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Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow just accepted his fate as the sober friend lol He's also taking advantage of everyone else's lack of awareness right now cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

While Naida continued to beg Penelope to play another round of their game, Crow idly swirled the remains of his mead in his mug. His attempt to stop his sister from pressuring the knight had gotten him nowhere, so he was resigned to wait and see if Penelope would cave to her friend’s pestering on her own. Either way, not much would change for him unless she forgot about their secret and tried to be more physical in front of the princess. Although, if he was honest, he was the one between the two of them who would have been more likely to throw boundaries aside if he was drunk. She wasn’t as sloppy as he was.

Eventually, Penelope folded to the other nobles, and Crow subtly turned his hand over on her lap to lace his fingers with hers. Kane might have been trying to get close to her by sliding onto the bench with them, but now that the three of them were somewhat crammed together on one side of the table, he had an excuse to hold her hand without getting caught. He sipped at his drink to hide the sly smile that formed on his lips. As much as he wished they could come forward with their relationship, he also found some pleasure in getting away with a few casual touches in public. The secretiveness of it was thrilling.

As the others downed their next round of drinks, the viceroy looked down at his own glass. He had been drinking at a fairly steady pace, but his mug was still almost half full. Meanwhile, Penelope and her friends were already at least two pints deep. He turned back to the knight, wondering if she knew what she was getting herself into.

“Done!” Kane’s voice caught Crow’s attention as the nobleman set his empty cup down first.

Shortly after, a second slam followed. “Damn it,” Naida groaned. “I really tried that time too.” A hiccup punctuated her last sentence, and she lifted a hand to her mouth in embarrassment.

“Why do you even challenge people to drinking games if you’re not good at them?” Crow snickered.

“Shut up,” his sister shot him a scowl, though he couldn’t take her seriously as she hiccupped again. “I am good! I think Kane’s cheating.” She turned her glare on the nobleman, who seemed taken aback by her accusation.

Crow laughed and turned back to Penelope to see how she was doing after polishing off another large mug of cider.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

He was expecting it, at least xD
He also tried unsuccessfully to get Naida to stop peer pressuring Penelope

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

When Penelope agreed to play one round with her friends, Crow watched her amusedly, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the table. After drinking with her in the outer villages, he knew that she couldn’t handle many mugs before she lost control of herself, so he was curious to see what would happen after she chugged the rest of her cider. Even though he had a problem with getting drunk, himself, he cared little about what the knight and his sister chose to do. As long as neither of them tried to pester him to join them, he was content with sitting back and enjoying the show.

His green eyes flicked to Kane as he counted them off for the match. Now that the nobleman was with them, he was even more cautious about staying sober than he had been before. If the other man had too much alcohol and tried to cross a line with Penelope, the viceroy was going to be ready to stop him. He wouldn’t let anyone lay a hand on her after Cedric had kissed her at the party the previous night.

While the others downed their drinks, Crow lifted his glass to his lips to take another sip of his mead. Not long after, he felt the table shake as Penelope put her empty mug back down, closely followed by Kane. He casted her a sideways glance, noticing right away that she was starting to feel the effects of her drink. She looked like she was sitting a bit heavier in her seat, as was evident by the way she leaned into the edge of the table in front of her.

Subtly making sure the gesture wouldn’t be noticed by Naida or Kane, he slipped his hand down into his lap and then moved it to rest on the lieutenant’s thigh. “Bring it on, fireball,” he teased his sister with a grin. “I’ve spent enough time with Olivia to handle anything you throw at me.”

Naida made a face at him and turned to Penelope, “Are you sure you want to stop after just one? I think you can play one more round!”

“You really don’t like being the only drunk in the room, do you?” Crow noticed dryly. “Why’s that? Are you afraid you’ll embarrass yourself?”

“No,” the princess straightened her posture haughtily. “It’s just not as much fun without any competition.” Brushing him off again, she pouted at her friend. “Please? Drunk Penelope is the best, and you deserve to let loose after you worked so hard on that party.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I love traveling! What sort of places do you want to visit?

Also, Cas definitely has no idea how much poorer the rest of the country is outside of the capital ^^; He's been very sheltered.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

As Iris asserted that he was still his own person, Caspian bit his lip, considering her words. It was strangely warming to hear someone else say that he was more than just a member of the royal family. Everywhere he went, people and reporters were always pestering him about subjects related to the crown. Even his friends, who probably saw him the clearest out of all the high borns in the capital, made comments about his heritage when they were together. It was hard to escape the image that came with being the king’s son, but this girl didn’t seem to care about that one bit. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, a smile forming on his mouth. It was nice that someone thought he was an individual.

When she offered her condolences for his mother’s untimely death, he just nodded wordlessly. Sharing the story of her passing had become like a dance. He would repeat the same details he’d shared for countless media outlets, and they would ‘sincerely’ apologize for his loss. While he didn’t think Iris was pretending to care about what had happened to the late queen, it had become habit to brush off the remarks of people whom he knew couldn’t understand what he and his father had been through. Although, maybe she does, he thought, recalling that she had remembered something about her own mother’s death. If she’d lost a parent before too, then maybe she knew exactly what he’d experienced.

Not wanting to soil the mood, he kept the observation to himself as they stepped into the shop. He had seen the collection of antiques and art so many times that he’d lost count, but Iris looked like a kid who had just been introduced to candy. He grinned as he watched her look around, her enthusiasm as infectious as always. It was cute how enamored she was with every piece she saw, and he felt like the trip to the historic district was worth it just to see her reaction to it all.

