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

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow dreamed he was in the village of Tamsworth.

All around him, a market was bustling with activity. Vendors called to the crowd, encouraging them to come see their wares and tempting lookers with low prices. Buyers flitted from stand to stand among them, drawn like bumble bees to colorful flowers. The chaos was deafening but also exhilarating in its own, unique way that sent thrills of excitement through the thief. He couldn’t remember why it had been so long since his last visit.

He wove through the sea of people, his feet carrying him effortlessly between them as he joined their exploration of the secrets the market had to offer. The sounds of their cheerful voices were musical. They lifted his spirits and painted a smile on his lips as he wandered among them. He couldn’t recall why he had come to the market, but he didn’t care. He was too caught up in his intrigue with the exotic wares of the traveling merchants. Everything was new and strange in a captivating way.

For a while, he meandered about the marketplace, bouncing from stand to stand with the rest of the villagers. However, as he did, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something; that something was off. He just couldn’t put his finger on what it was. Disturbed by the foreboding tug at his heart, he slowed to a stop and spun in a circle, looking around at all the happy people in the market. There was no sign of danger anywhere. He frowned, confused why he seemed to be the only one with a sense of dread. If something was wrong, surely someone else would notice it too, right? But nothing seemed out of place.

Suddenly, he felt his heart begin to race, and a terror gripped him that made his breath catch in his throat. He brought a hand to his chest. He had an intense urge to look up, but he somehow knew that if he did, he was going to break the spell. The cheerful marketplace was an illusion, but he didn’t want to let it go. He wanted to hold on to the dream because the reality was too frightening to face.

But the urge was too strong to fight.

Against his own will, his gaze lifted to the sky, and his eyes widened with horror. The once-blue canopy had turned blood red, like a gruesome sort of sunset. He stared at it, transfixed, until his attention was ripped away by an agonized scream. All around him, the market had plunged into chaos. Knights on horseback rode through the streets, cutting down anyone and everyone in their path, and bodies had already begun to litter the ground.

Crow’s breaths came to him short and shallow as panic began to well up inside of him. He turned and ran, sprinting as fast as his now child-sized legs could carry him toward an overturned cart nearby. If he could just make it there, he knew he would be safe. The knights wouldn’t see him. He could just wait until they left.

He had almost made it when the tax collector cut him off.

The thief skidded to a stop, staring at the man on his horse like a bird before a serpent. His eyes were fixed on the ebony mare’s bloodied hooves, stained crimson with the blood of his own people. He wanted to run, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. He knew he was going to die. He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a scream of his own just as the knight’s sword pierced his flesh.

“Goodbye, stray.”

Crow’s eyes snapped open at the sound of the sickeningly familiar voice. Suddenly, he was no longer in Tamsworth; he was in Jaxon’s camp. The murderous thief was standing before him with his sword pushed through his middle, all the way up to its hilt. He gagged, feeling the blood well up in the back of his throat.

“Don’t…” the word came out, weak and pathetic, as he begged for his life. It only seemed to encourage Jaxon more. A sinister smile contorted the other thief’s face just before he ripped the blade out, and everything turned scarlet as the sky…

--

Crow gasped and sat up with a jerk, clutching at his chest where Jaxon had stabbed him. It took a moment for him to regain his bearings enough to realize he wasn’t in the thieves’ camp. He was in the castle, and there was no sword in his chest either. Still, he couldn’t stop the trembling that had taken over his body. It had felt so real. He could have sworn he had just relived it.

He lifted his shaky hands to his head, trying to slow his breathing. “Just a dream…” he murmured to himself, as if saying it out loud would make him believe it. He repeated it a few more times under his breath until his heart finally stopped hammering so painfully in his chest. He let his hands fall to his lap, his jaw hanging open slightly as he panted with adrenaline. It may have been a dream, but it had been a vivid one. He found it difficult to completely shake off the unease that wrenched his stomach.

Still on edge, the viceroy startled as his door suddenly opened and Preston stepped inside. The attendant’s skin was slightly flushed, as if he had been running. He stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before he hurried over to his bedside. “Are you okay?” he asked concernedly, resting a hand on his arm. “Do you need me to get Eldon?”

“I’m fine,” Crow shook his head, leaning away from the boy’s touch. He didn’t want Preston to feel him tremble.

“I heard you scream from halfway down the hall,” Preston knitted his brow in disbelief. “It sounded like you were in pain.”

I screamed? Crow blinked. He’d had nightmares in the past, but he’d never screamed out loud before—at least, not to his knowledge. “I’m fine,” he repeated, forcing himself to climb down from the bed. His legs felt weak, but they didn’t give out underneath him. He turned back to the attendant. “Help me put the linens back in the wardrobe. I was too tired to put them away last night, so I just shoved them under the bed.”

Preston eyed him with a frown, and for a moment, the viceroy worried he wouldn’t drop the subject. However, after a pause, he nodded compliantly. “Okay.”

Crow sighed quietly and sat down on the floor with the boy as they worked together to untie the mass of sheets and fold them neatly. The task took most of the morning, since Preston was a bit perfectionistic, and the thief’s hands were still unsteady, but at least it helped him take his mind off his dream. When they finished, the viceroy reluctantly accepted his servant’s help to get dressed and then made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast, wondering if he would even be able to eat while his stomach was still filled with rocks.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope trailed after her father as he lead the way to Great Hall. There was a comfortable enough silence between the two, her father not being the talkative type and the knight still trying to shake off the lingering sleepiness she felt. Off handedly, she found it a bit strange that John had waited for her to get breakfast. He'd likely been up for a while now and even if he had been helping Tybalt in handling Adam, there surely should have been time for him to grab food either before or in between.

Suddenly she felt her sleepiness completely disappear as an exciting thought made her heart begin to beat a little faster. Her mind wandered to their conversation the night before and she wondered if this meant he was going to begin telling her about her mother. Encouraged by that thought, she picked up her pace slightly, following him with an eager bounce in her usual step.

However, the two didn't make it all the way to the Great Hall.

"Vermillion!"

A voice sounded from behind them and they both turned to see a young guard hurrying over. "Yes?" they both replied simultaneously. They exchanged an awkward glance then looked over to the guard who faltered for a moment as he seemed to realize he needed to specify which Vermillion he was addressing.

"Ah, John I mean, sorry." he said, scratching the back of his head. Clearing his throat, his gaze focused on the older knight. "Tybalt's requesting for you right now. Apparently he's still having some issues with settling Fischbach down."

John nodded his head and then glanced over at Penelope. "I better go then. Good luck with the letters." he muttered to his daughter before turning to the younger guard and gesturing for him to lead the way. Penelope watched him go and let out a disappointed sigh. It seems whatever his reason had been for trying to catch breakfast with her would have to wait for another time. She turned and walked the rest of the way to the Great Hall alone.

