BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope looked at him as he went on to say that he had made a decision. Her smile faded a bit as she took on a more serious expression as she waited to hear what he had decided. As he announced that he was going to see his father, she gave a small nod and wrapped her arms around him as he pulled her closer. She was a bit surprised that he had decided to see him, it wasn't like Crow was fond of him after what he had done to his mother and him, but she supposed it might be a good thing. He might get some kind of closure in meeting with his father, even if the man was arrogant and greedy.

"Don't be sorry. It's something you have to do." she assured him softly. She gave a small nod of agreement as he mentioned wishing she could come with him. The knight wished so too. Not only did she not want to part again, but she also just simply wanted to be there for him. He wouldn't have many friends in the inner kingdom and facing his father, who had turned his back to him until now, surely wouldn't be easy even if it was what he had decided on. Penelope ran her hand over his back as she held him close to herself as she thought over the situation for a moment.

Would it be that impossible for me to leave with him? Sure she had her responsibilities in camp but Tomas had been plenty capable of taking them over for her in the past. So long as she lied about her reasonings for wanting to leave, there was a chance she could convince Mia to let her leave the front for a short while. She was rather certain her father would agree easily, as he had been reluctant to even let her be there in the first place. Her heart began to beat a little excitedly by the thought of being able to leave with them.

"What if I could go with you?" she asked him, pulling back just enough to meet his gaze. "I know I can convince my father to let me accompany him. I'd just have to convince Mia and she has another older lieutenant who can probably take over my responsibilities here." The knight gave him a small smile. "If you want, I can try to go with you."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope's happy about that too lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope stepped into the tent and blinked in surprise as her gaze fell upon Crow, who was no longer laying in the bed. She knew he was supposed to be well enough to start walking on his own, if not at least getting close, but after seeing him bedridden for nearly three weeks, it still managed to surprise her to see him upright again. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, threatening a grin, but she was careful to sweep her gaze over the room first.

With her father usually guarding him and Jane treating him, she was worried that the two might still be lingering around. Luckily, both of them must have left before her arrival, which meant she'd be able to have a moment alone with him. Looking back to him, she grinned and wasted no time hurry over to him. It had been difficult for her to buy much alone time with him and she was often riddled with guilt when she did see him since it was usually with John and Gavin around to discuss wedding plans. However, such concerns were pushed aside as she was overjoyed to see the progress of his healing as well as just to get a moment alone with him in general.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to get up." she joked as she smiled up at him. The knight leaned up and pressed an affectionate kiss to his cheek. "It's good to see you on your feet again... And good timing too since I'll be taking over the guard shift while my father meets with the barons."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I went ahead and threw it in cx the two weeks weren't easy for Penelope xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The next two weeks or so didn't go very smoothly. Penelope and Gavin keep up their charade of courting, which was rather rocky. She still felt bad about having to get so friendly with her ex suitor, even if Crow approved of it for the plan, and Gavin was reluctant to try and push any boundaries. Luckily they didn't usually have to share more than a quick kiss to the cheek—except for one time when Gavin was growing overly tense from John asking him about the battle with Jaxon. Penelope had kissed him both to keep him from speaking too much on their involvement with Crow as well as hoping to trick her father into thinking she was grateful to still be with the male knight.

To make matters worse, most of the time they had to take up their act around Crow since John had taken over guarding the thief most days. It seemed that because of the king's assignment, her father saw the thief as his responsibility now and would only be taken off of guarding him on occasion. This meant it was difficult for her to get as much time alone with him as before. She occasionally went a couple days in a row without a guard shift and would usually use visiting her father as an excuse to at least check in on the thief each day. Therefore, Penelope spent most of her time helping the others prepare for the next battle, which would be approaching soon now that they had received their supplies.

The additional downside to that was John never backed down from speaking about her courtship with Gavin in front of Crow. She supposed it was a good sign, since he seemed oblivious to her relationship with the thief, but it always left the knight with a feeling of unease and discomfort of having to talk so seriously about marrying another man in front of the one she actually loved. It also made her worry about what would happen if the war didn't reach its end in time. It would be another challenge for her to get out of the marriage if it didn't.

The situation wasn't enjoyable for anyone... Except, perhaps, Olivia. Her friend seemed completely entertained by the spectacle of seeing them tiptoe around and trick her father. She often didn't hold back on teasing them about it, often making them tense by giving false warnings of John being nearby to make them get closer. Eventually she settled down some as they didn't fall for her tricks as much but still seemed to enjoy teasing them on occasion.

The one upside to the situation was that Crow was actually able to heal properly. John prevented any further harm and at times, Penelope nearly thought he was guarding him more so to make sure his own son didn't try to harm the thief further. Regardless, she was relieved to see him healing and even noticed that Jane seemed to take a bit better care of him due to John's interference. Penelope tried to keep up with his medicine the best she could but only having a small supply and only able to see him on occasion, her giving it to him was a bit spread out over the first week. With everything happening in camp, she didn't get the chance to visit the thieves again but did tell Olivia to inform Alistair that Crow was healing when she met him next.

Since he was finally able to heal though, that also meant that the day for her father to escort him to the castle was fast approaching. From what she heard, it would only be a couple days until they'd depart from their camp. She was growing a bit anxious, wondering what Crow had decided to do. If he still wanted to make an escape, she'd likely have to figure out a way to help him get out of the camp rather quickly.

