[IC] Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow smirked when Penelope asked what his plan was and opened his mouth to tell her that she’d find out later. He enjoyed making others wait instead of just telling them his ideas right away. Perhaps it was a bit melodramatic, but he found it to be fun. However, before he had the chance to speak, he turned to John as the older knight declared that he wanted to know what his plan was as well. The cold look on his face made the viceroy cringe slightly. It was quite clear that the knight still didn’t trust him to be alone with his daughter after what they had done before.

His eyes flicked to Penelope as she tried to defend him and then returned to her father’s face. “Exactly what she said,” he threw up his hands in an innocent gesture as he answered the older knight’s question. “I just need her help to get rid of the guards in the lower wing, that’s all.”

“And why does she need to come to your room to do that?” John growled.

“Because I’m going to have her go through the window with me.”

“What?” John’s anger was broken with a brief flash of confusion.

“Alright fine,” the viceroy sighed. “If you really must know, I’ll tell you my idea. Just know that you’ve taken all the fun out of it for me.” He leaned back against the wall and folded his arms over his chest. “There are several guards posted in the wing where my room is located, but there aren’t any in the hall by my door. So, even if Penelope is seen on the third floor, no one will see her enter my bed chamber. We can just arrive separately to keep from looking suspicious.”

“Why can’t she just meet you in the other wing?” John’s eyes narrowed again.

“I’ll get there,” Crow waved his hand dismissively. “Anyway, I’m going to fashion a cord with the spare linen sheets I’ve seen in my wardrobe, since I’m guessing you don’t have much climbing experience,” he casted Penelope a shrug. “We can use that to get down to the bed chamber below mine. The windows are easy enough to open, so as long as we’re quiet, we shouldn’t wake whoever is sleeping inside.”

He turned back to John with a grin, “After that, we just have to walk into the hall.”

“In the open?” John stared at him.

“Exactly,” Crow’s grin grew more eager. “Except, they won’t realize who they’re looking at.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it,” the viceroy leaned forward. “I look just like my father, and I even have some of his clothes. If I face my back to the guards, they won’t know the difference—especially if another knight they trust confirms that I’m him.” He winked at Penelope. “All she has to do is tell them that I just finished speaking with one of the noblemen in that wing—hence our appearance from a bed chamber—and that I’ve decided to relocate them all to the treasury to protect my wealth from thieves. As long as they don’t see my face, they’ll have no reason to doubt my identity. All I have to do after that is return the jewelry and climb back up to my room alone. No one will ever know I was gone.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope let out a small sigh as her father continued to question Crow. As the viceroy began to explain his idea, she listened with interest. She gave a small nod of confirmation as he mentioned her likely not having much experience climbing. Lack experience, she wasn't sure how well she'd do even if they were using a cord to travel down but trusted his judgement regardless. As he went on to say they'd just have to step out into the hall, she knitted her brow confusedly until he explained that he'd be posing as the king.

While not the safest of ideas, the knight could see how it would work out. And if it did, it'd make the rest of Crow's job rather easy. After all, the guards likely already knew that she and her father were involved in the case so it wouldn't be completely surprising that she was the knight the king had picked to accompany him. It would just be a matter of making sure his real identity wasn't discovered.

"That's not going to work." John snorted. "They could easily catch a glimpse of your face not to mention what you would do if they started to question you. Surely they'll think it a bit suspicious when they didn't see you enter the room to begin with."

"With three guards, they wouldn't want to risk coming off as incompetent in front of their king. With any luck, they won't question orders either." Penelope pointed out to her father. She smirked a little. "And if they do start asking questions, I'll handle it. It shouldn't be that difficult."

John stared at her and shook his head letting out a frustrated sigh. "This is ridiculous."

"It is." Penelope mused in agreement with a teasing glance at Crow before she looked back to her father with a confident smile. "But he's had ideas crazier than this work so I'm certain it'll be fine. You were the one worried about him getting caught."

"Yes and now I'm starting to regret it." John muttered dryly. He studied Penelope's determined gaze for a moment before giving a resigned sigh. "Alright, alright. Just be careful and as for you," he narrowed his gaze at Crow. "this better be your only stupid idea."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow rolled his eyes when John stated that his plan wouldn’t work. He didn’t see why it shouldn’t. As long as Penelope told the guards that he was the king, they would have no reason to accuse her of lying to them about it. Besides, he had heard his father speak enough times to mimic his voice if the knights tried to question him directly. The only thing that could really give him away was his face, which he could easily hide if he pretended to walk in the opposite direction as the nobles. He was certain he could pull it off.

As Penelope defended his idea, the viceroy gave her hand an appreciative squeeze. Even though he knew his plan was absurd, he was glad that she trusted him enough to go along with it. He laughed softly at her teasing look, recalling a few different times when he had dragged her along with his wild schemes. Looking back on it all, he was impressed she was still willing to go along with his ideas. They were often quite risky—one mistake was all it would take for them to get caught—and usually not fully developed until he was already undertaking them.

“That depends on whether your talking about tonight or indefinitely,” Crow shrugged nonchalantly at John’s warning. “In either case, I can’t make any promises.”

“I hope you know that if you get caught, you’re going back to prison,” the older knight said sternly.

“Then I won’t get caught,” the viceroy grinned confidently. “If all goes well, the guards are going to be so surprised by their ‘king’ showing up out of nowhere that they’ll be too flustered to question how I got there in the first place.”

“That’s quite a gamble to make,” John grumbled.

“Yes, but the odds are good,” Crow asserted. “I never gamble unless I feel confident I’m going to win.”

John held his gaze for a moment longer before looking away with a snort.

Taking his silence as reluctant acceptance, Crow stood up from the bed. “Well, if that’s everything, I’m going back to my room. I’ve got a few things to prepare for later.” He turned to Penelope with a smile. “I’ll see you there, love.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope watched as her father argued for a moment longer before finally backing down. Though he was reluctant to step down, she was glad that he hadn't put up too much of a fight against the former thief's plan. Her gaze shifted back over to Crow as he stood up to leave. Since she would be hanging back at first, the knight didn't move to follow him.

