BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

"So he's awake?"

Penelope nodded her head to Mia as the baroness eyed her with an intrigued look. Layth had stormed into the meeting rather abruptly and wasted no time in delivering the news that Crow was awake now and that she had already taken the liberty of assigning guards. Mia didn't seem overly upset and Bennett had made it clear that he didn't care so long as the thief had a guard on him at all times. Her main opposition seemed to be Edward and Layth as usual

"You shouldn't be overseeing such matters! Especially after turning traitor and working with him in the first place." Edward growled as he glared at Penelope.

"I only did so to save this battalion and you know that." Penelope stated, shaking her head. "I only took charge of dealing with matters related to the thief because I was the one who brought him here. I figured the responsibility would fall on my shoulders." She glanced towards Mia for support, hoping her baroness would side with her, but was disappointed as she seemed rather intent on just observing as the meeting went on. Luckily, someone else came to her aid.

"That's reasonable." Tomas agreed with a small nod. He glanced between the baron and his lieutenant before giving a small smile. "Our supplies have increased because of Penelope's efforts and the threat of being raided again has been dealt with... As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I seen no reason to question her judgment when it was clearly in our best interests."

"Perhaps if she didn't drag that bastard back to our camp I could agree with that sentiment." Edward stated coldly. His gaze shifted over to Mia and he narrowed his gaze on her. "You've been quieter than usual. Feeling embarrassed by your lieutenant?"

"Not particularly." Mia replied as she held his gaze calmly. She crossed her arms and glanced over at Penelope with a thoughtful gaze. "I'm just thinking... Anyways, Penelope has picked decent guards for the most part. Is it really so important to change to whoever Layth has chosen?" She shrugged and looked to Edward questioningly. "Surely if he has any issue with the thief, he can deal with it through a visit on his own. Or are you incapable of that, Layth?"

Edward glared at Mia but was reluctant to speak out against her words as his gaze shifted between Tomas and Bennett. Like Layth, it appeared the inclusion of Tomas and Nina had caused for him to be in a tight spot. Claiming her guards were unfit would be insulting to the majority of those in the room.

----

The meeting had ended and Penelope had scored a small victory as Edward relented to her guard choices after a bit of pressure from the others in the room. She felt a spark of satisfaction. Though their trust in her dwindled, she had managed to play her cards just right enough to make it difficult for them to refuse her choices. The only downside was that Mia had opened the door to allowing Layth, and possibly others, to visit Crow without needing reason, which was likely the only reason he accepted the terms. If he requested alone time with the thief to interrogate him or otherwise, it would be difficult for her or any other guard to refuse his request.

She sighed and headed towards the physician's tent as she planned to relieve Gavin of his guard duty. The female knight hesitated at the front of the tent as she recalled her conversation with him from the night before. Suddenly, she felt a bit unsure how to speak to him and as she stepped inside, she froze for a brief moment as his gaze fell on her. There was a bit of awkward silence before Gavin rose from his chair and dipped his head to her.

"Taking over?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah.. Thanks again." Penelope mumbled gratefully.

"Of course." Gavin shifted his gaze away and then headed out of the tent, leaving her alone with Crow.

Pushing past the brief awkwardness that came with facing her ex-suitor, she shifted her gaze over to Crow and walked over to his side giving a small smile. "Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Honestly lol I feel bad for him though xc but I might have a small side plot for him getting a love interest in the future cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Having been quite tired from the day prior, Penelope unintentionally slept later than she usually did. She likely would have slept even later if she could have but sadly the knight was rudely awaken as someone paced furiously outside her tent. "Penelope!" The female knight jumped at her brother's voice and let out a small groan, already guessing what must have brought him to her tent. It seemed she wouldn't get the luxury of waiting until their meeting to insist that she be the one to oversee the guards for Crow.

"One second!" She called back and slowly rose to her feet. Feeling no rush to face off with Layth, she took her time in getting ready before reluctantly stepping out of her tent. As she did, her gaze fell on a furious looking Layth, who ceased his impatient pacing as he noticed her come out. He curled his lip and Penelope let out a quiet sigh. Here it comes..

"Jane tells me that the thief is already awake and you've already taken the liberty of assigning his guards." he growled accusatively. "You have no right to do so. You haven't even reported this development to the barons yet!"

