BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope winced as Crow said he loved her. Normally the words brought her joy but in that moment they just stung like salt on an open wound. Though she didn't want to believe a word he said at the moment, she found herself at least accepting that to be true, though she now questioned the value of such words. Did such feelings even matter when he had been willing to turn on her like this? Perhaps his version of love was much different than what she felt.

Before she could respond to him, she noticed a figure suddenly force themselves in front of her. She blinked, a bit surprised. Caught up in her emotions and confronting Crow, the knight had nearly forgotten that she had come here with him. His sudden appearance caused her to feel a stab of guilt. Gavin had been honest with her this whole time and tried so hard to show her the truth. She owed him an apology for all the trouble she had caused him.

She didn't get a chance to dwell on that thought long as Crow spoke up again, pleading with her. She studied him for a moment with tearfilled eyes. Despite everything, part of her craved to give into his words and trust him. But too many people had gotten hurt and if she did give in, there was a chance even more would get hurt. She couldn't risk being such a fool again, blinded by her feelings for him. Not to mention that she was far too hurt by what she had overheard.

"Hollow words just like all the ones before." Gavin snorted as he glared at Crow hatefully. "This game you've been playing is over, thief." Penelope stepped up besides Gavin's side and placed a hand on the male knight's arm that had the sword in hand. He glanced towards her and reluctantly lowered his blade, though he refused to put it away completely. Though she was hurt, she didn't want him to harm Crow in his anger.

"I shouldn't have even trusted you before..." she mumbled quietly in agreement with Gavin. "And you haven't given me any reason to trust you now. Especially if you're planning to run off and aid Younis." Penelope took in a shaky breath as she tried to regain some control over her emotions as she met Crow's gaze with a hint of determination. "I'll give you a chance though."

"Penelope, don't." Gavin frowned as he looked over at her. "He's just going to use you against to hurt our comrades again. Let's just end this now."

"I won't let that happened, Gavin." she assured in a weak voice as she felt another stab of guilt. However, she didn't move her gaze from Crow. "I'm not going to just forgive you for this. Not like before. If I can trust you, you're going to have to prove it." her gaze narrowed on him. "You must know where Jaxon's located since you've been throwing us off his trail this whole time. So you can start by telling me where he is."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope's kinda breaking down ^^; honestly I'm hurting lol

That's good c:

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope clenched her jaw as she waited for Crow to respond. The moment of silence that seemed to drag on killed her as she waited for an explanation. The knight prepared herself to deal with whatever lie he was going to tell her now. She had caught him, but that didn't mean he was just going to give up. Crow could be a stubborn after all. Unfortunately for him, she was done falling for his lies.

As he finally spoke, she let out a scoff at his excuse. "Even if that was the truth, it wasn't your only choice!" she snapped out of frustration. "You could have told me. We could have figured a way to use his threat against him. You could have made your own choice! Not just roll over to the will of someone else." The knight shook her head and took a step back from him. She had to remind herself that he was probably lying to her again. The strain in his voice had nearly been enough for her to trust his words.

"I don't know why I'm even bothering... You're probably just lying again." her voice cracked slightly and suddenly she couldn't bring herself to look at him. "Because it sure sounded like you had a choice when you asked to get in on the deal with Younis. First signs of the war going south and you hurry off to join the enemy. You may have learned how to fight, but you're a coward."

She finally lifted her gaze to shoot him an accusing look only to crumble slightly at the sight of him. As she looked at him, she felt a fresh stab of pain, worse than any injury she had received. She loved him so much and yet, he had turned on her. The knight removed her hand from the hilt of her sword. Even in her current pain and rage, she knew she couldn't bring herself to use it against him. Tears began to stream down her cheeks again and the knight felt her lip quiver as she tried to restrain herself from crying.

"Gods I'm a fool.." she choked out between the tears. "I trust you. After every lie and secret, I still trusted you... I just.. I don't understand.. Has anything you told me been truthful?"

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Not at all Dx Penelope's really hurt after all that

Ok c: Have fun!

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The longer the two waited the more certain Penelope became that she was right. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to enjoy that feeling for very long. The sound of footsteps caught her attention and she felt Gavin gently nudge her side before nodding his head in the direction of where an all too familiar figure appeared. Penelope felt her heart begin to drop as Crow came into view. Just because he's out here doesn't mean anything.. He could just be going on a walk.. she told herself trying to steady herself as she prepared to follow him.

