We’ve crossed paths off and on for the past couple years, so there’s some familiarity between us.”

“It didn’t look like familiarity,” Preston frowned. “She seemed concerned about you, and you both spoke as if you’re close.”

Crow cursed inwardly. “I don’t know many other people here,” he explained nonchalantly. “I suppose I just feel more comfortable around a familiar face.”

“Okay, but she knows other people,” the attendant pressed. “And she really seemed to care about you. I don’t know many people who would act like that around an acquaintance.”

“Who knows?” Crow shrugged. He hesitated for a moment, biting the inside of his lip as he came up with an idea. Though he didn’t like it, it was probably the best out he had left.

“Naida seems to think she fancies me,” he admitted after a pause, meeting the boy’s gaze as they walked. He hated throwing Penelope to the wolves, but Preston had caught onto them, so he didn’t have much of a choice. “I don’t know if it’s true, and I’m not very fond of gossip, so I haven’t bothered to find out.”

“I could see it,” Preston mused. He fell quiet for a moment before he added: “Do you fancy her?”

Crow scoffed. “You’re too nosy for your own good, you know that?”

Preston shrugged, “When you’ve lived at the castle long enough, it rubs off on you.”

“Well, you’d better keep your nose where it belongs, or I’ll shove it somewhere it doesn’t,” Crow warned, giving the boy’s side a prod.

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

“And you really don’t listen, do you?”

“It sounds like you’re interested in her,” Preston decided on his own.

Crow snorted, “Don’t start making assumptions. I just like to keep my personal life to myself.”

“You fancy her.”

“Alright,” the viceroy growled. He slipped his arm around the attendant’s neck, pinning him in a headlock. “I warned you. Keep your nose to yourself, dumbass.”

“Okay, okay,” Preston squirmed against his grip. “Let me go! I can’t breathe.”

--

When Crow got back to his room, he changed into his linens right away and fell back on his bed with a tired exhale. After his conversation with Penelope during supper, he knew he had a lot of things to do over the next few days, none of which he was looking forward to. He rolled onto his side and drew his blanket to his chin, closing his eyes as he settled down more comfortably in the silk sheets. Even though he wasn’t happy about getting closer to other noblemen, he knew it was something he had to do, and that meant getting a good night of sleep, so he could deal with them clearheadedly.

It can’t be that bad. I’m sure I can handle it, the viceroy thought to himself as he drifted off into a light slumber.

Penelope headed to her room and was quick to get into bed. However, it took her quite a while to fall asleep. The knight was tired but she was also still a bit worried about the Fischbach's and their plans. She assumed she had forced them to act carefully but perhaps the baron would be willing to risk losing favor with the king if it meant getting Crow out of the way. The thought made her cringe slightly. She hoped Crow would be able to put her advice to work quickly.

Eventually the knight drifted off to sleep, having unsettling dreams about the nobles against the thief.

---

The next morning the knight woke up early as planned, both due to having a decent internal clock and because of the dreams she had been having. Eager to track down the lieutenants, she changed into a new pair of clothes and slipped on her armor before heading off to find the one person she was certain would know where they were located: Tybalt. The captain of the guard monitored any guests that arrived and was responsible for having rooms fixed for visiting knights. Plus he'd also know if they had left or not.

She headed out of her room and asked around to figure out where the captain was located. Luckily it didn't take too long for a guard to tell her that he was out in the training field, supervising the training of young knights. Heading out that way, she located him off to the side, standing with his arms crossed as he watched the squires practice. As she drew closer, his gaze finally flickered away from the squires and landed on her.

"Need something Vermillion?" he asked with his usual gruffness.

"Yes actually." Penelope dipped her head. "I was wondering if you knew anything about the southwestern lieutenants that were visiting the king? Are they still here?"

"They are. I believe they're set to leave tomorrow though. Why do you ask?"

"I just need to talk with them about warfront stuff." Penelope said dismissively. She looked hopefully over at the captain. "Do you happen to know where I could find them?"

Tybalt shifted his gaze away from her to watching the sparring once again. "They're on the second floor, third corridor, very end. If they've already left their room for the day, I can't help you there."

"Thank you." Penelope said gratefully before hurrying off once more. Since she wasn't quite sure who the lieutenants were, she was hoping to catch them at their room. Otherwise, it'd be all too possible for her to accidentally miss the group. Fortunately, it seemed that luck was on her side that day. As the knight walked down the corridor, she didn't even reach the room when the door open and the three lieutenants stepped out. She had made it just in time and was even more surprised to see a slightly familiar face amongst them.

"Well, well ,well if it isn't Penelope Vermillion." the man at the front gave a small smile. He was around her age with light brown hair and pale eyes. Despite being from the warfront, he was well groomed, though she supposed that might have been because he had been at the castle for a couple of days now.

"Jonathan Bur, I didn't know you became a lieutenant." Penelope smirked as she came to stop in front of the three. Jonathan had been a knight she had trained with in the very early days of her career. Of course, back then they hadn't been on the best of terms. The two had been rivals, constantly competing in missions and other such. Plus, in her opinion, Jonathan had been quite a spoiled brat in the past. However, the two had buried the hatchet a year back when they crossed paths before the war. Though she didn't quite consider him any more than an acquaintance, there were no longer any harsh feelings between the two.

"It was a last minute promotion.." Jonathan said, a hint of sadness seeping into his and the other lieutenant's gazes. "But here I am."

"Well, it's good to see you again." Penelope mused politely before glancing at the other two lieutenants. Off handedly, the knight noted that they were both around their ages as well and had a tiredness in their gaze. One stood with a bit more confidence while the other kept to himself and avoided eye contact. She shifted her gaze onto Jonathan.

