BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It wasn't long before some servants returned with their dishes. They both said a word of thanks before beginning to eat their food. Cedric seemed a bit hungry so their conversation died down for a short moment. Penelope chewed a bite of food, beginning to lose herself to her thoughts. The knight was already thinking about who had likely voiced support and who had likely sent her an argument. She expected that her uncle would likely ignore her or write that he didn't approve of her idea. Bennett was a bit of a wild card but she tried to remain hopeful that Mia, or even Nina, had been able to convince the baron to offer his support.

She barely had time to think over the other nobles that had written when her gaze shifted onto Crow, who seemed to be looking for an empty table. The viceroy seemed to be missing her as he searched for a table. That or perhaps it was due to the company she had. Penelope glanced at Cedric then back to Crow, raising her hand slightly to wave to him. Unlike how Naida usually flagged him down, she kept the wave small as she was unsure if he hadn't spotted her or was avoiding the table. Not wanting to risk him merely missing her, the knight figured it was best to at least try to catch his eye if he hadn't

Cedric noticed her wave and turned his head to look over towards Crow. He studied the viceroy for a moment before looking back over Penelope with an unreadable expression. "You seem fond of him." he suddenly mused casually.

Penelope blinked and pulled her gaze away from Crow to look across at the male knight. "I suppose I've become used to his company. Between work and Naida, I mean." she replied with a shrug, trying to act nonchalant.

"Right.." Cedric said looking over her. "Your friend seemed to act like it was something more the other day."

Damn it Naida.. Penelope groaned inwardly. Usually the most she had to worry about was the princess herself finding out due to how she was constantly trying to push them together but now it seemed that her efforts had caught the attention of someone else. It was frustrating to the knight, especially when she truly did love the former thief. "Yes well, she's just trying to play matchmaker and unfortunately decided we'd fit together." she said giving a scoff. She took a bite of her food, relaxing a little as Cedric seemed to accept her answer. Penelope subtly glanced back in Crow's direction, looking to see if the viceroy had decided to sit with them or not.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Oof poor Crow

Meanwhile Penelope went from one asshole to the next XD even though she doesn't quite know that yet lmao

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope trailed after her father as he lead the way to Great Hall. There was a comfortable enough silence between the two, her father not being the talkative type and the knight still trying to shake off the lingering sleepiness she felt. Off handedly, she found it a bit strange that John had waited for her to get breakfast. He'd likely been up for a while now and even if he had been helping Tybalt in handling Adam, there surely should have been time for him to grab food either before or in between.

Suddenly she felt her sleepiness completely disappear as an exciting thought made her heart begin to beat a little faster. Her mind wandered to their conversation the night before and she wondered if this meant he was going to begin telling her about her mother. Encouraged by that thought, she picked up her pace slightly, following him with an eager bounce in her usual step.

However, the two didn't make it all the way to the Great Hall.

"Vermillion!"

A voice sounded from behind them and they both turned to see a young guard hurrying over. "Yes?" they both replied simultaneously. They exchanged an awkward glance then looked over to the guard who faltered for a moment as he seemed to realize he needed to specify which Vermillion he was addressing.

"Ah, John I mean, sorry." he said, scratching the back of his head. Clearing his throat, his gaze focused on the older knight. "Tybalt's requesting for you right now. Apparently he's still having some issues with settling Fischbach down."

John nodded his head and then glanced over at Penelope. "I better go then. Good luck with the letters." he muttered to his daughter before turning to the younger guard and gesturing for him to lead the way. Penelope watched him go and let out a disappointed sigh. It seems whatever his reason had been for trying to catch breakfast with her would have to wait for another time. She turned and walked the rest of the way to the Great Hall alone.

Once she reached the room, she eagerly glanced around for Crow and Naida, though she doubted she'd catch the princess since she was usually there early. Spotting neither of them, she eventually made her way over to an empty table, settling down alone for now. However, it wasn't long before someone made their way over to join her. It just, unfortunately, wasn't the company she was hoping for.

"Well, well I hope you're pleased with yourself." Alden growled as he settled in across from her.

Penelope eyed the nobleman with distaste. She hadn't dealt with him very much but she had the feeling that he wasn't much better than his father. And he was clearly just as hostile. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked irritably.

"My father got attacked because you left the wing unguarded. Don't try to deny it now!" Alden huffed.

"You're as mad as your father. I was just following orders." she rolled her eyes at him.

"Sure you were. We know where you stand Vermillion, we're not fools."

"Well you certainly act like fools." she muttered dryly.

Alden clenched his jaw angrily and seemed prepared to respond to the insult but didn't get the chance to as a new, familiar voice jumped in. "Why don't you go bug someone else, Alden." Cedric grumbled as he stepped over to the table. The two men shot glares at each other and Alden slowly stood up.

"Don't act tough when you barely even know how to wield a sword." Alden snorted. "I can only handle one vermin at a time so I'll take my leave." he stated as he glanced between the two before his gaze settled on Penelope. "Just know we're watching you Vermillion." he growled before turning and leaving.

Cedric watched him go before moving to sit down across from her. "What the hell is he talking about?" he asked as he shot one last glare at the other man's back before focusing his gaze concernedly on Penelope.

"Nothing I'm worried about." she responded with a dismissive wave. Now in what she thought to be better company, she stuck up a casual conversation with Cedric as the two waited for their meals to be brought over.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope's day started out on both a low note and a high note xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Tired from the night before, she had slept in a bit later than usual and wasn't even bothered enough by the soft morning light that seeped into her room to get up. She just pulled her blanket up over her head and settled comfortably in the warmth and darkness. Eventually though the sound of her door opening stirred the knight. Penelope poked her head out from under her blankets and squinted her eyes as she looked to see who had entered. Her gaze soon focused on the figure of her father who stepped over to place something down on the table by her bed.