"See you soon." she said returning his smile. The knight watched him leave and leaned back on the palms of her hands. Once the viceroy was out the door, a short silence fell between her and her father. John eventually broke it as he studied her.

"So exactly what other stupid ideas has he had?" John asked gruffly.

She looked over at her father and shifted slightly as she recalled some of the other schemes that the thief had done. One in particular had always stood out to the knight more than the others. "Well one time during our time in Younis, he planned to get shot by an archerer." she said with a hint of amusement in her gaze. It really hadn't been that funny at the time but as much panic as the plan had put her through, it had ended up working. "We needed to get him a bow and in order to do that, he needed to lure out the archerer. So he let the knights chase him and when the bowman shot, he caught the arrow with his hand and faked getting hit."

John stared at her for a moment before shaking his head in disbelief. "He sounds insane." he grumbled.

"It certainly wasn't a brilliant plan but it was effective. And with that in mind, I think this plan is rather tame." Penelope mused.

"I suppose." her father sighed. He leaned back in his chair and shifted his gaze up to the ceiling, taking on a thoughtful look. "I know I've been warning him about getting caught but remember that includes you too. If he gets discovered, chances are you will too so just... keep that in mind."

Penelope let out a long sigh. "Of course, father. It'll be fine though. You'll see." she assured. "If it makes you feel any better, I think the gods are on our side." The knight wasn't sure how much that was true nor how much it applied to the current situation—the gods only really seemed interested in preventing whatever threat there was to the two kingdoms—but she hoped it'd be enough to give her father some piece of mind. Even though he was acting rather displeased with the situation she knew it come from a place of concern for their safety.

John's expression grew a bit difficult to read as he took in her words. He gave a small nod but fell silent for a long moment. Assuming that the conversation was done, she moved to stand up, preparing to leave soon. "Penelope," he finally spoke up again, looking over at her with a surprisingly somber expression. "I still intend to hold up my promise to your mother about telling you about her. I really shouldn't keep putting it off but—"

"It's fine father." Penelope gave him a half hearted smile. "I've waited this long, I can wait a little longer... Just don't take forever though, ok?" As he gave a small nod, she smiled a bit more and dipped her head to him. "Thank you. Now then, I better get going." she mused before turning and heading out of the room to begin her walk to Crow's.

[Rogue Sloth]

When he left the Vermillions behind, Crow headed back to his room at a leisurely pace. The night was still young, so he had plenty of time to get ready for the raid without rushing, and he also didn’t want to draw any attention to himself by looking like he was in a hurry. As he walked, he had to bite his tongue to stifle the smile that threatened to take over his lips. While the reason for the backwards heist wasn’t the most cheerful, he was excited to have the chance to use his skills as a thief once again. Of course, he’d never planned to permanently stop using them, but he had assumed that when he took the title as his father’s viceroy, he wouldn’t have any more opportunities to conduct anything this elaborate again. It thrilled him to know he had been wrong.

When he finally arrived at his room, Crow wasted no time in getting ready for his plan. His first move was to take the dagger from his boot and slip it through the door handles of his bed chamber, so no one could walk in on him while he was making preparations. Once he felt like the weapon was securely in place, he stepped over to his bed and emptied his pockets, setting down the jewelry and the book he’d been carrying on the mattress before taking off the tunic he had on. Since he hadn’t been concerned with keeping out of sight while he’d been living in the castle, he hadn’t bothered wearing dark colors as he used to in the outer villages. However, now that he was going to be sneaking out, he wanted to wear something that would let him blend in better at night.

The viceroy made his way over to the wardrobe and sifted through the various clothes inside until he found a deep purple surcoat. He hesitated as he studied the fabric. It was certainly lavish enough to help him pass as the king, but its extra weight might also make it more difficult for him to climb down and up from his window. After a pause, he pulled it down from its hanger. Even though the thick clothing would make it harder for him to move around, the most important thing was for him to avoid getting caught by the guards. He had to use whatever he could to make that happen, even if he was a bit uncomfortable.

Grabbing an undershirt and a black leather belt as well, Crow got dressed and stepped back over to the bed as he contemplated what to do with the stolen jewelry. The surcoat he’d put on didn’t have any internal pockets, and he didn’t want to risk letting them fall from his trouser pockets during the climb down. After a moment, a sly smile crossed his lips, and he picked up the jewelry from the bed. He strung the pendant around his neck, put the bracelet on his wrist, and slipped the rings on his fingers.

Once he had put all of it on, he stepped over to the mirror and let out an involuntary snort. Adorned in the rich clothes and jewels, he looked almost exactly like his father. As long as none of the guards got a good look at his face, he felt certain he would be able to pass for the king. He picked up the comb he had used before his ceremony and straightened out his hair for good measure.

He was just about to begin making the cord to climb down from the window when a knock sounded at the door that made him jump. The viceroy muttered a curse under his breath. If anyone saw him now, wearing the missing jewelry that the entire royal guard was searching for, his plan would be ruined before it could even start. He fumbled to take the rings off his hand, but then relaxed when a familiar voice hissed from the other side of his door: “Collin, it’s me.”

Crow let out a sigh of relief and hurried over to the door. “Get inside,” he said in a low voice, ushering Preston into his bed chamber and closing the door behind him—he made sure to replace the dagger as well.

When he turned around, the attendant gawked at him in unveiled confusion. “What are you doing?” he asked, pointing at the diamond pendant around the viceroy’s neck.

“Playing dress up,” Crow said sarcastically before making his way over to the wardrobe and digging out the spare linens. “Don’t worry. It’s part of the plan,” he said more honestly as he held out a small stack of sheets to the boy. “Help me with these, would you? Penelope is going to be here soon, and I need to make them into cords.”

“Okay,” Preston nodded without further question. He took the sheets and sat down on the floor to start winding them into makeshift ropes.

Crow gathered a couple more and then moved to join him. A short silence fell between them as they worked on fashioning linen cords and tying the ends together. Preston was the one to break it.

“So,” the attendant mused as he tugged on the knot he’s just made. “What are you going to do with these?”

“I’m going to use them to climb out the window,” he answered absently, studying the servant’s work with a scrutinizing gaze. “Tie that knot a little bigger. It needs to be broad enough to act as a grip.”

