Penelope stepped into the Great Hall and swept her gaze over the room, looking for a familiar and friendly face to sit with. However, it seemed she had either missed them or they had yet to arrive so instead the knight took her seat at an empty table and waited for her breakfast. A yawn escaped her lips and she leaned her elbows on the table as she thought about what she would do that day. She had done as much as she could as far as convincing the king and Tybalt had yet to put her back on schedule for guard duty. Her green gaze drifted towards a nearby window and she drummed her fingers against the table. [i]I suppose I could do a bit of training today... I don't want to get rusty..[/i] she thought.

"Hi," came a soft voice that interrupted the knight's thoughts. "may I join you, Penelope?"

The knight blinked and turned her head to see that Beatrix had approached her. She had nearly forgotten about running into her childhood friend since their meeting at the party had been so brief. However now that Bee had popped back up, Penelope couldn't help but cast her a friendly smile. It wasn't often that Penelope was reunited with her childhood friends, largely because there were very few of them. "Of course, go ahead." she said with a nod to the empty seat across from her. It had been many years since the last time she had properly spoken to Beatrix and was eager to hear how her old friend had been doing. 

"So how have you been? I don't think we've crossed paths in quite a few years." Penelope said with a small chuckle as she looked across the table at the other noblewoman. 

"It has been a while." Beatrix agreed with a polite smile. "I've been well.. How about you? You're a lieutenant now, huh? That's impressive."

"I guess so." Penelope gave a sheepish shrug. "I just got the title a couple years back but honestly I'm still figuring it all out."

"Well I never would have guess that after the way you spoke the other night." Beatrix mused. "Seems like you carved out quite the life for yourself, Penelope."

The knight gave another shrug as she shifted a bit in her seat. "Well what about you? You're married now, right?" she said switching the focus onto her friend, who had yet to say much about her own life. 

Beatrix shifted her gaze away for a moment before nodding her head. "I am.. He's the man my father picked out for me a couple years ago."

"Oh." Penelope mumbled. Her friend's words made her recall the past and how Beatrix had been looking for a more adventurous life. Finding out that her father had still pushed her into an arranged marriage and noting how polite and subdued her childhood friend had become, the knight didn't doubt that Beatrix hadn't been able to break out of her parents strict grasp. It made the knight feel sympathetic to her friend. Her father had tried something similar later in life but Penelope couldn't imagine having to grow up with such restraints. 

Beatrix blinked as she noticed the change of tone in Penelope's voice. "Oh it's not bad." she said waving her hand dismissively. "He's... He's a good man. I know I used to be quite the mess back when I was a little girl—"

"We both were." Penelope corrected with a grin. 

The noblewoman gave a small laugh and nodded her head. "—but I grew out of that phase. Although it looks like you didn't."

"That's rude." Penelope smirked amusedly. "I think you'll find that I'm quite different actually." As the servants brought over her food, the knight continued to catch up with her old friend, trading stories as they enjoyed their breakfast together for the first time in years.