BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The following morning Penelope found herself a bit sore from the day's previous sparring so she took it easy for most of the morning. She ended up spending some time with Olivia, walking around the camp and talking casually in order to waste the spare time until her meeting, which was pushed to later in the evening due to Bennet being busy with organizing part of the battle plans. Unfortunately it wasn't long before they were joined by Millicent. The archer made her way up to Penelope's other side and wasn't quick to leave despite the clear annoyance coming that radiated off of Olivia.

Penelope was a bit surprised to have Millicent hanging around her again. The other woman had seemed to lost respect for her after 'losing' Crow that one night and wandering off for a full day. She wondered what had made her desire to spend time with them. An uncomfortable silence fell over the three after their curt greetings to each other. Olivia shifted her gaze off to the side and Penelope eyed the ground, feeling a bit on edge in Millicent's presence. Millicent kept glancing around, clearly trying to scrounge up a topic to discuss since the other two clearly weren't making any effort.

"So Penelope, have you thought about the wedding much yet?" she suddenly asked, breaking the silence as she looked over at Penelope with bright eyes.

"W-What?" Penelope blinked in surprise.

Olivia snorted as she tried to hold back her laughter. "I guess word doesn't travel very fast around here." she snickered.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Millicent narrowed her eyes.

"It means that there isn't going to be a wedding. Penelope ended her courtship with Gavin... Like, over a month ago now." Olivia gave an exaggerated sigh as she taunted, "Poor thing. You're so behind."

"Well, some of us aren't as nosy as you are Olivia." Millicent responded sharply. Her gaze flickered over to Penelope questioningly. "What happened? You guys still seem close."

"We're still friends." Penelope shrugged casually. "I.. just didn't want to be with him. He's a good guy but not quite the one for me."

Millicent tilted her head. "Can you even make that decision? Isn't it your father's?" she asked with confusion. Penelope hesitated to reply. It was true. Technically speaking, her father was supposed to be the one in control of her courtship, especially since he was the one who forced her into it in the first place. The knight was merely lucky that Gavin was willing to respect her decision without trying to involve her father. However, the situation likely looked very strange to the other nobles around her.

"I guess so.." Penelope replied slowly. "but he's not here and Gavin understands so it's out of his power."

"Which means, Penelope's free to sleep with any guy she wants again!" Olivia grinned. Penelope shot her a silent glare.

Millicent wrinkled her nose up at Olivia's words. "Not everyone is as frivolous as you." she grumbled.

Olivia pouted and crossed her arms. "Is that why you're so up tight? Has it been that long since a man's pleased you?"

"Why you-"

"Ok, calm down you two." Penelope interrupted noticing Millicent's frustration at Olivia's taunting.

Millicent huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'd wish you'd find better company, Penelope." The archer shook her head before turning to leave. "I'll talk to you some other time."

Penelope watched her go and shook her head a little before turning back to look over at Olivia. The other female knight had smug smirk on her face, clearly proud that she had managed to annoy the archer enough to leave. Penelope let out a quiet laugh. "Did you have to go that far?"

"Well she wouldn't leave if I didn't." Olivia shrugged then grinned. "You're lucky I scared her off before she really started asking questions."

"That's true." Penelope nodded her head. The two walked on for a while longer, now comfortable again without the overly strict archerer hanging around. Her gaze flickered up to the evening sky. It was growing late, which meant it was nearly time for her to meet with the barons and find out when the next battle would occur. She parted ways with Olivia and headed off to the tent, joining the others as they sat down for the meeting.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Aww Simon and Hazel cx

Nice XD
Can't beat that lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

"Are you ready?"

"Of course." Penelope smirked at Gavin as she brandished her sword. The female knight gripped the reins of her horse in her free hand and shifted the small, brown mare into position as she readied to attack Gavin. Over the course of her two years back amongst the knights, she spent most of it training and improving on various skills. One of them happened to include fighting on horseback. After having to fight with the mercenaries on horseback, she figured it would be wise to improve upon that skill, especially since she had found it quite difficult at the time. The knight was much more balanced and confident now about fighting while riding.

However, it had been a long time since she had practiced the skill.

Penelope gave her horse a small kick and charged at Gavin. The male knight was quick to block her, doing so almost effortlessly as she swiped at his side. She rounded her horse around his, attempting to strike from the back this time as she gave him little time to recover. Gavin moved out of the way, guiding his horse forward before looping around to attack her. Their blades scraped against each other as Penelope blocked him as he passed by.

Though Gavin claimed to be worried about how he would perform on top of a horse, his skills seemed just fine in her opinion. It didn't surprise her. He had always been close to Alan and his family so of course he had picked up a few lessons from Bran before. She didn't doubt that's where most of his skill came from. Guess I better start giving him a real challenge. She smirked to herself and then charged towards him again.

