[IC] Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow smiled tiredly to himself as he felt Penelope’s warm lips on his forehead and her gentle fingertips on his arm. It had been a long time since they’d last been able to lay in each other’s embrace, and he’d missed her affectionate touch. Closing his eyes, he focused on the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest against his, enjoying the peacefulness of the moment. He hoped it wouldn’t be much longer before they could spend every night like this. He was sure he would sleep much better if they did.

When Penelope spoke about sharing the same hope, he murmured incoherently in agreement. It really was getting difficult to stay awake. The smart move probably would have been for them to part ways so they didn’t risk dozing off together in her bedchamber, but he didn’t want to leave her side. Her presence was familiar to him, and her body felt pleasantly warm against his. The thought of trading that for the cold embrace of the air was off putting. Besides, he could hear muffled voices and footsteps in the hallway beyond her door. During the time they had spent making the beast with two backs, the other nobles had started filtering back to their own rooms from the party. He couldn’t leave without being spotted, even if he wanted to.

As the knight brought up the difficulties they might face even if they were courting, Crow rolled onto his back and stretched, trying to keep himself from falling asleep. “At least it’s another step forward,” he said optimistically. It might turn out to be hard for them to keep finding time to be intimate before they were married, but he was getting used to sneaking around. It was what they had done almost the entire time they’d been together. For him, the exciting part was chasing off all the other men who had been trying to win her attention lately. He couldn’t wait to say to everyone that she was his, and he was hers.

“If your father even lets me court you, I’ll be happy,” he sighed, rolling back over to squeeze her to himself with his arms and legs. Pressing an affectionate kiss to her cheek, he closed his eyes again and nestled his head against hers. As long as there were people in the corridor, he supposed he might as well make himself comfortable until he was able to return to his own bedchamber for the night.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a sleepy murmur of agreement as he pointed out that it would still be a step forward. She knew his words to be true, still finding herself eager for that day. It'd make things much simpler, even if it was likely for rumors to spread about the true beginnings of their relationship. She wasn't very concerned about that though, not after that night at least. It seemed her reputation would likely be at an all time high, provided the drunk nobles didn't forget about it the next morning. Any damage that would be done by courting Crow wasn't a worry she had since she had already achieved her goal of gaining support.

"I'm sure he will." she smiled softly as she opened her eyes to watch him roll back over to her. As he wrapped her up against him again, the knight let out a content sigh. Feeling a light breeze of cold air, she drew the blanket up to her chin and shifted to slide one arm underneath the pillow. Now in a more comfortable position, she found it growing increasingly difficult to stay awake. She felt completely relaxed in presence and the warmth that radiated from him helped combat the chilly night air.

Vaguely she was aware of the sounds of people out in the corridor, likely signalling that the party had ended. She knew that meant Crow was likely waiting for them to clear out. Feeling certain that he was planning to leave once things were quiet outside, the knight didn't bother to push for either of them to get up. There was no sense in it if he wasn't able to leave right away anyways. There was no reason they couldn't enjoy their time together until then.

Unfortunately, the knight let guard down a bit too much. As she focused on the rhythm of his chest rising and falling, she unintentionally began to drift off to sleep, tired and worn out from the excitement of the day. Eventually her breathing evened and Penelope dozed rather soundly, nestled against him.

[Rogue Sloth]

Holding Penelope against his chest, Crow could feel his muscles relaxing as the temptation to sleep began to tug at him more and more. In the back of his head, he knew it wasn’t a good idea and that he needed to return to his room as soon as the commotion died down in the hallway. However, he couldn’t bring himself to part from where they laid cuddled up against each other beneath the warm blanket. As long as he left before dawn, it wouldn’t be that hard to sneak out, right? The guards in the hallway might even switch shifts too, and then it would be less suspicious for him to pull the same distraction he’d used on the first set when he’d slipped into her bedchamber earlier.

