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

[Rogue Sloth]

“So, what sort of job do you want me to do?” Crow asked Albin as they walked down the hallway. He had waited until they were out of earshot of the other nobles before bringing up the question, just in case his father didn’t want them to overhear. Truth be told, he was a bit surprised that the king already had a task for him when he’d only been a viceroy for a little over a week. He couldn’t help but wonder what his father thought he was capable of doing with the little education he’d received.

“It’s not a job,” Albin answered. He smirked, seeming amused by the confused look on his son’s face. “In fact, it’s quite simple,” he went on. “I’ve scheduled a meeting with my court this afternoon to go over our options in regard to the war, and I’d like you to be there.”

Crow raised a brow, “Why do you want me to come to a meeting like that?”

“Because you may be involved in our decision,” the king explained simply. “As I’ve mentioned to you before, I have been consulting with my advisors about alternate solutions, and we believe there could be something to be gained in negotiating with the king of Gorm. I’ve decided to bring this idea to my court to get more opinions.” He met the viceroy’s gaze with a smile. “Of course, I don’t expect you to participate much in our discussion, since you have no experience with war strategizing, but I think it will be a good opportunity for you to learn. After all, as my viceroy, you’re going to have to start coming to all my meetings eventually.”

Crow stared at his father in shock. He hadn’t been expecting him to move forward with his plans to ally with Gorm so quickly. Even though he had barely started his training, Albin was already planning to use him to progress the war on his own terms. It seemed that he and Penelope didn’t have as much time as they had thought to convince the king to seek peaceful negotiations.

“I see,” he mused quietly, studying his father’s face with a frown. “I’d heard rumors around the castle that quite a few people here want you to seek a more peaceful solution though. Are you not going to hear them out?”

“Some do, perhaps,” Albin waved his hand dismissively. “But I believe it will be better for us to secure a powerful victory over our enemies.” He rested a hand reassuringly on his son’s shoulder. “The affairs between kingdoms is complicated business, Collin. I don’t expect you to understand. We have been on poor terms with Younis for decades. They interfere with our way of life, and the differences between our lands is simply too vast to allow compromise. The best we can do is annex them and help them to adopt our ways under a united flag. Otherwise, we will just continue to battle with each other in the future.”

Crow nodded wordlessly, beginning to realize that it was going to be harder to change his father’s mind than he’d thought. Albin’s explanation sounded logical enough. He might have even believed it if Penelope hadn’t been visited directly by a god with a warning about Brerra and Younis’s destruction. However, since he did know the prophesy, he couldn’t bring himself to agree.

“I still think it’s worth considering another option,” he suggested softly.

Albin eyed him contemplatively, “You’ll see soon enough that this is our best option.” A brief silence fell between them before the king spoke up again. “Those men you were sitting with; have you been getting along well with them?”

Crow blinked, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic. “I suppose so,” he shrugged, reluctant to drop the last subject even though he doubted there was anything more he could say to change his father’s mind.

“Good,” Albin nodded and then pursed his lips. “They seem like decent enough company for you to be spending time with… I do hope they aren’t putting any ideas in your head though.”

“What do you mean?” Crow tilted his head, unsure what his father was trying to say.

“Well,” the king continued slowly. “I caught part of your conversation when I came to fetch you.” He held the viceroy’s gaze with a concerned look. “I don’t mind if you enjoy talking about women with your friends. I just want to make sure you aren’t expecting to actually start courting any of them.”

Crow tensed slightly, already leery of where the conversation was going. While he didn’t plan to court any of the women the other noblemen had brought up, he had every intention of courting Penelope once he gained her father’s approval. Just the thought of yet another barrier standing between them made him bristle. “And why shouldn’t I?” he pressed, narrowing his eyes at the king.

Albin frowned, nearly seeming offended by his son’s hostility. “I’m not trying to sound controlling,” he said, holding up his hands in an innocent posture. “I just think you should focus on your studies right now. It’s the same advice I’ve been giving Braden.” He offered the viceroy a smile. “If you’d like to court a woman eventually, you’ll have my full support; but for now, I need you to pay attention to your lessons and focus on learning all the skills you’ll need to do the job I’ve given you. Alright?”

Crow lowered his gaze to the ground, contemplating his father’s words. He didn’t like the idea of putting off his plans to court Penelope any longer than he already had, but it wouldn’t really be that long of a wait, would it? He was a quick enough learner. Perhaps if he could prove to the king that he was capable of getting his training done fast enough, Albin would let him court the knight sooner too. The thought made him feel a surge of determination. As long as he kept up his current pace with his education, nothing had to change.

“Fine,” he finally nodded, looking up to meet his father’s gaze again. “I’ll keep working on my studies.”

“Good lad,” Albin smiled approvingly and gestured with a tilt of his head for Crow to follow him. “Now then, the council chambers are just around the corner. Let’s not keep the other men waiting any longer.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope listened carefully as her question sent Dimia off on a rather long winded talk about various aspects of the party. None of which were interesting to the knight. The noblewoman was merely focusing on the entertainment side, speaking of ideas for the decorations, food, drinks and music. The knight let out a quiet sigh as Dimia continued to list out a variety of options for possible musicians, beginning to tune her out as she began to think about the nobles they should be trying to reach out to. Oliver likely had a better idea of that than anyone and despite being on rocky terms with Dimia, the noblewoman would likely be able to spread the word amongst quite a few different noblewomen as well.

"And there has to be dancing! It's not really a party unless there's dancing." Dimia declared, suddenly breaking Penelope's thoughts.

The knight blinked and looked over at her. "Dancing? Will there even be enough room for that?" she questioned. "Where are we even going to host this?"

The couple exchanged a glance, clearly having talked about this particular subject before. "Well... I was going to suggest we have it here!" Dimia smiled slyly.

"Here?" Penelope raised an eyebrow. "As in.. the castle?" As Dimia nodded her head in confirmation, the knight snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. As far as she knew, the only people to throw any type of celebration in the castle was the royal family or especially high ranking nobles that had gotten permission, usually ones from the king's council. For Dimia to even suggest having it in the castle seemed rather bold to the knight. "Exactly how would we go about doing that? The king isn't completely on board with ending the war peacefully yet so I doubt he'd willingly let us use any part of the castle to host such a thing. Besides, it's uncommon for anyone aside from the royal family to host any party in the castle."

"That's true. We would need someone in the royal family to likely act as the host for us." Oliver mused looking at Penelope expectantly.

Dimia offered her a similar look and let out an exasperated sigh as the knight just looked at them confusedly. "Rumor has it that you're pretty close with one of the princesses. We think you could convince her."

"Plus you also have a history with the new viceroy from what I know... He could also come in handy." Oliver pointed out.

Penelope rolled her eyes at the two, disliking that they intended to use her connection to Naida and Crow to try and get into the castle. "Even if Naida agreed, she'd still have to go through her parents to be able to host such a thing. I think we should just look at possibly having it at either of our manors, surely that'd be more doable."

