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

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow turned to Penelope with a pleased smile, glad to hear that his father was willing to speak with her so quickly. However, his excited expression faded a bit when he noticed a hint of nervousness in her eyes. It seemed like she wasn’t feeling as confident about the meeting as he was. Wanting to reassure her, the thief subtly shifted to rest his hand on her leg beneath the table out of the line of sight of the two newcomers and gently stoked her thigh in a comforting gesture. As he did, he turned back to look at the servants, eyeing the unfamiliar man curiously when John asked if they needed anything else with one of them.

“Yes,” the stranger stepped forward, his eyes wandering to Crow. “My name is Eldon, and I’m the court physician. Hunter told me you were in need of a healer.”

Crow blinked as he recalled the attendant’s concern upon seeing his bandages. “I told him I’m fine,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “It’s nothing I can’t take care of on my own.”

“Well, the king wants me to take a look at you regardless,” Eldon said authoritatively as he strode across the room to set his supply bag down beside the bed. “Come and sit. If it’s truly nothing to be concerned about, I’ll be quick.”

Crow hesitated for a moment before he glanced at Penelope with a helpless shrug and rose from the table, moving to comply with the healer’s demand and sit on the edge of the bed. He watched as the man retrieved a series of instruments from his bag that the thief had never seen before. However, he didn’t have a chance to ask about any of them before Eldon spoke up again: “Remove your tunic.”

Deciding it wasn’t worth the effort to fight the old man over the decision, Crow did as he was asked. He slid the clothing over his head and set it down on the bedside next to him. Once that was done, Eldon took a moment to look him over, squinting as he did so. “Hm,” the old man grunted. “Many of these scars could have been avoided if your wounds had been better taken care of.”

“Gee thanks,” Crow rolled his eyes sarcastically, finding the physician’s comment both arrogant and rude. He had been the one to treat nearly all of his own injuries, and he was quite proud of the fact that the worst he had come away with was some scarring. In his opinion, that was quite the accomplishment for someone with no proper training in healing, and he didn’t appreciate being belittled about it.

“Now then, let’s see what’s under here, shall we?” Eldon went on, ignoring the thief as he began to undress the wound in his middle. When he pulled the bandages away, Hunter made a squeaking sound off to the side. Crow looked up at him with a raised brow, only to find the attendant staring at the injury with wide eyes. It was obvious to him that the other man wasn’t used to seeing the grisly wounds that came from fighting near the battlefront, which he supposed made sense, since the servant had likely lived in the inner kingdom all his life. Still, he felt a pang of sympathy for him, since it hadn’t been that long ago that the sight of blood had made him freeze up completely. He could understand the discomfort the attendant must have been feeling upon seeing the stitched up hole in his torso now.

Turning back to the physician, Crow leaned back casually on the palms of his hands. “See? I’m healing fine.”

“It appears so,” Eldon nodded. “But while I have you here, I might as well perform a full check of your physical health.”

“I thought you said this was going to be quick?” Crow narrowed his eyes.

“And it was,” Eldon answered uncaringly. “But I’d like to make sure you didn’t bring any diseases with you from the peasant villages that could infect the people in this castle. Think of it as a precaution.” Without waiting for permission, he proceeded to examine the thief’s body in more thorough detail, looking him over for any other signs of illness. He started by taking Crow’s jaw in one hand to force him to turn his head as he studied his eyes, nose, and ears in a manner that reminded the thief of the way a buyer might look over a farm horse. Naturally, Crow didn’t appreciate being treated like an animal, so he curled his lip hostilely at the physician, who continued to ignore him as usual.

“You have good teeth,” Eldon mused as he worked his way down to the thief’s mouth. “Much better than the peasants I’ve come across before.”

“And you’ve got poor manners,” Crow growled snidely in response. “Much worse than the nobles I’ve come across before.” He stretched his jaw once the other man had finally released it to continue examining other parts of his body. This guy was really rubbing him the wrong way. It was almost as if Eldon thought he was just a disease-ridden mongrel that needed to be quarantined from the strong and healthy noblemen of the castle. He was just about to make another irritable comment about it, when the physician moved on to inspect his chest.

Eldon pressed one hand to the thief’s upper back while he used the other to prod at different parts of his torso. As soon as he pushed down on the left side of Crow’s ribcage, the thief felt an all too familiar discomfort rise up inside his lungs. His eyes widened in surprise and he quickly brought a hand to his mouth as the physician’s prodding brought on a sudden, uncontrollable coughing fit.

“Ah ha,” Eldon said sagely as he watched the thief endure the episode. “I knew there would be something. You peasants always bring something with you when you show up from those filthy villages.”

Crow shot him a venomous glare and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, panting as he fought to catch his breath. Eldon seemed to catch the movement, because in the next moment, he reached out to catch hold of the thief’s wrist, pulling it towards himself as he looked at his hand. “Blood?” he murmured, bringing a hand up to his chin in a contemplative gesture. “I’ll have to see what I’ve got for that.”

Seeming satisfied with his findings, the physician bent down to retrieve a roll of clean bandages from his supply bag. He quickly and efficiently redressed Crow’s wound before he gathered his things and rose to his feet again. “I’ll be back later with a medicine for that cough of yours,” he added to the thief. With a curt nod, he turned and walked with Hunter back out of the room, leaving the other three alone once more.

As soon as they were gone, Crow put his tunic back on and ambled over to the table where the knights were sitting. “Well that was unpleasant,” he grumbled moodily as he took a seat next to Penelope, leaning against her side as he used her touch to calm his still-simmering emotions.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope looked over curiously at Eldon as he explained he was there to look over Crow. She watched the head physician as he began to look over Crow. She wrinkled her nose in slight annoyance at his comment about Crow's scars. As someone who had scars as well, she found it quite rude of him to make such a remark. Not everyone could be a skilled healer after all and surviving your injuries alone tended to be the more important part in her opinion.

Her gaze shifted over to Hunter as the attendant squeaked at the sight of Crow's injury. For a moment, she didn't understand what was so upsetting to him but soon realized that he probably wasn't used to seeing such nasty wounds. The knight looked back over to Crow, her gaze drifting towards his wound. It's a good thing he didn't have to see it when it was fresh... Or when it happened. she thought, shuddering at the memory of seeing Crow run through with a sword. Even though he was healing fine now, the thought of it still caused the knight to feel a little fearful over how close she had gotten to losing him.

