BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

That took me longer than I expected xD

Penelope pulled it off! not without feeling extremely guilty though lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Kitchen duty, huh?” Matilda crossed her arms as she looked at the two with clear uncertainty. Dotty had been the one to quickly request it for Penelope and even offered to help supervise the newcomer. “I was going to give you the rest of the evening off, you know, that way you could settle in more... Are you sure you want to do more work?”

“Yes ma’am.” Penelope said with a nod. “I prefer to keep busy. It helps keep my mind off things and this way, I’ll get to learn more about how things work around here.. If you don’t mind.”

Matilda hesitated and let out a sigh. “Alright, that’s fine.. But all I want you doing is aiding the kitchen staff. You have plenty to learn before you start helping them cook so just keep out of the way and help things run smoothly.” She stated sternly her gaze shifted over to Dotty. “And the same goes for you, Dotty... I don’t want any fires.”

“R-right.” Dotty said with a sheepish smile. As Matilda dismissed them, the two walked off to the kitchen. Penelope felt her heart begin to race anxiously. Everything had been fairly easy up until now since it had only required lying and a bit of acting. However, now it was time for her to figure out a way to poison the food. As they stepped into the kitchen, she began eying what was being prepared. There was a large pot being heated up over a fire as several servants busied themselves with chopping up various vegetables and meats. In another part of the kitchen, a different meal was being cooked by servants that had blue bands around their arms, which Penelope guessed meant they were of a higher status than her and Dotty. So that must being the royals food.. She noted it quietly to herself as she followed Dotty over to an older man who was cutting carrots up.

“Hi Flitz! We’re here to help!” Dotty grinned.

Flitz looked up with a cold gaze in his eyes. “Did Matilda approve this?” He grumbled.

“Yep! And I promise I won’t do any actual cooking! Oh and this is Farah. She’s new.” Dotty gestured to Penelope. Penelope smiled politely at the man and waved. Flitz didn’t seem very interested and focused back on his work.

“Help collect the cut up vegetables and pour them into the stew, Dotty. And you... Farah, get me some potatoes from the pantry.”

Penelope hesitated, nearly tempted to try and switch jobs with Dotty but figured it might draw attention. Patience.. You still have time.. She reminded herself trying to remain calm and level-headed. She smiled and nodded as she headed off to the pantry door. This will give me a chance to check out the door that’s locked there anyways... As she stepped into the quiet pantry, away from most of the other servants, she walked over towards the door at the very back of the room. It wasn’t easy to spot at first glance as shelves of various foods blocked it from direct view. It had two locks on it that would require a key. The knight glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was nearby before she began to look around for the keys. First, she checked the tops of the shelves nearby but they all seemed empty. She tried to move quickly not wanting to have Flitz or anyone else wondering why she was taking so long for such a simple task. Penelope searched around a bit longer before giving up and fetching the potatoes.

As she was about to head out of the room, she noticed a small ledge about the doorway. She glanced out into the kitchen, making sure no one was paying attention to her. All the servants were busy with their work luckily so she proceeded to lightly feel around the edge until her finger pushed against a pair of keys. She smirked to herself, pleased that she was able to locate them. That could come in handy later.. Penelope retracted her hand before anyone saw and quickly returned to Flitz to drop off the potatoes he had asked for.

The man eyed her with annoyance at how long it had taken her. “Sorry.. Took a while to find them.” Penelope apologized.

“Take these and help Dotty with adding them in... Stir it a couple of times too..” He ordered, ignoring the apology. He pushed the plate of carrots over to Penelope. Penelope carefully picked the plate and turned to look over over at the pot where Dotty was fumbling to add the various vegetables. She felt her stomach churn with anxiousness as she used her free hand to find the jar of henbane oil she had stashed away. I just have to get Dotty away... or distracted or something... She told ehrself trying to calm her racing heart.

Penelope stepped over to the large pot besides Dotty. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kettle this big before.” She mused as she moved to dump some of the carrots in carefully. Dotty looked over at her and smiled.

“Well there’s a ton of people to feed! Even the guards sometimes eat with us.”

“Oh like Emeric?” Penelope teased.

