Crow bristled when William turned his harsh words back on Penelope. She’d never once betrayed her kingdom, and it irritated him to hear the older knight say that she had. He wanted to remind their former comrade that they had been the ones to carry out the mission in Younis, and that she was the one who had saved him from a brutal execution. Since then, the lieutenant had also fought valiantly in the war, slayed the bandit who had threatened the triumph of her battalion, and even successfully convinced the king to instigate a peace treaty with their enemies. She had done more for Brerra in a few months than the bitter man had probably done in his entire career as a knight. However, he didn’t need to say so as Penelope defended herself against William’s asinine accusations.

Beneath the table, the viceroy placed a hand supportively on her leg. If he ever had any hope that the older knight would change, it was gone now. He had done everything right, even giving up his life as a wanted thief to be with her, but William could only see him as a criminal who was just playing some sort of angle to benefit himself. It was clear that nothing they could say or do would change his mind, so he did the next best thing, turning away from the knight to keep eating his supper. The lukewarm food was better company than the man who would heckle them in front of the whole kingdom if he ever had the chance.

Fortunately, William didn’t pester them for much longer, and Crow felt the tension ebb from his shoulders as the knight stormed away from their table. “I think it would certainly be quieter around here if you had,” he sighed, wrapping an arm around Penelope’s side as he felt her lean into him. Despite their disagreements, he was reluctantly happy that they hadn’t abandoned their former comrade in Younis though. There was already far too much killing in their kingdom over trivial things, and he truly didn’t believe the older man deserved to die for clinging to his beliefs. He just hoped William would give up on trying to dissolve their courtship soon. He might not have wanted to kill him, but he didn’t know how much longer he could go without throwing a punch if the knight kept harassing them.

“At least this is the last we’ll see of him for a while,” he pointed out with a smile. “He can’t follow us out of the citadel when we leave.” That was another perk of traveling together, he realized. Once they were on the road, it would just be them, Preston, Naida, Percy, and the two knights Albin assigned as his other guards. His attendant and his sister were openly supportive of their relationship, and Percival didn’t seem to have an opinion one way or the other—at least, if he did have one, he did a good job of hiding it. Even if the other guards disapproved, he doubted they would say anything because they were close to the king. They wouldn’t risk falling out of his father’s good graces just to object to their courtship. It would be nice to get away from all the judging faces in the palace until everyone cooled down.

Penelope nodded her head in agreement. Of course, the knight was only joking. As much of a pain that William could be, she knew there was no way she could have ever left him behind. Aside from his overrated view and values, he was a decent knight and a dependable comrade on missions. She just hoped the older knight would learn to stop trying to get in between their relationship. The knight took a bite of her food that had arrived once the older knight had stepped away and nodded her head in agreement with Crow's words.

"Thank gods for that." she sighed after swallowing her bite of food. She smirked amusedly and added, "As nostalgic as it would be for the three of us to be traveling to the border of Younis again, I think I much prefer traveling with you and other knights that won't be nearly as annoying." At her own mention of nostalgia, it made the knight's mind wander to when they had first begun their trip. It was surprising to think how far they had come since that first meeting. A smile crossed her lips as she ate, considering how much she had changed since then. She had gone from acting as coldly as William to becoming a bit of a rulebreaker who had fallen hard for the former thief turned viceroy.

The life she had now wasn't quite what she had originally planned for but she found that she was much happier with building her life with Crow rather than sticking to past agendas. Sometimes fate lead to great things and she was glad it had lead her to him. Feeling affectionate, she paused from her meal to lean her head against his shoulder.

"So are you all prepared for the trip now?" she asked him, finally able to pick up where the conversation had been going before the uncalled for interruption from William. "Also what time are we leaving in the morning?"

“I think it would be more exhausting than nostalgic,” Crow wrinkled his nose as he thought back to William’s attempts to keep them apart on the return journey from Younis. There had been multiple times when they had literally come to blows over their disagreements. He didn’t want to arrive at the Younisian castle frustrated and unfocused because of an insubordinate guard. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure if William would let their personal feud interfere with his work for the king, but the knight had been angry enough today that he wouldn’t put it past him. Either way, he preferred the company of Naida, his sister, and Percival, someone whom he was slowly warming up to as a possible friend.

He glanced down at Penelope with a fond smile as she leaned her head against his shoulder. Even more so than the two guards he’d chosen for the trip, he was glad that she would be coming with him for the first leg of it. He was feeling better about his assignment since he’d started his training as Albin’s viceroy, but having never negotiated with a monarch before, he was still a little nervous about doing something wrong. The end of the war hinged on whether or not the peace treaty went through. It was quite a burden to shoulder, and the lieutenant was the only one around who would understand, since she’d been through the same thing when preparing to give her speech at the party.

“We finalized everything today,” he nodded in response to her question and then casted her a wry smirk. “I made sure the servants who packed our supplies allotted us larger rations than the tiny ones we had on our last mission. I’m not giving up full meals ever again.”

At the knight’s next inquiry, he paused to consider it. “You’ll want to be up early. My father made it sound like we’ll be leaving the castle right after we eat breakfast. I’m not sure if he knows you’re planning to go back to your battalion at the same time too, so if you’re not there before we take off, he probably won’t let us wait for you.”

