BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

"See it looks great!"

Penelope eyed herself in the large mirror that was located in Naida's room. The princess was grinning over her shoulder, already dressed in the lovely purple dress, while she helped lace up the back of her dress. Turned out it was a bit more complicated than she had anticipated and had to take up Naida's offer to help. It was one of the reasons Penelope often held a bit of a preference for lower class dresses. They tended to be simpler in design and easier to move around in. Though being a noble meant that she couldn't get away with wearing them to such festivities.

"Thanks. It's a lovely dress.. I just wish it didn't feel so constricting." she sighed as she shifted her arms around.

"Tell me about." Naida chuckled as she finished tying her friend's dress and moved to stands besides her. "Why some women choose to wear this stuff every single day is beyond me. I'll take armor over this any day." The princess shrugged her shoulders and then winked at her friend. "Although it's a sure fire way to impress people."

Penelope smiled and rolled her eyes. "I suppose so if that's something you're looking to do." The knight paused and smoothed out her dress for a moment as her mind wandered to Crow. The time was near for the ceremony now and she couldn't help but wonder how the thief was doing. She shifted a bit and then glanced over at Naida, who had stepped away to begin brushing out her hair. "So what do you think the king is putting your brother through before his ceremony?" she asked with an air of casualness as she moved to sit down on the bed.

"Probably cleaning him up mainly." Naida replied with shrug. She looked over at Penelope and beamed eagerly at her. "He'll look like a real nobleman when you see him next him sure." Her smile turned into a mischievous smirk. "I'll bet you'll be impressed."

Penelope blinked at Naida's words and then hurriedly rolled her eyes as she realized she hesitated to reply. "Yeah well, we'll see." she mumbled. The knight was sure she would likely be a bit more than just impressed. After all she was already smitten with the thief as he was, any change to that was merely an addition. Of course, she couldn't tell any of that to Naida. Clearing her throat, she stood back up and smoothed out her dress. "Anyways, we better get going soon."

"Right. I have to meet up with my siblings but I'll be sure to find you as soon as I can after the ceremony." Naida smiled as she set her brush down.

"Guess I'll see you later then. And thanks again for the dress. I owe you one." Penelope smiled back before heading to the door. She said a brief farewell to Naida and headed off to gather with the other nobles for the ceremony. She felt a bubble of excitement as well as anxiousness stir inside her as she traveled down the corridor.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Preston's basically going to be in charge of time management xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope traveled down the corridor to where Naida's room was located. Admittedly, the knight felt a bit strange visiting the princess so casually. It was silly but now knowing her friend carried such a title was still a bit intimidating to the knight. She had to remind herself that the title didn't make Naida any different. She was still the same knight that Penelope had befriend. With that in mind, she came to a stop in front of the door and knocked.

It was a short time before the door finally opened and Naida peaked her head out. Her gaze was narrowed but her features immediately brightened as she realized it was Penelope at her door. "Oh good it's you! I thought the servants were here to insist on dressing me again." she said with a sigh of relief. Grinning, Naida swung the door open and waved for the knight to enter. "Come on in!"

"Thanks." Penelope gave a small chuckle and stepped into the room. She swept her gaze over the bedroom. A large, fluffy bed was at the center but clearly had yet to be made, a desk and chair sat in one corner, and there was a large closet off to one side that was filled with various articles of clothing. Though the room had quite a few luxuries, it was also quite simple and most of it was decorated rather plainly without any riches on display. It was Naida's room so it made sense to her as she knew the princess wasn't one to bask in the life of a noble, let alone a royal.

"So have you already picked out what dress you're wearing?" Penelope asked as she stepped further into the room and then turned to look over at Naida, who was still wearing her regular clothing.

"Well my mother got me some extravagant yellow dress but honestly I think it's an eyesore." Naida shook her head and stepped over to the closet. Shifting through a few of the items—it was a mix between high quality looking dresses and the clothing she'd wear underneath her armor—she pulled out a rather pretty, deep purple dress. It was plain in design but the material it was made of quietly shined of luxury. "I'll probably just wear this one. It's simple." she mused with a shrug then looked over at Penelope. "What do you which one do you want to wear? Feel free to choose any of them!"

"Oh I don't know." Penelope admitted with a shrug as she hesitantly stepped over to the closet. She shifted a couple dresses around and gave a small smile. "Honestly, I'm good with anything. I can just take something that's old that you don't use anymore."

Naida rolled her eyes. "Nonsense! I barely wear these dresses anyways since I'm usually working as a guard so there's no reason to feel bad about wearing any of them... Let's see.." She paused looking over the clothing before grinning and pulling out a dark green dress. "Here! How about this one? I think it'll good on you."

