Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Walking through the long halls of the castle again, Crow squeezed out some more water from his still-wet hair. The guards he passed casted him disgusted looks, as if to say, “how dare this filth leave his bathwater on our hallowed floors,” but he ignored them. They had nothing to complain about. He’d done a rather thorough job washing himself in the pool, mostly because it had given him an excuse to linger in the warm water longer, so he was quite clean now.

After a while, he realized Hunter and Preston were taking him back to his room. They had entered a part of the castle that was familiar to him and had begun going up higher. As they headed up the spiral staircase that led to the upper level of the palace, he casted a wistful glance over his shoulder. “When do I get breakfast?” he asked, resting a hand on his empty stomach. “I’m hungry.”

The two attendants exchanged a wide-eyed glance, as if they had just realized that he hadn’t eaten anything yet. “Um, after we finish the preparations, I can get you something from the kitchen,” Preston offered.

“Or,” Crow proposed. “You could get me something to eat now, so I’ll continue to be cooperative during the rest of these preparations.”

The servants exchanged another look. “It shouldn’t take too much longer,” Preston tried again. “Your bath was the longest part.”

“Yes, but I’d like to eat now,” Crow said hotly.

“I’ll get a plate for you,” Hunter volunteered suddenly. He casted a subtle shrug toward Preston before turning to head back down the stairs. “Just keep getting ready. I’ll be back with your breakfast soon.”

“Thank you,” Crow nodded gratefully. Now that the matter had been settled in his favor, he followed after Preston more willingly.

When they got back to his room, Crow made his way over to where he’d left his clothes on the floor, assuming that the attendants would want him to get dressed for the ceremony. However, before he reached them, he heard the boy clear his throat. “Over here first,” Preston said when the thief turned to look at him, gesturing to the dresser with the mirror that he had found before. Now, there was a chair set up in front of it, along with some items on the flat top of the furniture that he didn’t look at closely enough to recognize.

“What else is there to do?” Crow eyed him quizzically as he walked over to sit in front of the mirror.

Preston picked up one of the objects on the table and held it out to him, “Shave.”

Crow blinked and looked down to see that the boy was holding out a small copper blade. It looked like it had been recently sharpened. “Why?” he queried. “I’ve seen plenty of noblemen with much longer beards than I have.”

“It’s part of the ceremony,” Preston answered simply. “You need to look more presentable and less like you just came down from a mountain.”

Once again, the boy’s flippant attitude caught the thief off guard. This kid’s lucky he got assigned to work for me instead of someone who would whip him for those remarks, he mused as he plucked the blade from his hand. “Fine,” he shot the attendant a teasing smirk. “Only because you asked me so nicely.”

Turning back to the mirror, he took a moment to study his reflection in its glassy surface. Though he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he could see what Preston had meant when he’d said he looked like he’d been living on a mountain. His beard wasn’t that long, but it was definitely a bit wild. He lifted a hand to his chin in thought. He hadn’t realized it until now, but, thinking back, he supposed he hadn’t shaved since before his first encounter with Jaxon. In the time since then, he’d let himself go more than he would have liked.

Deciding it was worth the effort after all, Crow lifted the copper razor to his cheek and worked carefully on trimming down his facial hair. It took some time to finish—he was a bit meticulous with a blade so close to his skin—but after a bit of effort, he managed to reduce his beard down so that the hair was just slightly longer than a stubble.

“This is as short as I’m going to go,” he said stubbornly, catching Preston’s frown reflected in the mirror.

The attendant hesitated for a moment before he shrugged, “At least you don’t look feral anymore.”

Crow rolled his eyes and set down the razor just before a knock sounded at the door. Preston trotted over and opened it for Hunter, who stepped into the room with a plate piled high with food in one hand and a drink goblet in the other.

At the sight of him, Crow let out an exaggerated sigh, “Gods bless.” He stood up from his chair and stepped over to the table, where the older servant began setting down his breakfast.