Preston paused in what he was doing to look up at the viceroy with a frown, “You’re not running off with the jewelry, are you?”

“Of course not,” Crow scoffed. “The noblemen’s rooms are all in the wing below this one. It’s easier to get in from outside than to sneak past every guard in the castle. Now keep tying. I want to get this finished before Penelope gets here.”

“Why is she coming?” the attendant asked, ignoring his orders.

“Because she’s going with me,” the viceroy said impatiently. “Hurry up.”

“You really do fancy her.”

“What?” Crow blinked at Preston, caught off guard.

The attendant was eyeing him amusedly, “You never let anyone else help you, but you’re letting her.”

“You’re helping me right now,” the viceroy pointed out blandly. “Or at least, you’re supposed to be.”

Preston shrugged, “You still seem closer to her than anyone else.”

“I don’t know why you’re so interested in bringing this up,” Crow muttered, tugging on another knot that he had just made. He looked up at the servant with a glare. “Focus on the cords, or so help me, I’m going to strangle you with this one.”

“Fine,” Preston held up his hands in defeat.

The two continued to work in silence as they tied the linens together until they made a length of makeshift rope long enough to reach the window below.

[BuzzingBee]

As she walked down the halls of the castle, the knight couldn't help but think about how her father had brought up speaking to her about her mother. She hadn't pushed it, mainly because there was simply too much else going on in the present to worry about the past, but she had been wondering if he had gone back on his word. To know that John still intended to speak to her about Liliana brought a sense of ease over the knight.

Lost in her thoughts, the knight walked at a fairly casual pace as she made her way to the viceroy's room. Only once she was up the stairs did the knight begin to focus a bit more on her surroundings and what the night had in store. She didn't get too concerned with the guards she passed by, most of them barely even batted an eye at her presence on the third floor, and made her down the corridor. The knight cautiously glanced over her shoulder as she made her way up to the door, making sure she was alone.

Since the hall seemed clear of both guards and servants, the knight headed straight into the room without knocking. Crow was expecting her and she didn't want to draw any attention from the guards just beyond the hall. Slipping inside, she carefully closed the door behind her and then turned around. Penelope blinked in mild surprise as her gaze landed on not only Crow dressed up but Preston as well. Her gaze swept over the tied up linens and she smirked a bit as she stepped further into the room.

"Well looks like you two have been busy." she mused crossing her arms over her chest. Her gaze shifted onto Crow. "Is it ready to go?" she asked curiously.

[Rogue Sloth]

“Try tying that end over here.”

Crow and Preston had finished making the cord fairly quickly and had moved on to figuring out the best place to attach it so that it could support the weight of a person. The viceroy stood by his bed and gestured to the bottom right post, while the attendant dragged one end of the linen over and knelt down to knot it. As he worked on that, Crow stepped back over to the door and closed his eyes, listening to find out if anyone was outside his room. The corridor remained silent.

Guessing that Penelope was going to be arriving at any second, he lifted his dagger from the handles and slid it back into his boot. Though he hoped he wouldn’t have to use it, he felt more comfortable with a weapon at his disposal, just in case the situation turned ugly. Once it was securely tucked away, he turned back to see how Preston was faring.

“Is it on tight?” he asked, crouching down to look over the servant’s work.

“As tight as I can make it with a blackwall hitch,” Preston nodded, giving the cord a sharp jerk to prove his point.

“Looks good,” Crow mused, impressed that the boy had tied it so well. He supposed knot-tying was one of the skills that some palace servants were required to learn. “Now we just need to—”

Suddenly, he flinched and turned to look up at the door as it swung open. At first, he worried that the guards had caught wind of his plan to sneak into the lower wing and had come to stop him. However, his fright was short lived when he realized it was just Penelope. His shoulders fell, and he let out his breath in a quiet sigh, standing up to greet her.

At her observation, he smirked teasingly, “Sorry, love. If you wanted to help, you should’ve come here sooner.” As she asked him if it was ready, he glanced back over his shoulder at Preston, who nodded. “Looks like it,” he confirmed, meeting her gaze again with an eager grin.

“What else do you need me to do?” Preston asked from behind him, standing up as well.

Crow turned to him and shrugged, “Actually, I think we can handle the rest. You should go and get some sleep. The fewer people are missing from their rooms, the better.”

Preston frowned, “Are you sure? I want to help if I can.”

“I’m sure,” Crow smiled at him confidently. “I’ll tell you how it went in the morning. Alright?”

“Okay,” the attendant exhaled, though from relief or disappointment, the viceroy couldn’t tell. He bowed courteously to the others before heading for the door. “May the gods keep you safe,” he murmured on his way out.

“Thanks,” Crow said appreciatively. Even though he wasn’t sure if the gods cared about his little endeavor to return the missing jewelry, it was nice to hear the blessing from his home culture.

As soon as Preston disappeared into the hallway, Crow turned to Penelope with a wink, “Ready to fool some knights and foil a baron’s plans?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small nod as Crow confirmed that they were ready. She watched as the attendant offered to help them further and stood aside as he made his way to the door. The knight gave him a nod as he bowed to them and then stepped back out into the hallway. She looked back to Crow and grinned at his words. "As I'll ever be." she chuckled. "It's certainly something I'm starting to get used to."

Now that they were closer to actually going through with the plan, she felt a hint of nervousness beginning settle over her. After all, there was a lot that could go wrong. Just looking at the tied up linens made her feel a bit of uncertainty as she was far from experienced in climb. She shifted her gaze over to Crow and took in a breath before stepping over to the viceroy. The knight wrapped her arms around him and pressed a kiss to his lips. She lingered there for a moment holding him close. The knight found comfort and reassurance in his touch.

"Just for good luck." Penelope winked at him as she pulled back. Feeling a bit more confident again, she let her arms fall back to her side and turned to look over the makeshift rope that Crow and Preston had crafted. "Alright, so how do I do this?"