She leaned back in her chair and watched as Eldon went on to check out Crow. Penelope tensed slightly as he caused the thief to cough and noticed her father glance in her direction as the head physician caught the blood that came with it. Looking over at John, she merely gave a subtle shrug before looking away again, hoping that her father wouldn't ask too much about the illness that Crow clearly had. Once the physician and attendant left, she relaxed a little once more and looked over at Crow as he moved to sat down besides her.

Penelope moved to wrap an arm around him as she felt him lean into her side. "He certainly seemed quite arrogant." she mused with a soft sigh. "But at least he did his job efficiently."

John gave a small mutter of agreement before rising up to his feet. "I have a few other matters to attend to. I'll be around if either of you need me." he informed them before stepping towards the door. He paused and glanced back over his shoulder at Penelope. "Good luck with the king.. I'm sure you'll do fine." he gave her a small nod before turning and stepping out of the room.

Penelope watched her father leave before shifting closer to Crow. "Gods I hope he's right about that." she muttered as she leaned her head against the thief. She knew she'd have to leave soon as well to go to her meeting with the king but before that, she wanted to spend a bit more time with Crow, seeking comfort in his company as her anxiousness began to build up as the time drew closer. The knight frowned as she thought about the warning the gods had given them and how it wasn't the first time. "I don't want to fail again.." she added in a softer voice.

[Rogue Sloth]

“I guess so,” Crow shrugged when Penelope said that Eldon had been efficient. The physician’s skill at his job didn’t change the fact that he seemed more interested in protecting the other people in the castle than he did in healing a lowly peasant from the ‘filthy’ outer villages. The thief felt another twinge of annoyance as he recalled the prejudiced words the old man had used to describe the home he loved so much. It wasn’t their fault that there was so much sickness in the villages. If anything the problem was the king’s fault. Historically, none of Brerra’s rulers had ever done anything to aid the peasants in their suffering, and that had yet to change in his lifetime.

But maybe it could change now, he thought hopefully. Perhaps his father would be more willing than the previous kings to provide the outer villages with the help they had been craving for so long. After their talk the day before, Albin certainly seemed like a man who would listen to reason. However, he knew he couldn’t be sure about that, especially after the warning Penelope’s father had given him. If Albin was simply trying to manipulate him, then he wasn’t at all the kind of man he seemed to be.

But what about his offer to me? Crow thought with a frown. As hard as he wracked his brain, he couldn’t think of any good reason why Albin would want to choose him to be his viceroy over the nobles in the castle. Even if he supposedly had the talent for it—which he was still doubtful of after he had attempted to learn how to write with Penelope the night before—he was still a wanted criminal. Surely his reputation would do nothing but harm his father’s credibility. Why would he risk that, if his main goal wasn’t to reconnect with his son?

He let out a frustrated sigh, glancing up when John suddenly interrupted his muddled thoughts. As the knight told them that he had other matters to attend to, the thief nodded faintly and closed his eyes, leaning a little further into Penelope’s side. He heard the older man tell his daughter that she would do fine when she spoke to the king later followed by the sound of fading footsteps as John made his way to the door and exited the room, leaving them alone once more.

Crow opened his eyes again as Penelope spoke up in a quiet voice. He turned to look at her, resting his hand on her thigh as she added that she didn’t want to fail again. “Hey,” he said softly, bringing his hand up to brush aside a strand of her brunette hair. “It’ll be fine. I’m sure that if anyone can get my father to stop this war, it’s you.” He smiled at her confidently before leaning in to press a long and tender kiss to her lips.

“I have an idea,” he said when he pulled back again, shifting away from her to stand up from the table and offering her a hand. “Let’s take a walk. There’s still some time before you need to meet with him, and moving around will be better for you than just sitting here and thinking about it.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope looked at Crow as he reassured her that she'd be able to convince his father. She wished she could share his confidence. Even though she had been able to piece together a decent argument, she worried that it wouldn't be enough and knowing there was a great amount at stake certainly didn't help ease her nerves. The knight wished she could just be upfront with the king about being visited by the god but unfortunately, she was rather certain if she did that that he'd think she had gone mad.

She closed her eyes as Crow tenderly kissed her. The knight let out a soft sigh and sunk into his touch a bit more. As he pulled back and moved to stand up, Penelope gave a small nod and took his hand to stand up. "You're probably right." she mused softly in agreement as she moved to stand next to him. The knight gave him a small, appreciative smile and leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek. She was thankful to have him by her side to keep her from letting her nerves get the best of her.

The took a step towards the door and looked over at Crow. "I have to ask, what do you think of your father so far?" she asked with a hint of curiosity. His anger towards him seemed to have died down a little after meeting with him but her own father's dislike and distrust of the king kept her a bit wary. She wanted to get a second opinion of the man she would soon meet directly rather than just passing by or hearing about him through others.

"My father was warning me about dealing with him this morning... I'm not too concerned about that part since I've spoke with kings before but.. I was just wondering what you thought of him too." she explained with a small shrug as she paused by the door.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow smiled as Penelope kissed him on the cheek and walked with her to the door that led out of the room. He was glad that she seemed to be feeling at least a little better now. Though her reason for speaking with the king was vastly different than his, he could understand how she could be feeling so distraught about facing the man. After all, he had been a nervous wreck the day before, when he’d had to have an audience with his father for the first time. With the memory still fresh in his head, it was easy for him to empathize with her.

At her following question, he took a moment to think it over before replying, “I don’t know. He’s… definitely not what I was expecting him to be.” He reached for the door handle and pulled it open, allowing Penelope to step through first before he followed her into the corridor. After casting a quick look around to make sure they were still alone, he went on in a low voice, “I was honestly thinking he would be like most of the other nobles I’ve met in the past: arrogant, selfish, stubborn…” He shook his head. “Instead, he was actually kind to me. He even apologized for everything he’d done to my mother before too. I wasn’t planning to ever forgive him for abandoning us, but… the way he explained his reasoning made it hard for me to stay mad at him.”

He fell quiet as a servant bustled past them with a basket full of richly-colored clothing, waiting until the girl was far enough away from them for him to continue. “I suppose I’m mostly just confused now,” he sighed once they were alone again. “My mother used to tell me he was a terrible and greedy man, but my father said he was just young and foolish and made a mistake, which is I can understand because I’ve done similar things.” He winced as the memory of how he’d hurt Hazel resurfaced in his mind. “But even now, your father has been warning me not to trust him. I’m inclined to believe everyone who’s known my father better than I do, but… it’s hard to do when he seems like a genuinely kind man.

