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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Rogue Sloth
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“Alright,” Crow nodded when Penelope announced that she needed to go back to her post. While he would have liked to keep her close after the stress his nightmare had brought, he didn’t want her to get caught in his bed chamber by the next guard to relieve her without a good reason. He supposed he was just going to have to settle for meeting up with her in the Great Hall later.

As the knight exited the room, he climbed down from his bed and made his way over to his wardrobe to get dressed for the day. At first, he didn’t notice it, but after a brief period of silence passed, he realized Preston was being unusually quiet. He glanced furtively over his shoulder as he slid his linen nightshirt over his head. The servant was waiting patiently for him by the door as usual. Normally, his relaxed behavior wouldn’t have bothered the viceroy, but it seemed strange for the boy to be acting so mild mannered about what he’d just learned.

“You’re surprisingly calm,” he commented, casting Preston an estranged look. “I would have thought you’d be quicker to gloat about being right.”

“I don’t need to brag to feel satisfied,” the attendant shrugged.

“Of course you don’t,” Crow muttered dryly. He turned back to finish getting ready, and then paused as another thought came to him. “You aren’t going to speak to anyone else about this, are you?” he asked warily, facing the servant again with narrowed eyes.

“I have no reason to,” Preston shrugged again. He wavered for a moment before speaking up again. “I suppose I do have some questions though.”

“I’d be shocked if you didn’t,” Crow smirked at him amusedly.

Preston seemed to take his comment as permission to speak his mind. “I know I was right about your feelings towards each other,” he tilted his head in an innocently confused manner. “But you almost seem like you’re already courting Penelope. Why are you hiding it?”

Crow didn’t answer right away. Though the attendant had figured them out, he was still reluctant to open up to him completely. It seemed unwise to let any more people know about his relationship with the knight until they were ready to come forward. However, Preston’s words from the previous morning gave him pause. Perhaps he could trust the boy just a little more.

“It’s complicated,” he finally said in a low voice, leaning back against the footboard of his bed and folding his arms over his chest. “For one thing, we’re not actually courting. It’s true that we’re together in our own way, but it’s not the same kind of relationship that you’d see the other nobles here partake in.” He lifted his shoulders. “For another, I don’t have the greatest reputation at the castle, and I don’t want to ruin her name. We’re not going to tell anyone until I can be sure her good name won’t be sullied.”

“I see,” Preston mused. Another thought seemed to come to him, and he studied the viceroy with new interest. “You make it sound like you’ve been thinking about this for a long time. Just how long have you two been together?”

“Longer than I’ve lived here,” Crow chuckled. “Technically we were together two years ago, but there was a long gap in the middle. Altogether, I believe it’s been closer to four months.”

Preston whistled, “Does anyone else know about this?”

“A few people do. Her father is the only other person in the castle who does, which is why we need to keep it quiet.”

“Wow,” the attendant shook his head. He opened his mouth to ask another question, but Crow held up a hand.

“That’s enough for now,” he said. “I’m sure that the more we talk about this, the more questions you’re going to have, and I can’t spend the whole morning giving you answers.” He stepped away from the edge of his bed and beckoned for the attendant to follow him. “Come on. Let’s get something to eat while breakfast is still being served. I’m hungry.”
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It wasn't long before another guard appeared and stepped over to the knight. Penelope gave him a small word of thanks then left her position as she began to make her way to the Great Hall. The knight let out a yawn as she trotted down the stairs, picking up her pace a bit until she reached the bottom. She headed over to the doors of the Great Hall and was just about to step inside when a familiar voice caught her attention. She glanced over her shoulder to see Cedric picking up his pace to reach her.

"Penelope! Hey!" Cedric greeted her with a smile. "I was wondering if I was ever going to see you again."

She gave him a small smile in return despite feeling a bit disappointed. Since it seemed that Cedric was on his way into the Great Hall as well, that meant she likely wouldn't be having a moment alone with Crow. Though she didn't mind the male knight's company, she was at least hoping to get breakfast alone with Crow, especially after seeing the state he had woken up in.

"You must have just kept missing me." she shrugged. "I've been busy anyways though so I'm not too surprised."

"Well at least I managed to catch you now. Come on let's go get some breakfast." he said pushing open the door for her to step in first. Penelope gave a small nod and stepped inside. Glancing around, she spotted an empty table and made her way over to it. Off handedly, the knight noticed that Cedric seemed to be walking rather closely at her side. Side glancing at him, it was difficult for her to tell if it was intentional or not as Cedric didn't seem aware of it in the slightest as his gaze focused on the table ahead.

As she slid in across from him, she noticed the male knight studying her with a concerned gaze. "So how have you been?" he asked in an almost surprisingly soft voice. When she gave him a slightly confused look, he let out a small sigh. "I heard about you having... ah... dreams."

Penelope froze for a moment as she realized word must have started to go around about her having nightmares due to her attempts to help Crow. She shifted awkwardly, unsure what to say at first. "I'm alright... I'm going to get help from Tybalt." she mumbled.

"That's good.." Cedric mused then paused before adding. "But hey if you ever need anything, even if it's just someone to talk to, I'm here."

Penelope forced a small smile and nodded her head gratefully, before shifting her gaze away as she hoped he would take it as a sign to drop the subject.
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On the walk to the Great Hall, Crow could tell that Preston was itching to keep asking him more questions about his relationship with Penelope. The attendant was clearly intrigued with his discovery that morning, and though the viceroy believed he wouldn’t go around spreading word of the fact that they were together, he found his off-and-on staring to be annoying. It wasn’t like there was much more to say. Aside from the more personal details of their relationship, the boy knew pretty much everything there was to it; that they had already been together romantically before, and that they were still together now. He didn’t know what else his servant could want to know.