“Eat quickly, sir,” Hunter said with a slight dip of his head as he stood back to let the thief get to his meal. “We don’t have much more time before the ceremony begins, and there are still preparations left to complete.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Crow grinned as he took a seat in front of his plate. Ceremony or no ceremony, he always ate his food with the zeal of a starving man. Today was no different. He tore off a piece of rye bread in his hands and popped a bite into his mouth. Meanwhile, the two attendants worked on cleaning up the spot in front of the mirror where he had shaved, readying it for whatever else they had planned for him that morning.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Oh no xD I'm excited to see where that goes

Crow doesn't let Preston do his job

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Still feeling tired, Crow ambled carelessly down the long corridor after Hunter and Preston. For a while, none of them said anything to each other. The two attendants were soft-spoken by nature, and the thief was still focusing on shaking off the last of his weariness. He let his gaze wander over the people they passed, most of whom were guards that studied him with clenched jaws. It was obvious that the knights hated him just as much as before, but they seemed to be restraining themselves more today than usual. He wondered why until he remembered what his father had told him the night before. Now that he was officially the king’s ward, it appeared the guards had to show him more respect. His lip quirked upward in an amused smirk at the thought.

After a while of following the servants, Crow began to grow more curious to find out where they were taking him. They had entered a part of the castle that was unfamiliar to him. It wasn’t as lavishly decorated as the hallways that contained rooms of riches and wealth that would have drawn his eye. There were less guards as well, but more noblemen who also wore white linen garments. All of them were followed by their own personal attendants, which meant—to the thief’s best guess—that they were rather high-ranking men.

“So,” he finally spoke up, too curious to keep waiting any longer. “Where are we going, exactly?”

“The bathhouse,” Preston answered, slowing his pace slightly to fall in step beside the thief.

“Bathhouse?” Crow repeated with distaste. “I’ve already bathed recently. I don’t need another one.”

The attendant tilted his head slightly and looked him over, “When?”

“Last month.”

“You need another bath.”

Crow rolled his eyes, although he chose not to push the matter. He didn’t dislike being clean, but he also didn’t feel like he needed to wash again just yet. In the outer villages, people would normally bathe two or three times a year. Anything more than that was considered unnecessary. He didn’t see any reason why he should have to bathe after just one month. But, of course, it was less painful to just go along with the attendants’ wishes so long as they didn’t ask him to do anything too outlandish, so he kept his mouth shut.

Eventually, they arrived at a room at the end of the hall. It was a bit small—not much larger than his bed chamber—with a steaming pool of water that took up most of the space in the center. A few other noblemen were already inside, reclining about in various states of undress while their servants washed and tended to them. Crow lingered by the doorway as he took in the peculiar sight. When he pictured “bath,” this was not what came to mind.

“Go on,” Hunter encouraged him, noticing his hesitation. “I’ll hold onto your clothes for you while you bathe.”

Crow glanced at him and then back at the water, where some of the other nobles had taken notice of him and seemed to rush their own baths to get out of the pool before he stepped in. They probably didn’t like the idea of sharing bathwater with a peasant. “Fine,” he agreed after a moment. He knew was going to have to do it eventually, so he supposed he might as well just get it over with now. Slipping out of his shirt and pants, the thief handed off the clothing to Hunter and walked up to the edge of the pool. Preston followed closely behind him as usual.

Crow stood beside the water for a moment, watching the steam that rose off the surface with interest. It looked hot, but the other men clearly weren’t in any pain, so he supposed the temperature must have been tolerable enough. Deciding to find out for himself, he tentatively eased himself into the pool. As the water enveloped his body, his eyes widened slightly. As he’d expected, it was quite warm, but it was far from unpleasant. The heat was relaxing, and it soothed his tense muscles. It was much nicer than the icy rivers he had used to bathe in the past.

“I think I’m starting to understand why nobles wash themselves so often,” he sighed, closing his eyes as he sank up to his neck in the warm water. However, the moment didn’t last long. He stiffened as he felt someone touch his back and craned his neck to see that Preston had taken the liberty to start working on his shoulders with a cloth.