“Plus, there’s the matter of his offer to me,” Crow turned to meet Penelope’s gaze with a deep frown. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and I just can’t understand why someone as greedy as the man my mother told me about would give a thief such an honored title.” He lowered his gaze thoughtfully to the polished marble floor of the hallway. “He said he wants to make up for the wrongs of his past, but if he’s lying, then what other reason could there be? No matter how I look at it, his reputation is going to take a hit if I accept the position. I can’t see how he would gain anything by hiring me over any other noble in the kingdom. His explanation is the only one that makes sense, but if it’s really true, then I don’t see how he could possibly be the same person your father and my mother described to me.”

The thief ran a hand perplexedly through his hair. “I don’t know… It’s hard for me to have an opinion of the man when I’m getting such conflicting images of him.” He looked up again to meet the knight’s gaze searchingly. “What do you think about my father? You’ve been working for him for a while now, right? Surely you must have some sort of opinion of him.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope listened as Crow explained his confliction over his father. As they stepped out into the corridor, she swept her gaze over their surroundings before looking back to Crow as he explained how the king had even apologized about the past. The knight gave a small frown as he went on to say how he understood his father for making similar mistakes. She wasn't quite sure if she agreed with that sentiment. Surely whatever mistake Crow had made didn't compare to ruining a woman's life and abandoning her and a child. Albin's history with Crow's mother made her lean towards believing her father's opinion a little more as it was brought up.

However, as he went on to mention the offer the king had made him, she felt unsure once again. What reason could the king have for offering him such a title after all? Sure, Crow was talented when it came to languages but she doubted that would be enough to just ignore the reputation he had built for himself as a thief. As Crow met her gaze, she gave a small sigh. "Not really... I mean, I've been serving under him but not directly. When he took the throne, I was already busy working with Mia and preparing to join the battlefront. I've never approached him directly but when he rose to power, not much seemed to change."

The knight shrugged her shoulders as she thought about the new king. From what she knew of him, he had gained favor with quite a few nobles and most liked him. Those that didn't were few and her father was one of them. "I guess I just thought of him as another king I had to serve. He didn't seem any different from the last one to me. He was still following through with the war and he didn't change much aside from a couple precautions to make sure the rebellion had been fully taken care of." she told Crow.

"I guess I'll have a better idea after I meet with him.." Penelope mused quietly and looked over at Crow. "I'm just as confused as you really.. A lot of nobles like him and I've heard good things but I've also heard your story and how much my father dislikes him." She shook her head and crossed her arms with a thoughtful look. "Maybe you should try asking my father more about it. I don't know how willing he is to speak on the matter but it could be worth it. Perhaps he sees something that we don't."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow chewed on the inside of his lip as Penelope told him that when Albin had risen to power, not much had changed in the inner kingdom. He didn’t know what to make of that. On one hand, his father had only been king for less than a year, so he hadn’t had very much time to enact any changes as the new ruler of Brerra. However, he was a little put off to know that his style of leadership didn’t seem very different from the last greedy king. He knew that if he had been put in the same position, he would have begun to change the way the kingdom was run right away.

Then again, I’m not a noble, he argued with himself as they rounded the corner of the hallway. I don’t know how rulemaking works around here. Maybe it’s more complicated than I think. No matter what he found out about Albin, it was difficult for him to make a judgement call about a man he barely knew. He didn’t want to decide that his father was the greedy man his mother claimed that he was when he might be mistaken about the efforts the king had really made to better the kingdom. Similarly, he didn’t want to side with his father when there could be something he was missing. He sighed to himself. The more he tried to solve the puzzle, the more frustrating everything became.

Crow turned to Penelope as she went on to tell him why she was confused too. Like the other things she had told him about his father, he didn’t know what to think of the new information. It almost seemed like there were two completely separate men on the throne. One version of his father was adored by the public and came across like a fair and just man, while the other was despised for being selfish and cruel. He wished there was a way for him to find out which picture was the real one.

As Penelope suggested that he should talk to her father to learn why the older knight hated Albin, he nodded. “I might just do that,” he exhaled. “It would be nice to finally start getting some answers, and I have a feeling I’ll just end up more confused if I only talk to my father.”

“Well, well. Look at you two, together again.”

Crow looked up at the sound of a bitter voice, only to see that William was walking towards them from an adjoining corridor. It seemed the knight had been serious when he’d told them he planned to keep a close eye on them while they stayed in the castle. He rolled his eyes. “Oh, just drop it, would you?” he said dryly. “We’ve already let go of the past. Why can’t you?”

“Because I’m not a gullible fool,” William growled. “You both managed to trick me once. I will not let that happen again.”

“You’re wasting your time,” Crow shrugged, folding his arms over his chest as he met the other man’s gaze evenly.

“I’m sure I’m not,” William argued coldly. “Besides,” he narrowed his eyes. “I dislike knowing there’s a thief wandering freely in the castle. Regardless of who was officially assigned to guard you, I intend to make sure you don’t touch anything you’re not supposed to, myself.”

“Go ahead,” Crow waved his hand apathetically. “I already told you: I’m here on invitation from the king. I have no intention of ruining my welcome by stealing.”

“Snake. I know you’re lying through your teeth.”

“Perhaps,” Crow’s eyes wandered to a nearby window as he began to lose interest in the conversation. “Or maybe your time would be better spent patrolling the hallways for real threats instead of harassing His Majesty’s guest.”

“Nice try,” William curled his lip. “But I’m not going anywhere. Given both of your history,” he gestured at Crow and Penelope in turn. “I plan to stay quite close and make sure you have a guard who won’t let you get away with your usual antics, thief.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small nod at Crow's words and was about to voice her agreement until another voice caught her attention. She turned her head to William walking towards them. Immediately the knight felt a twinge of annoyance. It seemed he was quite determined to try and catch them. While annoying, it also made her slightly nervous. After all, if anyone was going to catch on to them, it'd likely be William considering his knowledge about their history together.

Forcing that nervousness down, she met William's gaze evenly as he made his intent to stay close to them clear. The knight gave a small snort. "Do whatever lets you sleep at night." she said crossing her arms over her chest. "But if you're going to start accusing me of being an incapable guard, I'd like to remind you that you wouldn't have made it back to this kingdom without me breaking you out or without him saving your sorry ass from mercenaries."

