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Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow got a glimpse of Albin's true colors ^^;

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As Albin spoke with the knights, Crow remained quiet, listening to the content of their conversation. It seemed that his father believed he really was innocent, whether there had been anything in his room or not. He was glad to have the king’s support, but he had to wonder why Albin was so confident that he hadn’t done it. He studied his father curiously. They hadn’t known each other for very long, and given his past, he would have thought the king wouldn’t believe him so easily. After all, he had been known throughout the kingdom as a criminal and a liar. It seemed like the wiser choice to take what he said with a grain of salt, but Albin seemed to trust him wholeheartedly. The thought made the viceroy feel warm.

When John and Penelope began to walk back toward the door, Crow turned to follow them. However, he didn’t get far before his father stopped him.

“Collin,” the king said, drawing his attention. “Before you leave, I would like a word with you.”

Crow swallowed, guessing that whatever his father had to say, it wasn’t going to be good. He glanced from Albin to the Vermillions and gave a helpless shrug, “I guess I’ll catch up with you later.”

John nodded wordlessly and gestured for his daughter to follow him as he continued to make his way toward the exit. Once the two knights were gone, Crow turned back to his father. “What did you want to talk to me about?” he ventured a bit sheepishly, still unsure what to expect.

“Come up here,” Albin waved a hand, gesturing for the viceroy to join him on the pedestal. “I don’t enjoy holding a conversation with you from such a distance.”

Crow wavered for a moment before he complied with the king’s request and climbed up the steps to stand by his father’s throne. Albin nodded approvingly. “That’s better,” he said with a smile.

“So?” the viceroy pressed tentatively.

“Don’t worry,” Albin sounded amused. “You aren’t in any trouble.” His expression turned more serious. “I want you to know that if you are receiving any threats from my subjects, I want you to come to me with them immediately. You are my ambassador, so any plots against you are also plots against me.” He leaned forward in his seat, his eyes darkening in a way that sent a chill up Crow’s spine. “I will not stand for treason within the walls of my own castle. If there is anyone at all who is making you feel unsafe here, I will make an example out of them. You will tell me if there are, won’t you?”

Crow bit his lip. His father was offering him the perfect opportunity to take down the baron who was trying to have him removed from his position, yet the viceroy couldn’t speak his name. As much as he disliked Adam, he didn’t want to be the cause of anyone getting punished by his father. By the look in the king’s eye, he had a feeling that whatever punishment he had in mind was going to be severe.

He hasn’t done anything worth speaking out about yet, he reasoned with himself. As long as my life isn’t in danger, I won’t say anything.

“There are none,” Crow lied after a pause.

Albin’s amused smile returned. “Why are you defending them?” he asked, once again seeing right through his son’s deceit. “I saw the dagger you’ve been carrying, Collin. If you truly felt safe here, you would have no need to arm yourself.”

“It’s a habit,” he lied again with a shrug. “I’ve lived my whole life on the run, so I never feel safe without a blade anymore.”

“Very well,” the king leaned back in his throne. “I’m not going to force you to tell me. However, I would advise you to think about it. If I find out someone has been threatening you, I will have him imprisoned.”

“Of course,” Crow shrugged. He had expected that much.

“I’m not finished,” there was something menacing about the smile on the king’s face. “I will have him imprisoned, because if he is left unchecked and something happens to you… I will have him drawn and quartered instead.”

The viceroy paled.

“That is all I have to say to you,” Albin’s expression turned warm again. “Please, think it over while you’re at breakfast.”

Crow nodded wordlessly, still unnerved by his father’s grisly threat. He turned to leave, but then paused as another thought came to him. “I’ve been wondering,” he said slowly. “How did you know I didn’t steal those men’s jewelry? You’ve seemed certain of it since the beginning.”

Albin chuckled. “Because you share my blood,” he answered in a low voice, standing up from his throne. “Stealing those belongings would have been a fool’s errand.” He rested one hand on the viceroy’s shoulder. “My son may have a criminal record, but he is no fool. I know you wouldn’t have done it.”

Crow wasn’t sure what to think about that.

“Come on,” his father waved a hand. “I’m sure you must be hungry after such a busy morning.”

