BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope gave a small nod at her father's words and moved to search around the small library in the room as the four of them spread out to search for the jewels. It wasn't long before she heard Preston speak up and turned to look over as the attendant revealed the jewels. She blinked and moved to rejoin the others as they all stepped over to the servant. She listened as Crow explained how poor of a hiding spot it was and where he would have chose to stash them had he actually done it.

Her gaze shifted onto the pendant that Crow held up and she eyed it thoughtfully. "I'm not sure... We have to clear your name somehow but... finding these in here certain isn't going to help, even if we know it wasn't you that took them." she sighed.

"Not to mention you're lacking an alibi for the time you skipped out on your lesson." John muttered with a hint of bitterness as he eyed Crow and Penelope. However, with a glance towards Preston, he quickly focused his gaze solely on the jewelry. The older knight crossed his arms over his chest. "I have an idea.. It'll either work flawlessly or get us all in trouble though."

"What is it?" Penelope frowned.

"Well, I doubt we can prove that it's this Adam who framed him. The king's looking to solve this misunderstanding quickly and I have a feeling trying to find out if any of the guards on the third floor saw him at that time will open up another issue." he pointed out with a glance at Penelope, who shifted under her father's gaze. "So," he continued. "we'll have to settle for second best which is just clearing your name. Which we can do by claiming to find nothing in your room."

The older knight paused and let out a sigh. "However we have to get those jewels out of here somehow and the three of us are expected to meet with the king and those affected soon, so that leaves you." John's stern gaze fell on Preston. He eyed the boy. "All you have to do is hide that jewelry on you and get off of this level... Do you think you can manage that?"

"Even if he can, what will he do with the jewelry?" Penelope spoke up before Preston could answer. While it seemed like a solid plan, she was also worried where that would leave the attendant.

"For now, he just needs to keep a hold onto it... Eventually we'll need to figure out a way to sneak it all back into the rooms of the owners." John explained. He knitted his brow and then glanced at Crow. "As risky as it may be, we'll likely need your help for that part."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yeah I was thinking that too cx
John didn't bother to wait to go through Crow's stuff lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope looked over at Crow as she reached the top of the staircase along with the two men. She looked over at Crow and casted a subtle frown before shifting her gaze onto the king as he went on to give a very brief explanation. As he addressed her and her father, she dipped her head as well to the king before shifting her gaze back over to Crow as he left. For a moment, she remained quiet unsure what to say, especially with other guards nearby.

His gaze glance briefly over the nearby guard that was still smirking confidently before shifting his gaze onto Crow. "Both of you, follow me." John commanded after a brief pause. He turned and began to lead the way to the viceroy's room.

Penelope sighed and moved to walk besides Crow. "It's probably best if we talk behind closed doors... Plus the king wants us to search your room." she muttered to him. She fell quiet after that as the three arrived at the room. John opened the door to allow them in first and stepped in behind them, pausing as his gaze fell upon Preston. He eyed the servant for a moment, clearly toying with the idea of sending him away, but seemed to decide against it as he instead focused his gaze on Crow and Penelope.

"Alright would some like to explain what the hell is going on? Why do you think he's being framed?" John demanded.

Penelope blinked as she was addressed and shifted uneasily. "Well... I'm certain it's that one baron that was yelling at Tybalt. A couple days ago he tried to get information out of me about Crow so that he'd have an idea on how to get him out of the position of viceroy." she looked over at Crow and frowned. "He was the main person accusing you today. I'm sure he's behind this mess... The king doesn't know it was him but he suspects you're being framed at least."

"Great." John sighed. He paused and glanced around the room with a narrowed gaze. Without any further explanation, he began to search around the room, heading to the desk first and filtering through the drawers. Penelope looked over at her father in mild surprise. He had seemed to believe her so she was confused why he was still bothering to search through Crow's things. John seemed to sense her gaze but didn't bother to stop what he was doing. "This Adam knew you missed your lesson the other day and he wanted them to search your room. I wouldn't be surprising if the missing things are in here somewhere."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I figured Albin would be trying to find a way to please the nobles and build up Crow's defense xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope followed her father as he lead the way to Tybalt's side. The captain tensed as they neared, likely assuming they were just there to get through him as well. However, as the two positioned themselves to help block the outraged nobles from the staircase, he relaxed again and gave them an appreciative nod. John returned the nod before focusing his gaze on the crowd. "Regardless of what he did or did not do, it would be wise of you to all calm down and let the King and guards handle this. Your items will be tracked down and returned as soon as possible." John claimed.