Once she reached the room, she eagerly glanced around for Crow and Naida, though she doubted she'd catch the princess since she was usually there early. Spotting neither of them, she eventually made her way over to an empty table, settling down alone for now. However, it wasn't long before someone made their way over to join her. It just, unfortunately, wasn't the company she was hoping for.

"Well, well I hope you're pleased with yourself." Alden growled as he settled in across from her.

Penelope eyed the nobleman with distaste. She hadn't dealt with him very much but she had the feeling that he wasn't much better than his father. And he was clearly just as hostile. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked irritably.

"My father got attacked because you left the wing unguarded. Don't try to deny it now!" Alden huffed.

"You're as mad as your father. I was just following orders." she rolled her eyes at him.

"Sure you were. We know where you stand Vermillion, we're not fools."

"Well you certainly act like fools." she muttered dryly.

Alden clenched his jaw angrily and seemed prepared to respond to the insult but didn't get the chance to as a new, familiar voice jumped in. "Why don't you go bug someone else, Alden." Cedric grumbled as he stepped over to the table. The two men shot glares at each other and Alden slowly stood up.

"Don't act tough when you barely even know how to wield a sword." Alden snorted. "I can only handle one vermin at a time so I'll take my leave." he stated as he glanced between the two before his gaze settled on Penelope. "Just know we're watching you Vermillion." he growled before turning and leaving.

Cedric watched him go before moving to sit down across from her. "What the hell is he talking about?" he asked as he shot one last glare at the other man's back before focusing his gaze concernedly on Penelope.

"Nothing I'm worried about." she responded with a dismissive wave. Now in what she thought to be better company, she stuck up a casual conversation with Cedric as the two waited for their meals to be brought over.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow could feel Preston’s eyes on him as they walked through the halls of the castle. Even though the attendant had been willing to drop the subject before, he knew the boy was trying to come up with a way to bring it back up again. He hoped he would just read the mood and give up, because the last thing he wanted was to think about his dream again. It was still too fresh in his mind. He could still see the bloody corpses of the villagers of Tamsworth and Jaxon’s cruel sneer as if they were right in front of him. He shuddered at the thought, letting his eyes wander over the tapestries in the corridor as he tried to distract himself from the grisly image.

Unfortunately, Preston wasn’t very good at reading the atmosphere.

“So, why did you scream earlier?” the attendant pressed tentatively. He seemed to have decided on a direct approach, since he couldn’t come up with a gentler way to address the subject.

Crow shook his head. “It was nothing,” he lied. “Don’t worry about it.”

“People don’t scream for no reason—not like that,” Preston insisted, studying him with a concerned expression. “Even the closest guards heard you. They wanted to go to your room, but I told them to let me go first, because, well… you know.” He shrugged, and the viceroy nodded, understanding that the servant had been cautious to make sure he wouldn’t get caught for sneaking out the night before. Even though he was chagrined that the guards had heard him, he was grateful that the attendant had been smart enough to keep them from barging into his bedchamber before he’d had a chance to disassemble the cord they had built.

“The point is,” Preston went on as he got back on track. “I know it wasn’t ‘nothing,’ and I want to help you if—”

“It’s nothing you can help with then,” Crow said sharply and then winced, averting his gaze. He hadn’t meant to speak to the boy so harshly. “Sorry. I just don’t want to talk about it, so can we please drop the subject?”

Preston’s shoulders fell slightly, and he gave a meek nod, “Alright.”

“Thank you,” Crow murmured.

The two spent the rest of the walk to the Great Hall in uncomfortable silence. When they arrived, the viceroy looked over the room to see if he could find anyone he knew. He’d left his bedchamber rather late that morning because of how long it had taken him and Preston to put the linen sheets away, so he doubted Naida was still there. However, even though his sister was absent, he caught sight of Penelope sitting at a table nearby.

He took a step toward her, eager to seek her company while he was still feeling distraught, but then stopped when he recognized the nobleman she was sitting with. As his eyes landed on Cedric’s face, he bristled slightly. The memory of what the other man had done to the knight before was still fresh in his mind, and he wasn’t sure how to act around him. That plus his current emotional state left him far from enthused by the idea of spending a meal with the noble.

He shifted his weight from his right foot to his left, weighing the choice of going to Penelope and putting up with Cedric or spending the morning without her to avoid the nobleman’s company. Perhaps if he had been in a better frame of mind he would have still jumped at the chance to be with her, but at the moment, he found the latter option a bit more appealing.

So, instead of approaching her, he wavered by the door, looking over the Great Hall for an empty table to sit by himself.

[BuzzingBee]

It wasn't long before some servants returned with their dishes. They both said a word of thanks before beginning to eat their food. Cedric seemed a bit hungry so their conversation died down for a short moment. Penelope chewed a bite of food, beginning to lose herself to her thoughts. The knight was already thinking about who had likely voiced support and who had likely sent her an argument. She expected that her uncle would likely ignore her or write that he didn't approve of her idea. Bennett was a bit of a wild card but she tried to remain hopeful that Mia, or even Nina, had been able to convince the baron to offer his support.

She barely had time to think over the other nobles that had written when her gaze shifted onto Crow, who seemed to be looking for an empty table. The viceroy seemed to be missing her as he searched for a table. That or perhaps it was due to the company she had. Penelope glanced at Cedric then back to Crow, raising her hand slightly to wave to him. Unlike how Naida usually flagged him down, she kept the wave small as she was unsure if he hadn't spotted her or was avoiding the table. Not wanting to risk him merely missing her, the knight figured it was best to at least try to catch his eye if he hadn't

Cedric noticed her wave and turned his head to look over towards Crow. He studied the viceroy for a moment before looking back over Penelope with an unreadable expression. "You seem fond of him." he suddenly mused casually.

Penelope blinked and pulled her gaze away from Crow to look across at the male knight. "I suppose I've become used to his company. Between work and Naida, I mean." she replied with a shrug, trying to act nonchalant.

"Right.." Cedric said looking over her. "Your friend seemed to act like it was something more the other day."

Damn it Naida.. Penelope groaned inwardly. Usually the most she had to worry about was the princess herself finding out due to how she was constantly trying to push them together but now it seemed that her efforts had caught the attention of someone else. It was frustrating to the knight, especially when she truly did love the former thief. "Yes well, she's just trying to play matchmaker and unfortunately decided we'd fit together." she said giving a scoff. She took a bite of her food, relaxing a little as Cedric seemed to accept her answer. Penelope subtly glanced back in Crow's direction, looking to see if the viceroy had decided to sit with them or not.

[Rogue Sloth]

Fortunately, because there weren’t as many nobles in the Great Hall this late in the morning, it didn’t take long for Crow to spot an empty table on the far side of the room. He was about to take a step toward it when a subtle motion caught his eye. Glancing back toward Penelope’s table, he hesitated as he saw her wave to him. He was still uneasy about the idea of sitting with Cedric, but he didn’t want to purposefully ignore her either. She had already seen him, so he would look like he was if he still went to the other table now.

“Penelope waved at you,” Preston spoke up unhelpfully at his side.