Dotty flushed. “Y-yeah... Sometimes...”

“You should invite him to dinner once this is done.” Penelope suggested. She felt bad to use Dotty’s affection for the guard but she needed to try and get as many guards as she could to eat the food and if Emeric agreed, perhaps he would bring a few other guards with him.

“Oh I don’t know...” Dotty shuffled her feet bashfully. “I-I don’t want to be too obvious you know..”

“Well... Make it an open invitation to all the guards. Just make sure he knows that you want him there even though you’re inviting everyone.” Penelope said, feeling a surge of hope that Dotty would listen to her words. Dotty hesitated. “Maybe..” She replied slowly. Good enough for now. Penelope let out a small sigh and looked back at the pot. She had to get Dotty away.

The knight glanced over her shoulder and noticed Flitz had finished with cutting up the potatoes. “Oh, hey Dotty can you grab that plate. I think it’s the last one.” She said. Dotty blinked and followed Penelope’s gaze before giving a small nod and bouncing off to grab the plate.

Penelope fumbled as she used her body to try and block what she was doing from view. She popped open the lid and rushed to dump the henbane oil into the pot. “Here you go!” Dotty’s voice came from behind. Unable to completely stash the jar away in time, she slipped it up into the sleeve of her dress to hide it from view. A few drops of the oil not only stained her clothes but also got on her hand and arm. A soft tingle of numbness began to set in.

“Thanks, Dotty. Uh can you handle the rest of this? Some of the stew splashed up on me and I want to clean up real quick.” Penelope lied, clutching her arm as if it had burned.

“Oh no!” Dotty frowned. “Go ahead! I got you covered.”

Penelope gave her a grateful look before slipping away. She hurried to step out of the kitchen and glanced around the hallway with care. Seeing that she was alone, she let out an exhale of relief and slipped the empty jar back into it’s original hiding spot. She leaned back against the wall and grinned to herself. She had managed to pull it off and soon, the castle staff would be feeling the effects of the poison. Penelope wiped what she could off of her arm and slipped back into the kitchen to join Dotty once again.

“Dinner’s almost done!” Dotty told Penelope with a smile. “We just need to set the tables in the great hall.”

“And you need to invite the guards to dinner.” Penelope said with a wink. After having pulled off pouring the henbane into the stew, she was feeling rather confident.

“I don’t know...”

“It’s just dinner.. And he seemed rather, interested in you too..” Penelope said slyly. Dotty blinked in surprise at Penelope’s words.

“R-Really?”

Penelope smiled knowingly and nodded her head. Dotty beamed. “Well... it is just dinner... Alright! I’ll do it! I’ll be back soon! Just help them with the tables while I’m gone.” She said quickly before hurrying out of the kitchen.

Penelope watched as Dotty left and felt her smile fade. I’m sorry I have to use your love against you like this Dotty... But if I don’t, I might risk losing mine. The knight closed her eyes for a moment and took a steeling breath as she tried to ignore the guilt she felt over setting Dotty up like that. She tried not to think about what might come after for the bubbly servant instead focused on what lied ahead as the castle staff got ready to serve dinner. With Dotty gone, it also gave Penelope a chance to sneak away before anyone noticed her absence at the table. She moved to help carrying a couple trays up to the great hall, glancing towards a nearby window as she noticed it was growing dark out. I’ve done all I can for now... She assured herself as she still felt anxious despite all that she was able to accomplish. I’ll see you soon Collin..

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Oh no XD Penelope’s not going to be happy about that lol

Ok c:

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Once they reached the servant’s quarters, Penelope was quick to spot Matilda speaking with a man. He didn’t appear to be a servant though as he was dressed in a different type of uniform. The knight blinked. Is he the physician? He looked rather young to be a physician in her opinion. The older servant glanced past him to spot the two as they entered the room. “There they are.” She grumbled. “I hope you showed her everything, it took you long enough to at least.”

“I did!” Dotty said unfazed by Matilda’s tone. Penelope walked up to join the other two with Dotty, now getting a better look at the man that stood there. He was around average height, just a little taller than Penelope, with a darker complexion and short, well kept hair.