Dimia pursed her lips into a thin line. "You could at least try. You want to end the war right? It'll be a bigger even tif it's held in the castle." she snorted.

Oliver glanced at his wife and then looked back to Penelope. "We can plan to hold it somewhere else but Dimia's right. Trying wouldn't hurt."

Penelope crossed her arms, pausing. She was rather certain it wouldn't work out, especially since Naida would have to lie and come up with some reason for wanting to host such a thing, but the two seemed determined to push her. "Fine. But for now, we continue to plan to have it somewhere else, ok?" she said sternly. The couple gave a satisfied nod and the knight relaxed again. She was about to shift their conversation away from the location when she heard her stomach rumble

"Perhaps we should continue this another time, sounds like you haven't had breakfast yet." Oliver mused quietly.

"I haven't." Penelope admitted with a small blush. She had missed the majority of breakfast in order to speak with them. Her eyes widened as another thought passed through her mind. Tybalt! Bombarded with the arrival of Oliver and Dimia, she had completely forgotten that she was supposed to meet Tybalt early that morning to figure out how to help Crow. She jumped to her feet before she even realized what she was doing. The two stared at her with looked of confusion and Penelope offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry, we really will have to continue this another time. I forgot I have something else to tend to. I'll find you again once I have the time, sorry."

She dipped her head and turned hurrying out of the room and towards the Great Hall at a brisk pace, hoping by some miracle that Tybalt had waited for her. Though she doubted it was likely considering breakfast was nearly finished.

[Rogue Sloth]

As Albin led the way into the council room, Crow hung back slightly. The long table was filled with high ranking men whom he had never met before, and he wasn’t quite sure how to act around them. Of course, he remembered the etiquette Udolf had taught him, but it didn’t do much to lessen his discomfort around the other nobles. They all watched him with thinly veiled disgust, seeming to hold back from glaring at him out of respect for their king. However, he could still feel the tension in the room grow thicker as he followed his father over to the far end of the chamber, where two adjacent chairs sat empty.

“Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Sire,” one of the nobles spoke up as Crow and Albin took their places at the table. The viceroy groaned inwardly as he recognized Adam Fischbach among the group. He hadn’t realized the man who had tried to frame him for stealing was part of his father’s court. The blonde noble eyed him coldly, “We weren’t expecting Lockton to be here.” A few other men murmured their discomfort with the situation as well.

“It was a bit of a last minute decision on my part,” Albin shrugged, casting the viceroy a reassuring look. “I believe this will be good experience for my new viceroy, so I will have him stay to observe our meeting.”

Adam shifted restlessly, clearly wanting to protest more but hesitant to test the waters with his king. No one else spoke up either.

As the silence dragged on, Albin nodded in satisfaction, “Very well then. If no one else has any complaints, we can begin.” He turned toward an elderly man sitting to his left. “Gerard?”

“Err, yes,” the man mumbled, squinting down at a paper in his hands before looking up at the rest. “His Majesty, I, and Malgerius wish to propose that we move forward with negotiations. If the Gorman king is willing to assist us, we believe we can come out victorious in the war against Younis…”

Crow shrank down in his seat as he listened to Gerard go over the details of his father’s plan to enlist Gorm’s help in the war. He wished he knew more about warfare in general, because as things were, Albin’s idea sounded good even to him. He couldn’t think of a way to convince the others to seek peaceful terms with their enemies when it seemed like victory was just around the corner, and the rest of the men looked just as eager to try the plan as Albin was.

It’s not like it matters anyway, he thought dully as the others began to discuss the proposition. They wouldn’t listen to me even if I had an idea. I don’t have a voice here.

To his dismay, the court came to an agreement right away. With no better options on the table, it sounded like they were going to seek an alliance with Gorm to overwhelm Younis in battle. Crow felt his heart sink.

“Good,” Albin mused, seeming pleased that his idea had been so unanimously approved. “All that’s left is to work out the ‘when’ of it all.”

“The sooner the better,” another nobleman grunted. “I want this mess settled already.”

A few others offered their agreement, but Albin raised a hand to quiet them. “Gentlemen, please,” he sighed. “I want this war to end just as much as the rest of you, but this decision lays with Collin.” He turned toward his son, who stared at him in surprise. Crow hadn’t been excepting to be acknowledged at all in the meeting.

“Your Highness, with all due respect,” another man frowned. “He hasn’t even been viceroy for two weeks. He shouldn’t be making any large decisions yet.”

“He hasn’t even been a noble for two weeks,” another growled under his breath, earning a sharp glare from the former thief.

“Normally I would agree with you,” Albin admitted. “However, if we go through with negotiations, he will be the one to travel to the neighboring kingdom, and he will be the one to persuade the Gorman king to join our side. I will not send him until he feels comfortable enough in his skills to make the journey.” He met the viceroy’s gaze with another warm smile. “You know yourself better than I do, Collin. How much time do you think you’ll need to prepare?”

Crow opened his mouth and then closed it again, shifting uncomfortably in his chair as all eyes fell on him. Of course, he wanted to put off the trip for as long as he could in order to give Penelope more time to garner support for peace. However, he knew he couldn’t ask for an unreasonable amount of time to prepare without raising suspicion. He lifted his shoulders tentatively as he held his father’s gaze, “I-I’m not sure… I haven’t even started learning to read and write in Gorman…”

“If I may,” Adam spoke up, drawing attention away from the nervous viceroy. He hesitated for a moment before going on, “It’s going to take time for… Collin to get ready for a job like this.” He sat up a little straighter. “My son, Alden, is already conversational in Gorman and can read the language fluently. I would be more than happy to send him—”

“Fishbach,” Albin sighed again. “I know you mean well, but I need more than just ‘conversational’ for this task.” He frowned. “I cannot risk losing this opportunity because my ambassador does not speak well enough to conduct a thorough negotiation.”

Adam seemed to deflate in his chair. He casted a brief glare at Crow before nodding his head in reluctant compliance.

With the interruption settled, the king turned back to his son, “If you really feel like you need the extra time, I can give you one month. Until then, I will personally tutor you in Gorman writing and culture. Do you think that will be enough?”

Crow felt himself relax. Even though it was less time than before, one month was still plenty to work with. He offered the king a small smile, “Adi khaccitaṅgā.”

Albin chuckled, “Good.” Turning back to the others, he rose from the table. “I believe that’s everything. You’re all dismissed.”

As the other men filed out of the room, Crow stood up as well and stretched his back, tired from the poor sleep he’d gotten as well as from sitting around for so long. It was still early, so he wondered if he would be able to try taking a nap before supper. There was a chance that his nightmare would come back again, but he remembered that he could take midday naps when he had dealt with the dreams in the past and had slept fine during most of them. Perhaps it would be worth a try.