“I know,” Crow muttered.

“Are you going to sit with her?” the attendant asked.

“I’m not sure yet.”

Preston tilted his head curiously, “Are you avoiding her?”

“No, I just…” Crow trailed off with a sigh. “Never mind.” It was too much trouble to explain that he wasn’t fond of her current choice of company. Instead, he made his way through the crowd, silently deciding that he might as well join her, since the other option was drawing far more attention to him than he would have liked.

Knowing where he was going to be sitting, his attendant walked off to fetch his breakfast from the kitchen, leaving him to approach the table alone. When he reached it, he sat down next to Penelope a little closer than he normally would have. At the moment, he craved her presence more than he cared about keeping a low profile around the other people in the castle.

Across the table, he noticed that Cedric didn’t seem quite as enthusiastic about his arrival as Penelope was. However, he couldn’t care less what the other man thought of him. He was too busy trying to shake off his lingering discomfort from his nightmare to pay any mind to what the knight’s ex suitor thought of him.

“So,” he turned to Penelope, resting his elbow on the table and propping his chin in his hand as he broke the silence between them. “Got any plans for the day?” Despite his efforts to act as he normally would around her, he couldn’t bring himself to fake more than a half smile as he held her gaze. He just hoped she would mistake his subdued attitude for weariness after the long night.

[BuzzingBee]

She watched as the viceroy made his way over to their table, noticing that he seemed a bit reluctant. Though she was a bit confused why, she didn't think much of it at first, guessing it had something to do with Cedric. She was also quick to notice that when he sat down next to her, he didn't leave as much room as usual. Penelope glanced over at him before glancing to Cedric, thinking the former thief was just acting out of protectiveness.

However she soon second guessed herself as he turned to address her with what she guessed to be a fake, half smile. The knight studied him for a brief moment, trying to figure out what was off about the viceroy. She wanted to just ask him but with Cedric right across the table, she knew she couldn't. "Just writing letters. Mainly to the list Jonathan, one of the lieutenants I met with here, gave me." she explained with a shrug.

"Speaking of him," Cedric spoke up. "I thought you two couldn't stand each other?"

"In the past no. He was obnoxiously competitive. He's settled down since then though so we're on better terms." Penelope explained with a small shrug.

Cedric gave a small nod. "Well I hope he's able to help you out." he mused before taking a bite of his food.

Penelope nodded in agreement before her gaze drifted down to the male knight's food. An idea struck her as she noticed that he was nearly finished with his meal. She still had a good portion of her own left so if she slowed down enough, perhaps her and Crow could still get a moment alone. That is, if Cedric left as soon as he finished his food. There was quite a bit she wanted to talk to him about but none of it was stuff she could bring up with the other knight hanging around them. Deciding it was worth a try regardless, she turned back to Crow, planning to use conversing as her reason for eating so slowly.

"What about you? More lessons I'm guessing?" she mused as she poked at her plate.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded when Penelope said she was going to work on writing more letters. Between everything else that was going on lately, he’d nearly forgotten about her plan to bring the war to a peaceful end. He let out a quiet sigh. After the brutal nightmare he’d just had, he was all the more eager to see the fighting stop as well. There was far too much violence going on in the outer villages. He and the rest of the peasants in the kingdom needed a break from it all.

As Penelope and Cedric spoke to each other, the viceroy lapsed into thoughtful silence. He tried to pay attention to their conversation but found it difficult as his mind kept wandering back to his dream. As hard as he tried to move on from it, he couldn’t get it out of his head. It frustrated him that something that hadn’t really even happened had affected him so much. It had just been a nightmare, but he was fixated on it like he’d really experienced everything.

Well, technically I have, he grimaced as he recalled the real slaughter in Tamsworth and the battle in Jaxon’s camp. Of course, neither event had happened the way they had in his dream. In the village, he had been running toward an overturned cart to hide, but he hadn’t gotten cut off by a tax collector—the man had ridden up from behind him and slashed his side with a sword. He hadn’t even seen it coming. The fight with Jaxon had been more similar, but he hadn’t actually been alone with the murderer, and he hadn’t pleaded for his life either.

Crow absently brought a hand to his side, where the scar from his childhood was concealed beneath his tunic. He could still feel the shadow of the blade that had cut through him long ago, and he wished the memory would stop assaulting him in his sleep. It was already hard enough to deal with when it happened to pass through his mind during the day. He didn’t need the added stress of reliving the nightmare while he was trying to rest at night.

Lost in thought, it took a moment for him to realize Penelope had asked him a question. He looked up at her blankly for a moment until he recalled what she had said. “Yeah,” he answered with a shrug. “Unless I’m told otherwise, I’d assume that’s what I’m doing every day.” Glancing over her shoulder, he saw that Preston had returned with his breakfast. The boy set the plate down in front of him and tested it quickly before giving a short bow and leaving the group of nobles alone again.

Crow looked down at the food his attendant had brought, suddenly wishing he’d asked the boy to bring him a smaller portion than usual. He still didn’t have much of an appetite that morning, and he wasn’t sure if he could finish it all. Regardless, he didn’t want to draw attention to himself, so he forced himself to eat what he could while he was sitting with the others.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope tilted her head slightly as he looked at her blankly. It seemed that he had been staring off or lost in thought, things that weren't too common for the thief unless something was weighing heavily on his mind. Again the knight wished she could ask him if something was wrong. He seemed quite different that morning but she couldn't even guess why. Surely he wasn't worried about Adam's complaining nor did it seem to come from his dislike of Cedric.

She gave a small nod to his words and shifted her gaze back onto her food as Preston arrived with Crow's portion. The knight ate slowly, silently worrying if something was troubling the former thief. Her gaze occasionally flickered over to him but she was unsure what to say. At one point she noticed that he was eating rather hesitantly, which was an even bigger sign that he was in fact troubled by something. Subtly, she shifted to let her leg press into his under the table. She wished she could do more than just the subtle gesture but with others around, she wasn't able to.

"So do you have a guard shift today, Cedric?" she asked focusing her gaze over on the other knight who had been eying Crow.

His gaze shifted over to her and he nodded his head. "Yeah a midday... which unfortunately means I should probably get going soon." he sighed. Penelope noticed him glance briefly down at her plate, which still had a bit of food on it due to how slowly she had been eating, then look back up to her. "Maybe I'll catch you for dinner."

"Maybe." Penelope shrugged and offered a smile as he stood up to leave. "See ya, Cedric"

He gave a small wave to her and turned to walk off. The knight felt rather relieved to have him leave so soon, glad that her idea to wait his company out had worked. She watched him leave, waiting until he was nearly out the door before turning to Crow and eying him concernedly. "So... Is everything alright?" she asked softly.

[Rogue Sloth]

Despite his efforts to eat like he normally would, Crow found it difficult to stomach his breakfast, so he ate more delicately than usual. He was still clinging to the hope that no one would notice he was acting differently, since Cedric didn’t know him well enough to be familiar with his habits and Penelope had been out late with him and would have known he didn’t get much sleep the night before. However, that hope was quickly dashed when he felt the knight press her leg against his beneath the table.

