Penelope stood there, reeling from what had just happened. The kiss had been unexpected but thinking back on it now, Cedric had always flirted rather boldly with her in the past. The short time before they began courting, he had pulled stunts before. Certainly not to this extent but enough to make the knight feel even more uneasy about everything that had occurred. She used the back of her hand to wipe her lips, as if the motion could erase the unwanted kiss.

Coming back to herself a bit, she glanced around the party uneasily. The last thing she wanted was for Cedric’s little stunt to have draw attention to them. Luckily it seemed that the eyes that were looking her way were few. That came as a great relief to her. With only a short time before she’d have to give her speech, the last thing she needed was for others to start gossiping about her nonexistent relationship with Cedric. While it might not necessarily look bad at the moment, it would turn away the few ‘admirers’ she had gained that night and might cause them to not support her call to ending the war peacefully.

As she looked around her gaze fell on the second issue that was making her gut turn with guilt. Amongst the crowd she spotted Crow with Preston. Since she was a distance away, she couldn’t tell if the viceroy had seen the kiss or not. Either way she wanted to come clean about it to him. The guilt of letting such a thing slip past her weighed heavier on her than anything else. She may not have consented to the kiss but she still felt like she might have betrayed his trust in her to keep her guard up around Cedric. The knight thought she had been careful enough but apparently she had been wrong. 

While she tried to figure out what to do next, she realized that Crow was already making his way over to her. The knight involuntarily grew tense. Though she intended to tell him about what had happened, she wanted to do so at a better time. He was protective and she worried mentioning anything now would just create problems at the party. Unfortunately, it seemed she wouldn't get the luxury of making that choice. The viceroy moved with a tenseness that didn't escape her gaze and was clearly intent on getting to her. He must have seen after all.

Penelope frowned and lowered her gaze away from him as he finally reached her. She shifted slightly as she felt him place his hand on her back. "Crow I...I'm so sorry." she said in a quiet voice. "..he started talking about courting and what happened earlier..I thought he would just leave at that...I didn't think he'd be that bold." Her words, just like her thoughts, were all over the place about the situation. Realizing it, she shook her head and looked up at him with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry."