Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Thank you,” Crow sighed when Penelope said she or Olivia would speak to his companions for him. He was glad that she was willing to stick to the lie he’d come up with, but he also felt a twinge of guilt for withholding the truth yet again. After everything that had happened with Jaxon, he was starting to get tired of sneaking around behind the backs of the people he cared about all the time. They deserved to know the truth. He just wasn’t sure if they could handle this secret, and he was afraid of how they might react if he told them about his father. For the sake of keeping their view of him the same, he couldn’t let them find out he was related to the king.

As Penelope went on to talk about finding time alone with him in the inner kingdom, Crow grinned, finding her enthusiasm infectious. Though he’d been to the inner kingdom many times now, his focus had always been on the targets of his heists. He’d never really taken the time to explore the citadel and appreciate it for what it was. Despite his hatred for nobles and their greedy way of life, he couldn’t deny that the cities were quite a sight to see. The money that had gone into their creation was apparent, and there were plenty of places he had yet to visit. The thought of getting away with the knight sounded like fun to him.

“I’d like that,” he said, smiling at her affectionately. The brightness in her eyes made his heart flutter. He loved it when she looked at him like that. Feeling a particularly strong wave of fondness for Penelope, Crow leaned in and pressed a passionate kiss to her lips and pulled her close in a tight embrace with his free arm. He lingered for a bit before he pulled back again to catch his breath, lifting his hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I can’t wait to see your favorite spots,” he said softly, touching one more gentle kiss to her cheek and another to her jawline. “It’ll be nice to have some real time alone again too… No more of this.” He gestured to the tent around them and then gave his bound hand a tug to emphasize the chain.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

He may have forgotten them xD

Also, I had a thought. When John catches Penelope and Crow together, do you think he would believe she was cheating on Gavin? I could see that being a very awkward conversation

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow leaned his head against Penelope’s hand as she caressed his cheek, enjoying the comfort that her touch always gave him. He was a bit relieved to hear that she was just as reluctant as he was about using her arranged marriage to buy her way back to the inner kingdom. It wasn’t the most ideal situation, but if it was enough to give her the excuse she needed to come with him when he confronted his father, then he supposed they would just have to tough it out and hope John wouldn’t rush the wedding any more than he already had. After all, now that the option for her to go was on the table, he was willing to try anything to make sure it happened. Having her by his side would be much better than speaking with Albin alone.

“It’s alright,” he assured her with a confident smile. “Besides, it might make it easier for us to keep fooling your father if he still believes you’re being courted by Gavin.” Leaning in again, he met her lips in a brief kiss and then frowned at her following words. In all his worries about what his decision would mean for himself, he had completely forgotten about the fact that his trip to the castle would mean it would be even longer before he could return to his companions. They had to be getting concerned that something had gone wrong by now. If he didn’t try to contact them soon, they might even get desperate and try to come to the knights’ camp to find out why he hadn’t left yet.

“Right…” Crow shifted his weight awkwardly and gave Penelope a bashful look. “I guess I haven’t thought this through as much as I should have.” He paused, mulling the situation over for a moment before he spoke again in a low voice. “I don’t want them to know where I’m going. None of them know that I’m related to the king, nor that he’s reached out to me before, and I’d rather not let them find out. They all hate nobles, so I’m not sure what they would do if they discover my lineage.” He grimaced. “It would be bad enough if I was the son of a vassal or some other low-titled lord, but my father holds the most despised position in the kingdom. I can’t imagine any circumstance where that wouldn’t change their opinion of me.”

The thief exhaled and wrapped his arm a little more tightly around Penelope’s back. “Honestly, I’m not sure what I could even tell them that would justify staying away longer,” he went on. “I think the best option would just be to say that it’s taking longer than we expected for me to heal and hope this trip goes by quickly enough that they don’t even realize I left the outer villages.”

He touched a kiss to her forehead and then pulled back to meet her gaze with an apologetic look, “I’m sorry to ask any more of you than you’ve already done, but do you think that you or Olivia could speak to them for me? I would do it myself, but I doubt I could get away since I’m barely well enough to walk.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow just wants her to come with him xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As Penelope said she would try to figure something out, Crow hoped she would be able to come up with something convincing. During his two conversations with Mia, he’d gotten the impression that the baroness was already suspicious of the nature of his relationship with her lieutenant. The last thing he wanted was for Penelope’s leader to figure out how close they really were when she asked to go with him to see the king. Not only would Mia probably prevent them from going together if she learned the truth, but he would also likely have to abandon the trip completely in order to stay in the outer villages and help her out of the situation if it came to that. As curious as he was to find out why his father had contacted him, he cared much more about making sure the knight stayed out of trouble. That meant staying close by if she needed him.