Gavin rested a hand on her shoulder, signaling for them to wait a bit before moving to follow the thief. He had picked up quick on how alert the thief was as he walked through the forest and made sure to be extra careful that they weren't spotted as they tracked him through the forest. The closest they got to discovery was when a nearby stag caused some sound and forced them into further hiding as Crow noticed the noise. Luckily that was the closest they got to being discovered and made the rest of the trip to the clearing without issue.

Penelope felt her heart pound anxiously in her chest, racing faster every step they got further from his camp. Eventually the clearing came into view and suddenly she felt a numbness take over her as she noticed another man waiting there for Crow. She froze and paled as everything came crashing down on her as she began to realize how wrong she had been. Gavin was right. What other reason was there for this meeting? He would have no reason to meet up with the same villager again after going to Black Hollow.

"Follow me.. We'll be able to hear them a little from over here." Gavin whispered. She was vaguely aware that he had taken her hand and lead her over to a few bushes they could duck underneath. Coming out of her shock a bit, she knelt down besides the male knight and tried to listen into the conversation as she tried to come to terms with the reality of Crow being the enemy.

"...they haven’t been able to focus on their search for you after the Younisians attacked their camp.."

"Good."

"....when the raid will happen at the same time as those knights..."

Penelope clenched her jaw in frustration as she strained to hear anything that they were saying. No wonder Gavin hadn't been able to tell her much. With the distance, it was nearly impossible to make out their words. She had to get closer. She needed to know exactly what they were talking about. Perhaps it would help her understand why Crow was working with him in the first place. Her green eyes flickered around until they landed on a large tree that was closer to the clearing and would provide her with just enough cover thanks to the undergrowth around it. She shifted carefully, preparing to make a dart for the better coverage.

With the thieves focusing on the presence of a new person, she hurried towards the tree and ducked behind it. She held her breath, hoping that her movement hadn't been noticed by the three. As they continued to speak, it seemed she had gotten away with it, as only Gavin, who was staring towards her with wide eyes filled with worry, seemed to notice. She let out the breath she had been holding and tuned back into the conversation the three were having. Now much closer, she was able to hear them clearly, even if she wasn't able to see them as she had her back to the tree to avoid getting spotted.

“That knight spilled the blood of one of our own, so he will be dealt with accordingly.”

Gavin. Penelope tensed at the realization and glanced back towards the male knight. It had been an assassination attempt and it wouldn't be the last by the sound of it. She closed her eyes, waiting for Crow's response as she held onto a small hope that he'd sway them against taking action. As a simple 'I understand' came from the thief, she felt a lump form in her throat. It felt like another stab to the back as he merely agreed to the murderous thief's words. He was just going to let the man try and kill Gavin. The thought sparked a small flame of fury in the knight, unable to comprehend why he was doing all of this.

She nearly thought it was over until Crow made one last request to the other thief. One that made the knight's heart feel like it had shattered.

“The Younisians are going to win regardless of what I do. My companions and I have already discussed it, and we’ve agreed that we want to be on the winning side when this war is over....If that means turning against Brerra to survive, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Covering her mouth to make sure no gasping noises came out, she closed her eyes tightly as she felt her heart break at his words. Gavin had been right all along about everything. He had manipulated her, he had lied to her, and he had been working with Jaxon. And now he's going to fully turn on his whole kingdom... On me... The knight trembled, feeling weak and ashamed for having been so trusting of the thief. She became aware of the tears streaming down her cheeks and she was so caught up in her swirling emotions of shame, betrayal, fury and most of all, pain, that she barely even registered that the meeting had come to an end.

Coming back to herself a bit, she curled her lip and wiped away her tears. She couldn't afford to wallow right now. Not when she needed answers from him. Trying to focus on the fury rather than the pain, she got up to her feet and placed a hand on the hilt of her sword as she prepared to confront him.

"Penelope, wait." she heard Gavin hiss in the distance.

Unfortunately, his words fell on deaf ears as she moved to step out and cut Crow off before he could get too far from the clearing. As her gaze fell on him a mixture of anger and pain took over her expression and she suddenly found herself struggling to say anything without exploding with emotion over his betrayal. "How..." the word came out weakly as she glared at him. "How could you? Y-You bastard!" She felt herself tremble as she strained to keep her voice from cracking. "Explain to me what the hell is going on here, Crow."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Man even I feel anxious lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The next day went by fairly quickly. Penelope managed keep busy with her work in camp, which helped to keep her mind off of her plans to sneak off with Gavin later. The camp had made a fairly decent recovery over the week and now it was just a matter of holding off until their supplies came in. She hoped that the battalion would make it without being attacked until then. If they did, it was fully possible for them to make a comeback from their current defeat.