Fortunately, even though Preston was a bit enthralled by the reveal, he didn’t ask any more questions while they were in the halls of the castle. Crow was relieved that he was sensible enough to keep his mouth shut in front of the palace guards. It would have been bad news if anyone overheard them talking and learned about him and Penelope before they were ready to tell everyone, themselves.

It won’t be much longer though, he thought, feeling a bubble of excitement well up inside his chest. His reputation around the castle was already improving quite a bit as the other nobles lost interest in glaring at him all day. They were probably still upset that a thief had been given such a prestigious title by their king, but at least he wasn’t at the top of their lists of grievances anymore. With any luck, it would only be a matter of days or weeks before they finally accepted that he was their viceroy.

His interactions with John had been going better too. While he could tell that Penelope’s father still had reservations about letting him court his daughter, they were at least on good enough terms to have a pleasant conversation. He felt hopeful that as long as he didn’t do anything to set the older knight off again, he would eventually come around. The thought drew an eager smile out of the viceroy. For the first time in his life, he had high hopes that he could be the kind of man a father would give his blessing to. He’d never thought something like this would happen for him.

By the time Crow and Preston reached the Great Hall, Crow had been lost in his head for quite a while. He blinked a bit dazedly when he realized they had made it and looked around the large chamber to see if he could find Penelope. It wasn’t long before he spotted her, and he began to step toward her table. However, he paused when he saw that she wasn’t sitting with Naida. His eyes narrowed involuntarily as they landed on Cedric’s back. He knew he’d told Penelope that he wasn’t going to get involved without a reason, but he still didn’t like how much the other man seemed to follow her around.

The viceroy took a step toward her table and then stopped again. As much as he wanted to get between the two, he didn’t want to risk drawing any more attention to his closeness with the knight than he already had. Joining them unexpectedly for breakfast wouldn’t help him keep their secret. So, with a reluctant sigh, he forced himself to look away from Penelope’s table to find another place to eat.

“Aren’t you going to sit with her?” Preston asked suddenly at his side. The short attendant was looking up at him with his head tilted to the side. “I thought you two were planning to meet up for breakfast?”

“We were,” he shrugged, answering the boy in a low voice. “But I can’t go over there while he’s with her.”

Preston blinked and turned back to Penelope’s table, eyeing her companion with an unreadable expression. “Who is he?”

“Just a friend of hers,” Crow muttered. “But it would look strange if I joined them without a reason.”

“Why?”

Crow turned to the servant with a twinge of annoyance, “Why would I join her for breakfast if we weren’t close? I’m sure he’d like it was strange.”

Preston fell quiet for a moment in thought, holding the viceroy’s gaze with a hint of amusement.

“What?” Crow asked curtly, disliking the boy’s expression.

“Well,” the attendant mused. “He joined her because he’s her friend. Why can’t you join her if you’re also pretending to be her friend?”

Crow stared at him, taken aback by the simplicity of Preston’s solution. Perhaps in his nervousness about getting found out, he’d been acting a little overly cautious lately. There really wasn’t anything strange about joining his “friend” for a meal. Cedric would have to take quite a leap to assume there was anything more going on between them just based on one friendly action.

“I guess you’re right,” he casted the boy a smirk. “I should join my friend for breakfast.” He turned and made his way through the crowd, eager to spend some time the knight in spite of her company.
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Luckily Cedric seemed to take the hint and didn't bother asking any further about the topic. It relieved the knight quite a bit since the last thing she wanted was for him to start asking questions about the dreams she actually hadn't been having. On top of that, Penelope was still trying to act with caution around the male knight, especially after telling Crow that she was going to be careful around him.

"So how's your effort to get the war to end going?" Cedric asked casually switching the topic of discussion.

"Alright. I've got a lot to do." Penelope admitted with a soft sigh. "Oliver Lenz and his wife have offered their help.. Quite a bit actually since they're planning to help throw a party in order to garner support fast."

Cedric whistled. "Sounds likes it's going to be one big party then."

Penelope nodded her head. She was about to respond but she caught sight of Crow approaching their table. She gave him a small smile, glad to see that, despite Cedric's presence, he intended to join her for breakfast still. "Morning." she greeted him as he reached the table.

"Hello." Cedric greeted him as well offering a polite smile as he eyed the viceroy.
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Crow was tense as he approached the table where the others were sitting. Despite his enthusiasm to have more time with Penelope that morning, he couldn’t help himself. After what she’d told him about her past with Cedric, he no longer saw the other nobleman as just another friend in her life. Now, he felt quite sure this knight was trying to get something from her. He wasn’t sure what that something was yet, but no matter what the case may have been, he knew he didn’t trust him.

When Penelope greeted him, he relaxed slightly and returned her smile. Even though he didn’t like the fact that Cedric was with them, he wasn’t going to ruin the time they had left by brooding over it. “Good morning,” he nodded to her, offering a curt dip of his head to the other knight as well as he settled down on the bench beside her. Part of him was tempted to sidle a little closer to Penelope out of protectiveness, but he restrained himself. After all, he wanted to be able to stick to the lie that he’d only come over to spend time with his “friend,” and he couldn’t do that if he gave away how close they really were.

He leaned forward to cross his arms on the table, disregarding his etiquette in favor of comfort after yet another long night. Though he’d wanted to sit here to speak with Penelope, he wasn’t sure what to say right away. His eyes wandered back to Cedric’s face as he wished once again that the other man would quit lingering. But of course, there was no way to get rid of him, so he supposed they would just have to be careful about what topics they conversed about.