He knew she was probably doing so as a means to try and comfort him, but instead the gesture only served to confirm that she had noticed something was wrong with him. He knew her well enough to expect that meant she was going to question him about it as soon as she had the chance. His eyes flicked to Cedric across the table, as he was suddenly glad the nobleman was sitting with him. He didn’t feel like talking about the reason why he was acting differently, and as long as the other man was there, Penelope couldn’t bring up the subject.

Unfortunately, the wall that Cedric unknowingly provided didn’t last long. As the noble announced that he needed to go to his guard post, Crow cursed inwardly. For a moment, he toyed with the idea of saying that he needed to go to his lesson, so he would have an excuse to leave too, but he knew it would look strange if he left a half-finished plate of food behind. He hadn’t had much motivation to eat, so he’d been working on his breakfast too slowly to outpace the others.

Now alone with Penelope, he glanced at her furtively. As he’d expected, she wasted no time in asking him if he was alright. The viceroy shifted uneasily in his seat. He didn’t want to talk about his nightmare, but he also didn’t want to lie to her—especially when it hadn’t been that long ago that his lies had nearly gotten her killed by Jaxon. While he doubted there could be any serious repercussions to keeping a dream secret, he didn’t want to bring up past hurts by telling her that he was fine when he clearly wasn’t.

“Yes and no,” Crow answered her after a pause, absently poking at the food on his plate. “To be honest, I’d rather not talk about it… but you don’t need to worry.” He looked up from the table to meet her gaze sincerely. “It’s nothing important. I’ll be fine.” It was a truthful enough response in his opinion. It had just been a bad dream. Nothing was wrong with him aside from the fact that he’d gotten a little shaken up by it. He didn’t want her to overreact and think that it was worse than it really was.

Beneath the table, he reached for her hand and gave it a quick squeeze, hoping the gesture would be enough to show her that he was alright and convince her not to press him to tell her more.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope frowned a little as he said he didn't want to speak about it. Given his history, it made the knight a bit uneasy and she was reluctant to just accept his words even as she felt him give her hand a squeeze. Aside from the whole incident with Jaxon, he had kept other serious things a secret from her, like his illness and the one time he had been thinking of ending things between them. So just ignoring how he was currently acting was going to be difficult for the knight.

"I'm not sure I trust your judgment about what's important," she admitted with a soft sigh. "but I'll let it go for now if you're so sure.." She paused and then gave him a stern look. "If it keeps bugging you though I'm not going to let it go so easily next time though."

She shifted her gaze back down to her food and took another bite, letting a small silence fall between them for a moment. Though she admittedly didn't like just dropping the topic, especially since he seemed bother by it, it all just came from a place of concern for him. The knight side glanced at him with a thoughtful. She might not have known what was bothering him specifically but she wanted to try and help him if she could, even if she didn't know what it was. An idea struck her and she turned back to the viceroy.

"By the way, I finally got some responses today." she mused, suddenly pulling out the letters from her pocket. "With any luck, a few of them will call for the end of the war." Penelope shrugged then looked over at Crow with a small smile. The knight lowered her voice as she added, "I was thinking, if you want, I could stop by your room this evening to help you write a letter to Hazel and the others. I could just send it attached to the one I'm going to write Olivia since I'm sure she'd be able to deliver it for you. I don't doubt that she's still seeing Alistair after all."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow winced when Penelope said she didn’t trust his judgment. He was well aware that some of his secrets had caused more trouble between them than they should have in the past. He just preferred to try and handle issues on his own before involving anyone else. After all, most of the time, he was able to deal with them without help. This case seemed to be no different. He had just been unsettled by a bad dream, so there was no reason to bring the knight into it. It wasn’t like there was anything she could do anyway.

“I know,” he casted her a halfhearted smile when she said she wouldn’t let it go next time. “I don’t think it will though… I’m sure I’ll be fine soon.” It had just been one nightmare. Once it wasn’t as fresh in his mind, he knew he would be able to move on and forget about it. He’d had plenty in the past, especially when he’d been younger and the memory of the slaughter in Tamsworth was still recent. He supposed the incident with Jaxon must have just stirred up old fears.

As a brief silence fell between them, Crow managed to swallow a couple more bites of food. After that, his stomach protested too much for him to finish the rest, so he pushed his plate aside. At this point, he didn’t care if it looked strange. Penelope had already caught on that he was upset about something, so there was no reason to give himself a bellyache to hide it anymore. If he built up an appetite later, he would just help himself to a second serving at dinner.

When the knight spoke up again, the viceroy turned to her with a nod. “That’s good,” he mused. He was going to add something else, but then paused as she went on first. Her words brought a hint of interest to his face. “That would be great,” he said, visibly perking up at the thought of getting back in touch with the other thieves. As time passed at the castle, he had begun to miss their company. “I haven’t really done much writing outside of when Udolf taught me all the letters, so I could use the help.”

Suddenly, Crow’s eyes widened slightly in realization, and he glanced toward the door. “Speaking of Udolf, I think I’m late for my lesson today,” he turned back to her with a helpless shrug. “I should get going before he gets too angry and starts accusing me of not taking my studies seriously again.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope smiled a little more as she noticed him perk up at her suggestion. Though she didn't particularly like that he wouldn't speak to her about whatever was bothering him, she was at least glad her suggestion seemed to lift his spirits up a bit. She nodded her head as he said he could use the help. "We'll do that then." she promised. As his eyes suddenly widened, she raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what had suddenly hit him.

She blinked as he mentioned his lesson and nodded her head. "You better hurry then, he'll probably chew your head off you take too much longer." she smirked. The knight stretched her arms and stood as he readied to leave. "I better get going too.. I've got a lot of writing to do today. See you later." she said with a small smile before beginning to walk off her own way towards the library.

Now alone, she quietly studied the sealed letters in her hand as she walked, feeling a bit nervous about opening them. The library wasn't very far from the Great Hall so she reached the large room rather quickly, which didn't give her much time to dwell on her nervousness. She found an empty table and set her letters down there before moving to grab the supplies she would need to make responses. Once she had, she sat down and began to open up the letters, deciding it was time to see if she had made any progress.

The first letter she started out with reading was the one from the barons of her battalion. It was a rather basic response that was written by Mia, who also included details about how Gavin was doing in filling her space as well as how Edward refused to see reason when came to the war but the baroness made it fully clear that she wasn't giving up quite yet. Attached to the main letter was a letter from Bennett. It was formally written support for the war's end that made a smile spread across her lips. That was one more baron backing her than before.

