Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow held Kane’s gaze unwaveringly as the nobleman stared him down. He didn’t care if the rival picked up on his closeness to Penelope or not. Naida was the one at the top of the list of people who might let it slip to their father that he and the knight were together, and he was clearheaded enough to give her a believable excuse if Kane decided to cause a scene. On the contrary, the only thing the other man could do was send him bitter looks and gossip among the lower class nobles, which the viceroy doubted he would do anyway since he was trying to win Penelope over. Spreading word that there was something going on between her and a former criminal was the fastest way for him to lose the chance he thought he still had.

To his relief, Kane backed down without much of a fight. Crow followed him with his eyes as he headed for the door, waiting until the other man was out of sight before he turned back to the others. He was eager to spend a few minutes alone with the knight and his sister, but before he could strike up a conversation, he blinked as he felt the former suddenly lean heavily into his side. Glancing down at her, he pressed an open palm on the other side of the bench to brace himself. It seemed like he wasn’t the only one who was getting tired that night.

Unfortunately, Naida noticed her friend’s slightly too comfortable gesture as well. He looked up to find that the princess was beaming at them excitedly, seeming to believe that her matchmaking skills were finally paying off. He swore silently to himself. The last thing they needed was for his loose-lipped sister to go running off and prematurely tell the whole kingdom that they were together. If Albin was still leaning toward mandating that he couldn’t court anyone, the viceroy would lose the opportunity to convince him otherwise. He preferred to be proactive rather than reactive when trying to get what he wanted.

“Knock it off, Cupid,” he rolled his eyes, attempting to keep up a nonchalant demeanor in front of the princess. Beyond her line of sight, however, he smoothly slipped his arm around the small of Penelope’s back to hold her close and help steady her if she was unbalanced. “You’re the one who made her drink so much that she can’t even sit up straight.”

“Interesting that she chose t’lean on you though,” Naida insisted with a victorious grin. “I wonder why…”

“Because I’m more comfortable than a wooden table, obviously,” Crow winked at her jokingly.

“Looks like Penelope thinks so,” his sister agreed, missing the sarcasm behind his words. She turned back to her friend with a mischievous expression. “You two ‘re real cute, you know that?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Cedric really left a mark on Crow after he kissed Penelope ^^; He doesn't trust anyone who tries to isolate her now.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As Naida bantered with Kane, Crow murmured a ‘thank you’ to the wench who had brought him a fresh mug of mead. With just enough alcohol in his system to make him slightly drowsy and nothing to do while the others continued to pound their drinks, he was tiring out faster than he’d thought he would. He bit his tongue to stifle a yawn and leaned closer to Penelope, letting his gaze wander over the other noblemen and women in the tavern. It almost seemed to be getting busier as the night wore on. More tables were packed with knights who were still in their snow-covered armor.

He wondered offhandedly if the men—and a sparse few women—had recently gotten off shifts around various parts of the citadel. Back when he was a thief, he would have paid more attention to such details, since knowing when the guards were nearing the end of a long watch had helped him slip past their glazed-over eye unnoticed before. With no use for that information now, he wasn’t actively listening to find out, but he decided he might as well keep in practice. There was no telling if his old habits would come in handy again someday, after all.

After a few minutes of eavesdropping on other groups of patrons, Crow turned back to his own companions when Kane rose from his seat. At first, he felt a thrill of excitement, hoping that the nobleman had decided to call it a night and return to him home. But his enthusiasm was squashed when the blonde announced that he was just stepping outside to clear his head. He pressed his cheek irritably into the palm of his hand. It seemed like they would be stuck with the nosey interloper for the rest of the celebration.

To make matters worse, the noble was apparently bold enough to try and take Penelope with him. The viceroy side-eyed him untrustingly as he offered her a hand. Ever since Cedric had forced himself on her at the party, Crow didn’t like the idea of leaving any man alone with the knight for any length of time, especially when she was intoxicated enough that she would make an easy target for someone with ill intentions. Kane had given him no reason to believe he wouldn’t try to coax her away from them either. Naida was just as drunk as she was, so if he really cared about sobering up, then why didn’t he invite both of them? The red flag was too suspicious to ignore.

“Hang on,” he rested a firm hand on Penelope’s shoulder before Kane could pull her up from her seat. “It’s still snowing out there. You don’t want to freeze, do you?” His pale eyes lifted to meet the other man’s gaze, though his words were directed to the lieutenant. “Just stay here and have some water if you feel like you need to fight off those drinks.”

~Bonsoir~

Vail remained awake long after Victoria succumbed to the clutches of slumber. Nocturnal by nature, he laid by her side, the wheels of his mind spinning as he tried to think of something they could do to solve all of the mounting problems that threatened to pull them apart. Of course, there was no magic answer to fix everything though. The closest they had come was the turning ritual, and even that had proven to be too risky to attempt. He sighed quietly and held her close, warmed beneath the duvet by the heat that radiated from her naked body. His blood cravings had subsided for now, but he still felt restless as the clock ticked against them. If she hadn’t fallen asleep against his chest, he would have gotten up to pace or read or do something productive in the hours that remained until she would be sent back to the Crest manor. Instead, he stayed still, alone with his thoughts while the dark sky outside slowly gave way to the first light of dawn.