Penelope blinked and looked over the dress. It was rather pretty. The dress was a solid emerald green made out of what seemed to be a rather silky material. It was certainly a bit more loud than the purple one that Naida had picked out but the knight saw no reason to say no. After all, what she was wearing was the last concern on her mind about this ceremony. "It's really nice. If you really don't mind then, I'll wear it." she nodded as she accepted the dress from her friend.

"Of course I don't." Naida smiled. She studied Penelope and the dress for a brief moment before turning to step away from the closet. She laid her dress on the bed and glanced over at Penelope. "Just tell me if you need any help tying it! The strings on that one are kind of a mess sometimes." she grinned. "The ceremony is soon so we better start getting ready."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Same xD it should be interesting lol

Once Crow's in a better mood, Preston's going to have a pretty easy job for the most part lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

There certainly was a perk to being a female knight and that was the bathhouse for noblewomen. Though she might not have been as high ranking as most that used it, she didn't exactly have many options. Lower ranking knights often used tubs and worked together in heating up water and cleaning up in one of the rooms in the barrack. Of course, the number of female knights was low so that place was pretty much only for male knights. Which gave the few low ranking female knights access to the woman's bathhouse even if they weren't exactly as high up as others that used it.

She undressed and set her clothing down at one empty corner of the pool, cringing as she heard a small gasp sound from nearby. The only downside were the occasional stares she received from gossiping noblewomen who weren't used to seeing such scars like the large one she had on her torso on women. Penelope rolled her eyes and stepped into the pool, relaxing at the warmth of the water. She glanced over at a group of women nearby. Most of them seemed to be ignoring her aside from one who casted her a look of pity.

Penelope turned her head away from them as she felt a stab of annoyance. Her scars didn't particularly bother her—many knights had them after all—so she certainly didn't need the pity of this woman. Focusing on getting herself clean, she grabbed her soapy cloth and began to scrub herself down. The knight worked effectively and felt rather refreshed now that she was clean again. Stepping out of the water, she dried herself off with a towel and rang out her drenched hair as much as she could before slipping back into her clothing.

The knight relaxed as she walked back down the corridor of the castle, heading in the direction of the great hall as she debated if she should go find Naida. Off handedly, she wondered how Crow was faring. She wasn't exactly sure what they had planned for him that day but assumed that the king was keeping him busy with preparations. Penelope let out a small sigh, wishing she was able to go to his side. The thief had seemed so stressed the night before and she wanted to be there for him. Unfortunately, it seemed she had to settle for supporting him from afar for a while.

Realizing she had let herself wander a bit aimlessly due to being caught up in her thoughts, the knight decided to try and find Naida. It might have been a bit early to get ready but at the very least she could spend that time in the company of her friend. Spotting a servant with the royal crest heading down the hallway, she moved over to approach the younger looking girl as she carried a small basket of clothing.

"Ah, excuse me. Sorry to interrupt you but do you happen to know where Naida Mannering is?" Penelope asked her.

The servant blinked. "You mean the princess? I believe she's in her room right now."

"And... where is that?" Penelope asked bashfully. Noticing the servant hesitate, she let out a small sigh. "I'm supposed to meet up with her before the ceremony that's happening later today."

"O-Of course.. It's on the third level down the right hallway. Second door on the left ma'am." she explained timidly.

"Thank you." Penelope dipped her head gratefully and then headed off to the staircase, beginning to head up to Naida's room. It still felt strange to think of her friend as the princess but she supposed it was just something she'd have to get used to.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Decided it was time for Cedric to make his appearance cx Penelope's really too trusting lol

Poor guys haha

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The next morning Penelope didn't bother with trying to wake up early. The knight was tired and it wasn't like she had much to do anyways. She still had to speak with Tybalt but she was sure that wouldn't take more than a few minutes and she'd eventually have to get ready for the ceremony in the afternoon but again, she figured that wouldn't take too long. Although she supposed she'd better make sure she had enough time to take a simple bath. With all the long walking and working, even the knight had to admit she was getting a bit grimy. Normally she wouldn't pay much mind to it—especially since it was getting cold out—but since she'd be borrowing a dress from Naida, she'd feel bad if she wasn't at least somewhat clean.

She let out a sigh as the room grew a bit brighter as sunlight filtered in from the window. Though it was already late into the morning, she was still reluctant to get up. She stretched and rubbed her eyes before eventually forcing herself to rise and put on her boots. She didn't bother to put on her armor since she wouldn't be working but did take her sword with her. Heading out of the room, she grab a quick breakfast at the great hall, enjoying a bit of alone time. Afterwards, she began her search for Tybalt, which ended up being rather easy as she found him near the main entrance of the castle speaking with another knight.

"Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt but I-" the knight slowed to a stop as the face of the guard came into view and she shifted uneasily.

"Well, well.. I heard you were back. It's good to see you again, Penelope." Cedric gave her a warm smile.