"So what are you doing here? Do you need to strategize with the king as well?" he asked curiously.

"No. I'm on a temporary leave from the front. And I was actually looking for you three." Penelope said with a hopeful glance between the lieutenants. "I was hoping to discuss the war."

"Well we can do it over breakfast. I don't like all this standing around." grumbled one of the lieutenants impatiently. He didn't wait for an answer and began to lead the way to the Great Hall. The quieter lieutenant glanced between the two before turning and quickly following. Penelope exchanged a glance with Jonathan, who merely shrugged his shoulders, before following after them at the back of the group besides her former rival.

The following morning went by in much the same way as any other. Crow, having slept a bit lighter than usual the night before, woke to the sound of his door opening and closing as someone came in. He glanced down to see who was there, only to find that it was Preston, who had arrived to help him get ready for the day again. However, there was something slightly different about the attendant this time. He was carrying something in his hands.

Crow sat up on his bed and yawned tiredly, arching his back in a stretch as he shook off his lingering weariness. The motion seemed to draw Preston’s attention, and the boy turned to him with a curt bow. “Good morning,” he greeted. The servant sounded more cheerful than usual to Crow.

“Morning,” the viceroy mumbled, sliding down from his bed to walk over to the wardrobe, where Preston was putting together his clothes. He looked down at the attendant’s hand. “What’s that?”

Preston paused in what he was doing and shuffled his feet. “You said you wanted me to show you my art, so…” he trailed off, bashfully averting his gaze as he held out the objects he’d been carrying.

There were three flat river stones covered with dark charcoal markings. Crow studied them curiously. They were slightly smudged, but he could tell the attendant had taken special care to keep the pictures from getting ruined with time. He also found himself rather impressed with Preston’s talent. Though the boy had never been trained by a master, the drawings didn’t look very different from anything he’d seen in a book before. The lines were precise, and it was easy to see what the images showed.

The stone on the left depicted an image of a fig tree with long, twisting branches and plumes of small leaves. The tree sat alone on a hillside, with a distant forest behind it. Even though the surface of the rock was small, the attendant had managed to put a surprising amount of detail into his work. The other two drawings were no different.

The middle stone was a picture of a tower. It looked like the battlements that had been built into the Brerratic castle, tall and commanding. Preston had even managed to capture the weathering of the stones and the small arrow loops that adorned the sides. Looking closer, Crow smirked in amusement as he saw that the boy had drawn a figure of an archer posted on the crenellation.

The last stone was the most impressive. It was a portrait of a girl with wavy hair and freckled cheeks. She had a broad smile on her face, and the viceroy could almost imagine that she was laughing. The emotion captured in the art was tangible, and even a little infectious. He found himself smiling as he examined the rock closer.

“I know I’m not as good as the artists who illustrated those books,” Preston said sheepishly. “But these are my favorite drawings.”

“What are you talking about?” Crow looked up at him with a laugh. “These are amazing. If you added a little color to them, they’d probably look real.”

“You think so?” Preston brightened.

“Definitely,” Crow nodded. He looked over the stones again, his gaze lingering on the drawing of the girl. “Who is that?” he asked without thinking. In the next moment, he bit his tongue, worried that he might have overstepped a boundary. Fortunately, Preston didn’t seem offended.

“That’s my younger sister,” the attendant answered with a fond smile as he gazed at the drawing. “She lives here at the castle with me.”

“I see,” Crow said with interest. “Is she a servant too?”

“Not really,” Preston admitted. “She’s sickly, so she can’t handle the work.”

Crow frowned, “Is it—”

“No, no,” the attendant shook his head quickly. “She doesn’t have the Creeping Death.” He absently traced the edge of the drawing with his finger. “No one knows what’s wrong with her. Even Eldon can’t figure it out. Some days, she’s perfectly fine, but on others… she has pain in her body, and her energy lapses.” His expression turned melancholic. “On the worst days, she doesn’t even have the strength to get out of bed. She’s been like this ever since she was little.”

Crow studied Preston quietly. “I’m sorry,” he rested a hand on the boy’s shoulder and offered him a smile. “She’s beautiful though.”

“She is,” the attendant managed a halfhearted smile. “I still hope that someone will marry her someday. She may be sick, but she’s a caring person, and I just know she would make a great wife.”

“If she’s as great as you say, I’m sure someone will fall head over heels for her despite her illness,” Crow assured him.

“Thanks,” Preston looked up at him appreciatively.

“Mhm,” Crow nodded. Turning back to the open wardrobe, he picked out his own clothes—he’d watched the attendant enough times to figure out the pieces by himself—and stepped over to the edge of the bed to set them down as he took off the linens he was currently wearing. Once he was dressed, he bent down to put on his boots. As he did, he carefully angled his body away from the servant and reached quickly underneath the bed, where he had stowed one of his daggers—the other was already beneath his pillow. He smoothly slipped the sheathed weapon into his boot and laced it up.

Now armed and feeling more confident, he straightened his posture and headed for the door. “Come on,” he waved to Preston. “I want breakfast.”

When they walked inside, she briefly swept her gaze over the tables in a feeble attempt to get a glimpse of Crow. However, if he was already there, she didn't manage to spot him as she turned to follow the others over to an empty table that Jonathan had spotted. The four lieutenants had settled in at one of the empty tables in the Great Hall .Doran, the less patient of them, had wasted no time in flagging down a servant. Josef, the quiet lieutenant, sat silently besides him eying the table with a blank expression until Jonathan spoke up.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" Jonathan asked. Curiosity entered the man's gaze and he looked over at Penelope expectantly.