“So, what are your plans for today?” he asked, shifting his gaze to Penelope as he attempted to strike up a conversation with her.
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Penelope glanced over at Crow as he settled in besides her. There was a brief silence that followed and she was able to pick up on a bit of tension. While Cedric just seemed unsure how to act around the viceroy, she knew Crow was likely tense just due to his suspicions about the male knight. She let out a quiet sigh and shifted a bit as she tried to figure out how to relax the two a bit. Luckily she didn't have to worry about it too much as Crow spoke up and addressed her.

"Well sleep mainly." she mused with a tired smile. She glanced across as Cedric. "I had a night shift so I'm rather tired." The knight shrugged her shoulders and then looked back to Crow. "Other then that I might try to see if Oliver or Dimia are free to do some planning today. I need to get this party organized as soon as I can."

Cedric looked across the table at her and smirked. "It's going to be a lot of work I'm sure. So when should I be expecting an invitation?"

"Honestly I have no idea yet." Penelope admitted a bit sheepishly. "I've never planned such a thing before so I don't know how long it'll take... I'd hope not longer than a week or two." With such a time constraint, the knight couldn't afford for the party to take any longer than that after all. The month would be over before they even threw the party if it did and by then they would have no chance of convincing the king to change his mind.

"Well from what I know, the Lenz's party quite a bit so I'm sure they'll know for sure." Cedric smiled reassuringly at her. He paused for a moment and then shifted his gaze onto Crow. The reassurance that had been in his expression for Penelope faded and was replaced by a faint smirk. "I'm guessing you and the princess will be going as well right?"
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Crow nodded when Penelope said that she planned to sleep after her overnight guard shift. He wished he could do the same. After four nights of poor sleep in a row, he was starting to feel perpetually exhausted and longed to get some rest. Unfortunately, as long as each of his days was being packed full of tutoring and activities, he doubted he was going to get a chance to nap anytime soon. Well, unless Albin kept his word and gave him a day off in reward for his hard work. Though the king had no way of knowing, he felt like he really deserved a break after putting so much effort into his studies while he was half asleep.

As she went on to mention the party and Cedric spoke up, the viceroy bristled slightly. He disliked how openly the other man spoke about being invited to the event. How did he know he would be welcome anyway? Unless he knows other nobles that will be able to help Penelope, he fought the urge to wrinkle his nose at the thought. If Cedric could be useful in their efforts to convince his father to end the war, then there was no way he wouldn’t be invited. Though he didn’t like it, Penelope was going to need all the aid she could get if she was going to change the king’s mind.

At Penelope’s guess that the party would take a week or two to prepare, Crow nodded again. He hoped it wouldn’t take longer as well. If the event was postponed for too long, he would already be on his way to Gorm by the time the other people in the castle rallied to call for peace. The idea of missing their window just because of a few formalities made him swallow nervously, especially since it seemed like this was their only chance to stop the war. After all, once Gorm agreed to an alliance, there was no way Albin would accept any other option to end the feuding with Younis.

Crow looked up when Cedric spoke to him, a bit confused by the smirk on the other man’s face. Unsure why he looked pleased, the viceroy merely brushed it off. “We will,” he answered, turning to Penelope with a grin. He still didn’t like talking to the male knight much, but he felt pleased with being able to talk about his involvement in her plans. “She’s asked us to help put this whole thing together. Of course, I won’t be able to do much, since I have no idea how nobles put on events like this, but I think we’ll figure it out between the three of us.”
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Penelope didn't catch onto the suggestive undertone of Cedric's words and instead returned Crow's grin with a smile as he answered Cedric's question. She nodded her head as he said they'd be able to figure things out. "I'm sure we will." she agreed before shifting her gaze back onto Cedric. The male knight raised his eyebrow at the two and began to open his mouth to add something else but didn't get the chance to as the servants arrived with their food. She said a brief word of thanks before beginning to eat her breakfast.

Cedric didn't dig in as quickly though and shot the two a smile. "Well that's good." he mused, going onto respond to Crow now that the servants had stepped back from the table. "It'll probably be quite the first party for you too by the sound of it." He looked over at Penelope. "Are you planning on going with anyone?"

Penelope stared at him for a moment, caught off guard by the question. "No, I'm not. I'll be more of a hosting figure after all." she said shaking her head. She paused and glanced subtly at Crow before adding. "Besides it's not like I'm courting anyone right now."

"I know." Cedric shrugged his shoulders. "I just thought you would want to end up as a third wheel."

"Third wheel?" she echoed confusedly. Does he mean to the Lenz's? she wondered. She supposed that made sense but the couple was married and if she was honest, they certainly weren't affectionate enough towards each other to make her feel like she was a third wheel. Plus it wasn't like she planned to hang around them the whole party. It was likely she would barely even seem them since she planned to be advocating for the war's end for most of the night.

Cedric smiled amusedly at her confusion. "Well, yeah. Between the Lenz's and then Collin and the princess, I imagine you'd end up as the ultimate third wheel. Right?" he said with a glance at the viceroy.
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As the servants arrived with the food, Crow turned away from the others to watch them. His nightmares had turned his stomach before, but his appetite was beginning to outweigh the discomfort, so he was just as hungry as he usually was that morning. He tapped his foot impatiently beneath the table as Preston took a moment to test his food for poison. To his relief, the boy was quick, and he stepped away again shortly after setting down his plate, leaving the viceroy to eat in peace.

When Cedric spoke up again, Crow nodded in mild disinterest. Penelope had already told him plenty about the extravagant parties that nobles put on in the inner kingdom, so he knew it was going to be quite the experience. However, at the moment he was more absorbed in the food on his plate. It seemed the kitchen had prepared some sort of sausage with the regular bread and fruit they served in the morning. The meat didn’t taste familiar to him, but whatever animal it had come from, it was delicious.