“Farah, this is-“

“Henley.” The man interrupted. He looked over at Matilda and gave a soft smirk. “I’d like to introduce myself, Matilda.” The older servant gave a huff and waved her hand dismissively. He looked back to Penelope and offered a smile. “I’m the physician’s apprentice. Matilda got me because she was worried about some injury you have?”

“Oh..” Penelope mumbled a bit surprised that the head servant had gone to such trouble. It wasn’t like the wound was fresh after all. “Yeah, I-I have a cut from a couple days ago but, it’s really nothing to worry about.”

“No offense, but I’ll be the judge of that.” Henley chuckled though there was a sternness to his voice. He stepped back by the desk that was in the room and pulled out the chair for her. His supplies sat on the desk in a small bag. “Here sit down and I’ll give it a look.”

Penelope moved to reluctantly sit down in the chair and let the apprentice check over her wound while Matilda and Dotty stood off to the side discussing what would come next for Penelope. “Well, it’s healing well.. Looks like you’ve had a bit of practice with dealing with wounds.” He mused as he rewrapped her injury. Penelope gave a small shrug at his comment.

“So she’s fit to work then?” Matilda questioned crossing her arms. Ahh so that’s why she got him... Penelope thought with some amusement.

“Yes Matilda, but I don’t think she should do any heavy lifting or such. it might reopen.” He told her as he began to gather his things to leave.

“Good enough.” Matilda mused before shifting her gaze to Penelope as the physician said his farewell. “We’ll give you shelter in exchange for work so don’t expect to be slacking off. Dotty will show you to your room and then you’ll accompany her with her work for today.”

“Ok. Thank you, ma’am.” Penelope said politely. She got up and moved to join Dotty once again as the servant showed her to where she would be staying. They walked along a long hallway of rooms until they finally reached one that was almost at the very end. Dotty opened the door to reveal a quaint little room with two beds and two small dressers. “You’ll be rooming with a woman named Cora. She’s usually not around very much though... She likes to keep busy. Anyways, that side’s all yours! Oh and Matilda wanted me to make sure you start wearing this.” She held up a solid white band and moved to wrap it around Penelope’s arm. Penelope noticed that Dotty was wearing a white band around her arm as well.

“There’s also a dress in there for you.. It’s not as nice as the one your wearing though but it’s all we could spare.” Dotty added kindly.

“Thank you. I’ll have to try it out tomorrow.” Penelope said with a small nod.

The two left the room and headed out to begin the chores Dotty had been given for the day. It seemed most of it was cleaning and Penelope worried she wouldn’t be able to get into the kitchen as easily as she had once hoped. I’ve still got quite a bit of time before they begin preparing dinner... I’ll figure something out.. She thought to herself as they walked. Ahead, she noticed a guard had entered the castle, likely a switch of shifts.

“Oh hey Emeric!” Dotty greeted the guard with clear joy as they drew closer. Penelope was quick to realize that it was the other guard she had come across at the gates. He turned at the sound of her voice and smiled.

“Hi Dotty. Still showing her around?” He asked as he stepped over to them.

“Kinda! We finished going over the castle and now Matilda’s got us cleaning up the floors down here.”

As the two continued to talk, Penelope couldn’t help but notice a certain closeness between them despite the differences in social class. Perhaps there wasn’t such strictness in how nobles acted around commoners? However, he was the first guard Dotty had even bothered to address. Penelope eyed the servant girl and knight as they talked, barely paying attention to their conversation as she noted how they acted towards each other.

“Alright well, I better get going. I have to go take Merrick off of his shift. See ya later.” Emeric waved goodbye then headed up the staircase.

“Bye!” Dotty said giving a small wave in return. She gave a soft sigh and smiled to herself before turning to continue on to start her work.

“You two seem close.” Penelope commented after a brief silence. Dotty flushed at her words, giving Penelope the answer she was looking for.

“Oh well-well he’s a good friend of mine."

“He seems nice.”

“He is..” Dotty trailed off for a moment. “Ah anyways! Time to start sweeping!” She announced as she pulled out a broom from the supply closet they had reached. Penelope smiled a little in amusement.