William stiffened slightly at the reminder that Crow had saved him in the past. Penelope noticed and smirked a little. "I'm just saying... If you want to keep bringing up the past, then I won't hesitate to do the same." she said with a hint of challenge in her gaze.

"I don't like how brash you're getting, Vermillion." William growled. "You haven't proven yourself to be capable of handling criminals anyways.. Especially this one." He held his head up a little higher. "There's no way I'm letting you two go unsupervised."

"Do what you'd like." Penelope shrugged and shifted her gaze back ahead. "This works out well for me. I have a meeting with the king in a little so I don't mind someone keeping an eye on him for a moment while I'm busy. Do remember he is the king's guest though." She glanced over to Crow and let out a nervous sigh as she looked back to William. "I should be heading to the council room soon anyways."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow smirked as Penelope reminded William about their escapade in the Younisian castle two years ago. The male knight was clearly frustrated over being reminded of the time when he had been forced to rely on a criminal in the past, which he found quite amusing. Their old comrade deserved to be made uncomfortable though, what with his constant—and accurate—accusations about them. He hoped it would be enough to make the older man back down, but instead he remained just as stubborn as ever about remaining close to them while they were in the castle.

To make things worse, it looked like it was about time for Penelope’s audience with his father, which meant he was about to be left alone with William. He wrinkled his nose slightly at the thought, suddenly wishing he could go with her to speak with Albin. Of course, he knew that wasn’t a good idea though. Aside from the fact that his appearance would likely be suspicious to the king, Toreus had clearly given the task to her and only her. It wasn’t his responsibility to get involved in that conversation, so he was just going to have to trust that she could handle it on her own.

“Good luck,” Crow said, offering her a reassuring smile, though his dipped his head in a more curt and formal gesture to keep up their charade in front of William. Turning back to the older knight, he sighed resignedly. “I suppose if I’m just going to be stuck with you, I might as well go back to my room. Wandering the castle just isn’t worth listening to you whine all afternoon.”

“You’re just upset because you know I won’t let you steal anything,” William accused with a snort.

“See?” Crow groaned exaggeratedly. “It’s already started.” He turned to Penelope with a lopsided grin. “I’m going to take a nap. Wake me when you’re done talking with the king, so I can explore this place with more tolerable company.” With that, he headed back down the hallway they had come from with William following closely at his heels to make sure he actually returned to his bed chambers.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope casted a small smile at Crow, grateful for his small attempt to reassure her before they parted. She gave a nod to the two as they headed off down the corridor, parting from her. The knight took in a deep breath and headed off to the council room to meet with the king. A feeling of anxiousness began to bubble in her but since she was about to face the king, she attempted to force it down.

As she reached the room, she tentatively knocked on the door and waited to hear a clear "Come in." before opening the door and stepping inside. Once inside, her immediately fell on the king, who was sitting there clearly waiting for her. For a moment, she worried she had been late but he seemed rather relaxed so she doubted he had been waiting long. His gaze flickered over to her and she bowed respectfully to him.

"Penelope Vermillion... I was wondering when I'd get to properly meet you, lieutenant." Albin mused and gestured to the open chair across from him. "Come in. Have a seat."

The female knight nodded and moved to sit down in the open. Now closer to the king and speaking to him directly, she already found it a bit difficult to keep her guard up. While seeming inviting, he also reminded her a great deal of Crow due to his physical appearance. That alone made it difficult not to relax. "Thank you for accepting my request, your majesty." she said with a small dip of her head.

"Of course." Albin smiled. "I'm eager to hear how things are progressing on the warfront."

Penelope shifted a bit. "There is no progress." she responded quietly, making the king raise his brow in confusion.

Albin eyed her. "So why exactly did you request an audience with me if you have nothing to report on?"

She cleared her throat and met his eyes, trying not to let her nerves get to her. She had to convince him and acting uncertain wouldn't help. "Neither us nor Younis has made any progress. It's been a consistent stalemate." she explained. "It's true there's not much for me to report on and one of the main reasons I wished to speak with you is because I think you should seek a peaceful end to this war."

The king let out a small sigh, seeming a bit disappointed with her, as he leaned back in his seat. "Now, why would I do that?"

The change in his attitude with speaking to her wasn't encouraging to say the least but at least he wasn't denying her suggestion right away. "Because there is nothing to gain from continuing it." she stated with a small frown. "All it's doing is leaving a path of destruction along our outer villages." The knight paused as she recalled her father's advice. "And it's draining your gold. This war has gone on for over a year and there is no sign of a winner."

"So, you don't believe we can win?"

"I don't think winning will be worth it." Penelope responded. "Even if we do win, the amount of resources and gold you'll have to spend in order to do so will not be worth it in the long run. Just look at how often we've had to send in requests for more supplies." The knight was careful not to mention that a great part of the reason for requesting more supplies was because of the thieves they had to deal with on the battlefront. She studied Albin for a moment. His slight disappointment seemed to fade a bit as he seemed to take her words into consideration. Her heart began to beat excitedly, encouraged by seeing the king listen to her.

"And I'm sure you could convince the king of Younis into seeking a truce as well. This war surely must be costly for both sides after all." Penelope went on. She gave a hopeful look as the king met her gaze. "I'm not saying we roll over to them but rather, at least try to seek a peaceful end to the war before it drains both of our kingdoms."

Albin remained quiet for a long moment, lightly tapping his finger against the arm of his chair as he thought over her words. "Interesting." he finally mused and gave Penelope a small nod. "I'll take your words into consideration.. But if that's all, then you are dismissed."

It wasn't quite what she was hoping for but at least it seemed that some of her words had gotten through to him. Only time would tell if he'd actually listen to her advice though, which didn't ease any of her anxiousness about failing. She dipped her head respectfully and rose to her feet. "Thank you again." she said politely before rising from her chair to leave.

[Rogue Sloth]

The walk back to the viceroy’s room was uneventful for Crow. Since he and William didn’t have anything to talk about, and the knight was focused on keeping him in his sight at all times, neither one said anything until they reached the large wooden doors. It was there that the thief finally turned to his guard with a frown. “I hope you don’t intend on following me inside,” he said with a disturbed look. “I dislike the idea of being watched in my sleep.”

“You can have your privacy,” William shrugged. “But I’m going to stay outside this room to make sure you don’t go anywhere without supervision.”