He exhaled slowly, convinced by the excuses his weary brain was coming up with. Even more persuasive was that it seemed like Penelope had drifted off in his arms. A faint smile crossed his lip as he felt her sink against him, her breathing slowing down as she lost consciousness. If the orderly knight thought they had time to fit in a nap, then he supposed there was no harm in resting his eyes for a while. Satisfied with the justification, he leaned his head comfortably against hers as he finally gave in to the impulse to stop fighting against his exhaustion.

--

The next morning, Crow woke up with a start. As he jolted upright on the bed, a strangled gasp escaped from his throat, and he clutched at his chest where he had felt Jaxon’s sword pierce him once again. Even in a different bedchamber, it seemed his nightmares were determined to torment him. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to get his breathing under control, involuntarily reaching for Penelope’s hand to ground himself. Even though he knew it had just been a dream, the twisted memories had been just as vivid as always. It took him some time before he was able to calm down enough to take a look around and figure out where he was.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope had been sleeping peacefully when she suddenly felt something make the bed moving. Knowing it wasn't her, she slowly cracked her eyes open, rubbing one hand over them to focus on Crow besides her. For a moment, all the knight was able to register was his rapid breathing. It struck her that he must have woken up from a nightmare and she felt his hand grab her own. Frowning with worry, she gave his hand a small squeeze and sat up.

The motion made her gaze flicker over to the window, were the weak light of the early morning was seeping in. With a slap of realization, her own heart began to race with panic. Not only had she fallen asleep, but it seems Crow had as well. It was morning and he had yet to return to his own room, meaning it was going to be difficult to sneak him out. Especially since the only clothes he had were the ones from the night before. While the main worry was someone catching him leaving her room, it certainly wouldn't help rumors if he was seen wandering back to his room in the same clothes.

"Crow, are you alright? We really need to get you out of here." Penelope said with a nervous edge to her voice. While she was concerned about his state after suffering from another nightmare, she knew they had little time to waste. She was just glad he didn't seem to wake up screaming anymore. She rubbed her hand over his back, offering a quick bit of comfort before jumping out of the bed to gather up his clothing for him. "I should have been more careful about falling asleep... Maybe if we hurry we can still get you out of here before people start waking up." she said as she fumbled to toss the clothes over to him. With most of the castle getting drunk the night before, she clung onto the hope that he'd be able to sneak out without issue.

Unfortunately not a second later, a knock came from the other side of the door.

[Rogue Sloth]

Almost as soon as he had recovered from the panic that came along with his nightmare, Crow’s eyes widened with the realization that he was still in Penelope’s bedchamber when there was light coming in through the window. The events of the previous night came back to him in a rush, and he hissed a curse under his breath. By now, the guards in the hall would have switched shifts, but the early risers in the castle were probably getting up for the day as well. It was going to be difficult for him to get back to his own room without being spotted. From there, he was sure it was only a matter of time before the rumors would start circulating that the king’s viceroy had been caught dallying with another woman just a week after Elizabeth had been spotted leaving his room in a bedsheet. He really needed to learn how to get better at maintaining his reputation or else the other nobles were going to think he was a lecher.

“I’m fine,” he said dismissively, scrambling to disentangle himself from the blanket while the knight retrieved his clothes from the floor. “It’s not your fault. We both fell asleep,” he reassured her as he caught the undershirt and trousers she tossed to him. What had seemed like a good idea to his hazy, post coital mind was quickly turning out to be a disaster. He wished he would have thought through the consequences before he’d recklessly decided to throw caution to the wind and drift off next to her. Unfortunately, it was too late to take it back now. He just hoped the early risers had been drunk enough at the party last night to sleep in.

As if the gods were mocking him, a knock sounded on Penelope’s door just as Crow was fumbling to put one foot in his pant leg. “Damnit,” he muttered, hurrying to pull his trousers on since he was already halfway there. “Who would want to speak with you this early in the morning?” he whispered incredulously to the knight, foregoing his shirt since there wasn’t time to put that on too. With the tunic bunched up in his hand, he looked around the bare room for a place to hide, but there was nothing big enough to conceal his stature. The bed was too low to the ground for him to slide under and the dresser was too short for him to fit inside.

