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

[Rogue Sloth]

“Suit yourself,” Crow shrugged when Penelope said she’d only have a little food. All that meant was that there would be more for him, so he wasn’t going to complain if she didn’t want more. He was about to turn to head back to the table, when she spoke up again. Glancing back at her, the thief grinned. “Maybe not,” he mused. “If there is a limit, I certainly haven’t found it yet.” As she approached the table, he followed after her and took a seat beside her, picking up his plate to fill it with a second serving.

“I have a feeling my ‘limitless’ appetite has more to do with this though,” he added thoughtfully, resting a hand on his middle where the bandages were located beneath his shirt. “I still haven’t regained all the weight I lost during those two weeks when I couldn’t eat.” He tore off a piece of bread and popped it into his mouth, turning his attention back to the food in front of him as a silence fell between them. By the time Penelope spoke up again, he’d already finished off most of his second helping.

“Hm?” he turned to her, swallowing a mouthful of food as he listened to her ask if he’d changed his mind about his decision. At her offer to cause a distraction so he could escape if he had, he smirked in amusement. “I appreciate the offer, but my mind is still made up,” he chuckled, leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek. “Also, I’ve already asked Hunter to tell my father that I want to speak with him this morning, so there’s no going back now. I’m going through with my decision.”

Plucking a grape from a dish of fruit, Crow lifted it to his lips and chewed thoughtfully. He was a bit surprised by the strength of his resolve that had developed since he’d made his choice the day before. Initially, he’d been quite hesitant to accept the job, but now that he’d had some time to come to terms with the fact that his life was going to be changing, it didn’t feel as suffocating as it had at the start. He was confident that he would adjust to everything with time, even if it was difficult in the beginning.

“I just hope my father will let me have the time I need to see my companions once more,” he sighed, absently swirling the remaining liquid in his wine goblet. “I don’t want to just disappear without giving them an explanation, you know? They don’t deserve that.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope smiled at him as he assured her that his mind was made up. "Just making sure." she said with a small laugh. As he went on to explain that he had already asked Hunter to tell the king he wished to speak with him, the knight was a little surprised he was moving forward with his decision so fast. His confidence was reassuring to her and she felt her heart begin to beat with a hint of excitement again.

As he went on to mention his companions, she nodded her head in agreement, leaning back in her chair. She didn't know his companions very well but they seemed like good friends and good people—even Rikki, whom she wasn't overly fond of. "They don't." Penelope mused in agreement. "And hopefully your father will allow you go." The knight crossed her arms and gave a thoughtful look as she wondered about the king allowing Crow to leave. It'd be a somewhat difficult request to make, especially since she wasn't sure if his father would trust he would return.

"Well, if he insists you need a guard or something to accompany you, you can always throw me in." Penelope told him offering him a smile. "I can use that time to go speak with the barons personally instead of writing them like I planned if it works out like that." Thinking it over, she realized it might even be easier than trying to write them. After all, it was faster to argue in person rather than over letters. Her only worry was that Mia might insist that she stay at the warfront. With so much to do within the inner kingdom, she hoped that the baroness would understand her decision to leave, especially since part of it was to convince the king to end the war in the first place.

She shrugged and met his gaze. "Even if he doesn't agree, I'm sure we could still figure out a way for you to meet with them.. It just might have to be somewhere within the inner kingdom rather than the outer villages." she said.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded when Penelope said he could use her as a ‘guard’ if his father insisted that he shouldn’t go back to the outer villages alone. Though he hadn’t even made the request yet, he had a feeling he was going to need to take her up on the offer. He already had a reputation for running, so he doubted that the king would trust him enough to let him leave on his own, since as far as anyone knew, he could just disappear while he was there. Plus, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to go alone anyway. While it would be nice to speak with the other thieves in private, he knew he could very well lose his nerve about returning to the inner kingdom. If his companions tried to convince him not to go, he was going to need some help in keeping his resolve. Having the knight by his side would be the reminder he needed of why he was doing this in the first place.

As Penelope brought up the suggestion that he could always try to arrange a meeting with his companions in the inner kingdom, Crow cringed. The idea itself wasn’t bad, but if he went about it that way, the other thieves would find out that he had lied about recovering from his wound before he could have a chance to tell them in person. Given his history of deceiving them over and over in the past, he wanted to be the one to explain himself to them first. That way, he could also tell them the whole truth of the matter as well as why he had kept everything a secret from them until now.

Additionally, If the other thieves found out he was at the castle from someone else, there was a chance that they wouldn’t even show up to see him. For one thing, his companions were cautious. They could come to the conclusion that he’d been arrested while he’d been staying in the knights’ camp and assume that the knights were trying to draw them out of hiding with fake word from him requesting that they should meet him in the inner kingdom. However, even if they did believe he was the one who had really arranged the meeting, they could be so upset about the fact that he’d kept yet another major secret from them that they chose not to see him. The thought made his heart sink.

“No,” Crow shook his head after a moment of silence. “I have to see them in the outer villages. I’m certain that it’s the only way they’ll listen to me.”

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock at the door that drew the thief’s attention. He turned in his chair, surprised to see Hunter step inside the room. Did the servant have news for him already? It hadn’t even been that long since he’d sent him out to speak with the king. He shifted nervously in his chair, feeling a bit more anxious about meeting with his father so soon.

However, Hunter wasn’t the only one to visit, it seemed. Shortly after the attendant entered the bed chamber, Crow wrinkled his nose as he saw the physician, Eldon, come inside. After the way the old man had treated him the day before, he was the last person the thief wanted to see. Unfortunately, if Eldon noticed his displeasure, he didn’t care.

“Ah, you’re here,” the physician said curtly, making his way over to where Crow was seated at the table. He held out a corked vial filled with a yellow-green liquid. “I was going to give this to you yesterday, but no one was here when I stopped by. This should cure that cough of yours right up.”

Crow raised a brow as he studied the medicine. “You say this is a cure?” he asked with a hint of disbelief. After going through remedy after remedy in search of a way to heal his illness, he had come to accept the fact that there was nothing more to be done. Now, suddenly, this old man thought he had a cure? It felt a bit farfetched, in his opinion.

“I do,” Eldon grunted impatiently. “Now then, I’m not going to have any more of that ‘untrusting peasant’ nonsense of yours. I have been curing diseases longer than you’ve been alive, boy. Just take it, and I’ll be by tomorrow with another dose. That your cough will be gone before the end of the week.”