So, when the male knight spoke again, the viceroy was caught off guard by his question. He snuck a glance at Penelope as she answered, sounding just as confused as he felt. He wasn’t sure where Cedric was going with the discussion, but he had a suspicion he wasn’t going to like it. His eyes flicked back to the other man’s face as he continued to talk, further baffled by his words. What was he talking about, ‘third wheel’? He couldn’t think of any couples she was going to be around at the party.

It all came together when Cedric clarified for them.

“Well, yeah. Between the Lenz’s and then Collin and the princess, I imagine you’d end up as the ultimate third wheel. Right?”

Crow choked on his food at that. He coughed into his fist and hurriedly reached for his drink to clear his throat, trying to ignore the way the other man was staring at him. Cedric thought he and Naida were courting? The thought made him want to grimace in disgust. Even though he’d had a feeling that some of the other people in the castle who didn’t know they were brother and sister would come to that conclusion, it still made him feel nauseated to hear the speculation for himself.

“I’m sorry,” the knight frowned. “Were you trying not to spread word?”

“No, no, no,” Crow shook his head violently and held up his hands. “We are not courting. We’re just… friends, that’s all. Nothing more will ever come of it, I promise you.”
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Penelope's eyes widened at Cedric's words, caught off guard as the knight's confusing words finally connected with his statement. It struck her that the male knight thought he and Naida were courting. Next to her, she heard Crow choke on his food and she turned her head to look worriedly over at him. As he went on to flusteredly deny Cedric's assumption, she gave a confirming nod.

"Yeah it's not like that at all." Penelope agreed with an awkward chuckle. She supposed it was only a matter of time before someone suspected Crow and Naida of being more than just friends but it was still strange for her to hear knowing that the two were actually just siblings. Of course, that wasn't something she could share with Cedric to clear up the confusion.

"Really?" Cedric mused with a hint of surprise. He studied Crow for a moment before giving him a sympathetic look. "Sorry, is it one sided?"

Penelope stifled a snort of laughter. It seemed Cedric was even more misled than she thought possible. She looked over at Cedric as he gave her a confused look and she shook her head. "They're really just friends Cedric." she told him with a small smirk. "It sounds like you've been listening to too much castle gossip."

"Well, it's just that I see them together so much." Cedric pointed out with a small shrug. He casted a look at Crow. "One can only infer something more must be going on. My apologies though."
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Crow averted his gaze, downing a rather large swig of wine in his distaste for the current conversation. If Cedric believed that he and Naida were courting, he wondered how many other people were under the same impression. He wrinkled his nose at the thought of the other nobles gossiping about him and his sister in such a way, wishing he could just tell everyone that they were related to clear up the uncomfortable misunderstanding. Hopefully “courting” was as far as the rumors went.

When Cedric spoke up again, asking if it was “one sided,” the viceroy wanted to rake his hands through his hair in frustration. It seemed that the other man still believed he had feelings for Naida in spite of what he’d said. He was beginning to wonder if there was anything he could say to dissuade the other nobles in the castle from thinking what they wanted about him and his sister. With the way the current conversation was going, it didn’t seem likely.

He glanced at Penelope as she spoke up on his behalf, grateful for a second voice to tell Cedric he was wrong. Unfortunately, even her efforts didn’t seem to be enough as the other knight continued to insist that there must have been something more going on between them.

There is, he thought dryly. We’re not ‘just friends,’ we’re family. He bit his tongue to keep from saying so out loud.

“Gods, no,” Crow shook his head again. “There are no feelings on either side. We’ve got our reasons for spending time together, but I swear to you it has nothing to do with what you’re suggesting.” He quickly turned to Penelope, eager to change the subject to anything else before the other man could reply. “So, when will you be hearing back from those barons on the warfront you’ve written?”
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Penelope gave a small nod in agreement with Crow's words and was relieved to hear the viceroy switch the subject before Cedric could say anymore. With a glance at the male knight, she noticed he seemed a bit disappointed by the subject change but he didn't refuse it and instead began to focus on his food for a moment. She looked back to Crow and shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm honestly not sure." Penelope admitted with a small sigh. "Could be soon but there's also a chance they might not reply at all." She frowned a little at her own words. The knight was trying to remain hopeful that the barons would eventually contact her—she trusted Jonathan to put in a good word for her— but she had already noticed a couple of the nobles she had contacted answer with silence for far. Plus it was always possible that there was a debate going on between the barons. If there was, there was a chance it wouldn't be resolved in time for her to receive the their support.

"How long has it been since you've written them?" Cedric asked, looking up from his food.

"Only a few days." she responded. "I imagine if they wrote back quick enough, I'd hear from them by the beginning of next week."

"Well then you still have some time." Cedric pointed out with an encouraging smile.

Penelope nodded her head and then stretched for a moment, biting back a yawn. Her gaze shifted back onto Crow. "Anyways, what are you up to today? More lessons I imagine?" she asked.
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As Penelope answered his question, Crow studied her face with a frown. He’d been hoping to hear that she was optimistic about hearing back from the barons, but she seemed more uncertain about their responses than anything else. If they wanted to change his father’s mind about the war, they were going to need as much help as they could get. It wasn’t like they could bank everything on the party either. The high ranking nobles they invited weren’t guaranteed to side with them, and if most of them opted to finish the battle against Younis victoriously, there wasn’t much they could do to stop the fighting.