“Starving,” Crow agreed. He followed after Albin as the king led him out of the room, putting his unease behind him at the prospect of breakfast in the Great Hall.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I'm sure that didn't go at all as Adam was hoping xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As the group made their way to the throne room—Preston went the opposite direction to work on other chores—Crow fell in step near Penelope and casted her a sideways glance. He had a feeling Adam would try to drag her down too, but it didn’t matter. As long as Preston carried the missing jewelry without getting caught, there was nothing the baron could do to prove it had been there without revealing that he was the one who had planted it in the first place.

John echoed his thoughts.

When they arrived at the throne room, Crow took a quick look around to take in the scene, wanting to be prepared in case things went badly for any reason. At the far end of the chamber, his father sat in his throne, which was positioned on a pedestal that set him above everyone else. He wore his usual unreadable expression, although the viceroy had been around him enough now to pick out a few tics. His jaw was faintly clenched, and his left hand gripped the armrest of the seat with subtle tenseness. He was agitated.

Below the king, three noblemen were gathered, including the blonde-haired baron, whom Crow was quick to recognize. With them were a small group of guards, likely in place both to keep the peace in the room as well as catch the former thief if he was proven to be guilty. Every one of them casted him a look of contempt as he approached with Penelope and John, and he bit his tongue. If his father hadn’t been sitting right there, he probably would have made a face at them. However, he was supposed to act with dignity, so instead, he held his head a little higher and met their cold eyes with unwavering resolve.

Rather than walking all the way up to Albin’s throne, Crow stopped a short distance away. He didn’t want to get any closer to the angry nobles than he had to, especially when they began calling for his arrest again. His green eyes flicked to his father as the king attempted to calm them down. As Albin asked if the Vermillions had found anything when they had searched his room, he forced himself to keep a neutral expression, not wanting to give away the victorious smirk that threatened to take over his lips.

John stepped forward to answer. “We searched the whole room and found nothing, Your Majesty.”

In spite of himself, Crow snuck a glance at Adam, whose face was red with fury. The baron looked like he was barely restraining himself from screaming that it was a lie. His furious reaction pleased the viceroy. He bit his lip to keep from laughing.

“It seems there is no evidence that my viceroy is guilty of any crime,” Albin mused, his lip turned upward in a faint smile as he looked at his son. He turned to the three noblemen. “I will have my guards continue to search for your missing belongings, but I cannot punish Collin on speculation alone.”

“M-My Lord,” Adam spluttered. “I think it would be wise to search the room again.” He casted Crow a disgusted look. “They could have missed something. He was a skilled thief, after all. He could have hidden our jewels well enough that they couldn’t be found by just two searchers.”

Well hidden? A child could have found those pendants, Crow thought dryly.

“Are you suggesting that the knights I selected are incompetent?” the king asked with a hint of warning in his voice.

Adam shrank. “N-No.”

“Then I will not waste my men’s time with another pointless search.”

The baron clenched his hands into fists. Crow could tell he wasn’t ready to give up yet. “What about the thief, himself?” Adam tried a different approach. He casted the viceroy a conniving smile, seeming to think he had won. “Did anyone check to see if he’s hidden the jewels on his body?”

Albin turned back to John, “Did you?”

“No, Your Majesty,” John answered honestly.

“Then he should be searched immediately,” Adam declared. “I can even do it, myself, if it will mean finding my lost rings.”

“You will not,” Crow said indignantly.

“That’s alright, Fischbach,” Albin raised a hand. “For your peace of mind, I will have Collin searched, but my knights will be the ones to do it.” He indicated to two of them. “John and Arledge, make this quick.”

The two knights bowed to their king and moved toward the viceroy, who took a step back from them.

“I thought I was done with searches when I took this position,” Crow growled. Even though he knew he had nothing to hide, he’d always hated the feeling of knights running their hands over his body. When he’d been in prison, he’d had to put up with it any time his guards had come in to clean his cell—they had always wanted to make sure he didn’t slip any keys off their belts when he’d been close enough to reach them. The thought of going through the demeaning procedure all over again made him shudder.

“See?” Adam tilted his chin up victoriously, seeming to mistake the former thief’s aversion to being touched for guilt. “I knew that if we just looked a little closer, out belongings would turn up.”

“Damn thief,” one of the other noblemen muttered in agreement.

“Collin,” Albin spoke up now. Even he seemed to be eyeing his son with a hint of wariness. “I would advise you to let my men do their job.”

Crow hesitated, his eyes flicking between the two guards in front of him. As he caught John’s gaze, the older knight shot him a glare, as if to say, ‘stop making this more difficult than it has to be.’ He ground his teeth in defiance, but after a tense moment, he gave in and reluctantly held up his hands.

