BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope gave a small mumbled of agreement, picking up on the hint of uncertainty in his voice. She didn't feel much more confident. The knight was just holding onto the hope that if she got Mia to agree with her about needing the war to end, she would see reason in letting her return to the castle. After all, it'd be easier for her to push for the war's end if she was able to speak to the king directly rather than writing letters that might go unanswered.

As Crow broke the short silence that had fallen over them, she frowned at his suggestion and shook her head. She wished it could be that simple. Avoiding the barons would be easy but now that she was going to remain a noble, she couldn't just abandon her battalion in the middle of a war. It wouldn't be wise of her and would only make things difficult upon her return to the castle if Mia started sending letters requesting her return. "I can't do that. I might need their help convincing your father to end the war still and if Mia starts asking for me to return to the battlefront, it certainly won't go over well." she explained with a sigh.

"Plus if I want a job as a castle guard while I'm back, I need to get Mia's written permission. Otherwise Tybalt doesn't plan on giving me any work." she explained. The knight gave him an apologetic look. "I know it's not the best situation but hopefully Mia will let me leave.. I'm going to try and see if she'd be willing to have Gavin replace me. If she is, it might be a bit easier to convince her to let me leave." Penelope gave a small shrug and shifted her gaze to the ground as she felt a bit of uncertainty bubble inside her.

"Even if she doesn't, maybe I won't even be gone that long if we're able to get your father to end the war." she mumbled a bit weakly. Though she was trying to be optimistic, she knew that even if the king did decide to seek a peaceful resolution to the war, it would still take a month or two at the very least. And that's only if the kingdoms came to a fast agreement. There was a high possibility that negotiations would take a great deal of time. If she wasn't able to convince Mia, it was likely that she'd be separated from him for much longer than she'd like to admit.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Oh boy xD

Me too cx

Yeah. I figure much wouldn't change for them until like the end of the war probably lol I could even see her returning home first and then randomly deciding that she wants to be with him instead. Plus if Crow keeps in contact with them, Olivia could use him as a way to get back to Alistair.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

"I guess so." Penelope mused in quiet agreement. The thought of trying to act how they had been before they had gotten into a relationship and putting distance between each other was bit off putting to say the least. Even back then it hadn't taken long for her to fall for him so attempting to act like they weren't close didn't sound very easy. It wasn't like she could just behave as his guard anymore—a façade she had grown rather used to playing around other nobles—so figuring out how to act around him after he rose to nobility would be a bit tricky.

As he turned to her with an eager grin, she raised an eyebrow curiously as he seemed to have a plan in mind. She smiled a little as he mentioned that they'd likely be able to wind up near each other if she stuck around Naida. The knight was already planning to catch up with her friend anyways so being able to be around Crow as well would just be an added bonus. "That could work out pretty well." she mused and then cringed a little as he mentioned spending time with Naida would likely look strange to others.

"Yeah.. I'm not sure how you can avoid those." she mumbled, shaking her head. She looked over at him and offered a small smile. "At least if we keep meeting through Naida, we can probably start meeting alone after a little while." Penelope paused for a moment, her smile faded a bit as another concern came to mind. She let out a sigh and crossed her arms. "Although.. All of this depends if I can get Mia's approval to even leave the warfront." she pointed out, frowning a little at the thought.

It was unclear when the war would end and if the king would take her suggestion. If Mia insisted on her staying, that meant that she wouldn't be able to push for the end of the war directly to the king. It also meant that she'd be apart from Crow and there was no telling for how long. Since he was giving up so much for her, she also wanted to be there for him during this big change. The thought that she might not be able to be there for him or push for the war's end caused her quite a bit of worry. "Hopefully she'll understand.."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Definitely xD
I'm planning to introduce him sometime when they return from the outer villages and then after that he'll probably just pop up every once in a while to try and make a move until their officially courting cx he'll probably tone it down quite a bit then lol just enough so he can try to weasel his way in if they break it off xD

Cedric's pretty scummy so I imagine it'll be interesting lol

That's another reason I think Gavin will want to help them out xD He'll just want to get Cedric away from her lol since I'm thinking by then he'll be mostly over her and starting to develop feelings for Beatrix when they meet

Also I've been meaning to ask, but where do you see Alistair and Olivia's relationship going?? I imagine they're in for a rocky time since she's been lying to him about Crow lol plus I don't see her as quick to leave behind her noble life like Penelope since she's reluctant to get into anything serious anyways xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope nodded in agreement as he mentioned being glad that his father bought his excuse. It had worked out quite well for them since it was a buyable excuse for her to go with him without raising suspicion from anyone... Aside, perhaps, William. The thought of coming across the older knight upon their return wasn't an enjoyable one. Though, she supposed that one day soon enough it wouldn't matter what he thought since they'd eventually be officially courting.

