Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow just realized the rumors that might start about him and Naida once they start hanging out more xD

That all sounds like it's gonna be fun cx I can't wait!

I'm not sure yet. Honestly, I just see them pretending the problem doesn't exist right now, since neither one are the type to address it. Eventually they're gonna have to make a decision though, haha. It would be kind of interesting if Olivia ended up leaving for Alistair though, since she'd end up in the life that Penelope almost did. I'm not sure how she would come to the decision to give up being a noble though. We'll probably just have to wait and see how it all plays out

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow sighed when Penelope said they would probably have to put some distance between them once they returned to the castle. Right now, parting from her was the last thing he wanted to do. He had just given up everything he was familiar and comfortable with to start a new life as a nobleman in the inner kingdom. More than anything, he wanted the knight by his side to help him adjust to it all, but he knew they couldn’t do that without risking having someone figure out that they were together. He didn’t want to ruin her name amongst the other nobles while he still had a poor reputation. While he didn’t care if the people in the castle liked him or not, he wanted to ensure that she would still have good standing whenever they chose to go public about their relationship.

As Penelope went on to joke that they could be acquaintances for a while, Crow smirked amusedly. “I guess we’ll just have to try to remember how we used to act around each other two years ago, huh?” he nudged her blithely. Thinking back on it, it was almost comical to try and return to the way they’d interacted before they’d gotten together. Even back then, they had gotten along well enough that he had fallen for her mere days after they had begun their travels. It was hard to imagine staying acquaintances or even friends with her when a romantic relationship just felt so much more natural.

And we’ll have to keep distance between us on top of it all, he added to himself with a disappointed exhale. It’s a good thing Naida offered to help me settle in, otherwise this would all be miserable. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he was struck by an idea.

“Maybe we won’t have to completely avoid each other though,” he started slowly, turning back to Penelope with an eager grin. “You’re friends with my sister, right? She offered to spend time with me while I’m adjusting to noble life. If you stay close to her whenever you’re not on guard duty in the castle, we’ll probably wind up near each other through her. It wouldn’t even look very suspicious since you two are already close.” He blinked as something else came to him. “Although… not many people know that Naida and I share blood, so I suppose we might look strange spending so much time together.” He wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Oh gods, that’s an unpleasant thought.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

So do you think Cedric would pop up again if/when Crow and Penelope break off their courtship later?
I could see him being that creep who's just biding his time until she's available xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow nodded when Penelope said she’d thought this would be her last trip to the inner kingdom. Looking back over everything, it was strange to think about just how much had changed since they had arrived at the castle. Until now, he’d been planning on moving to Farhill with Penelope when the war ended, but now it looked like that future was a distant dream. Knowing that they wouldn’t have the life together that he’d always imagined made the thief’s heart sink a bit, but the disappointment was nothing compared to his relief that he was finally able to give her the life she deserved.

Once he took the title of viceroy, he would no longer have to take her away from her friends and family. Of course, he would now be giving up what he had as a thief, but by comparison, it wasn’t much. Being a fugitive, he had no permanent place to call his home, and he had no money or status to his name. Sure, he was going to be losing his companions, but he’d already been planning to leave them behind since the beginning of when he and Penelope had gotten back together. The only thing that changed was that now, with his rise in class, he likely would never be able to see them again, even by visiting. It was a bit disheartening, but he knew it wasn’t anything that would make him feel like he had made the wrong decision. He was firm in his belief that sacrificing his life as a criminal was the right choice for both him and Penelope.

Crow smiled as Penelope shifted to walk closer to him, reminded of the reason why he’d made his decision in the first place. As she went on to say that their trip to the outer villages would give them some time before everything changed, he shook his head in agreement. “It’ll be nice to slow down again too,” he sighed. “Ever since Jaxon showed up, I feel like I’ve been running without a destination. I just want to take a break from everything to catch my breath.”

When Penelope added that she was excited to travel alone with him, he returned her smirk with a grin, “Me too. It’s been far too long since we’ve been able to get away from everyone. I’m just glad that my father bought my excuse to bring you along, since he doesn’t have any other work for you to do at the castle.”