"I found out late last night. I figured there was no need to bother the barons over something that could wait until the morning. He might be awake but he can't move." Penelope responded with a shrug. She crossed her arms over her chest and met her brother's gaze challengingly. "I have plenty right to do so. Jane needed a guard on him and I'm the one who brought him here in the first place."

"You lost that right the moment you started working with a thief, traitor." Layth snarled. "I saw who you put on guard. Only others who'd be willing to work with a thieving bastard like you."

"I am not a traitor and you are not a higher rank than me so you have no authority to decide that." Penelope argued with a bitter edge to her voice. "I assigned the knights I trust, just like you would. I suppose you think Tomas is untrustworthy? Or perhaps Nina? I was planning on asking them to take up guard shifts with him but perhaps I shouldn't if you believe them to be unqualified for the job." She met his gaze challengingly and watched as her brother clenched his jaw in frustration. It would be difficult for him to argue against the choice of a well respected lieutenant and a knight who had close relations with two barons. Penelope bit back a smirk as she seemed to have successfully backed him into a corner.

"The barons will see that you are unfit to be further involved in any such decisions." Layth growled with a flustered look before he turned and stormed off towards the meeting tent. She let out a soft sigh and trailed behind her brother. Now would come the hard part, which was convincing the barons to let her oversee the matters involving Crow.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Gavin's finally throwing in the towel xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope walked quietly besides Gavin as they headed away from the physician's tent and towards their own. Now that she wasn't worrying about Crow, she was more aware of just how exhausted she was from everything. Her body was sore, both from the wounds and the long, breakless walk back to camp, and her eyelids grew heavy as she thought about getting a full night's rest rather than just a short nap. The female knight barely realized that Gavin had slowed his pace until he finally spoke up again.

"I never had a chance once he came back into your life huh?"

At the question, she blinked in surprise and looked over her shoulder at Gavin before slowing down to fall back besides him. At first she thought he was bringing it up to argue against her being with Crow again but the defeat in his voice suggested the exact opposite. It seemed Crow's actions during the battle had affected the other knight's view of the thief in more ways than just one. The male knight didn't met her gaze, instead lowering his to the ground with a crestfallen expression. Penelope frowned and shifted her gaze away, unsure what to say at first. She was surprised he was even bringing such a topic up after everything they had gone through.

"I suppose..." she finally mumbled. "Why are you bringing this up right now?"

Gavin let out a sigh. "I guess, I'm just starting to realize that you really meant it when you said you chose him." He lifted his gaze to met hers and frowned deeply. "I thought your feelings for him would be temporary or that he would show his true colors as a lying criminal. But it's clear to me now that neither of those are likely... You can lie with words but not actions. Him risking his life for you and you risking everything to save his...Even though still I don't think you should leave everything behind, I get it now. You really plan to be with him."

Penelope studied him for a moment, finding herself a bit lost for words at first. She had constantly told Gavin that she wasn't going to change her mind about Crow and him suddenly accepting it caught her off guard. She supposed it would have to happen at some point but she never expected it to be so soon. Part of her had always just assumed the male knight's stubbornness would wear on until the end of the war. Apparently, she was wrong. "I'm sorry, Gavin. I tried to tell you this since the beginning.. I didn't want to lead you on. I might not love you like I love him but you are my friend and I didn't want to hurt you." she told him softly.

"Some pain is unavoidable.." Gavin muttered averting his gaze again. "Though part of it is my own fault for being so stubborn."

"I understand." Penelope felt a small stab of guilt at his words, wishing that she didn't have to hurt Gavin in the process of choosing Crow over him. She let out a sigh and shook her head. "You don't have to worry about any guard shifts... I'll find someone else. I don't want to force you to be around him or me."

"Don't. My shifts are fine." Gavin insisted. He slowed to a stop and shifted his weight awkwardly. "I might put a bit of distance between us for a while, Penelope, but I care about you too much to just cut ties... I'm still going to be your friend and I'm still going to help you, even if it takes me some time to adjust to that."

Penelope gave him a half-hearted smile, warmed by his words. Of course she couldn't expect him to be the same as always after finally accepting that she was with Crow but she was glad to hear that he still wished to be friends. His loyalty was admirable and reminded her of why she had originally settled for Gavin before reuniting with Crow. Perhaps if she had never met Crow, she would have been content marrying the male knight. "Thank you, Gavin.." she reached out and placed a hand on his arm comfortingly. "One day you'll meet someone who will love you better than I ever could. I'm sure of it."