Just as he made his decision, his father spoke up once more, “Udolf has a short lesson for you today.” He studied his son amusedly, seeming to catch how tired he was. “He made it sound like it was just a quick exercise before supper. I believe he’s already waiting for you in your room.”

Crow groaned exaggeratedly and leaned against the nearby wall, “I thought I was getting a day off.”

“Not this time,” Albin gestured for him to walk into the hallway with him. “If you do well enough, I might tell him to give you a break soon though. With all the hard work you’ve put in already, I think you’ve earned it.”

“Really?” the viceroy perked up slightly at the thought of getting a day to rest.

“Of course,” his father smiled. “Just don’t give Udolf too hard of a time today, and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you,” Crow grinned back at him.

With that, the two parted ways, and Crow headed back to his room to meet up with his tutor for his next lesson.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope hurried down the corridor and stepped into the Great Hall. It was practically empty now with only a few knights around eating that had likely had a night shift and had just woken up. A frown crossed her lips as she came to the quick conclusion that Tybalt wasn't there. A stab of guilt hit the knight as she thought about how she had missed the captain of the guard, meaning it was unlikely he would willingly take further time out of his schedule to help her. Or rather, help Crow. She let out a small sigh of defeat and moved to take a seat alone, asking one of the servants for a small bite of whatever food was left while she thought over all that had occured that morning.

Once her food arrived, she began to eat rather mindlessly as she thought about the party that Dimia and Oliver were intent on helping her throw. Dimia was likely just excited to have a reason to throw a lavish party but Oliver seemed convinced it was the best move she could make to garner support for a peaceful end to the war. Penelope let out a small sigh as she poked at her food, finding herself hoping that the vassal was right in his assumption. Toreus' warning echoed in the back of her mind, stirring a feeling of unease in the knight as she reminded herself about just how much was riding on the end of the war.

Still lost in thought, her mind drift to Crow, feeling another hit of guilt. It was unlikely that she'd be getting any answers to help him with his dreams that day after missing Tybalt. Which meant the thief would be stuck suffering from the nightmares for at least another day, if not longer. I need to find Tybalt before my guard shift tonight.. she thought as she finished her food.

---

Right after her small meal, the knight set out to find the guard captain. Luckily it didn't take very long as one of the knights she asked had seen him mere moments ago and pointed her in the right direction. As she rounded the corner, she spotted Tybalt speaking with a couple guards, gesturing to various areas of the castle, likely assigning them duties or coaching them on something. His gaze eventually flickered onto her and she noticed him paused before dismissing the two guards and turning his attention onto her.

"Vermillion, did you need something?" he asked calmly, however Penelope noticed a small hint of annoyance in his eyes that made her inwardly cringe. Though he wasn't directly showing it, she knew he wasn't happy about her absence at breakfast.

"I'm sorry about this morning." she said dipping her head to him. "I had something important come up that I had to attend to immediately."

Tybalt paused then crossed his arms over his chest. "Whatever it was, I would consider these dreams to be just as important, Vermillion. They could interfere with your work and I don't appreciate you pushing them aside."

"I wasn't I just had an unexpected visitor this morning.. A vassal to be exact. I promise I'm not pushing them aside, I still want to know how to deal with them." Penelope said frowning at his words. "Can we please reschedule?"

Tybalt let out a sigh and nodded his head. "I'm busy at the moment so it'll have to wait until tomorrow... Since you have a late shift, I suppose we can meet at supper. Do you think you can make that?"

Penelope deflated a little bit, a bit disappointed she would be able to undo her mistake right away. Meeting at supper would mean Crow had two more nights to get through before she could tell him whatever Tybalt had to say. However, it would likely be too tiring for her to meet him in the morning so she had no choice but to agree to supper. "Yes. I'll be there." she said with a firm nod.

Tybalt eyed her before nodding his head approvingly. "I'll see you tomorrow then." he mused before turning and walking off.

With that matter somewhat solved, Penelope let out a small sigh and walked off to her room, intent on getting in a bit of sleep before she had to take the guard shift that night.

--

It was nearing supper time by the time the knight woke up from her nap. She felt groggy, getting a somewhat restless sleep as her mind had been filled with various worries and plans for what was to come. She felt far from refreshed but at least she had managed to get some sleep in. Giving a big stretch, she felt her shoulder give a satisfying pop and then slipped into her boots as she headed off to the Great Hall for dinner.

[Rogue Sloth]

Fortunately for Crow, it seemed that Albin had been right when he’d said that Udolf’s lesson would be short. When he got back to his room, the tutor just had him work on copying a few lines from some poems in a book, so he could refine his written characters more. The viceroy found the task dull—especially since he’d already written a full letter before and had done fine with that—but he kept his mouth shut nonetheless. As long as his father was considering giving him a day off soon, he didn’t want to do anything to upset him or change his mind. If that meant putting up with his dull teacher for another afternoon, then so be it.

As the day turned to evening, Udolf dismissed him to go to supper. Crow got up from the table and yawned, still tired from his poor sleep and the long day he’d already had. He wished he had time to take a nap, but at this point, getting any more rest would mean missing a meal, and that wasn’t a sacrifice he was willing to make. So, accepting the fact that he was just going to have to wait until night to sleep again, he turned to head to the Great Hall with Preston.

“Lockton.”

Crow groaned inwardly as Udolf’s voice caught his ear before he could reach for the door handle. Why did everyone seem to want something from him today? Glancing back over his shoulder, he forced a polite smile, “Yes?”

“I just wanted to make sure you know,” the tutor said without looking up as he gathered his supplies. “His Majesty will be conducting most of your studies in the coming weeks.” Shouldering his bag, he met the viceroy’s gaze sternly. “It’s a bit out of order, since you still need to learn a few more basics such as math and history, but the king insisted on starting your lessons in foreign culture as soon as possible.”

“Alright,” Crow blinked. His father had already told him this during the afternoon meeting. Of course, he supposed there was no way for his tutor to know that, so he didn’t bother pointing it out. Instead, he just dipped his head, “Thank you for letting me know.”

“You’re welcome,” Udolf nodded, seeming pleased with his student’s newfound agreeableness.

Crow smiled to himself. As long as he didn’t give the tutor another reason to get mad at him, he had high hopes that his father would let him rest soon. Feeling pleased, he turned back to the door and headed into the hallway with Preston, eager to fill his stomach before bed. He had been expecting a quick trip to the Great Hall, but unfortunately, it seemed like everyone was determined to speak with him today.

Just as he was about to reach the doors to the dining chamber, he stopped as yet another voice called his name. With a sigh, he turned around, only to see two women he didn’t know hurrying over from the hall he’d just walked down. He eyed them curiously, wondering what they wanted with him, until he recalled Wayne’s sister Mercia. If his guess was right, he had a feeling he knew exactly why these two were chasing him down now.

