Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Cool cx We can save that for later then, haha

I actually love that idea! I imagine Crow would get super protective of her if/when he found out xD
Also, I low key picture Penelope as being super badass when she's pregnant lmao Kind of like the mom in A Quiet Place, if you've seen that (when she actually gave birth while being hunted by the monsters)

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The way Gavin avoided eye contact with him didn’t slip past Crow’s observant gaze. He let out his breath in a soft exhale. Despite his hopes that his new title wouldn’t change the way anyone treated him, it seemed like it already was. When he had told his companions, he had noticed that they looked at him differently too. They had still acted the same around him as they always had, but there was something new in their eyes whenever they had spoken to each other. He still couldn’t tell what it was, but he knew it was a sign that they didn’t think of him the same way anymore either. The news of his relation to the king and his position as the next viceroy had changed their relationship.

Now, Penelope’s friends were treating him differently too. He studied Gavin, who still refused to meet his gaze. It was hard to tell what was going on in the knight’s head, but it was clear that he wasn’t looking at him as the same peasant thief that he had been before. He just hoped the other man’s reaction had more to do with his shock over the new information than it did with the job itself, and that he would return to normal once the dust settled and they were used to his new title.

His eyes wandered to Olivia, who seemed like Gavin’s opposite at the moment. Her face was lit up with unbridled excitement over everything she was finding out. Crow had a feeling that Penelope was right when she had said that her friend would probably poke fun at him about his change in title. He fully expected her to tease him about it for quite a while. As long as she didn’t spread word to anyone else, he could handle that though. He just hoped she had enough sense not to bring it up when her comrades were around.

As the knights continued to converse, he leaned tiredly against Penelope’s side, finding it harder to stay awake now that the discomfort of telling her comrades about his situation had mostly passed. Luckily, Gavin seemed to notice his weariness. The knight stood up and announced that he and Olivia should get going. Crow nodded, yawning sleepily, “Alright. We’ll see you tomorrow before we leave.”

“Congratulations.”

The thief blinked in mild surprise as he looked up at the knight. He wasn’t sure why, but he hadn’t expected Gavin to say anything supportive about the job he’d taken, let alone congratulate him for it. After a moment, he offered the other man a smile. “Thanks,” he said with a one-shouldered shrug. “Although, we’ll see soon enough if it’s something worth congratulating or not.”

Gavin nodded and held the flap of the tent open. Olivia got up from where she had been sitting and mumbled a few words of farewell before stepping through the opening with the male knight close at her heels.

As soon as they were alone, Crow turned his head to press a kiss to Penelope’s cheek. “You know, this whole trip has been going a lot better than I was expecting,” he said amusedly. “No arguments with either of our companions, and nobody has attacked me either. I like it.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It's a lot to take in xD

Also, I had an idea for like waaaaay later in the RP. Basically, I could see Crow and Penelope actually winding up as the king and queen of Brerra without ever trying to get there lol There would have to be a specific chain of events first though:
1. Braden would have to die (probably by getting killed somehow)
2. Naida would be next in line for the throne, which she wouldn't be happy about because she hates responsibility
3. Albin would die (not sure how that would happen yet either)
4. Naida suddenly finds herself about to be crowned as the next queen, and ends up telling Crow that he should be the king instead, because he's technically ahead of her in line for the throne

It would have to take a lot of convincing for Crow, but it would be an interest turn of events, I think. Of course, this wouldn't be for a super long time even if we end up going for it cx What do you think?

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow held his breath as Olivia and Gavin stared at him in silence. Their reaction unsettled him. He hadn’t intended to tell them that he was related to the king at all. The only reason why he’d even admitted it was because he knew Gavin wouldn’t let the subject go until it made sense to him. He lowered his gaze uncomfortably, tugging at the hem of his shirt. The last thing he wanted was for them to start acting differently around him just because he was Albin’s son. He much preferred to be thought of as a thief and peasant than a royal’s estranged child.