"Well, the reason I wanted to speak with you is because I'm hoping to bring a faster and less bloody end to this war." Penelope began, sitting up a bit straighter as all of them focused on her. "That's the reason I'm not at the front right now. I'm here to try and convince the king to seek a peaceful end to this war. Which is why I need as much support as I can get and why I wanted to speak with you."

"So you want us to just give up the war?" Doran growled. "Younis will not defeat us."

"I don't just mean we roll over to them." Penelope said carefully, pausing as their food arrived. "I merely think that if the king communicated with the king of Younis, they'd be able to work out terms of peace." Noticing Doran's nose wrinkle at the suggestion, she let out a sigh. "Look, this war has been going on for over a year and there had been little to no progress made on either side. And clearly it isn't going that well, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"No one has truly gained the upper hand during this whole year." Josef agreed softly.

Jonathan looked over at her and gave a half hearted smile. "At this point, it's just who runs out of the funds faster. Winning will just mean we have slightly more resources than them... And that's even if we win." he nodded glancing between his two comrades before his gaze settled back on Penelope, who was looking at him in mild surprise. It was the first time she hadn't had to explain her complete reasoning to someone. Even Mia had been hesitant about siding with her.

"I've been thinking about this myself." Jonathan shrugged. "I'm a new, untrained lieutenant though so I figured I wouldn't be able to do much about it." He smiled. "But if you're doing this Penelope, you have my support."

"You're both spineless quitters." Doran growled at the two of them before the knight could thank Jonathan. "I'll never support this and I'm sure the king won't either."

"It's what's best for this kingdom, Doran. This war will bleed us dry and there won't be any winners." Jonathan stated firmly.

Penelope nodded her head in eager agreement and shifted her gaze over to Josef, who had yet to voice any opinion on the matter. "Well what do you think, Josef?" she asked hopefully.

The timid man blinked as he was suddenly addressed and shifted slightly in his seat, poking at his food. "I think... it might be a good option t-to consider.. Things aren't going too well at the warfront otherwise we wouldn't be here... and it sounds like it's not just our battalion either." he rambled softly.

Doran snorted and shook his head before turning to focus on his food. "Ridiculous. My baron will never agree to this... And I'll make sure yours don't either." he said narrowed eyes at the other two. With that, he turned and began to eat his food, tuning out of their conversation.

Jonathan sighed and then looked over at Penelope. "Just tell me what I can do to help." he said with a shrug.

The knight nodded and began to eat her breakfast, falling into a more casual conversation with Jonathan. The two caught up a bit as they enjoyed their meal and planned to meet for dinner, in hopes of talking more on her plan to end the war. Having not expected to have such full support from one of the lieutenants, Penelope was admittedly quite excited, especially since Jonathan was familiar with barons and other nobles that she wasn't. His father was a high ranking officer after all so it only made sense that his son knew quite a bit of higher ranking nobles.

Upon finishing her food, she said a quick word of goodbye to the three lieutenants and then got up to head off to her guard shift, glancing furtively around the Great Hall for Crow as she made her way out of the room.

When Crow arrived at the Great Hall, he paused near the doorway to take a quick look around. Knowing that there were already nobles scheming against him, he wanted to start building connections as soon as he could. That meant spending some meals amongst the nobles whom had reached out to him after his ceremony. His green eyes swept over the numerous faces in the room. It had been five days since he had last seen them, so he had to focus to remember which ones had made offers to him before. However, after a moment, he caught sight of one familiar face: Wayne Cardonell, the first man who had approached him at the banquet.

A subtle smile spread over the viceroy’s lips. Though he didn’t like the idea of getting close to any of the self-righteous noblemen in the castle, he couldn’t help but feel a bit excited at the prospect of using them for his own purposes. He was confident in his ability to trick them into doing what he wanted. It wasn’t one of his most honorable traits, but manipulating others was a useful skill, and it was one he prided himself on since it had saved him many times in the past.

Crow was just about to make his way over to the table where Wayne was sitting but then froze as he felt someone’s eyes on him. He glanced to the side and wrinkled his nose slightly when he saw that the same blonde man as before was glaring at him from across the room. Now that he knew what the man was doing behind his back, he had half a mind to cast him a rude gesture. However, not wanting to give away the fact that he was in on the baron’s plans, he restrained himself and turned instead to head to Wayne’s table as he’d originally intended.

As he approached, the nobleman caught sight of him and visibly stiffened. Crow fought the urge to roll his eyes. It was clear that even though some of the nobles in the castle had been willing to use him to gain favor with the king, they all still despised him just as much as anyone else. Luckily, the viceroy was already used to being hated, so he concealed his annoyance with a smile as he stopped by the other man’s side. “Mind if I join you?”

Wayne exchanged a brief glance with the two other noblemen who were sitting across from him before turning back to the viceroy with that fake smile of his, “Go ahead.”

Crow nodded and sat down on the bench beside him. The other three nobles grew tense, clearly unsure how to act around the former thief, so he took it upon himself to break the silence. “So,” he said, resting his forearms on the table as he looked between the two men across from him. “What are your names? I don’t believe we’ve met before.”

The man on the left blinked, seeming surprised even though it had been a simple question. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, “My name is Robyn Shepherd, son of Count Randall Shepherd.”

The man on the right glanced at his friend before turning back to the viceroy and sitting up slightly straighter, “I’m Percival Granger, son of Duke Pearson Granger.”

“A duke, huh?” Crow mused. “Are you any good with a sword?”

