BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope hesitated at Crow's question about Gavin. The male knight had been improving his lying skills thanks to having to work with her and Crow but he still wasn't the best at it. After all, there was a big difference between lying to some drunk villagers and lying to an experienced knight. John was a sharp man, if Gavin couldn't lie well enough, he'd likely pick up on something being off between them.

"He's been getting better at lying but..." she paused and shifted her weight slightly. "but I don't know if it'll be enough to fool my father." The knight let out a small sigh as she thought over the situation. Though lying was their best option, it would be difficult to pull off with Gavin. "It can't be too bad though.. I mean, as long as I'm around him and my father, I can help him lie just fine. I'm sure my father will spend most of his time with my brother and uncle anyways. As long as they aren't together for too long, it shouldn't be too difficult."

Suddenly paling, Penelope froze. She let out a groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Crap.. I might have already screwed this over." she muttered as she realized her possibly fatal mistake. Looking back to Crow, she frowned ashamedly. "When my father finished speaking to you, I left Gavin in charge of getting him settled in our camo. I was so focused on getting in here to speak with you I didn't even think twice about leaving them together."

The knight raked hand through her hair nervously. "Oh gods I hope my father didn't ask him anything about our courtship."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It's going to be so awkward for them XD

Penelope forgot she never explained why she was being courted by Gavin in the first place ^^;

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope shifted her gaze away from him as he recommended her and Gavin acting as if they were still courting. Though the male knight had already offered to play along with her, she was still reluctant to do so. It felt wrong both because it'd nearly feel like she wasn't being faithful to Crow and also due to Gavin still handling his own feelings. However, the more she thought over the situation, the more it seemed to be their best option. Even if John only learned she wasn't courting Gavin, there was still the risk of him forcing her into that courtship if not into a new one completely.

"If you're certain," she mumbled with reluctance. "I might have to do that then... Even if he just found out about me breaking off the courtship, I don't think it'd go over well. He was already speaking as if he was going to try and take away my job as a knight again after learning I was nearly killed." The knight shook her head, feeling her small flash of annoyance return as she recalled her father's disappointment. If he took her rank away like he had before, there was much more at risk. She shuddered at the thought of him forcing her off the front lines and to return to the inner kingdom just so he could force her into a marriage.

Penelope paused, realizing that her likely had no idea what she meant by that since she hadn't told him about the short period of time when she had been stripped of her job as a knight."I never mentioned it before since I didn't think it really mattered before but, a short time after I returned from trying to hunt down the staff wit William, my father returned to the inner kingdom and was furious with me... He heard about my injury and how I went out to hunt the staff again despite the danger. He thought I was getting too reckless, too careless, to be a knight." she shifted her gaze away from him to glare at the ground.

"He made me step down from being a knight because of that... I was forced to learn how to be a proper noblewoman." she snorted and the fire died from her gaze a bit as she recalled that time where she hadn't been a knight. It had been a rather bleak point in her life. After losing Crow, losing her job too had been a heavy hit. It had felt like she had no control over her life and had been the one time that she had nearly abandoned everything to find him again. After all, if she couldn't protect her family—which was one of the main reasons she had given him up—why would she bother to stick around.

"It wasn't a fun time... But Mia got me out of it. In the end, my father agreed to let me serve under her as a lieutenant but only if i was being courted for marriage. Which is how I ended up getting courted by Gavin." Penelope explained as she shifted her gaze back over to him. She frowned and leaned down to rest her head against his, subconsciously seeking comfort in his touch. "I just hope fooling him about Gavin courting me will be enough to keep him from doing something like that again."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Makes sense xD
Penelope's a little worried about having to sneak around her father lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope gave a small nod as he mentioned that he was unsure about the the situation. It was all quite shocking to her as well. From what she knew, she would have never expected the king of all people to reach out to the thief. Not to mention that she had just been focused on trying to prevent the barons from deciding on cutting off his hands when her father appeared out of nowhere to speak with Crow. It seemed that they had somehow gotten out of one mess only by getting wrapped up in another one.

As he gave her a curious look, she blinked in surprise as he mentioned her father knowing that Crow and Albin were related. "I don't.. I never told him anything about you." she replied. "Perhaps your father told him before he sent him to get you?" The knight paused then shook her head. "Actually I doubt that.. My father, though loyal, is not very fond of the king and I think the feeling is mutual." Surely the king wouldn't give away such sensitive information to a man that was more of an enemy than a friend. Or perhaps he told him because he was involved with a peasant woman as well.. she wondered if her own existence might have been enough for Albin to relay such information to John.

"He probably just put two and two together." Penelope mused, deciding that was likely the more reasonable explanation. Being sent on an assignment to speak with the most infamous thief in the kingdom added to Crow's slight resemblance to the king, her father had probably come to that conclusion on his own. She gave an uncertain shrug and then let out a heavy sigh.