When Cedric spoke again, Crow casted him a sideways glance. He was a bit surprised to hear the knight sound concerned about Penelope’s efforts to end the war, since he’d assumed that most nobles in the inner kingdom didn’t care about the affairs of the border. It was hard to tell if the other man’s feelings were genuine though. After everything she had told him about Cedric, he wasn’t inclined to believe the male knight really wanted to participate in the rally. If anything, it was more likely that he was just using the subject as a means to get something else from her later. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Crow was drawn from his thoughts when Penelope asked him if he was going to have more lessons. He paused for a moment to think, realizing he wasn’t sure what his day was going to hold. While he doubted that his father was going to give him a break this soon, he also wasn’t certain which of his teachers was going to be helping him this afternoon. Most likely, it would be Udolf, since it seemed like John was only going to be guiding his lessons intermittently, but there was also a change that Albin was going to start teaching him about Gorman writing and culture. He tapped his index finger on the surface of the table. For Penelope’s sake, he hoped his father would wait just a little longer, so she would have enough time to earn support to negotiate for peace.

“More lessons for sure, although I don’t know what I’m going to be taught,” he finally replied with a shrug, looking up from the table to meet her gaze. “Hopefully it won’t be anything too dull. I’d rather not further irritate my tutors by falling asleep in the middle of my lesson.”
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Penelope gave a small nod as Crow responded to her question, mentioning how he wasn't sure what was going to be coming for him aside from some type of lesson. Since he had trained with her father the other day, the knight guessed that whatever was in store for him would be much more tame than sparring with the older knight. She couldn't help but also hope it would go by quickly for him. Between the training and nightmares, surely the viceroy was tired from not getting a proper night's rest.

Hopefully it won't be too much longer though.. she thought to herself, reminded of her meeting with Tybalt at supper. Crow might not have held much faith in her getting any answers, but she was still holding onto a strong ray of hope. It'd be harder for her not to, especially after seeing how badly it was affecting him first hand.

Finishing off her breakfast, the knight let out a long yawn and stretched out her arms. "I think I'd better head off. I want to try and get in as much sleep as I can before I have to head off and meet with the Lenz's." she mused as she slowly rose to her feet to leave. "I'll see you later." she said with a small nod to Crow. She hesitated before giving Cedric the same gesture. Unlike Crow, she didn't actually intend to see him later but she didn't want to cause any suspicion by excluding him.

The male knight glanced at Crow then rose to his feet as well. "I'll go with you. At least to the door. I plan to head out for some sparring today." he said quickly, offering Penelope a smile.

She studied him for a moment as she suppressed an amused look. Going off the glance he casted at Crow, it wasn't difficult for the female knight he was hesitant to sit alone with the viceroy. She didn't have any reason to deny him though so she nodded her head. "Alright." she shrugged before turning to Crow and offering him a small smile. "Good luck with your lessons."

As she turned to leave, Cedric moved to follow, only politely dipping his head to Crow before trotting up besides the female knight as they maneuvered their way out of the Great Hall.
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As he continued to eat his breakfast, Crow fought the urge to yawn. It seemed like he was getting more tired with each passing day lately. As long as his nightmare continued to plague him every night, he doubted he could go many more days without passing out from exhaustion. After all, the same thing had happened to him the first time he’d dealt with the incessant dreams. It had been the only restful sleep he’d gotten during the difficult season. He shook his head at the thought. Back then, it had been risky enough for him to fall asleep in the middle of the day, but there was even more at stake while he was living in the castle. He couldn’t let himself give in.

I just have to make it until father lets me have a break, he thought, trying to reassure himself. Surely he could manage that much. Whenever Albin decided to give him a day off from lessons, he could nap to his heart’s content and hopefully be well rested enough to last another while.

Crow lightly bit his tongue, stifling another yawn. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done. It wasn’t even afternoon, yet he could already feel his exhaustion creeping over him from so many poor nights of sleep in a row. He hoped his lethargy wouldn’t impact his lesson with his tutor—whomever that tutor might be—once he finished his breakfast. If he started “slacking off” again, he would pretty much guarantee that his father wouldn’t let him take a break; and if he couldn’t take a break, he was just going to be more tired still. It was a vicious cycle he wanted to avoid if he could.

The viceroy nearly thought he’d succeeded in reigning in his weariness when Penelope suddenly yawned beside him. The contagiousness of it drew out the yawn he’d been trying so hard to suppress, and he brought a hand to his mouth in a vain attempt to hide it, mentally chiding himself for slipping. “See you later,” he murmured, glancing up briefly to meet her gaze before turning away again as he sipped somberly at his drink.

Just as he was about to return his focus to his meal, Cedric spoke up, making him stiffen involuntarily. He fought the impulse to glare at the other man as he announced that he wanted to walk Penelope to the door. Assuming the knight was just trying to squeeze in some time alone with her, he was nearly tempted to force his presence on them too. However, he knew quite well how possessive he would come off if he tried, so he restrained himself, merely dipping his head in an even tempered fashion as the two walked off together.

Of course, he didn’t bother to contain a hostile expression once Cedric turned his back to him though.

Alone at the table, Crow finished off the rest of his plate—though his appetite had come back, he still had to eat slower than usual to keep from upsetting his sensitive stomach—and got up to head back to his bed chamber. Regardless of who his tutor was going to be that day, no one had shown up to the Great Hall to fetch him, so he assumed they expected to meet with him in his room.

So that rules out John, he decided, admittedly relieved that he wouldn’t have to spar with Penelope’s father again so soon. The ache of his bruises was still fresh, so he wanted some more time to recover from their last round before he attempted to face the older knight a second time.