"Good, you're here." John mumbled crossing his arms over his chest as he eyed her. "Everything fixed?"

Penelope sat up, rubbing her eyes drowsily. "Yeah... All the jewelry is where it belongs.." she mumbled.

"Uh huh... And nothing went awry?"

Penelope paused and looked over at her father. "Not really... is something going awry?" she asked with a frown.

"Partially." John grumbled. "Adam demanded to know who the guards were, claiming to be attacked the night before. Seems he found out that they were dismissed by you on an order from the 'king'. He's been making a scene all morning."

"Great." Penelope groaned and ran a hand through her hair. "Crow was in the process of putting everything back when Adam tried to attack him. He.. might have knocked him out then... But it shouldn't be anything to worry about right?" She looked up at her father hopefully. "He doesn't have any evidence and anything he does have incriminates him too doesn't it?"

"Except for the bump on his head that he demanded Eldon look at." John pointed out. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long exhale. "Just be careful with what you say today... I have a feeling he might be blaming you for this. And whether he's realized your real involvement or not won't matter if he's already got a bone to pick with you."

Penelope nodded her head. It was a rather poor start to the morning to find out this information but at least it seemed like her and Crow were still in the clear for now. They'd just have to make sure Fischbach didn't find a way to cause them anymore trouble while he complained about being attacked. Her gaze drifted over to the table and she eyed what seemed to be a small stack of letters. "What are these?" she asked.

"Your mail." John replied with a shrug. "Came in this morning."

Immediately her worry about the situation was gone and replaced by a mixture of excitement and anxiousness as she looked down at the letters. She picked up the small stack in her hand and ran her thumb over the seal of the first one. She had finally gotten responses—albeit two were likely just from Gavin and Olivia—and was unsure how to feel. While she was eager to read what was written, she also worried that they'd be letters of protest against her rather than letters of support for her campaign.

"Breakfast is going to stop being served soon so you should read them later." John advised. "Get your boots on so we can go."

Penelope blinked and then nodded her head in agreement. With no guard duty that day, she'd be free to spend her time looking over the letters she received as well as writing new ones to the list of nobles that Jonathan had given her. There was no reason to rush into it quite yet. With that in mind, she carefully put the letters away in her pocket and slipped on her boots before moving to follow her father out of the room.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Same lol should be interesting xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope gave a small nod as Crow explained that Adam had tried to attack him. "He could have been suspecting that you would try to return everything." she speculated with a shrug as the thief seemed unsure whether the baron had been a light sleeper or already being awake. There weren't many nobles that she knew to be light sleepers, at least not in the inner kingdom. There were a good few amongst those on the warfront but usually nobles felt safe and with their soft beds and warm blankets, it was often hard for them to even develop such habits of sleeping light if it wasn't natural to them.

"Well at least everything's fix then. Hopefully there won't be too many questions." she smiled at him. While it could be easy for him to play dumb—no one had technically seen him aside from Adam—it'd be a bit more difficult for her. Three guards had seen and spoken with her. If any of them came forward to question or speak to her, she'd have to be careful.

As he wrapped his arms around her, she returned his embrace and met him halfway as he kissed her. "I love you too and I'll see you then." she said softly, smiling up at him. Penelope pressed a tender kiss to his cheek before letting him go and stepping back to leave. "Be careful." she told him with a small wave. The knight hung around until he slipped back into the room they had came in from and then turned to leave.

She walked casually through the corridor, letting out a small yawn as she made her way to her room. With the mission complete, there was nothing distracting her from her weariness anymore. It had been a long day and she was more than eager to lay down for the night. Luckily she made it to her room without much trouble, avoiding most guards on the way. She slipped inside and quickly settled down for the night. As she curled up in her bad, she wrapped her blanket around herself and closed her eyes, falling to sleep easily now that they had handled the issue of the stolen jewelry.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope got a little worried cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

His words of praise made the knight stand up a bit straighter. Though it was a skill she used mindfully, it was still nice to hear. Penelope leaned in to meet him as he pressed a quick kiss to her lips and gave a small nod. She watched him for a moment as he moved towards Baltac's room before turning and stepping over to the end of the hall to keep watch. Acting like she had just been put on guard duty, the knight wasn't exactly sneaky about her presence.

Luckily there wasn't very much activity. With three guards gone, the corridor seemed perfectly empty aside from herself and Crow, whom she only noticed changing rooms by a chance glance over her shoulder. The former thief moved so soundlessly that she wouldn't have even known he was off to the second room already if she hadn't happened to look over at the right time. Assuming things were going well, she focused her gaze to keep lookout.

The knight spotted a nobleman walking down the corridor from where she was positioned and stiffened slightly. Unsure if he was planning to turn down the hall or continue on a different path, she remained alert and dipped her head to him in acknowledgement as he drew closer. He returned the gesture and continued on his way down the corridor, passing the hallway. She let out a small breath of relief and relaxed once more.

Unfortunately, not for very long though. Though the noise was quiet, she heard the sound of movement from one of the nearby rooms. She tensed as she realized it had come from Fischbach's room. Worried something had gone wrong, she stepped away from the end of the hall and moved towards the door. However, she wasn't able to reach it before the viceroy reemerged. She relaxed at the sight of him and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Everything go alright?" she asked, curious what the sound she heard had been. The knight smirked at him teasingly. "Don't tell me you knocked something over."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

So is Penelope xD

She's getting really good at tricking people cx