The two knights worked roughly as they checked his pockets and patted him down for the missing objects, although John was noticeably gentler than Arledge, who practically beat the viceroy as he searched his torso.

“Watch it,” Crow snarled as the younger knight got close to his barely healed wound.

“He’s carrying nothing aside from this,” John announced when they finished the search, holding up the dagger he’d found in the thief’s right boot.

Albin quirked a questioning brow, and Crow shrugged. “I didn’t steal it,” he muttered, still upset about the unwarranted body search. “At least, I didn’t steal it from anyone here.”

“Regardless,” the king waved a hand dismissively and faced the noblemen. “Collin obviously doesn’t have any of your belongings. I will have my guards keep looking until we find the real culprit. For now, please return to your regular duties and leave the rest to them.” He turned to his viceroy, who was glaring at the wall with his arms crossed hotly over his chest. “I’m sorry you had to endure that,” he said with genuine regret. “However, now that your name is clear, you’re free to go as well.”

“Thank you,” Crow huffed and then stepped up to John, holding out his right hand. “My dagger, please.”

The knight glanced at the king, who nodded back at him, before handing over the blade.

Crow replaced it in his boot and straightened his posture again. Off to the side, he could see Adam glaring at him with more venom than ever, and this time, he didn’t restrain himself as he cocked his chin up and shot the baron a sneer. Adam just scoffed in response and turned away to walk with the other two noblemen and the guards as they all exited the throne room, leaving Crow, Albin, and the two Vermillions behind.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow likes it xD
He's just excited by the chance to use his skills as a thief again

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow nodded when Penelope brought up the point that it was going to be harder to clear his name since Adam had actually stashed the stolen jewelry in his bed chamber. He was concerned about that too. Even if they marched into the throne room and demanded it had been a set-up, they had no proof to back up the claim. By any outside perspective, it looked like he really had stolen the nobles’ things. They needed more if they were going to prove someone else had done it.

He glanced at John as the older knight added the fact that he didn’t have an alibi. As Penelope’s father looked between them, Crow blinked in mild surprise. He hadn’t realized that John had found out about his getaway with the female knight. He narrowed his eyes slightly. It wasn’t like he could have foreseen that this would happen. The older man had no reason to look at them like they had done anything wrong. As her father, John had to have known about Penelope’s fear of stormy weather. He should have been grateful that the viceroy had stayed to comfort her during the thunder yesterday.

Before he had a chance to defend himself, however, the knight suddenly changed the subject by announcing that he had an idea. As determined as he was to explain his actions the day before, Crow was even more concerned about finding a way out of this sticky situation, so he kept his mouth shut as John went on to tell them his plan.

He leaned back against the footboard of his bed and crossed his arms thoughtfully. It sounded like a decent enough plan as long as they could keep the baron from finding out where the jewelry had gone. “Risky?” he smirked at John amusedly when the knight said they would need his help. “It’s just stealing in reverse. I could do that in my sleep.”

“Don’t let that head of yours get too big,” John said sternly. “The entire royal guard is going to be on alert. One mistake is all it would take for you to get caught and thrown into a holding cell.”

“So?” Crow shrugged, lifting the jewelry in his hand to look it over as if the conversation was uninteresting to him. “I’ve stolen from the nobles in this castle plenty of times before. Just show me where their bed chambers are, and I’ll return everything exactly where it belongs. No one will ever know I was there.”

“That bragging was what got you arrested the last time,” John grumbled.

“Only because I happened to run my mouth to the last king’s informant,” the viceroy objected with a confident grin. “None of you going to tell anyone about this, so there won’t be an issue, now will there?”

John held his gaze for a moment longer before letting out a sigh. “I only hope you’re able to back up all that big talk with action.”

“There’s a reason why I was the most wanted thief in Brerra,” Crow casted him a wry wink. “Just you wait. By this time tomorrow morning, it’ll be like nothing happened.” He turned to Preston next. “That just leaves you, kid. Do you think you can handle hiding these until tonight?” He held out the jewelry in his hand.

Preston hesitated for a moment before he nodded, “I can do it.”

