BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Having been sleeping rather lightly, Penelope stirred as she felt push a strand of her hair back. The knight slowly opened her eyes just in time to feel him press a kiss to her cheek. She looked up at the thief and smiled softly, glad that he had managed to slip over to her while her father slept. His presence was a welcomed surprise. Though, she supposed she shouldn't have been too surprised that he had gotten out of the chain her father had used.

"Just a little." she whispered jokingly with a small smirk. Penelope paused and carefully shifted to sit up on the bed. The faint creaking that her movement caused made her tensen up. During a rather quiet moment, the creaking seemed much louder to her than it probably actually was. So as she sat up, her gaze darted over to her father, studying him to make sure he was still fast asleep. Luckily, it seemed that the sounds hadn't disturbed his slumber in the slightest.

She relaxed again focused back on Crow. Feeling another small burst of joy to finally have him at her side after everything, she wrapped her arms around him and pressed a tender kiss to his lips. After a brief moment, she pulled back and met his gaze. "Alright so maybe more than just a little." She smiled at him and touched a playful kiss to his nose. However,her gaze drifted past him over to where her father was resting and the playfulness seeped out of her expression. Her smile faded as she let out a sigh, giving a troubled look.

"This is a real mess now, isn't it?" she mumbled on a serious note as she looked back to Crow.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope's really not happy about that XD

it's going to be real awkward for John when he realizes he's wrong lmao

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As they finally reached the inn and headed to their room, Penelope let out a quiet sigh as John wasted no time in directing Crow where to sleep. She frowned a little as she watched her father chain him up to the bed post. He was clearly quite determined to keep them apart. His opposition to their relationship was far stronger than any other person who had discovered them. It left a bit of a bitter taste in her mouth as people continued to disapprove of them being together.

Her attention shifted back to her father as he commanded her to take up the bed on the other side of the room. "Fine." she muttered before turning and walking over to set her bag down besides the bed. She removed her armor to get ready to lay down and stretched out her back. Her gaze wandered over the room as she watched her father—satisfied with his efforts to keep them apart—move to take up the middle bed for the night.

Her green eyes eventually rested on Crow for a moment. With her father's back to her, she casted him soft look before turning away from him to lay down on the bed. "Good night." she said quietly. She figured it was the most she'd be able to get away with saying to the thief at the moment and even then, she couldn't directly say it to him. Feeling upset and frustrated, she threw her blanket over herself and closed her eyes tightly, hoping to fall asleep quickly. Part of her wanted this cursed journey to be over with already while another part of her dreaded what would happen once they reached the inner kingdom. She let out a shaky sigh and turned to attempt to get comfortable. After a bit of laying in silence, the knight finally managed to drift off into a light sleep.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope kept trying to poke the bear it only got her more trouble xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope moved to walk back towards the clearing, shuddering slightly at her father's words. The knight couldn't imagine being tossed into yet another arrange marriage. In all honesty, she had gotten lucky with Gavin, even if she hadn't loved him like she loved Crow. He had been kind and trustworthy, someone who had developed into a close friend. There was no telling what the next man would be like, especially if her father was more focused on simply marrying her off as soon as possible so she couldn't be with Crow.

Negative emotions swirled inside of her as she thought about the situation she was currently in. She wrapped her arms around herself casting glance of longing towards Crow, wishing she could go over to him. The knight strongly desired to speak with him and merely reassure both him, as well as herself, that they'd figure out this new—and rather upsetting—situation. However, she didn't want to chance how her father would react to her attempting to get close to him again, especially while he was still fuming from finding them together. So, instead, the knight lowered her gaze to the ground and silently picked up her bag before moving to trail after John as he began to lead them onward towards Wellspring.

After a small bit of walking, she noticed her father continued to stick close to her, as well as often eyed to see where Crow was. Penelope bit her lip as she thought about his intentions to marry her off. It was going to be much more difficult to get out of it now that he knew about her relationship with Crow. Marriage was quite unpleasant to think about when it wasn't to the man she loved. Still desperate to change his mind and having yet to think of any other solution, the knight decided to give talking to her father another go, hoping that he had settled enough to hear her out.

"Gavin thinks he's a good man, you know... It's one of the reasons why he was willing to cover for us." Penelope muttered as she looked over at her father.

"He's a fool for falling for such tricks then." John replied without looking at her.

"Father, he took a sword for me. Do you really think that was a trick? He nearly died." Penelope argued. "What could he possibly gain from risking his life for me?"

"Who knows." John snorted. He paused then shook his head. "Perhaps he cares for you but that doesn't change the fact of him ruining your life, Penelope."