Adam clenched his jaw and shifted his gaze onto Penelope, glaring at her coldly. She returned the look with a glare of her own and held her head a little higher. It was clear that the baron didn't like her getting involved in these matters and that made her all the more certain he was behind the missing items.

"If we let you handle it, he'll get away with it and we'll never get our items back! You failed to even stop him from taking them in the first place." Adam pointed out with a growl.

John eyed him for a moment before shifting his gaze on to the crowd. "I'd also advise you all to return to your rooms to check for these belongings... It's very likely they could have just been misplaced."

"Thank you, Vermillion. But I'm sure these people have already searched high and low for their belongings." came a new voice from the stairs. Penelope turned her head to see that the king had appeared with a guard. The guard hurried over to Tybalt, dipping his head to his superior and muttering something to him that she couldn't make out. Whatever it was, Tybalt gave a nod of approval in response. She shifted her gaze back over to the king as he frowned slightly at the crowd, who had now gone quiet at the appearance of their king.

"Now then, I understand your frustration, especially given his history," the king went on. "but this must be handled civilly. Does anyone have any evidence that it was him?"

There was a silence before one of the nobles took a step forward. "He's the only new face at the castle.. And certainly the only one with a criminal history." he pointed out. "That should be evidence enough."

"That and I heard he was missing all day yesterday." Adam chimed in now with his gaze focused on the king. His words made Penelope tense slightly. The knight wanted to speak out in protest but knowing it'd only get her and Crow caught, she held her tongue for now. "I'm sure that gave him plenty of time to sneak around the castle." Fueled by the barons words, the crowd chorused in agreement.

The king waved his hand for them to settle back down. "I'll have this looked into immediately. To those who are missing something, please step forward." he watched as Adam and two other nobles took a step forward then turned to Tybalt. "Please send a guard to accompany them to get a full report on each missing item. After that is done, have them all report to the throne room."

"Of course, your majesty." Tybalt dipped his head and began to turn to the two Vermillions.

"Not those two." the king suddenly spoke up again as his gaze landed on both John and Penelope. "I'd like the Vermillions to come with me."

John glanced at Penelope before looking back to the king and dipping his head. The king shifted his gaze out onto the remaining crowd. "This matter will be settled quickly but only between those affected and my guards. I'd advise the rest of you to relax for now until a judgement is made." he explained then paused before turning to Tybalt and adding. "For now, no one is allowed on the third floor except for servants, my guards and the nobles whose items are missing. Make sure everyone is made aware of this."

Once Tybalt nodded understandingly, the king gestured for John and Penelope to follow him up the staircase. Penelope felt her heart begin to beat anxiously as she wondered why the king had chosen them to accompany him. She figured they must be going to address Crow but why had he chosen two guards instead of just one?

"I need you two to speak with my viceroy on this matter and... one of you search his room." the king muttered quietly as he walked up the stairs slowly.

"You think he did it?" John asked in a hushed tone, narrowing his eyes at the king.

"Well, do you?"

John paused and glanced at Penelope before looking back to the king. "No. I believe someone might be framing him."

"It's hard to say but regardless, it wouldn't shock me if they were. Which is exactly why I need someone with that mentality to speak with him and search his room without jumping to conclusions... I expect both of you are capable of doing that?" the king glanced between them.

Penelope blinked and glanced towards her father who gave a firm nod. "Of course." he muttered.

"Good." the king said approvingly before falling quiet as they neared the top of the stairs.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Why yea, yes he is xD

Penelope woke up to something else that's also worrying lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The next morning Penelope woke up to the sound of the door opening. She squinted her eyes slightly but still felt sleepy. Deciding the nose wasn't anything to be concerned about, she closed her eyes again and began to drift off to sleep. It was still early and the knight wanted to get just a bit more sleep in while she could. Unfortunately, it seemed that whoever had entered the room had other plans as they stopped at her side.