Penelope gave a small nod as Crow answered her question about when they would be leaving. She had figured that the king would be sending them off first thing in the morning but she wanted to make sure regardless. Though the knight had been focusing on the more enjoyable aspects of the trip, she was beginning to feel a bit anxious as their departure grew closer. Mainly for what was to come on Crow's end. While she had faith in the new viceroy, it was still a big first task to take on to convince a king to end a war peacefully. That was something she knew first hand but Crow didn't have the same advantage of convincing the king of his own kingdom like she had. At least the Younisians had seemed like peaceful people during their time there, she just hoped that would apply to wars as well.

"I'm guessing the king already knows I'm taking my leave on the same day. That is if Tybalt informed him." she mused with a shrug. The captain reported regularly to the king about the workings of the castle but whether or not the leave of one lieutenant was worthy enough news to share with his superior was difficult to say. On one hand, she doubted it was but on the other, she had been drawing quite a bit of attention to herself both from the petition as well as with her newly founded courtship with Crow. Regardless, the knight didn't dwell on the thought long.

"I'm sure I'll be ready before you anyways so I wouldn't worry about waiting." she said flashing him a playful smirk. She took the last couple bite from her food before letting out a content sigh with her now full belly. With everything packed and readied for the coming days of travel, she felt fairly comfortable about how prepared she was for the morning so all that remained would be making sure she woke up early enough to leave on time with the others.

"Although I should probably head off to bed now." she mused. The knight was already more tired than normal after already waking up earlier than usual that morning so she didn't want to run the risk of sleeping in. Penelope leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek. "As certain as I am about being ready before, I'd rather not push my luck with accidentally sleeping too long."

“Oh, right,” Crow mused. He’d forgotten that Tybalt reported directly to the king. There had been a few occasions when his father had stepped away during one of his lessons to speak with the captain of the royal guard. Uninvolved in matters of castle security, the viceroy hadn’t paid any attention to what they said. If Albin did know that Penelope was planning to leave at the same time, he hoped he wouldn’t do anything to hurry them along before she could join them. It was hard to tell how the monarch felt about their courtship, since he’d given his approval without any strong emotions one way or the other. He wouldn’t have been surprised if his father thought the lieutenant would just be a distraction to him and forbade them from traveling together.

Deciding not to focus on something that neither of them could know would happen for sure, he pushed the worrisome thought aside for now and rested his cheek on top of her head. As she went on to tease him, he rolled his eyes. “I don’t know about that,” he said with mock contemplativeness. “Now that I’ve been living at the castle for a month, I might have actually started developing discipline.” He shuddered exaggeratedly, as if the thought was unsettling. “In fact, I bet I’ll beat you to the courtyard tomorrow morning, sleepyhead.” He squeezed her playfully against his side before letting go to down the rest of his unfinished drink.

Once the cup was empty, he set it down again and stood up from the table. Like the knight, he was tired from the long day and looked forward to settling down underneath the warm blankets on his bed. It would be the last time he could spoil himself with imported silk and goose feather pillows for the next two weeks, so he planned to make the most of it while he still could. As proud as he was of his hardiness from growing up in the outer villages, he couldn’t deny that there were some luxuries he was going to miss when he went back to the land that used to be his home. A comfortable bed and expertly seasoned food were at the top of the list.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, love,” he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips and winked at her competitively as he added sotto voce: “From atop my horse, waiting for your tired ass to join me.” With that, he righted his posture and turned to retire to his bedchamber for the night.

Penelope gave a small chuckle as he was quick to return her playful banter. "We'll see about that." she mused with a roll of her eyes. Despite her teasing words, she knew the former thief was usually pretty capable of getting up early when he needed to. Albeit he usually had someone to wake him up on time and she supposed that's where Preston would come in as his attendant. She rolled her shoulders and moved to follow his lead, standing up from the table.

She leaned in to meet his lips as he leaned down towards her. As he winked at her, the knight smirked at his competitive words, finding them amusing. "Just don't be sour it's the other way around." she jibed in return. "Good night, Crow." Penelope gave him a soft smile before turning and beginning to make her way to her own room for the night. Once she reached her quarters, she wasted no time in settling down for the night, eager to get some sleep and trying to ignore her lingering concerns about ending the war.

---

Despite her worries, she fell asleep fast and slept soundly through the night. Once morning came, Penelope woke up as early as she had hoped to. However, that didn't make her feel any less groggy as she sat up and rubbed her eyes in an attempt to shake off her lingering sleepiness. Rising to her feet, the knight got ready for the day ahead, fixing her appearance slightly and then putting on her armor. After breakfast, she wanted to be able to grab her supplies and head straight to get her horse since the last thing she wanted was to run late.

After strapping her sword back to her side, she headed out of her room and to the Great Hall for a quick bite to eat before they had to go.

“Collin, you have to get up.”

Crow groaned and rolled over on his plush mattress, dragging his pillow down over his head. “The sun isn’t even out yet,” he whined to Preston, who stood at his bedside with a frown. Despite his haughty challenge to Penelope, all of his willpower to get ready for the day before her had flown out the window as soon as he’d dozed off last night. The bed was the perfect temperature in the cold room, and he wasn’t used to rising before he could see daylight. He burrowed deeper into the blankets, grumbling into his pillow, “It’s a crime to wake a man up before dawn. I should send you to the stocks.”

“Don’t be difficult,” Preston sighed, unperturbed by the empty threat. “It’s not even that early. Days are shorter in the winter.”

“This is cruel and unusual torture,” Crow asserted stubbornly without moving. Beneath the blankets, he could hear his attendant’s footsteps receding from the bed, and he relaxed as he guessed the boy had given up. However, in the next moment, he let out a startled yelp as he felt something cold touch the back of his neck. Jumping upright, he lifted a hand to the afflicted spot and shot a glare at his servant who stood with a half-empty cup of water in his hand.