[Rogue Sloth]

“At least you’re learning fast,” Crow grinned at Penelope teasingly. They hadn’t even begun the real raid, yet he was already feeling excited about working with her again. It had been quite a while since the last time they had been able to do something like this, and he looked forward to having her by his side again. It was going to be quite different than teaming up with Rikki or Alistair. He’d always known he could rely on the other thieves, but he trusted the knight with his life. Even though he doubted they would encounter anything dangerous in such a simple job, he was glad to know she would be watching his back.

Penelope seemed to share his eagerness. When she moved in to kiss him, he didn’t skip a beat. His arms slipped around her back, and he leaned into her lips with fervor, closing his eyes as he let himself melt into her touch. Between his excitement about the raid and the distance between them lately, the kiss sent his heart racing with new energy. “Well then I think we’re going to be very lucky,” he smirked at her playfully when she pulled back from him again.

At her following question, he stepped over to the cord that laid in a pile on the floor and picked it up in his right hand. “It’s not too hard,” he said, glancing over at the knight. “The most important part is just trusting your body to get you where you want to go. If you don’t think you can do it, it’s much harder to keep from panicking.” As he spoke he took a few steps backward from the bedpost, where Preston had tied the end of the cord, until the linens pulled taut.

“It goes a bit against intuition, but when you climb down a cord like this, you need to lean back and use your arms to hold yourself up,” he instructed, rocking back on his heels and bending his knees to let the rope hold him up. Even though he was standing upright, it was a decent enough demonstration. His mother had taught him the same way when he was young. “When you lean back, your weight will help you keep your footing on the wall without slipping. If you try to lean up because you’re afraid of falling, you won’t have enough traction to hold onto the wall, and you really will fall, so try not to let your nerves get the best of you.”

He stood upright again and turned back to Penelope, “I’ll go first, since I need to open the window underneath us, so you can watch me to get a better idea of it.” He began to gather the rest of the cord in his arms, preparing to lower it through his own window. “Do you think you’ve got a basic understanding of it?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope eyed the cord as Crow picked it up in his hand. Her gaze then shifted onto the viceroy as he began to demonstrate the proper stance. The knight paid close attention to his posture, wanting to take it to memory as much as she could in the brief moment she had before she'd have to copy him. It looked and sounded simple enough now but she had a feeling that once she was dangling out of the third floor window, it would be quite difficult.

While she wasn't particularly scared of heights, she also wasn't used to them. Being so high up and counting on herself to keep from falling, the knight could already feel her nervousness bubble inside her again. Forcing the feelings of unease down, she gave him a small nod as he prepared to lower the cord out the window. "I think so... Luckily I think I've got just enough upper body strength to get me where we need to go." she said with a slightly forced smirk.

She stepped over to join him by the window as he prepared to lower the cord out. Against better judgement, the knight eyed the ground below. Since it was already so dark, she could barely even make out how far down the ground was. The tower above the wing blocked out the moonlight, leaving the area covered in shadows. She supposed it would give them the cover they needed but it made the thought of climbing down all the more ominous. Realizing she had frozen for a moment, she quickly broke herself out of her trance and looked over to Crow after had finished lowering the rope.

"Alright... Let's get this over with." she exhaled, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Penelope took a small step back to allow him room to go first, giving a grand wave of her hand as she smiled over at him. "After you."

[Rogue Sloth]

“It also helps that climbing down doesn’t take as much upper body strength as you’d expect,” Crow added as he walked over to the window. Undoing the simple latch that held it shut, he glanced back at the knight with a reassuring smile. “A lot of your weight will be on your feet, so you just have to focus on holding the cord. It isn’t too strenuous.”

Once the window was open, he turned back to it and carefully began to lower the loose end of the linens over the edge, snaking them down to the window below while being careful not to let the sheets slap against the glass. It would have been trouble if he made any noise and woke whoever was sleeping in the bedchamber below his, so he moved the makeshift rope slowly. Fortunately, it didn’t swing very much, so he managed to keep it from rapping on the window.

Once he was finished, Crow turned to Penelope to tell her to give him some space to climb down, but then paused as he caught sight of her face. She looked a bit pale to him as she peered over the ledge, and he wondered if she wasn’t as confident about climbing down as he’d thought.

When she took a step back and gestured for him to go first, he hesitated, studying her contemplatively. Instead of moving toward the open window, he stepped over to her and wrapped his arms around her back, leaning down to press a passionate kiss to her lips. He lingered for a moment before pulling back to meet her gaze with a soft smile. “You’ll do just fine,” he murmured, gently brushing her hair from her face. “And you don’t have anything to worry about. I’ll be right below you the whole time. I’d never let you fall.”

The viceroy touched another quick kiss to her lips and stepped back toward the window. “Right. It looks like it’s my turn then,” he peered over the window sill for a moment before lifting his right boot onto the ledge and hopping up. Having pulled stunts like this his whole life, he’d developed a good head for heights and wasn’t bothered by the steep drop. He knew he wouldn’t fall.

As he perched on the sill, he suddenly had a new appreciation for the clothes he’d chosen to don for the raid. There was a chill wind blowing that night, but beneath the thick layers of clothing, he could scarcely feel it.

He crouched down on the ledge to pick up the cord, grasping it firmly in both hands as he carefully turned around to face the room. He left a little room for the linens to fall slack and casted a wink at the knight. “See you at the bottom, love,” he said just before falling backward off the edge of the window.

As he fell, the cord pulled taut, and he tightened his hold on the linens to keep from losing his grip against the sudden jerk. The knots that he and Preston had tied at repeating intervals offered support for his hands, and once he was stable on his feet, he used them for help as he began to work his way down toward the lower window. He moved with caution, but it wasn’t difficult to reach it. The weathered surface of the wall provided plenty of traction for his boots, and the grips on the cord were close enough together that he could switch from one to the next with ease.

When he was just above the window, he paused to glance down at the remaining cord below him. He gauged its length for a moment and took a steeling breath. The next part was the riskiest, as well as the reason why he had elected to go first. Adjusting his hold on the cord, he wrapped a layer around his left hand to make sure it was secure and then leaned up, letting his feet fall away from the wall. However, instead of dropping, he moved in a controlled manner to prop his boots on the large knot at the bottom of the rope, using his abdominal muscles to keep himself from flailing in the air. He managed to land gracefully without slipping.