With no better options, he dipped behind the far side of the latter piece of furniture and pressed his back to the wall. The dresser stood between him and the door, so as long as no one came inside the bedchamber, they wouldn’t know he was there. With a helpless shrug, he gestured for Penelope to answer the knock.

[BuzzingBee]

Once Crow had his clothing, the knight headed over to her own dresser to get new clothes for the day. Grabbing her usual shirt and trousers, she hurriedly threw the clothing on. However, she wasn't quite fast enough as a knock came from the door. Penelope froze at the sound and glanced over to Crow, who was still struggling to get dressed like her. "I don't know.." she whispered back shaking her head. "One moment!" she called out to whoever was beyond the door.

Slipping her shirt over her head and pulling up her pants, she smoothed out her clothing and then looked over towards Crow who had a less than ideal hiding spot. She frowned faintly but hoped that they could still make it out of this situation. After all, the person on the other side of the door would have to come inside the room to see Crow. Relying on that, she headed to the door and cracked it open to see who was on the other side. Unfortunately it was the worst possible person to stop by at that time.

"Oh, father, good morning... Did you need me for something?" Penelope said offering a forced smile to hide the fact that her stomach was twisting with panic. Of all people, John was one of the few that would know exactly who she was with if he even caught the slightest trace of something being off. Trying to make sure he didn't get suspicious, she opened her door a little more but angled herself to stand directly in the middle so it'd be difficult for him to fully look inside.

"I was hoping to hear how the party went since you didn't stop by after last night.." John said crossing his arms over his chest. His gaze drifted past her slightly and then he looked at her expectantly. "Well? May I come in so we can talk?"

Penelope struggled to keep herself from blanching at his question. Scrambling for a proper excuse, she gave a sheepish look. "Ah, sorry my room's a bit messy at the moment. After the party last night, I just passed out and didn't bother with picking up my clothes." she said, gesturing behind her before looking hopefully to her father. "Perhaps we can go to your room instead?"

The excuse didn't help at all. John's gaze narrowed and he peaked around her to get a better glimpse inside. "Oh really?" John grunted, anger beginning to seep into his gaze. "What's with all those candles I see by the window?"

The knight cringed. "I-.."

"He's still here isn't he?" John pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and glanced around the corridor. "Are you both dressed?" he growled under his breath as he noticed a few knights passing by.

"Mostly.." Penelope answered with a defeated sigh. There was nothing more she could say to try and deter her father from finding out the truth so the female knight gave up.

"Good. We skip straight to the lecture then." John grumbled as he pushed his way inside.

[Rogue Sloth]

With his shoulders pressed to the wall, Crow slid down slightly to stay as invisible as he could in relation to the door. It was barely dawn, so he hoped that whoever had stopped by to speak with Penelope wasn’t planning to stay long. Even if they did, it wouldn’t be unrealistic for her to turn the unwelcomed guest away under the guise of being tired. Someone would have to be quite entitled to insist on coming in when it was earlier than most people woke up for the day. Feeling slightly reassured, he relaxed just enough to be startled when the knight greeted her father.

The viceroy brought a hand to his face. Of all the nobles who could have shown up that morning, it just had to be John Vermillion, didn’t it? He was mortified by the thought of facing the older man after he had made so much headway in trying to prove that he was responsible enough to court his daughter. While he didn’t think they had done anything wrong by sleeping with each other, he knew the knight would beg to differ. John was far more concerned about the “risk” than he was about how they wanted to express their affections toward each other. Of course, there was still a chance that the other man wouldn’t notice anything was amiss and leave, so he clung to the hope until he heard the words: “He’s still here, isn’t he?”

There was no way out of it now. Crow cringed as the sound of footsteps indicated that Penelope’s father was coming in whether she wanted him to or not. Slumping against the wall, he averted his gaze when the older knight stepped into his line of sight. Even though John already knew what they had been up to, he was certain his current appearance didn’t help anything. His dark hair was a tousled mess, he hadn’t had time to cover his bare chest, and the trousers he’d managed to throw on were wrinkled after spending the night at the foot of the bed. It wasn’t the most dignified he had ever looked in front of the man whose blessing he so desperately wanted to procure.