As she drew close, she suddenly slowed her horse and aim for his chest. Gavin raised an eyebrow at her, catching her confident smirk, as he shifted his blade to block her attack. Penelope shifted some of her weight into the blade, pushing against him rather than pulling away like usual. It seemed to catch Gavin off guard, as he was used to her using her speed rather than her strength. Using his surprise, she quickly retracted her sword and then swiped at his side, hoping to throw his balance off.

Gavin leaned away, momentarily off balance. However, the male knight didn't give her a chance to utilize it as he suddenly jabbed his sword towards, using the motion to regain his balance while forcing her to go on the defensive. The two clashed their blades a few more times before their sparring finally reached its end as Gavin disarmed her. Slipping past her defense, he used his sword to knock hers out of her hand onto the ground below. He pointed his weapon at her and Penelope held up her hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright you got me." she chuckled. "I don't even know what you were worried about. Your skills seem fine."

"Well, I definitely feel a bit better about them after testing them against you." Gavin smiled at her as he sheathed his sword.

"I'm not that good but I'm glad I could help." Penelope mused as she dismounted the mare to retrieve the sword on the ground.

"Not that good?" Gavin raised an eyebrow at her as he dropped down to the ground as well and grabbed the reins of his horse. "You don't even specialize in fighting on horseback but I'm sure you could win against half of those fighting in the cavalry. You're a talented knight, Penelope."

The female knight blinked, surprised by his high words of praise. "I doubt that but thanks." she replied to him with a small smile. Her smile faltered as she suddenly became a bit wary of his complimenting as she thought of Crow. Penelope grabbed the reins of her horse and turned brisky to walk off. "Come on we should put the horses." she told him, quick to put some distance between them. Luckily, Gavin didn't question it and followed behind.

---

As night fell, Penelope spent most of the evening alone as Olivia was busy and spending too much time with Gavin would likely go against the promise she made to Crow. Instead, the knight found a peaceful moment alone, leaning back against a tree as she watched the stars come out in the night sky. She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. The knight found herself thinking about life after the war. She specifically thought about how her family would react to finding out about her love for the thief. The thought was brought on as she found herself recalling the conversation with him about the stars during their trip to Younis. It made her think of her mom then how her mom had likely felt about her father and eventually lead to her thinking about the future situation to come.

She didn't care much for what Edward or his side of the family thought. Edward would likely be the first to disown her, already having a deep dislike of her anyways, so Penelope didn't expect much understanding from him. She was more concerned about Layth and her father. Especially Layth. The knight frowned a little as she recalled how close Crow had gotten to killing her brother. Layth likely wouldn't take the news well. She found herself hoping he would just turn his back on her, a little worried he might try to hunt them down once he found out. It was harder to say how her father would react. Part of her was still holding on to a hope that he might actually come to understand her after having been in a similar situation.

That's all in the future though... Who knows how much longer this war will go on anyways.. she thought with a sigh, feeling herself becoming impatient for its end. The knight stood up and made her way to her tent, ready to call it a night as she grew tired.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Dang xD I think mine was like around that amount too aside from this one. xD
Same. Honestly I'm so invested in this story and the characters lol

No worries! That works out since I'm going to be at work for pretty much the whole day anyways xD I don't get off until like 8 which is like 9 for you I think

Also that's nice! Happy aniversary to you two!

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

To be fair, it's largely due to his arrogance and overconfidence lol he thinks she'll realize being with Crow is a big mistake and will come back to him if he just gives her a little more time for them to grow close xD he's not completely innocent lol

Nice! I like it!

Same! Most of my rps don't last more than a year at best and we usually don't organize them so well xD
2018 has been a good year for this roleplay xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Rikki's persistent and Gavin's patient xD

Oh nice! :D that reminds me that I should probably update the table of contents since it's been a while xD we're almost at page 60 and I think it only goes up to like 43 lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope sleep in longer than usual the next day, finding it difficult to wake up early like she usually did. Eventually the knight managed to force herself up from her peaceful slumber and headed out to begin her day. Glancing at the sky, she silently noted that she had slept in much too late to accompany her brother on one of his usual patrols. Probably for the best anyways. The knight thought with a careless shrug.

Now that Crow was feeling better and her brother's intent of tracking down the thieves was wavering, she was much less concerned about him somehow discovering their camp again, which likely meant she could stop going on patrols with him as frequently. At least, she hoped so. Her brother wasn't too pleasant to be around and she'd prefer to use the time for something more productive. The patrols were practically just long walks at this point since Layth was failing to find any trace of the thieves.

"Hey Penelope!"

A familiar voice broke her thoughts as she walked and she looked over her shoulder to see Gavin jogging over to catch up with her. Upon seeing his face she was immediately reminded of the promise she had given Crow the night before. The female knight shifted uneasily as she thought about how she had to keep her guard up around Gavin now. Even though she still doubted Crow's words, she intended to keep her word to him, especially after seeing how the situation seemed to bother him quite a bit.

