Mia’s reaction had thrown the knight for a loop. After all that had transpired, Penelope expected to at least be slightly reprimanded by her superior but instead, Mia seemed to just simply brush it off. [i]Perhaps it’s because he’s viceroy now.. [/i]She thought. Though he was her suitor now, she didn’t believe his position would give her any immunity. Or, maybe it had?  Mia was a loyal baroness to the king so it was likely that played a key role in her lack of reaction. The baroness likely felt like her hands were tied in the matter and saw little reason to object to Penelope’s actions since it was all in the past. Satisfied with the conclusion she had come to, Penelope focused her gaze ahead as she returned to where her old tent was. 

Soon coming upon it, she stepped inside. It seemed she had been right in assuming that the tent would remain untouched in her absence. As she walked in, she was surprised to find not only Olivia but Gavin as well. Olivia was quick to note her surprise and grinned mischievously at her friend. “I crossed paths with him on the way to get your dinner.” she explained with a shrug before nodding to the plate of food that was on the knight’s bed. “There’s the food I promised you but it’s probably a bit cold by now.”

The knight rolled her eyes. Gavin’s presence was likely just a way to keep her from asking about how her relationship with Alistair was going. She’d just have to make a mental note to pester her about it the next time they had a moment alone. “That’s fine, honestly I’m starving so I couldn’t careless about it’s temperature.” Penelope said dismissively before looking over to Gavin with a small smile. “I’m glad she ran into you. It’s good to see you again.”

“Likewise.” Gavin said with a small nod. He eyed her with a hint of curiosity. “Although, I have to ask, what’s with the sudden reappearance?”

“Right..” She mused with a knowing smirk. Penelope stepped over to take a seat o the edge of her bed, picking up her food in the process. Settling in, she focused her gaze on her two friends and grinned. “I’m back because the king has officially decided to negotiate for peace with Younis.”

“I’m guessing that party you were throwing went over well then.” Olivia grinned, leaning back on the palms of her hands. 

“That’s great news.” Gavin said with a quiet sigh of relief. “I can’t wait for this to be over.”

Penelope nodded her head in agreement as she stuffed a spoonful of food into her mouth. As Olivia had warned, the meat and vegetables had gone cold from the wait.  The knight didn’t mind much though as most of the flavor still remained and she was more focused on filling her stomach up than savoring it. 

“Sooooo, when’s the king sending out the new viceroy?” Olivia asked curiously. 

“That’s actually the reason why I showed up unannounced.” Penelope explained with a small shrug. “Crow’s on his way to Younis right now. I traveled with him until we reached Wellspring.”

Gavin looked over at her with thinly veiled shock. “I’m surprised that he’s sending him out so soon… I suppose that’s good though. The sooner the war is over the better.” he mused. Despite his words, a faint flash of uncertainty crossed his expression. His look made the knight raise her brow at him questioningly. He shifted a bit and then let out a reluctant sigh. “If he can pull it off. I mean, he’s only been viceroy for around a month now.”

“Oh come on Gavin!” Olivia laughed with a smirk. “This is Crow we’re talking about. He may be new to his position but this also the same man that somehow got you to stop pursuing the woman you were courting and somehow, you even seem to like him now.” she added with a small sneer. Her words earned her a flustered glare from the male knight sitting besides her while Penelope pinched the bridge of her nose. She may have just returned from the castle but it seemed Olivia was ready as always to stir the pot. 

“That has nothing to do with what we’re talking about.” Gavin grumbled.

“Teasing aside, she does have a point.” Penelope said with a half smile. “I think he’ll do fine. He may be new to the position but he’s got enough tricks up his sleeve that I don’t think that’ll be an issue.”

Gavin paused before giving a small nod of his head. “I suppose.”

“Speaking of our favorite former thief, how’s that going between you two?” Olivia asked without even a second thought. “I know you said Naida had started trying to pair you two together. Gods I wish I could have been for that.” She added with a snicker. 

