BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope trotted after Cedric as he lead them away from the crowds and towards the back of the room. He finally came to a stop near an isolated spot by a window and then turned to face her. The female knight still felt rather annoyed with him, now both because of the previous stunt as well as due to his constant interruption during her time with Crow. With both of those things in mind, she crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well go on then." she muttered as she leaned back against the wall.

Cedric frowned at the bitter tone of her voice. "Penelope I'm sorry about what I did when we danced. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.. I was actually just hoping you might have been starting to see me in that way again." The knight shuffled his feet in a nearly bashful manner.

"Why the hell would you be hoping for that?" Penelope snorted shaking her head. "You said you wanted to rekindle a friendship with me Cedric. I've forgiven you for the past but I certainly haven't forgotten it." That and she was already fully taken by Crow. Of course, she couldn't tell him that at the moment so she hoped whatever thoughts he had about trying to court her would disappear if she mentioned the past.

"I know, I know. I really screwed up back then and I wasn't fair to you at all." Cedric lowered his head shamefully. "I was speaking the truth when I said I wanted a friendship but as time when on, my feelings began to change and now I can't help but wish for more... You're an amazing woman, Penelope."

Penelope shifted uneasily, not sure what to say at first. The past told her that Cedric was likely just trying to figure out how to use her for his own personal gain but some part of his words registered as genuine to her, making her annoyance begin to burn out. "Cedric.. that's sweet but I'm not—"

"You don't have to make a decision right now." Cedric cut her off, holding a finger up to her lips. "Just please consider me... I know you have eyes for someone else right now." She swore she saw a flicker of annoyance in his gaze. "But I don't think he's right for you. I may have messed up in the past but his record is even worse than that... Not to mention the rumors that will spread about you two. You said William was already responsible for trying something that. They'll believe him if you court Collin."

Penelope froze at the mention of Crow. She didn't think she had been that obvious of her emotions towards the viceroy when Cedric was around but apparently she had been wrong. Either way she disliked the fact that he was trying to dissuade her from pursuing him. She wished she could just come clean and tell him that none of that matter to her since the two were already secretly seeing each other. However, since she couldn't, the female knight elected to remain quiet instead as he spoke.

"I just don't want you to get hurt again." Cedric said offering an apologetic smile. "Just think about it though... and remember it's not uncommon for a noblewoman to have to suitors if you're that unsure. I love you, Penelope." All of a sudden his finger tips traced the side of her face, making the knight stiffen, and he leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

The knight felt her head hit the back of the wall, almost instinctively trying to pull away from him before it could happen. However, she had unknowingly cornered herself and wasn't able to react fast enough to stop it. Luckily Cedric made it a quick kiss, rightfully fearing she'd rejected it if he lingered. As he pulled back, he casted her a soft apologetic look and then turned to walk away. Penelope quickly pushed herself off the wall, rubbing the back of her head that was now lightly throbbing from the hit. Her heart began to beat anxiously as she took in what had just happened, feeling a strong wave of guilt for not putting a stop to Cedric's actions sooner.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

He wasted no time once the song was over xD He sees Crow as his main competition so he's really trying to cut down their alone time as much as possible at the party lol he unfortunately doesn't realize that he's way too late for trying to get in between them lol

And I just meant in regards to trying to win Penelope over lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope smirked a little as Crow replied to her answer. She was happy to hear that the former thief was enjoying him as well as seeming to get along with a couple of the other nobles there aside from herself and Naida. "I'm glad you realized that." she said with a small laugh. "And I'm glad you were able to find a couple of them amongst the crowd. I'm sure it wasn't easy." Most of the nobles there wouldn't approach Crow, or really anyone, without some reason so she was glad that he had managed to find a couple that didn't completely rub him the wrong way.

"In about two more songs or so." Penelope replied with a quick shrug. As he drew her in closer, the knight enjoyed the lacking space between them, even if it was only brief. Her gaze flickered around to other nearby couples. Even in the brief observation, she could notice a few of them moving with less coordination. It made a bit of amusement seep into her gaze as she looked back up at Crow. "I'm sure you'll start to notice when the time gets closer. I think a good chunk of this crowd has had a couple drinks already, meaning your dancing isn't going to look as amateur as they may have thought before."

