Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow looked away from Naida and Penelope as they talked about going to Bellmare together. Even though he was the one who had made the decision not to go, he couldn’t help but feel a little left out. His sister and the knight were the only two people in the castle that he got along with well, so he could already tell that their absence was going to feel quite tangible to him tomorrow. He wished he could just ditch his lesson and go with them, but unfortunately, Udolf’s threats to speak with his father were too much of a risk. It was better to miss out on one day with Penelope than lose the future he was working so hard to secure for them because of one impulsive decision.

Caught up in his thoughts, it took the viceroy a moment to realize that Penelope had changed the topic to speak with him. He blinked and looked up from his plate. “Yeah,” he nodded, casting her a helpless smile. “We went over everything he taught me yesterday and then added some more etiquette that I’m supposed to know for my specific job.”

“And it was worse than prison, right?” Naida snickered, referencing his earlier comment.

“Of course,” he grinned back at her. “I’ll take a cold cell over Udolf’s teaching any day.”

“Wait,” Naida’s eyes widened. “Your tutor’s name is Udolf?”

“Yes,” Crow tilted his head slightly. “Why?”

His sister snorted, “Father gave you the same tutor that educated the rest of us.”

“He did?” Crow raised a brow, surprised to learn that Albin had given him the same teacher that he’d hired for the rest of his children. “That’s funny. He doesn’t seem to know we’re related.”

“Who knows?” Naida shrugged. “But now I know why you hate your lessons so much. Udolf is a real stuffed shirt.”

“So I’ve noticed,” Crow said dryly. He casted a furtive glance at Penelope and bit his lip again. He wished he could talk to her more openly, but with the princess around, there wasn’t much that he could say without arousing suspicion. With a subtle exhale, he finished off the rest of his dinner and stood up from the table. “I should get some sleep. I’ve been late to my last two lessons, and I’d rather not get another earful about it tomorrow.” His eyes flicked toward the knight before returning to Naida’s face. “I guess I’ll see you in two days.”

“See you!” Naida raised her hand in a wave. “Try not to miss us too much.”

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll find someone else to bother while you’re gone,” he said with a wry wink. “Night.” Glancing at Penelope one more time, he dipped his head in a curt goodbye and then headed back to his room to turn in for the night.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Same, haha.

Crow feels trapped ^^;

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow sat down across from Naida at the table with a sigh. Even though he hadn’t done much that day, he felt tired and couldn’t wait to go to bed. It had only been two days, and he was already starting to find his new life as a nobleman unbearable. He missed the freedom of being able to live every day on his own terms, without the restrictions of rules and customs weighing down on his shoulders. He may not have had the luxury of rich foods and fine clothing, but at least then he hadn’t been forced to spend a whole day learning how to show respect to other people who wouldn’t return it.

“So,” Naida’s voice drew him from his thoughts. He looked up to see her smirking at him amusedly. “Judging by that face, I’m guessing your lesson was just as dull as we expected. Am I right?”

“Yeah,” Crow shook his head, running one hand through his hair. “I’m starting to think it would have been more enjoyable to go back to prison.”

“Oh, it couldn’t have been that bad,” his sister snickered.

“Oh, but it was,” Crow grinned at her playfully. “Trust me, I’ve done both, and spending two days in a cell was much better than studying under that tutor for the same amount of time.”

“You’re just being ridiculous,” Naida laughed. She opened her mouth to make another comment, but then stopped when something else caught her attention.

Crow looked up to see that his sister had spotted Penelope by the front of the Great Hall. A smile threatened to take over his mouth, and he turned away to hide it. After thinking he had missed the knight at supper, her sudden appearance caught him off guard, so it was harder for him to hide his excitement. He lightly bit the inside of his lip as she sat beside him, avoiding her gaze and murmuring a quiet ‘hello’ when she greeted them.

Worried that he would give away his eagerness to be with the knight again, the viceroy remained quiet as the two noblewomen spoke to each other. He only looked up when Penelope mentioned that they wouldn’t see much of her tomorrow. As she explained that she was going to Bellmare, he nodded wordlessly, hiding his disappointment from the others. He wished he could accompany her on the short trip, but there was no way for him to get away with that—not while they were still keeping their relationship a secret, and not while Udolf was still tutoring him all day every day.

“Ah,” Naida frowned, expressing the disappointment for both of them. “Well, at least it’s just one day.” She paused for a moment, pursing her lips as another thought seemed to come to her. “What if I come with you?” she asked, perking up quickly. “I’ve got nothing else to do tomorrow, so it could be fun!” She turned to Crow with a mischievous glint in her eye. “What about you, Collin? Want to come?”