“Good morning, my lord,” Preston bowed to him.

“You’re an ass,” Crow muttered.

“You’re awake,” the attendant shrugged and gestured to the dresser, where he had set out clothes for the viceroy to wear along with a few general tools to fix up his appearance. Crow exhaled resignedly and climbed down from the bed. As annoying as his servant’s method had been, it had done the job. He had gone from half-asleep to wide awake in less than a second.

After he spent some time combing his tangled hair and trimming his beard, he changed into the outfit Preston had chosen for him. Of all the lavish clothes he’d put on his body, this set was among the gaudiest. He studied his reflection incredulously. The boots and black trousers were nothing new, but it was the first time he’d ever worn a surcoat before. The long top flowed down to his knees and the fabric had been dyed a bold red. At the edges of the collar and sleeves, the shirt was adorned with gold accents, accounting for the second color of Brerra. It was quite obviously a uniform designed for a representative of the kingdom to wear, and since his father had been the last to hold that position, the clothing fit him perfectly.

In the back of his mind, he wondered what his mother would say if she could see him now. She had always told him that he bore a strong resemblance to Albin. If she had seen him put on the previous viceroy’s uniform, would she have been reminded of the day she’d met his father? From the stories he’d been told, it had sounded like his parents had met when Albin had been on his way to another kingdom. His father had probably been wearing the same surcoat he’d put on now—or at least, a variation of it. He shifted his weight, unsure what to think about that.

“Ready?” Preston’s voice drew him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah,” Crow nodded, turning away from the mirror. It would do him more good to focus on the present rather than dwell on the past. He faced his attendant and suddenly blanched, “Oh gods, it’s back.”

“What?” the boy blinked confusedly.

“That,” the viceroy pointed at the hat in his hands. It was the same one he’d refused to wear the day after he’d been formally given his title—black with a wide brim and the feather of some kind of bird.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Preston rolled his eyes and stepped over to proffer the headdress. “You’re acting like it just rose from the dead.”

“I did burn it in my mind last time I saw it,” Crow muttered without moving to accept the hat.

“Well, it’s still here,” Preston looked down at it. “And you have to wear it to distinguish yourself as the king’s ambassador.”

“Why does being the king’s ambassador mean I have to look like a fool?”

“It’s really not that bad,” Preston exhaled impatiently. “Come on, Collin. Just put it on already. We need to get going.”

Crow set his jaw, prepared to keep fighting with the boy, and then growled under his breath as he snatched the hat out of his hand. He didn’t understand why it was so important that he should wear it, but he didn’t want to waste any more time than he already had. Now that he was awake, he was determined to beat Penelope to the courtyard again. He put the headdress on and turned back to the mirror, wrinkling his nose with distaste, “I look ridiculous.”

“You look like a nobleman,” Preston shook his head.

With the issue finally settled, the two headed out of the viceroy’s bedchamber to eat at the Great Hall. To Crow’s relief, it seemed like his attendant was right. Nobody in the castle paid him any more attention than usual as he passed by, and he realized that decorative outfits like the one he had on really were normal to the citizens of the inner kingdom. The knowledge made him relax, and stepped into the nearly empty dining chamber with a yawn, noticing offhandedly that Penelope was nowhere to be seen. He wondered if he had beaten her there or if she had already passed through.

When the knight reached the Great Hall, she quickly noticed that Crow wasn't amongst the scarce few there that early. It was difficult to say whether the viceroy had already beaten her there or if he was lagging behind her. Penelope didn't wonder about it for long as a different person caught her attention. She smiled tiredly as she spotted Naida flagging her down excitedly. Despite how early it was and the distance between them, the knight could already tell her friend was practically overflowing with eagerness.

"Morning Naida, you're here early." she mused as she moved to slid in across from her friend.

"Of course! Did Collin not tell you? I'm going to Younis with him today!" Naida said estaticly.

Penelope paused. Though she was fairly certain Crow hadn't mentioned it, part of her wondered if she was perhaps just too tired to remember. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled at her friend. "Well that's great! Good luck with your first mission out of the inner kingdom then." she said.

"Thanks! Gods I can't wait to leave!" Naida groaned exaggeratedly.

Penelope gave a small laugh and continued to converse with Naida. They talked mainly about the trip they were about to embark on and she even answered a few questions the princess had about what Younis was like. It had been two years ago and the knight had only been there for a short time so she wasn't able to answer most of them in detail but she felt like she was able to give a decent idea of what the kingdom was like. It was hard to say if it was still like she remembered it though now that the war had been going on for some time. Perhaps their outer villages were beginning to look just as poor as the ones of Brerra.

Breakfast went by fast for the two. Naida ate quickly as she was eager to get out of the castle and begin their trip. Penelope wasn't looking to keep up but due to how early it was, she ended up not finishing off most of her breakfast simply because she wasn't all too hungry at the moment. Satisfied with the small portion she had eaten, she got up to follow the princess out of the dining chamber and returned to her room to collect her supplies. Since Naida had her own supplies already prepared for her, she accompanied Penelope the whole way, the two chatting casually.

Once her room was officially emptied, Penelope made her way to the stables with her friend to get her horse ready. The two split off to go to their own horses. With the courtyard and stable clear of any sign of the viceroy, she realized she must have beaten him out of the castle that morning after all. However, she didn't dwell on it. In fact the knight wished she would have known she could have gotten a couple more minutes of sleep that morning instead of waking up as early as she had. She yawned and rubbed a hand over her face as she tried to focus on the task at hand of putting away the supplies in her saddle bags.

