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

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow shifted slightly as Penelope agreed that Gavin probably wasn’t skilled enough at lying to fool her father. That was exactly what he had been afraid of. He swallowed nervously. If John questioned the knight, it wouldn’t take much for him to cave and either admit they weren’t courting anymore or fumble over something that would give it away. In addition to that, it was going to be a while before the thief was well enough to be able to make the journey to the inner kingdom, which meant John and Gavin were probably going to have quite a bit of time to ‘catch up’ with each other and therefore a number of opportunities for the latter to slip up. The thought made Crow want to groan in frustration. He couldn’t believe his fate was in the hands of someone as unreliable as Penelope’s former suitor.

As Penelope tried to reassure him that it would be fine, he nodded faintly, not quite convinced that she was right. Even if she did most of the talking for them and was able to lie smoothly enough to convince her father, Gavin could still give them away. He supposed it was better than nothing though. At least if she was with the other knight, her confidence might leak to him and give him the resolve he needed to pull off this charade. Unfortunately, his slight hope was dashed when Penelope suddenly paled.

Crow looked up at her with wide eyes as she confessed to leaving her father in Gavin’s care while she stayed to guard him. That wasn’t good at all. He tightened his grip on her hand a bit anxiously. “Maybe they’ve been too busy to bring it up?” he ventured, trying not to let himself assume the worst right away. Just because Gavin and John were alone didn’t mean they were going to talk about the courtship. They could have had plenty of other subjects to talk about, like… Well, he honestly didn’t know what knights talked about. He just hoped there was something else to keep them from bringing up the damning topic.

He wished he could just have Penelope go and check on them to make sure they weren’t discussing it, but it would probably look strange if she suddenly abandoned her guard post to check up on her ‘suitor’. Plus, it sounded like she was already on thin ice with her father. He likely wouldn’t look upon such negligence very kindly. They were just going to have to wait and find out as soon as she was relieved by the next guard.

“Or maybe some of the other knights here have been trying to talk to him to find out why he’s here,” Crow went on, grasping at straws as he tried to come up with some hope to hold onto.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope held his hand a bit more firmly in hers. As Crow attempted to try to be optimistic before assuming the worst, she just shook her head in disagreement at his words. The man was suppose to be her suitor after all, she was certain that her father would at least ask him a couple questions pertaining to the progress of their courtship. She hadn't even agreed to Gavin's offer to help her cover up their split yet.

"I hope you're right.." She mumbled with an unconvinced look. The knight let out a small groan, still mentally kicking herself for being so careless. "Gods this is a mess.." Penelope fell silent for a moment as she tried to figure out what to do. She wished she could have gone to interrupt Gavin's time alone with her father but that seemed to be impossible at the moment. She couldn't abandon her guard duty after all.

A small moment of silence fell over the knight until the sound of footsteps approaching broke her train of thought. Penelope blinked and hurriedly let go of Crow's hand as she stepped away from him. She grew a bit tense as the flap of the tent shifted, unsure who it would be at this time. Fortunately, for now, it was just Gavin. The male knight glanced over his shoulder before looking towards the two with a hint of stress in his expression.

"Your father's speaking with Edward right now but he's going to come here soon... I think he plans to take over your guard shift." Gavin explained. He glanced between Crow and her. "Please tell me you two have some sort of idea on how to handle this situation. I've been doing my best to give him vague answers about our courtship but I don't think they're enough for him."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow shook his head in agreement and closed his eyes, letting out his breath in a slow exhale when Penelope said the situation was a mess. Everything seemed to be crumbling around them. First, Jaxon had appeared to sabotage the knights’ camp, throwing the results of the war into question; then he had gotten blackmailed by the murderer to turn on the one person he loved most, nearly losing her in the process; then he’d almost gotten killed in battle and had ended up bedridden yet again; after that the barons had almost decided to cut off his hands as punishment for his crimes; and now, after all of that, John was here, threatening what was left of their hope to make it through everything with their plans for the future intact. The whole thing was a complete disaster, and he wished they could just run away from it all.

Crow brought Penelope’s hand to his chest as the silence dragged on between them, wanting to hold her close without risking getting caught if someone walked in on them now. Fortunately, it seemed like he’d made the right decision, because it wasn’t long before the sound of boots on gravel could be heard outside the tent. He groaned inwardly as his time with Penelope was cut short yet again and quickly pulled his hand away from hers to rest at his side, watching the flap of the thick fabric to see who had come to visit this time.

To his surprise, it was Gavin. He blinked as the unexpected guest made his way furtively towards them, as if he was afraid he had been followed. At his words, the thief shifted nervously. He didn’t like knowing that John intended to spend any more time with him than he already had. Any time any knight tried to get close to him, it was always because they wanted something. Though they had gone about it in different ways, both Layth and Mia had been after information. It wasn’t a stretch to guess that Penelope’s father was trying to get the same thing. He already wasn’t looking forward to this.

At Gavin’s question, Crow took on an uncomfortable look and averted his gaze. “Actually, we do,” he admitted hesitantly, glancing up at Penelope as he spoke. “I told Penelope that you both should act like nothing has changed—pretend like you’re still courting… whatever that looks like.” He added the last part in a reluctant voice after a pause and turned back to the male knight. “Her father can’t find out about us, so it’s the best option we have. Do you think you can pull it off?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small nod as Crow explained the plan to act as if nothing had changed between them. She looked over at Gavin who hesitated to reply. He seemed to be a bit uncomfortable discussing this directly with Crow, even though it had been his suggestion to her as well. However, he nodded his head. "I think so." he replied, glancing at her before shifting his gaze back over to Crow. "It shouldn't be too difficult."

"As long as you can lie well enough, no... And don't hesitate in getting closer to me when he's around." Penelope advised, trying to give him some last minute pointers. She really hoped that Gavin would manage to fool her father like he said. He seemed confident enough but she worried that would fade once her father was around them. "We have to act like we did before."