She went on to read the other letters from the other nobles she had written to and found with joy that she had gotten a good number of positive responses. Two barons from the battalions west of her own wrote letters of support and so did a couple of the nobles from the inner kingdom. Of course, with good came bad though. A few letters of protest came in. There was one baron that had replied with a letter clearly filled with rage at her campaign and even demanded that she cease her attempt to call to a peaceful end to the war, claiming that 'if she was too cowardly to fight, she could always stay in the inner kingdom and become a proper lady rather than trying to make their kingdom cower to the enemy'. His scornful words made her roll her eyes and she was quick to merely toss the letter. The baron was a fool and she saw no point in dwelling on his words. The gods had given her a task to do and she planned to see it through to the end, even if she had to go through a few people on the way.

The other downside was that she never received anything from Oliver Lenz. She had really been hoping that the vassal would reply with support but she supposed that he likely ended up ignoring her letter due to his wife. She let out a soft sigh, a bit disappointed since he knew a great deal of other higher ranking nobles.

Saving personal for last, she eyed the two remaining letters which were from Gavin and Olivia. She opened Gavin's first and read over his letter. It seemed things were faring well enough for the male knight as he recounted how he had been adjusting to the new, more permanent position of lieutenant. He also responded to her previous letter with a word of congratulations. An amused smirk crossed her lips as he briefly mentioned the shock and upset that had taken over the battalion at the news of Crow becoming viceroy. He ended his letter by wishing her and Crow well and hoping that her efforts to end the war would pay off.

Gavin's Letter

Dear Penelope,

I'm glad to hear that the ceremony went over well. I mean, as well as one could have expected. Congratulations to Collin—I hear he's going by that now, yes?—and you. Things here have been fine. War remains the same. A stalemate but at least we are no longer suffering from the missing supplies. As for taking over your job more fully, it's been a bit of a strange change. Tomas is encouraging and Mia's trust in me seems to be growing. Especially after the uproar that occurred when your letters arrived. Most people here were not happy to say the least. They were shocked by the news of a thief taking the position of viceroy and protests arose all over camp. Luckily Tomas and Mia managed to calm everyone down. Things aren't quite back to normal but with the war going on, I feel that they'll soon be distracted from who the new viceroy is. Regardless, I wish you and Collin well with your work in the inner kingdom. Hopefully your efforts to end the war will pay off soon.

Sincerely,
Gavin Hyde.

Olivia's letter was a bit different. She described in detail the outrage that took over the camp, specifically from Penelope's own brother. Layth apparently had even tried to request a temporary leave so he could try and talk the king out of his decision and it had nearly been approved until Mia and Tomas stepped. Apparently with their efforts, they got everyone to focus back on the war rather than what was happening in the inner kingdom. She was also quick to tease Penelope about the dilemma with Naida that she had mentioned in her previous letter and questioned why it was such a big deal to even keep it a secret from the princess. Olivia ended it with a casual goodbye and mentioned being eager to hear how things had developed since her last letter. Penelope let out a sigh and then smiled amusedly as she finished reading her friend's letter.

Olivia's Letter

Penelope,

You must have written us quick! Is the castle so dull that you already miss us? Anyways, I wish I could have been there for the ceremony, I'm sure it was quite entertaining. Although, things were quite entertaining here when your letters arrived. People were pissed and started demanding the barons write to the king to try and change his mind. Your uncle was on board with that but Mia wasn't. She seemed oddly accepting of the new viceroy. Your baroness is quite strange. Oh! And your brother was quite the mess. He had to try and take it a step further. Instead of just settling for a letter, he wanted to march all the way to the castle to talk the king out of his decision. From what I heard, Edward was even on board with it. Of course, that didn't happen as you can probably guess. Mia and Tomas manage to cool everyone's heads by focusing attention back to Younis. In fact, I hear talk of another battle coming soon. Gavin tried to help them but honestly, no one really takes him seriously right now since they think you'll be back soon enough.
Also, I'm glad to hear that Naida's there to cause you trouble when I'm not. Even if that's not her intention. That's hilarious that she's trying to pair up you and Collin (I heard he's going by this now?? What a pity.. Seriously ruined the one secret about him I did know). I wish I could be there to see you two both floundering with that ha! In all seriousness, why can't you just tell her? I don't even see why you two are trying to hide it now that he's viceroy. Hurry up so I can be the one to tell your brother the news. I can't wait to see his face when he finds out.
Well that's all I have to say. Write back soon! I can't wait to hear how things are going there at the castle.

- Olivia

Having gone through all the letters she received, it was finally time to begin writing more. She stretched her arms and then picked up her quill as she began with responses first.

[Rogue Sloth]

“Well, at least it won’t be any different than usual,” Crow said dryly as he stood up from the table. He seemed to have a talent for angering his tutor. Nearly every lesson they’d had together had begun with the old man chiding him for something or other—usually his tardiness, although the tutor sometimes also took a jab at his peasant background as well. He wondered if it was even worth the effort to try and avoid upsetting him at this point.

“See you,” he nodded as she left, returning her smile with one of his own. Even though he was still slightly unsettled by his vivid nightmare, his attention had mostly drifted away from it after speaking with the knight. He found himself in a much better mood as Preston rejoined him by the entrance of the Great Hall and the two made their way back toward his bedchamber for his midday lesson.

--

When Crow got back to his room, Udolf was waiting by the table with his arms crossed over his chest. As he’d expected, the tutor looked frustrated. His brows were knitted tightly together, so he nearly looked like he just had one long, fuzzy tuft on his face, and his nose was wrinkled in a scowl. “I’m beginning to think there is no getting through that thick skull of yours, Lockton,” he harrumphed, waving one hand for the viceroy to sit down. “Tell me, do you have no sense of time, or are you just a careless sluggard?”

Crow fought the urge to roll his eyes as he made his way across the room and sat at the table. He was growing more used to the old man’s biting remarks, but he still disliked them. Tempted to make a snide comment of his own, he bit his tongue and ignored his tutor’s question altogether. “Am I going to be reading again today?” he asked instead, hoping that Udolf would be more tolerable to be around if they got started right away on his lesson.

Luckily, the trick seemed to work.

“You will,” the tutor answered him. “But first, we will be starting with your writing.”

“Writing?” Crow echoed with interest. He couldn’t help but find it ironic that the old man had planned to teach him how to write on the same day that Penelope had offered to help him compose a letter for Hazel and the thieves. It wasn’t that surprising though. He had already known that Udolf had been planning to incorporate writing into his lessons soon. The tutor had only delayed it so that he could grow familiar with written words by reading them first.

“Yes,” Udolf said, laying out a piece of blank parchment on the table. “You seem to be understanding the words in the book I gave you well enough, so I believe you’re ready to begin writing your own.” He gestured for the viceroy to pick up the quill on the table. “To start, I’m going to teach you the basic rules of spelling and forming sentences…”

--

Much to Crow’s displeasure, he quickly discovered that there were quite a lot of rules that went along with writing. It was hard to keep up with them all, and Udolf corrected him numerous times as he made mistakes. Fortunately, it seemed like the rules weren’t easy for anyone to pick up, because the tutor never once got impatient with him. He just hoped he would be able to remember them all as he practiced more, because at the moment, he didn’t feel like he could ever memorize so many nuances. The only good thing about it was that his studies took so much of his focus that his mind didn’t have a chance to wander back to his nightmare. By the end of the lesson, he had almost completely forgotten about it.