Percival scoffed, seeming offended by the question. “I’m a knight of the royal guard,” he boasted. “Of course I can use a sword.”

This one might be worth keeping in my pocket, Crow thought, eyeing the knight over. With a duke for a father and a role in the king’s army, he had a feeling Percival’s word would carry quite a bit of weight in the castle. “Alright, it was just a question,” the viceroy threw up his hands in an innocent gesture. “No need to get defensive.”

“A knight’s swordsmanship is his pride,” Wayne smirked. “You might have well have questioned his honor.” He studied Crow with a curious look. “Anyway, did you want something from me? I’m assuming you’re here because of my offer, right?”

“Not particularly,” Crow shrugged. “I’m just trying to get to know the people around here better. After all, I may be the ambassador for the king, but I’m going to be representing all of you.” He casted the nobleman a wry smile. “How can I be an intercessor for anyone when I don’t know anything about you or what you want?”

Wayne’s eyes widened slightly, and Crow could practically see the wheels turning in his mind. It was obvious that he believed he had stuck an opportunity to gain favor with the king. The viceroy had intentionally worded his question to make him think so. If he didn’t know anyone else, the first man to win him over would have a leg up on his competition. The other two seemed to realize it as well.

“Well, what do you want to know?” Robyn grinned. “I’d be happy to help. My family knows quite a few of the other counts and countesses around the inner kingdom.”

“Yes, and my family has connections within the castle,” Wayne pitched in. “My father is a marquess.”

“My father does as well,” Percival nodded. He casted the viceroy a forced smile. “Don’t worry about that comment earlier. No harm done. In fact, if you’d like help adjusting to life here in the castle, I’d be happy to assist you.” The others quickly put in their agreement.

Crow bit back a grin as the three noblemen threw more offers at him. It had almost been too easy. Now all he needed to do was solidify the connections he was beginning to form, and he would have a strong barrier between himself and the nobles who wanted him gone. Subtly, he glanced back at the older blonde man, who was still glaring at his back. However, this time, there seemed to be a hint of concern in his cold gaze.

The viceroy turned back to continue conversing with the others, but then paused as something else caught his gaze. Near the front of the Great Hall, he spotted Penelope, who seemed to be leaving. He noticed that she was looking around and, assuming that she was searching for him, casted her a smile and a dismissive wave, hoping she would understand that he would catch up with her later. For now, he planned to stay with the other noblemen for a little longer to work on gaining more of their trust.

The knight managed to spot the viceroy amongst a group of nobles she wasn't familiar with. A smirk found its way onto her lips as she realized he was already getting to work in 'befriending' other nobles. As he gave her a smile and wave, the knight gave a subtle nod in return before she headed on out of the Great Hall. Now alone, the knight stretched her arms and let out a long yawn, already feeling a bit tired from a mixture of poor sleep and waking up so early.

However, her drowsiness was soon replaced by a ripple of anxiousness as her gaze drifted to one of the windows she passed by. Penelope slowed to a stop to eye the darkening sky, watching as gray clouds slowly rolled in from over distant mountains. It was difficult to tell if it meant a storm was coming over if it would merely be a cloudy day but regardless, it already set the knight on edge.

She cursed inwardly and forced herself to keep walking. Now that it was getting later in the year, she really needed to start paying attention to the weather more. Normally, when there was a chance of rain, she liked to try and switch her guard shifts around to avoid freezing up on the job. However, it was much too late to do that now that it was time for her shift. Penelope just prayed that the weather would be merciful and that the clouds didn't carry a thunderstorm with them.

The knight let out a shaky sigh and relieved the other guard that was on duty as she reached third floor. Now in position for her shift, she shifted a bit anxiously as she watched the hall. Like a deer listening for predators, Penelope couldn't help but actually listen for signs of the storm. She wished she could just ignore it completely but the anxiousness and paranoia that came with her fear wouldn't let her. She even caught herself eying a nearby supply closet as a means of shelter. It was going to be a long shift.

For the rest of the meal, Crow spoke casually with the other three noblemen at the table. As he’d expected, they weren’t much different from any of the other pompous men and women he’d met at the castle so far. Wayne was by far the most soft-palmed among them. Though his father was a strategist for some of the barons on the battlefront, it seemed that neither of them knew much about the intricacies of fighting and getting their hands dirty. They were big-picture thinkers who studied the history of warfare to come up with tactics that would help their kingdom defeat Younis. He was very well educated, but also lacked an understanding of how war impacted the people who lived on the border. His lack of sympathy was apparent, and it took all of the viceroy’s willpower not to make any biting comments about it.

Robyn wasn’t much better. He seemed to have some experience doing grunt work and claimed to be able to hold his own in a fight if he had to. Crow believed him. The nobleman came from a lower-class family compared to the other nobles in the castle, so he probably didn’t have many servants to do his work for him. He wasn’t even from the citadel. Apparently, his family’s manor was in a town called Naporia, located on the western edge of the inner kingdom. The only reason he’d been fortunate enough to live in the palace was because he’d been taken on as the ward of a higher-ranking nobleman who was training him to become a scholar. The step up seemed to have given him a bit of an ego. Hence the reason why he wasn’t much better than the know-it-all, Wayne.

Out of the three, Crow found Percival to be the most interesting. As the son of a duke, he was just as arrogant as the others, but to the viceroy’s surprise, he really did seem to have some honor. He was a bit soft-spoken, but whenever he engaged in conversation, he usually had well-thought-out things to say. He talked about his life as a member of the royal guard—that part was less interesting to Crow—but he also spoke about his views on the war which were shockingly not very far from the viceroy’s own. Of course, the knight didn’t know the extent of the damage in the outer villages, but he seemed to at least view the peasants’ lives as valuable and corrected Wayne whenever he would make insensitive comments about them. By the end of their conversation, Crow found that he even had a bit of respect for him.