“Sounds boring,” Crow reached for the handle to open the door. “I’d pity you, but you were the one who decided to inflict this upon yourself.” He tugged on the handle and stepped into the chamber, satisfied that he’d gotten the final word in against the hotheaded knight. Once he was alone, he raised his arms over his head in a long stretch and wandered to the window that overlooked the courtyard below, watching the knights and nobles mill about in the midday sunlight. Despite telling Penelope that he was going to take a nap, he was too wound up with intrigue to sleep. There was so much to see and so many things to think about. He couldn’t bring himself to waste his time by napping.

After a short while, he turned away from the window to look over the viceroy’s room again, pacing along the edge of the chamber as his eyes wandered over the walls and furniture in search of anything he had missed on his first day seeing it. The first thing he noticed was that someone had cleaned up the place while he’d been out with Penelope. The dishes from breakfast had been cleared away, and the bed had been remade from the haphazard state he had left it in that morning. He supposed his father had instructed the palace servants to make sure that his room was always in pristine condition.

As he made his way a little further along the wall, he also noticed there was a dresser with a large mirror on top on the left side of the room. He supposed he must have missed it before, since it was set up near the table where the food had been laid out before. Curious, he approached the mirror and studied the reflection of himself that appeared in its glassy surface. Having grown up with only the reflection of still water available to him, he found that he was strangely transfixed by the sight that was presented in the mirror, as clear as if there was a second Crow staring back at him from the other side.

Interesting, he mused, tracing his fingers gingerly over the cold surface as he studied his own undistorted face for the first time. Captivated by the mirror, he probably would have stood there longer if he wasn’t interrupted by the sound of voices outside the bed chamber. He turned away from his reflection and stalked a little closer to the door, hoping to hear what was being said. If someone was talking about him, he intended to find out about it.

Once he was close enough to eavesdrop, the thief closed his eyes and leaned towards the door as the voices became clearer.

“…the room where he put Lockton, right?”

The first voice was masculine, and one that Crow didn’t recognize.

“Yes it is, but what could you possibly want with him, My Liege?”

He knitted his brow, surprised to hear a slight tremor in William’s voice. Whoever he was speaking to had to have high authority for the stoic knight to act so nervously. He leaned a little closer to the door.

“None of your business.” This time, a feminine voice spoke up. “We want what we want. Now, run along and let us speak to him alone. If I catch you eavesdropping, I’ll make sure the king finds out about it.”

“O-Of course. Take all the time you need.”

As the sound of shuffling ensued, Crow’s eyes widened at the realization that the strangers were about to come inside. He hurried away from the door, backtracking to stand with his back against the bottom left bedpost. With some distance between himself and the door, he crossed his arms over his chest and set his jaw, intending to meet these people, whoever they were, with more confidence than William had shown.

In the next moment, the handle turned and the door opened, admitting three figures into the chamber. There was one man and two women, all well-dressed in expensive-looking clothes and jewelry. However, what caught Crow off guard was their ages. All three seemed to be a few years apart, but every one was clearly younger than him. He wondered how any of them could hold a position in the castle that would make William grovel like he had.

Whatever the case, he wasn’t going to do the same.

“Can I help you?” Crow narrowed his eyes at them challengingly. He was well aware that there were nobles in the palace who likely wanted him dead, so he wasn’t about to roll over if they were here to threaten him.

Instead of answering, the three just gawked at him in silence. Their wide eyes set the thief on edge, and he shifted his weight uncomfortably. However, the tense moment was quickly ended when the older of the two girls brought a hand to her mouth to suppress a snort. “Oh my gods,” she snickered. “I get it now.” She nudged the boy next to her with a snide look. “Looks like father had a secret, huh?”

The boy just grumbled something under his breath and looked away.

“What are you going on about?” Crow eyed them warily, even more baffled by the girl’s words.

“I’d bet you anything I’m right about this,” the girl went on, ignoring him as she elbowed the boy again. “Come on, Braden, you like to gamble. Want to put some money down?”

“Not when it’s a losing bet, Naida,” the boy, Braden, grumbled irritably.

“Ah!” Naida’s grin widened as she clapped her hands together. “So, you think he is too?”

Braden casted the thief a sidelong glance and wrinkled his nose, “I wish I didn’t.”

At this point, Crow’s confusion gave way to annoyance as the others continued to talk about him like he wasn’t there. “Alright,” he growled. “If one of you doesn’t tell me what’s going on, I’m leaving.”

“No, no, wait,” Naida hurriedly held up her hands as she turned to address him at last. “Sorry, it’s just… we weren’t expecting… y’know.” She performed a sweeping gesture over the thief.

“No, I don’t know,” Crow stated dryly, as her gesture did nothing to clear up his confusion. “Please explain.”

Naida exchanged a glance with Braden and the other girl before turning back to him again. “Maybe this will help,” she said, fidgeting slightly in her eagerness. “I’m Naida, and this is Braden and Willow… We’re King Mannering’s heirs.

Crow froze at that. He hadn’t known Albin had had other children after himself, although now that he thought about it, he supposed he should have known better than to assume his father wouldn’t sire his own family. After all, it was common knowledge that the king was married. Of course his wife would have born him other heirs. I have half-siblings, he thought, dumbfounded as he looked the three over with new interest.

His reaction seemed to encourage Naida, who brightened considerably. “I knew it!” she chirped. “You’re our brother, aren’t you?”

“Naida!” Braden hissed at her disapprovingly, giving her a small shove. “Idiot, you can’t say something like that.”

Crow looked between them as the pieces fell into place in his mind. It seemed that they were just as clueless to his existence as he had been to theirs. In fact, they had probably only guessed that they were related based on his appearance alone. He lightly bit the tip of his tongue, toying with the idea of telling them the truth. If his father hadn’t informed them already, he clearing didn’t want them to know. However, it felt wrong to lie to them when they were family—gods, that was a strange thought.

“No, she’s right,” Crow admitted after a moment, averting his gaze uncomfortably. “Albin is my father.”

A brief silence hung in the air before Naida interrupted it again. “You’re our brother,” she beamed, moving to come closer to him. However, before she could get very far, Braden caught her by the arm.

“He’s also a wanted thief, remember?” he growled, turning to Crow with a cautious gaze. “Father has grown too nostalgic… asking a known criminal to be our next ambassador. It’s absurd!”

“You should be grateful that Father didn’t make him a prince,” Naida snickered. “He’s older than you, so you’d be pushed down the line for the throne!”

Braden cringed at that, but before he could rebuttal, Crow intervened. “Look, I don’t know why he asked me either,” he shrugged. “And to be honest, I don’t even know if I’m going to take the offer.”