Eventually, Udolf decided that he had learned enough for one day and left him alone to read more of his book, although, like the day before, he remained in the room to make sure his student didn’t slack off before supper.

Crow sprawled lazily on his bed as he continued to work through his book. After reading it for a few days now, he was more than halfway through the pages. Even though it was a short book compared to some of the others he had seen on the shelves in his bedchamber library, he felt rather proud of himself for covering so much ground in such a short period of time. Udolf seemed pleased as well—enough that he even made a flattering comment on the vieroy’s progress before he moved to leave for supper.

Before he made it do the door, however, Crow stopped him.

“I’ve been wondering,” he said thoughtfully, catching the tutor’s attention. The viceroy lounged across the width of his bed with his head lolling over the edge and his book resting open on his stomach as he paused to speak with the old man. “Once I’m literate, what else will you have left to teach me?”

Udolf turned to him, taking a moment to think before he answered: “From me, you will learn math, economics, and the history of our kingdom, but I won’t be your only teacher.”

Crow thought over his words and then nodded, “John is going to teach me fighting, right?”

“Along with whatever other physical skills you lack,” the tutor confirmed. “I take it that you don’t know how to ride a horse, is that correct?”

“Well, yes,” Crow frowned. “No one from the outer villages does.”

“Of course,” Udolf said. It was obvious that he already knew that. “John will be teaching you things such as that as well. Additionally, His Majesty will also begin tutoring you soon.”

“He will?” Crow’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t expected that his father would be personally involved in his lessons. “Why?”

“King Mannering was the last to hold your position,” Udolf explained. “Apart from him, there is no one else qualified to teach you the skills you will be needing as the next ambassador.”

“What skills are those?”

“For one,” the tutor continued patiently. “I can only teach you to read and write in our native tongue. His Majesty will teach you to understand the written forms of languages that you will need to communicate with our foreign neighbors.”

Crow groaned inwardly at that. It had been enough of a headache to learn one written language. He wasn’t keen to start on another one until he had enough time to practice the one he was working on now.

“Speaking of your other teachers,” Udolf went on. “Vermillion will be conducting your lesson tomorrow afternoon. He will meet you in the Great Hall after breakfast to show you to the training grounds.”

“Alright,” the viceroy nodded. Setting his book aside, he sat up on the bed and then hopped down the opposite side to put his boots on in preparation to go to supper. He’d eaten a light breakfast that morning, so his stomach growled in anticipation for the meal. It seemed he had perfect timing too. As soon as Udolf exited the room, Preston replaced him.

“Supper is ready,” the attendant announced, lingering by the door when he noticed that Crow was already ready to go.

“Great,” he said as he walked over to join the boy. “Let’s get going then. I’m starving.”

[BuzzingBee]

The rest of her day went rather blandly. She spent all of it in the library writing letters to various nobles, both responses to the ones that had replied as well as new ones as she went down the list that Jonathan had given her. The knight was careful with her wording when it came to the couple of barons that the other lieutenant had marked for being difficult. She needed as much support as she could gather so she intended to tread carefully. If it took a couple more letters than just one to convince them, then so be it.

Eventually she finished with the business letters but by then it was already getting close to supper. She put her quill down for a moment and rubbed her right hand. It was beginning to get sore from all the writing she had been doing that day. Leaning back in her chair, she let out a long sigh and glanced towards one of the nearby windows. Due to the dip in the light coming in, she could tell it was getting close to time for her to leave. Luckily she had finished most of her letters. The only ones she had left to complete were the ones to Olivia and Gavin. A bit mentally tired, she decided that a break was necessary before she did those.

Figuring she could do them during the time she'd help Crow with his letter, she collected her things and neatly folded up her papers. She headed out of the library and to her room, putting away her letters with the intent of sending them off with a messenger in the morning. Once they were safe on her table, she headed out of her room and to the Great Hall for dinner.

When she reached it, she glanced around for any familiar faces but seeing neither Crow nor Naida—or even Cedric for that matter—she soon looked for an empty spot instead. Penelope located an empty table off to the side and headed over to it. Sitting down, she let out a small yawn and waited for her food to be served.

[Rogue Sloth]

As they walked to the Great Hall, Crow noticed that Preston was glancing at him again. He wasn’t sure why, since he wasn’t acting strangely anymore. However, since he was no longer in a foul mood, and the boy’s staring didn’t particularly bother him, he didn’t snap at him. Instead, he decided to have a bit of fun with his servant.

“You’re not as subtle as you think, you know,” he spoke up, breaking the silence between them and casting the attendant a smirk.

Preston blinked confusedly, “What do you mean?”

“Come on,” Crow rolled his eyes. “You’ve been staring at me since the day we met. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

The attendant said nothing, clearly unsure where the viceroy was going with this.

Crow grinned at him and leaned closer, going on in a low voice, “I think you’re smitten.”

“What?” Preston’s eyes shot open and he turned red.

Crow bit his lip to keep from laughing. “I can’t say I blame you,” he went on with a shrug, carrying on with the act. “We’ve spent quite a bit of time together, so it’s only natural that you’d fall for me. And you know what?” His smile turned sultry, and he wrapped an arm around the attendant’s shoulders. “I think I’ve taken a liking to you too.”

Preston’s reaction was priceless. The servant scrambled to distance himself from the viceroy, nearly stumbling over his own feet as he did. His eyes were round as disks, and his face was scarlet. “N-No, no! You’ve got it all wrong! I-I wasn’t staring because I’m smitten. I was just thinking you looked like you were in a better mood than you were this morning, and… err…” He began to fumble over his word as he tried to recover.

Unable to hold back anymore, Crow burst out laughing. “Gods, you make this too easy,” he snickered, wiping a tear from his eye.

“W-What?” Preston stammered, confused again.

“I was just messing with you, kid,” the viceroy nudged his arm. “But maybe you’ll think twice about accusing me of such things in the future, huh?”

“Maybe,” the attendant muttered, still as red as a beet as he stared down at the ground. “But I know I’m right about you and that knight.”

“You never learn, do you?” Crow shook his head.

“I learned you’re an ass,” Preston pointed out.

“Yes, but that was already established,” the viceroy said flippantly.

Before the attendant had a chance to rebuttal, they arrived at the Great Hall. As always, Crow ran a quick sweep of the room to look for familiar faces. Since it was still early and there weren’t very many nobles eating yet, it didn’t take long for him to spot Penelope sitting alone at a table. He smiled and took a step toward her but didn’t get any further before he was cut off by someone else.

“Hey, Collin,” Wayne greeted him with his usual fake smile. “Need some company for supper?”