“Great,” Crow handed off the small collection of pendants and rings to the attendant, who hid them inside his shirt. Once that was done, he faced the knights again, “Alright, let’s go. I want to see the look on that bastard’s face when you tell him you didn’t find anything in my room.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow didn't care, since he has nothing to hide at the moment xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The moment Albin disappeared around the corner, Crow crossed his arms again and glanced between John and Penelope, waiting for someone to tell him what his father had meant when he had said ‘make sure you do exactly as I asked.’ It sounded like he’d told the knights to do more than just talk to him, but he couldn’t think of anything else the king would want from him. Surely Albin didn’t actually think he had stolen those nobles’ belongings, right? His father should have known him better than that by now.

Unfortunately, it seemed like he wasn’t going to be getting any answers right away as John instructed him and Penelope to follow him. Crow frowned but did as he was told, falling in step beside the female knight as they walked to his bed chamber. As she spoke up in a hushed voice, he casted her a sideways glance. “Does he?” he muttered with a pang of annoyance when she told him Albin wanted to have his room searched. Apparently, his father didn’t know him very well after all. He found it insulting that the king had such little faith in him that he would want to double check after he’d already claimed that he was innocent.

When the group arrived in the room, Crow spotted Preston sitting at the table by the window. The attendant looked like he had been nervously flipping through a book as he waited to find out what would happen. The viceroy eyed him curiously, wondering why he cared so much, until he remembered that if he was stripped of his title, the boy would be forced to return to his old job as a regular palace servant. After all, even if he was replaced by another noble, everyone else at the castle already had their own family staff and personal attendants. There was no way for him to regain the position if he lost it. His job was just as much at stake as his master’s.

Preston fidgeted slightly in his seat, looking like he wanted to ask what had happened, but he didn’t get a chance before John spoke up first: “Alright, would someone like to explain what the hell is going on? Why do you think he’s being framed?”

Framed? Crow blinked in surprise and turned to Penelope. He’d assumed it was all a misunderstanding and that the nobles must have just jumped to the conclusion that he’d stolen from them. If someone had set him up, it could be harder for him to get out of trouble than he’d thought.

As Penelope went on to explain what she thought was going on, he scoffed. Of course it was that baron. It had to be him. After the knight had told him about her conversation with the man, he’d suspected it wouldn’t be long before he tried something. Part of him was relieved that the baron hadn’t resorted to hiring a mercenary, but he was still frustrated that he had to protect his reputation from being ruined barely a week after he’d been given his title.

When she added that his father suspected he was being framed as well, Crow relaxed a little. Though the situation was still bad, he was glad to know that Albin didn’t think he was guilty. “If that baron really is behind this, I’m going to make sure he gets caught,” he said confidently. As he spoke, his gaze drifted over to John, who had begun to search the drawers of his desk. He knitted his brow, but before he could question what he was doing, the older knight explained himself.

The thought of someone sneaking around his room while he was gone sent a shiver up the viceroy’s spine. If this ‘Adam’ had been calling for a search, John was probably right though. He turned made his way over to the bed, running his hands beneath the mattress as he helped the knight look for the missing items. Preston joined in too, investigating the inside of his wardrobe. It didn’t take long before the jewelry was found.

“I’ve got something,” Preston said, drawing the other’s attention.

Crow looked up to see the boy standing on his toes, reaching one hand over the top of the wardrobe. In the next moment, he fell flatfooted again and revealed a handful of glittering, bejeweled pendants and rings. “I can see why those people would be mad,” the attendant mused with a raised brow. “These look expensive.”

“He hid them up there?” Crow wrinkled his nose in disgust as he made his way over to the servant’s side. “They were practically in plain sight! No thief would be dumb enough to put his loot in the open like that.”

“He wanted them to be found,” John reminded him simply.

“Still,” Crow shook his head disdainfully. “It’s pretty pathetic.”

“Where would you have hidden them if you had taken them?” Preston asked, tilting his head at the viceroy curiously.

“Beneath the floorboards,” Crow answered absently as he took the jewelry from his attendant’s hands and looked it over. Preston was right. The pendants and rings were quite expensive. The jewels embedded in them were a mixture of diamonds and rubies, each one flawless and cut to reflect the light in an eye-catching way. If he had been raiding the noblemen’s treasures, he would have stolen them without question.

“What do you mean?” Preston asked, looking down at his feet as if he was trying to figure out how to put something underneath the wooden floor he was standing on.

“There’s a loose board on the left side of the bed,” Crow explained with a shrug. Normally, he wouldn’t have shared his trade secrets so carelessly with other people, but since he had no intention of robbing anyone anytime soon, he decided there was no point in keeping the knowledge to himself. Plus, he trusted his attendant and the Vermillions not to share the information with anyone else. “It creaks louder than the others when you step on it. It wouldn’t be difficult to pry it up and put something in the hollow space underneath. These pieces of jewelry are just small enough to fit too.”