The viceroy blinked, his eyes flicking between Naida and Penelope. He shifted his weight, unprepared for the question. “I really wish I could,” he sighed, casting a brief, wistful glance at Penelope. “But I’ve got another lesson tomorrow, and I’ve already annoyed my tutor enough as it is. If I don’t show up, he’ll probably go and complain to the king.”

“Aw,” Naida pouted and turned back to Penelope. “Well, he can’t go, but I don’t mind skimping out on a few responsibilities.” She grinned. “What do you say?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I can't wait to see that conversation cx
A lot of these nobles are really interesting characters, haha

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“Have you no sense of time, boy?”

Crow shrugged wordlessly as Udolf chided him for being late for the second time in a row. He didn’t see why it mattered. They still had plenty of time left for whatever the tutor had planned for his lesson that day. However, the older man seemed quite offended by his tardiness. He stood in front of the viceroy with his arms folded sternly over his chest. His brow was furrowed, and his jaw was clenched as he went on: “I thought you had actually learned something after yesterday’s teachings, but it seems you’re just as hopeless as I expected.”

“I don’t see the problem,” Crow said defensively. “You tutor me all day, and it’s barely the afternoon. We’ve barely lost any time.”

“It’s about the principle of the thing,” Udolf shook his head in exasperation. “It doesn’t matter if you still have time to finish the content of your meeting or not. Showing up on time demonstrates respect to whomever you are meeting with.”

“Then consider my lateness a reflection of how much I ‘respect’ you,” Crow muttered under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” Crow said airily, stepping past the older man to sit down at the table. “So, what will you be teaching me today?”

Udolf eyed him for a moment before responding, “Since you seem to have forgotten everything I taught you yesterday, we’ll start by reviewing your etiquette.”

“Again?” Crow groaned. “I already showed you that I memorized it all. Why do you want me to do it again?”

Udolf held up one index finger, “First, because repetition will help you perfect it.” He held up another finger. “And second, because I don’t believe you’ve memorized it. You certainly aren’t acting like you have. You turned up late, you didn’t greet me properly, and you’re still walking like some sort of wild animal.”

“I have,” Crow said indignantly. “I’ve just chosen not to put it into practice.”

That was the wrong answer.

“Oh, really?” Udolf’s jaw clenched again. “Tell me this, Lockton. Do you believe I’m just here to waste my time?”

Crow said nothing, sensing that the tutor was baiting him with the question.

“Because if you do,” Udolf went on without waiting. “Then we might as well end this lesson here, and I’ll go tell His Majesty that you are unteachable.”

“No, wait,” Crow objected quickly. He wavered for a moment before going on through gritted teeth, “I’ll do what you teach me.”

“You will practice acting like a proper nobleman?” Udolf clarified.

“…Yes,” Crow muttered.

“Good,” Udolf nodded, stepping over to stand by the viceroy’s side. “Now then, review for me what you learned from yesterday’s lesson.”

--

Crow spent most of his lesson reviewing and refining the etiquette that Udolf had taught him, along with learning a few new things about how he should interact with people of different statuses and—since he was the king’s ambassador—different cultures. Silently, he found it shallow that he didn’t have to show respect to lower-class nobles. It made much more sense to him to return whatever respect was given to him in the first place. Of course, he kept his thoughts on the matter to himself, since he knew he would just earn himself another lecture from Udolf if he voiced his opinion to the stubborn old man.

By the end of the day, Crow grew sick of being told how to behave and was relieved when he was dismissed for supper—the tutor didn’t make him repeat everything this time, since he’d proven that he really was memorizing everything as they went. He ended the meeting in the formal manner that Udolf had taught him, although, inwardly, he cursed the old man with whatever profane names he could think of in the moment. The tutor may have forced him to give in to noble doctrine on the outside, but he refused to let anyone break his spirit.

Once Udolf left, Crow and Preston—the attendant had reappeared toward the end of the lesson again—walked to the Great Hall for supper. As he did at breakfast, Crow searched the vast room for Penelope and frowned slightly when he didn’t see her again. After missing her that morning, he’d been hoping to see her at least once that day, but it was starting to look like they wouldn’t cross paths at all. He let out his breath in a disappointed sigh. However, before he could take one step toward the closest empty table, he flinched as someone threw an arm over his shoulder.

“Hey, Collin,” Naida grinned. “Looks like we got here at the same time today, huh?”

“Looks like it,” he returned her smile once he’d recovered from his initial surprise.