Crow glanced over the nobleman’s shoulder at Penelope, tempted to just keep going, since he wanted to spend time with her. However, he knew it would look strange for him to blow Wayne off for the knight when they were still trying to keep their heads down. Besides, he was already going to spend the evening with her. There was no point in risking their secret to win a little more time together than they were already going to have. So, even though he didn’t like it, he forced a polite smile and nodded to the other man, “Sure.”

“Great,” Wayne seemed surprisingly eager. “I have someone I want you to meet.”

“Really?” Crow raised a brow. He wondered if his plan to use the noble to build more connections around the castle was finally paying off.

“Yes,” Wayne beckoned him to follow as he led the way to a nearby table, where a woman in a bright yellow dress was seated. She had dark hair and eyes, and she sat with perfect posture with her ankles crossed and her hands resting daintily on her lap. She reminded the viceroy of a porcelain doll he’d seen in the house of a noblewoman he’d robbed long ago.

“This is my sister, Mercia,” Wayne introduced with a grin. “I think you two will get along famously.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope shifted her gaze over to Crow as she noticed the viceroy enter the room. She smiled a little, thinking they'd have quite a bit of time together that day. However, he didn't get very far before she noticed someone step into his path. Her smile faded slightly as she recognized the noble to be one of the ones he had been hanging around as of late. Guessing that he was likely offering him a spot at their table, she shifted her gaze away, looking over as a servant came by with her food.

The two would have time to be together later so the knight wasn't too disappointed over losing time with him at dinner. Luckily it seemed she wouldn't be alone for long either. As she glanced up from her food, she noticed that Naida had entered the Great Hall and was heading over to join her. Penelope smiled over at friend, welcoming her company. About halfway, Naida paused slightly in her step as her gaze shifted over to Crow at the other table, and frowned. She continued on to sit across from Penelope, pouting.

"Why's he hanging around them?" she asked almost as soon as she sat down. "He said that one guy was trying to use him to gain favor with our father at his ceremony."

Penelope casted her friend an amused look. "He's just trying to assimilate into noble life better... Plus if anyone is out to get him out of the viceroy position, having friends, even if they're fake, will make it quite difficult for them to even get close to touching him." she explained to her.

"But he has the king's protection anyways. Surely that should be enough." Naida scoffed.

"Not necessarily... Anyways it's just better safe than sorry and it'll help him in the long run." Penelope shrugged and smiled at her. "If he's going to be apart of noble life, he's going to have to interact with people other than just you and me."

"I guess so." Naida sighed. "I guess I was just hoping to catch him for dinner since I missed him at breakfast." The princess shrugged and then smiled at her. "Well at least I caught you! So how's it going?" The two struck up a casual conversation while Naida waited for her food. Even though Penelope already had her plate, she waited for her friend to get hers, not wanting to be the only one eating.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow casted a subtle, wistful glance at Penelope as he joined Wayne and Mercia at their table. When he’d agreed to eat with the nobleman, he hadn’t expected to be meeting another member of his family. It wasn’t a long shot to guess what Wayne’s intentions were either. Judging by the elaborate—and slightly low-cut—dress Mercia was wearing along with her brother’s blatant excitement, the viceroy felt quite certain that they were here to try and coerce him into a courtship.

He looked the noblewoman over. It was difficult to tell how she felt about the setup. Though she was dressed the part, she didn’t express the same excitement as Wayne did. Her face was an unreadable mask, displaying no strong emotion and drawing the image of a doll to the viceroy’s mind once again. Overall, she reminded him of the stereotypical, “prim and proper” woman that nobles seemed to value above all others—the kind he was least fond of.

Mercia glanced at her brother, who gestured at her indiscreetly to speak, and then met Crow’s gaze with a delicate smile. Every part of her looked like it could shatter with just a rough touch. “It’s an honor to meet you, Collin,” she said with a polite dip of her head.

“Um, you too,” Crow said uncertainly. He’d never interacted with someone as formal as this woman, so he didn’t have the first clue what to say to her.

“Mercia’s been wanting to speak with you for a while,” Wayne jumped in for his soft-spoken sister. “When she found out I know you, she asked me to arrange for you both to meet.”

Bullshit, Crow thought blandly when he caught sight of the noblewoman’s faint wince. Mercia had nothing to do with this. In fact, she probably disliked him just as much as every other noble in the castle. Wayne had most likely set the whole thing up in the hopes of using them both to advance the Cardonell family name. Still, in the interest of holding onto one of the few decent—albeit fake—relationships he had with another nobleman, the viceroy decided to play along with the little game.

“Is that so?” he mused, turning back to the woman across from him. She nodded unconvincingly, and he flashed her a friendly smile. “Alright then, tell me about yourself.”

Mercia blinked, seeming caught off guard by the personal question. “Well,” she started slowly. “I’m nineteen years of age, and my father is offering a sizeable dowry for my hand in marriage—”

“No, no, no,” Crow waved his hand. “I don’t want numbers. I want to hear about who you are.” He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table in a relaxed posture. Even though he had no intention whatsoever of pursuing a courtship with the woman, he was at least willing to hold a decent conversation with her. Unfortunately, it seemed like that was much easier said than done as she stared at him blankly. If he didn’t know better, he would have guessed that she’d never been asked about herself by someone else before.

“Alright, I’ll make this easy for you,” he smirked. “What do you do for fun around here?”

Mercia’s eyes darted back to her brother, as if she’d been given a script and didn’t know what to say now that the conversation had gone a different direction than what she’d expected. Wayne just shrugged at her in response.

“I… like to journal,” she finally answered in a meek voice, fiddling with her dress beneath the table. “There’s a window in my room that overlooks a grassy hill just beyond the castle. I find it peaceful to sit in front of it and write about my day.”

Gods, everything about this woman is boring, Crow thought to himself, though he feigned interest in what she was saying with a nod. “What else?” he prompted to keep the conversation going. Off to his side, he could see Wayne watching them eagerly. It seemed that the nobleman believed they were getting along just as he’d wanted. The viceroy only hoped he wouldn’t be too disappointed when he turned down the offer to court his sister later.

[BuzzingBee]

Soon Naida's attendant arrived with her plate of food and set it down on the table in front of the princess before stepping away. For a brief moment, their conversation died off as the two began to dig into their meals. As Penelope looked up from her food, she noticed Naida kept glancing over in Crow's direction with a troubled look on her face. The knight raised an eyebrow.

"You know if you want to sit with him that much you can just go over there." she smirked. "I don't mind eating alone."

"That's not it.." Naida pouted and looked back over to Penelope with a hint of worry. "There's some noblewoman there that that one nobleman seems to be introducing to Collin.."

Penelope stared at her friend, waiting for further explanation. When it didn't come, she let out a sigh. "So?"

"So he's clearly trying to set up a courtship!" she declared looking back over at Penelope. "I mean, look at her dress. Who wears that kinda dress to a simple dinner?"