With that thought in mind, the viceroy made his way to the corridor that led to the stairs, apprehensive to find out if he was going to be taught by Udolf or Albin that afternoon.
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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."
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When Crow got back to his bedchamber, he was relieved to see that it was Udolf who was waiting for him inside. His father may have been planning to rush his education, but at least he wasn’t starting today. He hoped that meant Penelope would have a full month to make her preparations. If the old man was still teaching him written Missenar, that probably meant Albin didn’t think he was ready to begin learning about Gorman writing… didn’t it? A ripple of doubt passed through his mind as he entertained the possibility that the king had just been too busy to take over his lesson today.

He could be making preparations of his own to send me to Gorm, he thought with a wince. From the little he knew of his father, he could tell that the man wasn’t one to sit back and twiddle his thumbs when there was work to be done. It was likely that the king was already doing whatever he needed to arrange the trip for his son. After all, he’d said he would give him a month at the most. Surely if he could send his ambassador sooner, he was going to do so. Crow shivered at the possibility that he could still leave the castle before Penelope finished gathering support. For her sake, he needed to stall as much as he could.

“Good, you’re here,” Udolf grunted with a gesture toward the table by the window. “Sit. We have much to cover today.”

“More writing?” Crow ventured, complying with the tutor’s instructions by plopping himself down somewhat ungracefully in the cushioned seat. He might have tried to move with a little more grace, but with the turmoil in his head and the weariness in his body, he didn’t feel like putting in the effort today. He just hoped the old man wouldn’t see his uncouth behavior as a reason to make him practice his etiquette again.

“Yes,” Udolf answered curtly. “And I have another book for you to beginning reading through when we’re done with the lesson.”

Great, the viceroy groaned inwardly. He was having a hard enough time staying awake as it was. If he tried to focus on reading a book until supper, he felt certain it was going to be nearly impossible for him not to nod off. “Alright,” he said, refusing to give away his frustration to the old man. “What will I be writing today?”

“I have a few paragraphs for you to copy,” the tutor responded, unraveling a scroll on the table for his student to look at. “Pay close attention to the spelling of the words, and try to see how the sentences follow the grammatical rules I’ve been teaching you. When you’re finished with that, I’ll have you compose some writing of your own, so you can begin to practice following the rules without the help of looking at them first.”

“Okay,” Crow nodded, though his head already felt like it was swimming from the information he’d been given. He could tell his lack of sleep was catching up to him, and he hoped it wouldn’t affect his performance too noticeably. I’ll be fine, he thought stubbornly, picking up the quill on the table and dipping the tip into the inkwell. It’s just one lesson. I can do it.

With renewed determination, the viceroy read through the paragraphs Udolf had given him and began to carefully copy them down on a blank piece of parchment.

--

The writing lesson took most of the day, and by the end of it, Crow felt tempted to lay his head down on the table and sleep where he was. However, despite his exhaustion, it seemed that he had done fairly well. Udolf was pleased, even though it had taken him more times than he was proud of to successfully compose his own sentences without any grammatical errors. The tutor had made him repeat the exercise until he managed to write an entire two paragraphs perfectly, and he was relieved when he was finally given permission to read the new book he’d been given.

Unfortunately, when Udolf handed the book over, Crow saw right away that it was going to be difficult to go through it without falling asleep. It was titled “The History of Missenia” and was apparently about the kingdom that had once been the foundation of Brerra and Younis before they had split into two separate entities. The tutor explained that he believed the book would kill two birds with one stone by helping him advance his reading comprehension and educate him about Brerra’s history at the same time.

Crow didn’t see why it was important to learn about a land that no longer existed but, not wanting to receive another lecture about the importance of history, he kept his mouth shut.

The viceroy settled down on his bed to read the dull book, expecting Udolf to sit at the table as he always seemed to do lately. Instead, the tutor surprised him by gathering his things and heading for the door.

Curious, the viceroy rested the book on his chest and watched the old man walk away. “You’re not staying this time?” he asked and then bit his tongue. If Udolf had simply forgotten to stay in the room with him, he didn’t want to remind him, but it was too late to take the question back now.

“I have other matters to attend to this evening,” the tutor replied vaguely, turning back to meet his student’s gaze. “If you really think you need a babysitter, I’m willing to watch you though.”

Crow rolled his eyes, “I’m perfectly capable of reading on my own.”

“Then I’ll leave you to it,” Udolf nodded. He paused for a moment before speaking up again, “Just so you’re aware, the king will be guiding your lesson tomorrow, so you’ll need to go to his chamber in the afternoon.”

Crow froze. So, his father wasn’t prolonging his studies after all. “He thinks I’m ready to move on already?” he queried tentatively, casting the old man a frown. “It took me hours just to write a couple paragraphs in Missenar without making any mistakes. I hardly think I’m prepared to start writing a second language.”

“I don’t know what the king has planned for you,” Udolf’s voice sounded mildly impatient. He was probably getting tired of answering the viceroy’s questions. “Just try not to be late.” With that, he turned and headed out of the room, leaving his student behind to finish his lesson on his own.

As soon as the door shut, Crow let out his breath in a sigh and picked up his book again. If his father was trying to push him to get ready for the trip to Gorm faster, there was nothing he could do to stop him. So, deciding there was no point in getting worked up about it, he tried to focus instead on reading about Missenia, hoping the distraction would ease his worries about the looming date of his departure.
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The three sat together brainstorming basic necessities for the party. Dimia, as expected, had quite a few suggestions for different musicians as well as decor. The noblewoman had organized a list of various ideas, dealing with themes, food choices, and more. The knight ended up feeling a bit bad about not being able to offer more of an opinion on the options that she presented. Despite the amount of parties she had been to, usually she didn't pay much attention to the trivial things, aside from the food that she was able to enjoy. In the end, both her and Oliver were a bit overwhelmed with the information so Dimia suggested arranging a day for them to sample different things in person for the party. They easily agreed and left the arrangements for that in her complete control.