When Gavin eventually spoke up to ask Penelope how long she’d known about his heritage, Crow glanced up at her to listen to her reply. He felt her venture to take his hand, and he laced his fingers with hers, giving her hand a grateful squeeze for the subtle comfort she offered him. Though he hadn’t planned on telling her friends the truth about why he’d been given the job, he was glad that he had her by his side for support when he did. Her presence made him relax in spite of the tension lingering in the air.

At Olivia’s comment, he rolled his eyes. “I may be his son, but I’m far from royalty,” he said. “My father and I have a complicated history. I doubt he would crown me as a prince even if I wanted to be one.”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Olivia asked curiously. “If you’re his firstborn, then that means you technically have a birthright to the throne.”

“Gods, no,” Crow wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Just being a noble is going to be difficult enough. I want nothing to do with the duties of the royal family or the throne. Besides, he’s already got another son who’s being raised to take over as the next king after my father’s reign ends.”

“If you say so,” Olivia shrugged.

Crow sighed, “Anyway, that’s the real reason why my father chose to make me his viceroy… He was the last man to hold the position, and he said that since I’m his son, he believes I’ll have the same qualities that made him such a talented ambassador to the last king. That, and he said he wants to make up for the past wrongs between us.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Sounds good to me, haha

Oh boy, I can't imagine he'll be able to process this part then xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow shifted slightly as the room fell silent. He glanced between Olivia and Gavin, trying to read their facial expressions since he couldn’t tell what was going through their minds. When Olivia finally spoke up in a frustrated groan, the thief frowned. He opened his mouth to tell her that it wasn’t a lie, but Penelope spoke first. Casting her a sideways look, he nodded as she told her friends that he really had been offered the title, and he was going to be taking it when they got back to the castle.

When Olivia teased him, Crow just rolled his eyes. Though he had been willing to explain his reasoning to his companions, he was more hesitant to do so with the knights. They had earned some of his trust, but he hadn’t known either of them for very long—he didn’t really count his brief encounter with Olivia two years ago, since they had only spoken for a day—and he was naturally reluctant to talk about himself to others in general. Still, it seemed like they needed more details to really believe him.

Gavin confirmed his suspicion when he went on to question why the king would offer him such a title. The harshness of his words didn’t bother Crow. After all, he had been just as dumbfounded when his father had originally made him the offer. To anyone on the outside, it simply didn’t make sense.

He averted his gaze, fidgeting with the hem of his tunic as he tried to decide how much to tell them. After a moment, he looked up again to meet Gavin’s gaze, “He found out I’m multilingual, so he decided I was a good fit for the job.” He shrugged. “Since I already know the languages of all our neighboring kingdoms, I only have to learn whatever else there is to being a viceroy.”

“I didn’t know you knew other languages,” Olivia studied him with intrigue.

“I don’t know,” Gavin frowned. “It still doesn’t add up to me. Even if you’re fluent in foreign languages, you don’t know as much in other areas as someone born in the inner kingdom. Why would the king choose a hated criminal instead of a nobleman with an upstanding reputation?”

Crow lightly bit the tip of his tongue and casted an uncertain look at Penelope. He didn’t like the idea of telling the knights any more than he already had, but it seemed like Gavin was already suspicious that he was leaving out crucial information. He let out a sigh of resignation. It looked like he was going to have to admit the truth to them after all.

“Because that hated criminal technically has more of a right to the title than any noble,” he said in a quiet voice, looking up to meet the knight’s eyes again.

“What does that mean?” Gavin asked with clear confusion.

Crow took a steeling breath. “This really can’t leave the tent,” he murmured, glancing over his shoulder as if he was worried someone might be eavesdropping on them outside.

“Okay,” Gavin said, eyeing him hesitantly.

“What is it?” Olivia leaned forward, obviously excited by the prospect of learning something secretive.

Crow wavered for a moment longer before he admitted: “I’m sort of… the king’s firstborn son.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Same xD I feel like Edward is gonna be treating Penelope a lot better too, since he would try to use her to elevate their family's name.
That would be really interesting, haha. I'm guessing they would visit before Crow leaves for Younis?