"Penelope."

The voice of her father made the knight jump slightly. She turned her head to see the older knight walking over to her. "Oh morning father.. What brings you here?" she asked curiously.

"I just came to see you off and wish you luck with your return to the warfront." John replied with a small shrug.

Despite the casualness of his tone, Penelope couldn't help but stare at him mildly surprised. She had taken off a number of times for various missions, even the for the war, but her father had never bothered to see her off before. Half the time she was lucky to get a simple goodbye if their paths happened to cross prior to her own departure.Thinking on it now, their relationship had improved greatly since they had been visited by her mother. For once it felt like her ever stoic father was opening up a bit more to her and for that, the knight was grateful. "Oh ok.." she said with a dip of her head. The knight paused in her words and hesitantly stepped forward to give her father a quick embrace. "Thank you, father... for everything by the way." she mumbled.

John seemed a bit stiff at first, surprised by the hug but wrapped an arm around his daughter and patted her back. He gave a small grunt to her words, as somethings would never change, and then added, "Just be safe out there, the war isn't over yet. And when you see your brother, tell him I wish him well also." As she stepped back from him John crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a stern look. "And try not get into any fights with him. I saw how he felt about the new viceroy back when he was still a thief.. I can't imagine it going over well that someone of his blood is being courted by him."

"Well I promise not to start any." Penelope replied and gave her shoulders a shrug. "But you know how he gets so I can't say I won't finish them."

As John shot her a disapproving look he let out a sigh and glanced around the stable. "Speaking of, where is your suitor?" he grumbled.

Crow sat down at one of the many empty tables in the Great Hall and rubbed his eyes tiredly as Preston went to the kitchen to retrieve their food. Since Penelope wasn’t there and the attendant would be coming with him to Younis, he had decided to spend breakfast with the boy, so they would both be able to depart from the castle with full stomachs. He crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward to stretch his back, losing momentum as the shock of Preston’s water trick began to wear off. If he had time, he would have dragged his feet back up to his bedchamber to get another hour of sleep. Unfortunately though, his father had made it quite clear that he expected him to be on the road as soon as possible—and he still needed to get to the courtyard before Penelope.

“Good morning.”

The viceroy blinked at the sound of a voice and turned at the waist to see that Percival had arrived. The knight stepped over to his table and nodded in greeting. “Are you expecting someone, or may I join you?”

“Just my attendant,” Crow waved a hand at the empty bench across from him. “Sit down.”

Percival complied, sliding onto the wooden seat. It seemed like he had been dressed up for the occasion too. His armor looked more decorative than what Crow had seen on the warfront, with gold trimming and a deep red cloak attached at his shoulder. He guessed his father was hoping to leave an impression on the Younisian king by making his team of representatives appear as impressive as he could. Uninformed in the ways of politics, he wasn’t sure if the move was cocky or brilliant.

“How are you feeling?” Percival broke the silence between them.

Crow flinched, realizing belatedly that he had gotten distracted staring at the knight’s reflective armor. He might not have been a thief anymore, but old habits died hard, and he couldn’t help wondering if the aureate trim was made of real gold. “Alright, I think,” he shrugged. “I’m as prepared as I can be in the short time this all came together.”

Percy grunted. “I’m sure the parley will go well.”

“I hope you’re right,” Crow sighed, looking away from him as Preston returned with two plates of food. The attendant slowed his pace at the sight of the knight, seeming deterred, but the viceroy gestured for him to join them. As soon as he did, Crow turned back to the other nobleman, “What about you? Have you even been out of the kingdom before?”

“This is the first time,” Percival shook his head. “But I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this for years. In fact, I don’t believe I’ve thanked you for including me yet.” He bowed his head gratefully.

“It was an easy choice,” Crow assured him, slightly embarrassed by the knight’s words. He didn’t think he’d done anything particularly special by including Percival. There had just been no other knights that he would have wanted by his side, since he didn’t trust most of them to protect him in a fight. At the thought, an amused smile crossed his lips, “You know, this is the first time I’ll be traveling with guards who won’t treat me like a prisoner.”

“You’re not a criminal anymore.”

“Alright, wise guy,” the viceroy rolled his eyes. “I was just trying to draw comparisons.” Turning to his plate, he broke his bread to take a bite and then paused with an irritable groan. “Gods, I keep seeing the stupid feather in the corner of my eye and thinking it’s going to fall into my food.” He narrowed his eyes at Preston. “Why do noblemen wear these things anyway? They’re impractical.”

The attendant shrugged, “It’s tradition.”

“Tradition to look like a court jester?” Crow said dryly.

Across the table, Percival pursed his lips and then parted them to speak, “I think it looks good on you.”

“Don’t patronize me,” the viceroy muttered, popping a piece of bread into his mouth. “I know what it looks like.”

“I’m not patronizing you,” the knight insisted with an offended frown. “It flatters the shape of your brow and the color of your eyes.”

Crow looked up from his plate, and Percy averted his gaze with a cough. “Um,” the former thief started slowly, unsure quite how to react to such a compliment coming from another man. After a moment of silence, he settled on a simple: “Thanks.”

The knight just nodded wordlessly, turning away as a kitchen servant walked over with his food.