Once everyone had finished eating, they all parted ways to go off to whatever other responsibilities they had planned for the day. Since the three noblemen were still intent on winning the viceroy’s favor, they suggested meeting with him again at breakfast tomorrow, and since he was still intent on using them for his own protection, he agreed. So far, things seemed to be going smoothly, and he had no doubt he had made a good decision by approaching these particular men. All of them had connections around the castle and the inner kingdom, especially Wayne and Percival, so if he stayed on their good sides, he would have plenty of support in no time. It was a strange but encouraging thought.

Crow walked back to his room with Preston at his side, ambling slowly since he knew he was already late for his lesson. Udolf was going to lecture him about it either way, so he decided there was no point in rushing back just to be chided. Instead, he took the time to talk with his attendant.

“Do you think these nobles will give you what you want?” Preston asked after the viceroy finished telling him about their conversation.

“I do,” Crow nodded, casting him a sly grin. “As long as I keep letting them think they’ve got me in their pocket, they’re going to do whatever they can to prevent anyone from taking that away.”

“Even someone more powerful than them?”

“They may not be influential on their own, but they’ve all got connections to men who are,” Crow said with certainty. “Percival’s father is a duke, Robyn is the ward of a scholar of the court, and Wayne’s family is directly tied to the barons in the castle and on the warfront. I’d say that’s a pretty strong wall for that baron to break through if he wants me gone.”

“I see,” Preston mused. “Well, for your sake, I hope you’re right.”

Crow opened his mouth to respond, but then froze as he was interrupted by a flash of light in a nearby window, followed by a low growl of thunder.

“Looks like a bad storm,” Preston said idly as he gazed out the window.

“Yeah,” Crow nodded, recovering from his initial surprise. He could see the guards in the courtyard below scrambling for cover from the rain, and he was thankful that he was warm and dry inside the castle. He lingered by the window for a little while longer before his eyes widened in remembrance. “Hey,” he said, turning to Preston. “You can go if you’d like. I can make it the rest of the way by myself.”

“Are you sure?” Preston frowned. “The stairs are just up ahead. I don’t mind walking with you.”

“It’s fine,” Crow waved his hand dismissively. “I like listening to the sound of the rain, so I think I’m going to take my time anyway.”

“Alright,” the attendant shrugged. “You shouldn’t keep Udolf waiting too long though. He’s probably mad already.”

“He can wait a little longer,” Crow smirked. He turned to keep walking toward the stairs, “See you later.”

“Good luck,” Preston said in response, turning around to walk back the other way.

Crow waited until they had put some distance between each other and then glanced back over his shoulder. As soon as the servant passed out of his sight, he continued walking toward the stairs at a brisk pace, climbing for the third floor. When he reached it, he took a quick look around the corridor and spotted Penelope at her post right away. From a distance, he couldn’t tell if she had been affected by the storm or not. Still, he didn’t want to take any chances.

With no other guards around in this hallway, he hastened his pace to a light jog as he approached her. “Hey, love,” he greeted her in a low voice once he reached her side and then studied her concernedly. “How are you doing?”

It seemed things wouldn't be going the way the knight had hoped. Standing in the corridor, she flinched as she heard the storm take it's full effect, hearing and noticing the heavy raindrops that plastered against a nearby window. It made a shiver run down her spine as she realized how bad the storm would likely be. And it worsened rather quickly. A flash of lightning and growl of thunder made the knight jump.

Her position unfortunately had nearby windows that made it all the more difficult on the knight. She felt her heart beginning to race with panic her gaze darted around, looking for shelter even though she was already inside. She was just about to make a run for the supply closet when someone appeared by her side. Having been too caught up in her fear, she froze for a moment as her gaze suddenly landed on Crow. She didn't know where he had come from but she found herself rather glad to see him.

"I-I.. I've been better..." she stuttered as she struggled to find her words. She trembled slightly as she heard another crackle of lightning. It made the knight shift closer to him, finding it difficult to restrain herself from seeking comfort from his touch. Though she was the only guard around, the corridor was still rather open so they'd be at risk of being seen. She might have been frazzled by the storm but she was still clear-headed enough to know better.

"I'm a-about one more crash of-of thunder from abandoning this d-damn shift though." she said dryly. Her gaze darted around, eying the windows fearfully, before looking back on him. Amidst her paranoia, it finally struck her that the thief was likely on his way to his lesson and she forced herself to take a small step back from him. "I'll be fine though... This cert-certainly isn't the f-first storm I've been through i-in the castle."

Crow frowned as Penelope answered him with a stutter. It seemed that even though they were safe in the castle, she was just as nervous as when they had been in his run-down old house. He glanced toward the far end of the hallway as she shifted closer to him, making sure they were still alone. Even though he longed to comfort her, he didn’t want to make all their hard work to keep their relationship a secret go to waste. If a knight or a servant walked through, they would be caught right away.

He turned back to Penelope as she went on to say—very unconvincingly—that she was fine. Just looking at how much she was shaking, he knew that was a lie. He glanced down the hallway again and shifted his weight slightly. The smart idea probably would have been to go to his lesson with Udolf, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave the knight alone while she was so distraught. He let out his breath in a quiet exhale. The tutor was probably furious with him by now. He supposed he would just have to make up his absence some other time.