"Hey." She greeted the male knight as he walked up besides her.

"Did you just get up? I was trying to find you earlier but couldn't."

Penelope nodded her head and ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah.. Late night so I guess I sleep a little later than normal."

"Oh, right." Gavin mumbled a bit awkwardly as he seemed to recall her telling him about. She expected him not to question anymore about it and go on to why he was looking for her in the first place, however the male knight surprised her as he looked over at her questioningly and asked, "That was your first time meeting him in a while wasn't it?"

She blinked and then quickly shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so..." she admitted reluctantly and shifted her gaze ahead. "He was injured after the last battle so we couldn't see each other for a while." It wasn't a complete lie since Crow had hurt his leg and she didn't want Gavin thinking that they had stopped their meetings temporarily for any reason. She paused before adding, "He's better now though.. Anyways, why were you looking for me?"

"I have some extra time today so I was hoping we could spar a bit." Gavin told her with a hopeful look. "More specifically spar on horseback.. I'm not sure if Bran's going to be taking over in time for the next battle and I want to be prepared if I have to be the captain still."

"On horseback?" Penelope crossed her arms and let out a long sigh. "It's been a while since I've done that.. But alright.. And you know you probably won't have much to worry about even if he isn't ready by the next battle. The barons will handle most of the commanding for the cavalry anyways."

"You're probably right but still, best to be safe rather than sorry." Gavin shrugged.

"Fair enough." Penelope nodded her head. "Let's go train then." Gavin nodded and took the lead to head over to where the horses were kept. She followed a few steps behind him, still thinking about what Crow had told her. He was probably just paranoid after what happened with Rikki.. she thought with a small frown. As far as she could tell, Gavin seemed to accept that she was with Crow and he had yet to make any advancement towards her. It would be easy to keep her guard up around him if things continued like they were. Her promise would be easy to keep, she just hoped Crow would find his promise just as easy. A small feeling of unease bubbled in the knight as she thought of the female thief, who likely had yet to give up on getting between them. Eager to get her mind off of her, Penelope suddenly found herself anxious to begin sparring with Gavin and picked up her pace slightly.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Oh dang xc Good luck!

Honestly I love them xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope nodded in agreement as Crow said he wished they didn't have to part. She leaned into him as he slipped an arm around her shoulders, smiling up at him as he kissed her head. The knight fell in step besides him as they began to walk back. She walked closely at his side, unbothered by the silence as she was quite tired too and found it peaceful enough to be walking besides him. It wasn't long before the waterfall came into view and a feeling of reluctance washed over the knight. At least it'll only be for three days again. she reminded herself as her gaze focused up on him as he turned to her.

She jumped as Hazel's voice sounded from nearby and she looked over to see the herbalist storming towards them. The knight stood back as Hazel snapped at Crow and gave him his medicine. Penelope looked a little amused and gave a nod back to Hazel as she addressed her before leaving. She looked back over at crow and shrugged her shoulders as he apologized. "It's fine." she assured nonchalantly. As he wrapped his arms around her, she leaned into him and met his lips halfway as he kissed her. "I love you too." she told him softly as she smiled up at him. "And I will." She leaned up to press a fleeting kiss to his lips one more time before she stepped away from him to leave.

"I'll see you in three days." she told him with a small smile before turning her gaze back ahead and continuing on her way towards her camp. She walked on down the river, retracing the way she had come from before and soon disappeared into the forest as she headed off towards Myrefall.

---

It took the knight longer to get back to camp than usual since the new meeting place was a bit farther than the others. By the time she reached her camp, she was more than ready to lay down and go to sleep, feeling drowsy from all of the day's events. As she slipped back into camp, she wasn't quite as careful as she normally was due to not being fully awake as she made her way to her tent.

"Sneaking back into camp at such a late hour, are we?"

Penelope jumped at the voice and whirled around to see Olivia standing behind her with her arms crossed over her chest. The other female knight smirked in amusement at her friend's startled expression. She relaxed a little, realizing it was Olivia. "Gods, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Penelope grumbled as she shot her friend an annoyed look.

"You have only yourself to blame for not being alert enough." Olivia snickered.

"Yeah, yeah." Penelope rolled her eyes. She sighed. "I'm tired so cut me some slack will you?"

Olivia shrugged. "Maybe. I'll have to think about it. It's still kind of your own fault for not managing your time better during your little romantic getaway." she teased.

"Whatever." Penelope shook her head and smirked a little. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight Olivia."

"Goodnight." Olivia chuckled.

Penelope, now a little more alert because of running into Olivia, headed off to her tent with out anymore issues. The knight laid down and almost immediately fell asleep, sinking into a deep sleep.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Probably won't get a reply up until after work cx

And very true lol Although Penelope manages to not overly act on her worries luckily xD which is a good thing cuz otherwise she'd be a paranoid mess on her own lol