Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Suit yourself,” Crow shrugged. “But I’ll have you know, I’m an excellent hugger. You’re missing out.” He yawned again and laid down next to Penelope, resting his head on his arm and watching the embers burn in the fireplace. The tranquil scene reminded him of the quiet nights he used to spend with his mother before she passed away. Those days during his childhood had been so relaxing. Ever since he had gone out on his own, he had been forced to sleep with one eye open, since there were many people who would have liked to see him dead or imprisoned. In fact, it had been so long since he had last let himself sleep deeply that he had forgotten what it felt like. He closed his eyes. With the comforting glow of the fire and security of Penelope’s company, he was almost tempted to try it.

Soon, he heard the sound of footsteps behind them and rolled over to see that William had returned. “Unfortunately for you,” the knight grumbled. “Abraxas left our supplies in the wagon, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find a change of clothes. For now, you can just sit by the fire and pray to whatever gods you believe in that you don’t catch a fever.”

“Well, that’s a shame,” Crow sighed. “The gods don’t seem to side with me very much as of late. I think I must have done something to offend them, because they keep forcing me to endure your annoying company.”

William curled his lip, “If anyone has a right to complain about annoying company, it’s Penelope.” He turned to his comrade. “I can take over your watch of the thief tonight. Go get some sleep for the trip tomorrow. We won’t be slowing down for anyone, so you should try to rest while you still have the chance.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow's blatant flirting is so fun to write XD

I also just love how our characters interact lol (I ship them so much) ;3

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow flinched at the sound of William’s furious voice behind them. He turned to see the knight approaching them with his brow knit tightly in anger. He cursed under his breath. He had been hoping to slip into the room while the others were still asleep so he could avoid this very situation. Penelope might have been willing to overlook his attempted escape, but William would never be so forgiving. He shivered. He could almost feel the cold metal of the chains he would be shackled in once again for trying to run—or maybe he was just chilled from the river water that still drenched his clothes.

However, before Crow could move to defend himself, Penelope spoke up first, sharply telling William to leave her alone. The other knight seemed to hesitate before he complied and told them to go to the den where they could warm up. As he turned to walk away, the thief spoke up, “Ah, do you have any dry clothes I could borrow? Coming straight from prison, this is all I have, and it’s soaking wet.” William made a face at the idea of lending his clothing to a criminal, but Crow went on before he could object, “You said you don’t want anyone getting sick, and I’m part of that ‘anyone.’ Besides, I won’t be much use to the king if I’m ill, right?”

“Fine,” William spat sourly. “The king did provide us with spare clothes for everyone, but they’re kept with our other supplies in the wagon. I will check with Abraxas to see if he brought any to the inn with him when he dropped the wagon off. The boy is always overly prepared.” He muttered the last sentence under his breath as he walked inside the building. Crow followed after him, but went to the smoking lounge rather than the room, as the knight had suggested. He led Penelope over to the fireplace, letting her go so he could get a flame started with some flint and fire steel that lay nearby.

Once that was done, he sat down beside her on the wooden floor and yawned, “Now, if William can just find us some dry clothes, this’ll be quite cozy, huh?” He nudged her teasingly. “You know, it’s almost romantic: sitting by the fire like this. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to scoot a little closer so I can help you warm up.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow let go of Penelope when she moved to pull away from him. He could tell that she was still unsteady on her feet, but he said nothing as the knight attempted to stand and walk on her own. Over the two days he had spent with her, the thief had learned that she could be as stubborn as an ass, so there was no point in trying to argue with her. He stood aside and crossed his arms over his chest, deciding to let her figure out for herself that she was in no condition to make the trip back to the inn without help.

Sure enough, Penelope soon had to rest a hand against him to keep from stumbling. Crow smirked, about to ask the knight if she had given up yet, but she was ridiculously persistent. She made one more attempt to walk by herself before admitting defeat and leaning into the thief for support. He just sighed and took her arm, slinging it over his shoulder and placing his other hand on her waist again to take up the same position as before. “Good effort, but I have to say I warned you,” he said wryly.

As they walked slowly along the village road, Crow watched the alleyways and dark corners between houses for signs of movement. He wasn’t particularly keen to be caught by a patrol of knights at that moment. A woman being carried by a thief wasn’t a normal sight anywhere in the kingdom. If a night guard saw them like this, he might get the wrong impression, and Crow definitely did not want to be arrested again. Thus, he travelled quietly and with caution.