As she pointed out a particular painting that had captured her attention, he walked over to stand by her side. It was a slightly faded oil painting of Aspiria from what he guessed was at least one or two centuries ago. “Separation?” he mused, thrown by the word she’d used. However, he didn’t have a chance to question her about it before she eagerly moved on to a nearby music box.

Deciding it wasn’t important enough to dwell on, Cas trailed after her while she explored the shop. “Well, my dad thinks the monarchy is immortal,” he answered her question with a sheepish shrug. “If he’s right, then I guess I’ll probably be remembered for whatever sort of king I become.” It was something he’d thought about occasionally but preferred not to focus on. Knowing that he would one day be the most powerful man in the country was nothing short of overwhelming. The decisions he made, both good and bad, would determine the state of Aspiria for decades.

“Honestly, I think I’d rather disappear,” he admitted, reaching up with one hand to rub the back of his neck. “It’s a lot less responsibility.” Drawing attention away from himself, he asked, “What about you? How would you want to be remembered a hundred years from now?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

If he thought so then, he'll definitely think so now xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow glanced between the other three nobles at the table as they discussed the possible whereabouts of the staff. It was a question that had nagged at the back of his mind off and on since he’d first learned that the mercenaries had attacked William and Penelope. He didn’t understand what anyone else could have wanted with the old rod. Sure, the precious stones and gold that had been used to craft it were valuable, but he knew from experience that there were plenty of other luxurious objects that were far easier to purloin. The men who had been after them had risked their lives to take it. And yet, no one had come forward claiming to be the “true king” of Younis in two years. He couldn’t help but wonder what had become of the staff since it had disappeared after their mission.

The viceroy was drawn back into the conversation when he heard Kane try to lighten the mood by reminding them of the reason they had come to the tavern in the first place. He rolled his eyes. Just because they were celebrating didn’t mean he had to keep his thoughts to himself. The subject of the staff was something he had neglected to bring up in general, and there had been a chance that one of the others had heard something about what had become of it. He had never been the type to stifle his curiosity, but, deciding there was no good reason to argue about it with the nobleman, he kept his mouth shut.

As Kane went on to suggest a drinking game, Crow averted his gaze, bemused by how eager he and Naida were to lose themselves to the liquor. He had underestimated just how much nobles liked to drink. However, he was determined to hold fast to the limit he’d already established for himself.

“Hell yes,” Naida grinned, suddenly seeming far less irritable with Kane’s presence. “Finally, someone else who knows how to have a good time.” She raised her hand to flag down another wench.

“Count me out,” Crow shook his head.

“Oh, come on, Collin,” his sister pleaded. “You’ll be the only one who isn’t participating. It’s more fun to be stuck with drunks when you’re drunk too!”

“I don’t care,” he folded his arms stubbornly and shot her a smirk. “Someone has to make sure you two get back to the castle safely anyway.”

“Spoil sport,” she stuck her tongue out at him and then turned to Penelope. “You’ll play with us, right? You’ll even have a head start! How can you say no to that?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It's working for now, haha. They got distracted.

New characters are the best though

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Catching on that Kane wasn’t going anywhere, Crow sighed quietly and exchanged a subtle glance with Naida. It seemed like Penelope’s friendliness had attracted some unpleasant company, and since she had already told the nobleman that he could stay, there wasn’t anything that he or his sister could say to undo it. She was the one they were supposed to be celebrating, after all. If she was fine with an additional member of their little group for the night, then they would have to put up with it. He just hoped Kane wouldn’t stay very long. The tension in the room was so thick, it could have been cut with a knife.

As Penelope and her new friend began to chat, Crow caught sight of Naida downing the rest of her cider without restraint. He prodded her shin with his boot underneath the table to get her attention and shot her a quizzical look, to which she shrugged and rolled her eyes toward Kane. The message was clear enough: He makes me want to drink.

The viceroy smirked at her amusedly and turned to the nobleman, who had taken that moment to address him in the conversation. His first impulse was to respond that the Younisian king hadn’t seemed very angry with him when he’d swiped the staff, but the remark died on his tongue when he remembered what Aeklora had said to him in the castle that night. The ruler at the time had been nearing his death bed. If the goddess’s prediction had been right, then the monarch he would be sent to speak with was probably an entirely different person. However, there was no way he was supposed to know that, so he kept the information to himself.

“That was over two years ago,” he said flippantly instead. “If someone recognizes me after all this time, I’d be flattered.”

“Father said the staff you stole was important because it could only be held by their true king,” Naida mused, grinning playfully at her brother. “If that’s true, maybe they should have built a statue in your honor.”

“I wouldn’t oppose it,” Crow mirrored her expression.

“Of course you wouldn’t,” the princess snorted and glanced at Kane. “But seriously, even if they do recognize you, the way I see it, they owe you for trying to stop the war we’re all caught up in now.”

“They would have been absorbed into Brerra if that staff had made it back to the king,” the viceroy pointed out blandly, missing what she was trying to do. He took another swig of his mead and drummed his fingers contemplatively on the table. “I have to wonder what happened to it though. For a few weeks, the staff was everything, and then it just… vanished. I find it hard to believe that the mercenaries who took it had just wanted to keep it all to themselves. Something doesn’t add up.”