As the sun began to sink in the sky, she finished off her last bit of work for the day before going to meet up with Gavin. Now that it was getting closer to time, she felt her stomach churn anxiously as she thought about what they were going to do and the question of who was right and wrong began to plague her thoughts. It's fine.. I have to be right. Crow's on our side and Gavin's going to see that tonight. she told herself firmly as she took in a deep breath.

"Are you ready?" Gavin asked as he reached her side. The two stood near the edge of camp, away from where most were getting their supper for the night. He eyed her with a hopeful gaze. "You're still going with me tonight right?"

"Yes. I told you I would." Penelope said with a small nod. She looked up to meet his gaze with a stubborn look. "But if we don't see anything tonight, you've got to accept that Crow's innocent and that we have to focus on finding Jaxon, the real criminal."

"If I'm wrong, then I will." Gavin muttered and shook his head. "But I won't be and you're going to realize that soon enough, Penelope."

"We'll see." she grumbled, trying to hide the nervousness she felt at his words. Shifting her gaze away from him, she swept her gaze over the camp. The sun had began to sink in the sky, signaling that it was nearing the time for them to depart. The female knight shuffled her feet uneasily and then turned back to Gavin. "When should we leave?"

"The sooner the better." Gavin replied as he eyed the sky. "I don't want to be late or miss him when he slips out... Let's leave now." As she gave a small nod, he turned to lead the way out of camp. However, before he moved any further, he paused and looked back down at her with a softer expression. "Penelope... Listen.. I just want you to know that I am here for you and I'll have your back if anything goes wrong."

"Thanks but I don't think this is going to go how you think it is. Now let's go before someone notices us." Penelope muttered, avoiding his gaze. Gavin let out a sigh and nodded before beginning to lead the way out of camp.

---

The two traveled a path that Penelope was all too familiar with. As they drew closer to Myrefall, she began to realize that Gavin was leading her straight towards the clearing where she usually met with Crow. So that's how he found him before.. she thought. The male knight must had backtracked to here when he was after the thief the first time. Crow must have crossed through it before.

Soon the two knights arrived at the clearing and Gavin directed her over to hide behind some thick bushes. The two crouched down together, neither speaking as Gavin had his gaze trained in on the clearing looking for signs of Crow while Penelope glanced around the forest, silently praying that the thief wouldn't make an appearance.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

yeah he is xD
Gavin's going to make an already bad situation worse lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope rolled her eyes playfully at his teasing words as she slipped her shirt back on. She grabbed her pants and slipped them on as well before stepping back over to him. "Thank you." she said with a soft laugh before she leaned in to kiss him back. As he stepped back, she smiled at him. "I love you too, Collin. Be safe." Having said her parting words to him, she pressed one last kiss to his cheek before turning and beginning to make her way back to her camp.

As she walked to her camp, her thoughts immediately wandered to what would be coming the following night. After talking to him, she felt a little more confident that Gavin would be proven wrong. Crow clearly had no idea about Gavin getting attacked and whatever had occurred the other night must have just been a coincidence. However, she did still have a small bit of worry that continued to linger. What if she was wrong? What if he was just lying to her like Gavin insisted that he always did?

She shook her head. It seemed the troublesome thoughts were hellbent on sticking around even though she did feel better after speaking with him. Glancing up at the stars above, she let out a long sigh. There was no sense in worrying about it now. Nothing would lead her to a solid answer until the following night. Reminding herself of this, she was able to clear her head a bit as she continued on her walk back to camp.

Once she reached the camp, she did a quick survey, checking to see if any other trouble had arisen during her time away. However, it seemed to be a peaceful night as she watched the guards, who were all in pairs now, quietly watch from their positions. Glad that nothing more had gone wrong, she carefully slip past her comrades and headed to her tent to lay down for the night. Once she was settled in, the knight wasted no time in drifting off to sleep.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Same cx I feel so bad for Penelope honestly xD and her reaction is going to all of this is going to be so bad

Crow and Penelope are going to be all messed up and meanwhile Gavin's going to be there like