BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope gave a small nod as Crow responded to her question, mentioning how he wasn't sure what was going to be coming for him aside from some type of lesson. Since he had trained with her father the other day, the knight guessed that whatever was in store for him would be much more tame than sparring with the older knight. She couldn't help but also hope it would go by quickly for him. Between the training and nightmares, surely the viceroy was tired from not getting a proper night's rest.

Hopefully it won't be too much longer though.. she thought to herself, reminded of her meeting with Tybalt at supper. Crow might not have held much faith in her getting any answers, but she was still holding onto a strong ray of hope. It'd be harder for her not to, especially after seeing how badly it was affecting him first hand.

Finishing off her breakfast, the knight let out a long yawn and stretched out her arms. "I think I'd better head off. I want to try and get in as much sleep as I can before I have to head off and meet with the Lenz's." she mused as she slowly rose to her feet to leave. "I'll see you later." she said with a small nod to Crow. She hesitated before giving Cedric the same gesture. Unlike Crow, she didn't actually intend to see him later but she didn't want to cause any suspicion by excluding him.

The male knight glanced at Crow then rose to his feet as well. "I'll go with you. At least to the door. I plan to head out for some sparring today." he said quickly, offering Penelope a smile.

She studied him for a moment as she suppressed an amused look. Going off the glance he casted at Crow, it wasn't difficult for the female knight he was hesitant to sit alone with the viceroy. She didn't have any reason to deny him though so she nodded her head. "Alright." she shrugged before turning to Crow and offering him a small smile. "Good luck with your lessons."

As she turned to leave, Cedric moved to follow, only politely dipping his head to Crow before trotting up besides the female knight as they maneuvered their way out of the Great Hall.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Poor guy xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope gave a small nod in agreement with Crow's words and was relieved to hear the viceroy switch the subject before Cedric could say anymore. With a glance at the male knight, she noticed he seemed a bit disappointed by the subject change but he didn't refuse it and instead began to focus on his food for a moment. She looked back to Crow and shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm honestly not sure." Penelope admitted with a small sigh. "Could be soon but there's also a chance they might not reply at all." She frowned a little at her own words. The knight was trying to remain hopeful that the barons would eventually contact her—she trusted Jonathan to put in a good word for her— but she had already noticed a couple of the nobles she had contacted answer with silence for far. Plus it was always possible that there was a debate going on between the barons. If there was, there was a chance it wouldn't be resolved in time for her to receive the their support.

"How long has it been since you've written them?" Cedric asked, looking up from his food.

"Only a few days." she responded. "I imagine if they wrote back quick enough, I'd hear from them by the beginning of next week."

"Well then you still have some time." Cedric pointed out with an encouraging smile.

Penelope nodded her head and then stretched for a moment, biting back a yawn. Her gaze shifted back onto Crow. "Anyways, what are you up to today? More lessons I imagine?" she asked.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

That only encouraged Cedric xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope's eyes widened at Cedric's words, caught off guard as the knight's confusing words finally connected with his statement. It struck her that the male knight thought he and Naida were courting. Next to her, she heard Crow choke on his food and she turned her head to look worriedly over at him. As he went on to flusteredly deny Cedric's assumption, she gave a confirming nod.

"Yeah it's not like that at all." Penelope agreed with an awkward chuckle. She supposed it was only a matter of time before someone suspected Crow and Naida of being more than just friends but it was still strange for her to hear knowing that the two were actually just siblings. Of course, that wasn't something she could share with Cedric to clear up the confusion.

"Really?" Cedric mused with a hint of surprise. He studied Crow for a moment before giving him a sympathetic look. "Sorry, is it one sided?"

Penelope stifled a snort of laughter. It seemed Cedric was even more misled than she thought possible. She looked over at Cedric as he gave her a confused look and she shook her head. "They're really just friends Cedric." she told him with a small smirk. "It sounds like you've been listening to too much castle gossip."

"Well, it's just that I see them together so much." Cedric pointed out with a small shrug. He casted a look at Crow. "One can only infer something more must be going on. My apologies though."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

He went for it xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope didn't catch onto the suggestive undertone of Cedric's words and instead returned Crow's grin with a smile as he answered Cedric's question. She nodded her head as he said they'd be able to figure things out. "I'm sure we will." she agreed before shifting her gaze back onto Cedric. The male knight raised his eyebrow at the two and began to open his mouth to add something else but didn't get the chance to as the servants arrived with their food. She said a brief word of thanks before beginning to eat her breakfast.

Cedric didn't dig in as quickly though and shot the two a smile. "Well that's good." he mused, going onto respond to Crow now that the servants had stepped back from the table. "It'll probably be quite the first party for you too by the sound of it." He looked over at Penelope. "Are you planning on going with anyone?"

Penelope stared at him for a moment, caught off guard by the question. "No, I'm not. I'll be more of a hosting figure after all." she said shaking her head. She paused and glanced subtly at Crow before adding. "Besides it's not like I'm courting anyone right now."

"I know." Cedric shrugged his shoulders. "I just thought you would want to end up as a third wheel."

"Third wheel?" she echoed confusedly. Does he mean to the Lenz's? she wondered. She supposed that made sense but the couple was married and if she was honest, they certainly weren't affectionate enough towards each other to make her feel like she was a third wheel. Plus it wasn't like she planned to hang around them the whole party. It was likely she would barely even seem them since she planned to be advocating for the war's end for most of the night.

Cedric smiled amusedly at her confusion. "Well, yeah. Between the Lenz's and then Collin and the princess, I imagine you'd end up as the ultimate third wheel. Right?" he said with a glance at the viceroy.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Same xD

also remember Crow being worried about rumors with him and Naida? welp Cedric may be starting those XD
he thinks he being smart and discouraging Penelope and Crow being a thing lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope glanced over at Crow as he settled in besides her. There was a brief silence that followed and she was able to pick up on a bit of tension. While Cedric just seemed unsure how to act around the viceroy, she knew Crow was likely tense just due to his suspicions about the male knight. She let out a quiet sigh and shifted a bit as she tried to figure out how to relax the two a bit. Luckily she didn't have to worry about it too much as Crow spoke up and addressed her.

"Well sleep mainly." she mused with a tired smile. She glanced across as Cedric. "I had a night shift so I'm rather tired." The knight shrugged her shoulders and then looked back to Crow. "Other then that I might try to see if Oliver or Dimia are free to do some planning today. I need to get this party organized as soon as I can."

Cedric looked across the table at her and smirked. "It's going to be a lot of work I'm sure. So when should I be expecting an invitation?"

"Honestly I have no idea yet." Penelope admitted a bit sheepishly. "I've never planned such a thing before so I don't know how long it'll take... I'd hope not longer than a week or two." With such a time constraint, the knight couldn't afford for the party to take any longer than that after all. The month would be over before they even threw the party if it did and by then they would have no chance of convincing the king to change his mind.

"Well from what I know, the Lenz's party quite a bit so I'm sure they'll know for sure." Cedric smiled reassuringly at her. He paused for a moment and then shifted his gaze onto Crow. The reassurance that had been in his expression for Penelope faded and was replaced by a faint smirk. "I'm guessing you and the princess will be going as well right?"

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Good job Preston xD
Cedric's a bit wary of Crow lol