The Hygrace heir wasn’t sure when he’d dozed off, but he knew that he must have, because the next thing he realized was that someone was rapping sharply at his bedroom door. He stirred and blinked his eyes open tiredly, exposing his long fangs in a yawn. Morning had come all too quickly, and with it, the arrival of his choleric father. Like Victoria, he was still bare skinned after their tussle in the sheets the night before. The pillows and blankets had been strewn haphazardly around them, and the book they’d been reading had fallen at some point to the floor. He hadn’t seen a reason to cover up the evidence that he and his human lover had been intimate though. Even if they’d tried to pretend like they hadn’t succumbed to their lust, there was no hiding the sickly-sweet pheromones that still hung in the air. Peter could have already detected the damning scent from beyond the door.

When neither of them immediately jumped up to answer his knocking, the clan leader took it upon himself to enter the room without permission. He stepped inside and halted near the entrance, his narrowed eyes fixed on the couple in bed together. He had already found out that Vail had slept with Alexander’s daughter before, but seeing them together now, post coital, made his blood boil. There was much he wanted to say to his increasingly belligerent son and the woman whom continued to take advantage of his misplaced interest. However, her escorts were already waiting for her in the foyer.

“Make yourselves decent,” he growled with barely restrained rage. “Lords Pierce and Alabaster of the Order are here to collect you, Lady Crest.”

And there it was, the proclamation Vail had been dreading for days. He remained still for a moment longer before he reluctantly sat up on the mattress, his bare chest revealed as the sheets that had been covering him fell into a heap in his lap. “Couldn’t you at least give us some privacy?” he asked dryly, noticing that his father had planted himself by the door. If he had been alone, he wouldn’t have minded the other vampire’s presence, but he disliked the thought of his father watching Victoria get ready like a pimp preparing a prostitute.

“It seems I’ve given you far too much privacy,” Peter folded his arms unwaveringly. “Now get dressed. The sooner you’re both clothed; the sooner she can be on her way.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

They got lucky this time, but who knows how long that will last lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It wasn’t the distraction he had been trying to use, but it seemed like Penelope had gotten distracted nonetheless. Crow blinked as she shushed him and then promptly gazed at him as if they were the only two people in the tavern. If they had really been the only ones there, he would have been eager to question what was on her mind, but with Naida and Kane sitting right next to them, he found himself hoping that she would keep the thoughts to herself. It was too hard to tell if the others were drunk enough yet to disregard any flirtatious or flattering comments she might make in her inebriation.

Unfortunately, his hope was short-lived as the knight slipped her fingers out of his hand to caress his cheek. Her following compliment made his heartbeat quicken in spite of himself. Even if the timing was less than perfect, he liked it when she vocalized the things she found appealing about him. Any stroke to his ego was well received, although her following words made him roll his eyes. She guesses? He thought with a smirk. It was tempting to poke fun at her about her choice of phrasing, but he resisted the urge. Until they were alone again, he would just have to pocket that card for later.

In the next moment, the sound of a mug hitting the table snapped the viceroy back to the present, and he turned to the others, nervous that one of them had caught the exchange that had just happened between him and Penelope. Luckily, it looked like Naida and Kane had been working on their third round of drinks while the lieutenant had been openly ogling him. He felt his shoulder relax, relieved that he didn’t have to come up with an excuse to justify her flattery.

Finishing off the rest of his first mug, he gestured to a wench to bring him a second—and final—pint of mead, and then casted his sister a wry grin. “How are you doing over there?”

“Peachy keen,” the princess smiled drunkenly back at him. “Better than ‘im, at least.” She pointed at Kane. “Y’know, I think we shoul’ change it up. Whoever drinks the most cider wins. Wha’d’ya say, blondie?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Uh oh xD

Also, I have no preference if Penelope answers Naida's question or not!

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The instant Kane’s hand touched Penelope’s back, Crow stiffened, fighting the impulse to brush the nobleman off for her. Even though he knew the other man couldn’t have known he was flirting with a taken woman, he still found the gesture surprisingly bold. From what he’d heard, it sounded like the two had only met the night before, and yet Kane already had the confidence to make a pass at her. He narrowed his eyes, watching the romantic rival discreetly. The longer the night went on, the more grateful he was that he’d chosen to stay sober. If Kane tried to push for anything more physical with the knight, he would be quick to it shut down.

As Penelope assured them both that she was fine, he gave her hand an affectionate squeeze beneath the table, trying to simmer down so that he wouldn’t snap at the other man vying for her attention. Kane’s intentions were clear, but he hadn’t yet done anything to warrant a hostile reaction. If he lost his temper over something as simple as someone touching the knight’s back, he would have been sure to raise some brows. There were too many other people around to justify causing a scene.

When Kane addressed him with a question, Crow casted him a cagey look. He wasn’t sure why the nobleman was suddenly interested in his drinking habits, or lack thereof. They didn’t need a fourth participant to play their game, and it made no difference to the other man whether he was drunk or sober. He parted his lips to say so but didn’t get the chance before Penelope’s voice made him flinch.