Crow shot the physician a glare, disliking his attitude. However, he still accepted the vial from him, studying the liquid curiously for a moment before he uncapped the container and lifted it to his lips to down the whole thing. Like all the other medicines he’d taken, the stuff was bitter, and he was quick to chase it with a swig of wine to get rid of the aftertaste.

“Good,” Eldon nodded, seeming pleased. He took back the vial from the thief’s hand and turned towards the door, heading back out of the room almost as quickly as he’d arrived.

Once the physician was gone, Hunter took his turn to approach Crow and Penelope at the table. His eyes flicked between the two before settling on the thief, “The king wishes to meet with you right away.”

Crow blinked, casting a sideways glance at Penelope before meeting the attendant’s gaze with a nervous frown, “Right now?”

“Yes,” Hunter nodded. “He asked me to escort you to the council chamber at once.”

Sounds like Father has been eager to hear my answer, Crow thought, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright. I guess I’m going now then.” He stood up from his chair, and turned to Penelope once more with a hapless shrug. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small frown as Crow insisted that he had to meet with his companions in the outer villages. She agreed that it would be the best way to get them to listen but she worried that he might not have that option if the king denied his request. If he couldn't travel to the outer villages, he wouldn't have many other options for getting in touch with his companions. For all of their sakes, she hoped that his father was understanding enough to grant him the time away from the castle.

Before she could reply, a knock came from the door and she turned her head to look as it opened up. Hunter stepped in and was followed by Eldon. She raised an eyebrow as the physician made his way over to Crow and handed him a strange vial. The knight figured it was for his cough but it didn't look like the medicine that Hazel had prepared for him before. As the physician went on to claim it to be a cure, her eyes widened in thinly veiled surprise. It was hard to believe that the head physician had the cure for his illness but his certainty made it hard to think he didn't.

She watched the physician leave before her gaze flickered over to Hunter, who surprisingly remained. The knight had expected him to leave with Eldon. As he stated that the king wished to see Crow already, she blinked and glanced over at the thief, also shocked by how quickly the king was willing to see him. Penelope gave Crow a small nod and got up from her chair as well, feeling it'd be awkward of her to wait around in his room.

"Alright." she mused and moved to step out of the room after them. Once out in the corridor, she met his gaze and offered a reassuring smile. "I'll meet you at the waiting room that's near the council chamber, the one my father showed us to before. Good luck, Crow." Penelope gave a small nod of acknowledgement to Hunter before turning and heading off down the corridor. Assuming that his meeting with his father would take a bit of time, she intended to kill it by speaking with Tybalt about her stay in the castle since she'd likely be around a bit longer than she originally expected—even if she was to leave with Crow for a week.

[Rogue Sloth]

“Alright,” Crow nodded with a faint smile when Penelope said she would meet him in the room near the council chamber. When she turned to walk away, he trailed after Hunter, falling silent as they headed through the long halls of the castle. He was too busy running through what he was going to tell his father to make small talk with the attendant. Already, his heart was beginning to race with nervousness as he thought about the weight of what he was about to do. Once he told the king that he was going to take the job as ambassador, everything would change, and his life would take a turn he never thought it ever would: He was going to advance in status from criminal to nobleman. Just the idea of it made him feel lightheaded.

After a while of walking through the winding corridors, Crow and Hunter arrived at the door to the council room. To the thief’s surprise, his father wasn’t waiting for him inside the chamber as he had been the last time. Instead, the king was standing in the hallway with John on his right side and another, unfamiliar knight on his left. The sight made Crow slow his pace slightly. Aside from the fact that he still wasn’t used to being around his father in person, the additional security made him wary. His eyes flickered between the two knights as he wondered why they had shown up to a meeting that was supposed to just be between himself and the king.

Albin seemed to notice his discomfort. “Crow,” he smiled warmly, stepping away from the guards to meet his son halfway. “It’s good to see you again so soon. I take it you’ve been enjoying your stay in the castle?”

The thief eyed the knights for a moment longer before turning to his father with a nod. “It’s… different than what I’m used to,” he shrugged. “But it’s not bad.”

“Good, good,” the king said. He gestured toward the council chamber door. “Why don’t we go inside? I believe we have much to discuss.”

Crow’s eyes flicked back towards the guards, and he cleared his throat, “Is there a reason why you brought security?”

Albin blinked and glanced over his shoulder, as if he’d forgotten the knights were there. “Oh, don’t mind them,” he waved his hand dismissively. “We were just having a discussion about something pertaining to the war when my attendant came and told me you wanted to speak with me. Of course, I had to meet with you right away, so they came along.”

“I see,” Crow frowned, still unsettled by the knights’ presence.

“If it will make you feel better, they don’t have to come in with us,” Albin assured him. He signaled something to John and the other knight, who both dipped their heads respectfully to their ruler and took up positions on either side of the council room door. Turning back to the thief, he smiled again. “Does that help?”

“I suppose,” Crow gave a one-shouldered shrug, still not fully convinced that the knights were harmless. However, it seemed like his father was intent on keeping them around, so he decided it wasn’t worth the effort to argue over it. Instead, he followed the king compliantly into the council room, catching John’s eye as he passed. The older man gave a curt nod that the thief took to be a reassuring gesture. Even though it wasn’t much, it still helped ease his nerves slightly as Albin closed the door behind them.

“So,” his father led the way over to the table, where they both sat down across from each other. He rested his forearms on the table, lacing his jewelry-adorned fingers together as he leaned forward in his chair. “What did you want to speak to me about, Crow?”

The thief wavered, averting his gaze. Even though he’d made up his mind and knew he wasn’t going to go back on it, it was still difficult for him to voice his decision out loud. Once he told his father that he was going to take the job, there really would be no going back. He would seal his fate. Taking a calming breath to slow his pounding heartbeat, he looked up again, “I’ve… made a decision about the offer you gave me two days ago.”

“Oh?” Albin sat up a bit straighter with interest. “And what have you decided?”

Crow bit his lip, feeling a surge of reluctance as he worked up the nerve to just say what he had come to say. He took a moment to push past the barrier before he answered in a low voice: “I’ve decided that I’m going to take your offer… I’ll be your viceroy.”

“That’s fantastic news,” his father beamed happily. “I’ll make arrangements for the formal ceremony tomorrow, and then we can begin your training.”

Crow shifted in his chair, “Actually… I was hoping I could accept the title next week.”

“Next week?” Albin knitted his brow.