“What?” Naida whirled on him with wide eyes. “You have to take it! You’re the king’s firstborn son. You deserve to have at least some sort of title.”

“I don’t care about that,” Crow frowned. “I know this may sound crazy to a bunch of nobles, but I like my life as a peasant. I don’t know if I want to give it up just because my father asked me to.”

“Great,” Braden said curtly. “Then go back to it. We don’t need you anyway.”

“Braden!” Naida groaned. Roughly yanking her arm out of her brother’s grasp, she stepped over to Crow’s side. “Don’t listen to him. He’s probably just upset because he’s no longer our father’s firstborn.” She shot Braden a glare before turning back to the thief with a friendly smile. “You may like peasant life, but I promise; you’ll like living in the castle so much more. Sure, there’s some boring stuff, like tutoring and traditions, but there’s so much else to do here—Ooh, I can show you around! It’ll be fun!”

Crow felt a faint smile creep over his lips as he held Naida’s excitable gaze. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and even though he hadn’t made up his mind about whether he was going to stay or leave, he couldn’t help but feel drawn to spending time with his newly discovered half-sister. “I’d like that,” he nodded. “If I end up accepting father’s offer, I’ll be sure to take you up on it.”

“This is ridiculous,” Braden muttered foully. He turned to head back to the door. “I need to speak with father about this.”

“You do that,” Naida waved a hand at him. “I’m going to stay here and get to know our new brother. What about you, Willow?” She turned to the younger girl expectantly.

Willow shuffled her feet uncomfortably beneath her sister’s intense gaze. “I think I’ll go with Braden,” she said in a meek voice, turning to follow the boy out of the room.

“Oh,” Naida frowned, seeming disappointed as the other two left. However, the emotion didn’t last long. “Alright then. I guess it’s just you and me,” she said, turning back to the thief and gesturing for him to sit with her on the bed.

“It seems so,” Crow shrugged absently, still feeling a little overwhelmed at the unexpected news that he had siblings. He followed Naida over to the bedside and sat down, letting his legs dangle over the edge as he settled comfortably on the soft mattress.

His sister did the same, though she positioned herself so that her back was resting against the pillows by the headboard and her legs were crossed in front of her. “Tell me about yourself,” she grinned, leaning contentedly into the cushioning. “Your name is Crow, right? That’s pretty unique.”

“Yeah,” the thief nodded with a soft smile. “It’s not my real name though.”

“Really?” Naida quirked a brow. “What’s your real name?”

“Ah ah,” Crow tutted, smirking at her mischievously. “You haven’t earned that yet. How about I tell you the story of where my current name came from…”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope walked back towards Crow's room, thinking over how her meeting with Albin had gone. It was hard to say if it had been successful and it seemed she'd have to wait a while before she'd find out the results. Maybe if we stick around here long enough I can try pressuring him about it again... Or even write to the barons to get them to pressure him as well. she thought. She figured they wouldn't be there that long—Crow would likely make his decision to leave soon enough—but writing to the barons to get their support might still be a wise idea.

The knight pushed her thoughts away as the room came into view and with it William, who had positioned himself a ways away from the door. It seemed he was intent about keeping an eye on Crow. She was actually a bit surprised he wasn't standing directly at the door. However, the knight didn't think much of it and stepped over to the older knight, crossing her arms over her chest. "Still intent on keeping guard out here or am I allowed to do my job yet?" she asked with a hint of challenge. Surprisingly, William didn't seemed even slightly bothered by her wanting to take over.

"Go ahead." he grumbled shaking his head. "I don't want to get caught up in whatever mess is going on here." With that said, he turned to stalk off down the hallway, leaving Penelope confused by his sudden attitude change. She had been rather certain that he'd fight her about taking over the guard shift. The knight might have even questioned it if she hadn't been so shocked by his lack of arguments.

Well, whatever it was, it at least got William out of their hair for now and she wasn't about to ask him to stick around. Penelope turned and moved to open the door, not bothering to knock, as she stepped inside. She looked over her shoulder as she walked into the room, closing the door a bit slowly behind herself as she was still wondering what had William so eager to leave. "I'm back, Crow.. Do you know what's up with William? He wa—" Her words cut off as she finally turned her head and her gaze landed on Crow and another familiar face.

Her eyes widened as she recognized Naida with him on the bed. She hadn't seen the other female knight since she had left for the battlefront and had assumed she was still attending to whatever family matters she had told them about. However, that didn't exactly explain what she was doing in Crow's room... Or what she was doing on the bed with him. It only made Penelope more confused and shocked. "Naida?" she asked with unsuppressed surprise. Her gaze flickered between the two of them for a moment. "W-What are you doing here?"

[Rogue Sloth]

As the two siblings continued to talk and share stories, Crow found that he got along quite well with Naida. So far, he’d learned that she was three years younger than him, that she was a knight in their father’s army, and that the reason why she hadn’t joined the battlefront yet was because Albin hadn’t wanted her to risk his daughter’s life in the war against Younis. Her personality was appealing to him as well. She had a carefree attitude that was remarkably similar to his own, which was surprising to him because of their vastly different upbringings. Overall, he found that he liked her more than he’d been expecting to.

As he grew more comfortable around her, Crow transitioned from sitting rigidly at the edge of the bed to laying on his back with his arms propped behind his head. The two went on chatting casually with each other until the door handle rattled, and someone else stepped inside. The thief lifted his head lazily as he checked to see who had come to visit him this time, only to perk up right away when he realized it was Penelope. Grinning eagerly, he sat up to ask how her conversation with his father had gone, but then paused when he caught sight of the confused expression on her face.

As she suddenly addressed Naida by name, he blinked in surprise, looking between the two women as it became clear that they already knew each other. However, he didn’t get a chance to ask them about it before his sister spoke up. “Penelope!” Naida shrieked excitedly, sliding down from the bed to greet her friend with a hug. “I didn’t know you were back. How’s the war going? Are we destroying Younis?” Suddenly, she blinked as she seemed to realize Penelope had asked her a question first. She looked back over her shoulder at Crow and made a face, seeming unsure how to explain what she was doing in his room.

“I… Well, I was… err…” she fumbled, obviously not used to coming up with a lie on the spot.

Crow watched her with an amused smirk. Though they shared blood, his half-sister definitely didn’t share his ability to outfox other people. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and climbed down to join them near the door. “It’s fine,” he assured her. “Penelope already knows about my relation to the king.”