For a moment, he felt a flash of worry that she would accidentally let slip that he was staying alert to keep their secret, but luckily, the tipsy lieutenant seemed to forget what she was saying halfway through her sentence. Relaxing again, he smiled at her amusedly as she turned to him with a clumsy explanation for his behavior. Despite the near catastrophe, he couldn’t help but find her intoxicated expression endearing. The flush in her cheeks was cute, and her features had softened innocently. If there hadn’t been other nobles around, he would have leaned in to kiss her.

“You’re one to talk,” he teased her with a playful nudge of his shoulder. “But yes. I’ve never liked what alcohol does to me, so I just drink it for the taste.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Naida leaned forward in her seat, her eyes glittering curiously. “What’re you like when you’re drunk?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Crow winked at her, dancing around the question. Knowing how persistent his sister was in her goal to “push” him and Penelope together, he didn’t want to tell her that he had a hard time keeping his hands to himself when he had a few mugs of strong ale.

“That’s not fair,” the princess complained. “I’ve never seen you drunk before.” She turned to Penelope with a pleading look. “Tell me! Why’d you say he’s a mess?”

“Look, your next round is here,” Crow cut in abruptly, attempting to change the subject as the wench arrived with full mugs for Naida and Kane. He glanced at the knight from the corner of his eye, hoping she would get distracted before she could tell the others what he’d done before.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Same! It'll be an eye-opener for him for sure. He knows there's a discrepancy in the quality of life between the high borns and the rest of the country, but he just thinks the people in the capital have nicer cars and houses and luxury items. He has no idea what it's really like out there.

Orlando is great! I've been there a couple times. It's tropical, but you have to stay away from the water because of the alligators, haha. Venice and Japan sound fun too :)

I have so many places I want to go! I've never been able to leave the continent (except for Hawaii), because the airfare is so expensive. If I can, I want to travel to Europe and also see some cool cities like Santorini and Dubai. Japan is on my list too ^^

Want me to do a short time skip through the rest of their walk around the historic district? I figured it will be a lot of the same, and then Cas will offer to take Iris for ice cream or something, since they talked about it before.

~Bonsoir~

Retreating into his thoughts, Vail wrapped one arm around Victoria’s back as she agreed that the ritual didn’t sound as promising as they had hoped it would. There were a number of details about it that deterred him. Firstly, he disliked the idea of bleeding her until her heart stopped. Every time he’d bitten her before, he had done everything he could to make the feeding process as tolerable as possible, since he didn’t want to cause her pain. But he knew of no way to take away the suffering of death. He was torn between his distrust of letting another vampire turn her and the discomfort of knowing that he would be the one to cause her to endure such misery.

Secondly, the fact that it could take up to a week for a human to turn was off putting to him. There were many people, both human and vampire, who would go out of their way to make sure she never woke up. The Order would oppose the creation of a new demon, and the Wynters would surely do everything in their power to prevent a member of their rival clan from taking the Crest heiress, whom they had deemed as their property, away from them. Even his own father couldn’t be trusted, since the leader of the Hygraces had made it perfectly clear that he wanted her out of his son’s life. Vail was uncertain if he had the fortitude to fend off all of the opposition by himself while she was in such a vulnerable state.

The final nail in the coffin was that the ritual only had a success rate of fifty percent. If the first risks weren’t daunting enough, the chance that he could lose her if her heart rejected his blood was enough to make him quail at going through with it at all. He turned his head to bury his face in her hair, closing his eyes as he breathed in her familiar, calming scent. There were still obstacles to be faced if she remained mortal, namely her possessive fiancé and his antagonistic father, but they seemed miniscule compared to the possibility that she could die if the transformation went wrong. He didn’t want to bear the burden of knowing he had killed the woman he had grown so fond of when there were other options left to be tried.

“I don’t think so,” he murmured into Victoria’s long tresses when she asked if they would become related. He knew little about the field of medicine, but Peter had told him about human surgeries before. Organs and blood could be donated to save the lives of people who needed them. If this ritual was anything like that, then the DNA that made up their bodies would still be entirely separate aside from the cells that traveled through her veins. Based on the context of the book, it seemed like turned humans were adopted into clans for the purpose of reproducing too. He wasn’t sure what else the author could have meant by diversifying family lines.

“It doesn’t matter though,” he sighed, softly stoking her back as she yawned. “I don’t think this is a good idea. I don’t want to lose you if it doesn’t work.” He turned his head away from her again and swallowed, salivating reflexively as his predatory urges tempted him to feed on the weary prey in his arms. She had been his exclusive food source for a while now, but after she went home tomorrow, he had a feeling he would need to go hunting in the city to quell his blood cravings so he wouldn’t lose control and attack one of the servants.

For now, though, a distraction was good.

Shifting his weight on the bed, Vail turned back to Victoria and pressed his lips against hers, driven by a need to redirect the impulse to sink his fangs into her neck and a desire to make the most of the time they had left before Peter forcibly removed her from the property. Unsure when they would be able to see each other again, his movements were marked with passion as he leaned over her and held the back of her leg with his free hand.