“Can I help you?” he asked, feigning ignorance though he kept a wary distance from them.

“Um, yes, well…” the girl on the left stammered, glancing at her friend for help.

“We were hoping you might have some time to talk,” the girl on the right said. She offered him a coy smile. “We’d like to get to know you better.”

Crow shifted his weight, glancing subtly toward the Great Hall. He’d been hoping to catch up with Penelope during supper, since he’d missed her at breakfast, but he couldn’t think of a way to shake these two women without drawing attention to his closeness to the knight. After all, if he turned down their offer and was seen with a different woman, they were naturally going to assume he was interested in her. So, unable to think of a way out, he forced a smile. “I’d like that,” he lied.

“Great,” the girl on the right grinned. “My name is Edith, and this is Sarah. We’re—”

“There you are!”

Crow turned around at the sound of a new voice and quirked a brow in surprise as he saw Naida storming toward him with a frustrated expression. His sister let out a huff and caught hold of his arm, giving him a tug. “Don’t tell me you forgot about our plan to get supper this evening.”

“Oh, right,” the viceroy casted her a lopsided smile, quickly catching on to what the princess was doing. He glanced at the other girls, who now had confused looks on their faces, and shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to talk another time. Sorry.”

“Oh, um, it’s fine,” Sarah frowned. She wavered for a moment and then bowed to Naida, “We didn’t mean to intrude.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” the princess waved her hand and shot Crow another annoyed look. “This fool is the one who should have known better.” She gave his arm another tug, dragging him along with her as she made her way into the Great Hall. “Come on, let’s eat.”

“O-Okay,” Crow stumbled slightly to get his feet underneath him as he followed after her.

As soon as they were out of earshot of the other women, Naida turned on him with narrowed eyes, “What was that?”

“What was what?” Crow met her gaze bemusedly.

“Why are you talking to other women?” his sister crossed her arms.

“Am I not allowed to?” Crow snorted.

“Well, no… but you know they’re trying to get you to court them, right? I thought you said you didn’t want to court anyone.”

“I did, but I couldn’t just turn them down for no reason,” he justified. “That would have been rude.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I came to rescue you before Penelope saw you with them.”

There it is, Crow bit back a smirk. “That’s what this is about?” he rolled his eyes at her. “When I said I wasn’t interested in courting, I meant that I don’t want to court anyone.”

“I know,” Naida casted him a cheeky grin. “But I think you’re going to come around when you spend enough time with her. Just you wait. She’s perfect for you.”

“You’re ridiculous,” he laughed.

“I’m right,” she nudged him good humoredly. “Now come on, I saw an empty table over this way.”

“Fine,” Crow followed after her as she led him through the crowd, eager to sit down and eat his supper.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope stepped into the Great Hall and swept her gaze over the tables, looking for any familiar faces to sit with. Fortunately it seemed the knight hadn't missed Crow and Naida, spotting them at a table across the room. After having a bit of a hectic morning, she was rather grateful she'd be able to spend some time in the company of people she was close to, despite feeling a stab of guilt at the reminder that she had failed to get any answers for Crow that morning.

She smiled and walked over to join them, rolling her eyes amusedly as she noticed Naida pulling her usual trick of blocking her from sitting down besides her. While she certainly didn't mind getting closer to Crow, she still found her friend's antics amusing. The knight found herself a bit eager to see how the princess would react when she found out the truth about them. Penelope bit back a smirk at the thought, hiding it as she moved to sit down next to Crow.

"Hey Penelope!" Naida greeted with a grin. "I didn't see you at breakfast, did you have guard duty today?"

"No.. I have it tonight actually." Penelope answered with a shrug before pausing. "I actually had a surprise visit from the Lenz's today."

Naida's eyes widened. "Wait.. You mean Oliver and Dimia came to see you? Why?" she paused with an uncertain glance at Crow before lowering her voice slightly. "Was she celebrating you leaving her brother or what?"

Penelope smirked a little and shook her head. "No, they came on surprisingly friendly terms... They wanted to help me end the war. I guess Gavin sent them a letter or something to convince them." she shrugged. Naida shifted a bit uncomfortably at the mention of Gavin's help. At first, her expression confused the knight until she caught sight of her quick glance at Crow. Then she realized that the princess was likely a bit concerned about her former suitor interfering with her plans to get the two together. It made the knight subtly shake her head.

Letting out a small sigh, she went on, ignoring Naida's look,"Anyways that's what took up most of my morning unfortunately." she explained with a shrug glancing at Crow with a subtle look of apology. Glancing between the two siblings, she went on to ask, "So what have you two been up to today?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow didn’t speak to Naida much. As soon as their food arrived, the viceroy went to work cleaning his plate. Since he hadn’t been getting good sleep lately, his appetite had grown a bit to accommodate the lack of energy he had throughout the day. He found it difficult to keep from reverting back to his old habit of eating with his hands, since the utensils hindered him from eating as quickly as he would have liked. Despite the slight frustration, he managed not to give in to impulse, just in case someone would see him dining like a “savage” and tell Udolf. He was going to stay on his best behavior until his father allowed him to take a break from his studies.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think father was starving you,” Naida said amusedly as she watched him from across the table.

“It’s good food,” Crow shrugged, popping another bite of red meat into his mouth.

“It is,” his sister laughed. “That’s why you should at least try to taste it before you swallow.”

Crow made a face at her and went back to his meal, continuing to eat until he heard the princess exclaim a greeting. As Penelope joined them at the table, he looked up, forcing himself to keep a neutral expression despite his eagerness to see her. Though Naida’s motivations for forcing them to sit together were annoying, he was glad that she herded the knight to his side. He enjoyed sitting beside her when it was hard for them to get any closer during the day.

As the two noblewomen spoke amongst each other, he listened quietly, unsure if he was interested in the topic of discussion or not. However, his interest was piqued when Penelope told his sister about the nobles who had offered their support to help her end the war. At the mention of them, his heart fluttered with nervousness. Since Albin had mentioned that he might be able to have a day off soon, he’d nearly forgotten about the more distressing part of their meeting that afternoon. He casted her a discreet glance. Now that it was settled that he was going to Gorm in one month, he needed to let her know that she didn’t have much time left.

“Just training,” Naida shrugged in answer to Penelope’s question. “I didn’t have anything else to do, so I joined some of the other knights in sparring.” She turned to her brother. “What about you, Collin? More tutoring with Udolf?”

“Yes and no,” Crow fidgeted with his fork, looking up to meet Penelope’s gaze with a frown. “Father had me attend a meeting with his court today.”

“Really?” Naida snickered. “Braden’s going to be jealous when he finds out you went to that meeting. He wasn’t allowed to go.”