Penelope hesitated before going on in a quieter voice, "Just like yours was ruined by my mother?" A small spark of challenge as well as anger entered her gaze as she studied her father. The knight had been hoping that out of anyone, her own father would be able to understand that social status mattered practically nothing when you loved someone. However, instead she was starting to feel a bit hurt as he acted just like any other disapproving noble would. It was beginning to make her question if her theory of him loving her mother had ever been remotely right. Perhaps he regretted her just as much as any other member of her family.

The thought stung more than she expected. The pain fueled her frustration and she glared at her father. "Is that why you won't tell me anything about her? Do you resent her that much?"

John grew tense again and avoided looking at her. "Drop it. I'm not discussing this." he muttered.

"No. Answer me." Penelope pushed, narrowing her gaze at him. "If you so badly think I'm doing something I'm going to regret, then prove it. Tell me you wished you never met her." She then gestured to herself. "Tell me about your biggest mistake."

John clenched his jaw and suddenly turned on her. "My biggest mistake is ever letting you be a knight." he growled. "You'll be stripped of that too if you keep trying to compare the past to the present, do you understand me?" Fury burned in his gaze but with it there was a small hint of sorrow. Penelope noticed it but had no idea what to make of it. It could have been sorrowful regret or perhaps lingering pain over a lost love. Regardless, he hadn't given her any information that she was hoping for and instead, she was putting her job at risk as well now. Unwilling to try and test him any further, she merely gave a nod and lapsed into a defeated silence, staring at the ground as she continued walking.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope tried to make things better but John's too pissed to listen xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope frowned as her father compared Crow to Albin. She knew that wouldn't go over well with the thief and sure enough, she watched as Crow responded angrily. The knight began to reach for him, a bit instinctively, as she wanted to calm him down as well as reassure him. However, she wasn't able to as John gave her a sharp tug. Her attention turned back to him and she dug her heels into the ground defiantly. Though she was afraid of what her father might do now that he knew about her and Crow, she wasn't going to fold to him easily.

"Just let me explain, please." she begged with a hint of desperation. "He's not like whatever you think he is. If you'd just listen to me first you'd see—"

"I've seen his type plenty. I don't need to hear whatever lies he's been feeding you." John glared at her. "I'm not going to let you throw your life away just because you're infatuated with this criminal. You're making a mistake and one day, you'll thank me for stopping this."

Penelope pursed her lips together and met his gaze challengingly. "Is that what my mother was to you? A mistake? I bet your father said something similar when you left to be with her right?" Her words struck a cord with John as she noticed her father suddenly freeze. A bit of anger faded from his face as he nearly looked shaken by her bringing up the past. For a brief moment, she felt hope rise in her that she might have gotten through to him. Unfortunately, all it did was make John eye her guardedly.

"Enough. It's not the same." he insisted sharply. He pulled her in front of him and let go of her wrist. "When we get to the inner kingdom, you will marry the first proper nobleman I can find. And as for you," he whirled to turn to Crow with a cold look his eyes. "keep your distance. I don't care who's bastard you are, I won't let you disgrace my daughter any further."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yeah it's not going well xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow's obstinance was not well received to say the least. If anything, it only seemed to anger John even further. "Why you-" John raised his sword to strike. "You think I can't? Do you really think you're that important?" He moved to swipe at Crow with his weapon but the attack didn't come close. Instead, the sound of metal clashing filled the air as Penelope had quickly drawn her own weapon to block the attack. The female knight met her father's gaze with a fearful look as he glared down at her.

"I won't let you hurt him." she stated firmly despite the panic she was feeling.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" John growled and narrowed his gaze at her. "What are you even doing with this thief! You're supposed to be courting Gavin."

Penelope lowered her sword as she moved to get further between them. At his words, she shifted uneasily, unsure how her father was going to take the truth. "I know..but..but Gavin isn't the one I love." she told him, shaking her head.

"And this-this criminal is?" he spat. He paused for a brief moment and then narrowed his gaze at Penelope. "Does Gavin know about this?" As Penelope hesitated to answer the question, John seemed to figure out the answer for himself. He clenched his jaw and shook his head. "This is madness." he growled. He lowered his sword and took a step towards Penelope, grabbing her by the wrist to pull her away from Crow. His gaze shifted over to the thief.

"I see you bare more than just a physical resemblance to your father." John narrowed his eyes accusingly. "Stay the hell away from my daughter. Whatever little manipulative romance you thought you had going on here, is done!"

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

shit hit the fan fast xD