Luckily she finally had a guard shift with him. Her father had decided to spend his evening in the company of the barons, to inform them of his coming departure as well as thanking them for their help during his stay. It gave Penelope the perfect opportunity to take over part of his night shift so she could finally speak to Crow after having been apart for a couple days now. Penelope picked up her pace slightly, finding herself eager to see him as well as a bit nervous to find out what would come next for the thief. Whether he chose to meet his father or escape from hers, it would certainly be a tricky situation.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Same xD John really screwed up everyone lol except for Olivia who's going to find this all hilarious lmao

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope gave a small nod as Crow explained the plan to act as if nothing had changed between them. She looked over at Gavin who hesitated to reply. He seemed to be a bit uncomfortable discussing this directly with Crow, even though it had been his suggestion to her as well. However, he nodded his head. "I think so." he replied, glancing at her before shifting his gaze back over to Crow. "It shouldn't be too difficult."

"As long as you can lie well enough, no... And don't hesitate in getting closer to me when he's around." Penelope advised, trying to give him some last minute pointers. She really hoped that Gavin would manage to fool her father like he said. He seemed confident enough but she worried that would fade once her father was around them. "We have to act like we did before."

"Right." Gavin said with a small sigh. He glanced over his shoulder again, tensing up slightly as he heard footsteps approaching. Figuring it must be John, he shifted closer to Penelope. Despite this, she noticed that he was still keeping a distance between them. While part of her appreciated his hesitation to make any advances towards her, it wouldn't be helpful if he continued to do that around her father. Assuming John was the one entering the tent, Penelope closed the distance between them, taking his hand in hers and turning her head to look up at him as if they had been conversing.

Luckily she had moved just fast enough as John stepped inside a mere second later. He eyed them for a moment before giving a small nod in greeting as he stepped over. "Everything alright in here?" he asked.

"Of course." Penelope said with a casual shrug, trying to ignore Gavin feeling a bit tense at her side. "There's not much the thief can do injured and chained up after all."

"I figured that myself but, I'm assuming quite a few probably feel better having him locked up and supervised." John mused with a glance towards Crow. He studied him for a moment before looking back to Penelope and Gavin. "I'm glad to see you two are still getting along well."

"There's no reason for us not to be." Gavin said offering a small smile as he glanced down at Penelope.

"Well, I wasn't sure.. You weren't really giving me very much information earlier." John pointed out.

"I'm sure Gavin was just shocked by your sudden appearance." Penelope replied with a glance at Gavin. "We all were."

John gave a small grunt before crossing his arms over his chest. "I'd like to discuss wedding plans at some point during my stay here by the way."

"W-Wedding plans?" Gavin blinked. Penelope's eyes widened and she felt her heart beat a bit nervously. Why was he bringing up wedding plans all of a sudden? He had no reason to rush their marriage.

Her father raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes... Is there something wrong with that?"

"It's just so out of the blue." Penelope frowned. "I thought we were waiting until after the war?"

"That was the plan." John admitted with a sigh. "But it's difficult to say when this war will end. I think we should start planning for it sooner before the war sets back your lives even more so. At least within the next year." His gaze narrowed at Penelope. "I'm assuming there won't be any issues with that right?"

"No." she responded quietly. While she was glad the marriage plans would be far off, it was still concerning that her father was trying to push for them before the definite end of the war. She prayed that the war would end soon to avoid that mess.

"Good." John said, pleased that his daughter didn't fight back against plans for her marriage. "Now then, you two can go relax. I'll be taking over the guard shift now."

"Thank you, sir." Gavin said respectfully dipping his head. The male knight paused and then pressed a brief kiss to her cheek. "Come on, Penelope. Let's go grab some supper." he mumbled as he took the lead to head out of the tent. Penelope merely nodded and casted one fleeting glance at Crow before looking back ahead as she followed Gavin. She felt a bit bad about having to act as if she was still with Gavin right in front of Crow but they didn't have any other choice. So she casted a subtle, apologetic look before disappearing out of the tent with her former suitor.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Honestly xD Gavin's kinda stressing out right now too lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope held his hand a bit more firmly in hers. As Crow attempted to try to be optimistic before assuming the worst, she just shook her head in disagreement at his words. The man was suppose to be her suitor after all, she was certain that her father would at least ask him a couple questions pertaining to the progress of their courtship. She hadn't even agreed to Gavin's offer to help her cover up their split yet.

"I hope you're right.." She mumbled with an unconvinced look. The knight let out a small groan, still mentally kicking herself for being so careless. "Gods this is a mess.." Penelope fell silent for a moment as she tried to figure out what to do. She wished she could have gone to interrupt Gavin's time alone with her father but that seemed to be impossible at the moment. She couldn't abandon her guard duty after all.

A small moment of silence fell over the knight until the sound of footsteps approaching broke her train of thought. Penelope blinked and hurriedly let go of Crow's hand as she stepped away from him. She grew a bit tense as the flap of the tent shifted, unsure who it would be at this time. Fortunately, for now, it was just Gavin. The male knight glanced over his shoulder before looking towards the two with a hint of stress in his expression.

"Your father's speaking with Edward right now but he's going to come here soon... I think he plans to take over your guard shift." Gavin explained. He glanced between Crow and her. "Please tell me you two have some sort of idea on how to handle this situation. I've been doing my best to give him vague answers about our courtship but I don't think they're enough for him."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Me too xD