“Father said it would be good experience for me,” the viceroy explained simply and then turned back to the knight. “He also wanted me to go because their decision impacted me personally.” He casted a furtive glance over his shoulder and lowered his voice before going on: “He’s decided that since the war hasn’t been going in our favor, he wants to send me to Gorm to petition the king to form an alliance with us against Younis.” He lowered his gaze anxiously. “If nothing changes, I’ll be leaving in a month.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small nod as Naida answered her. As Crow went onto speak, the knight looked over with interest as he mentioned that his father had him attend a court meeting. She was a bit surprised the king was already having him attend such a meeting, especially since he had only been in training for less than two weeks. What also caught her off guard was the frown he casted her. Confused by why he seemed upset, she tilted her head and listened as he went onto explain how the meeting's decision impacted him.

The knight visibly stiffened as Crow announced that the king was planning to send him to Gorm to petition for an alliance rather than seeking a peaceful end to the war. The only thing that made finding out about the king's decision was that he was looking to send Crow out within a month's time. Panic began to seep into her gaze. Mia had given her two months to rally support to end the war but now she had even less than that. With only a few letters and still waiting for more, the sudden dip of time that she had sent her heart racing anxiously.

"Oh.." Naida frowned a little and glanced over at Penelope with sympathy in her gaze. "Sorry to hear, Penelope... I know you wanted it to be a peaceful end.."

Penelope remained silent for a long moment, thinking over her current situation. Naida sounded like she expected her to give up but the knight knew she couldn't. Thinking about her meeting with the god, there was just too much on the line to give up before it was truly over. "It's fine... I'll just have to get enough support before the month is up." she muttered with a hint of desperate determination.

"That's such a short time though... And my father can be quite stubborn when it comes to his plans. How bad could an alliance with Gorm be? It'll still end the war." Naida sighed.

Penelope shook her head. "No this war needs to end peacefully. Getting Gorm's help will only cause more bloodshed trust me." she said. She paused, falling silent as the servants brought their food. The knight waited until they left again before looking between the two siblings.

"I have a new plan anyways... Dimia and Oliver came today with the idea of throwing a party in order to increase my reach of nobles. Granted I wasn't expecting to have to put it together as quickly as we are now, but I still think it's the best bet.." the knight gave them both a sheepish smile. "I might need the help of a couple high ranking nobles though to pull this off."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow bit his lip when Penelope didn’t respond to his announcement right away. He could tell she was worried about the new information he’d just given her, and he felt a little guilty for not bringing it up sooner. Before, he hadn’t known if his father had been serious about his idea to enlist their neighbor’s help in the war, and he’d kept the knowledge to himself to keep from stressing the knight out unnecessarily. After all, if she had been able to rally enough support before Albin had gone through with preparing his own plan, telling her about it would have been pointless. But now, with firm plans and schedules being laid down, time was dwindling.

When Penelope finally spoke again, Crow nodded in halfhearted agreement. He didn’t know much about what it would take to persuade the king to seek peaceful negotiations with Younis, but from the few conversations he’d had with him on the subject, he could tell his father was going to be resolute. If the knight was going to change his mind, she was probably going to need quite a few powerful voices on her side. He just hoped she could still get enough within the month she had left.

As Naida voiced her opinion about the turn of events, the viceroy shuffled his feet sheepishly beneath the table. At a glance, he thought his father’s plan was wise too. If Gorm was willing to side with them, they would have the power and numbers to finally overcome Younis in battle, and the war would end in Brerra’s victory. It sounded like the perfect solution, but he knew it wasn’t enough. For whatever reason he couldn’t yet see, the gods were apparently convinced that if the war didn’t end on peaceful terms, both Brerra and Younis were somehow going to be destroyed. How that would happen, he couldn’t say, but he knew better than to think he was smarter than an immortal being. They had to keep trying.

Crow glanced at the servants that appeared with more food—a plate for Penelope and a second helping for him, since he was still hungry—and then turned back to Penelope curiously as she explained that she had a new plan.

“A party?” Naida echoed with a grin, already excited by the idea.

“How would that work?” Crow wondered out loud, glancing between the noblewomen with a frown. He couldn’t see how dinner and drinking would lead to any sort of important resolution.

“It’s perfect,” his sister insisted. “Gather all the most influential people together in one place and get them in a good mood. They’ll agree to whatever you want!” She casted him a wink. “And a little wine doesn’t hurt your chances either.”

“It’s that easy?” Crow gawked at her. “Why didn’t we just do this in the first place?”

“Well, parties are really expensive,” Naida admitted, swirling her drink in her hand. “And if Penelope wants to get all the support she needs in one go, it’s going to need to be the party of all parties.” She turned to her friend with a grin. “But if the Lenz’s are going to pay for this, then I’m sure we can pull it off.”

Crow nodded, suddenly more eager to try the idea if his sister thought it would work. At the rate Albin was moving with his own plans, they needed to do whatever they could to garner support for peace anyway. He turned back to Penelope with a determined smile, “Alright, I’m in. Just tell me what I need to do”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope smiled a little as she noticed Naida get excited by the idea of a party. She took a couple bites of her food as the two siblings talked. Naida's positive attitude gave the knight hope, making her feel like the party could make her short deadline possible. While such a big party would take some extensive planning, it could possibly be enough to get her the support she needed. Feeding off the princess' excitement, her smile widened into a grin as the two offered her their support.

"Thank you." she told them gratefully then paused for a moment as she thought over what there was to do. "Well, Dimia's going to be doing the majority of the planning to make it an actual party and Oliver is handling the finances... So I suppose that leaves the guest list to us." Penelope gave a smirk. "Between a princess and viceroy, I'm sure we can convince quite a few powerful nobles to attend and give their support."

Naida grinned. "I think so too. Might as well make use of those trying to use us."

"Exactly." Penelope gave a small chuckle. She hesitated as another thought crossed her mind. "Also Naida.. The Lenz's were talking about possibly hosting it in the castle..."

"At the castle?" Naida blinked in surprise.

Penelope nodded her head. "I know it'd be difficult, but if you can, we were hoping that you'd be able to convince your parents to let you host such a thing here." she gave her friend a small smile. "Of course you don't have to. I already have them planning for a different location."

Naida's grinned returned and winked at her friend. "This has to be the party of all parties! I can't guarantee anything but let me see what I can do."

Penelope smiled at her appreciatively and nodded her head. "Hopefully we can pull this off." she mused before taking the last bite of her food. Her gaze wandered to a nearby window, noting how late it was getting. "I better get going. I have a guard shift tonight."

[Rogue Sloth]

As Penelope and Naida discussed the details of the party further, Crow listened along in silence. Having only been to one banquet so far, he didn’t know what went into the extravagant events that nobles put on. He just remembered that there had been good food, plenty to drink, and music performed by minstrels. So, when Penelope said that all he and his sister needed to do was create a guest list, he was relieved. He still didn’t have very many contacts in the castle, but there were plenty of men and women who had been trying to win his attention recently. He sipped at his drink as Edith and Sarah came to mind. Maybe he could use their interest in his power to persuade them to show up.