The knight casted him a playful wink with her words and focused back on the dance. In disheartening realization, she tuned into the music to noticed that the song was reaching it's end. Her dance with Crow seemed to have gone by faster than any of her others and she felt reluctant to end it as their movements slowed down with the song. As it finished, a soft sigh escaped her lips, unable to suppress it as she looked up to meet his gaze again. "Thanks for the dance." she told him with a half hearted smile.

Unfortunately, it seemed someone had been eagerly waiting for their dance to finish up. Penelope barely had any time to get parting words off of her lips before Cedric reappeared, weaving his way over to them. "Penelope." he called to get her attention.

The knight stiffened slightly as her gaze fell on him. She wanted to avoid him but it'd likely look suspicious to Crow and with no time to properly explain her actions, she had to at least act civil towards the male knight. "Did you need something from me Cedric?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "We already danced earlier."

Cedric blinked, seeming a bit confused by her polite demeanor. However, she narrowed her eyes at him subtly and the male knight seemed to get the message that she was still upset. "Ah, I know.. Sorry I don't mean to keep bug you, but I'd just like to talk with you about something. Just for a moment." he explained with a pleading gaze.

Penelope shifted her weight, hesitant to indulge whatever he had to say. However, she didn't want to make a scene on the dance floor. "Alright," she sighed, giving in. "Let's go talk then." Cedric's shoulders seemed to lower in relief and he nodded his head. He gave a courtesy dip of his head to Crow, muttering an apology and then turned to lead the way off the dance floor.

"Guess I'll see you later, Crow." Penelope told him with a helpless shrug before turning to follow Cedric.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

He really is xD But it's so fun to throw him in lmao

And true cx Cedric's definitely not like Gavin in respect to keeping it lowkey forever lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Once out on the dance floor with him, Penelope fell into a rather natural rhythm with Crow as her partner. While she had known the steps well enough to dance with various others, the only dancing she had done of recent was during his dance lessons. Plus, dancing with someone on more than one occasion certainly helped her to be able to read his movements easier. He still had room to improve of course but Penelope found him easy to follow.

As he walked her through a slow spin, Penelope hesitated for a brief moment to answer his question. Immediately her mind went to her first dance with Cedric. She had been expecting unwanted attention from noblemen that would be drawn to the power and wealth that she had on display but she hadn't been expecting Cedric's little stunt. Even thinking on it now, she had to wonder where it had come from. His tone had been rather flirtatious in her opinion and he had certainly been much too close for comfort. Part of her wondered if her mind had had just exaggerated it all and he had actually meant nothing by it.

Regardless, she didn't think it was anything she wanted to share with Crow. There was no reason to get him worked up over something small like that and she also didn't want to sour the one dance they'd get together.

"I am. My cheeks might be hurting a bit from all the fake smiles I've given my last couple dance partners but other then that, I'd say it's been a rather enjoyable party so far." Penelope replied with a smirk as she finished the slow spin, turning back into him. "I'm more curious what you think of all this though. This is your first official noble party after all." She could still recall how at one point in time, she had described such festivities to him in Younis. At the time, she would have never thought they'd be attending one together like this, let alone one she had a large hand in throwing.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Just a little bit more xD At least in terms of trying to get her to take him as a suitor lol

Nice cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope stood aside from the main crowd as she grabbed a bite to eat. Just when she had thought she had caught a moment alone for herself, she spotted an approaching figure from her right. Turning her head, she was a bit surprised to see it was Dimia strolling over to her. She dipped her head to the noblewoman in greeting, her mouth full with a bite she had taken. Swallowing it by the time the other woman reached her, she gave Dimia a questioning look. "Did you need me for something?"

"No. Not yet at least." Dimia assured, shaking her head. "It's still a little while before you should speak.. Give it may two or three more songs, then we'll make an announcement."