“Yes,” Crow nodded, building resolve as he went on. “I’ve decided to be your viceroy, but now I’ve got loose ends that need to be tied up in the outer villages. I was hoping that I could take a week to travel back home and resolve them before I get wrapped up in training and whatever else you may have planned for me here.”

The king leaned back in his chair with a contemplative look. “Son, there’s a war going on in the outer villages,” he said slowly. “It’s dangerous to go back right now. Are these ‘loose ends’ so important that you should be risking your life to deal with them?”

“They are,” Crow answered without hesitation. “Besides, I’ve been living in the outer villages my whole life. I know how to take care of myself even with the war going on.”

Albin tapped his index finger on the table, “The court physician told me about your injury.” He held the thief’s gaze concernedly. “You may have survived this long, but you certainly haven’t come away unharmed. I’m sorry, but I cannot allow you to go on a trip that could put your safety at risk.”

Crow frowned. It seemed it was going to be harder than he thought to convince his father to listen to him. But that didn’t mean he was going to give up. “What if I took a guard?” he suggested, deciding to use the excuse Penelope had come up with. “I can’t just leave things unfinished in my homeland.” He paused, folding his arms over his chest as if thinking hard to come up with a person to take with him. “What about the knight who’s been watching me—the Vermillion girl? She just came from the battlefront, so surely you don’t have any need for her here. If she comes with me, will you let me go then?”

Albin pursed his lips, studying the thief with an expression that was difficult to read. “These ‘loose ends’ of yours… would they hinder your ability to perform as my viceroy?”

Crow felt his heartbeat quicken as he realized he might be getting through to his father. “Well, not in the sense that I would be unable to do the job, but yes. If I don’t deal with them now, I’m certain it will be more difficult for me to focus on my duties here.”

“Fine,” the king sighed. “I suppose that as long as you take a guard with you, I can allow you to make the trip. However, there will be some conditions I need you to agree to.”

Crow eyed his father apprehensively, “And what would those be?”

“The first,” Albin held up his index finger. “You may not go anywhere near the battlefront, nor any fighting that you may come across while you’re there.” He held up another finger. “And the second: When you return, you may not leave the inner kingdom again unless I send you out, myself. I need you to put all of your time and energy into your training, and I can’t have you distracted by making continuous trips back and forth. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Crow nodded. The terms were easy enough for him to comply with. After all, he had no intention of going anywhere other than his companions’ hideout, which was in the middle of the woods far from any battalions; and once he finished speaking with them, he intended to cut all ties with the other thieves. He would have no reason to leave the inner kingdom again.

“Good,” Albin stood up from the table, his kind smile returning. “I will provide you with gold for the inns and whatever supplies you need to make the journey. When you return, we will have the ceremony to grant you your new title.”

“Thank you,” Crow dipped his head courteously, feeling relieved that the king had been willing to compromise with him. Now he could visit his companions and give them the explanation they deserved.

When the two reached the door that led back into the corridor, Albin embraced him in a familial gesture. “It will be good to have you around, Crow. I just know you’re going to make a talented ambassador.”

The thief blinked, caught a little off guard, though his father’s praise made him feel warm in spite of himself. “I’ll try my best,” he said, returning the hug briefly before pulling back and looking away in mild discomfort as the king opened the door, and they both headed back into the hallway.

[BuzzingBee]

After a bit of searching the knight was able to located the captain near the great hall. She dipped her head to him as she approached. He eyed her for a moment before returning the gesture. "Hello... You're Vermillion's daughter right?" he asked. It was difficult to tell if he meant that as a good or bad since his voice was a bit gruff but his expression gave away no signs of displeasure. Regardless, she didn't dwell on it.

"Yes, sir." she said politely and nodded. "I don't believe I was able to formally introduce myself before. My name's Penelope and I'm the lieutenant of a baroness named Mia Chandler."

"I see..I remember you working for the castle guard before too." Tybalt crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at her. "You're pretty far from the warfront for being a lieutenant."

"Yes well, my father required some assistance and I have work to take care of here. That's actually why I was coming to speak with you." Penelope explained offering a small smile. "I still have to get approval from my baron but if I do, I was wondering if I could arrange to take up a job as a guard again.. Perhaps, not as a full on guard like before since I might have to leave again before the end of the war but just a temporary position."

Tybalt fell silent for a moment as he thought over her words before giving a small shrug. "Get your baroness' written approval and I'll figure out where to squeeze you in, Vermillion. You can keep the sleeping quarters you currently have."

"Will do. Thank you." she said gratefully. She dipped her head to the captain before leaving him. At least she had solved one small detail of adjusting her life to the sudden change that was happening. It made the knight feel a little less overwhelmed. Now all she had to do was get Mia to let her leave the front for a while. If the baroness understood her reasonings to want to end the war, then she likely wouldn't fight her decision to leave the war front. At least, she hoped she wouldn't. Penelope focused her gaze ahead as she headed down the corridors to the waiting room where she was to meet Crow.

She felt a bit of anxiousness as she wondered how his meeting with his father was going. The king would likely be rather pleased to know that Crow was taking his offer but there was still the matter of Crow wanting to leave to the outer villages. She let out a small sigh, hoping that he would prove since she knew how important it was to the thief. Penelope eventually reached the room and stepped inside. She swept her gaze over it, finding it to be empty, before she moved to sit down at the bench to wait for Crow.

[Rogue Sloth]

With the meeting over, Crow said a quick goodbye to his father before turning to head down the corridor that led to the room where Penelope said she would reunite with him. All in all, he was feeling quite good about everything that had happened during their conversation. Not only had the king been pleased about his decision to accept the job, but he had also granted him permission to tie up matters with his companions in the outer villages before he formally accepted the title. He had gotten everything he’d wanted with little to no resistance from Albin.

Despite all the negative things he had heard about his father, he was starting to find it harder and harder to believe that the man was as heartless as his mother and John claimed him to be. After all, why would he be so willing to let his son, a known thief and liar, to travel away from the castle for a week if he didn’t trust him to return? From every angle, it looked like Albin really was trying to make things right between them. A small smile crossed his lips at the thought. It was still strange to him to think that he had a family, since he’d been alone after his mother’s death long ago, but between his father’s welcoming attitude and Naida’s sisterly warmth, he was beginning to feel a little more at home in the inner kingdom than he had before.

After a bit of walking, Crow reached the door to the room where Penelope had told him to go. His heartbeat sped up with excitement at the prospect of telling her how well the meeting with his father had gone. He was sure she would be happy to find out that they could go to the outer villages one more time together before his viceroy training began. It would be the first trip they took on their own since their journey to the Younisian castle two years ago. He couldn’t wait.