Crouching down on his heels, Crow reached into his boot with his right hand and withdrew his pick lock key. He took a moment to peer through the window, making sure the occupant was still asleep, before he gingerly slid the needle-thin tool through the crack between the window panes and dragged it upward to pull open the latch on the inside. In the next moment, a quiet click sounded, and the window popped open, admitting the viceroy inside.

He smirked to himself and lifted the key to his mouth. Putting the metal tool between his teeth, he brought his right hand back to the cord and silently eased himself onto the window sill. As soon as his boots were on a solid perch, he let go and dropped down into the bedchamber without a sound.

Once inside, he checked to make sure he hadn’t woken anyone—the man in the room was still snoring soundly—before he leaned his head out the window and looked up, gesturing for Penelope to come down with him.

[BuzzingBee]

She waited for him to go and was a bit confused when she saw him hesitate. For a moment, she wondered if something was wrong but didn't question it for long as he stepped over to her instead and wrapped his arms around her. The knight blinked, slightly caught off guard, and was a bit tense at first due to her nerves. However, she was quick to ease into the kiss, closing her eyes as she returned his passion. As he pulled back she met his gaze and gave a half hearted smile in return.

At his comforting words, she gave a small nod and leaned in to meet his lips as he pressed one more fleeting kiss to them. Though they didn't completely relieve the nervousness that she felt, his words did ease her concerns a bit. After all, the knight trusted him with her life and if he said he wouldn't let her fall, she believed him. At least, she believed he'd do everything he could to make sure she wouldn't.

Watching him step up onto the ledge, she silently studied the way he gripped the linens and let little room for slack. Her gaze lifted back up to his face as he casted her a wink and she gave a small smile. "See you there." she agreed and watched with a small gulp as he allowed himself to fall backwards. Once he disappeared from her sight, she quickly moved up to the window too look down below. Mindful of the rope besides her, she leaned on the window sill to watch as Crow began his descent to the window below.

Though she tried remained focus on his posture and movements, the knight couldn't help but find it impressive and nearly amusing how easy he made it look. Though she could tell he was still being cautious, he traveled down the side of the building in what she considered to be a rather graceful manner. She supposed it shouldn't have impressed her as much as it did considering the thief could have likely even done it without the rope, but it had been quite a while since she had seen him put his skills to use.

She watched as he maneuvered in front of the window and picked the lock. It was difficult to see his actions clearly due to the distance but it clearly didn't take him long to get the window open as in the next moment he eased himself into the room. A smirk crossed her lips as all seemed to be going well so far. However, her smirk quickly faded as she saw him poke back out of the window to gesture to her, unfortunately meaning it was her turn.

The knight sucked in a breath and hesitantly moved to climb up on the window sill. Thinking over how Crow had taken the rope in his hands before, she tried to mimic it to the best of her memory. Shifting closer to the edge, she felt her legs grow a bit weak from the anticipation of leaving the safety of the window sill. It took quite a bit of self control not to look down and she paused for a moment, finding it difficult to bring herself to fall back. Come on... He's waiting for you so just suck it up and—

Go! Penelope forced herself off the ledge with a death grip on the rope. Trying to copy the move Crow had done when the linens pulled to a taut, her boots scrapped uneasily against the wall as she tried to find her footing. Luckily, she did and fell still for a moment as she took in her new position. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she had to constantly remind herself not to lean forward despite how every instinct she had was telling her to.

She slowly and stiffly began to make her way down towards the window, keeping her gaze focused on her feet and where she was placing them. Each step was filled with caution and perhaps some over thinking. Feeling a bit uncertain of herself, any slight scrap or unevenness in her step made the knight tense up for a moment. And what certainly didn't help was how long her descent felt to her. She'd occasionally glance towards the window and nearly felt like it kept getting farther away.

Despite her misconception, she eventually reached the window and felt a surge of impatience to get back on solid ground. Too eager to ease herself into the room and inexperienced , she maneuvered a bit clumsily to set herself down on the window sill.

[Rogue Sloth]

As Penelope readied herself to climb down the wall, Crow found himself holding his breath with anticipation. He was confident that she could make it, but since she had never done anything like this before—at least, not to his knowledge—it was more dangerous for her than it had been for him. He had the practice and know-how to keep himself from falling if he lost his footing, but she wouldn’t have the same skills or level head when making her way down a vertical surface. He wouldn’t admit it to her out loud, but he was a little worried that she might slip and cause herself to panic.

When he had been a kid, his mother had taught him to climb by having him practice on short walls that were low enough to the ground that if he fell, he would just get the breath knocked out of him. Of course, being young and reckless, he had lost his footing a number of times before he was able to make it from top to bottom without any mistakes. He just hoped that since Penelope was more mature than he had been at the time—and, if he was honest, more mature than he was even now—she would have the sense to be more careful. Regardless, he still watched her closely, his body tense as he prepared to catch her if she did fall.

Fortunately, even though the knight moved more stiffly than he did, she managed to get down the wall without losing her footing, and he let out his breath in a silent sigh of relief.

When she reached the window sill, Crow reached up to take her by the hand and guided her down into the room. He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek and squeezed her hand before letting go again. “That was great,” he whispered in her ear, casting her a fond smile in the dark. “And you don’t even have to worry about climbing back up later.”

Gently, he touched her arm to lead her quietly though the snoring nobleman’s room, making his way toward the door. Though he knew he could have crept past a lighter sleeper just as easily, he was glad they had been lucky enough to land in the bedchamber of someone in such deep slumber. Getting around him was much less stressful than creeping by someone who would wake at the creak of a floorboard. As long as neither of them bumped into anything, he knew they wouldn’t disturb the soundly sleeping man.

When they reached the door, the viceroy paused in front of it and leaned down to murmur to Penelope, “When we step outside, we need to head in opposite directions. I’ll walk away from the guards like I’m on my way to speak with someone else in this wing, and you go straight to them like I just gave you an order to relay.” He smirked at her wryly. “As long as we both act like we belong and don’t give them a reason to suspect us, I’m sure they won’t question anything.”