“Come on,” his sister stepped away from him and waved her hand in a beckoning gesture. “Let’s find a place to sit.”

“Alright,” Crow nodded, following her into the room. “Just as long as we don’t sit near Braden again.” He wrinkled his nose. “I still need some more time away from him before I can handle another bought of his insults.”

Naida laughed, “He’ll get used to you eventually. He’s just protective of his heritage. Once he realizes you’re not trying to cut in line for the throne, I’m sure he’ll warm up to you.”

“Perhaps,” Crow shrugged. “But I still don’t want to sit near him right now.”

“Okay,” Naida rolled her eyes and reached for his wrist. “Come on. I think I saw an empty table over here.”

“Fine, fine,” Crow smirked, finding her enthusiasm infectious as he followed her through the crowd.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I decided to introduce Willow a little more cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

After some time passed, Naida was the one to break the silence between the four siblings again. She looked between them all and then cleared her throat. “So, what are all of you doing today?” she asked with a smile that looked a bit forced in Crow’s opinion. He wondered if she was just trying to start up a conversation because the quiet as uncomfortable to her.

“More of the same,” he answered with a shrug, sipping at his drink.

“A few lieutenants from one of the southwestern battalions are here to report to father,” Braden sat up a bit straighter. “I’ll be attending the meeting with them as we discuss battle strategies.”

Interest piqued, Crow snuck a subtle glance at his brother. He wondered if Penelope knew about the lieutenants he was speaking of. He didn’t know much about the southern battalions, since they were so far away from the villages in the north that he called home, but he remembered that she wanted to reach out to all the barons she could. If the knight didn’t yet have any connection to the southwestern barons, then perhaps this could be her way to reach them.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to ask about the lieutenants before Naida spoke up again.

“What about you, Willow?” the princess asked, turning to the youngest girl, who had been sitting silently for the entirety of their breakfast until now.

Crow followed her gaze curiously. Of all his siblings, he knew the least about Willow. His younger sister never seemed to speak unless spoken to, so the only things he knew about her had come from his conversations with Naida, and even she hadn’t told him much. All she’d said was that Willow had no interest in the adventurous life of knighthood, so she was being raised by their mother, the queen, to eventually wed a nobleman. Even when they had all been children, she had apparently been the meekest among them, never causing trouble or disobeying the rules set in place by their parents. Looking at her now, he could believe it. She definitely had the temperament to be a ‘proper noblewoman,’ as he could imagine Udolf saying.

Willow shifted slightly in her seat, seeming uncomfortable with being the center of attention. “Mother wants me to review the list of suitors she’s chosen to start courting me in the winter season,” she said in a soft voice.

“Wait, you’re already going to be courted?” Crow blurted out in surprise. He bit his tongue, reddening slightly at his own outburst. It wasn’t her age that caught him off guard, but rather the fact that she was the thirdborn—well, technically fourth—child of Albin. He would have thought Braden and Naida would be married off long before Willow. It was strange to him that the youngest sibling was going to be wedded first.

Willow seemed just as uncomfortable with his comment. She said nothing as she dropped her gaze to her lap again, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

Luckily, Naida jumped in to explain: “Father wants Braden to focus on his studies, and most noblemen of high rank don’t want to marry a woman who’s also a knight.” She shrugged. “That just leaves Willow to form a connection between our family and another powerful family in our kingdom.”

“Why does she have to do that at all?” Crow frowned, studying his younger sister, who looked unhappy to him.

“Because it will help our family solidify our place at the top of the kingdom,” Braden said with a sneer. “Father hasn’t been in power for very long, so if we join with another strong clan and gain their support, we’ll be more firmly accepted as the true royal family—not that I would expect a criminal to understand such complex matters.”

“I do understand,” Crow shrugged. “It all just sounds petty to me.”

Braden scoffed, “That’s because you’re a simpleton.”

“Or I just know a waste of effort when I see one,” Crow smirked. He lifted his glass to his lips and downed the rest of his drink before standing up from the table. “Anyway, I should go. I’ve got another long day of tutoring that I’m already late to.”

“See you later, Collin!” Naida said with a grin.

Crow didn’t wait for the others to respond before he turned and headed back to his room, unexcited to see Udolf for his second lesson.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Braden still thinks Crow is trying to usurp the throne somehow ^^;

That makes sense xD
He seems like the kind of scumbag who would do that

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The next morning, Crow was roused by the soft light that flooded in through his window. It was a much more pleasant way to wake up compared to the last two days. He sat up on his bed and stretched, running one hand through his hair to smooth it down. Now that he’d had some time to rest and recover from his trip to the outer villages, he was feeling much better. His old wounds didn’t pain him anymore, and he wasn’t as exhausted as he had been before.