“Good morning, sir,” he cleared his throat awkwardly, venturing to meet John’s gaze with a sheepish expression. As expected, Penelope’s father didn’t look happy.

“Put your shirt on, Lockton,” the knight said brusquely.

Crow nodded and fumbled to slide the undershirt over his head before chasing it with the tunic. Like his trousers, the clothing on his upper body wasn’t in the best condition after being piled in a messy heap the night before. Once he was presentable, he stepped away from the wall and made his way over to sit on the edge of the bed, avoiding John’s eyes as he waited for the inevitable lecture to come.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope softly close the door behind her father. Turning to the other two, she shifted her gaze awkwardly away. While John finding out about it the morning after wasn't nearly as bad as him almost walking in on them, she was still rather embarrassed by the situation and certainly didn't want to sit through another lecture about why he thought the risk they were taking was wrong. The worst part was that she had wanted to talk to him about giving Crow his blessing that day but it'd seem that discussion would have to wait.

"First off, I was hoping I wouldn't have to repeat myself after the last incident." John grumbled crossing his arm over his chest, watching as Penelope moved over to stand near Crow as she listened to her father begin his lecture. The female knight let out a soft but didn't say anything. There was no reason in arguing since her father's opinion obviously wouldn't be changing. "I mean really. What was the plan here this time? You're lucky it was me at the door and not someone else."

It would have been easier to lie my way of if it was someone else.. Penelope thought, biting her tongue. "We messed up more than usual, that's true. We didn't exactly plan to wake up next to each other this morning but after the party we were exhausted and—"

"—And you got yourself in a risky situation. Exactly my point about why being 'careful' doesn't cut it." John grunted. "And the morning after the party no less. I hope that went well because if he can't get out of here without being spotted, your reputation will be too damage to do anything else."

"Well luckily it did go well." Penelope sighed. She glanced towards Crow and then looked back to John. "Father, I'm sorry. We got a little careless because of how much distance we've been having to keep lately so finally closing it blinded us a bit." she said with a small frown. While she certainly didn't regret anything from the night before aside from falling asleep, she at least hoped her words would be enough to cool her father's anger down.

John hesitated at her words and then gave a frustrated sigh. "You were careless." he grumbled and then shot them both a stern look. "I expect no more of this. You two will start courting soon and I will not hesitate to end it if I find out you're throwing caution to the wind like this. Understand?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow exhaled slowly when John started his lecture with a hard “first off.” He could already tell they were in for a long talk that he wasn’t awake enough to handle. His pale green eyes flicked toward Penelope, who had stepped over to stand near the bed where he was sitting, and he wondered if she thought the castigation was as pointless as he did. They were already aware of the risks her father was going to list off to them, and it didn’t change the fact that they cared enough to find ways to be together anyway. Being slapped on the wrist for behaving carelessly wasn’t going to change that.

As the knight went on, Crow could practically feel the amicability they’d formed over the past week slipping away. He had put on his best face whenever he and John had lessons together, and the older man had even praised him on the rare occasion, but now, he doubted he would ever be considered as a serious candidate for Penelope’s hand in marriage. The disheartening realization made him even less inclined to listen to what her father had to say, and he slouched resentfully against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He hoped the knight would hurry up and finish saying what he had to say, so he could go back to his bedchamber before the rest of the castle started waking up.

While John and Penelope talked, the viceroy remained silent. He knew any input he had on the situation wouldn’t be received well by the older man, so there was no point in taking his lover’s side. Instead, his gaze drifted absently to the window, through which he could see the sky turning ever so slightly brighter. It wouldn’t be much longer before the halls were teeming with life. By that point, there would be no way for him to get out of the bedchamber without being noticed.

He turned back to the knights, prepared to remind them of his impending dilemma, but then froze when he caught John’s final words. At first, he wondered if he had misheard him. It almost sounded like Penelope’s father expected them to start courting soon, but surely that couldn’t be right, could it? The older man had reminded him over and over that he was a criminal and that he was his father’s son. He’d been called a liar, a manipulator, a man who wasn’t worthy of his precious daughter’s affections. There was no way her father had changed his mind… right? Suddenly, he felt like his world was tilting.