“Oh, thank gods,” Naida exhaled in relief. Turning back to her friend with giddy excitement, the princess stood up straighter and threw one arm over Crow’s shoulders. “I came here to meet the next viceroy and found out I’ve got a brother instead!”

“I told you I haven’t decided whether I’m taking the job or not,” Crow rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure you will though,” Naida shot him a knowing wink and looked at Penelope again with a joyful grin. “Isn’t this great?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope blinked as Naida hurried over to greet her with a hug. She returned the gesture with a small smile. Amidst the confusion, it was nice to see her friend again so she at least enjoyed the warm welcome. As her friend pulled back and stumbled to answer her question, the knight raised an eyebrow, confused by what she was trying to hide. Crow speaking up to say she knew about his relation to the king didn't help clear up that confusion either.

However, Naida's next words did. She stared at them dumbfoundedly as the other kn—no—princess announced that Crow was her brother. "B-Brother?" she stammered and then focused on Naida. Penelope knew that the current king had children but she had never met them. At least, she didn't think she had. Though, as Naida stood excitedly in front of her now, she began to realize that she had been a rather close friend of one without even knowing. "W-Wait... You're a princess?! Is that why you didn't join us at the battlefront?"

"Well, yeah." Naida looked over at Penelope and gave a small laugh. "I thought you already knew. Olivia knew."

"No, of course I didn't. She never said a word and neither did you." Penelope scoffed. Thinking about it now, she supposed Olivia was hoping for a moment like this to happen. Along with that she couldn't help but find it a bit funny that she had unknowingly befriended the half sister of Crow. Though.. I suppose that was probably just another 'coincidence' she thought with a narrowed glance upward. She let out a long exhale and shook her head as she focused her gaze back on the two.

"Gods things just keep getting crazier." she muttered and gave a small smile at the princess. "Well, congratulations I guess."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow listened bemusedly as Penelope and Naida spoke. He found it funny that Penelope would befriend one of the members of the royal family without realizing who she was, but when Olivia’s name was thrown into the mix, it began to make more sense to him. He snorted softly. Of course the chaos-loving knight would want to keep her friend in the dark about Naida’s relationship to the king. However, he was a bit surprised that his own sister had never mentioned it to her before.

He casted her a sidelong glance. Now that he thought about it a little more, he supposed that made sense too though. Even though he hadn’t known her for longer than the afternoon, she struck him as a bit easily distracted. It was likely that she had merely forgotten to tell Penelope about her status as a princess and just never brought it up in conversation afterwards. The thought caused an amused smile to form on his lips. Whatever had caused the confusion between them, he was enjoying seeing Penelope’s shocked reaction now.

As the knight congratulated them, Naida beamed. “Thanks! I can’t wait to show him around the inner kingdom.” She nudged Crow playfully. “You’re going to love it here.”

“Again, I never said I would take the job,” the thief shook his head.

“But you never said you wouldn’t either,” his sister smirked at him cunningly. “I’m certain you’ll take it. This place grows on you.”

“We’ll see,” Crow said noncommittally. “Just don’t get your hopes up, alright?”

“Too late for that,” Naida snickered and then sighed through her nose. “It’s going to be nice having another brother around here. Braden’s great, but he’s such a stickler for father’s rules. I can tell you’ll be much more fun, Crow.” Suddenly, her eyes widened as she seemed to have another thought. “Oh dammit! I was supposed to report to Tybalt today for a guard shift. He’s going to be so mad…”

She hurried past Penelope to the door, only pausing to cast them one more smile over her shoulder, “I’ll be sure to stop by again as soon as I can, alright, Crow? And Penelope,” her smile broadened into a toothy grin. “We definitely have to catch up soon. I want to hear all about what you’re been up to at the border. Anyway, I’ll see you both later!” Without waiting for a reply, she headed into the hallway, closing the door roughly behind her as she disappeared.

Crow blinked and turned to Penelope with a shrug. “So apparently I’ve got a sister now,” he chuckled, stepping forward to wrap his arms around her in an embrace. “Well, actually two sisters and a brother, but I don’t think the others like me very much.” He leaned down to press a kiss to her lips before pulling back to meet her gaze again more seriously. “How did your meeting with my father go? Did he agree to end the war?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small sigh as Naida was rather eager to have Crow stay. She also seemed rather certain that he'd choose to as well. The princess seemed rather excited so the knight didn't bother to try and voice the doubts she had about him sticking around. It also brought a small feeling of melancholy as she thought about how she'd also eventually be leaving her friend behind as well. Naida would likely be rather disappointed that her brother wouldn't stick around and losing a friend—however long after that—would only bring the normally upbeat girl down.

She snapped out of her thoughts as Naida addressed her. Penelope smiled at her words and gave a small nod. She would have replied in agreement but Naida was already out the door before she could even begin to get a word out. The knight gave a small chuckle and turned to Crow. "So I've heard." she grinned, wrapping her arms around him. She knew of Naida's siblings but had never really spoke with them before. She had seen Braden once or twice when he had come to speak to his sister on occasion and Willow often didn't visit with the knights.

Leaning in, she met his lips as he kissed her and as he pulled back to ask her about her meeting with the king, her smile faded slightly. "It didn't go bad but.." she paused for a moment and let out a small sigh. "He didn't agree to end it yet. He said he'd consider it so I guess he just wants to think about it more." The knight shrugged and pressed a little closer to him. "I guess I won't find out if I succeeded or not yet... I'm even thinking about writing to barons to try to get their support on this."

She paused and shifted a bit. "Even if we aren't here for very long, I figure a letter from the barons would help. If I can get them to agree with me on this of course."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow frowned when Penelope’s expression turned uncertain, and he felt a pang of worry that his father hadn’t been as reasonable as he’d been hoping after all. As she explained how the meeting had gone, he averted his gaze, wondering whether or not Albin would choose to take her advice. He didn’t know enough about the man to make any guesses, but he wanted to believe his father would be willing to listen to the knight, even if she was quite a bit lower in status than anyone a king would normally take advice from.

Maybe he just wanted to discuss it with his advisors first, the thief thought hopefully. Albin hadn’t given her a ‘no;’ he probably just wanted to think about it more before making up his mind. Feeling slightly reassured, he rubbed one hand along Penelope’s upper back as she pressed into him, listening as she went on to tell him how she wanted to get the barons involved. He wasn’t entirely sure how well that idea would work, since amongst the three in her battalion, only Mia seemed reasonable enough to support her. The other two gave him the impression of warmongers who would rather fight and die for glory. But that was just the opinion of one thief, so who knew? Maybe he was wrong and they would agree with her.