“I can do this by myself too,” Crow growled, snatching the rag from the attendant’s hand. As he pulled it away, he realized the fabric had a light scent to it. Curious, he lifted it to his nose. “What’s this?”

At his question, the boy bit his lip as if to keep from laughing, “That’s soap.”

Crow reddened slightly. He wasn’t embarrassed about the fact that he hadn’t used soap before—no one in the outer villages could afford such a luxury—but the servant’s response made him feel a bit bashful. Not wanting to dwell on it, he turned away from the attendant and proceeded to wash himself without replying.

Preston wasn’t as quick to drop it.

“You really are a peasant, huh?” he mused, rocking back on his heels at the edge of the pool now that his job had been taken over.

“That’s what I told you before,” Crow muttered, gingerly scrubbing the middle of his torso with the cloth. Though his wound had healed for the most part, the new skin over his scar was still sensitive to the touch, so he worked on it tenderly. To his relief, the attendant let the matter of his origin finally drop, and he finished bathing in silence. When he was finished, he climbed back out of the water—reluctantly, since he enjoyed the way the heat felt on his body—and was handed a towel by Hunter.

Once he was dry, he dressed himself again and followed the two attendants as they led him off to whatever was next on their list of preparations, leaving the bathhouse behind.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Same cx

Preston and Hunter are already having a hard time dealing with Crow lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

By the time Crow got back to his bed chambers, he was more than ready to lay down for the night. He stepped over to the side of his bed and sat down, yawning broadly before he bent down to take off his boots. As he finished removing them, he saw another pair of shoes stand in front of him. He looked up to meet Preston’s gaze with a confused expression. “Did you want something?” he asked, his tone slightly blunt from his exhaustion.

“Let me help you,” the boy said, stepping forward and reaching for the thief’s tunic.

“Hey, hey,” Crow recoiled from the servant’s hands. “I can undress myself, thank you very much.”

Preston frowned, “But it’s my job to—”

“I don’t care,” Crow stopped him by holding up his hand. “I’m not going to let someone else take off my clothes for me unless they’re an attractive woman. Now go get some sleep. I don’t need anything else from you tonight.”

The attendant hesitated for a moment before he gave a reluctant nod, “Fine. Goodnight.” He bowed and then turned to head out of the room, leaving the thief to be alone in his room.

As soon as the door closed behind the boy, Crow let out his breath in relief. He finished getting ready for bed and laid down, drawing the smooth sheets up to his chin. It felt good to finally have a moment to himself. He would have liked to enjoy it for a while, but in the end, his desire to sleep won out and he drifted off into a light slumber.

--

“It’s time to get up.”

Crow groaned and shoved his pillow over his head to block out the sound of whoever was trying to rouse him. His bed was so comfortable, and he was still tired despite the sleep he’d gotten that night. He didn’t want to get up.

There was a brief pause before the voice tried again. “Come on. You need to get ready for your ceremony.”

“Go away.”

Another pause, this one longer than the last. The thief managed to drift off into a light sleep before he eventually heard the sound of footsteps by his bed. He was still barely awake, but he was rather sure the first voice had left the room and returned with someone else. He buried his head further beneath the pillow, hoping whoever was there would take the hint that he didn’t want to get up yet.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get his way.

Through the thick feathering in the pillow, he could hear muffled voices talking amongst each other before he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. “Sir, you need to wake up,” this voice sounded more familiar. “We need to prepare you for the titling ceremony this afternoon.”

“Not now,” Crow groaned again. “It doesn’t take me that long to get dressed. I’ll do it later.”

There was more quiet talking. He began to relax again, but before he could nod off, he flinched as someone suddenly pulled his blanket away from his body. The sudden change in temperature as the cool air hit his skin was jarring. With a pang of annoyance, he sat up to see who had woken him up so rudely. To his surprise, Preston was standing by the edge of the bed with the corner of the sheets in one hand while Hunter stood further back, fidgeting nervously as if he wasn’t quite as on board with the other attendant’s idea.