----

As the day dragged on, Penelope found herself thankful she hadn’t ended up as a servant. Though the work wasn’t as rigorous compared to the training of a knight, it was also incredibly dull and time consuming. It took most of the day to clean the floors, first sweeping, then mopping and then drying them. Dotty was good company though. Penelope nearly felt bad for having to use her for their raid, however, it was necessary if she wanted their mission to go well.

The sun was slowly beginning to descend now and the two sat outside near the garden, taking a break from the long day of work. Penelope looked up at the sky as she leaned back on the palms of her hands. Not much longer now... I’ll have to get in the kitchen soon... She thought to herself, glancing over her shoulder towards the castle’s main entrance. As she did, she noticed another servant girl walking out, looking particularly excited about something.

“Hi Lily!” Dotty greeted the servant as she drew closer. Lily paused and looked over at them giving a small wave.

“Hi Dotty.” Lily said with less friendliness. “Sorry I don’t have much time to talk! I’m off to the Running Bear Tavern.”

“Oooooh.” Dotty mused with a knowing look. She grinned at Lily and waved. “Have fun! And be safe!”

Lily waved goodbye and continued on her way out of the gates. Dotty smirked and leaned over to Penelope as she watched Lily go. “She’s meeting some man.” She told her with a wink, having caught on to Penelope’s confusion about the situation.

“Ahh.... Do you know who it is?” Penelope chuckled.

Dotty shook her head. “No clue. She doesn’t share much with me... Or any of the ‘lower’ servants.”

“Lower?”

“Yeah.. She’s the queen’s attendant. Sometimes they’re more stuffy than the nobles themselves!” Dotty said. She shrugged and then moved to stand up. “We should probably get back inside. Matilda might need us for something else.. Especially with dinner rolling around soon.”

“It must be a big production huh?” Penelope stood up and stretched her shoulders.

“Definitely!”

Penelope paused. “Maybe we can stop by the kitchen when they start preparing for dinner? I-If Matilda doesn’t have us busy with something else that is.”

Dotty looked over at Penelope and smirked a little. “I guess you really do like cooking, Farah.” She giggled. “Sure I’ll see if Matilda will let us. Come on let’s go.”

Penelope bit down a grin of victory as Dotty agreed to try to help her get in the kitchen. The plan was going smoothly and as long as Matilda agreed, she wouldn’t have much trouble slipping the henbane into the food. She glanced up at the sky, wondering how Crow was faring now that the time was drawing closer.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Nice xD
Penelope’s feeling pretty confident now lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Well that’s about it for this floor!” Dotty announced after showing Penelope around the second floor. The other rooms weren’t of much interest to the knight. A couple closets with cleaning supplies, offices for some of the higher up servants like Matilda and those that directly served the royal family, and even a few empty bed chambers for lower level nobles. However, what Penelope did find interest in was the staircase that laid towards the end of the eastern hallway. With any luck, it seemed like it would put her rather close to the window she was supposed to meet Crow at.

She turned her attention back to Dotty and nodded her head. “So what’s next?”

“Bottom floor. That’s where you’ll basically live. We have all of our bed chambers down there plus the kitchen and pantry, of course.” Dotty explained as she began to lead the way back to the stairs. Penelope looked around as they walked and as they moved to pass by the great hall. Her gaze soon landed on the mural that was painted above the large doors. It was a portrait of Aeklora. Two of her eyes were focused on the small orb drawn in front of her, almost looking at it affectionately. However, her other two eyes piercingly looked ahead into the castle. The artist really want to make people think she was actually watching.. Penelope thought with distaste.

“Oh guess you finally noticed Aeklora!” Dotty chuckled, snapping Penelope out of her thoughts. “She’s all over the castle. Paintings, statues, busts. She’ll always be watching over you.”

Though Dotty’s words were meant to be assuring, Penelope was far from comforted by the goddess as she considered the legend behind the staff again. She glanced over at Dotty, wondering if the servant had anymore information on it. It’d likely be easy to get the information out of her if she did. The girl was practically the perfect guide for the knight with how much she had shared and trusted her. “Of course, just like she watches over everyone. Though, probably not as much as she watches over the king.” Penelope mused casually.

