Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow relaxed when Penelope said that she didn’t think her father hated him. As far as he could tell, John was the only person who still had the power to stand in the way of their courtship now that he’d taken the title of a nobleman. If the older knight didn’t want them to be together, it was going to be difficult to get around him. Still, even if she doubted that her father hated him outright, he planned to tread carefully around the man if or when they ever crossed paths again. After all, he didn’t want to risk doing something to upset him anymore than he already had the last time.

As Penelope went on to say that he should get going, Crow nodded solemnly. He wished they had more time to be together, but there were still just enough other people in the Great Hall that they might risk drawing attention to themselves if they lingered for much longer. Knowing that short meetings like this were probably the most they were going to get away with for a while, he grew even more eager for the day when he would be able to court her openly. It was going to be a nice change compared to all the sneaking around they had been doing for the entirety of their relationship. They hadn’t been so free since they had been traveling alone in Younis two years ago.

“Alright,” he sighed, rising to his feet. “I should get some sleep anyway. From the sound of it, I’m going to have another long day of being told what a ‘savage’ I am.” He rolled his eyes and then casted her a smile. “I’ll see you around, love. Good luck with that guard shift.”

Having said his goodbyes, Crow headed for the entrance of the Great Hall with a tired yawn. As always, Preston fell in step beside him, and the two walked through the long hallways that led to his bed chamber. It didn’t take long before he got back. As soon as the door was closed, he slipped out of his boots and clothes and put on a set of plain linens that the attendant brought to him—it was getting cold enough at night that he preferred to be dressed—before settling down to sleep for the night.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I could see that xD
Gavin and Crow would probably get along over that, haha

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Well, that’s not encouraging,” Crow grimaced when Penelope said that there would probably be more than one lesson. He wondered just how many rules there really were for noblemen to follow on a day to day basis. Just one day of going through proper dining, greetings, and other such public behavior had been enough of a nightmare. He couldn’t imagine learning anything more than he already had, but if she was right, then Udolf probably had much more in store for him tomorrow.

As Penelope went on to talk about what she had been doing that day, Crow listened to her quietly. He was pleased to hear that she was already writing to so many of the knights on the warfront about her call to end the feuding between Brerra and Younis. After going back and forth with the other kingdom for a whole year, he knew the people of the outer villages were longing to see it end as well. If she could get the barons on board with her plans, then they might actually see their wish come true.

At the knight’s mention of Naida, the viceroy rolled his eyes. “Yes, she’s been very persistent too,” he casted her an amused smile. “It’s kind of ironic though, isn’t it? Before, when we couldn’t court, nearly everyone we’ve come across has thought the idea of us being together was insane; but now, when we technically could start courting anytime, someone is finally being supportive, and we have to pretend like we’re not interested in each other.” He shook his head. “Nothing ever comes easily for us, does it?”

Crow took another bite of his food and chewed thoughtfully. “Although, hopefully it won’t be much longer before that changes,” he said in a low voice. His expression softened slightly as he held her gaze. “Once things calm down and the other people in the castle get used to me being around, there won’t be any reason for us to keep pretending—well, as long as your father doesn’t make a scene about it.” He winced at the thought. “He doesn’t still hate me, does he?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

On a completely different note: I have a feeling Crow is going to hate Cedric if/when he finds out that he's not just a casual friend of Penelope xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow raised a brow when Penelope explained that she had taken a nap before supper in preparation for a guard shift that night. He supposed he shouldn’t have been so surprised though. It made sense that the royal guards would want to put her to work right away since she was going to be around for a while. Offhandedly, he wondered if their already limited time together was going to be cut even shorter now that she was working again. The though made him feel a pang of disappointment, but he tried not to dwell on it. After all, even if they were going to be strained to visit with each other in the future, they still had right now. He didn’t want to ruin the moment by moping.

“It’s not very different from what I was expecting,” Crow answered her question with a shrug. He was about to go on, but then paused as he caught sight of Preston walking over to the table with a plate of food for him. The attendant set his supper down on the table, and the viceroy restrained himself from commenting as the boy proceeded to do a quick taste test. Upon deciding the food was safe, he bowed and walked off, leaving them alone again.

“I’ll never get used to that,” Crow muttered with a shake of his head and then turned back to Penelope. “But to answer your question: No, I didn’t have time for a nap. I had to spend the whole day being tutored by one of the dullest men I’ve ever met.” He wrinkled his nose distastefully. “I thought he was going to educate me on writing or math or something useful, but instead, he had me memorizing upper-class etiquette. It was awful.”