Without further delay, Crow turned back to the door and gripped the handle. He took a moment to envision the regal posture his father always took when he walked through the castle, squaring his shoulders to mimic it to the best of his ability. Once he felt confident that he had copied it well, he pulled open the door, imitating the king’s surefooted gait as he stepped into the hallway.

[BuzzingBee]

Feeling Crow take her hand, the knight relaxed a bit as he guided her into the room. As soon as she was down from the rope, her legs felt weak with relief. Penelope felt him press a kiss to her cheek and she let out a breath that she had been holding in. Faintly making out the smile he casted her in the dark, she returned it with a small one of her own. "Thank gods." she muttered under her breath as he pointed out that she wouldn't have to worry about climbing back up.

She felt him touch her arm and followed after him as he began to lead the way through the room. The nobleman was clearly fast asleep by the sound of his snoring so the knight figured that slipping out of the room would be even easier than she had originally thought. Sneaking around was something the knight was a little more used to, especially after being with the former thief. Though not as skilled as him, she considered herself to be rather decent when it came to being stealthy. Still, she was careful with her movements as she followed the viceroy to the door.

As they came to a stop at the door, she listened as he gave her instructions. "Right." she murmured with a firm nod. This next part of their plan could get a bit tricky for her, especially if any of the guards started asking any questions, but she figured as long as she feigned enough confidence that it would go well enough. After climbing down the side of the building, tricking a few guards currently sounded much easier to the knight.

She stepped out after him as he opened the door, dipping her head to him respectfully as if responding to an order. Turning her head she focused on the three guards, who were all staring over at her with looks of bewilderment and question. Clearly the two emerging from the rooms had caught them off guard and one eventually stepped forward to meet her halfway.

"Evening." she greeted with a polite nod. "The king wants you three to move to the treasury."

"What? Why is the king even here?" the first guard questioned confusedly and exchanged a look with the second guard besides him.

"He's visiting the nobles here in hopes to ease their worries about the thieves striking this area again." she mused glancing over her shoulder at Crow before looking back to the guards. She was about to explain the reasoning behind it but didn't get the chance to.

Before she could say anything more though the third guard piped up with a narrowed gaze. "Where did you even come from? I didn't see even enter this hall."

Having been expecting the question, she raised an eyebrow at him. "We came down this hall... Are you saying you missed us?" she questioned him with a small frown. "I won't mention your slacking to the king but please be more alert next time."

The third guard shifted and glanced towards Crow briefly before looking back to her. "Well.. I uh.." he looked to the other two guards for support in his claim but neither spoke up as they seemed unnerved by how close their 'king' was.

Penelope let out a sigh. "Well it doesn't matter now. Just be glad it wasn't a thief." she mused shaking her head disappointedly. "Anyhow, you three need to go to the treasury. His majesty doesn't want to chance a thief getting in there and needs the extra guards."

"Right. We'll leave immediately then." Seeming thoroughly embarrassed, the third guard was quick to agree to her words now. She bit back a smirk of amusement and gave a nod of approval. The other two guards didn't put up a fight, likely afraid of coming across as incompetent as the third had, and nodded their heads in agreement. With a dip of their head, they turned and began to head off to the treasury. As they disappeared from sight, a victorious grin spread over her lips and she turned to look over at Crow.

"Well, I think that was nearly too easy." she mused quietly as she stepped over to him. Penelope gave him a playful wink and then glanced around the now empty hall. "While you sneak into the rooms, I'll stick out here just in case anyone else comes this way."

[Rogue Sloth]

When he stepped out of the room, Crow caught sight of the three guards in the corner of his eye and turned immediately to his right to walk away from them. He was careful to set a pace that was slow enough to keep close to Penelope, yet just purposeful enough that he would look like he had somewhere else to be. It seemed to work as he heard the guards speak to their female comrade from behind. They sounded flustered at first, but quickly accepted that they were looking at their king, just like he’d hoped they would.

As soon as the guards were out of sight, he doubled back toward the other side of the hallway, matching Penelope’s grin with one of his own. “You’ve gotten good at this,” he agreed when he reached her side. “They had no idea you were lying to them.”

When she said she would wait for him in the hall, he nodded. “Alright. I’ll make it quick.” Leaning down, he touched a quick kiss to her lips and then turned to keep walking down the corridor, marking out which doors were which in his head. Fischbach is three doors down on the left, then Christopher is two doors after that, and Baltac is the last, he recited silently. Coming from the opposite direction as the Vermillions had directed him, that meant he should start with Baltac, who was six doors from the far end of the hall on his right-hand side.

When he reached the indicated bedchamber, he casted one more look around for good measure and slipped soundlessly inside. The interior of the room was pitch black, and the viceroy had to linger by the entrance for a moment as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. As he did, he could see the sleeping form of the man known as Baltac, alone in his bed. The noble’s chest rose and fell slowly, a good sign that he was still deep in slumber.

Silently, Crow crept over the wooden floor of the bedchamber, following the edge of the wall as he searched for a decent place to drop off the diamond pendant. He wanted to leave it in a spot where it would be easily noticed, but not so obvious that it would look like it had been intentionally placed there. His fingers trailed gently over the surfaces of furniture until he found a dresser with a mirror, not unlike his own. The glassy surface caught the moonlight, reflecting it off the pendant that dangled from around his neck and causing it to glitter in the low light.

The viceroy looked over the surface of the dresser until he spotted a collection of other jewelry strung up on a wooden stand. He smirked to himself and carefully took off the pendant, adding it to the rest. Hopefully when Baltac awoke in the morning, he would see it with his other valuables and assume he had missed it somehow when he’d thought it had been stolen.

With the first piece of jewelry returned, Crow snuck back toward the door and stepped into the hallway again. This time, he kept his right eye closed as he headed for Christopher’s room. It was another trick he’d picked up to work faster at night. If he was going to be dipping in and out of brightened spaces, he could save himself the trouble of letting his eyes adjust to the dark if one already was. It allowed him to keep moving without stopping every time he entered a room with no light.

It worked well in this case too. As he closed the door behind him, he opened his right eye and closed his left, looking over the bedchamber in search of Christopher’s dresser. He found it easily enough and set the bracelet down with the nobleman’s other valuables, just as he had done in Baltac’s room. Once it had been replaced, he slipped back into the hallway without a sound.