For the meantime, Oliver and Penelope focused on discussing finances as well as how they'd go about bringing up the need for support. She had to give the vassal quite a bit of credit. He seemed to have thoroughly mapped out the party as far as finances went and was generous enough to cover it. Although, she did catch him slyly mentioning that she could repay him one day. What that meant was difficult to say but he didn't demand money up front so she didn't question it.

"Anyways, as far as getting everyone's support, I believe it only makes sense for you to give a speech." Oliver explained.

Penelope blinked and shifted a bit. She had talked in front of crowds only on a small handful of occasions and most of them were during her time serving as a lieutenant in which the crowd was all of lower rank than herself. The thought of giving such an important speech at a huge party filled with nobles of higher rank than herself made her a bit nervous. "Me? S-Shouldn't it be you or maybe Naida? You two are both more of the host than I am.. Besides more people would likely listen to you two." she pointed out.

"This party may have been our idea and Naida may have a higher title, but ending the war on peaceful was your idea." Oliver pointed out.

"Plus Oliver's not good at public speaking." Dimia said a bit ruthlessly, making the vassal shift his gaze away. "Surely you can handle one speech."

"I guess I can try.." Penelope gave a sigh. "I could use some help figuring out what to say though."

"I can assist you with that." Oliver nodded.

Penelope dipped her head gratefully and then glanced towards the window. The three had spent all day speaking about their plans for the party that she almost hadn't realized how late it was getting. Supper was likely starting which meant she had to get going in order to speak with Tybalt. Not wanting to miss the guard captain again, she slowly rose to her feet. "I think we've covered enough for one day. We should all get some supper and work on it more tomorrow." she said.

Dimia nodded her head in agreement. "I'll start reaching out to people about setting this up. We'll visit you once we have a bit more figured out."

"Until then, feel free to visit me at any time to go over speech ideas." Oliver added.

"Thank you. I will." Penelope agreed before moving to open the door. She let the couple exit first before heading out of the room as well and making her way with them to the Great Hall. The knight let out a large yawn as she walked at a somewhat slow pace despite her rush to get Crow answers. After a night shift and few hours of sleep, she wanted nothing more than to lay down, her weariness dulling her hunger. However, she couldn't afford to sleep until the next day as unfortunate as it was.

As she stepped inside, her gaze flickered around the tables until she spotted Tybalt sitting alone. The captain had already spotted her and gave a subtle wave of his hand, gesturing for her to come over. Penelope took in a breath, praying to the gods that he would have a solution for Crow, before making her way over to join him.
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“Collin.”

Crow startled at the sound of a voice and the feeling of a hand on his arm, opening his eyes to see who was in his bedchamber. He couldn’t remember when he’d fallen asleep, but the open book on his chest indicated that he must have nodded off sometime after he’d started reading. For a second, he felt a sharp wave of fear that Udolf had come back to check on him and had caught him sleeping instead of working. However, his worries were quickly laid to rest when he recognized Preston standing at his bedside. The attendant was watching him with a look that he found difficult to read, but it almost seemed like he was relieved about something.

“Supper is ready,” the boy said softly. He paused for a moment before adding: “But… if you want to keep resting, I can wake you up again later.”

“No,” Crow yawned broadly, stretching his slightly stiff limbs. “I’ll get up.”

“Alright,” Preston dipped his head and stepped away from his bedside to give him room.

Crow set his book aside and sat up on the mattress, blearily rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm. He supposed that, even though he’d tried hard not to let his exhaustion get the best of him, he must have been too tired to keep fighting. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that. On one hand, he was worried that he was going to start getting into a habit of passing out during the day when he needed to stay awake. On the other hand, this was the most well-rested he’d felt in days. He might not have slept for long, but without any nightmares to torment him during his nap, he finally had a bit of energy again. He’d nearly forgotten how good it felt to wake up so refreshed.

Climbing down from his bed, the viceroy bent over to put on his boots in preparation to leave for the Great Hall. In addition to feeling more energetic than usual, his appetite was returning to its normal strength as well. His stomach growled in anticipation of the delicious food the castle servants had cooked today, and he swallowed as his mouth began to water at the thought of spiced venison, vegetables, and whatever else Preston could fit on his plate.

Crow was so caught up in his imaginings that he didn’t realize the attendant was still watching him until he stood upright again. He casted the boy an estranged look, “What is it this time?”

“Well,” Preston hurriedly averted his gaze, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. “I noticed this morning… It seems you’ve told Penelope about what’s going on with you lately. At least, that’s what it sounded like when she was talking to you…”

Crow hesitated for a moment and then shrugged, “If you’re trying to say I should tell you too, it’s not going to work. I did tell her, but only after she pestered me about it for a whole day.”

“I could do that too,” the attendant said bluntly.

“You’d better not,” the viceroy snorted.

“I don’t understand why you’re being so secretive about this,” Preston sighed, folding his arms over his chest with a frown. “I only want to be part of it so I can help you. If you’d just tell me, I wouldn’t have to spend each morning wondering what kind of state I’m going to find you in when I get to your room.”

Crow paused again at that, pursing his lips in thought. He despised the idea of telling anyone else why he was having nightmares, but he supposed the boy did have a point. Whether he liked it or not, it was Preston’s job to tend to him throughout the day. The servant had to be feeling stressed when his master was facing some sort of trouble that he didn’t understand.

“I’ll think about it,” he muttered, slipping his book into his tunic pocket and turning toward the door. Noticing the attendant perk up, he rolled his eyes. “Don’t get your hopes up, kid. That wasn’t a yes.”

“But it wasn’t a no either,” Preston pointed out, tagging along at his heel. “I promise, if you’re willing to share it with me, I won’t let you down.”