Opening the door, he saw that she was already inside the room waiting for him. He casted her an eager grin as he closed the door behind him and made his way over to sit beside her on the bench. “Well, it’s official,” he shrugged, wasting no time in relaying the news of his meeting to her. “I’m going to be my father’s ambassador. He’s already making preparations for a titling ceremony that will happen next week.” His smile broadened slightly as he went on. “Until then, he gave me permission to go back to the outer villages to say goodbye to my companions, and you’re going to be my guard.”

Feeling a burst of affection for the knight, Crow leaned in to meet her lips in a quick kiss. “We can leave as soon as he finishes arranging our money and supplies for the trip,” he said when he pulled back again, resting one hand fondly on her leg. “The sooner the better, I think. It will give us more time to get everything done on the border… and we’ll have more time to ourselves.” He casted her a flirtatious wink.

[BuzzingBee]

It wasn't long before she heard the door open and looked over as Crow stepped inside. His eager expression made her heart flutter, finding it both a bit endearing as well as infectious. Judging by his expression, she quickly guessed that the meeting must have gone well, which relieved and excited the knight. As he sat down besides her and went straight into telling her about the meeting, she smiled brightly. It was still crazy to her that this was all happening and now that it was official, it made it feel all the more real to her. They'd be nobles together and she wouldn't have to give up a thing to be with him.

She met his lips without hesitation as he gave her a quick kiss, feeling her own burst of affection for him. As he pulled back, she shifted to his closer to his side and paced her hand over his. She gave a soft laugh at his flirtatious and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I'm looking forward to that. Traveling alone with you will be a nice break from usually traveling with others." she mused, smiling up at him. Though they were traveling for serious reasons, she couldn't help but be excited by the fact that they'd be traveling alone, especially after how traveling with her father had went.

"Well, as soon as everything's ready, we can leave. I don't exactly have any work to take care of here yet so I'll be ready when you are." Penelope told him. She paused as another thought came to her. "Although, I'll probably have to mention to my father that I'm leaving with you if someone else hasn't told him already.. I imagine he won't be too thrilled about this." The knight grimaced at the thought of having to deal with her father. After the previous night, she was rather certain he wouldn't exactly approve of her going off alone with the thief, even if he was to become the viceroy soon enough.

She let out a small sigh. "As long as he's not able to force his way into joining us before the supplies are ready, we'll probably be safe though."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow smiled when Penelope kissed him on the cheek, glad that she seemed just as excited by the news as he was. “Gods, traveling alone is going to be so much nicer than that,” he sighed in agreement. After being stuck with other knights every time they had to go anywhere together, it was going to be a great change to be able to go to the outer villages alone. On top of that, his father was giving them money to stay at the inns along the way, which meant they wouldn’t have to sleep in the woods at night like they normally did. Aside from the less than thrilling reason for their departure, he couldn’t wait to go on the short journey with her.

When Penelope said she would be ready to leave whenever he was, Crow nodded. “Hopefully my father will have preparations made for us quickly then,” he smiled at her fondly, already eager to get going. However, at her following words, his smiled faded a bit. He shifted uneasily at the thought of John finding out about the trip after the older knight had caught them in the middle of a less than decent moment the night before. Penelope was probably right that her father wasn’t going to be happy to find out that they would be alone for a whole week. In fact, he wouldn’t have been surprised if John tried to force his way into the group. He just hoped his father would see no reason to let him go with them.

“Yeah,” he murmured thoughtfully, pausing for a moment before standing up from the bench. “My father will probably have the supplies sent to my room, so I should go back to wait for them there.” He waited for her to stand up and then turned to head to the door. However, before he even made it halfway, the door opened on its own to let someone else into the room. Crow raised a brow in surprise when he recognized her.

“Naida?” he said bemusedly.

“Hey, Crow,” his sister grinned at him, her voice straining slightly with excitement. “Father just told us the news—well, more like Braden and I pestered him until he admitted it.” She snickered proudly and then hurried across the room to stand in front of the thief. “I knew you’d take the job! You tried to pretend like you wouldn’t, but I didn’t buy it for a second!”

Crow rolled his eyes amusedly, “Alright, fine. You win, but I really did take the time to consider both options.”

“Yeah, but you still took it,” Naida smirked victoriously. She reached out to clasp his hand in both of hers. “Oh, this is so exciting! I’ve got two bothers now. I can’t wait to show you around. We’re going to have so much fun!”

Crow blinked as he realized his sister didn’t seem to know that he was leaving. “Father told you I accepted the job, but did he tell you anything else?” he asked.

“Well…” Naida blushed embarrassedly. “He might have, but I got so excited that I sort of… left before he finished talking.” She shuffled her feet before going on in a hurried voice. “But what do you expect? He can be so long-winded sometimes. I didn’t want to stick around and listen to him keep jabbering on about formal stuff. I wanted to come and find you.”

Crow laughed at that. Naida reminded him quite a bit of himself before he’d gone to prison three years ago. It was interesting to see how similar they were despite their vastly different upbringings. “Of course,” he smirked at her. “But if you’d stuck around a little longer, you would have heard him tell you that I’m going back to the outer villages for a week before I formally take the title.”

“What?” Naida frowned. “Why would you do that?”

Crow glanced at Penelope before giving a shrug. “I’ve got my reasons,” he answered vaguely. “But right now, I need to go back to my room to wait for the supplies that Father is having prepared for us.” He gestured at Penelope. “She’s coming too, because he wanted me to have a guard while I’m near the battlefront.”

“Oh,” Naida seemed to deflate a little at the knowledge that both her new brother and close friend would be leaving soon.

Crow thought for a moment before an idea came to him. “Why don’t you walk with me?” He suggested. “Penelope needs to speak with her father anyway, and I don’t think I’m allowed to walk around this place without accompaniment yet.” He turned to Penelope with a smile. “You could come and meet me in my room once you’re ready. How does that sound?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small nod as he guessed that the king would have the supplies sent to his room. She stood up to follow him but barely took a step forward when the door suddenly opened. Peering around the thief, she smiled as she quickly recognized Naida and stepped up besides Crow as she listened to the two speak. The knight gave an amused look at the princess as she admitted to not sticking around to hear everything the king had to say.