The three lapsed into a somewhat awkward silence as they ate. As soon as they were all done, they walked as a group to the courtyard, where the stable hands were supposed to have brought their horses. Crow stepped outside first and looked around, hopeful that he was the first to arrive. However, his excitement fizzled as he caught sight of Penelope waiting with her father. Apparently she had beat him there after all.

“How early were you up?” he asked incredulously, trotting down the stairs to catch up to her. “I even woke up before sunrise to get here first.” When he reached her side, he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips, happy to see her in spite of his loss.

When he pulled back, he heard Preston clear his throat behind him, and he rolled his eyes. “Okay, this little imp poured water on me, but after that, I swear I actually tried to hurry.”

Penelope began to shrug her shoulders when movement caught her eye. She turned her head to see that the front door had opened and Crow along with Preston and Percy had stepped out. "There he is." she finally replied to her father with a small smile. Moving away from John, she stepped over to meet Crow halfway as he trotted down a the stairs. A smirk crossed her lips as he questioned just how early she had gotten up. Before replying, she leaned up to meet his lips in a kiss. As they pulled back her gaze flickered over to Preston as she heard the attendant clear his throat. She gave a small laugh as Crow went on to reveal that the boy had been the one to wake him.

"So much for beating me to the courtyard." she teased crossing her arms over her chest. "Although, I must wonder at what cost. I wish I would have slept longer than I did." Penelope smirked at him with a tired gaze and gave him a playful nudge. "But I suppose keeping my pride as the one with discipline was worth it."

As footsteps sounded from behind her, she turned her head to see her father step forward to join the couple. "I'll be taking my leave now that it seems you'll be taking yours." he told his daughter. While she gave a small nod, he paused and turned his gaze onto Crow. His eyes narrowed sternly at the viceroy. "And you, don't forget my terms of agreement for this courtship." he warned. Penelope turned her head away to roll her eyes. It seemed that her father wouldn't settle for just lecturing her about their deal. At least Crow's warning had been shorter than her own.

"We won't." Penelope sighed pinching the bridge of her nose.

"It's just a reminder." he grunted. John's gaze relaxed though and he took a step to leave but paused as he glanced back at Crow. He briefly rested his hand on his students shoulder. "Safe travels, Collin. And good luck with the king of Younis." he told him before dropping his hand back down to his side and moving to leave.

“Oh yeah?” Crow raised a brow in amusement as Penelope spoke about keeping her pride. “You’d better watch out or I might dethrone you one day… assuming this gets any easier.” He added the last part with a yawn. Despite his competitive words, he doubted he would ever have more discipline than the knight. She had been raised in the tradition-filled inner kingdom and had been groomed to be part of the king’s army. Meanwhile, he’d lived life on his own terms until less than a month ago. Unless he put in quite a bit of work to shape up—which he didn’t want to do in the first place—he had a feeling he was going to be relying on Preston to drag him out of bed for years to come.

As John stepped over to them, the viceroy turned away from Penelope to face him. He nodded at her father’s announcement that he would be leaving and then winced as the older man reminded him again about the deal they had made. “Right,” he agreed with the lieutenant in a subdued tone. Even though he’d complied with John’s terms and had no intention of breaking his word, he didn’t want to think about the fact that they had to stop being intimate until they were married. It was easier not to think about it, so he didn’t feel tormented by the wait that currently had no end in sight.

Caught up in his thoughts, Crow blinked in surprise when the older knight placed a hand on his shoulder and wished him well on the journey. “Thank you,” he said in return, warmed that the stoical man would take a moment to address him instead of just leave after speaking with his daughter.

As John walked back to the castle, the viceroy followed him with his eyes until another voice caught his attention.

“This is going to be so great!” Naida squealed, bounding over to the newly courting couple. “I’m so excited! Are we all ready to go?”

“Almost,” Crow assured her amusedly. “We’re just waiting on—”

“Oh good. Everyone is here.”

He turned around to see the last two members of the group descending the stairs, distinguished by their decorative uniforms that matched the armor Percival and Naida were wearing. The knight on the left was young, around his own age with curly, light brown hair and dark eyes. The knight on the right was someone the viceroy recognized. The older man’s name had slipped his mind, but he was one of the members of Albin’s council, a baron who had supposedly earned his mettle as a renowned commander in a past war. At the sight of him, Percy immediately dropped into a deep bow, “Baron Theroulde, it is an honor to be working with you.”

Otto Theroulde, the name came back to Crow at once.

“Likewise,” Otto smiled at the younger knight. “I’ve heard promising things about you, Granger, and I look forward to seeing you at work.” He rested a hand on the shoulder of the man at his side and turned to the rest of the group. “This is my son, Rayner. He is my lieutenant and an excellent swordsman, and I have no doubt he will make a fearsome guard for you, Lockton.”

“The king did say he had chosen the best,” Crow agreed with a distant shrug. The baron was friendly enough, but kindness alone wasn’t enough to erase his prejudices against knights. He was just glad he had two guards he actually trusted with his life, in case the Younisians weren’t as welcoming as they were hoping they’d be.

Otto studied him quietly for a moment before his brown eyes traveled over the other faces in the group. “A pleasure to see you as always, my lady,” he said to Naida, leaning forward in a surprisingly elegant bow for a man his age.

“You too, Otto,” the princess grinned, clearly fond of the baron.

“And lieutenant Vermillion,” he gazed upon Penelope with a polite smile when he straightened his back again. However, his eyes were marked by an unreadable expression as they sought hers. “I was unaware you would be joining us.”