Crow leaned his head against Penelope’s, biting the inside of his lip as she mentioned that they might not be in the castle for much longer. Though he knew she was right since he hadn’t made up his mind, he also felt a twinge of guilt at the thought of dragging her back to the outer villages with him before she had finished her business with the king. If he accepted the job as his father’s viceroy, they would have all the time in the world to persuade Albin to end the war—not to mention, she would never have to leave her life as a knight behind at all. It was starting to look like there were more benefits to taking the offer after all.

Still, he wasn’t sure if he could give up his simple peasant life. Being a thief gave him everything he wanted. Could he really change everything about himself and join a group of people he despised for her sake? She was going to do it for me, he reminded himself. While Penelope may not have had the same hatred towards commoners that he had towards nobles, she was still prepared to give up everything to be with him. How could he say he was really trying to give her the life she deserved if he wasn’t willing to do the same?

Oh, gods. Am I going to become a noble? He grimaced at the thought. Just picturing trying to coexist with the snobby aristocrats turned his stomach, but he couldn’t dismiss the idea as easily as before. There were too many pros for him to just push the option aside. Stop getting so worked up, he took a calming breath. I don’t have to decide yet. I can take one more day to think about this, and then I’ll make up my mind.

“I think that’s a good idea,” he murmured, suddenly realizing she was still waiting for him to respond. “Anything could help.” Still feeling a little overwhelmed, he pulled away from the knight to take her hand in his. “We’ve got quite some time left before supper. You should show me around the citadel,” he offered her a halfhearted smile, hoping she would provide him with a distraction so he could stop drowning in his own uncertainties.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope nodded as he voiced his approval of her idea. She was glad to hear someone else agree. With everything up in the air and a lot on the line, she wanted to do as much as she could to end the war. Mia would likely agree with her but the other two barons would be a bit more difficult to convince. As she felt Crow pull away from her, she looked up at him as he took her hand. She noticed the halfheartness in his smile but his suggestion for her to show him around caught her attention more.

"Sure." She said smiling eagerly. Not only did she want to show him around the castle, but she also wanted to relax a little. Their trip to the castle had been nothing short of madness and taking some time to focus on the familiar sounded quite inviting. Besides, she had hoped that she'd get a chance to show him around at one point. "Come on.. I already have a few places in mind that I want to show you." She squeezed his hand fondly before letting go to turn and lead the way out the door.

As they stepped out into the corridor, she began to think over where to take him first. She already had one specific spot in mind but it would require going up quite a bit of stairs so she figured it probably wasn't best to begin there. Besides, it always looks best around sunset.. We'll go there last. she decided with a smile. The prospect of showing him more of the world she knew was exciting to the knight, even if the castle was more so just a place she worked at rather than her hometown. If she was lucky, perhaps they could steal some time away after he made his choice to show him around Bellmare.

"We'll start with the Great Hall." she told him as she began to lead the way down the corridor. "It's not that special really but I want to show you the minstrel's gallery. The amount of instruments and other things they have there is impressive."

[Rogue Sloth]

When Penelope smiled at him eagerly, Crow felt himself relax, enjoying her bright enthusiasm at the prospect of showing him around the castle. He was glad that she liked the suggestion so much, since her excitement would hopefully rub off and give him a much-needed distraction from his inner turmoil over the decision he had yet to make. Well, either that or everything in the castle would remind him even more of that decision. For his own sake, he hoped the former would be true.

“You’ve certainly thought about this, haven’t you?” he smirked at her amusedly when she announced that she already had a few places in mind that she could show him. As she led the way out of the room, he trailed after her, still a bit on edge from his nerves but now also curious to see where she would take him. He noticed her fall quiet for a moment as they walked, but didn’t linger on it as his eyes wandered over the corridor they were headed through. It had been quite a while since the last time he’d been in the castle, and since he had always come to scout out or raid specific rooms, he had never bothered to learn the rest of the layout of the enormous building. He supposed he might as well start trying to memorize it now, since he might end up living here if he took his father’s offer. He shuddered at the thought.

When Penelope spoke up again, Crow stopped looking over the walls to turn towards her instead. Her words brought a smile to his lips. Her excitement about touring the palace with him was endearing, and he wished he could hold her hand as they walked. “Alright,” he nodded. “I don’t know much about instruments, but it sounds interesting.”

Turning to look ahead again, he chuckled as another thought came to him. “You know, I never thought I’d see the day when a king would allow a thief to freely roam his castle,” he glanced back at Penelope with an amused gleam in his eyes. “And I bet you never thought there would come a day when you would show said thief some of the king’s most valuable collections, huh?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope looked over at Crow as he chuckled. The knight smirked in amusement at his words. "Of course not. I don't think any knight in their right mind would expect to be showing a thief around the castle." she said with a small laugh. Shifting to subtly walk a little closer to him, she swept her gaze over the corridor before looking back over at him. "But then again, there are a lot of things that I have done with said thief that I'd never thought I do either." she added in a lowered voice.

The knight smiled at him fondly before turning to look back ahead as she lead the way to the great hall. "Honestly, I'm glad I get to show you around a bit. It's not quite exactly the place I wanted to take you around but I've spent a lot of time in this castle so I know where most everything is." she gave a small shrug. Penelope paused in her words as they passed by another guard. She gave a small dip of her head to him as their gazes briefly met before focusing back ahead. Once the other knight had passed, she added quietly, "Maybe we'll have a chance to swing through Bellmare once everything is settled."

She really wanted to show Crow around her hometown, especially since she doubted she would have another chance to after their stay in the castle. Besides that, she also wanted to stop by her actual home. If Crow was going to choose to return to the outer villages, she wanted to take this opportunity to grab the plans she had already began working on for relief to the outer villages. Originally, Penelope figured that she could just rewrite the little that she had developed so far to give to Gavin while they were at the battlefront. But if she was successful and ended the war soon, it would be more sensible to take the chance to just give him the journal she had been using for plans.

As they headed down the staircase and through another corridor, two large,grand doors soon came into view. She picked up her pace slightly and moved to pull open one of the doors. "Here's the great hall." she announced to him with a smile as she stood back to let him enter first. Since it was still well before supper, she figured the hall would be fairly empty, which was likely a good thing considering she doubted Crow's visit there would be well received by other nobles.