I figured I'd let you write their reactions cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow shook his head when Penelope said that Layth wouldn’t have even let him into the camp if he hadn’t had a letter from his father. He disagreed; killing him on the spot would have been to merciful for her brother. Layth probably would have had him arrested the instant he set foot within sight of the guards and then come up with some cruel way to torture him for all the trouble he’d caused. Either way, he was relieved that Albin had planned ahead for such circumstances and ensured that he was untouchable to the knights.

When they reached the tent, Crow glanced furtively over his shoulder at the knights who were still watching him and muttering amongst themselves. He sighed and turned towards Penelope again, though he kept his guard up just in case any of her comrades were foolish enough to disregard the king’s orders. He couldn’t wait to get inside the tent and away from their venomous glares. So, as soon as she raised the flap at the entrance, he eagerly followed her through the opening.

However, once they were inside, he paused as his eyes landed on two other figures who seemed to have beat them there. He blinked in surprise, hanging back slightly as Penelope asked Olivia and Gavin why they were there. A small smile curved his lip. It seemed the two were even more curious to find out what was going on than the rest of the battalion. When Olivia questioned him about what was going on, he casted one more glance over his shoulder before moving a bit further into the tent and sitting down across from them. He met Olivia’s gaze with a serious expression, took a deep breath, and then said: “Eh, I think I’ll make you wait until tomorrow.”

“Not you too!” Olivia groaned. She leaned forward to give his shoulder a shake. “Come on! I’ve been waiting all day to find out what happened with you two. You’ve gotta give me something!”

“Alright, alright,” Crow laughed, throwing up his hands. “Fine; I’ll tell you. You just have to swear to me that this doesn’t leave the tent. Got it?”

“I swear,” Olivia nodded eagerly, resting her hands on her knees and holding his gaze intently. Gavin murmured his agreement as well.

Crow studied their faces for a moment before, determining that he could trust them, he exchanged a quick glance with Penelope and then turned back to them, speaking in a lowered voice: “When we went to the castle, the king offered me the job as his viceroy.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I can't wait for the knights to find out Crow doesn't just have the king's favor, but he's going to outrank literally all of them xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The grin on Penelope’s face was enough to melt away all of Crow’s lingering fears. He relaxed and smiled back at her as she went on to confirm that she had gotten her baroness’s approval to come back to the inner kingdom with him. His heartbeat quickened with excitement at the thought. Now, he could be sure that when he began his new life as a viceroy, he wouldn’t have to go through it alone. She would be there with him, and the transition wouldn’t be nearly as difficult. He felt weak with relief.

“Thank the gods,” he sighed, eagerly taking her hand when she reached for his. “I don’t know what I would do if I had to go back to that place by myself. Those nobles would probably drive me mad.”

He fell quiet as she added that she had only gotten sure approval for two months. The detail made him shift slightly. He was glad that he could be certain that she would be with him for that long, but he had been hoping that they could stay together indefinitely. After all, he was planning to start courting her more formally when they returned—albeit secretively, since they still didn’t want word about their relationship to spread any farther than it already had. If all went well, he intended to marry her after that. If she had to go back to the warfront, those plans would have to be put on hold yet again.

“Well, I hope my father is willing to hear you out then,” he said softly, offering her a somewhat forced smile. Having only spoken to the king a few times, he still hadn’t figured out what kind of man he was, so he wasn’t sure what to expect. He wanted to believe that Albin would be reasonable or at least consider ending the war to stop the expenses and loss of life. However, it was always possible that he was a warmonger like the barons on the battlefront.

As Penelope changed the subject, Crow nodded his head, glad to put the worrisome thoughts behind him for now. “Alright,” he said, bringing a hand to his mouth as he let out a sudden yawn. “I’m glad you managed to set something up for me. I’m too tired to pitch a tent, myself.”

He followed her into the camp, noticing right away that every knight in the area was eyeing him with unbridled hostility. Their unfriendly gazes made him uneasy, but he knew they couldn’t attack him. His father would be furious if he found out his son had been killed by an out-of-line soldier, so as much as they disliked it, they couldn’t lay a finger on him.

“I’m glad the king gave me a letter,” he muttered under his breath to Penelope as he kept watch of the other knights around them. “I’m certain at least some of your comrades wouldn’t hesitate to murder me in my sleep if I didn’t have proof that I’m allowed to be here.”