BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope smiled as Naida said she had plenty of friends to invite. Though Oliver already had a decent guest list, there was no guarantee that everyone that showed up would side with her and a peaceful end to the war. The more nobles they could invite—especially higher ranking ones—the better. It also gave her more hope to hear that Naida would be able to also invite a few nobles that were close to the king. Those ones would be key in convincing then. "That'd be great if you could, Naida. Whenever you manage to finish it just find me or drop it off with the Lenz's. I'll be working with them tomorrow anyways." she said with an appreciative smile.

As Naida directed the attention onto Crow, she gave the viceroy a small smile. He was still new to noble life and since he had more enemies than friends, she hadn't expected him to give her a list like Naida. "Well just invite who you can. People are still getting used to you here and you're still getting used to being here so I wouldn't expect you to have a huge list." she told him with a small shrug. "I'm sure just you coming will help."

"Yeah you saw how many people congratulated you at your ceremony after all!" Naida chipped in with an encouraging smile.

Penelope gave an amused look. While Naida was partly right in her assumption, the knight guessed that some of those nobles had congratulated him more for the sake of impressing the king rather than trying to suck up to the new viceroy. However, she didn't say anything on it and instead just nodded her head in agreement. Looking between her friend and lover, she felt a bubbling mixture of hope and nervousness about the party as more things began to fall into place for it. "I'm sure the turn out for this party will be good though... It'll just be a matter of if I'm able to convince enough people." she mused poking at her food.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Probably a good thing xD

Penelope tried to get the focus away from all of that lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope watched as Crow directly addressed the topic that Naida was skirting around. She was glad he wasted no time in clearing the air. While it didn't really matter what others thought about the rumors, she didn't want Naida viewing him in that way. It'd only make things a bit difficult for when they did finally start courting. Luckily it seemed that the princess wouldn't be hard to convince as her thoughtful look made the knight believe her to be realizing the truth.

"She is that." Penelope sighed in agreement with Crow. The knight hoped that Liz had finally gotten the message and would leave them alone. Though she knew that she had nothing to worry about, that certainly didn't make her company any more bearable. She'd be glad when Liz finally returned back to Colchester. Her thoughts got interrupted as she saw the servants returning with their food. She dipped her head appreciatively to the one and wasted no time in taking a bite from her food, reminded of her hunger due to the appetizing smell.

"Sounds like she is." Naida grinned, seeming to have renewed cheerfulness now that she knew Crow was far from interested in the other noblewoman. "It's a pity you aren't courting anyone... I bet that would stop her from bothering you." she said nudging him with a subtle glance towards Penelope.

Though the knight didn't catch the look Naida gave, she already knew what the princess was hinting at. Penelope bit back an amused smirk and looked up from her food to focus on Naida. "Anyways, about the party, Dimia has been working on invitations so now that we have a when and where, hopefully we can start getting them out soon." she explained, hoping to switch the subject. "Do you two know how many people you'll be inviting yet? We're trying to map out a guest list as well."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Honestly poor guy xD Naida's just not being too direct since Penelope's there lmao

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope gave him a small smile and nodded her head to him in greeting. Her gaze flickered back over to Naida, feeling a bit unsure about how the princess would handle speaking with Crow. She had seemed as eager as usual to have him sit with them but at the same time, the knight noted that she hadn't played her usual trick of getting him to sit besides her. It wasn't really a conversation that would involve her though so Penelope shifted her gaze elsewhere while Crow spoke with her.

"I should be the one asking you that after all I've heard lately." Naida said crossing her arms over her chest. She paused though as she snuck a glance at Penelope. Seeming to decide against her approach due to the knight's presence, she instead gave a small smile. "But, nothing much aside from being bored out of my mind. I haven't been able to catch you or Penelope lately and you know how dull everyone else is.. Oh but I have been productive!" The princess' smile widened into a grin as she turned back to Penelope. "I got some things done for the party!"

Penelope looked back over to them raising an eyebrow as Naida turned to her. "That's good to hear.. We're planning to have it by the end of this week so any progress is good." she mused.

"That soon huh?" Naida whistled then sat up a bit straighter with a proud gleam in her eyes. "Speaking of which, I managed to convince my parents to let me have the party here at the castle!"

"Really?" Penelope gaped, unable to hide the excitement from her voice. Having the party at the castle would only help increase the chances of its success.

Naida nodded her head. "Yep! My mother thinks it's an opportunity for me to meet potential suitors." she explained rolling her eyes. "So you owe me! And you—"she turned to Crow with a smirk. "definitely need to learn how to dance now!" The princess' smirk faded slightly as another thought seemed to cross her mind. She glanced at Penelope and then looked back to Crow, her excitement deflating. ".. Penelope doesn't have to be the one to teach you though of course."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Nadia thought her ship was sinking there for a moment cx

Poor Crow cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope trotted into the Great Hall and flickered her gaze around in search of her friend. Luckily she was able to spot Naida, who was sitting alone at a table with a bored look in her gaze. The look didn't last long though as she caught sight of her friend. The princess broke out into a grin and waved to Penelope, who eagerly headed over to join her. She sat down across from her friend and leaned slightly against the table. Having been busy traveling around Bellmare for the day, she was glad to finally get off her feet.

"Penelope! Finally I get to see you again!" Naida grinned brightly at her friend.

