Penelope watched Crow as he left, letting out a soft sigh. She didn't know how she was going to handle William and now, she had to do it completely alone. Shifting her gaze back over to the older knight, she took in a steeling breath. She might not have to fight him in a physical battle but she knew their coming conversation was a battleground nonetheless. William made sure Crow was gone before his gaze narrowed back in on Penelope.
"Why are you disgracing yourself with him?" He demanded, searching Penelope face for clues. He's acting like this is an interrogation.. She thought bitterly.
"I love him." She responded bluntly. William blinked in surprise and wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"You've got to be kidding me! He's a criminal. The only thing he's good for is rotting in a prison cell." William snorted and shook his head.
"He's not just a criminal damn it." She told him sharply, feeling her own anger begin to bubble up. "If you were able to form your own opinions about people rather than just relying on what the king or law says like some kind of obedient dog, maybe you'd be able to see that. He's a good man."
"Good man my ass." William snarled, his anger rose again with Penelope's insult. "He's stolen and broken the law. He's known for lying and being untrustworthy! He's clearly just manipulating you. Gods, Penelope, how can you be so naive!"
"I'm not naive and he's not manipulating me, William."
"Oh yeah?" William took a challenging step towards Penelope. "It seems to me you didn't learn a thing from your experience with Cedric. He was just a knight but he played you like an instrument from what I heard."
Penelope's confidence suddenly faltered. She averted her gaze and clenched her fist at her side as she recalled the only other man she had been with. "He was just another greedy nobleman that looked down on me as soon as he realized I didn't have the money he was after. It's not the same." She growled.
"He might not be after your money but he's after something. To make a mockery of knights or maybe he just wanted someone to entertain him. You've bought into his lies so much that you think it's love." A look of disappointment flashed across his expression as he looked down at her. "You were a good knight, Penelope. It's time to come back to your sense and start acting like one again."
William's anger nearly seemed to begin to fade as he thought he was getting through to her and even moved to place a firm hand on her shoulder. It'd be a lie to say that she remained completely unshaken by his words, mainly because of the bad memory they had stirred. Stop it.. Stop comparing them... He's nothing like Cedric. Penelope chided the tiny voice in the back of her mind that seemed to echo nothing but doubts. She tugged her shoulder away from William and took a step back. She glared up at him.
"Enough! You're wrong about him and you're wrong about me. He isn't lying and the only fool here is you." She snarled.
"So you're just going to turn your back on everything? And for what, him?" William snapped, his anger quickly returning. "You'll be the biggest disgrace in your whole family! All that work you've done will be worth nothing. I can't even imagine how your father will react."
"Me neither." Penelope admitted with a soft sigh. She lifted her gaze and smirked a little. "The thing is William, I started out as the biggest disgrace in my family when I was born. So to answer all your questions, yes. For him, I will."
"I'll stop you. I bet I can even get him to admit that this is all just a game to him."
"You can try." Penelope shrugged. Her gaze hardened into a cold glare. "But don't you dare harm him. You'll have more to worry about than just me hurt your pride as a knight." She warned venomously. The female knight pushed past him, signaling that she was done with their conversation for now. Though her last words had been cold and confident, she was truly flooded with worry. She mainly feared what William would do to keep them apart but his words has also left her with unnerving thoughts of how her father would react when he found out and bad memories that seemed tempted to loosen her trust in Crow. Penelope picked up her pace as she headed for the camp, vaguely aware of William following her. She just wanted to get back to Crow, desperate for a reminder that things for them would be alright.