Feeling confident with how well the backwards raid was going, Crow stood a little taller as he made his way to Fischbach’s room. As he had done with the last two, he cracked open the door and slipped silently inside. In the blackness, he opened his dark-adjusted eye and glanced briefly at the bed to find that Adam was still sleeping soundly. The nobleman was lying on his side with one arm hanging over the edge of the mattress, completely unaware of the thief in his midst.

Crow smiled and crept over to the other man’s dresser to replace the “stolen” rings. However, when he reached it, he paused as he noticed that the surface of the furniture was clean. If Fischbach had any other jewelry, this wasn’t where he kept it. The viceroy crossed his arms over his chest with a frown, wondering if there was a better place to put the rings, until he remembered that this was the noble who’d framed him in the first place. It didn’t matter were he left the jewelry, because Adam didn’t need to be convinced that he’d misplaced anything.

Feeling better about the decision, he slipped the rings off his fingers and set them down on the dresser.

In the next moment, he flinched as he heard a floorboard creak behind him.

Without time to think, Crow ducked to the side just as someone’s hand flew past his head. He spun around to see Fischbach standing with a stone paperweight in his fist, precariously off-balance after his clumsy attempt to knock the viceroy out. The baron’s eyes widened slightly, and it became clear that he hadn’t expected the former thief to dodge his ambush. However, he recovered quickly.

“You messed up, thief,” he hissed, cocking back the paperweight to swing at him again. “As soon as the guards catch you here, you’re going back behind bars!” He grunted as he tried to strike the viceroy in the head once more.

Crow snorted. After dealing with knights and barons on the warfront who had much more skill, Adam’s weak attempt to attack him was child’s play. He caught hold of the nobleman’s wrist and twisted his arm behind his back, forcing him to drop his weapon with a pained whimper. “You were the one complaining that your rings were missing,” he shrugged carelessly. “I’m just giving them back.”

Adam curled his lip at him and took a breath. Realizing that he was about to holler for the guards, Crow quickly turned on his heel and knocked the baron’s head against the nearest bedpost with as much force as he could muster. The nobleman fell slack in his arms as he lost consciousness, and the viceroy rolled his eyes. “Should have just stayed asleep,” he muttered, dragging the other man’s body to the bed and tossing him unceremoniously onto the mattress.

He put some effort into making it look like Fischbach had never left his bed, pulling the sheets over his body and propping his head on the pillow. Once he was finished, he took a step back to review his work and gave a satisfied nod. However, he didn’t leave right away. Instead, he trotted over to the dresser and picked up the rings he’d set down. Out of spite, he slipped them directly onto the nobleman’s limp fingers. A petty little gift for when he woke up.

“Sweet dreams,” Crow grinned devilishly at the unconscious man. With that, he turned and made his way back to the door to rejoin Penelope in the hallway.

[BuzzingBee]

His words of praise made the knight stand up a bit straighter. Though it was a skill she used mindfully, it was still nice to hear. Penelope leaned in to meet him as he pressed a quick kiss to her lips and gave a small nod. She watched him for a moment as he moved towards Baltac's room before turning and stepping over to the end of the hall to keep watch. Acting like she had just been put on guard duty, the knight wasn't exactly sneaky about her presence.

Luckily there wasn't very much activity. With three guards gone, the corridor seemed perfectly empty aside from herself and Crow, whom she only noticed changing rooms by a chance glance over her shoulder. The former thief moved so soundlessly that she wouldn't have even known he was off to the second room already if she hadn't happened to look over at the right time. Assuming things were going well, she focused her gaze to keep lookout.

The knight spotted a nobleman walking down the corridor from where she was positioned and stiffened slightly. Unsure if he was planning to turn down the hall or continue on a different path, she remained alert and dipped her head to him in acknowledgement as he drew closer. He returned the gesture and continued on his way down the corridor, passing the hallway. She let out a small breath of relief and relaxed once more.

Unfortunately, not for very long though. Though the noise was quiet, she heard the sound of movement from one of the nearby rooms. She tensed as she realized it had come from Fischbach's room. Worried something had gone wrong, she stepped away from the end of the hall and moved towards the door. However, she wasn't able to reach it before the viceroy reemerged. She relaxed at the sight of him and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Everything go alright?" she asked, curious what the sound she heard had been. The knight smirked at him teasingly. "Don't tell me you knocked something over."

[Rogue Sloth]

Once Crow stepped out of the baron’s room, he turned around to close the door behind him. He let it click shut quietly out of habit, even though he knew Fischbach wouldn’t wake up to the sound. Judging by how hard he’d hit the other man’s head against that bedpost, he had a feeling Adam wasn’t going to wake again until the morning. It was just as well. By then, the others would have had a chance to wake up as well, and hopefully word would begin to spread that the missing jewelry had turned up right where it belonged.

He turned back around to find Penelope and discovered he didn’t have to go very far. By the time he’d closed the baron’s bedchamber door, she had already covered most of the distance between them. He raised a brow when she asked him if everything was okay. Apparently, his scuffle with Fischbach hadn’t been as quiet as he’d thought. He just hoped it hadn’t been loud enough to wake any of the nobleman’s sleeping neighbors, since he still needed to get back to his own room without getting caught.

“Just a baron who got a little too cocky for his own good,” the viceroy answered with a shrug. He glanced over his shoulder, offhandedly making sure they were still alone before he explained himself a little better: “I was going to put the rings on his dresser, and while I had my back turned, he came at me with a paperweight.” He shook his head at the ridiculousness of what had happened. “I don’t know if he was already awake or if he’s just a very light sleeper. Either way, he’s out cold now.”