She turned to Crow as he offered to meet back at his room once she was done speaking with her father. The knight returned his smile and nodded her head. "That works for me... Hopefully speaking to him will go smoothly." she sighed, her smile fading a bit as she thought about approaching her father. Even if the king didn't agree to let him go on the journey with them, she was certain that he'd still give her an earful about 'being careful'. It wasn't a conversation she was looking forward to.

"Why wouldn't go smoothly?" Naida asked, blinking in confusion.

"Oh you know how he gets... overprotective sometimes." she mused vaguely with a dismissive wave. Penelope gave her friend a smile. "Anyways, I'll hopefully be back for a little longer than just a few days after this trip so we should catch up when I get back."

Naida beamed at her words. "Really? That's great!" she grinned. "Oh I can't wait for you guys to get back."

Penelope chuckled a little at her enthusiasm and nodded her head in agreement. "Well, I better go find my father so I'll be ready to leave. I'll see you around." she gave a small nod to the two siblings before walking past Naida and stepping back out into the corridor. The female knight took in a sharp inhale and let it out in a long sigh as she headed off to find her father. Let's get this over with... she thought as she walked on down the corridor to where he was stationed for guard duty.

[Rogue Sloth]

When Penelope said she hoped that the talk with her father would go smoothly, Crow nodded in agreement. In a way, he felt some pity for her, since he already knew that John was going to be unhappy when he discovered their intentions to leave on a weeklong trip alone; but he was also relieved that he didn’t have to be the one to break the news to the older knight. After her father had caught them the night before, he had a feeling he was on thin ice with the other man. If he went with her to talk to John, he would probably just be chided about his ‘risky behavior,’ and that was not a conversation he wanted to have twice in two days.

He glanced at Naida as she spoke with Penelope and smiled to himself, finding her enthusiasm just as infectious as last time. While there was still a lot about noble life that was going to take him some time to get used to, he was glad to have a half-sister around who was so eager to welcome him into it all. Really, she was the first person in his life who had ever greeted him with such open arms. Everyone he’d met before had either disliked him for being a thief or had maintained at least some level of distrust while getting to know him. Penelope and his companions were no exception. Though they had all warmed up to him over time, none of them had been this friendly to him right away. It was a nice change that made him feel more at home in the castle.

“See you later,” Crow said when Penelope headed out of the room, leaving him alone with Naida. He watched her go until she disappeared from sight before turning to his sister with a tip of his head. “We might as well get going too. Come on.”

“Alright,” Naida fell in step at his side as they made their way to the hall that led to his room. “So,” she spoke up again, lacing her fingers together behind her back as they walked. “Are you getting excited yet? You’re about to take up the position our father held for over twenty years. That’s pretty impressive, if you ask me.”

“Sort of,” Crow shrugged. “Honestly, it’s more overwhelming than anything else. I mean, I’ve been a thief my whole life. I don’t know any different. There’s going to be a lot I’ll have to learn in a short amount of time.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” she grinned at him confidently. “Udolf says that we Mannerings are the fastest learners he’s ever taught. If you’re anything like the rest of us, you’ll pick up what you need to know in no time.”

“Udolf?” Crow quirked a brow at her.

“He’s our tutor,” Naida explained. “He’s really boring, but he’s good at helping us understand complicated subjects like the history of Brerra.” She looked up at him with a smirk. “He’ll probably be the one to teach you too, since he’s a close friend of Father.”

“I see,” Crow mused, still finding the idea of having a tutor strange. Until now, he’d always assumed that being educated was a luxury he simply would never be able to afford. To find out that he was suddenly going to be taught things that the peasants of the kingdom never even dreamed to learn about was a lot to take in.

“Mhmm,” Naida murmured thoughtfully. “And even if you still don’t understand something with Udolf’s help, you can always ask me.” She beamed at him. “I never liked schooling, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t learn anything. I’m sure I could help you figure out whatever you don’t get.”

“Thanks,” the thief sighed. “I’ll probably need it.”

“Of course!” his sister brightened. “I want to—”

“There you two are.”

Crow blinked at the sound of a new voice and peered back over his shoulder to see none other than William approaching them from behind. The knight had a pleased look on his face, as if he seemed to believe he’d found something he wasn’t supposed to. “You managed to get away from me yesterday, but I’m not going to let that happen again,” he growled. “Wherever you’re going now, I’m—” Suddenly, he faltered as Naida turned around to look at him with a frown. His eyes grew wide, and he stumbled, clearly not expecting that the female knight was someone other than Penelope. The sight made Crow snort in amusement.

“You’re what?” Naida asked, studying the older knight curiously as they all slowed to a stop in the corridor.

William’s mouth flapped wordlessly as his mind seemed to go blank. After a moment, he leaned forward in a deep bow, finally coming back to his senses. “I’m sorry, My Lady. I thought you were someone else.”

Naida exchanged a devious look with Crow before turning back to the knight and folding her arms over her chest in mock sternness. “I’ll forgive your tone this time, but you’d better not speak to me like that again, or I’ll be sure my father finds out. Do you understand?”

“I-I understand,” William stammered, remaining lowered in his bow. Crow had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at how frightened the hot-tempered knight was by his younger sister. Naida wasn’t the least bit threatening in his opinion, but he supposed the weight of her title was enough to scare off even stubborn men like William.

“Good,” the princess nodded, returning her gaze to the thief as she kept up her unamused façade. “Let’s go, Crow. I’ve much more I wish to speak with you about.”

“Of course,” he grinned at her before glancing back at William. Just as the knight straightened his posture again, the thief made a face at him and then fell in step beside his sister, both siblings snickering softly as the other man stared, dumbfounded, at their backs.

[BuzzingBee]

It didn't take long to find her father, especially since he seemed to have been looking for her as well. She spotted his storming down the corridor and his gaze quickly locked on her. His gaze was narrowed and he appeared less than pleased by whatever news he had been told. And she could already guess what that was. Penelope stepped over to met her father halfway. "Penelope, what the hell is going on?" he questioned immediately in a lowered voice as he eyed his daughter.

"The king wouldn't let him go without a guard and I still have to get permission from Mia to stay in the inner kingdom for a while." she explained with a small shrug. "I figured it'd be killing two birds with one stone."

"I'm sure those aren't your only reasons... Penelope there's no way I'm letting you travel alone with him." John grumbled sternly. "I'm going to go with you."

The knight shuffled her feet, finding it a bit difficult to tell her father 'no' outright. She didn't want to get him as upset as he was the night before, especially after he settled down since then. "Well, the king already approved of us going alone and you'd have to convince him to let you go.." she pointed out. She shifted her weight a bit. "Plus we're leaving as soon as we can so even if you do try to convince him you won't have much time.."