"Penelope get up, now." John commanded in a serious tone. "There's something going on that you should probably look into."

The knight frowned and turned away from her father, clutching her blanket tightly around herself. "Can't it wait.. I won't sleep that much longer." she mumbled tiredly, without opening her eyes.

She heard him pause before grumbling impatiently, "Not unless you're fine with Lockton ending up in a cell."

This time his words caught her full attention and she flipped over on her back so she could sit up. Rubbing her eyes, she looked over at her father and knitted her brows in both concern and confusion. "What are you talking about?" she questioned. Penelope didn't understand what he meant by saying Crow could end up in a cell. it wasn't like he had done anything wrong. However, a moment later, she paled as she recalled how he had skipped his lesson the day before. Had the king heard about it and reacted harshly? Suddenly her drowsiness vanished as her heart began to race anxiously. "Oh gods what did the king do? Is it because he missed the lesson yesterday? Oh gods.."

John raised an eyebrow at her and paused before shaking his head. "I don't know what you're going on about...What's this about a missed lesson? What happened yesterday?" he narrowed his gaze.

Penelope blinked and shifted uncomfortably. "W-Well the storm was bad yesterday and you know how I get during that kinda weather...s-so he stuck around with me on my guard shift." she explained. She felt her cheeks heat up embarrassedly as irritation entered her father's gaze and she quickly held up her hands. "N-Nothing happened though. Like I said we've been keeping a distance so he just comforted me until the storm died down."

"I see." John grumbled. He let out a long sigh and shook his head. "Well, I don't know anything about that but there's something else to worry about. A couple nobles freaked out this morning when they found a few of their things missing. Namely some of their gold and jewelry... They're rather certain it's Lockton."

"What?" Penelope frowned. "He wouldn't do that now. Not when he hasn't even been here for a full week."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure." she sighed.

"Then you better come with me. They're already demanding that Tybalt have his room searched for their items." John said shaking his head. Penelope hurried to slip her boots on and moved to join her father as he headed for the door. Once she had joined him, John turned and began to lead her off in the direction of the Great Hall, where she guessed the nobles must have been badgering Tybalt.

I just don't know who else would take their things. No one saw anyone sneaking around the castle... I suppose we should investigate the staff." John muttered as he glanced around.

As he went on to mention how he was unsure of who would steal within the castle, the knight gave a small shrug. "I don't know but I'm certain it wasn't him no matter what they're saying...." she paused and eyed her father as she recalled Adam and Alden. "Speaking of which, exactly which nobles came forward about this? I have a feeling this might just be a setup..." she muttered warily to her father.

Before he could answer, the two snapped their gazes forward as angry voices sounded from ahead. "You need to do something about this! He's stolen from three of us!" Adam growled as he stared down the captain of the guard. A chorus of support came from the few other nobles around him that were starting to look nearly like an angry mob in the knight's opinion. However, in their way, stood the lone Tybalt, who admittedly impressed the knight as he remained unflinchingly in their path, blocking them from the stairs.

"I've sent a guard to speak with the king about this situation. However, there is no evidence connecting Collin to these cases. I will not act on the suspicions of paranoid people." Tybalt explained in his usual gruff manner. "I'd advise you all to calm down and let the guards figure this out properly."

Penelope exchanged a glance with her father as upset arguments erupted from the group of nobles. It seemed they were all rather certain Crow was responsible for the missing items. However, from what she had overheard, only three of them had actually been stolen from so that meant the others there had just jumped on the first chance to accuse the former thief. She eyed Adam with a hint of coldness in her gaze. Whatever was going on, she was rather certain he and his son had something to do with it.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Poor Crow xD

He's trying to earn as much of her trust as quickly as possible lol
unfortunately for him, it wasn't one of his better tries cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As the two knights stepped into the Great Hall, Penelope did quick sweep of the room and quickly spotted the male lieutenant sitting alone at one of the tables. He looked up from a paper he was holding in his hand and gave her a small wave that she returned. Followed by Cedric, she headed over to the table and sat down across from Jonathan while Cedric moved to sit down at her right.

"Hey Penelope." Jonathan dipped his head to her then glanced over at Cedric. He eyed the man for a moment, seeming a bit confused by the two sitting together, before nodding to him as well. "Cedric."