He gave an exaggerated shudder and popped a bite of food into his mouth with one hand, blatantly disregarding the way Udolf had taught him to eat his meal. “I hope he was just getting the boring part out of the way first, because if every lesson is like this one, I swear I’m going to start daydreaming about the gallows.” He met her gaze once more and smiled. “But enough about me. How have you been? I haven’t been able to see very much of you lately. Are you settling back in comfortably?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Yep. I'm thinking the first nightmare will happen around like a week after their return to the castle. It'll definitely be a surprise ^^;

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

On his way to the Great Hall, Crow yawned and lifted his arms over his head in a long stretch. Having not been able to take a break since breakfast, he planned to have a quick supper and return to his room to get some sleep. After enduring a full day of Udolf’s company, he felt like he deserved it. The tutor was difficult to be around since everything that came out of his mouth was a criticism of some form or another. Even the viceroy, who considered himself to be a level-headed receiver of most critiques, found the constant berating to be exhausting. He wasn’t sure how he was going to last through another lesson like that, let alone enough of them to become as educated as the rest of the noblemen in the castle.

As he walked past another patrol of guards, Crow noticed that the knights were giving him dirtier looks than usual. He rolled his eyes. Like Udolf, they probably found the way he casually walked through the castle “improper” or were judging him for some other superficial nonsense. Normally, their condescending looks didn’t bother him, but after being told all day that everything he knew and did was wrong, he found their bitter looks more annoying than usual.

“Mind your own gods damned business,” he snarled the next time he caught one of them staring.

The knight blinked, seeming surprised by his reaction. He turned to his comrade to mutter something about ‘entitled criminals,’ which, of course, did nothing to better the thief’s mood.

Crow slowed his walk slightly as he glared at the guards, toying with the idea of staying to prod at them some more, but before he could, he felt someone’s hand press against his lower back, ushering him past the other men. He looked down to see Preston eyeing him with a wary look as he hurried them both through the hallway. “It doesn’t seem like a good idea to pick a fight with the royal guard,” the attendant said, justifying his actions before the viceroy could question him.

“Who said anything about fighting?” Crow shrugged. “I just wanted them to stop their staring.”

“You swore at them,” Preston pointed out. “It definitely sounded like you were trying to start a fight.”

“They started it,” Crow muttered.

“They’re going to look down on anyone whom they think is beneath them,” the attendant said dismissively. “Your opinion isn’t going to change that.”

“Well then, gods damn them too.”

When the two arrived in the Great Hall, Crow took a moment to look around. Unlike the last few times he’d been there, the room was nearly empty, so he doubted he would find anyone he knew. He let out a quiet sigh and took a step toward an empty table, resigning himself to eat alone. However, in the next moment, he realized there actually was someone he knew that was still in the Great Hall.

Crow’s heartbeat quickened slightly as he spotted Penelope off to his right. This time, it looked like she was eating alone—Naida was nowhere to be seen. He smiled to himself and turned to walk over to her but then faltered as he suddenly realized she was speaking to the same nobleman who’d sat with her at the banquet the night before. He shifted his weight slightly. It still wasn’t well known around the castle that they were even friendly with each other, so he didn’t want to tip this nobleman off by interrupting their conversation.

Luckily, it seemed that wouldn’t be a problem, because it wasn’t long before the strange man walked away, leaving Penelope alone. Crow’s heart fluttered excitedly as the knight waved at him, but he forced himself to keep a neutral expression, since Preston was still by his side. Thinking about the attendant now, he casted him a thoughtful glance. “Why don’t you go to the kitchen and find out if there’s any food left?” he suggested, gesturing at the knight’s table. “Just bring out whatever leftovers you can find. I’ll be sitting over here.”

“Of course,” Preston bowed and walked off to comply with the request.

With the boy gone, Crow fixed his attention back on Penelope, making his way over to her table. It was the first time they’d been alone—or at least, as alone as they could get—since their trip back from the outer villages. He wanted to make the most of it while he could.

“Long time, no see,” he said with a teasing grin as he sat down across from her. “I’m surprised you’re still here at this hour. I hope you weren’t waiting for me.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow is definitely more brain than brawn lol
It's a good thing, since he's gonna have to deal with his PTSD again later and probably won't be able to fight well anymore

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

For the rest of the lesson, Udolf continued to walk Crow through a variety of different etiquettes for different situations that he was likely to encounter as the king’s ambassador. Some of the rules were more practical than others—at one point, the tutor showed him different types of bows for nobles of different ranks, which were so subtly unique that the viceroy doubted he would be able to remember which one was for which title—and overall, Crow had a feeling he wasn’t going to adhere to a lot of them.