He glanced off to the side, where a few nobles were gawking at him, as if surprised to see the most infamous thief in the kingdom walking away from the citadel without chains on his wrists. Rolling his eyes, he turned away from them again to look forward at the road. “It’ll be nice when we get away from all these intrusive people too,” he muttered under his breath. “It feels like everywhere we go, there are at least five pairs of eyes on my back.” Slipping his hands into his pockets he met Penelope’s gaze with a helpless shrug. “Hopefully they’ll back off when Father finally tells everyone the real reason why he brought me here, but something tells me that the staring is only going to get worse… We’re going to have to be extra careful around the castle for a while.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yeah, I'm excited xD
Naida will probably think she was the match maker until they tell her that they were together way before she started trying to convince them to court lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow shot the guards a smug look as he exited the castle with Penelope. Though he still wasn’t sure what he thought about the sudden change of his own rising in status, he was starting to figure out more of the perks that would come with the new job—one of which being the fact that he was practically untouchable to knights. It was fun to be able to walk in front of them without fear of being arrested, and he enjoyed seeing the looks on their faces as they were forced to restrain themselves from going after him. As long as he had the support of his father, the King of Brerra, they couldn’t do anything more than shoot him dirty glares, and he liked it.

As they made their way through the courtyard, he noticed that the other knights outside the castle walls had even seemed to have caught wind of Albin’s orders to let him leave. They continued to make disgusted faces at him as he passed, and some fidgeted with their swords, as if they were barely restraining themselves from attacking him. He kept his guard raised, just in case one of the noblemen decided to ignore their ruler’s order and went after him anyway, but he couldn’t help the pleased smile that crossed his lips. For all his life, he’d had to sneak around knights to avoid getting caught, but those days would soon be over. The chase was ending, and he would be coming out on top. It was an exciting thought.

Crow turned to Penelope as he heard her speak up in a low voice. “I have a feeling it won’t stop the arguments,” he said with a shrug, toying absently with the purple cloth that bound the paper his father had given him. “But at least they won’t be able to do anything more than run their mouths.” Slipping the paper into his tunic for safe-keeping, he casted her an optimistic grin. “I’m not worried. In fact, I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy most of this trip.”

Turning to look forward again, he saw that they had reached the main gate of the castle grounds. Like the rest of the knights, the guards that were stationed there casted him foul looks, but fortunately, he didn’t even need to flaunt his father’s permission, because they allowed the two to pass through without a word. Crow let out his breath as the large gate was opened. Though he was more than willing to fight with the guards to get what he wanted, it was nice to get by at least a few of them without debate.

“You know, it’s strange,” Crow mused once they were on the road that led to the first town in which they would be staying. He glanced at Penelope with an amused smirk. “Until now, I would visit the inner kingdom to steal and then go back to my home in the outer villages; but now, I’m visiting the outer villages and then returning to my home in the inner kingdom. It almost feels like a weird dream.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Definitely cx

I actually have been thinking Naida would do that too xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As Crow walked down the corridor with Penelope, he was quick to notice that the castle guards seemed much more hostile towards him than before. He eyed them warily as they watched him, standing tensely as if they expected him to suddenly start causing trouble. Their venomous gazes set him on edge, but none of them made any moves to say anything or touch him, so he supposed that his father must have made sure that the knights knew they weren’t allowed to do anything to him. Still, if they thought he was just going to stand by and take their hateful attitudes, they had another thing coming.

Staying close to Penelope’s side, the thief returned any unfriendly stares with a feral glare of his own. To his relief, they made it all the way to the entrance of the castle without any trouble. However, when they got to the entrance, it seemed that their luck had run out as the guards stationed at the door appeared even more hostile than the rest. Crow narrowed his eyes irritably as they fought back against Penelope’s request to get by them. It seemed that their dislike of him ran deeper than their fear of being reprimanded by their king.

“Proof?” he snorted, standing a little taller as one of the guards challenged him. “Why would you need proof? Isn’t it already enough that all of you guards seem to have been told in advance that I’m leaving?”

“I’m not going to take my orders from castle gossip,” the guard snapped. “If you don’t have proof that the king approved of this, then you’re not going anywhere, thief.”

“I’m flattered that you think a peasant like me is skilled enough to spread a false order from the king throughout the entire palace guard,” Crow said dryly. “But unfortunately, you’re wrong.”