Penelope rolled her eyes at Olivia’s teasing words. “And I thank the gods every day that you weren’t.” she snorted. Nadia’s troublesome actions had been taxing on their own. If Olivia had been part of that mix as well, the knight had no doubt that the two would have gotten caught in even worse situations or discovered through whatever mischief Olivia would had caused in the process. The female knight took a pause to answer the first question. Though the topic would have come up one way or another, she couldn’t help but feel a faint bubble of awkwardness towards announcing to her recently ex-suitor that she was now formerly being courted by the man she had left him for. 

“Naida won’t be a problem anymore though.” Penelope began with a fond smile. “Before we left the castle, we got permission to begin courting.”

“Well that’s disappointing for me. I was hoping I could still bother you with Naida when I got back.” Olivia clicked her tongue before breaking out into a grin. “Good for you guys though. I’m actually surprised your father agreed to it. I never thought he’d willingly give his daughter up to a former thief.”

“Regardless, congratulations.” Gavin mumbled with a faint smile. Surprisingly, the smile didn’t seem forced which made the female knight smile a little broader in return. It was a hopeful sign to her that their time apart had allowed Gavin to come to begin to let go of his feelings for her. 

“Thanks. It’s certainly nice not to have to sneak around for once.” Penelope mused with a smirk as she finished off the last bite of her food. She set the plate aside and looked to her friends with a hint of curiosity. “So, what’s the warfront been like since I’ve been gone. I know you said there was a battle not too long ago in your letters.”

“Well…” Gavin began, exchanging a glance with Olivia. The two knights began to go into more detail about their recent experiences at the warfront. Gavin and Tomas had been successful at keeping Layth from dismantling the rule she had installed to keep the villagers safe. Apparently the loss was not something Layth handled with grace of course and Gavin had noticed that in their more recent battle that Layth had chosen to completely disregard the rule. While it had Mia fuming, Layth found protection from Edward as the baron refused to see fault in his lieutenant.

It seemed that all was normal amongst her camp despite Layth being in a foul mood. Penelope knew she’d have to brace herself when it came time to face her brother at the next meeting. Gavin even offered a word of warning since the lieutenant had even badgered him for information on their time spent working together. While everyone else in the camp seemed to be moving on from the shock of Crow’s sudden rise to power, it sounded like Layth was still very much stuck.  

Other than that, the latest battle had gone better than the last one they had written to her about. The battalion had a fast recovery and was able to use that to their advantage when it came to the battle. That was good to hear, especially since she had plans to persuade the barons into acting defensively until a resolution was reached.  A firm victory would work in her favor much more than a heavy loss. 

After a bit of catching up, the knight began to grow weary as it got later and later. Though she enjoyed this time spent with her friends, the long trip to reach the camp had her spent. With her belly full and having a comfortable place to lay her head right under her, it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her eyes open as Olivia went on about how she had spent some of her time teasing other comrades about Crow’s new position. Luckily for her, Gavin seemed to pick up on her weariness.

“Olivia, we should probably get going. It’s getting late.” He pointed out, nudging the female knight’s side. 

Olivia blinked and then smirked as she caught on to the tired gaze of Penelope. “Yeah, you’re right. Someone’s falling asleep on us.”

“I wish I could argue.” Penelope snickered before letting out the yawn she had been suppressing. Now that she was caught, there was little reason to hide her sleepiness. “But I’m exhausted.”

“Well get some sleep and good luck with facing the rest of the camp tomorrow. Especially your brother.” Olivia smirked as she rose to her feet to leave.

“I’ll see you at our meeting tomorrow.” Gavin said with a small dip of his head. “Goodnight Penelope.”

“Goodnight you guys.” Penelope said with a small wave as she watched her two friends exit the tent. With them gone, she stretched and took a moment to slip out of her armor before laying back on her bedroll. Though the beds at the inn were softer, she couldn’t help but find herself sinking comfortably into the pad. Before falling asleep, she carefully took the necklace off and set it gently down besides her. Her deep green eyes studied the pendant with a hint of fondness before she turned away from it and closed her weary eyes. It didn’t take long for the knight to drift off into a peaceful sleep.