Having come to a decision, Crow took a quick look around the corridor they were standing in until his eyes fell on a nearby supply closet. It didn’t look very big, but it would be better than lingering in the open hall, where anyone could stuble upon them. He turned back to Penelope and took her hand in his. “This way,” he murmured, giving her a gentle tug as he stepped over to the small door.

As he opened it, he stood aside to allow her to enter first, once again searching the area to make sure no one else was coming by. After all, it would look quite strange for a viceroy to be sneaking into a closet with a knight in the middle of the day. “I don’t think it will matter if you leave your post for a little while,” he justified, turning to her with a smile as he gestured at the open doorway. “No criminal in his right mind would try to break into a castle in this weather.”

The knight took in a deep breath and attempted to force a small smile at the viceroy when he didn't reply right away. Penelope knew he had to get to his lesson—in fact he was probably already running late—and she knew she could deal with the storm on her own, even though part of her did wish she could take comfort in his presence. Her words may have been shaky but it was true that it wasn't her first time going through a storm in the castle. Of course, how well she handled them was up for debate.

Feeling him take her hand, the knight subconsciously gripped his hand a bit tighter as the sound of the rain grew louder. Realizing it was just the rain though, she came back to her senses slightly and looked over at him in mild surprise. She was a bit confused at what he was doing until she noticed he lead her over to the supply closet. Penelope gave a timid nod at his words and stepped into the closet as he held the door open.

"I guess." she murmured as she pressed her back against the wall of the small room. She doubted she'd be of much use even if someone did break into the castle at the moment. The only difference was that she at least wasn't out in the open anymore. Plus the small room didn't have any windows, meaning it at least lessen her fear a bit since she wasn't able to see the flash of lightning anymore. She let out a shaky breath and shifted her gaze over to Crow as she wrapped her arms around herself. "You're probably late to your lesson today, aren't you? You should getting g-going. I'll be alright here until the storm s-stops..."

Crow smirked a little to himself when Penelope brought up his lesson. “I was actually supposed to be there a while ago,” he admitted with a shrug. “I’m honestly not sure if my tutor is still there.” Somehow, he doubted Udolf was the kind of man to wait for a student for this long. He had probably left by now to make better use of his time. For a moment, the viceroy wondered if he would go to his father as he had been threatening, but thinking over the results of his last few lessons, he didn’t think it was likely. He’d already proven to the old man that he was taking his lessons seriously. Surely one slip up wouldn’t be enough to undo that impression, right?

Confident that the consequences wouldn’t be that bad, Crow took one more furtive look around the hallway before he slipped inside the supply closet. He had to duck slightly to keep from hitting his head on the short lintel. The light faded from the tiny room as he closed the door behind him, enveloping both of them in darkness but also protecting them from unwanted eyes.

“It’s just one day,” he assured Penelope with a smile that he knew she couldn’t see. Moving carefully to avoid bumping into any of the supplies in the closet, he took a couple steps forward and reached out blindly to locate the knight in the dark. His fingers brushed her arm, and he gently traced it up to her shoulder and then to her face, softly caressing her cheek. In the next moment, his heartbeat quickened as he realized this was the first time in nearly a week that they had been able to slip away together, and he wrapped his arms around her in a sudden embrace.

“Gods, it’s been too long,” he breathed, pressing affectionate kisses to her cheek and jaw.

Penelope frowned a little as Crow admitted he was rather late. Even in her current state it sent a small stab of guilt into the knight, especially since from what she had heard his tutor was rather strict. She was about to advise him to leave again but the viceroy seemed to have already made up his mind as he closed the door and reassured her. "If you say so." she mumbled in his direction.

In the darkness, it was impossible for her to make out exactly where he was but she knew the general direction of where he was. She felt him trailing his fingertips up her and she took a small step in his direction, leaning into his touch as he caressed her cheek. It made her heart begin to race, this time from excitement rather than fear after having gone nearly a week without being able to get close to him. When he wrapped her up in an embrace, the knight didn't hesitate to return it, wrapping her arms tightly around him as she took comfort in his touch.

"It has." she murmured in agreement, closing her eyes serenely as he pressed kisses to her cheek and jaw. The knight suddenly found herself a bit more thankful for the storm as it had given them a chance to slip away together. She was still uneasy because of the sounds she could still hear but between the inability to see outside now and the comfort that came from being in his embrace, she able to relax a bit more.

She trailed a hand up to his cheek, using it as a bit of reference in the darkness, and turned her head to capture his lips in a tender but passionate kiss. "I'm starting to think this storm was more of a blessing than a curse." she mused softly as she pulled back. She tensed for a moment at the sound of growling thunder and pressed into him more. "For the most part at least..." she sighed, relaxing again as the sound faded, and leaned in to press a trail of kisses along his neck. "Gods I've missed you." she murmured affectionately.

Crow closed his eyes as he pressed his lips to Penelope’s jawline. It was pitch dark in the closet, so there was no point in trying to see anything anyway. That, and he was quick to lose himself in her touch after being unable to even hold her hand for nearly a week. He trailed his hands over her back, shivering slightly with excitement at the feeling of being so close to her again. With all the busyness that had kept him distracted since he’d become a viceroy, he hadn’t realized just how much he had missed her touch. Now that he had it again, he wished they could stay like this forever, hidden and alone in their own world.

When the knight brought her hand to his cheek, he leaned into her palm and opened his eyes again. His vision had adjusted a bit to the darkness, so he could make out her vague silhouette standing in front of him. He smiled fondly and wasted no time in meeting her halfway as she moved in to kiss him. The feeling of her soft lips against his left him breathless, and he pulled her in as close to himself as he could. His hands moved slowly over her body, and he tangled his fingers in her hair, panting softly when she pulled back from the kiss.