It seemed he’d had perfect timing too, because in the next moment, the door knob rattled, and Preston stepped inside. The attendant looked up at him in surprise, “You’re awake.”

“I don’t sleep through every morning,” Crow rolled his eyes. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, stretching a bit more as he did.

“Given your record, you could see why I would have thought so,” Preston said casually as he retrieved a set of clothes for the viceroy to wear that day.

“If you keep up with those comments, I might do it just to spite you,” Crow muttered, taking the clothes from the boy’s hands. He changed out of the linens he’d worn for the night and put on the new garments. Like everything else he’d been given at the castle, the clothes were fine and more brightly colored than anything he’d worn in the outer villages before. He didn’t like how much the striking yellow tunic caught the eye, but at least it was comfortable against his skin.

Once he was ready, he walked with Preston to the Great Hall for breakfast. He hoped he would run into Penelope again, but when he arrived, he didn’t see her anywhere amongst the crowd. Instead, he spotted Naida, who was sitting with the rest of their siblings at a table near the back of the room. He hesitated at the sight of them. Apart from his sister, he didn’t know the rest of his family very well, so he didn’t feel comfortable approaching them. However, Naida seemed to want him to join them, and he also didn’t want to eat alone. He supposed he might as well stop by for a little while.

Crow made his way across the Great Hall, ignoring the glares of the nobles he passed, and sat down at his sister’s side, across from Braden and Willow. Though his sister had been eager to see him, he could tell the other two weren’t nearly so excited. Braden wrinkled his nose, and Willow lowered her gaze, poking uncomfortably at the remining food on her plate. There was a clear air of tension amongst them, but Naida didn’t seem to notice it.

“So, how was your first lesson yesterday?” she asked him curiously. “I didn’t see you at dinner.”

“That’s because my tutor made me work through most of supper,” Crow shook his head. “He spent the whole day teaching me etiquette.”

“Sounds like a bore,” Naida made a face.

“It was,” the viceroy grimaced. “And from what I’ve heard, yesterday was just the beginning.”

“Of course,” Braden spoke up. “It’s going to take a lot of work to turn a peasant like you into a decent nobleman. Honestly, I don’t know why father is even bothering to try.”

“Braden,” Naida hissed, giving her brother’s shoulder a shove. “You shouldn’t speak to Collin that way.”

“Why not?” the prince shrugged. “It’s the truth.” He tilted his chin up as he met Crow’s gaze. “Father should have given the position to a man of respect and left you in those dirty, rat-infested villages where you belong.”

“Watch your tongue,” Crow narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Those ‘dirty villages’ are my home, and the people there are more respectable than any nobleman I’ve ever met.”

“Is that so?” Braden said apathetically. “Well then, if you like them so much, why don’t you go back? I’m sure it won’t be hard for father to find a replacement for you.”

Crow clenched his jaw. “Believe me, I would,” he growled. “But I’ve got a reason to stay, so I won’t be going anywhere.”

At that, Braden tensed and shot him a cold look. “And what reason might that be?” he asked accusatively.

“My reason is my own,” Crow answered vaguely. “It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with.” He looked up as Preston stopped by the table to bring him a plate of food.

“I find that hard to believe,” Braden clenched his hands into fists with visible tension. “You just don’t want to tell me because you know I’ll have every reason to concern myself with it, isn’t that right?”

“Calm down,” Naida rolled her eyes. “He’s not after the throne, Braden.”

“And how would you know that?” the prince challenged.

“Because I’ve told her repeatedly that I have no interest in that kind of power,” Crow answered for her with a one-shouldered shrug. “The crown of Brerra brings more trouble than it’s worth. I should know. I tried to steal it once.” He bit into his bread before he added, “Believe me, it’s all yours, little brother.”

Braden bristled, seeming to dislike being reminded of his relation to the former thief. “You can say that as many times as you want,” he snarled. “But I know every man wants the throne, and you’re no exception. I’ll be keeping my eye on you, Collin.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Crow snorted, taking another bite of food. He could tell that, while Naida was friendly toward him, Braden and Willow weren’t going to be so quick to accept him.

The four siblings continued to eat in tense silence as the morning dragged on.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Apparently lol
I'm also curious to see what Cedric will do after Crow is forced into an arranged marriage with the princess and cuts off his courtship with Penelope