“What the hell?” Crow snapped. Still in a foul mood from his lingering weariness, he turned on the boy with a glare. “I was trying to sleep.”

“Yes, well, the king instructed us to prepare you for your ceremony this morning,” Preston said. His voice was calm, but he backed away from the bed to put some distance between himself and the angry thief. “I had to get you up somehow.”

Crow just scoffed in response, running a hand through his messy hair as he reluctantly allowed himself to wake up a bit more. However, in the next moment, he knitted his brows, glancing toward one of the windows off to his left. “It’s still early,” he turned back to the attendants with narrowed eyes. “The ceremony isn’t until the afternoon. Why did you wake me up now?”

“There’s a lot to do,” Preston shrugged.

“Surely there can’t be that much,” Crow said with dry disbelief.

“Well, normally there isn’t,” the boy admitted. “But you’re going to take more work.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Preston opened his mouth to reply, but was quickly cut off by Hunter, who chose that moment to intervene. “Never mind him,” the older servant said hurriedly. “There are clothes for you on the table. Preston will help you get dressed, and then we’ll take you to get ready for the ceremony.”

Crow and Preston exchanged a tense glance. Fortunately, the boy seemed to remember their conversation from the night before. He stepped over to the table and picked up a stack of neatly folded, white linen clothing and handed them over to the thief without a word.

Crow stood up and dressed himself. The plain shirt and pants were clean, and the fabric felt soft against his skin. It was quite different from the coarse fibers of the clothing he usually wore. He turned back to the attendants with a sigh, “Let’s get this over with.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

True lol it would definitely be an uncomfortable conversation between them though xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow was relieved when the subject was dropped quickly. He lowered his gaze to his plate, digging into his meal as a silence fell amongst them. Though he was nervous about the ceremony and the changes it would bring, his worries didn’t do much to lessen his appetite. After spending so many days traveling, he doubted much could snuff out the hunger he’d built up from walking. Plus, the food served in the Great Hall was just as delicious as the dishes he’d had delivered to his room.

Offhandedly, he wondered if he would be able to start having private meals again once everything settled down or if he would have to eat with the rest of the nobles in the castle permanently now. He liked to think he had the right to keep to himself, but then again, the private dinners had probably just been something his father had done to convince him to take the job. He popped another strip of venison into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. It seemed likely that since the king wasn’t trying to get anything else out of him, some of the special treatment was going to stop.

The thief looked up again, drawn from his thoughts when Naida spoke up to Penelope. At his sister’s question, his eyes flicked to the knight. He was hoping she would be coming to the ceremony, if only to have someone around whom he felt comfortable spending time with. At the moment, he wasn’t sure if they would be able to talk much during all the festivities tomorrow, but it was at least nice to know she would be in the room. So, when she said she would attend the ceremony, he felt his shoulders relax.

As the two noblewomen began to talk about dresses, Crow turned back to his plate to continue eating. However, it wasn’t long before Naida said something that nearly made him choke on his food. He quickly downed a long draught of the wine that had been brought out with their suppers to recover from his sister’s comment about Penelope “finding someone new” now that she was no longer with Gavin. Of course, he knew Naida couldn’t have known about their relationship, but hearing her suggest that the knight should start thinking about other men made him cringe.

Eager to change the subject, he jumped into the conversation when Penelope finished speaking. “They can complain all they want,” he said with a shake of his head. “As long as I don’t feel a dagger between my shoulders tomorrow, I think it’ll be a successful day.”

“You won’t have to worry about that,” Naida shrugged, poking at a few cooked vegetables on her plate. “It doesn’t matter how much the hate you now. If anyone tried to attack you, father would have them hanged.”

“Perhaps,” he took another sip of his drink. “But I’d rather be paranoid and alive than trusting and dead. Until things settle down around here, I’m going to keep sleeping with one eye open.”

“Suit yourself,” Naida quipped. “But that’s why we have the royal guard.”