“What did you say?” he finally asked, breaking free from his trance. Heartbeat quickening in his chest, he stared at the knight with wide eyes. He had to find out if John had really meant what he thought he’d meant. “You… you’re going to let us start courting?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope blinked at her father's words, a bit surprised to hear him admit to letting them begin to court soon. It was exactly what the knight had been hoping to hear, granted she was expecting to hear under much different circumstances. Regardless, the words made a grin take over her lips and she looked over to Crow to see his reaction. The viceroy seemed shocked and it made her gaze gleam in amusement. Her father, on the other hand, didn't seem pleased with the sidetracking that the two were doing.

"That was not the point of what I was saying." John grumbled irritably.

"But it was something you said, right?" Penelope jumped in now as her bright gaze focused on her father.

John groaned and ran a hand over his face. "Yes." he finally said caving into the hopeful look his daughter was giving him. "Since the party is done and you'll go before the king soon, I'm intending to give you, Collin Lockton, my blessing to begin courting my daughter."

As soon as the words camp out of his mouth, Penelope turned to Crow, beaming with excitement over this development. She had figured that her father would give Crow his blessing but she was thrilled to hear that they could begin courting sooner rather than later. Reaching out, she grabbed Crow's hand, giving it a quick but fond squeeze before turning back to John. Stepping up from where she had been standing, she wrapped her arms around her father in a grateful hug. "Thank you, father." she said before taking a step back.

John let out a long sigh, his previous rage dying down into mild annoyance. "You're welcome but I meant my other words too." he reminded sternly. "No more of this. I don't want you risking your reputation just to sneak around indecently. And I want both of your words that this ends today otherwise no one's getting my blessing." The male knight's gaze focused onto Crow. "Are we clear?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Unlike Penelope, Crow was outwardly unresponsive as John confirmed that he was, in fact, going to give him his blessing to court Penelope. To say he was shocked would have been an understatement. Even though the female knight had been assuring him that she believed her father would come around, he hadn’t been nearly as hopeful as she had. The stoic man was hard to read, and he was quicker to give criticism than compliments. They had been getting along better lately, but the cordiality had felt like it was dependent on his good behavior. He had been worried that if he slipped up everything would come undone, and it had seemed that way when John had caught them together that morning. To find out that the older man still approved of him—not because of what he had been doing, but because of who he was—made him feel a knot of emotions he couldn’t even begin to straighten out.

While Penelope hugged her father and expressed her gratitude, he sat where he was on the bed, still reeling from the revelation that another man had considered him good enough to marry his daughter. As hard as he had been fighting for it, a part of him had always believed it would never happen. After all, who would give a blessing that should only be given once in a child’s life to a thief? Knowing that John thought he was worthy of such a priceless gift left the sharp tongued former peasant speechless.

He only came back to himself when the older knight suddenly addressed him. “Yes,” the word slipped from his lips without a thought about the consequences. In the back of his head, he knew it would be difficult to abstain from sneaking around to sleep with Penelope before they were married, especially since they had already been together on a number of occasions before. However, he wanted to prove to John that he hadn’t made a mistake by choosing him to court her. If that meant stifling his desire to be with her for a while, then that’s what he would do.

Suddenly realizing that he shouldn’t be sitting for such an important announcement, Crow got up from the bed and bent at the waist in the most respectful gesture he could think of in the moment. “I promise you won’t regret this,” he vowed with a slight tremor in his voice as he was overwhelmed by the weight of what had just happened. Straightening his posture again, he reached to take Penelope’s hand in his, looking at her fondly as he professed, “I love your daughter more than my own life, and I’m going to do my best to give her everything she deserves.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope gave a small, reluctant nod of her head. She wasn't sure how well they'd keep the promise but being able to publicly court each other would be worth the price her father was asking. Either way, the knight couldn't get rid of the grin on her face. As Crow took her hand, she looked up at him with softened features and gave his hand a fond squeeze. Looking back over to her father, she watched his reaction to Crow's words. Of course, the man was stoic as always and difficult to read but regardless, he gave a nod of approval to the viceroy's words.