John crossed his arms over his chest, pursing his lips into a thin line as he narrowed his eyes at her. "This is ridiculous.." he shook his head disapprovingly. "Fine." he spat as if the word itself tasted bitter. "Just remember this whole thing with you two is on thin ice. He may soon be the viceroy but that doesn't mean I approve of this yet. I'll still find you a different nobleman if I have to."

"We'll be fine." Penelope nodded feeling rather relieved that her father didn't argue much. Though he may have threatened finding her a different suitor, she felt rather certain they could easily avoid that happening. Once they were out of the inner kingdom, they'd have even less to worry about. "I'll see you in about a week then." She said her goodbyes to John and dipped her head to him before turning and beginning to head off towards Crow's room. Now that her father was taken care of, she felt her eagerness for their trip alone return and she picked up her pace as she headed to meet up with Crow.

[Rogue Sloth]

“So,” Naida spoke up again once she and Crow had put some distance between themselves and William. “What was that about?”

“What do you mean?” Crow casted her a sideways glance.

“What William said about thinking I was someone else,” Naida studied him with a curious look. “Who else did he think you would be walking with?”

Crow hesitated, averting his gaze. While his sister had gained some of his trust, he didn’t want to tell her much about what was going on between him and Penelope. They were still trying to keep their relationship a secret from anyone who didn’t already know about it. Even though he felt like Naida wouldn’t go running her mouth about them, he didn’t know her well enough to say so without any doubts. So, instead of explaining what was really happening, he shrugged, “He’s never liked me very much, so I think he just doesn’t trust me with Penelope. He’s probably hoping to catch me doing something unsavory to report back to the king and get me arrested.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Naida wrinkled her nose. “You wouldn’t hut Penelope… right?” She added the last question with slight hesitation, as if she seemed to realize that she still didn’t know him very well and couldn’t make the claim with certainty.

“Of course not,” Crow snorted. “I may be a thief, but there are some lines that even I won’t cross.”

“I thought so,” the princess seemed to relax slightly. She cracked a smile and elbowed him in the side, “And you were a thief. Now, you’re Father’s viceroy.”

“Almost,” he smirked. “I’ve accepted the offer, but I still have to formally take the title, from the sound of it.”

“Ahh, that’s just a formality,” Naida waved her had apathetically. “You’re already the viceroy. Father just has to make a show of it so the other people in the palace know too.”

At the mention of the other nobles, Crow grimaced faintly. “If it’s that easy, then couldn’t we just skip the ceremony altogether?” he muttered. “That sounds much more pleasant.”

“I wish,” she sighed. “Ceremonies are boring, but unfortunately, Father has to put them on to keep everyone else happy around here. If he just made you his ambassador without involving the other high-ranking nobles, I’m sure they would throw a fit.”

“Is that so?” Crow said dryly.

“Yeah,” Naida nodded. “But they’re not all bad. On the bright side, there’s always great food at titling ceremonies, so we’ll get to enjoy that.”

“I suppose so,” he gave a one shouldered shrug. Usually, the prospect of good food was more appealing to him, but the luxury was starting to wear off a bit after he’d been able to eat venison for a few days in a row now.

Naida studied him with a thoughtful frown before speaking up again, “Hey, did I tell you about the time Braden got drunk and dueled against a baron in a tavern?”

“No,” Crow turned to look at her bemusedly, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic, but grateful for the distraction.

“Oh, that’s a good one,” she snickered. “We had just gotten back from a messaging errand that Father had sent us on in Bexley…”

--

By the time Crow and Naida arrived at the viceroy’s room, the thief was in a better mood again. He was glad that his sister was able to lift his spirits so easily. His discomfort about being given a noble title in front of a room full of nobles had faded quite a bit as she kept him occupied with more stories about herself and his other siblings during their childhood. It was interesting to hear about the family members he’d never known he even had, especially since the princess seemed intent on sharing some of their more embarrassing memories with him.

When he opened the door to step into the room, the two were still laughing over another amusing tale that she had told him about Braden and barely registered that Hunter was already waiting for them inside. The attendant’s eyes flicked between the siblings, and he bowed deeply to Naida, “My Lady.”

“Oh, stand up, Hunter,” she smirked at him amusedly. “You know you don’t need to act like that around me.”

The attendant straightened right away, shuffling his feet bashfully. “O-Of course.” He turned towards Crow and gestured to a packed bag that was sitting on the edge of the bed. “His Highness wanted me to inform you that everything you’ll need for your journey is ready for you here.”

Crow blinked, mildly surprised that the supplies had been prepared so quickly. It seemed that if the king wanted something done, the castle staff worked efficiently to get that something done swiftly as possible. “Thank you,” he nodded to the servant as he stepped over to get a closer look at the bag on the mattress.

“This has been fun, but I should get back to work,” Naida said with a reluctant exhale from behind him. “I’m sure Tybalt is going to complain that I’ve even been gone this long.”

“Right,” Crow turned back to his sister with a smile. “Thanks for accompanying me back to my room. I’ll see you again when I get back to the castle.”

“Have a safe trip, Crow.” she winked at him playfully. “I’d better be the first person you seek out when you come back, you hear me?”

“Naturally,” he grinned at her in return.

With that, the princess exited the room with Hunter, leaving Crow to behind to wait for Penelope alone.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope headed down the corridor to the thief's room thinking about the trip they would soon be leaving on. While she was excited to be traveling alone with him, there were more serious aspects that caused her some concern. Like if she'd be able to get Mia to approve of her leaving the front or getting the barons to agree on recommending the end of the war. However, she was also concerned about how Crow's companions would react to the news. The knight imagined it wouldn't go over too well, especially with Rikki. Though they wouldn't be able to stay together, she was at least hoping they wouldn't resent him for choosing to leave.

The knight eventually reached his door and gave a quick knock before stepping inside. Her worries were momentarily pushed aside as her gaze fell on Crow and a smile tugged at her lips. She was once again reminded that they would be traveling alone for the first time since their trip from Younis. It would also be the most time alone they've gotten since reuniting. Though things might get a bit serious once they reached the outer villages, Penelope was still hoping to enjoy a bit of their time together while they could.