"Ok." Penelope nodded and flickered her gaze around. "Seems like things are going well so far."

"Quite well." Dimia gave a pleased smirk. "We had a large amount of guests and everything has gone as planned so far. Honestly I think it's one of the most successful parties I've thrown."

"Well it should be for the amount you and Oliver spent on it." Penelope mused with a small chuckle.

Dimia gave a nod. "Plenty worth it in my opinion." she mused with a shrug. "I'm going to go find my husband.. I'd like to catch the next couple songs while I can." Her gaze shifted onto the female knight and she casted her a smile. "I'll come find you once it's time. Do try to relax a bit more. Nerves ruin a good speech."

Penelope blinked, mildly surprised by the friendliness that was coming out of Dimia. The noblewoman had never been this encouraging towards her before. The mystery was soon spoiled though as Dimia turned into the light, making the slight redness of her face more noticeable. She's been drinking. Penelope had to bite her lip to keep a laugh from escaping her. Though it was difficult to say if Dimia actually held a softer spot for her than she normally let on, the female knight still welcomed the attitude change—even if it wasn't permanent.

Alone once more, Penelope walked off to catch a passing servant, giving him the small plate her food had been on. She thanked him as he took it and was about to turn off to walk off when she was surprised by Crow's low voice in her ear. The knight nearly jumped, surprised by his unexpected—but certainly not unwanted—appearance. She turned to face him, smiling up at him as he asked her to dance.

"Ah and just when I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me." Penelope joked with a grin. Her smile softened a bit as she took his arm. "I'd love to though."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Phase 2 should be interesting for sure xD

And nice lmao

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

"So you're Penelope Vermillion, correct?"

As soon as the next dance began, the nobleman struck up a conversation, seeming quite interested in who she was. He was slightly older than herself with short, blonde hair and blue eyes that seemed to be studying every move she made. Whoever he was, he clearly had an idea of just who she was and Penelope guessed he was trying to use that to his advantage in some way. She gave a small nod as they stepped to the song.

"I am. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with who you are though." Penelope admitted.

"I'm Kane Papert. Sorry if I come off as intrusive. I'm close friends with Oliver Lenz and he talked quite a bit about you." Kane explained with a small shrug. He offered her another fake smile. "Naturally I had to meet the hostess for myself."

"I see. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you then, Kane." Penelope remarked politely, returning his smile with a fake one of her own. Knowing that Oliver, the knight guessed that Kane was likely someone she should try by all means to win over. Though she didn't want to encourage any flirting, she had a feeling he was going to try and flatter her regardless, which meant she'd just have to do her best to just remain on his good side.

As the dance went on, Penelope found that Kane was a bit stiff when moving, but that was likely because he was much too focused on taking the opportunity to talk to her as much as he could. She found it quite ridiculous, wishing he would focus more on the dance so they could get through it smoother, but having to humor him, she kept her thoughts to herself. As expected, the nobleman was also quick to pay her compliments, a couple even being quite flirtatious. Penelope acted flattered by them but was careful to not seem overly interested. The last thing she wanted him to think was that she was sending any signals.

Once their dance ended, Penelope ended up taking up another offer to dance, switching partners with a couple that had been dancing besides them. Unlike Kane, this nobleman seemed purely interested in the dance rather than talking or flattering. The two did chat a small bit, exchanging names and the like. Friendlier than the last and seeming a bit more genuine than Kane, Penelope found that she didn't mind this particular dance. However, by the end of it, she decided to take a small break. She parted from Beldon and stepped off the dance floor.

Having gone through three dances already and having a rather small breakfast, she decided to get something more to eat as she noticed the food that the servants were filtering into the party. As she walked over to grab a plate, her gaze drifted around the room, eying over the guests. Everyone seemed in high spirits, whether they were talking, drinking, dancing or eating. It made the knight feel a swell of both pride over her work and relief to see things were going well so far.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

That was like phase 1 xD He still has a little more to come lmao