After a short period of silence passed, Crow felt Penelope shift against him. He glanced down at her curiously and knitted his brow when he caught sight of the uneasy expression on her face. He wondered what she was thinking about that would make her so uncomfortable, but before he could ask, she spoke up first. The thief listened with interest as she said that she may have thought of a way to escape from her camp for a while. Her words sent a thrill of excitement through him. However, that excitement disappeared almost as quickly as it had come when she went on to explain her idea.

At the mention of her arranged marriage to Gavin, he stiffened involuntarily, already disliking where this was going. He didn’t want her to bring up the wedding any more than it had already been discussed. If anything, he had been hoping the subject would be dropped and forgotten altogether. However, he couldn’t deny that it was a reasonable excuse for her to leave the battlefront for a while. If she pretended that she had business in the inner kingdom that needed to be taken care of, and if Mia already had a replacement for her, then the lie could very well work. He was sure her father would be pleased with her as well, so gaining his approval wouldn’t be a problem either.

“I’d be lying if I said I liked this plan of yours,” Crow sighed, running his hand back down the length of her back. “But I trust you, and I can’t think of anything better.” He leaned down to press a long kiss to her lips and then pulled back to meet her gaze with a fond smile. “If you think you can pull this off, then you should do it, but you’ll have to talk to them soon. I think your father is planning for us to leave in the morning two days from now.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow appreciates that xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow nodded faintly when Penelope told him not to be sorry. He was glad she understood that he needed to go. Even though he would have preferred to escape so he could stay with her in the outer villages, this was something he knew was just going to weigh on his mind if he didn’t do it now. He had to find out what his father wanted from him, despite the fact that he felt quite certain that he would have a difficult time speaking civilly to the man who had abandoned his family.

That was something else that was worrying him. He had decided to face Albin, but he didn’t know the first thing to say to him. Of course, he knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell the king off for everything the man had put his mother through; he wanted to yell and fight, not stand back and have a peaceful conversation. Just thinking about it now made his heart pound with adrenaline. However, he doubted it would be possible for him to do any of that. Albin was the ruler of Brerra. The man could have him imprisoned in a heartbeat if he spoke out as harshly as he wished to. So, no matter how badly the thief craved to speak his mind to his father, he knew he couldn’t do it.

“What if I could go with you?”

Crow blinked as Penelope’s voice caught his attention and looked down to meet her gaze while she went on to explain her reasoning. As she spoke, he felt a pulse of excitement rush through him. The idea of bringing her along when he confronted his father was more than just a little appealing to him. She had always been able to calm him down when his temper had flared up in the past, so if she was able to be by his side when he stood before Albin, he might actually be able to muster up the restraint to carry out a full conversation with the man without landing himself behind bars for lashing out at the king.

“Do you really think you could get away?” he asked, his hopefulness seeping into his voice as he held her gaze. “I mean, I’d love to have you along, but how will you be able to convince your baroness to let you go?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow got right to the point lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow didn’t have long to himself before he heard the sound of footsteps outside the tent. He sighed to himself. Of course he should have known better than to expect that John would leave him alone while he was off speaking with the barons about their coming departure. The knight must have found someone else to replace him until he could come back. He looked up to watch the entrance of the tent, waiting to see which noble had come to guard him this time.

However, when the figure stepped into the room, his disappointment was quickly replaced with a rush of excitement. He grinned as his eyes fell on Penelope’s warm face. Of all the knight who could have come to guard him, he was glad it was her. After going the last few days without seeing so much as a glimpse of her, he was eager to make up for lost time.

“Surprise,” Crow held out his hand in a sweeping gesture when she commented on the fact that he was standing up. His smile broadened slightly as she kissed him on the cheek. With her father around all the time, it had been difficult for them to ever find moments alone, so her touch thrilled him even more than it usually did. He slid his arm around her waist, feeling a burst of affection for the knight as he held her gaze.

At her following words, he nodded in agreement. It felt good to be able to stand beside her again. He much preferred it compared to having to look up at her from a bed all the time. However, her comment about ‘good timing’ reminded him of something else they needed to talk about.

“Speaking of your father,” Crow said in a low voice, lowering his gaze. “I’ve… come to a decision about what I’m going to do.” He paused for a moment before going on. “I’m going to go with him to see my father. I have to know why he’s been trying to contact me.” Pulling Penelope a little closer, he leaned his head against hers and exhaled softly. “Unfortunately, this also means I’m going to be leaving the outer villages for a while. I’m sorry, love.”

He closed his eyes and pressed a long kiss to her temple, feeling the weight of his decision more prominently now that she was right in front of him. When he left with John, he was going to have to leave her behind too. The idea of doing that didn’t sit well with him, but he couldn’t think of any other way around it. “I wish you could come with me,” he murmured, trailing his hand absently up to her shoulders. “Aside from the fact that I really don’t want to part again, it would be nice to have you at my side when I talk to my father.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It wasn't easy for Crow either ^^;
Although, he's happy he can finally move again