The knight shifted her gaze over to the table, eying the woman from afar. A small smirk threatened to take over her lips as she had to admit that Naida was likely right. The dress was clearly quite lavish and not to mention it seemed to be a bit low cut on top of it. It seemed her prediction about Crow getting courtship offers had been right. Knowing she had nothing to worry about, she found it a bit amusing and also a positive sign. If he was getting courtship offers, that meant he was beginning to get accepted in with the other nobles.

"I guess but I don't see what's the big deal about it." Penelope mused as she looked back down to her food.

"The big deal is that what if he falls for her instead of you? It'd be a big mistake I just know it." Naida claimed and frowned at her. "I know how you're interested in him Penelope."

"You're on that again?" the knight sighed. "I told you I'm not interested in courting anyone right now... And besides that, you shouldn't even being worrying about that. If he falls for her, then he falls for her." Penelope smirked at her friend. "You can't control who he courts Naida."

"Obviously." Naida sighed and rested her cheek in her hand. "But she's probably just trying to use him like all the others and he might get blinded by her looks. Someone has to watch out for him."

Penelope chuckled a little. "I think he can watch out for himself. I don't think he's the type to get that distracted by a pretty woman."

"I guess so." Naida agreed as she poked at her food. She seemed to think something over and a mischievous smirk spread over her lips as she looked back over at Penelope. "What I don't understand is how you seem to know him better than I do."

"You're never going to drop this are you?" Penelope gave a tired smile.

"Nope! Not until you two are courting." Naida said with a confident grin

The knight shook her head and focused back on her food. With any luck, that won't be much longer. she thought hopefully as she ate her food. After a brief silence of eating, she managed to get Naida off of the topic as she brought up the letters she had received. The two talked as they ate and Penelope eventually finished first. Deciding it was best to go to her room to pick up the two letters from Gavin and Olivia before going to meet Crow at his room, she said a word of goodbye to her friend and began to head out of the Great Hall, feeling a new hint of excitement over the thought of spending the rest of the evening with Crow.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow considered himself to be a decent conversationalist, but even he had a hard time talking with Mercia. The noblewoman didn’t seem very fond of talking about herself—or perhaps she didn’t know how. She answered all his questions vaguely with little details, but she also didn’t ask him anything about himself either. He found it difficult to string a conversation along with her when she was barely willing to participate. Still, he tried his best for Wayne’s sake, since the nobleman seemed quite pleased with how things were progressing.

By the time he finished his food, he had come to the conclusion that he and Mercia had absolutely nothing in common. She reminded him of a bird kept in a cage. She seemed happy enough with her restricted life in the castle, but like the bird, she didn’t know the freedom of the world that laid beyond the palace walls. Even if he hadn’t been with Penelope, he couldn’t handle courting someone who was content with sitting in her room, looking out over the kingdom without ever experiencing it for herself. He needed someone whom he could enjoy every part of life with—and hold a normal conversation without so much effort.

At the thought, he smiled to himself, and his eyes flicked back to the table where Penelope was eating with Naida. He had everything he could want in her. Compared to the other women in the castle, she was much more adventurous and fun to be around, and she had proven over and over that she was someone he could trust and rely on. His heart fluttered in his chest as he thought again about just how lucky he was to have won her affection. He couldn’t wait for the day when they could stop hiding their relationship from the rest of the inner kingdom and start courting with the intent for marriage.

“So,” Wayne spoke up. He had a broad smile on his face, seeming to have caught the viceroy’s softened expression and mistaken it for interest in Mercia. “You two seem to be a perfect pair.”

Perhaps if I was half dead and lame, Crow thought, suppressing the urge to snort.

Wayne continued: “My sister mentioned it before, but our father is offering a handsome dowry to the man who takes her hand in marriage. I know she would be honored if you would be the one to court her.” He glanced pointedly at Mercia, who offered a weak smile to the viceroy.

Crow glanced between the siblings with a puzzled expression, acting as if the proposal had caught him off guard. “Oh,” he said, feigning a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in courting anyone right now.” He turned to Mercia. “You’re a lovely woman—” For a ragdoll. “—but I’ve only been living at this castle for about a week. I want to focus on settling in more before I even consider something like marriage. I hope I haven’t offended you.”

If anything, the woman looked relieved. Her features relaxed, and she shook her head. “Of course,” she said, smiling at him a little more genuinely. “I understand.”

On the other hand, Wayne’s excited look wavered. He looked between the two before his gaze settled on the viceroy. “Well, when you are ready to start looking for a wife, I hope you’ll keep Mercia in mind,” he said with his usual fake smile.

Not if she was the last woman in Brerra. “Of course,” Crow nodded, moving to stand up from the table. “Anyway, I should get going.” He flashed one more friendly smile at Mercia. “It was wonderful to meet you, love.”

“You as well,” she dipped her head to him courteously.

“I’ll see you around,” he said to Wayne before turning to head out of the Great Hall at a brisk walk. After spending his supper in the dullest of company, he was eager to meet up with Penelope that evening. He didn’t even bother to wait for Preston as he hurried back to his room to see her.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope stretched as she stepped into her room. After having sat for most of the day, she admittedly was feeling a bit stiff. Trying to shake it off, she rolled her shoulders and then proceeded to walk over to her table where she had placed the letters. Shuffling through the open ones, she quickly located Gavin and Olivia's letters and placed them in her pocket for now. Since that was all she stopped by her room for, she turned headed back to begin her walk to Crow's room.

She wasn't sure how long ago the viceroy had left the Great Hall so she walked a bit slowly, not wanting to arrive there first. Especially if he returned with Preston since it look strange for her to just be waiting in his room. Thinking about the attendant, she began to realize that she should likely act a bit more carefully with him around. She had expressed quite a bit of care for Crow around him—which was difficult to merely brush off since she had been worried for his safety—and had even been quick to help clear his name. The knight let out a small sigh at the thought, hoping that the servant was oblivious enough to just dismiss it as friendship.

As she rounded the corner to the stairs, she was greet by a rather unfriendly face. Penelope cursed inwardly as she locked gaze with William, who seemed to have just taken up the guard shift as another guard made his way past her. The older knight looked over at her and narrowed his eyes. It had been a while since her last run in with him, mainly because she usually avoided him.

"And where are you off to at this hour?" he grumbled suspiciously.

"I'm off to visit my friend." Penelope responded, lifting her head slightly. "There aren't any rules preventing me from that last I checked."

"Yes and I'm sure I know exactly which 'friend' you're visiting." William growled. "You have no shame."

"I'd tell you that you're wrong but your words mean nothing more than castle gossip now so there's really no point in bothering." she snorted in response. She watched as the male knight clenched his jaw frustratedly and she shrugged her shoulders at him before continuing on her way up the stairs. "Have a good shift, William."

She heard the older knight mutter something under his breath but couldn't make out what it was. Penelope didn't concern herself with it though and continued on her way to Crow's room. Now on the third floor, she remained a bit more cautious about who saw her, trying to casually slip past the eyes of guards when she could. Eventually she reached his room and gave a soft knock this time before entering. "It's just me." she announced quietly as she stepped inside, softly closing the door behind her.