The thought of speaking to more greedy nobles didn’t sit well with him—especially the women whom he already knew would try to flirt and convince him to court them—but he was willing to try anything if it meant they could stop his father from going through with his plan to ally with Gorm. It’s just until the party happens anyway, he thought reassuringly. I can handle them until then.

As Penelope announced that she needed to go to her guard shift, Crow nodded, popping another bite of food from his second plate into his mouth. “Alright. See you later,” he mused, intending to stay and finish the rest of his food before he retired to his chambers for the night. Now that plans were being made, he felt less worried about what was to come and was able to focus on his meal.

Once the knight was gone, he noticed Naida watching him with a wide grin on her face. “What?” he asked, frowning confusedly back at her. Knowing why she usually smiled at him, he wondered if he and Penelope had done anything to give away their closeness, but thinking back over everything they had said and done, he couldn’t think of anything that might have given him away.

“Oh, nothing,” his sister waved her hand dismissively, although the pleased look didn’t leave her face. In the next moment she spoke up again. “Hey, Collin. You don’t know how to dance, do you?”

The viceroy looked up from his plate again and shrugged, “Sort of. I mean, I’m decent enough by peasant standards, but it’s not something I’ve practiced much.” He eyed her with a puzzled look. “Why?”

“Well, if we’re going to be throwing a party, you’re going to have to learn,” the princess smirked. “I can teach you! I’ve been to plenty of dances before, so I know what I’m doing.”

“Do I have to?” he frowned. “I’m content just watching everyone else.”

“No way,” she shook her head and met his gaze with a mischievous smile. “You definitely have to learn. You can’t be a high-ranking nobleman and not know how to dance.”

“I guess,” he raised his shoulders again, still not eager to learn but unable to think of a good excuse to get out of it when he was tired and ready to sleep. Instead, he stood up from the table and stretched, “I need to get some sleep. I’ll see you around.”

“Goodnight, Collin!”

The viceroy turned and headed back to the hallway, yawning as his weariness caught up with him from the heavy meal and the long day. He ambled down the corridor and up the stairs that led to his room, but then froze when he caught sight of the guard stationed in the hall near his room. His heartbeat quickened involuntarily. Normally he wouldn’t have minded having Penelope so close, but after the events of the last three mornings, her presence made him anxious.

“You didn’t tell me you were assigned to this post,” he said as he walked up to her, forcing a wry smile so she wouldn’t notice his nervousness. He paused for a moment before adding, “Are you going to be here all night?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small wave to the two before walking off. She'd be station near Crow's room and would have walked with him if he had been finished with his food. However, he still had a bit of dinner left and she didn't want to give Naida anymore ideas by waiting for him to finish just so they could leave together. The knight head out of the Great Hall and up the stairs to take her position, keeping an eye out for Crow as she suspected she'd see him retiring to his room at some point.

She didn't have to wait too long before she heard footsteps ascending the nearby stairs and glanced over to see Crow. She noticed him pause for a moment as he caught sight of her and the knight shot him a smile. With all that had been going on, she hadn't gotten the chance to tell him that she would be stationed near his room that night and figured he was surprised to see her.

"I would have but I got a bit distracted with everything else." Penelope told him with a small smile. As he asked if she would be there all night, she raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, yes. That's how the night shifts go." she mused wondering why he would ask that when the answer felt obvious. Remembering his dreams, she frowned a little. "So if you need something, I'll be out here tonight and tomorrow night."

Penelope paused and shuffled her feet. "Also, I'm sorry I wasn't able to get you any answers today.. When the Lenz's popped up I completely forgot about meeting Tybalt this morning." she admitted with a soft sigh. Meeting his gaze, she quickly added, "But I plan to meet him tomorrow for supper and I won't forget again."

[Rogue Sloth]

Although Penelope didn’t notice his stiffness in the moment, Crow knew she was going to figure him out in the morning, just as the last guard had. His fake smile wavered at the thought. He had told her about the content of his nightmares, but he didn’t want her to find out about the sort of effects the dreams had been taking on him when he woke up from them. Knowing her, she was just going to worry about him more, and he didn’t want to take her attention away from convincing his father to end the war. He could handle a few bad dreams; he couldn’t handle seeing the destruction of his homeland and possibly losing the knight to an even more dangerous war.

As she went on to say that she would, in fact, be posted by his room all night and the night following, the viceroy shifted his weight nervously. Even if he got lucky and he didn’t wake up screaming from his nightmare tonight, he doubted he would go two in a row without facing it at all when it had come back so strong. “Thanks, love,” he said in a low voice despite his internal worries. “But I think I’ll be fine… You don’t need to do anything for me.”

At her apology, he shook his head. “Convincing my father to negotiate with Younis is far more important than my personal issues,” he casted her a teasing smile. “I meant what I said before: I don’t want you to let this distract you from doing everything you can to get him to see reason.” Casting a quick glance down the long corridor to make sure they were alone, he took a step forward and wrapped her in his arms in an embrace. “Just do what you can, when you can do it. I don’t expect anything more from you than that, okay?”

And there probably isn’t anything that can be done to help anyway, he added silently to himself, still pessimistic that she would be successful in finding a cure for his dreams.

After a pause, he touched a quick kiss to her cheek and stepped back again, offering her a tired smile, “I should get some sleep. It’s been a long day, and with those plans of yours, I have a feeling the coming days are going to be even longer.” He pressed one more kiss to her lips. “I love you, Penelope. Goodnight.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope let out a small sigh as he assured her that she didn't have to do anything for him. While she hoped he was correct in his assumption that he'd be fine, she also hoped that he wouldn't be too prideful to go to her if he did end up needing anything. After all, just finding out about his dreams had been like pulling teeth. Her thoughts shifted away from the memory of learning about his nightmares as Crow wrapped her up in an embrace that she was quick to return.

"Alright." she agreed softly with a small nod. She didn't really think it was distracting her, it had just been poor timing that morning. It wasn't like she had sacrificed anything after all and though one was more important than the other, she didn't want to just push his problems aside.

Looking up at him, the knight took a moment to relish being in his arms. With very few moments completely alone, she had a greater appreciation for the small moments they did get. Penelope smiled up at him as he kissed her cheek. "I have to agree with you there." she mused as he made a comment about the days to come being longer due to her plan. While she was feeling hopeful, there was still much to do before the party and a lot on the line if everything didn't run smoothly. Long days were likely ahead for both of them.

She met his lips as he kissed her and offered him a warm smile. "I love you too. Goodnight Collin." she said softly before stepping back to let him go to his room. The knight let out a sigh as she now stood alone in the corridor, beginning her long and likely quiet guard shift alone.

---

Morning was beginning to roll around and the knight let out a weary yawn. After staying vigilant throughout the night and having a busy day prior, she was eager for morning to come so she would be relieved from her station. Footsteps soon caught her attention and she glance towards the staircase to see Preston walking towards Crow's room. He glanced towards her, briefly catching her eye long enough for the knight to dip her head to him in greeting. He swiftly returned the gesture but didn't slow his pace as he head to the viceroy's room.

Penelope thought it was a bit odd that the servant was there so early in the morning. But perhaps it was because Crow had a long day of training ahead of him. Regardless she shrugged it off rather quickly and returned to keeping an eye out. However, that didn't last long as a scream from down the hall nearly made the knight jump out of her own boots. Her head whipped around and she paled with realization of where the source of the scream had came from. Crow!

Panicked that he was in some sort of danger, she bolt for his room. She drew her sword right before she swung open the door and stormed in keeping a defensive posture as she prepared herself for whatever was inside.

[Rogue Sloth]

As Crow walked back to his bed chambers, he could already feel his heart beginning to pound in his chest. Between his hesitation to face his nightmare yet again and his worry that Penelope was going to find out he was doing worse than he claimed, the thought of going to sleep that night was quite unappealing. However, he knew he couldn’t just stay up either. After three nights of poor rest in a row, his weary body begged him to lay down. If he attempted to stay awake until the morning, he would probably just pass out.

He let out his breath in a conflicted sigh, stepping into his room and closing the door behind him. His eyes wandered to his bed, and he swallowed apprehensively. Maybe I’ll get lucky, he thought to himself again. When he’d had the dreams the first time as a child, there had been occasional nights when the nightmare hadn’t appeared. So, while it was slim, there technically was still a chance that he would make it through the night without waking up in a cold sweat in the morning.

Clinging to the hope, the viceroy reluctantly changed out of his day clothes and laid down for bed. He drew his blankets up to his chin to stave off the cold, closing his eyes and sending a brief prayer to the gods that he would make it through the night without facing his nightmare again.

After lying awake for a little while longer, his exhaustion grew too strong to fight anymore and he let go of consciousness, drifting off into a light sleep.

--

If the gods had been listening to his prayers in the past, they certainly weren’t anymore.

Crow jolted upright on his bed, clutching his chest where Jaxon’s sword had been mere seconds before. His breaths came to him short and shallow as he tried to regain his bearings. The task seemed to be getting harder to do the longer his nightmare plagued him. Though he knew in the back of his head that he was safe in the castle, it was difficult to shake off the vivid images of the slaughter that tried to convince him he was still in danger. He clenched his jaw, trying to will the gruesome scene out of his mind.

Still consumed with the aftereffects of his nightmare, the viceroy wasn’t aware that Preston was already in the room with him again. His attendant sat at the table by the window as usual, keeping an eye on his master in wait to approach him whenever he was coherent enough to handle a conversation. He’d brought another glass of water, but knew better than to try to bring it to the bed until his panic resided.

When the door suddenly burst open, Preston startled and spun around in his seat. The guards on the third floor had grown sick of Crow’s “disruption” lately, so he had thought they weren’t going to bother coming to check on him. So, as Penelope stepped in with her sword in hand, the servant’s eyes widened with fright. He froze for a moment before slowly standing up from the table. The idea of confronting a knight who outranked him was intimidating to say the least, but after the way the viceroy had reacted to the last guard who tried to help him, he knew he had to warn her off.

“Um,” he started nervously, trying to get his thoughts straight as he kept her sword in sight. “Collin doesn’t want any guests right now… Please, you shouldn’t be here.” Fighting past his nervousness, he made his way over to the door, gesturing to usher the knight out of the room.

[BuzzingBee]

Upon entering the room, her gaze darted around looking for danger but instead, all she found was a panicked Crow and Preston, who appeared frightened by her sudden entrance. Penelope blinked, caught off guard by the scene until her gaze fell back on Crow, who didn't even seem to notice her entrance. The knight's eyes widened with realization. With no apparent threat, his nightmares must have caused him to scream.

They're affecting him this badly... Penelope frowned deeply as she grew further concerned for the viceroy. He had never mentioned anything about waking up screaming or in such a panic. She needed to find away to help as quickly as she could. The knight was just about to step over to his side when Preston suddenly tried to usher her out of the room. She had been so focused on Crow's current state that she hadn't even seen the servant approach. Penelope wavered for a moment now that she was reminded that they weren't alone. If she tried to help him now, it could cause Preston to get suspicious of them.

However, she couldn't just leave Crow in the current state that he was in. We can figure a way out of it later. she thought to herself. The knight dropped her sword to the ground, both to ease Preston's worry and hopefully Crow's as well since his nightmare involved being run through with a sword. "Sorry." she muttered to the servant before pushing past him and hurrying over to Crow's side.

Once she reached the viceroy, Penelope shifted to stand at his side, leaning in to try and catch his gaze. "Crow, I'm here." she murmured to him then paused as she tried to figure out a way to help him recover from his nightmare. She moved to tentatively place a hand on his back in an attempt to begin soothingly run her hand up and down. "You're alright. You're safe. Just breath.. In and out." she told him noticing how he was short of breath. She paused before using herself as an example to hopefully help, taking deep breaths in and letting them out slowly.

[Rogue Sloth]

Still caught up in his panic attack, Crow was unaware of the discourse between Preston and Penelope. He kept his eyes shut, trying to reign in his uncontrolled breathing as he realized he was starting to feel lightheaded. With the nightmare still so fresh in his mind, he didn’t want to let himself pass out and risk facing it twice in one day. Thinking about it again, he flinched as the images passed, unwarranted, through his mind. He lifted his hands to his head, murmuring to himself under his breath as he tried to get them to go away. They were definitely getting worse. He was sure of that now.

Suddenly, he tensed as he felt someone rest a hand on his back. He wanted to look up to see who was there but, worried that he would just open his eyes to another vision of Jaxon or a knight or something even worse, he couldn’t bring himself to move. He shivered, putting his focus back into getting rid of the lingering pictures in his mind. It was getting harder to tell dream from reality. Even though he’d dealt with nightmares in the past, they had never been this bad. If they continued to progress as they had been, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

“Crow, I’m here.”

The viceroy’s breath caught in his throat as he recognized Penelope’s voice. For a moment, relief washed over him as he decided that it must have been her hand that he could feel on his back. However, his respite was short lived when another thought came to him: What if I’m just imagining her too? His stomach twisted. As his nightmares grew more intense, he was starting to fear that he was losing his mind. If he opened his eyes to look for the knight and saw that she wasn’t there…

“You’re alright. You’re safe. Just breathe… In and out.”

Crow bit his lip. He really wanted her to be there. Her voice sounded tangible, but he had to know for sure. Pushing back against his fear, he managed to open his eyes and tentatively glanced toward his bedside. As his gaze fell on the knight, he felt weak with relief. He hadn’t imagined her after all. She really was there.