It was a bit shocking to suddenly run into him and to have him even address her. After their messy split years ago, neither bothered to speak if and when they ever did cross paths. Luckily it hadn't been very often anyways. She could barely even recall the last time she had seen him. It had likely been about a year since they had crossed paths. Normally, seeing him always struck her with a hint of angry and pain but this time it was more annoyance than anything. After all, she had Crow now and whatever she had felt for Cedric was nothing compared to what she felt for the thief.

However, that didn't mean she was going to be friendly with him.

Penelope eyed him as he addressed her then focused her gaze back on Tybalt as she held out the letter from Mia. "I have a letter from my baroness that approves of my stay here for two months at the least. If you're able to fit me in, I'd like to start picking up guard shifts again." she explained.

Tybalt took the letter and read it over before giving a nod of approval. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, sir." she dipped her head.

"I'll be going then, Cedric." Tybalt gave a small nod before he dipped his head to the two and then walked off.

Penelope was quick to turn to leave, not wanting to stick around Cedric for any longer than she had to. "Ah, Penelope, wait a second." She was just about to leave when he spoke up and caught her by the wrist. The unexpected touch made the female knight bristle and she turned to face him, eying him warily. She didn't like how he was making an effort to try and speak with her. She much preferred when he would ignore her the same as she would ignore him.

"What is it?" she asked impatiently as she shook his hand off of her wrist.

"So... you're going to be back here for two months?" he asked a bit shyly.

Penelope crossed her arms over her chest. "That's the plan." she responded bluntly. "I thought you quit being a castle guard sometime ago. What are you doing here?"

"I did but I decided to come back. Working in Everton wasn't really the best decision I made." Cedric shrugged. He shuffled his feet and took a small step towards her. "Look, Penelope I'm really sorry about the past. I was an ass back then—"

"Yeah no kidding." Penelope interrupted with a scoffed.

Cedric frowned. "And I owe you more than just a simple apology but if you can forgive me, I'd like to be your friend."

Penelope studied him with a distrusting gaze. It was hard to tell if this man was being genuine or just playing at an angle that she had yet to figure out. Part of her was far from willing to trust him, knowing that it'd be quite the risk. However, her mind went to Crow. The thief had seemed convinced he had wronged someone in the past due to being young and foolish. Perhaps Cedric wasn't any different. If he truly did regret it, she saw no reason in holding such a grudge against him. Besides, it wasn't like he had ruined her life. The knight let out a sigh, perhaps she should be a bit more forgiving.

"I'll think about it." she muttered.

"I guess I can't ask for more than that." Cedric smiled and nodded his head. "Thank you."

She gave a faint nod. "I have stuff to take care of so I'll see you around, Cedric." she sighed and didn't wait for a reply as she turned and headed off to begin getting ready for the ceremony to come.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yeah xD

also very excited for this next part lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope glanced over at Crow as she finished her bite of food. The knight doubted anyone would be so bold as to attack the thief turned viceroy while he had the king's favor but she also didn't blame him for being paranoid about it. To be honest, she was a bit paranoid as well. She'd at least be able to get close to him through Naida but it'd be difficult for her to watch his back any more than that. If someone did attack, they'd likely resort to using mercenaries to keep from being tracked and there was a chance the guards would turn a blind eye to it. It certainly wasn't a comforting thought.

The knight was drawn out of her thoughts as Crow stood up. She looked over at him and gave a small nod of her head to him. "Goodnight." she said watching him go for a moment before finishing off her own dish of food. She was glad that she had gotten the opportunity to see him once more so soon, even if it was just for a short time. It made the knight hopeful that they'd be able to cross paths rather often.

She chatted with Naida for a bit longer, divulging into a couple stories from their time apart. She talked a bit about her and Gavin, dancing around the fact that she had left the other knight for Crow and chalking it up to her simply wishing to get out of the courtship due to lack of feelings for him. She informed her about how Olivia was doing, of course not mentioning her involvement with Alistair. It was nice to speak with her friend again after having so much time apart. Eventually though the knight felt her weariness begin to hit her heavily and she decided it was best to retire for the night.

"Alright, I better head to bed... I'm exhausted." Penelope yawned.

"I'm honestly surprised you stayed up this long anyways." Naida smirked. "'Night Penelope."

"Night." she nodded to her as she stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow."

With her parting words said, the knight turned and headed off to her quarters. Since her father was still working within the castle, they hadn't bothered to move them and it was something she was grateful for. The last thing she wanted was to go wandering around looking for her new room. She soon reached the room and stepped inside, letting another, larger yawn escape her as she stepped over to her bed. Taking off her armor and boots, the knight quickly hopped into bed. Despite having a bit of anxiousness over the coming day, she fell asleep almost instantly, worn down by the many days of travel as well as the extra time she spent up with Naida.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I could see that too xD don't know how well that'd really work for him though but definitely lol