Having quite a few deeply ingrained habits already, he preferred to continue acting the same way as he always had. After all, most of the traits he’d developed had helped him survive in the outer villages in some form or fashion. He was reluctant to let go of them just because one stuffy old man thought he was uncultured.

As the day dragged on, the viceroy put up with most of Udolf’s teachings. However, there was one correction that irritated him more than all the others.

When the older man saw him step briefly to the other side of the room to retrieve something, he told him he needed to learn a more gentlemanly walk. He called the thief’s movements “feral” and stated that they were unacceptable in the royal court. Crow then spent the remaining time going through the motions of walking properly at the tutor’s instruction, but silently vowed that he would not put the change into practice.

He liked to think of his walk as lithe and graceful, and there certainly wasn’t anything wrong with it. He’d spent years developing a gait that would allow him to move quietly over practically any type of flooring, and he was quite proud of the accomplishment. Even by a thief’s standards, he was talented at masking the sound of his footsteps. In his opinion, it would have been a waste to relearn how to walk and give up such a useful skill, even if it was unlikely that he would need it in the castle.

By the end of the lesson, Crow was exhausted from the effort of keeping up with so many different rules and longed to take a nap until supper. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance before Preston returned to his room from whatever errands he had been running during the day. The boy stepped in right as Udolf began telling the viceroy when he would be allowed to speak during council meetings with the king and other high-ranking nobles. At his appearance, they both looked up at the door.

“Supper is being served in the Great Hall now,” the boy said, glancing between Crow and Udolf as he lingered by the door.

“Thank the gods,” Crow sighed. Even though it seemed he wouldn’t be able to fit in a nap, he would take any excuse to get away from his tutor. He moved to stand up from his chair, but Udolf held up a hand to stop him.

“You can eat when your lesson is over,” the older man said in his usual clipped tone. He turned to the attendant. “You, sit over there until we’re finished here.”

“But they’re serving food now,” Crow objected. “I’ve done enough learning for one day. I want to have my dinner.”

“If you think you’ve gained enough knowledge to be rewarded, then prove it,” Udolf challenged. “Recite back to me what I’ve taught you today.”

“Everything?” Crow squawked, wide-eyed. “We’ve been at this all day though. By the time I finish, there won’t be any food left to eat.”

“Then I suppose you’ll just have to be as fast and accurate as you can,” the tutor smirked.

The viceroy shot him a glare, disliking how much the older man seemed to be enjoying his frustration. “What if I refuse?”

“Then I’ll just tell His Highness that you were uncooperative for your lesson, and I will decline to tutor you any further,” Udolf answered casually, though his smirk remained just as smug as ever. “I’m sure he will be displeased.”

Crow clicked his tongue. While he normally wouldn’t care what anyone else thought of him, he didn’t want to give his father the impression that he wouldn’t be a capable viceroy during his first day on the job. Albin might decide he wasn’t fit to be a noble and rescind his offer somehow, and the thief’s plans to give Penelope the life she deserved would be ruined. He couldn’t risk that.

“Fine,” he growled under his breath.

“That’s better,” Udolf nodded. “Now then, show me what you’ve learned.”

It was fortunate for Crow that he was a rather quick learner. He went through each etiquette that he had been taught with precision that seemed to surprise his tutor, who had probably been expecting that he would stumble over himself and forget most of the details. It still took some time for him to get through everything, since Udolf had taught him a lot, but he finished early enough that he still had high hopes that he would be able to catch the tail end of dinner.

“So,” Crow crossed his arms as he stood across from the older man. “Am I free to go now?”

“Seeing as you completely everything with… unexpected accuracy,” Udolf said, his dark eyes studying the viceroy with new interest. “I suppose you may leave.”

“Sounds like you don’t think I’m a fool anymore, huh?” Crow grinned, feeling pleased with himself for having caught his tutor off guard.

“You’re certainly not what I was expecting, I’ll give you that,” Udolf admitted, meeting the thief’s gaze. “I now understand why His Majesty chose to give you the position… despite your criminal history.”

“I’ll take it,” Crow shrugged. He turned away from the older man and gestured to Preston. “Come on. I’m hungry, so I want to go to the Great Hall before they stop serving supper.”

The attendant dipped his head in acknowledgement and stood up, following closely at the viceroy’s heels as they made their way through the corridors that led to the Great Hall.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow already hates his lessons xD