After a while, they reached the inn where William had made arrangements for them to stay. Crow paused outside the front doors and turned to Penelope as another thought occurred to him, “So… did William ever say which room he was in?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Ah, but then you might get attached and not let me go later,” Crow winked at Penelope teasingly. “I’m already charming enough as it is, love. Just imagine how hard it would be for you to stay away from me if I was actually trying. I would never taste freedom again!” He shook his head, stifling a laugh as he took on a serious expression. “No, no. I can’t let that happen. I must continue to be rude to you for both of our sakes. I hope you can understand.”

He lapsed into silence as he contemplated his deal with the knight once again. Even though he was merely jesting with Penelope, he did harbor a bit of doubt that she would actually let him escape after he completed the king’s assignment. He knew he would keep his end of the bargain, but he had no way of knowing whether she planned to do the same. She was right when she had said he put all nobles in the same category. To him, they were worse than thieves. They lied, cheated, and stole for their own personal gain, never caring what happened to the people they hurt on their way up the ladder of their precious social hierarchy. For all he knew, Penelope could have deceived him so he wouldn’t try to run away again before they reached Younis.

“And, just so you know, you have my word as well,” Penelope spoke up suddenly, seeming to read the thief’s thoughts. “I assume it’s not easy trusting a knight with something as important as your freedom, but once the mission is over I will let you get out of here before you have to return back.”

He held her gaze for a moment before he nodded, “Thank you for that.” Though he spoke calmly, he felt like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He wondered why he was so quick to trust her. Based on his prior interactions with knights, he had no reason to believe she was telling him the truth. Yet somehow, he knew she wasn’t lying.

Crow paused and then broke into a grin. “You know, you’re a strange person too—or a strange knight, that is. I’ve never known another who would go behind he comrades’ backs to help a simple peasant like me.” Looking forward again, he saw that they had reached the outskirts of the village. He turned back to Penelope, meeting her eyes searchingly. “It seems we’ve arrived. Are you sure you want to walk on your own?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“How is that a fair comparison?” Crow laughed when Penelope called him strange. “Just because I share an occupation with other thieves doesn’t mean I think or act the same way. That would be the same as if I had said you were identical to all other knights just because you shared the same type of work. That’s not a reasonable judgment either, now is it?” He rolled his eyes. “I’m still my own person and, despite what you seem to think of me, I am true to my word. I promised you I would stick around until we get back from Younis, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

Crow navigated his way around a fallen tree and stared longingly into the dark woods around them. He would keep his promise because it was against his morality not to, but he definitely regretted making the deal with Penelope in the first place. If he hadn’t, he could have easily abandoned her while she was too weak to catch up with him and escaped to the outer villages on his own. But, such as it was, he did give her his word, so it looked like he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Once we reach the village, I’ll walk on my own,” Penelope said as a few small houses came into sight.

“Fine by me,” Crow agreed. “Just don’t blame me if you fall flat on your face when I let you go.” He hesitated, thinking something over, and then went on in a quieter tone, “Also… I hadn’t said it before, but thank you for helping me cross that river. If you hadn’t done that, we would probably still be out looking for a narrower passage.” He cleared his throat and looked away. “Don’t expect me to be any nicer to you just because you helped me once. I just thought I should let you know that I’m grateful. That’s all.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow laid on the ground for a moment longer before he got back to his feet. He turned to follow Penelope back to the village and then paused, watching her stumble when she moved away from the tree she had been leaning on. She looked completely spent of energy. It wasn’t surprising, considering what she had just accomplished, but he also knew she couldn’t make it back to the inn without collapsing. He sighed softly. In hindsight, he hadn’t done anything to help her when she had led him through the water; she had done all the work on her own to save him from drowning. He didn’t like owing a debt to a member of the king’s army, but technically she had saved his life.

He walked up beside her and took her arm, draping it over his shoulder, and then put his own arm around her waist. “Shut up,” he said before the knight could say anything. “This is a one-time thing; got it? And don’t tell me to back off. If you try to walk the rest of the way back by yourself, you’re going to collapse.” He adjusted his hold on her to better support her against his side and then casted her an amused smile. “You should count yourself lucky. I’m doing you a favor: something I’ve never done for a knight before and likely won’t ever do again.”

