Penelope struck up a casual conversation with Cedric as the two headed out of the Great Hall. It was brief as the two part ways after they exited into the corridor. She gave the male knight a small wave and then headed off towards her room. She picked up her pace at the thought of finally getting some sleep and hurried into her room.

Once inside, she let out a long breath and fell back onto her bed. For a moment, the knight just laid there as thoughts swirled around in her head. There was much to do and so little time. Penelope just hoped that after that night one problem would be solved. Her mind wandered to Crow and a frown crossed her lips as she recalled how the morning had gone. While she wanted to spend as much time planning the party and advocating for the war's end as she could, she also couldn't just push his problem aside. 

Her thoughts continued to buzz in her head until eventually her weariness won over. Before the knight even realized it, she fell into a deep sleep.

---

She had been sleeping rather comfortably until knocking at her door woke her up. The knight jolted slightly at the sound and lifted her head a bit disoriented due to the deepness of her sleep. As the knock came again—more impatiently this time— she jumped up to her feet and hurried over to the door. She paused and ran the back of her hand over her mouth, realizing a bit embarrassedly that she had been drooling during her nap. 

Opening the door, she found the Lenz's waiting for her on the other side. Oliver stood with his gaze lowered on some journal he had yet again while Dimia had her lips pursed into a thin line as she tapped her foot impatiently. It seemed Penelope wouldn't have to go looking for them later like she had planned to. As Dimia's gaze landed on Penelope, she let out a huff, "About time."

"Sorry." Penelope muttered. "I had a guard shift last night so I was just trying to get in a bit of sleep... What time is it anyways?" 

"About mid-day." Oliver answered with a shrug. "Why?"

Penelope let out a small sigh. Well that explained why she still felt quite groggy. She had likely only gotten in a few hours of sleep before their appearance, which meant it was likely that she a long day and even longer night ahead. Even though she was certain she could use a bit more sleep, she also couldn't just send them away.  "No reason. Well come on in. I assume you want to go over things for the party right?" she asked as she stepped out of the doorway to let the two filter in.

"We do." Oliver confirmed as he stepped inside. He eyed the bed and then the single desk chair that was in her room, as if deciding where he should go. With a glance at Dimia, he moved to stand next to the chair to allow her to sit there.

"This room is rather... lacking." Dimia said wrinkling her nose in distaste.

"I really only use it to sleep so I don't see any reason to have anything more." Penelope rolled her eyes. She gesture to the bed. "You two can sit there. It'll be more comfortable than the chair."

Oliver dipped his head and moved to sit at the edge. Dimia hesitated but followed and settled in besides him, sitting down rather tensely. Penelope paid little mind to her discomfort though and instead pulled up her chair to sit casually across from them. "Well since you're here, I suppose I better give you an update on the situation."

"An update?" Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Already?"

Penelope smirked a little. "I try to work fast." she paused and her smirk faded. "We're all going to have to unfortunately."

"What do you mean?"

"I had supper with the viceroy and Naida yesterday.. Apparently the king is planning to send him to Gorm in a month to try and get they to ally with us in order to end the war." Penelope explained with a small frown. 

"So we have less time than originally thought to plan this party and convince the king." Oliver frowned as well. 

"Great." Dimia grumbled irritably. "We came all this way and the battle was over before it even begun."

Penelope shook her head. "No. It's not over." she stated firmly as she met Dimia's gaze. Despite her firmness, the knight felt a ripple of desperateness. The time constraint was concerning but perhaps more concerning than that was losing the aid of Dimia and Oliver. She might not have been very close with either of them but they were at least giving the war's end a real chance. "I've already gotten a few letters of support, with hopefully more on the way. If we pull off this party, we can back the king into a corner. He'll be forced to give up his current plans in favor of appeasing the majority of nobles."

"I don't like these odds, Vermillion." Dimia huffed. 

"They aren't... great." Oliver agreed casting his wife a soft look before looking back to Penelope. "Have you spoken with the viceroy or princess about this party?"

"I have." Penelope nodded. "And we have their support. They'll be helping us with the guest list and Naida is going to work on getting us permission to host it in the castle like you asked."

A pleased smile crossed Oliver's lips and he nodded his head. "Good. We haven't completely lost yet then so I don't see any reason to back out... Right?" he asked his wife on a slightly timid note. 

Dimia hesitated before nodding her head. "I suppose as long as I get an extravagant party out of this there really is no way to lose." she mused, flipping a curl of hair back from her face. Seeming satisfied, a gleam of excitement entered her gaze as she looked between her husband and Penelope. "Let's start focusing on the details then."