"Of all the knights for the king to send, it had to be my father, huh?" she muttered with a hint of bitterness. She shook her head and gave a small frown. "It's going to be difficult sneaking around him until we figure this out... Especially since he thinks I'm still being courted by Gavin."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope's just wants to buy him time lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope listened as Crow began to explain that this wasn't the first time his father had reached out to him. The king must have gotten impatient waiting for a response, which was a bit concerning to her as she wondered exactly what Albin wanted to speak with Crow about. She supposed Gavin had been right in pointing out that it at least seemed like the king didn't want him dead. She gave his hand a comforting squeeze and gazed down at him concernedly as he admitted he wasn't sure what to do.

The knight was quiet for a moment, weighing out the options laid in front of him. She leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to his cheek. "I think you should accept the offer." she told him as she pulled back to met his gaze. "Accepting the offer will at least buy you time to heal and potentially give us enough time to figure a way out of this mess if you decide you don't want to face him." It seemed like the better option in her opinion. The only issue was that even if he did heal and they managed to figure out a way for him to escape, her father would likely be committed to hunting him down. The thought made her shudder. It'd be difficult to interfere with John's hunt for him and if they went back to sneaking out for meetings, there was a chance he'd find them together.

However, she was willing to take on the challenge so long as that meant Crow would be safe. The meeting had not been going in his favor. Perhaps if there was more time, Mia could have convinced the other barons of choosing a different fate for him but since she was eager to reach a conclusion, Penelope didn't doubt that Mia would likely cave this time. She shook her head and brushed a strand of his hair back as she looked down at him. "Whatever you do decide, I'll do whatever I can to help you." she promised softly.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope doesn't know what problem to focus on anymore XD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

A short moment after John disappeared into the tent, Gavin stepped out. Penelope met his gaze and for a brief period, neither of them said anything to each other as the male knight seemed quite shocked by her father's sudden appearance as well. He finally seemed to break out of his shock and stepped over to her with an urgent look in his gaze.

"Penelope, what.. what's going on? Your father's here and he said something about a mission from the king? Do you know anything about this?" he asked keeping his voice low and he searched her gaze.

"No of course not. He doesn't tell me anything!" Penelope said, raking a hand nervously through her hair. "He just showed up with the supplies from what I heard... He came into our meeting asking about Crow and I have no idea what the king even wants from him.. Though I'm not sure my father really knows either."

Gavin pursed his lips together and glanced over his shoulder towards the tent. His gaze lingered there for a moment before shifting to look back at her. "He must want him alive at least... If your father was here to kill him, he would have just told the barons to do it." he told her softly, noticing the panic that was seeping into her voice.

"Maybe." she mumbled with uncertainty.

"Also," he frowned and shifted his weight awkwardly. "what are you going to tell him about us? We aren't courting anymore and if he hangs around long enough, he's going to realize that eventually.."

Penelope stiffened as he brought up another concern. Though it wasn't as big as her concern for her father's plans with Crow, it was still a problem. She wasn't sure how her father would react to learn that she had chosen to end her courtship with Gavin but she doubted it would be good. He'd likely try to force her back into it and if Gavin didn't allow him to, John might just try to marry her off as soon as he could to the next eligible candidate. There was also a chance he'd remove her from being a knight all together. None of the outcomes would be good and Penelope shuddered at the thought of them.

"I.. I don't know." she admitted with a frown. "No matter what I do, it won't go over well."

"I won't let him push you into a courtship with me but.. I don't think I can help much more than that." Gavin sighed shifting his gaze off to the side. He paused and shifted his weight. "...Actually.. there is one other thing I could do. Or rather we can do."

"What?" she asked him.

"Not many here know that we even stopped courting... We could still act like we're courting until your father leaves." Gavin suggested.

"I can't ask you to do that, Gavin. Especially after all that's happened." Penelope mumbled lowering her gaze.

"I'm well aware of where your heart lies Penelope...And I know now that I can't reach it." Gavin muttered. "Just think about it. It might be your best option right now." His gaze flicked back over to the tent as the flap shifted and John stepped out again. The male knight dipped his head to the older man and shifted a bit closer to Penelope.

"You can go back inside now, Gavin. Thank you." John told him.

"Actually, I should be taking Gavin off. His shift has already been long enough because of the meeting I was at." Penelope spoke up as she took a step towards the tent. She had been planning to take the day shift anyways but even more so than that, she wanted to speak with Crow to ask him what was happening. John eyed her for a moment and she offered a small smile as she looked to Gavin. "Perhaps you can help get my father settled in first though.. How long are you going to be staying with us anyways?"

"I'm not sure yet." John admitted.

"We better get you a tent set up. I imagine you're tired from the long journey anyways." Gavin said respectfully. He shot once last glance at Penelope before turning to lead the way. "I'll help you with that, sir."

Penelope watched the two begin to walk off. She worried about what her father would ask Gavin and how the male knight would respond. However, she had no control over that now so she pushed those worries aside and headed into the as her attention focused on Crow. She felt a small hint of relief at seeing him again and wasted no time in hurrying over to his bedside. "Gods I have no idea what's happening right now." she breathed as she looked down at him concernedly. "What in the hell did my father speak to you about?"

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

HE'S HERE Penelope's struggling to keep up with everything that's happening XD