“You can talk as much as you want, but you’re not passing if you can’t prove that the king permitted this,” the other guard rested a hand on the hilt of his sword, as if he expected the thief to try and charge past him. “Now turn around and go back to where you came from.”

“Is this proof enough for you, Marden?”

Crow blinked at the sound of a new voice and turned around to see his father approaching. The king had an amused smirk on his face as he watched the two guards blanch and hurry to lean forward in deep bows to him. “I was hoping I would catch you before you left, Crow,” Albin went on, shifting his crystalline gaze onto the thief. “I have something else to give you.”

“Is that so?” Crow glanced back at the knights with a grin. “Maybe I should thank these fools for delaying us then.”

“Oh, they were just being cautious,” his father waved his hand, turning to the guards as well. “Sherrod, Marden, I’m glad to see that you two are taking your work so seriously, but I did give Lockton permission to leave the castle, so I’d advise you to let him through.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty,” the younger guard, Sherrod, stammered as the knights hurried to step aside. They still had mildly annoyed looks on their faces, as if they were displeased with the thought of letting the thief willingly leave, but neither one said anything more on the subject.

“Thank you,” Albin nodded before returning his gaze to his son. “Now then, this is for you.” He held out a rolled up piece of paper tied with a purple ribbon.

“What is it?” Crow frowned confusedly as he took the paper and turned it over in his hands.

“It’s for situations just like this,” Albin explained with a chuckle. “That paper has my written consent for your journey to the border. If any other knights give you trouble on your way, make sure they see that, and they will know that you are not to be harmed.”

“I see,” Crow studied the paper with newfound interest. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” his father smiled warmly. “Be sure to come and find me right away when you return. Have a safe trip, Crow.”

“Thank you,” the thief said again, dipping his head slightly in a polite goodbye. “I will.”

Having finished everything he’d shown up to do, the king turned to head down another hallway in the castle, leaving the other four behind. As soon as he was gone, Crow turned on the guards with a victorious grin and waggled the paper he’d been given in a flaunting manner, “You heard the man. Let us through.”

Marden curled his lip irritably, but said nothing as he and Sherrod opened the doors to let Crow and Penelope pass.

“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” the thief winked at them mockingly and then turned to Penelope. “Come on. We need to get to Sarton by nightfall.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

That would just make it worse xD
William's probably going to think everyone is losing their minds

Naida is totally going to ship them because she would be excited to have Penelope as a sister cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

While Crow waited for Penelope to arrive, he took some time to dig through the bag that Hunter had left on the bed, curious to see what sort of supplies the attendant had put together for him. Upon sifting through it all, he found that the satchel was mostly filled with food, flasks for water, and a small coin purse. There weren’t any camping supplies, since Albin had given them money to pay for a few nights at the local inns. Absently, he picked up the coin purse and pulled open the drawstrings, giving a soft whistle when he saw that the leather container was filled entirely with gold.

How much does Father think a night at an inn costs? He mused, plucking a coin from the purse and studying it in the light. Just half of the provided gold would have been more than enough to cover all of their expenses, including a few dinners at the inns. It seemed that Albin either didn’t realize that life outside the castle wasn’t as expensive as he thought, or he didn’t mind giving his son plenty of money to cover whatever he wanted to buy on the trip. Whatever the case, he and Penelope certainly wouldn’t find themselves short of gold while they were in the outer villages.

Suddenly, Crow was drawn from his thoughts by a knock on the door. Putting the coin purse away with the rest of the supplies, he looked up to see that Penelope had arrived at his room. He grinned, feeling his eagerness return to him once more. Despite the less than pleasant reason for the journey, he couldn’t wait to have a whole week to travel with her alone. It would be just like their mission in Younis, except better because this time, there would be no mercenaries lurking in wait to kill them.

“Good,” the thief nodded when she said that her father hadn’t been able to do anything to interfere this time. He smiled as she kissed him on the cheek. At her comment about the supplies, he just shrugged in response, “My father’s servants work quickly. Everything was here before I even arrived.” Slinging the bag across his back, he pressed a quick kiss to her lips and led the way back to the door. “I’ve been ready. I was just waiting on you,” he casted a playful wink at her over his shoulder and opened the door, gesturing for her to step through first. “After you, love.”