"Right." Gavin said with a small sigh. He glanced over his shoulder again, tensing up slightly as he heard footsteps approaching. Figuring it must be John, he shifted closer to Penelope. Despite this, she noticed that he was still keeping a distance between them. While part of her appreciated his hesitation to make any advances towards her, it wouldn't be helpful if he continued to do that around her father. Assuming John was the one entering the tent, Penelope closed the distance between them, taking his hand in hers and turning her head to look up at him as if they had been conversing.

Luckily she had moved just fast enough as John stepped inside a mere second later. He eyed them for a moment before giving a small nod in greeting as he stepped over. "Everything alright in here?" he asked.

"Of course." Penelope said with a casual shrug, trying to ignore Gavin feeling a bit tense at her side. "There's not much the thief can do injured and chained up after all."

"I figured that myself but, I'm assuming quite a few probably feel better having him locked up and supervised." John mused with a glance towards Crow. He studied him for a moment before looking back to Penelope and Gavin. "I'm glad to see you two are still getting along well."

"There's no reason for us not to be." Gavin said offering a small smile as he glanced down at Penelope.

"Well, I wasn't sure.. You weren't really giving me very much information earlier." John pointed out.

"I'm sure Gavin was just shocked by your sudden appearance." Penelope replied with a glance at Gavin. "We all were."

John gave a small grunt before crossing his arms over his chest. "I'd like to discuss wedding plans at some point during my stay here by the way."

"W-Wedding plans?" Gavin blinked. Penelope's eyes widened and she felt her heart beat a bit nervously. Why was he bringing up wedding plans all of a sudden? He had no reason to rush their marriage.

Her father raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes... Is there something wrong with that?"

"It's just so out of the blue." Penelope frowned. "I thought we were waiting until after the war?"

"That was the plan." John admitted with a sigh. "But it's difficult to say when this war will end. I think we should start planning for it sooner before the war sets back your lives even more so. At least within the next year." His gaze narrowed at Penelope. "I'm assuming there won't be any issues with that right?"

"No." she responded quietly. While she was glad the marriage plans would be far off, it was still concerning that her father was trying to push for them before the definite end of the war. She prayed that the war would end soon to avoid that mess.

"Good." John said, pleased that his daughter didn't fight back against plans for her marriage. "Now then, you two can go relax. I'll be taking over the guard shift now."

"Thank you, sir." Gavin said respectfully dipping his head. The male knight paused and then pressed a brief kiss to her cheek. "Come on, Penelope. Let's go grab some supper." he mumbled as he took the lead to head out of the tent. Penelope merely nodded and casted one fleeting glance at Crow before looking back ahead as she followed Gavin. She felt a bit bad about having to act as if she was still with Gavin right in front of Crow but they didn't have any other choice. So she casted a subtle, apologetic look before disappearing out of the tent with her former suitor.

[Rogue Sloth]

As Gavin said that he could pretend to keep courting Penelope, Crow nodded, feeling a mixture of relief and distaste at the thought of watching another man get close to her. Knowing that it was all for the sake of keeping their relationship a secret, he found the knowledge to be a little more bearable, but it still wasn’t pleasant. He glanced at Penelope as she gave her former suitor further advice on how to act when John was around. Part of him wished they would wait until he wasn’t around, since hearing them talk about such things made him feel uncomfortable, but with her father on his way to the tent as they spoke, it wasn’t like they had time to find a private place to discuss their plans. Apparently, they barely had time to talk about it now too, as the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard outside the tent.

Crow turned to see who was coming, trying to ignore the irrational pang of jealousy he felt at the sight of Penelope taking Gavin’s hand. It had only been one small gesture, yet he already wished they didn’t have to go to such lengths to fool the other man. If John stuck around for a while, he had a feeling the rest of his recovery was going to go by quite slowly, especially since the knight seemed intent on staying by his side at all times. He sighed despondently. At the rate things were going now, his hope of finding any more time alone with Penelope was looking grim.

He watched quietly as John stepped inside the tent and addressed Gavin and Penelope, rolling his eyes at the older knight’s comment about keeping him ‘locked up and supervised.’ Any measures the nobles took to keep him restrained were redundant at this point. His wound was enough to keep him immobilized by itself, so they didn’t need to keep him chained up and surveilled on top of it. But of course, there was no getting through to the irrational minds of the knights, so he knew that arguing over about their extra measures would have been useless.

As John went on to speak with Gavin and Penelope about their courtship, the thief bit his lip to suppress an amused smirk. If only you knew how wrong you are, he thought smugly, averting his gaze to look up at the canopy of the tent as if it was suddenly interesting. Even though he was well aware that they were treading on dangerous ground while Penelope’s father was in the camp, there was a small part of him that was entertained by the fact that the man had no clue his daughter was romantically involved with a criminal—and the most infamous one in the kingdom, at that.

However, his amusement quickly fled when John brought up the mention of discussing wedding plans for the two knights. Surprise and worry flashed across his face for a brief second before he recovered his neutral expression, and he was grateful that no one seemed to be looking at him at that moment. Why was Penelope’s father pushing to marry them now? When she had told him about their marriage plans before, she had made it sound like they were still in the far distant future. He didn’t understand why there was a sudden rush for the two to get married when the war was still raging strong.

As John announced that he expected to set the ceremony one year from now despite the outcome of the war, Crow felt the color drain from his face. If the fighting wasn’t over before then, it was going to be quite a mess for him and Penelope to get out of. He hoped the war came to a conclusion before that time, so they wouldn’t have to deal with that, otherwise they just might end up being forced to run from the frontlines together much earlier than they had planned.

When John dismissed the two knights to leave the tent, Crow had to fight to keep an uninterested expression on his face as Gavin kissed Penelope on the cheek. Even though he knew it was all for the sake of the act, he hated having to watch her ex suitor get so friendly with her right in front of him. Taking a calming breath, he offered Penelope a halfhearted smile as she caught his gaze on her way out of the room, hoping to reassure her that he was still supportive of their plan.

Once they were alone, John wasted no time in addressing the thief.

“So,” he said, stepping over to sit in Jane’s chair on the other side of the tent. It seemed that despite what he’d said about guarding him earlier, the knight didn’t really view him as a threat. “Have you made your decision yet, or would you still like to have until the end of the day?”

Crow hesitated for a long moment before he answered in a low voice, “No, I’ve made up my mind.”

“Is that so?” John mused, folding his arms over his muscular chest. “What have you decided, thief?”

Again, Crow wavered before replying. “I’ll accept the invitation,” he muttered. “As soon as I’m healed enough to get out of here, I’ll go with you to the castle.”

“Good choice,” John nodded sagely.

Crow just grunted in response and turned his head to face the wall of the tent, closing his eyes and settling down a little more comfortably on his bed. It wasn’t dark outside yet—he had seen low daylight when the flap of the tent had lifted earlier—but without Penelope around and with nothing else to do, he supposed he might as well get some rest. After all, it looked like he was going to need it since he would either be escaping from the knights’ camp or traveling to the inner kingdom soon. Either way, he needed to restore his energy to make the trip he chose.

With that thought in mind, the thief slowly drifted off into a light and dreamless sleep.

[BuzzingBee]

The next two weeks or so didn't go very smoothly. Penelope and Gavin keep up their charade of courting, which was rather rocky. She still felt bad about having to get so friendly with her ex suitor, even if Crow approved of it for the plan, and Gavin was reluctant to try and push any boundaries. Luckily they didn't usually have to share more than a quick kiss to the cheek—except for one time when Gavin was growing overly tense from John asking him about the battle with Jaxon. Penelope had kissed him both to keep him from speaking too much on their involvement with Crow as well as hoping to trick her father into thinking she was grateful to still be with the male knight.

To make matters worse, most of the time they had to take up their act around Crow since John had taken over guarding the thief most days. It seemed that because of the king's assignment, her father saw the thief as his responsibility now and would only be taken off of guarding him on occasion. This meant it was difficult for her to get as much time alone with him as before. She occasionally went a couple days in a row without a guard shift and would usually use visiting her father as an excuse to at least check in on the thief each day. Therefore, Penelope spent most of her time helping the others prepare for the next battle, which would be approaching soon now that they had received their supplies.

The additional downside to that was John never backed down from speaking about her courtship with Gavin in front of Crow. She supposed it was a good sign, since he seemed oblivious to her relationship with the thief, but it always left the knight with a feeling of unease and discomfort of having to talk so seriously about marrying another man in front of the one she actually loved. It also made her worry about what would happen if the war didn't reach its end in time. It would be another challenge for her to get out of the marriage if it didn't.

The situation wasn't enjoyable for anyone... Except, perhaps, Olivia. Her friend seemed completely entertained by the spectacle of seeing them tiptoe around and trick her father. She often didn't hold back on teasing them about it, often making them tense by giving false warnings of John being nearby to make them get closer. Eventually she settled down some as they didn't fall for her tricks as much but still seemed to enjoy teasing them on occasion.

The one upside to the situation was that Crow was actually able to heal properly. John prevented any further harm and at times, Penelope nearly thought he was guarding him more so to make sure his own son didn't try to harm the thief further. Regardless, she was relieved to see him healing and even noticed that Jane seemed to take a bit better care of him due to John's interference. Penelope tried to keep up with his medicine the best she could but only having a small supply and only able to see him on occasion, her giving it to him was a bit spread out over the first week. With everything happening in camp, she didn't get the chance to visit the thieves again but did tell Olivia to inform Alistair that Crow was healing when she met him next.

Since he was finally able to heal though, that also meant that the day for her father to escort him to the castle was fast approaching. From what she heard, it would only be a couple days until they'd depart from their camp. She was growing a bit anxious, wondering what Crow had decided to do. If he still wanted to make an escape, she'd likely have to figure out a way to help him get out of the camp rather quickly.

Luckily she finally had a guard shift with him. Her father had decided to spend his evening in the company of the barons, to inform them of his coming departure as well as thanking them for their help during his stay. It gave Penelope the perfect opportunity to take over part of his night shift so she could finally speak to Crow after having been apart for a couple days now. Penelope picked up her pace slightly, finding herself eager to see him as well as a bit nervous to find out what would come next for the thief. Whether he chose to meet his father or escape from hers, it would certainly be a tricky situation.

[Rogue Sloth]

For Crow, the net two weeks were excruciatingly dull. With John taking over almost all the guard shifts to keep a close watch of him, he and Penelope hardly ever got any time alone. He hated being trapped around another knight he didn’t know or like, but there was nothing he could do to get the man to leave his side. As long as John saw him as his ward, the knight wasn’t going to go anywhere. So, since there was nothing else for him to do, the thief ended up sleeping through most of the following days to make the time go by more quickly. The only good that came out of it was that because of all the extra rest he was getting, his recovery went by much faster than he’d been expecting.

After about five days, he was finally able to both sit up on his own and stomach real food again, which was a huge step forward for Crow. He’d lost quite a bit of weight during the week and half when he couldn’t eat, and his energy level wasn’t anywhere near what it had been before. To make up for it, he ended up eating quite a bit of food at each meal—John made sure he was provided with large portions to aid in his recovery—and practicing some simple stretches to loosen the muscles that had grown stiff from disuse. After all, no matter what his decision ended up being, he wanted to be in good enough condition to carry it out. Fortunately for him, the knight never protested his efforts to regain his fitness since he seemed to still believe that the thief had come to terms with visiting the king. He would just cast him occasional glances to make sure he wasn’t causing trouble and otherwise ignore him.

If that had been the only content of his days, it wouldn’t have been completely unbearable. However, what made the already bad situation worse was the fact that John spent a portion of his time every day speaking with Penelope and Gavin about their ‘upcoming wedding’ in the tent with him. Watching them talk together was difficult for Crow for a number of reasons. One of which was that their discussions of the ceremony drew up a bit of envy in him. He didn’t often care what anyone thought about him, but if he was honest, there was a small part of him that wished he was someone a father would give his blessing to. Perhaps it was because of the traditions of Brerratic society that had been pounded into him as a child—it certainly wasn’t because of the dowry. He didn’t care about getting anything out of a marriage besides the woman he loved—but knowing that no man would ever permit a thief like him to take his daughter’s hand in marriage made him strangely melancholic.

Unfortunately, though it was difficult to accept, the opinion of Penelope’s father was the least of his worries. Every time they all gathered together, Penelope and Gavin had to pretend like they were still courting, which meant that Crow had to watch them get friendlier with each other than he was comfortable with. Most of the time, he tried to ignore them or even look away, so he wouldn’t have to watch her with another man, but he couldn’t keep himself from looking at them from the corner of his eye. It was like a bad accident he could turn away from. He didn’t want to watch, but he simply couldn’t help himself.

Most of the time, the knights weren’t too physical with each other, but there was one time when he had seen Penelope kiss Gavin that had nearly made him leap up from his bed to stop them. It had taken all of his resolve to stay still, and he had forced himself to turn away, reminding himself that he was the one who had given her permission to go that far with her former suitor. She wasn’t being unfaithful to him. It was all for the sake of fooling her father. Still, though he would never admit it to her, seeing her kiss another man left him with a bitter taste in his mouth that took quite a while for him to shake off.

During the hours when he was awake and not distracted by watching Gavin and Penelope, Crow often mulled over the dilemma of whether he was going to see his father or escape when he was healed enough to walk. It was a hard choice to make—much harder than he had expected. Initially, he’d thought the decision was obvious: He should run. He’d been dodging his father’s attempts to reach out to him for the past year now, so surely he could do it again. After all, why should he accept an invitation sent by the man who had abandoned him and his mother? But he couldn’t bring himself to let it go.

Despite everything he told himself, there was a flame of curiosity inside of the thief that refused to die. He wanted to know why Albin was trying to contact him after twenty-three years of silence. The more he pondered over it, the more tempting it became to go to the castle, if only to hear the reason from the man, himself. He couldn’t believe he was really considering it, but as the days went on, he began to feel more swayed to take the offer.

--

At the end of the two weeks, John had Jane unbind Crow from his bed to see if he was well enough to walk on his own. The physician was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of letting the thief go while she was standing next to him, but the knight eased her fears by keeping his sword drawn, so he could intervene if Crow tried anything funny.

Once she had removed the chains from his wrist and ankle, Crow felt his heartbeat quicken in anticipation. Sitting upright, he swung his legs over the edge of the mattress and slid off the bed to stand on the ground. As he expected, the motion felt almost unnatural after he’d laid on his back for nearly three weeks, but it was exhilarating to know that he’d healed enough to move again. John seemed pleased as well.

“It appears I’ll finally be able to bring you back to the king,” he mused, watching from across the room as Crow paced to exercise his legs a bit.

“Seems so,” Crow shrugged noncommittally without looking at the knight. He bent down to stretch some more, taking advantage of the fact that he was free from his restraints and could fully loosen his muscles.

“I’m just glad he’s finally going to be out of my hands,” Jane muttered, crossing her arms over her chest as she eyed the thief with a disgusted expression.

Crow rolled his eyes at her gibe but said nothing as continued to stretch. He didn’t care what some arrogant noblewoman thought of him. Even if she had been reluctant, she had still treated his wounds, and that was good enough for him.

After a bit of time had passed, John spoke up again, “Alright, Lockton. That’s enough.” He stepped over to retrieve one of the chain cuffs and fastened one end around the bedpost. “Come here,” he ordered. “I need to speak with the barons about our departure, and I can’t have you wandering about unsupervised.”

Crow frowned, studying the metal restraint with a disappointed expression, “I’ve already agreed to come with you though. Is there really any need to keep me locked up?”

“Of course there is!” Jane scoffed, turning to John. “I refuse to let a criminal have free reign in my tent. Please don’t leave until he’s in chains again.”

“You may have said that,” John said, ignoring the physician’s outburst. “But I’m not so foolish as to believe the word of a thief. Now then, I would advise you not to waste any more of my time and come here.”

Crow hesitated for a moment longer before he let out an irritable huff. “Fine,” he growled, stepped over to the knight and offering his wrist. He averted his gaze obstinately as he felt John fasten the chain around it once more.

“There,” the knight nodded in satisfaction and stepped away from the thief, who stood at the side of the bed staring down at his bound hand with an annoyed look. “He’s not going anywhere.” He sheathed his sword and made his way to the entrance of the tent with Jane following closely at his heels. It was obvious that the physician was eager to get away from her criminal patient as fast as she could.

Crow watched them both until they disappeared from the tent and then sighed, leaning back against the edge of the bed as he gazed boredly over the tent. He supposed he should have been grateful that John had left him with a wide enough range of motion to choose whether he would stand or lay down, but he still wished the knight wouldn’t have chained him up at all.

With nothing else to do, he toyed absently with the metal around his wrist as he thought again about whether he would accept the king’s invitation or escape back to his hideout. After taking two weeks to weigh his options—he still couldn’t believe he had even come to this conclusion—he was starting to think he should actually take the offer and go to the castle. Even though the thought of facing Albin turned his stomach, he had to find out why his estranged father was trying to reach out to him after all this time. If he didn’t, it was just going to eat at him forever. For his own peace of mind, he had to know the answer.

I guess I’m going to the inner kingdom after all, he thought, staring thoughtfully at the chain on his wrist with an amused smile.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope stepped into the tent and blinked in surprise as her gaze fell upon Crow, who was no longer laying in the bed. She knew he was supposed to be well enough to start walking on his own, if not at least getting close, but after seeing him bedridden for nearly three weeks, it still managed to surprise her to see him upright again. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, threatening a grin, but she was careful to sweep her gaze over the room first.

With her father usually guarding him and Jane treating him, she was worried that the two might still be lingering around. Luckily, both of them must have left before her arrival, which meant she'd be able to have a moment alone with him. Looking back to him, she grinned and wasted no time hurry over to him. It had been difficult for her to buy much alone time with him and she was often riddled with guilt when she did see him since it was usually with John and Gavin around to discuss wedding plans. However, such concerns were pushed aside as she was overjoyed to see the progress of his healing as well as just to get a moment alone with him in general.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to get up." she joked as she smiled up at him. The knight leaned up and pressed an affectionate kiss to his cheek. "It's good to see you on your feet again... And good timing too since I'll be taking over the guard shift while my father meets with the barons."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow didn’t have long to himself before he heard the sound of footsteps outside the tent. He sighed to himself. Of course he should have known better than to expect that John would leave him alone while he was off speaking with the barons about their coming departure. The knight must have found someone else to replace him until he could come back. He looked up to watch the entrance of the tent, waiting to see which noble had come to guard him this time.

However, when the figure stepped into the room, his disappointment was quickly replaced with a rush of excitement. He grinned as his eyes fell on Penelope’s warm face. Of all the knight who could have come to guard him, he was glad it was her. After going the last few days without seeing so much as a glimpse of her, he was eager to make up for lost time.

“Surprise,” Crow held out his hand in a sweeping gesture when she commented on the fact that he was standing up. His smile broadened slightly as she kissed him on the cheek. With her father around all the time, it had been difficult for them to ever find moments alone, so her touch thrilled him even more than it usually did. He slid his arm around her waist, feeling a burst of affection for the knight as he held her gaze.

At her following words, he nodded in agreement. It felt good to be able to stand beside her again. He much preferred it compared to having to look up at her from a bed all the time. However, her comment about ‘good timing’ reminded him of something else they needed to talk about.

“Speaking of your father,” Crow said in a low voice, lowering his gaze. “I’ve… come to a decision about what I’m going to do.” He paused for a moment before going on. “I’m going to go with him to see my father. I have to know why he’s been trying to contact me.” Pulling Penelope a little closer, he leaned his head against hers and exhaled softly. “Unfortunately, this also means I’m going to be leaving the outer villages for a while. I’m sorry, love.”

He closed his eyes and pressed a long kiss to her temple, feeling the weight of his decision more prominently now that she was right in front of him. When he left with John, he was going to have to leave her behind too. The idea of doing that didn’t sit well with him, but he couldn’t think of any other way around it. “I wish you could come with me,” he murmured, trailing his hand absently up to her shoulders. “Aside from the fact that I really don’t want to part again, it would be nice to have you at my side when I talk to my father.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope looked at him as he went on to say that he had made a decision. Her smile faded a bit as she took on a more serious expression as she waited to hear what he had decided. As he announced that he was going to see his father, she gave a small nod and wrapped her arms around him as he pulled her closer. She was a bit surprised that he had decided to see him, it wasn't like Crow was fond of him after what he had done to his mother and him, but she supposed it might be a good thing. He might get some kind of closure in meeting with his father, even if the man was arrogant and greedy.

"Don't be sorry. It's something you have to do." she assured him softly. She gave a small nod of agreement as he mentioned wishing she could come with him. The knight wished so too. Not only did she not want to part again, but she also just simply wanted to be there for him. He wouldn't have many friends in the inner kingdom and facing his father, who had turned his back to him until now, surely wouldn't be easy even if it was what he had decided on. Penelope ran her hand over his back as she held him close to herself as she thought over the situation for a moment.

Would it be that impossible for me to leave with him? Sure she had her responsibilities in camp but Tomas had been plenty capable of taking them over for her in the past. So long as she lied about her reasonings for wanting to leave, there was a chance she could convince Mia to let her leave the front for a short while. She was rather certain her father would agree easily, as he had been reluctant to even let her be there in the first place. Her heart began to beat a little excitedly by the thought of being able to leave with them.

"What if I could go with you?" she asked him, pulling back just enough to meet his gaze. "I know I can convince my father to let me accompany him. I'd just have to convince Mia and she has another older lieutenant who can probably take over my responsibilities here." The knight gave him a small smile. "If you want, I can try to go with you."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded faintly when Penelope told him not to be sorry. He was glad she understood that he needed to go. Even though he would have preferred to escape so he could stay with her in the outer villages, this was something he knew was just going to weigh on his mind if he didn’t do it now. He had to find out what his father wanted from him, despite the fact that he felt quite certain that he would have a difficult time speaking civilly to the man who had abandoned his family.

That was something else that was worrying him. He had decided to face Albin, but he didn’t know the first thing to say to him. Of course, he knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell the king off for everything the man had put his mother through; he wanted to yell and fight, not stand back and have a peaceful conversation. Just thinking about it now made his heart pound with adrenaline. However, he doubted it would be possible for him to do any of that. Albin was the ruler of Brerra. The man could have him imprisoned in a heartbeat if he spoke out as harshly as he wished to. So, no matter how badly the thief craved to speak his mind to his father, he knew he couldn’t do it.

“What if I could go with you?”

Crow blinked as Penelope’s voice caught his attention and looked down to meet her gaze while she went on to explain her reasoning. As she spoke, he felt a pulse of excitement rush through him. The idea of bringing her along when he confronted his father was more than just a little appealing to him. She had always been able to calm him down when his temper had flared up in the past, so if she was able to be by his side when he stood before Albin, he might actually be able to muster up the restraint to carry out a full conversation with the man without landing himself behind bars for lashing out at the king.

“Do you really think you could get away?” he asked, his hopefulness seeping into his voice as he held her gaze. “I mean, I’d love to have you along, but how will you be able to convince your baroness to let you go?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small shrug as he asked her about getting away. "Honestly I'm not sure yet.. But I can probably figure something out." she told him with a small sigh. She hadn't worked out the lie that she'd used to convince them yet but surely there had to be some way for her to convince her baroness to let her accompany her father. Falling silent for a moment, she debated what would be enough to let the baroness let her go. The knight would have to be careful. Mia already suspected she was close to Crow because of everything that had happened. If she even caught the faintest clue that she was going because of the thief for any reason, the baroness would likely deny her request to join them.

So, perhaps, the best way to go about it was for a completely opposite reason. The thought made the knight shift uneasily and she lowered her gaze for a moment. "I think I might have figured out a way to get her to agree." she admitted, lowering her voice slightly as what she was about to suggest wasn't the most comfortable of topics. "If I tell my father I want to go for reasons relating to this marriage he's insisting on, I bet I can get him to help me convince Mia."

It'd be a risky move and she worried her father would take her lie as an eagerness to get married to Gavin. If he did, there was a chance he'd speed up the courtship even further than he already had. She shuddered at the thought. A year was already bad enough, anything less would just put further stress on her to figure a way out of it. Her worry made her hold Crow a little tighter.

"And it'll keep him from figuring out my real reason from going." she mused as she looked back up at him. On the brightside, she doubted her father would be suspicious of her and Crow if she claimed to be going because of the marriage. She and Gavin had both been rather compliant during their time speaking about wedding plans with him. Even though they both had no intention of following through with them. Trying to grasp on to a little bit of hope that this wouldn't backfire, she went on to add, "Maybe I can even figure out a way to get him to delay the marriage a little longer while I'm at it."

[Rogue Sloth]

As Penelope said she would try to figure something out, Crow hoped she would be able to come up with something convincing. During his two conversations with Mia, he’d gotten the impression that the baroness was already suspicious of the nature of his relationship with her lieutenant. The last thing he wanted was for Penelope’s leader to figure out how close they really were when she asked to go with him to see the king. Not only would Mia probably prevent them from going together if she learned the truth, but he would also likely have to abandon the trip completely in order to stay in the outer villages and help her out of the situation if it came to that. As curious as he was to find out why his father had contacted him, he cared much more about making sure the knight stayed out of trouble. That meant staying close by if she needed him.

After a short period of silence passed, Crow felt Penelope shift against him. He glanced down at her curiously and knitted his brow when he caught sight of the uneasy expression on her face. He wondered what she was thinking about that would make her so uncomfortable, but before he could ask, she spoke up first. The thief listened with interest as she said that she may have thought of a way to escape from her camp for a while. Her words sent a thrill of excitement through him. However, that excitement disappeared almost as quickly as it had come when she went on to explain her idea.

At the mention of her arranged marriage to Gavin, he stiffened involuntarily, already disliking where this was going. He didn’t want her to bring up the wedding any more than it had already been discussed. If anything, he had been hoping the subject would be dropped and forgotten altogether. However, he couldn’t deny that it was a reasonable excuse for her to leave the battlefront for a while. If she pretended that she had business in the inner kingdom that needed to be taken care of, and if Mia already had a replacement for her, then the lie could very well work. He was sure her father would be pleased with her as well, so gaining his approval wouldn’t be a problem either.

“I’d be lying if I said I liked this plan of yours,” Crow sighed, running his hand back down the length of her back. “But I trust you, and I can’t think of anything better.” He leaned down to press a long kiss to her lips and then pulled back to meet her gaze with a fond smile. “If you think you can pull this off, then you should do it, but you’ll have to talk to them soon. I think your father is planning for us to leave in the morning two days from now.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope was glad that Crow gave approval of the plan, even if he wasn't fond of the details. The knight still felt a bit bad about having to use it. It was bad enough that the thief had been stuck listening to their plans over the course of the last two weeks since John was insistent on guarding him and obviously didn't see any issue discussing them around Crow. Even though it was just to fool her father, she still doubted it was easy for him to see her with Gavin and plan a future with him.

As he pressed a kiss to her lips, she closed her eyes and met his lips with a hint of eagerness. When he pulled back, she gave a small nod at his words. "I'll speak to them as soon as I can then." she told him. The knight gave him an apologetic look and reached up to caress his cheek. "Sorry I have to use this whole wedding thing as an excuse... But with any luck, now we won't have to part for a while. We'll just have to be a bit careful sneaking around my father."

She leaned up and pressed another quick kiss to his lips. As she pulled back, another thought came to her. "By the way," she met his gaze with a hint of curiosity. "what are you going to do about your companions? They'll probably get worried waiting so long for you to return.." In fact, Penelope guessed that they probably already were. It had been nearly three weeks after all and she hadn't visited them to give them updates. The most she did was tell Olivia to inform them off his progress about a week ago.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow leaned his head against Penelope’s hand as she caressed his cheek, enjoying the comfort that her touch always gave him. He was a bit relieved to hear that she was just as reluctant as he was about using her arranged marriage to buy her way back to the inner kingdom. It wasn’t the most ideal situation, but if it was enough to give her the excuse she needed to come with him when he confronted his father, then he supposed they would just have to tough it out and hope John wouldn’t rush the wedding any more than he already had. After all, now that the option for her to go was on the table, he was willing to try anything to make sure it happened. Having her by his side would be much better than speaking with Albin alone.

“It’s alright,” he assured her with a confident smile. “Besides, it might make it easier for us to keep fooling your father if he still believes you’re being courted by Gavin.” Leaning in again, he met her lips in a brief kiss and then frowned at her following words. In all his worries about what his decision would mean for himself, he had completely forgotten about the fact that his trip to the castle would mean it would be even longer before he could return to his companions. They had to be getting concerned that something had gone wrong by now. If he didn’t try to contact them soon, they might even get desperate and try to come to the knights’ camp to find out why he hadn’t left yet.

“Right…” Crow shifted his weight awkwardly and gave Penelope a bashful look. “I guess I haven’t thought this through as much as I should have.” He paused, mulling the situation over for a moment before he spoke again in a low voice. “I don’t want them to know where I’m going. None of them know that I’m related to the king, nor that he’s reached out to me before, and I’d rather not let them find out. They all hate nobles, so I’m not sure what they would do if they discover my lineage.” He grimaced. “It would be bad enough if I was the son of a vassal or some other low-titled lord, but my father holds the most despised position in the kingdom. I can’t imagine any circumstance where that wouldn’t change their opinion of me.”

The thief exhaled and wrapped his arm a little more tightly around Penelope’s back. “Honestly, I’m not sure what I could even tell them that would justify staying away longer,” he went on. “I think the best option would just be to say that it’s taking longer than we expected for me to heal and hope this trip goes by quickly enough that they don’t even realize I left the outer villages.”

He touched a kiss to her forehead and then pulled back to meet her gaze with an apologetic look, “I’m sorry to ask any more of you than you’ve already done, but do you think that you or Olivia could speak to them for me? I would do it myself, but I doubt I could get away since I’m barely well enough to walk.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope let out a small sigh as Crow admitted that he hadn't thought that far ahead. As he went on about not wanting them to find out, she gave a small nod. The knight wished that she could have assured him that his lineage wouldn't change the view his companions had on him. After all, just because his father was the king, it certainly didn't make him a prince or noble of any sort. Unfortunately, she knew first hand that sometimes that didn't matter as much as blood did. Though she was a noble and a knight, there were still some that couldn't look past her peasant bloodline. The main offenders being some of her own family.

"Of course." she assured him with a small nod. "I'll try to sneak out to see them tomorrow night if I can.. If not, hopefully Olivia will be willing to pay them a visit for us." Penelope wasn't quite sure she'd be able to make it to them. Her father would likely take her off her guard shift rather late and she'd be having to prepare to leave with him and Crow in the coming days. Hopefully Olivia would be willing to. The knight just hoped that she wouldn't ask too many questions about why he was lying to them as well as why the king was requesting to see him in the first place.

She gave him a small smile. "Aside from having to deal with all the negative stuff, maybe we'll be able to find some time alone at least. If I'm lucky, I might even be able to show you a couple of my favorite spots in the inner kingdom.." she said, grinning a little excitedly at the thought. Since she was planning to leave it all behind to be with him in the outer villages, the mere prospect of having a chance at sharing small glimpse of her world with him was rather exciting to the knight. She'd just have to figure out a good time for them to sneak off for a bit while they were in the inner kingdom.

[Rogue Sloth]

“Thank you,” Crow sighed when Penelope said she or Olivia would speak to his companions for him. He was glad that she was willing to stick to the lie he’d come up with, but he also felt a twinge of guilt for withholding the truth yet again. After everything that had happened with Jaxon, he was starting to get tired of sneaking around behind the backs of the people he cared about all the time. They deserved to know the truth. He just wasn’t sure if they could handle this secret, and he was afraid of how they might react if he told them about his father. For the sake of keeping their view of him the same, he couldn’t let them find out he was related to the king.

As Penelope went on to talk about finding time alone with him in the inner kingdom, Crow grinned, finding her enthusiasm infectious. Though he’d been to the inner kingdom many times now, his focus had always been on the targets of his heists. He’d never really taken the time to explore the citadel and appreciate it for what it was. Despite his hatred for nobles and their greedy way of life, he couldn’t deny that the cities were quite a sight to see. The money that had gone into their creation was apparent, and there were plenty of places he had yet to visit. The thought of getting away with the knight sounded like fun to him.

“I’d like that,” he said, smiling at her affectionately. The brightness in her eyes made his heart flutter. He loved it when she looked at him like that. Feeling a particularly strong wave of fondness for Penelope, Crow leaned in and pressed a passionate kiss to her lips and pulled her close in a tight embrace with his free arm. He lingered for a bit before he pulled back again to catch his breath, lifting his hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I can’t wait to see your favorite spots,” he said softly, touching one more gentle kiss to her cheek and another to her jawline. “It’ll be nice to have some real time alone again too… No more of this.” He gestured to the tent around them and then gave his bound hand a tug to emphasize the chain.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope met him halfway as he leaned in to kiss her. She closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of being able to kiss him like this again. Since they hadn't been able to see each other as much lately, it sent her heart racing quicker than usual. As he pulled back, the knight smiled affectionately at him, happy to hear him say he was eager to see the spots she had in mind. She hoped there'd be time for them to sneak off to Bellmare at the very least. Perhaps she could even show him a bit of the home she had grown up in if they were able to.

The knight let out a peaceful sigh as kissed her cheek and then her jawline. "No kidding. I'm honestly just glad that we're getting you out of here." she mused as she looked up at him. "Even if it's still got a few twists that we have to face, it's much better than what almost happened." Penelope shuddered as she recalled how close the barons had been to deciding to cut off his hands. She let out a sigh at the thought and buried her head into his neck. Even though it had been difficult dealing with her father, she still found herself grateful that he had showed up just in time to stop them. He had saved Crow when she had been unable to.

She pressed a couple kisses to his neck before abruptly pulling back as the faint sound of approaching footsteps got her attention. Penelope looked up at him and frowned faintly, disappointed that their time alone was so short. She reluctantly stepped out of his embrace and moved to put some distance between them as she faced towards the entrance of the tent. As expected, John stepped inside a moment after. He looked over at his daughter and gave a small nod to her as he walked further inside.

"I'll be taking over now. You're free to go." John informed her.

Penelope nodded her head but hesitated to leave as she looked over at her father. It was time to begin her attempt to weasel her way into their journey to the inner kingdom. "So, are you leaving soon?" she asked.

"In two days." John replied with a shrug.

"I see.." Penelope mused as if thinking something over. "I was wondering... Perhaps it would be wise for me to join you."

John looked faintly surprised and raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.

"With the wedding in a year, we need more stable plans than just a couple meetings here, don't you think?" Penelope pointed out. "If I go to the inner kingdom with you, I can start working on them while you deal with this assignment from the king."

Her father mulled it over for a moment before giving a nod of approval. "It's good to see you focused on this... I suppose it'd be a good move. You'll have to speak with Mia though. If she approves of letting you leave, then I have no qualms with letting you come with me." he informed her sternly.

"Of course. I'll speak with her about it tomorrow." Penelope said and dipped her head respectfully to her father. She casted a subtle glance towards Crow before turning and heading out of the tent.