“Mhm,” Crow murmured in agreement when Penelope said the storm was a blessing. He held her tightly, feeling her grow tense as another round of thunder sounded from outside. Even though he was glad that the storm had given them this opportunity, he still felt a little sorry for her, since she seemed a bit frightened by it. However, he didn’t dwell on it for long. As the knight began to kiss his neck, he closed his eyes again, letting out his breath in a quiet sigh.

“I’ve missed you too,” he whispered, turning his head to meet her lips once more. Leaning forward slightly, he pressed her back against the wall. His hands moved to her hips, and he shifted to kiss her a little lower along her neck and collar. His heart raced as he grew more zealous in his touches, and he sank into her a little more. However, just as he was about to kiss her again, he flinched as he bumped into what felt like a mop, the handle of which fell and hit him lightly on the head.

“Ow,” Crow winced. He pushed the pole aside and turned back to Penelope with a sheepish look. “This storm may be a blessing, but I wish we could have found a bigger place to hide.”

Penelope leaned back against the wall as he pressed her back against it. The knight bit her lip lightly as he shifted to kiss her lower along her neck and collar. She ran her hands over his back as she felt him sink further into her making her heart flutter excitedly at his touch. However the moment didn't last long as she noticed a brief movement in the dark as he bumped what was likely a mop.

The knight glanced up at him amusedly and gave a small nod. "Me too." she mumbled glancing around the small, dark space before settling her gaze back on him. Now pulled out of the moment, she realized that it was probably wise for them to act a bit more cautiously. In such a small space, it'd be easy to make noises that would draw unwanted attention from anyone passing by in the corridor. Not to mention there was also the unsettling risk of some servant opening the door to get supplies.

"Hopefully the storm will pass soon... As much as I'm glad to be here with you, I'm worried if we stick around too long some servants eventually going to come wandering this way for some supply." she pointed out with a small frown. Her hold on him slackened and she rested one arm against his shoulder as she gently toyed with his hair. "We should probably to not knock anything else over too." she mused softly with a glance towards the mop.

Crow frowned as Penelope brought up the point that a servant could come by and open the door to get supplies. He supposed he hadn’t thought about that when he’d led her inside the closet. Even though he knew what the storage room was for, he’d had yet to see any of the castle servants open one, so he had just assumed that the supplies weren’t used very often. Knowing how quickly gossip spread in the inner kingdom, it wouldn’t take long for everyone to find out about them if someone walked in on them now. Just the thought of it made him cringe.

At her following comment, he blushed, suddenly grateful for the darkness that concealed the color in his cheeks. “Yes, well that’s sort of hard to do when I barely have room to stand up straight,” he snorted, glancing over the small closet. If he leaned up slightly on the balls of his feet, he could feel his hair brush against the ceiling, and there were supplies piled on shelves on either side of him. The room certainly hadn’t been made for someone of his stature. In fact, the only reason he hadn’t knocked anything else over was because he had trained himself to be aware of his surroundings. He’d snuck through tighter spaces on raids before. If he wasn’t spatially consicous, he would have gotten caught by a knight long ago and probably run through with a sword.

His eyes wandered back to the mop. It was lucky that no one had been walking by when he’d bumped into that. All it would take would be one curious passerby to pull open the door and—

Pull open the door.

Suddenly, Crow blinked as he was struck with an idea. He reached for the mop and pulled it down from where it had been fixed to the shelf. Then, moving carefully, he turned and stepped over to the door, searching with his fingers to locate the handle. He smiled to himself and gently eased the mop’s long pole through it, hitching the bottom against the corner of the room, so it stuck in place when he let go. Taking a step back, he looked over his handiwork, pleased to see that the mop was now securely lodged diagonally across the door.

“There,” he nodded, turning back to Penelope with a proud grin. “Now, if a servant tries to open it, the door will jamb, and we’ll have time to get out when they go to get help unsticking it.”

Penelope gave a small nod as she glanced up at the ceiling. She hadn't really noticed it due to their height difference but the ceiling was rather low. If she reached up, she'd be able to touch it with her hand. It was a bit impressive that Crow hadn't knocked over more things than just a mop, however, considering how the thief was so skilled at sneaking around, she supposed it made sense. Her attention shifted back over to the former thief as she noticed him move to grab something.

She raised an eyebrow curiously as he picked up the mop and stepped over to the door. Making out his movements in the dark, she soon realized what he was attempting to do and smirked a little as she watched him barricade the door with the mop. As he turned back to her, she returned his grin with a small smile. "Good thinking. That's at least one less thing we have to worry about." she mumbled with a hint of relief.

The knight certainly felt a bit more secure knowing there was less of a chance of them being caught. They had both been careful to put distance between each other and to have that go to waste would be a problem, especially considering the reason they were doing it in the first place. Her feeling of security didn't last long though as a large growl of thunder made the knight freeze for a moment.

Her heart began to race anxiously again and as the sound faded, she moved off the wall to press into Crow again, burying her face into his neck as she tried to calm her nerves once more. "Gods I hate this weather." she muttered bitterly.

Crow stood up a little straighter at Penelope’s praise for his idea. Whenever she complimented him, it made him feel good, even if he hadn’t done very much. Beside that, he was pleased that they wouldn’t have to worry about being walked in on anymore. It seemed that aside from the king’s treasury vaults, there weren’t very many locks on any of the doors in the castle, so it was difficult to hide anywhere without getting caught. He winced as he remembered the incident with her father once again. There wasn’t space in the storage closet to get away with anything more than kissing, but he was relieved they wouldn’t have to go through the discomfort of that situation again.