“Right! They’re connection is much more powerful!” Dotty nodded vigorously. As if suddenly struck by a thought, Penelope turned to Dotty with a look of curiosity. “Hey Dotty... Is it really true about his staff?”

The servant blinked, a little caught off guard by the sudden question. She shuffled her feet nervously. “Yes, of course.” She said, her answer sounding a bit guarded. Penelope felt her stomach drop slightly, worrying that she had been too forward with the question. Guess I need to be careful with that subject.. She thought and focused her gaze back on Aeklora.

“Sorry. I’ve just always heard about it growing up and at some points, I just wonder if she really is watching over us...” Penelope said softly, lowering her gaze as she put on a troubled look. Dotty frowned and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, seeming to guess that Penelope was thinking of the abusive husband she had claimed to flee from.

“She is! That’s why you’re here now and far from danger.” Dotty reassured her. The servant paused as her eyes drifted towards Aeklora. “You remember the incident that happened five years back with one of the servants, don’t you?”

“Kinda... Wasn’t it just a rumor going around though?” Penelope said looking over at her with a raised eyebrow. She had no idea what the servant was referring to but she guessed it had something to do with the mentioned servant touching the staff. When Dotty’s eyes widened and she shook her head, Penelope felt her heart race slightly with worry. She had mostly written the legend off as rumors to keep the king in power and to ward off thieves. However, if Dotty knew of a time when it actually happened, then perhaps it wasn’t just a rumor. It was still difficult for the knight to believe that the gods would play an active role in the mortal world though.

“No,no. It really happened! Matilda doesn’t like us talking about it since it was a servant but I swear it happened.”

“Did you see it happen?”

“Gods no. I kept away from that... I woke up the next morning to find out what had happened. The court physician even declared it was a smiting.”

Penelope nodded her head, relaxing slightly. The physician is probably in on the lie. She theorized, a bit comforted that Dotty hadn’t actually seen anything and had just heard the rumor like everyone else. She wouldn’t doubt it if they had merely poisoned the servant in an effort to make it look like he suddenly just dropped dead. Finding satisfied with her reasoning, she turned to Dotty. “I can’t believe that happened.”

“I know!” Dotty gawked as she turned to continue on towards the kitchen. “It was a crazy time here in the castle. Anyways, we should get back to the tour! I don’t want Matilda getting mad at me. She can be quite scary!”

“I bet.” Penelope chuckled.

The two made their way into the kitchen. It was large and quite busy as other servants worked to clean up the mess that was left over from what Penelope guessed to be breakfast. “You’ll probably help out in here once in a while, depending on what chores Matilda gives you.” Dotty told her as they stood off to the side. “Cooking is a hassle here though. We’ve got a ton of people to feed after all!"

“I see.. Well, I wouldn’t mind that.” Penelope mused. “I can make a pretty tasty stew.”

“Really?” Dotty said with a smile as looked over at her. “You must be a pretty good cook!”

Penelope feigned bashfulness. “I’m alright.. I just enjoy cooking. It’s relaxing.”

“Not for me! I’m always burning something or doing something wrong. I never get kitchen duty anymore.” Dotty laughed.

In truth, Penelope barely knew how to cook. Most of her meals were prepared by other people and she had only cooked for herself on a few occasions. However, she hoped by acting like it was an interest that Dotty would help get her on kitchen duty for later that night. Everything seemed to be working out better than Penelope thought. She smiled to herself as they headed out of the kitchen and towards the servant’s quarters which were down the opposite hallway.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yeah xD poor thing doesn’t even know how big of a mistake she’s making lol

Oh ok! c: I’m probably heading to bed now but I’ll be on pretty much all of tomorrow since it’s my day off!

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Poor Crow xc meanwhile Penelope is doing ok so far lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Stepping past the gates, Penelope looked around the castle grounds, trying to act curious rather than giving away that she was taking in the various aspects. It wasn’t much different than the Brerra castle, though the placement of certain things did vary. The barracks laid to the right alongside the castle. She noticed that there was an old, wooden door that seemed to lead under the castle placed besides the barracks. She didn’t pay much mind to it and continued to look around elsewhere. To the left, she spotted the stables alongside a rather peaceful looking garden. Beautiful plants and trees made their home there.