Gavin looked down at her and gave a sad smile. "I suppose.." he shrugged and took a step back from her as her tent camp into view. "Good night, Penelope."

"Good night Gavin." she said before turning and heading off to her tent. Though things would be changing between her and Gavin, she felt like a small weight had been lifted off of her shoulders knowing that he had accepted her being with Crow and was still willing to be her friend at the end of the day. Penelope eagerly laid down for the night and soon fell asleep, finally getting some much needed rest.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Ok c:

Oh dang xD that's funny lol
Thanks! :D

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Very true xD
Makes sense cx Penelope grew up with Layth so even though he's a jerk she at least still feels attached to him as family lol

Sorry it took me forever to reply! I had a long day at work and they have me training for Floral so it's been busy lately cx but I'm finally getting a promotion so that's fun

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope was glad that to see Crow relax slightly at her efforts. She returned his smile with a small one of her own and nodded her head in agreement. Though the knight spoke confidently, she wasn't actually so certain she'd be able to convince her barons. It would be difficult enough just because she was currently on thin ice with them, adding her brother to the mix of that likely wouldn't go over well. Afterall, she didn't doubt that he would give in to her wanting control over the matters that involved Crow when he clearly had a grudge against him.

As Crow spoke up again and advised her to get some rest, Penelope hesitated. She was tired, it had been a long day and the sleep she did manage to get was only a small amount. However, the knight wanted to stay with him longer, both because of everything that happened and because she was worried about the other knights, especially her brother, might do once they learned he was awake. She shifted slightly, reluctant to agree.

"You should go. I'll take over the first watch tonight so Jane won't go running to Layth looking for a guard." Olivia piped up from where she sat. The other female knight flashed a grin and leaned back on the palm of her hands. "I slept most of the day anyways."

"And I can take the morning one." Gavin agreed as he slowly rose up to his feet to leave. "Hopefully if they think you already put together a guard, they won't fight you too much on stopping Layth from changing it to his."

"Alright, thank you." Penelope finally relented with a grateful nod to her friends. She looked back to Crow and gave him a small smile. She leaned down and touched a brief kiss to his lips before pulling back. "I love you and I'll see you sometime tomorrow." The knight gave his hand a soft squeeze before reluctantly letting go and stepping away from him to follow Gavin out of the tent.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Oh dang they will xD Penelope's going to be like 'why does this feel so familiar?' lol

Penelope noticed cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope shifted uneasily at Gavin's words. They hadn't set up a strict guard schedule for the thief yet, mainly because they figured he was still unconscious. Once word of him being awake got around, she was certain that the barons would want to assign guards to him and the fact that Layth was already getting some together was concerning. She could already guess that she wouldn't approve of his choices, knowing they'd only put Crow at further risk.

She tuned back into the conversation as she noticed Crow growing more irritable. She glanced down at the chain as he gave it one more tug. The knight frowned and took his hand in hers. "I'd take them off for you if I could but I'm sure that wouldn't go over well... I don't even know who put them on, actually." she admitted with a glance towards Gavin. He had been with Crow when they first arrived to camp so she assumed that he knew where the chains had come from.

"I put them on because Jane insisted on him being chained up." Gavin informed her with a small shrug. "It's part of how I got her to agree to treat him in the first place... I think she put the key in one of her book somewhere."

"Good to know." Penelope sighed then looked back down at Crow. She knew the thief didn't like feeling so trapped and guessed that his attitude had taken a dip because he seemed to be getting more constricted as time went on. Wanting to offer him a bit of comfort, she gave him a reassuring smile and rubbed her thumb comfortingly over the back of his hand. "I'll prevent Layth from getting his way somehow. I'll try to convince my barons that dealing with you until they figure out what to do should be my duty since I was the one who brought you here in the first place. They might not like that I worked with you but they saw positive results so hopefully I can use that fact to my advantage."

She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Then you'll just be stuck with me, these two—if they agree," she said with a hopeful glance towards Olivia and Gavin. After they both gave her nods of agreement, she relaxed, glad that they would be willing to pick up a couple guard shifts with Crow. She didn't like having to drag them in further to this mess with her but she didn't have many other options. Looking back to Croww, she went on, "and maybe a few others that I believe will be easy enough for you to deal with."