“Oh,” the servant turned toward the part of the floor the viceroy was talking about. “I don’t think anyone would have found them if they had been hidden there.”

“I know,” Crow said haughtily. He held up one of the pendants in his hand, dangling it in front of his face by its golden chain. “But we did find them, so the question is: What do we do with them now?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Pretty much, haha
I also think it would be realistic for them to find the missing stuff in Crow's room, since Adam probably would have hidden it there when he knew Crow was gone

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As soon as Albin disappeared down the stairs, Crow let out his breath in an irritable huff and leaned back against a nearby wall, folding his arms over his chest. He was upset that no one was letting him speak for himself when all the accusations were about him. If they would just give him a chance, he would tell them that he hadn’t stolen anything since he’d gotten to the castle. He wouldn’t have done something that would not only get him removed from his new position but also land him back in a prison cell. Just the thought of it was ridiculous to him. He may have been a criminal, but he had self-control.

“They’re going to catch you, you know,” the guard in front of the stairs spoke up suddenly, drawing the viceroy from his thoughts. He looked up to see the knight glaring at him down his nose. “It’s only a matter of time,” he went on with a sneer. “You slipped up, and now you’re going to pay for it.”

“I did nothing,” Crow hissed, curling his lip at the other man. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I haven’t touched anyone else’s belongings.”

The knight scoffed in disbelief, “Are you saying the jewels just vanished into thin air then? No one else in the castle would have taken them. You’re the only suspect.”

“Like I said, I don’t know what’s going on,” Crow repeated impatiently, narrowing his eyes at the guard. “And you’d better watch your tongue. I may be a suspect, but I’m still the king’s viceroy.”

“Not for long,” the knight smirked confidently.

“We’ll see about that,” Crow spat. He turned away from the other man to signal that he was done with their conversation. He didn’t want to let the guard get under his skin when he was already frustrated about being falsely accused. Starting a fight would just make him look worse, and he couldn’t afford that right now. He needed to prove that even though he had a criminal record, he was more than just his title as a thief. Anyone who thought otherwise would soon see that he had at least some honor.

As the two fell quiet, the voices from the bottom of the stairs drifted to Crow’s ears. He could hear his father speaking with various other people and trying to calm the crowd. Most of the voices sounded unfamiliar to him. He might have heard them before, but he didn’t know any of them well enough to recognize them without seeing their faces. Regardless, it sounded like Albin was succeeding in bringing order to the mob. By the end of it, the shouting had died down, and the halls fell quiet once again.

The viceroy sighed in relief. Though he still wanted to give his testimony to the angry noblemen, he was glad that they weren’t crying for his arrest anymore. All that was left was to figure out what was really going on, so he could prove he hadn’t taken anything and clear his name.

He took a step away from the wall as the sound of footsteps echoed in the stairwell, signaling someone’s ascent. In the next moment, he blinked in mild surprise as his gaze landed on his father, accompanied by John and Penelope. “What’s going on?” he asked. With the reverberation in the stairs, he hadn’t been able to make out all of the conversation.

“The matter hasn’t been settled yet,” Albin said simply. “I’m going to the throne room to continue speaking with the men who’ve lost their belongings, and I expect you to meet me there when you’re ready.”

“What if I’m ready now?” Crow ventured, glancing at the Vermillions, whose presence he was still confused about.

His father noticed his wandering eyes and gestured to the two knights, “Collin, I’m sure you remember John and Penelope.”

More than you know, the viceroy thought to himself. “I do,” he acknowledged out loud, shifting his gaze back to the king’s face. “But why are they here?”

“I’m going to leave them to speak with you further while I take care of things in the throne room,” Albin explained. “Now then, I expect you to handle this with dignity—” Crow grimaced as he realized his father must have seen his less than elegant discourse with the guard earlier. “—and meet me in the throne room when you’re done here.”

Crow shuffled his feet, “I will.”

“Very good,” Albin nodded and turned to the knights. “John, Penelope, he’s in your care now. Make sure you do exactly as I asked. I want this issue settled before midday.”

“Of course,” John dipped his head.

The king nodded his approval again and turned to walk off down the hallway, leaving the two knights alone with the viceroy to clear the situation up amongst themselves.