“Dotty, go ahead and finish watering the plants. Take Farah with you and show her around so she knows where everything’s at.” Matilda instructed. The old woman turned her head to look over at Penelope and Dotty. “Meet me in the servant’s quarters when you’re done.”

“Yes ma’am!” Dotty dipped her head to Matilda and watched as the older servant walked on towards the front entrance of the great building. She turned to Penelope and gave a large smile. “Come on then! We’ve got quite a bit to cover and I’m not even showing you the whole castle.”

Dotty too the lead and headed off the main path as she made her way over to the garden. Penelope followed her, admittedly relieved that Matilda had left her alone with the bubbly servant. Dotty seemed much more trusting than Matilda and the knight hoped to use that to her advantage in finding out as much as she could about the castle. As they neared the garden, Penelope was a bit impressed by how well looked after it was. The garden back home was mainly for herbs or other small crops and wasn’t usually looked after very well since often didn’t use the crops that grew there. However, this garden’s main purpose seemed to purely be enjoyment. A couple shady trees stood tall amongst the various plants and beautiful flowers bloomed all over.

“It’s so pretty here..” Penelope mused softly as she looked around. Dotty was already spreading the water over the plants and gave a soft chuckle.

“Well, the queen really loves this spot! She comes out here often to admire the flowers.. Sometimes she even sneaks out here through the pantry’s back door but don’t let his highness know that.” She grinned and winked at her.

Penelope gave a small smile of amusement and nodded her head. While Dotty's words were amusing, she was quick to find a bit of interest in the mention of the pantry having a back door. She eyed the wall of the castle and sure enough she spotted a narrow door nearby. It was hard to spot and nearly hidden amongst the side of the castle. “Right.” She said with a small laugh. “I’m surprised the pantry is so close to the garden..”

“It makes it easy to grab the herbs from the garden.” Dotty explained with a small shrug. “Alright! I’m done watering so let’s begin the tour!”

“Are we starting with the pantry?” Penelope asked.

“No. Unfortunately, they usually lock it up tight so the only way to open that door is from the inside. But that’s a boring place to start anyways! Come!” Dotty hurried off towards the main entrance, swinging the empty bucket in her hand as she walked. As they stepped up a couple small staircases, Penelope could already make out what lied beyond the main doors. She noted that it wasn’t as grand or luxurious as the inside of the Brerratic castle. It was decorated nicely and still told of great wealth though it lacked the gold and silver touches she had grown used to seeing in the castle back home. It’s almost.. humble... She thought to herself as she stepped inside, passing a couple of guards on the way.

“Welcome to the great castle of Younis!” Dotty said with a grand gesture. The guards glanced over at her, seeming to flinch with annoyance at her loud voice.

Penelope smiled at Dotty and placed a hand on the servant’s shoulder. “We should probably keep moving.” She said softly as she noticed the guard’s irritation.

Dotty blushed a little and nodded her head as she continued to walk further inside. “Ok well, that’s the main staircase,” She gestured to the large staircase that took up most of the entrance. “It only leads up to the third floor though. You probably won’t ever go higher than the second floor though. Unless you become a servant of one of the royal family. We’ll go up to the second floor so I can show you the great hall and the library.” She took the lead and hurried up the stairs. Penelope quickly followed.

The great hall was located right upon the left of the stair case on the second floor. They pushed opened the doors and Dotty let her have a brief look around. There really wasn’t anything of much interest, as it was currently empty. What Penelope paid more attention to was the knights that passed on their regular patrol. If I could just get a feel for their routine and route... She followed behind Dotty as they left the great hall and moved onto the library.

So far it seemed that the layout wasn’t too different from the castle back in Brerra. Though things were in slightly different places, both the Brerratic and Younisian castle managed to have similar things on the same floors. Penelope hoped she was right in guessing that the rest of the castle would be the same and continued to follow Dotty as the servant briefly showed her the library and walked on through the hallway of the second floor.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yeah! I just realized it’s also the same for when they first admitted their feelings on page 20 xD

Ok c: I’m heading off for the night. I probably won’t be on until super late tomorrow but I try to get a reply up at some point