BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

When they walked inside, she briefly swept her gaze over the tables in a feeble attempt to get a glimpse of Crow. However, if he was already there, she didn't manage to spot him as she turned to follow the others over to an empty table that Jonathan had spotted. The four lieutenants had settled in at one of the empty tables in the Great Hall .Doran, the less patient of them, had wasted no time in flagging down a servant. Josef, the quiet lieutenant, sat silently besides him eying the table with a blank expression until Jonathan spoke up.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" Jonathan asked. Curiosity entered the man's gaze and he looked over at Penelope expectantly.

"Well, the reason I wanted to speak with you is because I'm hoping to bring a faster and less bloody end to this war." Penelope began, sitting up a bit straighter as all of them focused on her. "That's the reason I'm not at the front right now. I'm here to try and convince the king to seek a peaceful end to this war. Which is why I need as much support as I can get and why I wanted to speak with you."

"So you want us to just give up the war?" Doran growled. "Younis will not defeat us."

"I don't just mean we roll over to them." Penelope said carefully, pausing as their food arrived. "I merely think that if the king communicated with the king of Younis, they'd be able to work out terms of peace." Noticing Doran's nose wrinkle at the suggestion, she let out a sigh. "Look, this war has been going on for over a year and there had been little to no progress made on either side. And clearly it isn't going that well, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"No one has truly gained the upper hand during this whole year." Josef agreed softly.

Jonathan looked over at her and gave a half hearted smile. "At this point, it's just who runs out of the funds faster. Winning will just mean we have slightly more resources than them... And that's even if we win." he nodded glancing between his two comrades before his gaze settled back on Penelope, who was looking at him in mild surprise. It was the first time she hadn't had to explain her complete reasoning to someone. Even Mia had been hesitant about siding with her.

"I've been thinking about this myself." Jonathan shrugged. "I'm a new, untrained lieutenant though so I figured I wouldn't be able to do much about it." He smiled. "But if you're doing this Penelope, you have my support."

"You're both spineless quitters." Doran growled at the two of them before the knight could thank Jonathan. "I'll never support this and I'm sure the king won't either."

"It's what's best for this kingdom, Doran. This war will bleed us dry and there won't be any winners." Jonathan stated firmly.

Penelope nodded her head in eager agreement and shifted her gaze over to Josef, who had yet to voice any opinion on the matter. "Well what do you think, Josef?" she asked hopefully.

The timid man blinked as he was suddenly addressed and shifted slightly in his seat, poking at his food. "I think... it might be a good option t-to consider.. Things aren't going too well at the warfront otherwise we wouldn't be here... and it sounds like it's not just our battalion either." he rambled softly.

Doran snorted and shook his head before turning to focus on his food. "Ridiculous. My baron will never agree to this... And I'll make sure yours don't either." he said narrowed eyes at the other two. With that, he turned and began to eat his food, tuning out of their conversation.

Jonathan sighed and then looked over at Penelope. "Just tell me what I can do to help." he said with a shrug.

The knight nodded and began to eat her breakfast, falling into a more casual conversation with Jonathan. The two caught up a bit as they enjoyed their meal and planned to meet for dinner, in hopes of talking more on her plan to end the war. Having not expected to have such full support from one of the lieutenants, Penelope was admittedly quite excited, especially since Jonathan was familiar with barons and other nobles that she wasn't. His father was a high ranking officer after all so it only made sense that his son knew quite a bit of higher ranking nobles.

Upon finishing her food, she said a quick word of goodbye to the three lieutenants and then got up to head off to her guard shift, glancing furtively around the Great Hall for Crow as she made her way out of the room.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I love Preston xD

Also for reference, Jonathan's the guy who had to wear the dress before lol I was planning to bring him back at some point and decided to just throw him in there haha he probably won't make another appearance for quite a while so I'll hold off on making a CS for him

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope headed to her room and was quick to get into bed. However, it took her quite a while to fall asleep. The knight was tired but she was also still a bit worried about the Fischbach's and their plans. She assumed she had forced them to act carefully but perhaps the baron would be willing to risk losing favor with the king if it meant getting Crow out of the way. The thought made her cringe slightly. She hoped Crow would be able to put her advice to work quickly.

Eventually the knight drifted off to sleep, having unsettling dreams about the nobles against the thief.

---

The next morning the knight woke up early as planned, both due to having a decent internal clock and because of the dreams she had been having. Eager to track down the lieutenants, she changed into a new pair of clothes and slipped on her armor before heading off to find the one person she was certain would know where they were located: Tybalt. The captain of the guard monitored any guests that arrived and was responsible for having rooms fixed for visiting knights. Plus he'd also know if they had left or not.

She headed out of her room and asked around to figure out where the captain was located. Luckily it didn't take too long for a guard to tell her that he was out in the training field, supervising the training of young knights. Heading out that way, she located him off to the side, standing with his arms crossed as he watched the squires practice. As she drew closer, his gaze finally flickered away from the squires and landed on her.

"Need something Vermillion?" he asked with his usual gruffness.

"Yes actually." Penelope dipped her head. "I was wondering if you knew anything about the southwestern lieutenants that were visiting the king? Are they still here?"

"They are. I believe they're set to leave tomorrow though. Why do you ask?"

"I just need to talk with them about warfront stuff." Penelope said dismissively. She looked hopefully over at the captain. "Do you happen to know where I could find them?"

Tybalt shifted his gaze away from her to watching the sparring once again. "They're on the second floor, third corridor, very end. If they've already left their room for the day, I can't help you there."