"It hasn't been that long." Penelope pointed out amusedly. Despite her words, she did enjoy the warm welcome from her friend. Having spent more time with less than friendly faces lately, it was a bit refreshing to get the chance to sit down with Naida again.

"Well no but everyone else around here has been so dull and everyone wants to talk about..." Naida paused, her smile fading. Her uncomfortable expression confused the knight as she waited for her to continue. "well you've probably heard the rumors by now." she mumbled a bit dejectedly.

For a moment, Penelope still wore a confused expression as Naida's vague words seemed to be missing some detail. She was just about to ask her to explain what rumors she was referring to when it hit her. Naida must have been talking about the rumor going around regarding Crow and Elizabeth. The knight cringed a bit, unsure how to respond. Naida was clearly disheartened by it—she had been trying to push her and Crow together for a while now—but Penelope couldn't outright explain to her how wrong the rumor was. As much as she wanted to clear the air, it wasn't something she could do so she'd just have to try a different approach.

"Oh you mean about your brother sleeping with some girl?" Penelope mused casually. The knight shrugged her shoulders. "I've heard but you know castle gossip is hardly reliable. I wouldn't let it get you so down."

"I guess so... But the guard swears by what he saw.. Everyone seems to believe it." Naida frowned. "I'm sorry, Penelope."

"I don't know why you're apologizing. It doesn't affect me." Penelope chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. "Besides that, I wouldn't just trust what everyone's saying. I mean, have you even spoken to Collin about it yet?"

"Well no." Naida admitted. "I suppose you're right."

Penelope casted her friend a small smile. She was glad she had been able to talk Naida out of making the mistake of buying into the rumors like she had. However, it did cause her a small stab of guilt as she wished that she would have taken her own advice. The knight let out a soft sigh and instead moved onto strike up a more casual conversation with her friend. It didn't last long though as Naida grew distracted by the arrival of Crow, waving down the viceroy in a similar manner that she had with Penelope.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Progress is being made slowly but surely xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Upon reaching the Lenz's room, Penelope knocked on the door and quickly invited inside. "About time you show up!" Dimia huffed impatiently as she stood aside to let the knight enter the room. Her gaze swept over Penelope before zeroing in on the bag that she had rested against her hip. Having been in a hurry to speak with the Lenz's, the knight hadn't even bothered to make a stop at her room to drop off the new dress she had bought from the marketplace. It seemed her purchase had immediately caught Dimia's attention.

"What's that? A dress?" Dimia asked raising an eyebrow at Penelope as she slowly closed the door and turned to face her.

Penelope bit back a snort as Dimia's impatience was quick to vanish as she found a topic that was of course more interesting to her. She was beginning to think that not making a stop at her own room was paying off. "It is. I'm sorry it took me a while to get here but that's only because I had to travel out to Bellmare today to run some errands." she explained herself with a shrug. "Figured I better get a dress for the party after all."

"Well come on then, let me see it." Dimia said with a wave of her hand.

The knight gave a small roll of her eyes and placed the bag down on the ground so she could pull out the dress. As she presented it to the noblewoman, she waited for a response and watched as Dimia's eyes swept over the article of clothing with a calculating gaze. After a pause, she gave a nod of approval. "Not a bad choice, Vermillion. Certainly better than what I'd thought you'd pick." Dimia mused.

"Thanks." Penelope muttered dryly before folding the dress back up and placing it in the bag. She shifted her gaze onto Oliver now. The nobleman had been quietly observing the two from his desk, seeming to be patiently waiting to be addressed. "So how's the party planning going? Any progress yet?"

"Some. I've created a guest list and Dimia has been working on making invitations. She also sent out the letters to confirm with the entertainment and such." Oliver explained, seeming to sit up a bit straighter acting subtly proud of their accomplishments.

"That's great." Penelope said with a small smile. "I'm going to try and catch the princess tonight at supper so hopefully we can confirm a location for the party as well as a full guest list by tomorrow. I don't think we can afford too many more days before we need to send out the invitations after all."

"I agree. Which is why I think you should stop by tomorrow after breakfast and help us finish everything up." Dimia mused. "At least as far as guest list and invitations."

Penelope hesitated before giving a small nod. "I'll come by then. Tybalt hasn't approached me with any guard shifts yet anyways but if he does, I'll make sure tomorrow is covered." she explained. While she knew she still had some duties as a castle guard, the party outweighed them by far. The whole reason she was even at the castle instead of with her battalion was because of her effort to end the war peacefully.

"Good.. Once that is settled, we'll need to start working on the actual contents of the party." Dimia mused.

"Including your speech." Oliver added with a thoughtful nod.

"Of course. But that'll be for another day. Right now we should all just focus on getting all the right nobles there." Penelope pointed out. With mumbles of agreement from the two other nobles, Penelope moved over to join Oliver as he pulled out the guest list he had made so far. It was decent size, as expected from the vassal who had a respectable reputation, but it could certainly use work. She just hoped that Naida and Crow were able to add more names to it.

Eventually the group finished up their discussion and Penelope went off on her own way while the Lenz's headed to supper. She traveled back to her own room and dropped off her dress, storing it away safely. With that put away, the knight wasted no time in heading to the Great Hall, hoping that it was early enough to catch the princess and hopefully Crow as well.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yeah should be fun xD

And no worries! I ended up meeting up with my friends a little earlier than I thought I would lol