As he spoke up again, she was pulled from her thoughts and looked over at Crow before sweeping her gaze briefly over nearby nobles who were gawking at the sight of the free thief. "Yeah.. I think it's going to be quite a while before that goes away unfortunately." she mumbled with a soft sigh. As he mentioned being careful, she nodded her head and frowned a little as she thought about it. Once they returned to the castle, he'd have no need for a 'guard' and they'd likely have very little excuse to hang around each other as much. If she acted too friendly towards him right away, she was rather certain people would catch onto their closeness.

"No kidding... In fact, I'm guessing we're going to have to put quite a bit of distance between us." she admitted as she glanced over at him with a half-hearted smile. "At least, if we're planning to keep to keep this a secret while the dust settles a little. With William and how much we've been around each other anyways, I imagine people will be able to piece together something going on between us if we don't." Penelope shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to be acquaintances for a little while." She shot him a playful wink. "Maybe we can even be friends if we get along well enough. I can't say for sure though."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I could see that xD they're really going to burst her bubble lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope gave a small nod of agreement to Crow's words. She looked up at him and returned his smile. "Me too." she mumbled softly before focusing her gaze back ahead as they reached the front gate. The knight quietly eyed the nearby guards as they waited for the gate to be opened. For a moment, she thought they would fight against them like the two before but luckily, it seemed they would let them pass without argument. She relaxed as the gates were opened and they were allowed to leave the castle.

She looked over at Crow as he spoke up again and gave a small grin at his words. "I know what you mean...I thought this would be my last trip to the inner kingdom." she shook her head as she thought about all that had happened after they had left the warfront. From meeting with Toreus and her mother to reaching the castle and Crow accepting the job, it was all still a lot to take in. All of it was rather unbelievable to the knight who had never thought meeting her mother was possible nor that she'd ever have an opportunity to keep both her life as a knight and Crow.

"It feels like a dream that's just destroying everything I thought I knew or had planned." she gave a soft chuckle and turned to look over at him with a warm smile. "Although, it certainly hasn't been bad... Just a bit crazy." Penelope shrugged her shoulders and shifted to walk a little closer to him. She wished she could take his hand in hers but since they were still in the inner kingdom, it'd be practically asking to get caught. While eventually they'd be public about their relationship, it'd be wiser to wait until sometime after he officially took the title of viceroy.

"At least this trip will give us a bit of time before everything really changes." she mused thinking about the ceremony that would occur once he returned to the castle. Penelope glanced up at the thief and smirked. "Plus I'm quite looking forward to traveling alone with you. Especially since I don't think we've had this much time alone together since Younis."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Oh nice xD It'll definitely be interesting in seeing how everyone reacts lol
I think Penelope would struggle with figuring out what the hell was going on XD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope grew a bit tense as she noticed Marden place his hand on the hilt of his sword. She was growing a bit annoyed with these two guards as they continued to refuse to let Crow leave. The knight was just about to argue with them again when a new voice caught her attention. She blinked and turned her head to see that the king appeared. After taking a quick second to register his sudden appearance, she bowed as well before straightening back up and listening as he spoke to Crow.

As he held out the piece of paper, she studied it curiously. Hearing it was the king's written consent for Crow's journey made her feel a little more at ease. They hadn't even made it out of the castle without facing some kind of resistance so she was already certain that the written notice would come in handy. Especially since she planned to visit her battalion during their stay in the outer villages. She was rather certain they would be questioning what the king wanted from the thief and while she wasn't sure how much she was willing to tell them yet, she knew that she couldn't lie and say he was in prison. He'd be ascending to nobility soon enough so she doubted it'd be wise to completely lie.

Once the king left, she turned back to face the other two guards, who were rather clearly displeased with how the situation had turned out. She gave them a small shrug as Crow flaunted the paper he had been given and then shifted her gaze over to Crow before giving a small nod. "Right. We'll be off then." she said with a faint smirk at the two guards. While she didn't want to make them any more upset about the situation, she did find it a bit satisfying that they were unable to get in their way anymore. She dipped her head to the two and followed Crow out of the castle.

Penelope walked alongside him, still noting the less than friendly looks he was getting. It was much worse than the previous days now that he was able to leave the castle. She couldn't even begin to imagine how they would react to when it was announced that Crow would be taking the position of viceroy if they were already this upset about him being allowed to leave. Trying to merely ignore the looks, she focused her gaze ahead as they made their way out of castle walls. "I have a feeling that paper's going to be quite useful in the coming days." she mumbled with a glance at Crow. "At least it means we won't have to constantly argue with every stubborn knight that tries to stop you."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yep xD
William's going to be in his own personal hell with all of that lol

I figured cx I think it could be funny if she even tries to set them up together before she finds out they're already together lol