Penelope turned her head as Naida came bouncing over to them. She smiled at her friend's enthusiasm and nodded her head as Crow began to point out they were still waiting on two more knights. However, her attention was drawn away as a new voice caught her attention. Her gaze flickered over to rest on the baron and his son. The knight was mildly surprised that the king had opted to send one of his own council members for the journey to Younis but supposed it made sense considering the baron's rather impressive history.

The knight stood back as the baron addressed the group before eventually his gaze fell upon her. Though Theroulde had a fairly good reputation, he wasn't someone that the knight had been around very much so it was difficult for her to read the baron's expression as he met her gaze. She was fairly certain he had been one of many nobles at the party she had thrown, likely invited by Naida who was clearly fond of him. Whether he was one who supported the peaceful end to the war or not was a different story though since she hadn't read through every name that had been on that list. Regardless, she returned his polite smile.

"I'll only be joining for a short time. Now that I've finished up my work at the castle, it's time for me to head back to the warfront." she explained, dipping her head respectfully to the baron. Her green eyes flickered briefly over to Crow and small smile graced her lips. "The timing just happened to work out with other things as well."

"I see." the baron mused. His gaze shifted away from her to look around at the group. "Well since we're all here now, we better get going."

As words of agreement sounded from most of the group, Penelope nodded her head as well before turning to step over to her own horse. She was borrowing him from her father, well really it was her brother's older horse who he had left behind with John after getting a younger, stronger young stallion after his promotion to lieutenant. The plan was to ride him out to the warfront and then hand him off to a friend of John's, who would then return to back to the castle with him. She mounted the stallion and settled into her saddle as she waited for the others to prepare for their leave.

As Otto addressed Penelope, Crow took a moment to marvel over the group that would be accompanying him to Younis. It was just hitting him for the first time that all four of the knights and his personal attendant were here for him. They weren’t begrudging guards, assigned to babysit a petty thief as he was dragged off to a foreign land to burgle a castle. They were a decorated entourage, protecting and looking after the wellbeing of a royal envoy. He shivered. If they hadn’t been planning and preparing for this moment for the last month, he would have thought it was a dream. What other criminal in Brerra’s history had flown so close to the sun without burning his wings? He certainly couldn’t think of any, even in the old stories he’d been told by the elders in the outer villages.

When the baron announced their departure, Crow ambled over to Baine and climbed up onto his back while the others did the same with their horses. Once everyone had mounted, Otto and Rayner guided their steeds to the front of the procession, and Preston rode close to the viceroy’s stallion. Since his saddlebags had been packed with the scrolls and other supplies he would need for the negotiation in Younis, the servant’s had been filled with a large portion of the food stock, which he had requested early on to make sure he would be well-fed on the journey.

“Princess Mannering and Granger, take the rear,” Otto fluidly instructed the two novices of the group. It was clear from the patient yet commanding tone of his voice that he was comfortable doling out orders. Crow eyed the baron’s son with quiet bemusement. Contrary to his father, Rayner seemed like a passive individual. He had yet to speak a word to any of them, letting Otto take full control instead. Idly, the viceroy was reminded of Abraxas, who had been just as soft-spoken during his first trip to Younis.

As soon as everyone was in position, Otto and Rayner clicked their tongues and set their horses in motion. Crow fell in line behind them, easily coaxing Baine into a steady walking gait after all his lessons with John. Behind him, he could hear the others follow suit by the sound of clopping hooves that echoed in the courtyard, and his heartbeat quickened with excitement. They were finally on their way to end the war that had been going on for the last year.

“So,” he turned to Penelope, sidling his stallion closer to hers as they headed toward the castle gates. “What are you going to do when you get back to your battalion?” He casted her a teasing smirk. “I know you’re going to miss me, but I hope you’ve made some plans other than moping until I come back.”

Penelope steered her horse to fall in towards the middle of the group, keeping behind the Therouldes and ahead of Naida and Percy. She focused her gaze ahead as they rode towards the castle gates, thinking about her return to the warfront. However, she didn't get to ponder on it for long as Crow shifted to ride closer to her. She turned her head over to the viceroy and returned his smirk. "Well I'm not really sure." she admitted with a small shrug.

She paused and gave a thoughtful expression. "I suppose first and foremost I'll have to tell them about the king agreeing to a peaceful resolution... It'd also be nice to try and get them to agree to refrain from starting battles. I'm not sure what the plans are but if we're wagering for peace, it might be a good idea to play defense until some agreement is reached. It could at least help keep from furthering damage." she added, thinking it over. The knight didn't really have any grand plans now that she had convinced the king. The only thing to do in between the time was her regular duties and playing the waiting game.

"Although, I doubt I could get my warmonger of an uncle to agree to that unless it's orders coming straight from the king." The knight sighed. She shrugged her shoulders and then casted him a teasing smirk. "But don't think for a second I'll be moping around. After all, we've only been courting for a couple days, therefore I'm hardly attached. I'm not even sure if we're compatible." she said with mock thoughtfulness.

A playful grin crossed her lips and she winked at him teasingly. "I'm more concerned about you becoming too smitten with me to focus on the task at hand."

Crow nodded in agreement when Penelope spoke about requesting for her battalion to stop attacking Younis while the parley was in process. Anything that would better his odds of convincing the northern king to sign the peace treaty was a good idea in his book. Additionally, it would give the peasants of the outer villages a reprieve from all the fighting they had endured for the last year. His thoughts wandered to Evelyn and Silas and Zenith and all the other people who risked losing everything if the battles continued. For their sakes more than his own, he hoped her barons would be willing to hear her out if she asked them to stand down.