The thief took a careful step forward, checking his balance, and then started walking back towards the village, “Come on, I’m looking forward to getting some sleep just as much as you are.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow opened his mouth to argue with Penelope when she blamed him for the mess they were in, and then closed it again. It really wasn’t worth it to distract her and risk both of their lives for the sake of his vanity, even though she was the one who had pushed them both into the river and gotten them lost in the first place. All he had done was try and run away. How could she think this was his fault? For now, though, he chose to say nothing and let her have the final word.

He stuck close to her after his earlier slip in the river. He no longer cared about putting on a tough act; he just wanted to get out of this godsforsaken water. Unfortunately for him though, the water seemed to have a plan of its own. It chose to rip at Penelope this time, causing her to stumble and drag both of them down. He took a quick breath of air before his head went under the surface and let go of Penelope, fighting to keep from being swept up in the current—a difficult task for one who could scarcely swim in calm waters.

No, no, no, he flailed frantically, trying to find the surface. The water around him was black in the darkness of the night, so he couldn’t tell which way was up. In the back of his mind, he knew he had to calm down and let his body naturally float up on its own, but that was easier said than done. Every instinct inside of him screamed to fight against the river. He couldn’t stop moving. I can’t breathe…

Just as he was beginning to think he was going to drown this time, he felt something catch hold of his arm and drag him back up. He broke through the surface, coughing water from his lungs, and saw that Penelope was hauling him towards the far shore. Eager to get out of the river, he made a weak attempt to paddle after her, but he saw that his efforts did nothing to make them move faster, so he gave up and let her do the swimming for both of them.

As soon as Crow felt solid ground beneath his feet, he pulled away from Penelope and clambered out of the water, collapsing tiredly on the bank. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he rolled onto his back and laughed in hysterics, “I am never going near another river again.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow felt his heart pound against his chest as they approached the edge of the river. He was beginning to rethink his decision to let her talk him into doing this, but it was too late to back out now. She guided him carefully into the freezing water, moving slowly either to keep herself from slipping or to keep him from panicking. Perhaps it was both. He wasn’t quite sure, as he was more concerned with finding sure footing on the bottom of the riverbed.

As he had suspected, the current was much swifter beneath the surface, but it was shallower than he had thought. He shivered. The cold water numbed his skin. This was definitely a bad idea. The further they moved towards the center of the river, the more difficult it was for him to keep his footing. He glanced at Penelope, who was considerably calmer about the whole situation, and wondered if she was having as hard of a time as he was. She didn’t look like it.

“Just keep ahold of me and we’ll be over to the other side in no time,” Penelope said. The sound of her confident voice was strangely soothing. He might have been able to relax if the river stopped trying to rip his feet out from under him.

“I’m trying,” he grimaced as another strong current tugged at his legs. By now they were a little more than waist-deep. It was the most difficult point to cross. He sucked in his breath as an especially forceful rush of water caused him to stumble, and, without thinking, he reached out to grasp Penelope in order to keep from falling. He held onto her shoulder for a moment as he recovered from the shock of almost getting pulled under.

“I would apologize,” Crow muttered irritably. “But this is your fault.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow warily eyed Penelope’s outstretched hand. He was surprised at how well she was taking his confession. He would have thought that she would have jumped at the chance to tease him for being unable to swim, but instead she was being understanding towards him. Looking up again, he held her gaze for a moment more, searching for signs of trickery in her eyes. Somehow, he found that he believed her. She wouldn’t have anything to gain from letting him drown, and she seemed confident that she could support both of them in the river. He glanced back at the rushing water. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. After all, he hadn’t died the first time he went under, and he had been on his own then.

After a moment of hesitation, Crow swallowed and stepped forward, reluctantly taking Penelope’s hand, “Fine, but make no mistake: I’m not doing this because you told me to. I just want to go back to the inn and go to sleep. I’ve had enough running around for one day.”

He turned back to the river, watching the water flow by. Was it his imagination or was the current moving faster than it had been before? For a moment, he even thought he saw white water reflected in the moonlight. He suddenly realized he was holding onto Penelope’s hand rather tightly, and he forced himself to relax his grip. He really needed to calm down. His anxiety about crossing the river was humiliating.

“Let’s hurry up and go before I change my mind,” Crow muttered.