"Jonathan." Cedric nodded back in a formal fashion.

Penelope studied the two with a hint of curiosity. While she could guess why Jonathan was confused upon seeing the two together due to their past, there seemed to be a hint of tension coming from Cedric that the female knight didn't understand. As far as she knew, the two knights hadn't had any bad blood between them but then again, she hadn't seen either of them in quite a long time so perhaps she had missed something. Regardless, she wasn't interested in asking and focused her gaze back on Jonathan.

"So what else did you want to discuss?" she asked curiously.

"Oh right. Well during my free time today, I wrote you up a list of high ranking nobles I know, barons on the warfront mainly." the lieutenant explained as he slid the piece of paper over to her. He offered her a half smile. "I'd write to them myself but I don't think my family name is quite enough. Feel free to include that I was the one that suggested reaching out to them but I think you'll do a better job of convincing them than I would."

"That's probably true." Cedric mused, casting Penelope a smile. "You've earned yourself a pretty respectable title and knowing how determined you get, I'm sure you could win any of them over."

Jonathan glanced at him before looking back to Penelope. "Anyways... I've marked which ones with a star that'll likely give you a tough time so just make sure you layout a good argument for them especially."

Penelope studied the piece of paper with interest. There were only about seven names on the list but they were all names of people she had never met before and had no prior connections to. Along with the stars and location of where to send the letters, she noticed that Jonathan had also written in the rankings of each noble. Most were barons like he had said but she also noted that there were a couple dukes on the list as well. With access to more people than before, the knight felt a grin spread over her face, completely ignoring the compliment that Cedric had given her.

"This is great, Jonathan. Thank you so much." Penelope said looking over gratefully at the male knight.

Jonathan gave her a small nod and let out a long sigh. "Anything to end the war." he mused.

Cedric seemed like he had something to add but before he got the chance to their food was served. For a brief moment, the three fell into a silence as they began to eat their meals. Eventually though, Cedric spoke up.

"So Jonathan, when did you become a lieutenant? Last I checked you were just a footsoldier no?" Cedric asked curiously.

The male lieutenant paused in his eat and lowered his gaze. "I was..But about a month back the lieutenant under baron Piri was killed in battle. Piri wanted to replace him right away and chose me to take over." he explained with a shrug.

"So that's what you meant by not having the position for that long." Penelope mused with a small frown.

"I'm sorry to hear." Cedric sighed. "But congratulations on your new position."

Jonathan just shrugged his shoulders again and poked at his food. "So Penelope, how long are you staying at the castle?"

"For a couple months, if not more." she responded, not questioning the change of topic. "My baroness permitted the leave so long as I make progress on convincing the king by the end of the second month."

"Well at the rate you're going, I'm sure you'll probably succeed." Cedric mused casually.

"I hope so but I still have yet to receive any letters of support aside from my own baroness." Penelope pointed out.

"You'll have more coming soon, I'll make sure of it." Jonathan stated with unexpected confidence.

The three continued to eat their meal in peace. Cedric ended up having to rush through his as he realized that he was going to be late for his guard shift if he stuck around much longer. He said a quick goodbye to the two before hurrying off and leaving them alone. A silence fell over the two lieutenants until Jonathan finally spoke up, eying her with a critical gaze.

"So you're courting him again?" he asked with a small snort.

Penelope coughed and looked over at him with wide eyes. "What? No, I'm not."

"Then why's he hanging around you like that?"

"He says he's trying to make up for the past." she shrugged. Penelope eyed the other lieutenant. "I see you're just as nosy as I remember."

"I'm merely curious. I'd hate to be watching the same story play out again is all." Jonathan grunted. "It'd be annoying."

"Well rest at ease." Penelope rolled her eyes. "I've learned from the past."

"I would hope so."

"I see you're also still an ass too."

"Only when something's annoying me and he was annoying me." Jonathan smirked, tilting his head up in an arrogant manner.

Penelope rolled her eyes and continued to converse with him until she finished her meal. She said a word of farewell to him and wished him luck on his return to the warfront. Parting ways, the knight made her way to her room where she settled in for the night, feeling quite worn out due to the poor weather they had had.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Can't wait cx

meanwhile Cedric's back again lol