When the knight went on to tease him in return, the viceroy grinned. “I’d have thought you would have figured it out by now, since we’ve tested our compatibility so many times.” He shot her a suggestive wink and then looked forward again to make sure he didn’t veer Baine off track in his distraction. “It’s far too late for that,” he continued as she pretended to worry about him. “I fell for you years ago, and I’ve never been able to get back up. I promise I’ll find a way to manage somehow though.” He casted her a sideways smirk.

“Hey, lovebirds,” Naida called from behind them. The princess had a broad smile on her face, clearly happy in spite of the words that left her lips. “Don’t forget you’ve got company.”

“We can’t do anything to please you, can we?” Crow turned around in his saddle to cast his sister an amused look. “Before, you kept pestering us to ‘get together,’ and now that we have, you’re saying it’s too much.”

“That’s not what I said,” Naida rolled her eyes. “I’m just bored, and neither of you are talking to me.”

“You’re like an attention-starved puppy,” the viceroy shook his head with mock exasperation. “We haven’t even been on the road for more than a few minutes.”

At the front of the group, Rayner peered over his shoulder with an incredulous look on his face, shocked by the way Crow spoke to the princess.

“You’re one to talk,” his sister retorted, not noticing the knight’s expression. “I happen to recall that a certain someone landed himself behind bars because of how much attention he needed.”

“You’re never going to let me forget about that, are you?” Crow groaned.

“Nope,” she grinned puckishly and turned to Penelope. “But don’t you worry. I’ll keep him in line while you’re gone.”

Penelope rolled her eyes playfully at his suggestive wink. As he went on to assure her that it was already too late, she casted him a fond smirk and opened her mouth to respond but didn't get the chance to as Naida piped in. She glanced over her shoulder to look at her friend amusedly. She chuckled as the two bantered, looking ahead momentarily to look at the trail ahead. As Naida turned to her, the knight smirked in amusement.

"I don't know... If anything I expect the opposite." she mused teasingly.

"What!" Naida exaggerated a pouting face at her friend.

The knight laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "You're just a little to much like Olivia sometimes." she joked then nodded her head to the nearby attendant. "If anything, I'm putting my trust in Preston to keep him in line."

"It won't be easy." the attendant mused with a thoughtful look at Crow. "But I'll do my best."

Penelope gave an amused smile and nodded her head appreciatively to the servant. She shifted her gaze ahead to look over the scenery as they left the castle, a small movement catching her eye in the distance. It quickly revealed itself to be a bird though so the knight relaxed slightly. Their first trip to Younis came to mind and with it so did the memory of the several attacks the group had gone through right. The knight wondered if the traveling group now would face a similar opposition. After all, the rebellion of nobles had been dealt with nearly two years ago but it was also difficult to say if the mercenary attacks had been coordinated by them or not. Regardless, the thought of an attack seemed all too possible based on her experience in the past.

The amusement from her visage faded as she sat a bit more rigidly. Lost in her worries about possibly being targeted once more, she tuned out of the conversation and instead focused her attention on surveying their surroundings. It might have been unlikely for an attack so soon from leaving the castle gates but history had taught the knight she shouldn't let her guard down.

Crow smirked at his sister when Penelope compared her to Olivia. He hadn’t thought about it too much, but the lieutenant was right. Naida and Olivia both had a propensity to stir up trouble no matter where they were or who they were with. He wondered who had been the bad influence on whom between the two of them. It seemed more likely that the princess had picked up the childish habits from the knight, since she struck him as impressionable, and Olivia’s antics were usually even more disastrous. However, he couldn’t put it past Naida to have been the one behind it either.

He was just about to put in his two cents when Penelope decided to get Preston involved. “Alright,” he narrowed his eyes at his attendant as the boy assured the lieutenant that he would keep him in line. “I don’t need any babysitters.”

“You wouldn’t wake up or dress yourself on your own today,” Preston pointed out.

Behind him, Naida snorted, and Crow reddened. “You don’t have to make it sound like I threw a fit,” he hissed, leaning sideways in his saddle to give the boy’s arm a shove. “It’s not that unusual for a man to want to sleep in, and I dressed myself without your help.” After he had fought with the boy about the feathered hat, but he kept that part to himself.

“If you say so,” the servant shrugged, looking away to observe their surroundings. “I pity Penelope though. Being your attendant is tiresome enough. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be your wife.”

“It’s a good thing you’ll never have to find out,” Crow muttered, trying to will away the ruddy color in his cheeks.

“Gods, Collin. Where did you find him?” Naida cackled, thoroughly entertained by the exchange. “All my handmaids ever say is ‘yes, my lady’ and ‘no, my lady.’ They’re so dull.”

“You would miss the dull servants after putting up with an attitude like his for a full day,” Crow rolled his eyes at Preston.

“That is what the stocks are for,” Percival mused with a frown. “There are measures in place to prevent servants from stepping out of line.”

Crow peered back at him, slightly surprised by the knight’s solution. It seemed like Percy had missed the humor in their conversation and thought he was genuinely angry with the attendant. “I wouldn’t punish anyone for speaking their mind,” he said seriously. “Even if he can be a pest, I’d rather put up with his terrible jokes than cause him to be frightened of ‘stepping out of line.’”

“A healthy dose of fear is good for a servant,” Otto spoke up this time, having been listening quietly to their discussion the whole time. “It keeps them on their toes and reminds them of their place. If you are not yet comfortable handling your attendant, I would be happy to teach you how to manage him.”