"Thank you." Penelope said gratefully before hurrying off once more. Since she wasn't quite sure who the lieutenants were, she was hoping to catch them at their room. Otherwise, it'd be all too possible for her to accidentally miss the group. Fortunately, it seemed that luck was on her side that day. As the knight walked down the corridor, she didn't even reach the room when the door open and the three lieutenants stepped out. She had made it just in time and was even more surprised to see a slightly familiar face amongst them.

"Well, well ,well if it isn't Penelope Vermillion." the man at the front gave a small smile. He was around her age with light brown hair and pale eyes. Despite being from the warfront, he was well groomed, though she supposed that might have been because he had been at the castle for a couple of days now.

"Jonathan Bur, I didn't know you became a lieutenant." Penelope smirked as she came to stop in front of the three. Jonathan had been a knight she had trained with in the very early days of her career. Of course, back then they hadn't been on the best of terms. The two had been rivals, constantly competing in missions and other such. Plus, in her opinion, Jonathan had been quite a spoiled brat in the past. However, the two had buried the hatchet a year back when they crossed paths before the war. Though she didn't quite consider him any more than an acquaintance, there were no longer any harsh feelings between the two.

"It was a last minute promotion.." Jonathan said, a hint of sadness seeping into his and the other lieutenant's gazes. "But here I am."

"Well, it's good to see you again." Penelope mused politely before glancing at the other two lieutenants. Off handedly, the knight noted that they were both around their ages as well and had a tiredness in their gaze. One stood with a bit more confidence while the other kept to himself and avoided eye contact. She shifted her gaze onto Jonathan.

"So what are you doing here? Do you need to strategize with the king as well?" he asked curiously.

"No. I'm on a temporary leave from the front. And I was actually looking for you three." Penelope said with a hopeful glance between the lieutenants. "I was hoping to discuss the war."

"Well we can do it over breakfast. I don't like all this standing around." grumbled one of the lieutenants impatiently. He didn't wait for an answer and began to lead the way to the Great Hall. The quieter lieutenant glanced between the two before turning and quickly following. Penelope exchanged a glance with Jonathan, who merely shrugged his shoulders, before following after them at the back of the group besides her former rival.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Nice cx

Penelope realized there's probably gonna be a big downside to that plan though lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope smiled a little as Crow seemed to accept her idea. She was rather certain it would work though, even if it wasn't the most enjoyable thing to do. After all, if those nobles thought they had Crow's favor—and there for the king's as well—they'd likely be resistant against any other noble trying to push him out of the seat. It wasn't absolute loyalty or friendship but at least it was some sort of barrier between him and those that wished him out of the castle.

On the downside, it likely meant she'd be seeing even less of him. If he was going to fit in with those nobles, he was going to have to spend some of his already limited free time with them. The thought was rather disheartening to the knight as they had already been struggling to find time together as it was. "That's likely." she mused in agreement with a small smirk. "I'm sure you won't have much trouble with them. They'll be too excited at the prospect of earning favor with the king to focus on much else."

Noticing he had finished his supper and having told him all she needed to, the knight let out a sigh. "I better get going. I've gotta wake up early tomorrow to try and find those lieutenants you mentioned." she slowly rose up to her feet and gave him a half hearted look. "Hopefully I'll see you soon. Good luck with the nobles until then."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope basically told him to start using people to his advantage xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope frowned a little as Crow's worry didn't lessen with her words. "They might but I doubt many, if any, will help them. They might not like you but working to get rid of you would be dangerous for them, especially if there wasn't much for them to gain out of it. The only reason this baron is so hellbent on it is because he wants his son in your position." she pointed out calmly.

In her opinion, it was a valid reason for many nobles not to turn on him. They all wanted the king's favor after all and it was risky business to try and undermine such a decision. It also reminded her that some nobles had even tried to win some favor by support the thief, even if it had been fake. "Plus, there's always ways to secure your place a little more firmly... You might not like it though." she said with a half smile.

"Do you remember any of the nobles that congratulated you after your ceremony?" she asked with a soft sigh. She wasn't fond of her own idea but it'd possibly help fend off the Fischbach's and other such power-hungry nobles. "I'd recommend getting to know them. They're after the favor you have with the king. Truly they're leeches but in this case you can at least use them to your advantage. Right now you're only hanging around Naida, me and your servant. If you start hanging around them too, you'll start truly assimilating into noble life. In other words, it'll be harder for anyone to touch you. Discreet or not."

Penelope shrugged her shoulders and offered a small smirk. "They're willing to use you so might as well use them in return. It's politics at its finest. Plus it'll give up a chance to really put those etiquette lessons to work."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Poor Crow xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope hesitated at his words before shaking her head. "No. I don't think you should." she shifted a bit. "There's no real evidence against them yet aside from my own interaction with them and I don't think it'd be hard for them to lie their way out of that type of situation... Not to mention, they'd probably have the support of quite a few other nobles, who'd probably be quicker to defend them rather than me or you."

The knight placed a hand on his arm and gave him a reassuring look. "But I wouldn't worry too much about them doing anything drastic." she told him.

"Why do you say that?" the servant piped up looking over at her curiously.

Reminded of his close presence, she quickly removed her hand from Crow's arm and looked over at the servant, giving a small smirk. "Well, I made it rather clear I didn't support whatever plans they had and then I offered them a deal. Support for the war ending in exchange for me not mentioning to the king what they had tried to pull during our meeting." she explained with a shrug and glanced over at Crow. "Once I refused to work with them, they turned on me rather quick, threatening to drag me and my family down once they rose up. So basically, they know I'm watching them now and they know I won't always remain quiet if they try something else."

The knight leaned her elbows on the table and smiled half-heartedly. "So if they do try something, it's going to have to be discreet."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It should be interesting xD
Adam will be trying to throw both of them under the bus as much as possible lol Alden's definitely not the main scumbag so he'll just go along with whatever his father wants XD