“I know,” Crow exhaled. “It’s just not something that’s easy for me to talk about in the first place.”

“I understand,” the attendant nodded. “For now, you just think about what you want for supper, so I can bring it to you. We can talk about it later.”

“I still haven’t said yes,” Crow reminded him, although he couldn’t help the amused smirk that tugged at his lip. Though the boy was nosy, there was something about his persistence that the viceroy found droll.

Preston just shrugged in response as they headed into the corridor, making their way to the Great Hall for dinner.
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Penelope sat down across from Tybalt, shifting nervously. Now that she was finally about hear what the guard captain had to say, she felt a fresh wave of worry wash over her. What if Crow was right and he actually didn't have any solution? What if he did but they wouldn't work for the viceroy just like Eldon's solutions wouldn't have worked for him? If Tybalt didn't have anything to help Crow, then she would have reached a dead end and she honestly wasn't sure there was anyone else to turn to after that.

"Glad to see you could made it." Tybalt mused as he took a small sip of his wine and breaking through her clouded thoughts of worry. "Hopefully I'll be able to help you."

"Hopefully." she said with a weak smile.

He nodded and then paused as he glanced towards one of the servants walking past with a plate of food before looking back to Penelope. "Before we get into it, I have to ask, how often do these.. dreams, occur?"

"Every night." she answered shifting her gaze away from his and stifling another yawn. She supposed the one good thing about her weariness was that it likely further sold her claims of nightmares to Tybalt. "They didn't start right when I got back from the warfront though.. It took a while. At first I thought it was just a coincidence but then they kept coming back. Always the same one too."

"That's how it is." Tybalt admitted with a heavy sigh.

"So you've gone through this too?" she asked curiously.

The captain's gaze darkened but he nodded his head solemnly. "I have.. I prefer not to get into the details though." he grunted. He paused as two servants returned with their plates of food. Tybalt waited for them to leave before addressing Penelope again, "Instead let's focus on giving you some options that'll hopefully work."

"Right.. So what can I do?" she asked, unable to keep out the eagerness from her voice before taking a bite from her food.

"Well for starters, I recommend intense training and rigorous exercise. That's what helped me the most." he explained. The female knight gave him a confused look, unsure how training would possibly help with a problem that was stuck in someone's head. Tybalt seemed to notice her confusion and his stoic expression broke for a brief moment as the corner of his lip twitched upward into a slight smirk. "My theory is that if you tire the body the mind will follow. When I was having my..dreams, I put all my focus into my training in order to distract myself when it started to affect more than just my mornings. Once I did, I noticed the frequency of my dreams take a dip. Plus they seemed not as vivid as before. More like how dreams should be."

Penelope's eyes gleamed at the explanation. This was exactly the type of answer she had been hoping to hear. This was something that was doable for Crow and Tybalt made it sound like it was quite the effective method. "So tiring yourself out will get rid of them?" she asked for clarification.

"I can't say for sure." Tybalt shook his head. "Personally, I think only time can truly help. Plus I've heard different people have varying results. It's possible it could not help lessen your dreams at all."

The female knight's excitement died a bit. While she was still more than happy to have some sort of answer for him, it was a bit disappointing to learn it wasn't exactly foolproof. Still.. It's something. she reminded herself. Focusing back on Tybalt, she poked absently at her food. "Is there anything else you've found that could help it work?"

"Personally, not really." Tybalt shrugged before pausing to take a bite of his food. He chewed thoughtfully and then swallowed before adding, "but I've heard other options from different knights. Some like to spend time clearing their minds before bed, send a prayer to the gods and whatnot... Too many turn to Eldon or drinking though I'm afraid so my answers don't go further then that."

"I see.." Penelope mused with a nod. "I hope something works for me then."

"As do I." Tybalt grunted. He eyed the knight and then let out a long sigh. "If you still have them, there are a few ways to lessen the initial panic from waking up."

The knight looked up from her food with interest at his words. There was a way to deal with the panic too? While she was hoping Crow would be able to get rid of the dreams completely, having a back up plan to deal with the extreme state of panic was in during the morning. Penelope bit back a grin and instead met Tybalt's gaze with eagerness. "What are the ways?"

"Breathing mainly." Tybalt replied. "Taking in a deep breath through the nose, holding it for a few seconds and then letting it out through the mouth. There's probably other ones but that's the one I know."

Penelope nodded her head. "Is there anything else I should know about that might help?" she asked. The knight was already feeling pleased with the information she had gotten from Tybalt but she wanted to make sure she wasn't missing anything. She wanted to get as much as she could in order to help the viceroy.

"I don't think so." Tybalt shook his head. "But if you ever need to discuss other options, feel free to speak with me if these methods don't work. I prefer my guards to not use Eldon's medicines nor alcohol but if it's your last option, then I won't discourage you from using it."

"Thank you." Penelope said appreciatively. She finished off her meal and then slowly moved to take her leave however she paused and glanced back over at Tybalt. "By the way... Do you think it'd be possible for me to take more night shifts instead of the midday shifts you assigned me this week?" As he gave her a skeptical look, she held up her hands defensively. "Not to avoid sleep but just because they tend to be easier for me."

After a moment of silence, the captain conceded with a grumble. "I'll see."

Penelope dipped her head. "Thank you, sir. I'll leave you to enjoy your meal then." she said before turning to head out of the Great Hall. Despite her weariness, there was a small bounce to her step after getting the answers she needed for Crow. On her way out, she glanced around for the viceroy, wondering if he was still eating his supper or if he had already headed to his room. Regardless, she would be stationed nearby so she figured it'd be easy for her to speak with him before the night's end so she focused her gaze back ahead.
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