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t,” Crow said quickly, disliking where that offer could go if he didn’t shut it down right away. Deciding to change the subject to stop the knights from giving him any more suggestions, he turned to Penelope to ask her if there were any places she wanted to visit during their trip back to the border and then paused. She looked tense to him, sitting stiffly in her saddle as if she was bracing herself for something. He eyed her concernedly, unsure what could have caused the shift in her mood.

“Are you okay, love?” he asked in a low voice, reaching out to rest a hand on her arm. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

The knight continued to think about the potential danger that this mission entaled, only making it worse as she realized that while there may not have been a staff, there was a viceroy. The thought made her stomach churn and she suddenly wished she could travel the whole way to the castle with them. Her trance was finally broken as Crow addressed her. She blinked as she felt someone touch her arm and turned to look over at Crow. There was a pause as it took a moment for her to register what he had asked her and once she had, she shifted uncomfortably in her saddle. "I was just thinking about the first mission to Younis." she admitted in a hushed voice. "Namely all the attacks that we went through... We need to keep our guards up." She frowned shifted her gaze away from him to focus ahead of her. The group had been targeted rather relentlessly during their travels to the other kingdom and it had all started the first day of their departure.

"I mean, I know some of that was the rebellion and they're gone now but some of it wasn't. I doubt the mercenaries we faced were hired by them and whoever hired them clearly had not only the funds but also didn't want the war to be stopped." Penelope pointed out with a frown. "The war might already have started and we might not be after a king's staff this time but the goal is the same, which is to stop that war. This trip might be just as dangerous as the last."

The thought of the god's warning also crossed her mind. She had a feeling that the threat from Toreus' warning had to be connected to the same one that had sent out the mercenaries before. However, with so many other ears close by, she decided not to mention it even in the quiet tones they had been speaking with. More so than that though, there was another aspect that bothered the knight more than anything. "And this time it's not a staff that'll end the war... It's you." she added softly. "I know I can't go with you all the way to the castle so that's why I'm telling you this. We need to stay alert.. I need to stay alert."

Her gaze shifted over to meet his and muttered softly, "I lost the staff once and that was bad enough. I know I won't be here the whole trip but I don't want to mess up again and lose you too."

As Penelope explained that she had been thinking about their last mission in Younis, Crow frowned. He supposed she had a few good points about the similarities between the two assignments, but he wasn’t convinced that the trip they were going on now would be completely the same. Whoever had hired the mercenaries had succeeded in taking the staff last time, and the war had happened. What more could they want? As hard as he tried, he couldn’t think of any reason why anyone would keep meddling in the affairs between Brerra and Younis. The group of noble rebels would have made some sense to him, since they had wanted to start a war to spread the defenses thin at the castle; but they had all been imprisoned or executed by his father after they had assassinated the last king in an attempt to usurp the throne. If they had been the ones behind the attacks, they were gone now.

However, Penelope seemed to think there was something else going on. The viceroy contemplated her theory that someone else was trying to stop them from succeeding in making peace with Younis. It was hard for him to wrap his head around the idea that there was an unknown player in the game, but it did make sense, given the prophesies they had heard from both Aeklora and Toreus. He felt a chill creep up his spine as he suddenly recalled the mercenary he thought he had seen at the marketplace in Bellmare. After everything that had happened since then, he’d almost forgotten about the man whom he could have sworn was watching him. He had also forgotten about his resolution to tell someone else about it instead of keep it to himself.

Biting his lip, he glanced up at Penelope. She was already nervous enough about the mission as it was. Telling her would just make it worse, but what if she was right? If whoever had attacked them the first time hadn’t given up, there was no more staff to loot. There was only the man who had been sent to parley with the Younisian king. “I understand,” he murmured, keeping his voice down so that the knights around them wouldn’t overhear. “But you’re not going to lose me.” He offered her a reassuring smile. “When we were attacked, there were only two of us—well, three when William was there too. This time, I have four guards, and I know enough about fighting to defend myself. I’ll be fine.”

He fell quiet for a moment, his green eyes flicking toward the knights at the front of the group. Part of him pondered if it would be a good idea to tell them about the mercenary in Bellmare, but he didn’t want to speak with anyone but Penelope first. He also didn’t want to confide in her until they could be sure they wouldn’t be overheard.

“There’s… something else I should tell you,” he whispered, turning back to her with an uneasy look. “But not here. I’d rather wait until we can be alone.”

Penelope looked over at Crow as he reassured her. She supposed he was right in pointing out that not only was he able to defend himself now but there also more guards than before. That did bring her some peace of mind, especially since the guards with him were either ones with good reputations or ones she trusted the skill of. However, if the the enemies they may face were anything like the ones before, then they would be well prepared and would know a good deal about their target. The increase of skill and numbers might mean little if their enemies were already one step ahead of them.

"I suppose... I still think we should remain on guard though. If my hunch is correct and the same people are still after us, then we can't risk being caught off guard." she mumbled. The knight was just about to turn away from him when the viceroy went on to whisper something else. His uneasy expression made the knight tense up slightly. She wondered what he had to say that would make him give such a look, especially after being the one to reassure her that he would be fine.

"Maybe when we stop for a break or at the inn we can get a moment alone then." she murmured with a small nod. Though her curiosity was piqued, she understood the desire to want to keep some things from the others, especially if it was related to their visits from the gods.

"You know I'm starting to regret this whole relationship thing!" Naida huffed despite the grin on her lips. Clearly the princess hadn't picked up on the seriousness of their conversation. "You both already forgot about me again!"