Without giving it another thought, he abruptly wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes again as he took comfort in knowing she was with him. Somehow, holding onto her helped to ground him a bit more. He wasn’t in Tamsworth or Jaxon’s camp. He was in the castle with her, safe and unscathed. The thought gave him just enough strength to start getting his breathing back under control.

He held her for a while longer—he wasn’t sure how much time passed—until the effects of his nightmare finally subsided. Once his heart had stopped racing and his body had stopped trembling, he opened his eyes again and looked off to the side, resting his head against her chest. The panic was gone now, but it had been replaced by a sharp sense of humiliation as it hit him that she’d seen him in such a miserable state. He hadn’t wanted her to find out just how bad his dreams had gotten.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he mumbled under his breath, keeping his gaze fixed away from her. Putting his feelings aside, he knew she had to have been upset with him for keeping secrets from her yet again. She probably thought he didn’t trust her enough or that he didn’t want to rely on her as a partner. He didn’t want to see the look of disappointment on her face knowing he’d let her down again.

[BuzzingBee]

At first, the viceroy seemed unresponsive to her efforts to calm him down. She frowned worriedly and tried to think of what else to do for him while he was in such a state of panic. However, in the next moment, he looked up at her and before she could respond, he wrapped her up in his arms. Penelope blinked in surprise but didn't hesitate to return the gesture, holding him close to herself as he began to overcome the aftereffects of his dream.

The knight didn't rush him and fell quiet as they embraced, gently running one hand up and down his back. Eventually she began to notice that Crow began to become more composed as his breathing became less short and his body stopped trembling. She looked down at him as he rested his head against her chest and apologized for keeping the severity of his nightmares a secret from her. Penelope let out a soft sigh and softly ran her fingers through his hair.

"I wish you would have told me." she admitted then shook her head. "But it's alright. It's not like I would have been able to do anything to help.. Not yet at least.." Penelope shifted her gaze to the side feeling a stab of guilt as she thought about how she had failed to help him sooner. She knew he had told her to focus on ending the war but that didn't stop the knight from wishing she would have had the time to solve the problem sooner. Especially after seeing the state he would wake up in.

Penelope leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead before resting her head on top of his. "I just pray that Tybalt has a solution for you... You shouldn't have to go through this every morning.." she murmured to him. The knight was even beginning to think Eldon's solutions weren't a bad idea anymore. While risky, they would possibly give some peace to the viceroy. Though she knew Crow was stubborn and would likely refuse them still due to the risky they posed. Perhaps she could convince him if she began to take all the guard shifts overnight. Surely Tybalt could alter that schedule for her.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a third voice sound from nearby, making the knight freeze. "Um... What's going on?" Preston asked as he studied them from nearby.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow winced when Penelope said she wished he had told her sooner. However, her voice didn’t sound as upset as he had been expecting. Instead of addressing him with frustration or disappointment, she was actually gentle with him. A small, melancholic smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. He knew he didn’t deserve the amount of affection she showed him, but he appreciated it nonetheless, especially since he was still a bit shaken up by his nightmare. Right now, the last thing he needed was to be reprimanded for something he had already known he’d done wrong.

He nodded faintly when she said there wasn’t anything she could have done anyway. He was glad that she finally seemed to understand what he’d been trying to tell her. The dreams weren’t like a physical wound or even an illness. They were all in his head. There was nothing anyone could do to help, since they couldn’t get inside his mind and change the memories. As difficult as it was, this was just something he was going to have to fight on his own.

As the knight pressed a kiss to his forehead, Crow closed his eyes again and leaned into her embrace, taking comfort in having her so close. Her words did little to reassure him though. He doubted Tybalt would have any better ideas than Eldon had. However, he kept his thoughts to himself, in no mood to start an argument over it. Right now, he just wanted to focus on the warmth of her body and the steady movement of her chest as she breathed. The rhythm helped calm him, just enough to be caught off guard when Preston suddenly spoke up.

At the sound of the attendant’s voice, the viceroy tensed. In his panic, he’d forgotten that the boy was still in the room with them and that he and Penelope needed to keep their relationship a secret. He opened his eyes again to see the servant watching them with an intrigued look on his face, but, unsure what to say, he remained quiet.

When no one answered his question, Preston took it upon himself to fill the silence.

“I was right,” he said matter-of-factly.

Crow shifted slightly. It was going to be hard to convince the attendant he was wrong now that he’d caught them in such an intimate moment, but he was in no mood to discuss it. “Read the room, kid,” he rolled his eyes instead, hoping the servant would drop the subject on his own. Unfortunately, if Preston picked up on the warning, he didn’t heed it.

“I knew it,” the attendant went on as he looked between them. “You tried to tell me I was wrong, but I knew I was right.”

“Alright, fine,” Crow sighed, leaning away from Penelope to put some distance between them while the boy’s eyes were still on them. “You win. Are you happy now?”

“Quite,” Preston nodded. He stepped over to the table, retrieving the glass of water he’d set there before returning to the viceroy’s bedside. “Here. Drink this.”

“Thanks,” Crow accepted the water and downed the whole thing. When he was finished, he handed the empty glass back to his servant and moved to swing his legs over the edge of the mattress. “Well, I guess I might as well get up now since I’m awake.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope cursed inwardly as she stared across the room at Preston. Having been so focused on Crow, she had forgotten to be careful under the gaze of the servant. She remained silent, unsure what to say and glancing to Crow, who also seemed just as tongue-tied as her. When Preston finally broke the silence, the knight gave a slightly confused look, unsure what he meant by saying he was right.

It seemed that the servant had had his suspicions about their relationship judging by the conversation between him and Crow. She glanced down at Crow as she felt him lean away from her. Deciding it was best to put some distance between them as well, she let her arms fall back to her side and took a small step back as Preston stepped over to give Crow the glass of water. Penelope shifted her gaze away from the two, worrying a bit about their current situation. It'd be impossible to lie to Preston now about their relationship so it left the knight with a small feeling of unease, unsure if the servant would keep his mouth shut.

As Crow finished the water and decided to get up, Penelope gave a small nod. "I better get back to my post. Another guard should becoming to relieve me soon." she mused. The knight hesitated before reaching to giving his arm a small touch. Even though Preston clearly knew they were together, she felt a bit too awkward to go any for any type of kiss with the servant's eyes on them.

"I'll meet you down in the Great Hall." she told him before turning to collect her sword from the ground. The knight dipped her head in brief acknowledgement to Preston as she pasted him before heading out of the room. Stepping back out into the corridor, she let out a long breath, feeling troubled by seeing the severity of Crow's dreams and the newfound issue of Preston knowing about them. On top of it all, now that things were beginning to settle, the knight felt her weariness from standing guard all night beginning to set in. She planned to have a good long nap after she got her breakfast.