He grinned at her proudly and held up his hands, which were now bare of the jewelry that had adorned them earlier, “Everything is back where it’s supposed to be. All that’s left is for us to get back to our own rooms and play dumb if anyone questions us in the morning.” He casted another furtive glance over his shoulder before wrapping his arms around her and pressing one more kiss to her lips. “I’m going to head back through the window,” he smiled at her affectionately when he pulled back. “I love you, Penelope, and I’ll see you tomorrow”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small nod as Crow explained that Adam had tried to attack him. "He could have been suspecting that you would try to return everything." she speculated with a shrug as the thief seemed unsure whether the baron had been a light sleeper or already being awake. There weren't many nobles that she knew to be light sleepers, at least not in the inner kingdom. There were a good few amongst those on the warfront but usually nobles felt safe and with their soft beds and warm blankets, it was often hard for them to even develop such habits of sleeping light if it wasn't natural to them.

"Well at least everything's fix then. Hopefully there won't be too many questions." she smiled at him. While it could be easy for him to play dumb—no one had technically seen him aside from Adam—it'd be a bit more difficult for her. Three guards had seen and spoken with her. If any of them came forward to question or speak to her, she'd have to be careful.

As he wrapped his arms around her, she returned his embrace and met him halfway as he kissed her. "I love you too and I'll see you then." she said softly, smiling up at him. Penelope pressed a tender kiss to his cheek before letting him go and stepping back to leave. "Be careful." she told him with a small wave. The knight hung around until he slipped back into the room they had came in from and then turned to leave.

She walked casually through the corridor, letting out a small yawn as she made her way to her room. With the mission complete, there was nothing distracting her from her weariness anymore. It had been a long day and she was more than eager to lay down for the night. Luckily she made it to her room without much trouble, avoiding most guards on the way. She slipped inside and quickly settled down for the night. As she curled up in her bad, she wrapped her blanket around herself and closed her eyes, falling to sleep easily now that they had handled the issue of the stolen jewelry.

[Rogue Sloth]

“I will,” Crow promised when Penelope told him to be careful, smiling softly at the kiss she touched to his cheek. As she stepped back, he did as well, nodding his head in a brief goodbye before turning to slip silently into the snoring nobleman’s room on his way back to his own. On the other side of the door, he allowed his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness and then crept across the bedchamber to the window. He’d left it cracked open so that he wouldn’t have to bother with the latch this time.

Stifling a weary yawn, the viceroy stepped up onto the window sill and reached into the cold night air to grab hold of the cord that was still dangling outside. Even though he had the skills to climb back up without it, he was tired after spending half the night sneaking around the castle, and the rope would let him get back to his bed faster. No reason to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He leaned up on the balls of his feet to grip the cord higher and stepped off the ledge. For a moment, he swung by his arms until he managed to get his feet underneath him on one of the knots. Letting go with his right hand, he leaned over to the window and pulled it shut. There was no easy way to redo the inside latch. He just hoped the nobleman would assume one of his servants had left it open on accident.

Once the cord stopped moving in the air, Crow began his ascent, using his hands, thighs, and feet to hold onto the linens until he was high enough to grab onto the window sill. He hauled himself onto the ledge and rolled down into his room, too apathetic to bother making a more graceful entrance when no one was around to see him.

The viceroy got up from the floor and carefully reeled the cord back in, finally letting out the yawn he’d been suppressing as he dropped the fabric in a pile, which he pushed beneath his bed with one boot. Once that was done, he closed the window and stepped away from it to get ready for the night. He stripped down to his linen underclothes and laid down on the mattress, shivering slightly against the cool air that had filled the room while he’d left the window open earlier. It wasn’t as comfortable as usual, but with the thick blankets that he could bury himself beneath to warm up, it was plenty tolerable.

Crow let out his breath in a slow exhale and closed his eyes, relaxing into the cushioned bedding as he drifted off to sleep.

[BuzzingBee]

Tired from the night before, she had slept in a bit later than usual and wasn't even bothered enough by the soft morning light that seeped into her room to get up. She just pulled her blanket up over her head and settled comfortably in the warmth and darkness. Eventually though the sound of her door opening stirred the knight. Penelope poked her head out from under her blankets and squinted her eyes as she looked to see who had entered. Her gaze soon focused on the figure of her father who stepped over to place something down on the table by her bed.

"Good, you're here." John mumbled crossing his arms over his chest as he eyed her. "Everything fixed?"

Penelope sat up, rubbing her eyes drowsily. "Yeah... All the jewelry is where it belongs.." she mumbled.

"Uh huh... And nothing went awry?"

Penelope paused and looked over at her father. "Not really... is something going awry?" she asked with a frown.

"Partially." John grumbled. "Adam demanded to know who the guards were, claiming to be attacked the night before. Seems he found out that they were dismissed by you on an order from the 'king'. He's been making a scene all morning."

"Great." Penelope groaned and ran a hand through her hair. "Crow was in the process of putting everything back when Adam tried to attack him. He.. might have knocked him out then... But it shouldn't be anything to worry about right?" She looked up at her father hopefully. "He doesn't have any evidence and anything he does have incriminates him too doesn't it?"

"Except for the bump on his head that he demanded Eldon look at." John pointed out. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long exhale. "Just be careful with what you say today... I have a feeling he might be blaming you for this. And whether he's realized your real involvement or not won't matter if he's already got a bone to pick with you."

Penelope nodded her head. It was a rather poor start to the morning to find out this information but at least it seemed like her and Crow were still in the clear for now. They'd just have to make sure Fischbach didn't find a way to cause them anymore trouble while he complained about being attacked. Her gaze drifted over to the table and she eyed what seemed to be a small stack of letters. "What are these?" she asked.

"Your mail." John replied with a shrug. "Came in this morning."

Immediately her worry about the situation was gone and replaced by a mixture of excitement and anxiousness as she looked down at the letters. She picked up the small stack in her hand and ran her thumb over the seal of the first one. She had finally gotten responses—albeit two were likely just from Gavin and Olivia—and was unsure how to feel. While she was eager to read what was written, she also worried that they'd be letters of protest against her rather than letters of support for her campaign.

"Breakfast is going to stop being served soon so you should read them later." John advised. "Get your boots on so we can go."

Penelope blinked and then nodded her head in agreement. With no guard duty that day, she'd be free to spend her time looking over the letters she received as well as writing new ones to the list of nobles that Jonathan had given her. There was no reason to rush into it quite yet. With that in mind, she carefully put the letters away in her pocket and slipped on her boots before moving to follow her father out of the room.