[Rogue Sloth]

“That’s an understatement,” Crow murmured in agreement when Penelope said the situation they were in now was much better than what had almost happened. He closed his eyes as she buried her head into his neck, resting his cheek against her temple. It was hard to believe how close he had come to getting crippled for the rest of his life by the knights. Two weeks ago, he had been afraid of being unable to function on his own anymore, but now the worst of his worries was the upcoming conversation with his father. While he still wasn’t happy about going through with it, he much preferred doing that to enduring the pain of having his hands cut off.

He sighed softly as he felt her begin to kiss him along his neck, shivering slightly at the feeling of her soft lips against his skin. Though his wound still had quite some time left before it would be fully healed, he hoped that they would be able to find some time alone on this trip to get a little more intimate again. It had been nearly a month since the last time they’d slept together, and he was starting to find the wait more unbearable with each passing day. The touch of her lips and the stroke of her fingers lit him up like fire, and he craved to have her fully after being bedridden for so long.

Turning his head, Crow was just about to pine for another kiss from her, when he froze at the sound of footsteps outside the tent. He cursed under his breath and parted quickly from the knight, sitting down on the edge of the bed to put some more distance between them as John stepped into the room. The thief casted a brief glance at the older knight and then turned away again, annoyed that the man had interrupted the only alone time he’d gotten with Penelope in days. He hoped she would be able to convince Mia to let her come with them to the inner kingdom. Perhaps then, they’d be able to get away long enough to have some quality time together.

As the two knights began to speak amongst each other, Crow watched them furtively from the corner of his eye, holding his breath as he waited to find out if John would accept her company on their trip to the citadel. To his relief, the man agreed rather quickly, seeming pleased with his daughter for her sudden interest in forming wedding plans. The thief bit his lip and looked away, stifling a victorious smirk. As things were right now, one of the two knights Penelope had to convince had been persuaded. All that was left was for her to win Mia’s approval. The thought made him feel giddy with excitement. He couldn’t wait to go on another trip with her, even if they would be accompanied by her stoic father. Anything was better than parting ways right when he was back on his feet.

As Penelope moved to leave the tent, Crow caught her eye for a fleeting moment and offered her a subtle smile. Once she was gone, the room felt lonely again, but the feeling wasn’t as terrible as it usually was now that he knew what was to come. His heart raced eagerly in his chest, and he had to fight from keeping a matching expression from taking over his face. After all, he didn’t want John to catch onto them before they had even left the knights’ camp.

“Get some sleep, Lockton,” John said gruffly as he sat down in Jane’s chair. “I don’t care how excited you are that your legs still work; I need you in good enough condition to make the trip to the castle.”

Crow glanced at him bemusedly. He must have given away his enthusiasm a little more than he’d intended to, but fortunately, the knight seemed to brush off his eagerness as a reaction to the fact that he could stand and walk again.

“Fine,” he shrugged airily, swinging his legs up onto the bed and laying down on his side. It was nice to be able to change positions a little more than he used to when his wound had forced him to lay flat on his back. He could only lie on his right side—the chain on his wrist prevented him from rolling onto his left—but any variation was better than none, so he didn’t complain.

Despite his buzzing excitement at the fact that Penelope might be able to come with him when he confronted his father, it didn’t take long before Crow drifted off into a light sleep.

[BuzzingBee]

The next two days went by relatively fast. Though she wasn't able to see much of Crow again, she was able to convince Mia to let her go. It took a long discussion and quite a bit of persuading but the baroness finally gave in. While she seemed to buy her lie of wanting to go for purposes pertaining to her arranged marriage, Mia still seemed to remain suspicious about the nature of her relationship with Crow. Penelope guessed that was one of the main reasons why it took her so long to convince her. Once she did get approval though, she spent most of her time getting ready for her departure and helping out Tomas as much as she could.

She never did make it to visit the thieves again but luckily Olivia was willing to do so for her. The other female knight was quick to try and get some information out of her about why Crow was lying to them in the first place but unfortunately for her, Penelope refused to say anything. Realizing she wouldn't get anything out of her friend, Olivia eventually gave up and just followed through with her promise to visit the thieves to tell them about Crow.

The day had finally come for them to leave for the castle. It was early morning and John was busy himself with finishing packing their supplies. Gavin had come to see them off, knowing it was necessary to bid a farewell to Penelope in order to keep her father thinking they were still courting. So while her father finished packing, Penelope took the time to step over to Gavin, letting the male knight take his hands in hers.

"Guess you'll be leaving soon, huh?" he mused quietly as he looked down at her.

"Yeah.." Penelope mumbled glancing over her shoulder before she shifted her gaze back to him. "Listen.. I know we probably won't be gone too long but I told Tomas and Mia they should use you as my replacement if things get hectic around here. I figure it might give you a good opportunity... maybe for after the war."

Gavin blinked and studied her for a moment. "You want me to take your position?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"Only for the short time I'm gone... And maybe after the war too." Penelope offered her former suitor a soft smile. "Someone has to keep people like Edward and Layth in line while I'm gone. And I don't know anyone else better suited for the job. Just remember it's only temporary for now though." Penelope winked at him jokingly. She saw it as a chance to give him a bit of experience that would hopefully help him rise in rank in the future. She'd eventually be leaving her life as a noble behind so she wanted to make sure that the work she had done or was planning to do didn't go to waste. If it was under Gavin's supervision, she knew she could be at ease knowing the male knight would continue to be a fair voice who helped the outer villages like she was trying to do.

"I'm not sure I can replace you... But I'll try my best. Thank you, Penelope." he smiled down at her with an appreciative gaze. Gavin did a quick glance at her father, noticing he appeared to be watching them, before resting a hand against her cheek and pressing a quick kiss to her lips. The female knight tried not to tense too much from the gesture, knowing that he did it just to make their goodbye seem a little more believable. She was just glad he made it short.

"Be safe... and good luck to you and Crow with facing the king." Gavin added before he stepped away from her to say a more formal goodbye to her father. Penelope gave him a small nod before walking off to grab her small bag of supplies, subtly wiping her mouth once her back was turned to her father and former suitor.