"I'm back." she announced with a smile as she stepped over to him. "My father wasn't exactly thrilled but he seemed to realize he wouldn't be able to do anything about it since he doesn't have enough time to convince the king otherwise." she mused before leaning up to press a quick kiss to his cheek. Her gaze flickered over to the bag on the mattress as she pulled back and she blinked in surprise. "The supplies already arrived? That was fast..Does that mean you're ready to leave then?"

[Rogue Sloth]

While Crow waited for Penelope to arrive, he took some time to dig through the bag that Hunter had left on the bed, curious to see what sort of supplies the attendant had put together for him. Upon sifting through it all, he found that the satchel was mostly filled with food, flasks for water, and a small coin purse. There weren’t any camping supplies, since Albin had given them money to pay for a few nights at the local inns. Absently, he picked up the coin purse and pulled open the drawstrings, giving a soft whistle when he saw that the leather container was filled entirely with gold.

How much does Father think a night at an inn costs? He mused, plucking a coin from the purse and studying it in the light. Just half of the provided gold would have been more than enough to cover all of their expenses, including a few dinners at the inns. It seemed that Albin either didn’t realize that life outside the castle wasn’t as expensive as he thought, or he didn’t mind giving his son plenty of money to cover whatever he wanted to buy on the trip. Whatever the case, he and Penelope certainly wouldn’t find themselves short of gold while they were in the outer villages.

Suddenly, Crow was drawn from his thoughts by a knock on the door. Putting the coin purse away with the rest of the supplies, he looked up to see that Penelope had arrived at his room. He grinned, feeling his eagerness return to him once more. Despite the less than pleasant reason for the journey, he couldn’t wait to have a whole week to travel with her alone. It would be just like their mission in Younis, except better because this time, there would be no mercenaries lurking in wait to kill them.

“Good,” the thief nodded when she said that her father hadn’t been able to do anything to interfere this time. He smiled as she kissed him on the cheek. At her comment about the supplies, he just shrugged in response, “My father’s servants work quickly. Everything was here before I even arrived.” Slinging the bag across his back, he pressed a quick kiss to her lips and led the way back to the door. “I’ve been ready. I was just waiting on you,” he casted a playful wink at her over his shoulder and opened the door, gesturing for her to step through first. “After you, love.”

[BuzzingBee]

"I guess so." Penelope mused in agreement as he mentioned his father's servants working quickly. She smiled as he pressed a kiss to her lips and rolled her eyes playfully at his words. The knight followed him over to the door and stepped out as he held it open for her. She stepped out into the corridor again and began to head towards the staircase to head out of the castle. Though the trip was sudden and left her with practically no time to prepare, she was starting to get used to how quickly life seemed to be moving and changing as of late. Plus she had hopes that this trip would be a bit more relaxing than their last one.

As they continued through the castle, she quickly began to notice that the guards were giving rather scathing looks to Crow and seemed to struggle to stay where they were, fidgeting as they glared at the thief. The king must have alerted them that he'd be free to leave for a week.. she thought, eying a couple nearby guards. Penelope turned to look over at Crow. "I guess word also travels fast." she muttered to him. "At least about you being able to leave."

Her gaze focused back ahead as they reached the front entrance and let out a long exhale as she noticed two guards standing firmly in front of the door with their cold gazes locked on Crow. It seemed even though they had orders to let the thief leave, it wouldn't be without causing a bit of trouble first. Penelope dipped her head to the two knights and protectively shifted a bit closer to Crow. "Excuse us. We need to get by you." she said.

"Like hell I'm just going to let this bastard walk out of here. It was bad enough the king didn't send him straight to a cell." growled the younger guard.

"Well that's something you're just going to have to get over." Penelope rolled her eyes. "The king's allowing him to leave so I suggest you stand aside before you get yourselves into trouble."

"I think we're going to need a little more proof that the king even approved of this." the other guard snorted. He smirked at Crow. "I don't suppose you have any proof do you, thief?"

[Rogue Sloth]

As Crow walked down the corridor with Penelope, he was quick to notice that the castle guards seemed much more hostile towards him than before. He eyed them warily as they watched him, standing tensely as if they expected him to suddenly start causing trouble. Their venomous gazes set him on edge, but none of them made any moves to say anything or touch him, so he supposed that his father must have made sure that the knights knew they weren’t allowed to do anything to him. Still, if they thought he was just going to stand by and take their hateful attitudes, they had another thing coming.

Staying close to Penelope’s side, the thief returned any unfriendly stares with a feral glare of his own. To his relief, they made it all the way to the entrance of the castle without any trouble. However, when they got to the entrance, it seemed that their luck had run out as the guards stationed at the door appeared even more hostile than the rest. Crow narrowed his eyes irritably as they fought back against Penelope’s request to get by them. It seemed that their dislike of him ran deeper than their fear of being reprimanded by their king.

“Proof?” he snorted, standing a little taller as one of the guards challenged him. “Why would you need proof? Isn’t it already enough that all of you guards seem to have been told in advance that I’m leaving?”

“I’m not going to take my orders from castle gossip,” the guard snapped. “If you don’t have proof that the king approved of this, then you’re not going anywhere, thief.”

“I’m flattered that you think a peasant like me is skilled enough to spread a false order from the king throughout the entire palace guard,” Crow said dryly. “But unfortunately, you’re wrong.”

“You can talk as much as you want, but you’re not passing if you can’t prove that the king permitted this,” the other guard rested a hand on the hilt of his sword, as if he expected the thief to try and charge past him. “Now turn around and go back to where you came from.”

“Is this proof enough for you, Marden?”

Crow blinked at the sound of a new voice and turned around to see his father approaching. The king had an amused smirk on his face as he watched the two guards blanch and hurry to lean forward in deep bows to him. “I was hoping I would catch you before you left, Crow,” Albin went on, shifting his crystalline gaze onto the thief. “I have something else to give you.”

“Is that so?” Crow glanced back at the knights with a grin. “Maybe I should thank these fools for delaying us then.”

“Oh, they were just being cautious,” his father waved his hand, turning to the guards as well. “Sherrod, Marden, I’m glad to see that you two are taking your work so seriously, but I did give Lockton permission to leave the castle, so I’d advise you to let him through.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty,” the younger guard, Sherrod, stammered as the knights hurried to step aside. They still had mildly annoyed looks on their faces, as if they were displeased with the thought of letting the thief willingly leave, but neither one said anything more on the subject.

“Thank you,” Albin nodded before returning his gaze to his son. “Now then, this is for you.” He held out a rolled up piece of paper tied with a purple ribbon.

“What is it?” Crow frowned confusedly as he took the paper and turned it over in his hands.