“Yeah, well I don’t trust them either,” Crow scoffed. He finished off the rest of his supper and let out his breath in a long exhale, pleasantly full on the richly spiced meat. Though dining in the Great Hall hadn’t been as comfortable as being in the security of his own bed chambers, he was glad he’d gotten a chance to see Penelope and his sister one more time before the approaching ceremony. Now, he wanted to catch up on the sleep he’d been missing.

“I should get going,” he said, standing up from the table. His eyes flickered briefly to Penelope before returning to Naida’s face. “It sounds like tomorrow is going to be long and exhausting, so I need to get some sleep. I’ll see you both later.”

“Alright,” Naida smiled. “Goodnight!”

Crow nodded wearily, feeling his tiredness settle over him again more strongly now that he was digesting a heavy supper. With nothing left to say to the knights, he turned to head back to his room, with Preston hurriedly falling in step beside him when the attendant noticed he was leaving the Great Hall from where he’d been sitting.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Honestly same lol

Also, I can totally imagine John making a condition that he'll only give Crow his blessing if they wait to sleep together again until after they're married xD (since he's worried about Penelope's good name getting ruined)

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow nodded wearily when Penelope reiterated his point that things moved quickly at the castle. Having grown up amongst the leisure of peasant life, he wasn’t used to keeping up with the schedules of anyone beside himself. Until now, he would always do everything on his own time, only rushing on occasion if he needed to get something done in a hurry. If he wanted to be productive, he would; if he wanted to nap, he would just as easily. Now, it seemed like those days were over. He was going to be at his father’s beck and call for as long as he worked for the man.

Beneath the table, he felt someone brush against his leg with their own. At first, he tensed slightly at the motion, still on edge around so many nobles, but after a moment, he relaxed when he realized it was Penelope. A faint smile tugged at his lip, concealed by the hair that had fallen in his face when he’d laid his head down on the table. Though they had to be careful to keep their relationship a secret, he was glad that she was still finding opportunities to get closer to him like this.

As the knights spoke to each other about his titling ceremony, Crow’s smile faded, and he lifted his head again to look up at them. He felt his unease return at Naida’s mention that their father was planning to rush everything. Right now, he didn’t even want to think about it, but he didn’t have much of a choice. In less than a day, he was going to become a nobleman. Just the idea of it made his stomach twist with anxiousness.

So, when Penelope turned to him to ask about his conversation with his father, the thief avoided her gaze with a grimace. “Well… yes,” he admitted in a low voice, toying absently with the sleeve of his tunic. “He wanted to meet with me to go over what the ceremony is going to look like and how he wants me to prepare for it. Although, to be completely honest, I don’t remember much of the conversation.” He gave a sheepish shrug. “He was lucky I managed to stay awake for the whole thing.”

“That’s alright,” Naida grinned. “Ceremonies aren’t that difficult. There are usually just one or two rituals, and then everyone gets to eat.” She leaned forward eagerly. “So, when is it going to be?”

Crow wavered, biting the edge of his lip, before he answered: “Tomorrow afternoon.”

“Whoa, really?” Naida blinked in surprise. “Father really isn’t playing around, huh?”

Crow shook his head, running one hand nervously through his hair. “He said he wants me to start my training as soon as possible, and I have to formally take the title before that can happen,” he said, repeating the same information Albin had told him earlier.

Naida let out a low whistle and then smiled again. “Well, I suppose he did have a whole week to prepare while you were gone,” she reached across the table to nudge him excitedly. “Hey, you’re about to go from Crow, the wanted thief, to Crow, the viceroy of Brerra. How great is that?”

At her words, he flinched slightly, reminded of the last topic his father had discussed with him. “Not exactly…” he muttered, averting his gaze again. Luckily, he didn’t have to explain himself, because in the next moment, Preston and a couple other servants appeared to serve food to their table. Crow quickly turned away from the knights, relieved to have the distraction so his sister wouldn’t press him for information.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

She's totally gonna try to matchmake Crow and Penelope together xD