Suddenly, another deep rumble of thunder resonated through the small room, drawing Crow from his thoughts. Reminded of the reason why they had come here in the first place, he frowned and moved back to where she was standing, wrapping his arms around her as she buried her face against his neck. He gently rubbed his hand over her back and rested his cheek against her head. “I know,” he murmured, touching a kiss to her temple. “Hopefully it won’t be a long storm.”

Despite his words, he had a feeling the weather wouldn’t be clearing up anytime soon. He glanced back at the door, holding the knight close to his chest as an especially loud clap of thunder made the supply shelves around them tremble. The intensity of it even made him flinch. It was barely afternoon, and the rain outside sounded like it was still coming down hard. From past experience, he guessed this storm was going to drag on for quite a while.

He turned back to Penelope, tracing his hand over her shoulders in thought. Since the weather wasn’t clearing up anytime soon, he wanted to distract her from it. “Have you been getting a lot of support to end the war?” he asked in a gentle voice, hoping that by starting a conversation with her, he would be able to take her mind off the foul storm. “And those lieutenants I told you about—were you able to speak with them about it before they left?”

Penelope closed her eyes tightly as the second clap of thunder made the shelves tremble. As she held herself back from trembling as well, she couldn't stop her teeth from beginning to chatter nervously. Just when the knight was hoping the storm was slowing down it sounded like it was still going strong. Trying to calm herself, she attempted to refocus on Crow, the feeling of being close to him again, the way he soothingly traced his hand over her shoulders and the gentleness in his voice as he spoke to her. For a moment, she didn't reply as she tried to regain her bearings after being shaken by the rather intense clap of thunder.

"I sent out letters... No replies yet b-but I figured it would take a while. Hopefully I'll get something soon." she finally mumbled. "A-and I did catch those lieutenants. Turns out I actually knew one of them." Penelope shrugged her shoulders and opened her eyes again as she pulled her head back just enough to look up at him. "He's been hoping for a peaceful end to the war too actually so I know I have his support.. Out of the three, I think only one is against me really. He seems set on seeing the war to its end for w-whatever reason."

A hint of annoyance flashed across her gaze as she thought of Doran, who had deemed the others as 'spineless quitters' just because they believed a peaceful end to the war was more reasonable than a constant stalemate. She shift to rest her head against his shoulder. "I think it'll be fine though..I-I talked to Naida about it and she said she'd help me out too." The knight took in a shaky breath as she tried to block out the sounds of the rain as she focused on Crow. "How's your plan with using those nobles going?"

As Penelope began to tell him about her efforts to end the war, Crow listened quietly. He continued to rub her back, moving his hand in a small circle as he tried to help distract her from the storm. Luckily, it seemed to be working. She didn’t sound as distraught as she spoke about the letters she had sent or the results of her talk with the other lieutenants. He was glad to see that she appeared to be feeling better and that she was already making so much progress in her plans to convince his father to negotiate with the Younisian king.

He lifted his hand to run his fingers through her hair when she rested her head against his shoulder. “Good so far, I think,” he answered her softly. He opened his mouth to continue, but then paused when he heard the sound of footsteps outside the storage closet. Tensing slightly, he glanced back over his shoulder as a shadow passed by their hiding place. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be a servant, because the footsteps receeded into the distance almost as quickly as they had appeared. He let out his breath in relief.

“I met with three men at breakfast,” Crow went on in a voice that was barely more than a whisper. “I gave them the impression that I was just looking to start making friends around here, and they seemed to buy it. They invited me to eat with them again tomorrow morning.” He casted her a mischievous grin. “I know they’re all just trying to use me to increase their families’ statuses in the castle, but since they all have connections here, I’ll have some influential support if that baron you met with tries anything funny.”

He leaned his head against hers and sighed contentedly. “You know, there could be another benefit to getting to know more people here,” he mused. “If I can improve my reputation faster, then maybe everyone will stop hating me as much and we can stop hiding.”

Penelope glanced towards the door as the shadow of someone passed by. She stiffened briefly, holding her breath as she waited for whoever it was to pass by. Luckily it didn't seem to be a servant as the footsteps faded and the two were alone again. She relaxed a little and shifted her gaze back onto Crow as he began to explain how his time with the other nobles had been going. It sounded like the thief was having quite a bit of success and she was glad to hear it. The more nobles he had on his side, the more difficult it'd be for Adam to do anything to him.

"That's good." she said with a hint of relief in her voice. "I'll still try to keep an eye on him but with any luck, he'll realize he's got to give up." As he went on to mention that it could be also lead to them not having to hide anymore, a hopeful gleam entered the knight's gaze. While the main priority was to keep him safe from being targeted, it would be a lovely bonus if it meant they would no longer have to sneak around everyone. "That'd be nice. I'd like it if it worked out like that." she agreed with a soft smile.

Having calmed down from the last ripple of thunder, she was a little bit more relaxed again. She glanced up at him and gave a small smirk of amusement as another thought crossed her mind. "The downside is that you'll probably get a few other offers for courtship before then." she pointed out. Once more people started accepting the former thief as the viceroy, it would only be a matter of time before someone tried to advance their family name through a marriage offer. Even if they weren't truly fond of him, power was power and there were plenty of nobles after it.

Feeling a little better, the knight let out a dramatic sigh. "I suppose I'll have quite the competition ahead of me. We both know how fond you are of noblewomen after all." she joked with a wink. "Although, there aren't too many that know how to wield a sword so I can likely scare them off by challenging them to a duel if I have to."