“It’s for situations just like this,” Albin explained with a chuckle. “That paper has my written consent for your journey to the border. If any other knights give you trouble on your way, make sure they see that, and they will know that you are not to be harmed.”

“I see,” Crow studied the paper with newfound interest. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” his father smiled warmly. “Be sure to come and find me right away when you return. Have a safe trip, Crow.”

“Thank you,” the thief said again, dipping his head slightly in a polite goodbye. “I will.”

Having finished everything he’d shown up to do, the king turned to head down another hallway in the castle, leaving the other four behind. As soon as he was gone, Crow turned on the guards with a victorious grin and waggled the paper he’d been given in a flaunting manner, “You heard the man. Let us through.”

Marden curled his lip irritably, but said nothing as he and Sherrod opened the doors to let Crow and Penelope pass.

“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” the thief winked at them mockingly and then turned to Penelope. “Come on. We need to get to Sarton by nightfall.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope grew a bit tense as she noticed Marden place his hand on the hilt of his sword. She was growing a bit annoyed with these two guards as they continued to refuse to let Crow leave. The knight was just about to argue with them again when a new voice caught her attention. She blinked and turned her head to see that the king appeared. After taking a quick second to register his sudden appearance, she bowed as well before straightening back up and listening as he spoke to Crow.

As he held out the piece of paper, she studied it curiously. Hearing it was the king's written consent for Crow's journey made her feel a little more at ease. They hadn't even made it out of the castle without facing some kind of resistance so she was already certain that the written notice would come in handy. Especially since she planned to visit her battalion during their stay in the outer villages. She was rather certain they would be questioning what the king wanted from the thief and while she wasn't sure how much she was willing to tell them yet, she knew that she couldn't lie and say he was in prison. He'd be ascending to nobility soon enough so she doubted it'd be wise to completely lie.

Once the king left, she turned back to face the other two guards, who were rather clearly displeased with how the situation had turned out. She gave them a small shrug as Crow flaunted the paper he had been given and then shifted her gaze over to Crow before giving a small nod. "Right. We'll be off then." she said with a faint smirk at the two guards. While she didn't want to make them any more upset about the situation, she did find it a bit satisfying that they were unable to get in their way anymore. She dipped her head to the two and followed Crow out of the castle.

Penelope walked alongside him, still noting the less than friendly looks he was getting. It was much worse than the previous days now that he was able to leave the castle. She couldn't even begin to imagine how they would react to when it was announced that Crow would be taking the position of viceroy if they were already this upset about him being allowed to leave. Trying to merely ignore the looks, she focused her gaze ahead as they made their way out of castle walls. "I have a feeling that paper's going to be quite useful in the coming days." she mumbled with a glance at Crow. "At least it means we won't have to constantly argue with every stubborn knight that tries to stop you."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow shot the guards a smug look as he exited the castle with Penelope. Though he still wasn’t sure what he thought about the sudden change of his own rising in status, he was starting to figure out more of the perks that would come with the new job—one of which being the fact that he was practically untouchable to knights. It was fun to be able to walk in front of them without fear of being arrested, and he enjoyed seeing the looks on their faces as they were forced to restrain themselves from going after him. As long as he had the support of his father, the King of Brerra, they couldn’t do anything more than shoot him dirty glares, and he liked it.

As they made their way through the courtyard, he noticed that the other knights outside the castle walls had even seemed to have caught wind of Albin’s orders to let him leave. They continued to make disgusted faces at him as he passed, and some fidgeted with their swords, as if they were barely restraining themselves from attacking him. He kept his guard raised, just in case one of the noblemen decided to ignore their ruler’s order and went after him anyway, but he couldn’t help the pleased smile that crossed his lips. For all his life, he’d had to sneak around knights to avoid getting caught, but those days would soon be over. The chase was ending, and he would be coming out on top. It was an exciting thought.

Crow turned to Penelope as he heard her speak up in a low voice. “I have a feeling it won’t stop the arguments,” he said with a shrug, toying absently with the purple cloth that bound the paper his father had given him. “But at least they won’t be able to do anything more than run their mouths.” Slipping the paper into his tunic for safe-keeping, he casted her an optimistic grin. “I’m not worried. In fact, I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy most of this trip.”

Turning to look forward again, he saw that they had reached the main gate of the castle grounds. Like the rest of the knights, the guards that were stationed there casted him foul looks, but fortunately, he didn’t even need to flaunt his father’s permission, because they allowed the two to pass through without a word. Crow let out his breath as the large gate was opened. Though he was more than willing to fight with the guards to get what he wanted, it was nice to get by at least a few of them without debate.

“You know, it’s strange,” Crow mused once they were on the road that led to the first town in which they would be staying. He glanced at Penelope with an amused smirk. “Until now, I would visit the inner kingdom to steal and then go back to my home in the outer villages; but now, I’m visiting the outer villages and then returning to my home in the inner kingdom. It almost feels like a weird dream.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small nod of agreement to Crow's words. She looked up at him and returned his smile. "Me too." she mumbled softly before focusing her gaze back ahead as they reached the front gate. The knight quietly eyed the nearby guards as they waited for the gate to be opened. For a moment, she thought they would fight against them like the two before but luckily, it seemed they would let them pass without argument. She relaxed as the gates were opened and they were allowed to leave the castle.

She looked over at Crow as he spoke up again and gave a small grin at his words. "I know what you mean...I thought this would be my last trip to the inner kingdom." she shook her head as she thought about all that had happened after they had left the warfront. From meeting with Toreus and her mother to reaching the castle and Crow accepting the job, it was all still a lot to take in. All of it was rather unbelievable to the knight who had never thought meeting her mother was possible nor that she'd ever have an opportunity to keep both her life as a knight and Crow.

"It feels like a dream that's just destroying everything I thought I knew or had planned." she gave a soft chuckle and turned to look over at him with a warm smile. "Although, it certainly hasn't been bad... Just a bit crazy." Penelope shrugged her shoulders and shifted to walk a little closer to him. She wished she could take his hand in hers but since they were still in the inner kingdom, it'd be practically asking to get caught. While eventually they'd be public about their relationship, it'd be wiser to wait until sometime after he officially took the title of viceroy.

"At least this trip will give us a bit of time before everything really changes." she mused thinking about the ceremony that would occur once he returned to the castle. Penelope glanced up at the thief and smirked. "Plus I'm quite looking forward to traveling alone with you. Especially since I don't think we've had this much time alone together since Younis."