"I'll hold you to it." John nodded his head. He uncrossed his arms and glanced towards the window before looking back to the two. "We can discuss this further over breakfast. Come on let's go."

"Shouldn't we figure out a way to sneak him out?" Penelope asked with confusion in her voice as she nodded to Crow.

"This is the way we're sneaking him out." John sighed. "The guards didn't notice me entering your room alone and he is a student of mine, along with your to-be suitor. It wouldn't be strange if say, perhaps, I had requested him to come speak with me early and him, being irresponsible, had slept in because of the party. In a rush he didn't bother to even change his clothes and now we're here."

Penelope looked over at her father, mildly impressed at how smoothly he came up with the solution to allowing Crow to walk out of her room without having to sneak past anyone. "You know, I don't remember you ever being quick to sneak around like this. It almost seems like you picked up a few new tricks." she said in amusement.

"Try old tricks that I haven't used since your mother passed." John retorted. She could see a small glimmer of fond amusement in his gaze. As soon as it appeared it left though. Back to his stern expression he gestured to both of them. "Clean up your appearances a bit more and then we'll leave."

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow couldn’t believe how incredibly well things were going at the castle within the last two nights. Yesterday, he’d gotten a break from his classes, had a surprisingly relaxing afternoon with his siblings, enjoyed the party, and had gotten to sneak away for some alone time with Penelope. Today, he had woken up next to the knight, and John had announced that he approved of their eventual marriage. It almost felt like a dream. If it was, he hoped he would never wake up.

As her father proposed a way to get him out of the bedchamber in plain sight, the viceroy raised a quizzical brow at him. He hadn’t expected the rule-abiding older man to come up with a plan so quickly, let alone help them in the first place. However, in the next moment, he remembered that John had had an affair with one of his servants long ago. He wouldn’t have been able to pull that off if he didn’t have a crafty side. It had just taken until now for him to show it to them.

When John told them to clean themselves up, Crow nodded and straightened out his clothes. He noticed with some embarrassment that, in a rush, he’d put his tunic on backwards, so he turned it around and smoothed down the fabric to make the wrinkles less noticeable. When that was done, he waited for Penelope to fix her hair first before he borrowed her comb to untangle the knots in his own. Just one glance in the mirror was enough to show him that he looked much more put-together than he had when her father had first arrived.

Once everyone was ready, John led them into the hallway, where a few other castle guards were making their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. The men were clearly surprised to see their king’s viceroy appear in the lower wing so early in the day, but Crow pointedly walked next to John instead of Penelope, so it would appear that he was visiting the father and not the daughter. The ploy seemed to work. At the very least, no one was whispering or otherwise drawing attention to them.

As they walked, another thought came to mind, and he turned to Penelope curiously, “By the way, now that you’ve got all the support you needed, when are you going to be meeting with the king?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope quickly straightened up her appearance, grabbing her comb to to calm her wild hair. After sleeping with Crow and just plain sleeping, it was rather messy and have a few more knots than normal. Once she was done, she passed the object off to the viceroy and moved to pick up her dress from the floor. She stored it away in her dresser while he finished up. Noting that they were all ready now, she turned to follow her father and Crow out of the room. As she stepped out into the corridor after the men, her gaze subtly flickered over the faces of nearby guards.

She was a bit worried that her father's ploy hadn't worked as she noticed they were quite surprised to see him emerge from her room. However that quickly changed as they seemed to eventually move their attention elsewhere. Relieved that John's plan had worked, she trotted after the other two in a more relaxed manner now as they made their way to the Great Hall. As Crow turned to her again, the knight gave a small shrug at his question.

"As soon as possible. Of course that depends on the king's schedule though." she replied with a small sigh. "I'll probably spend some of my time after breakfast today trying to arrange that."

"It'll be difficult since you're not a higher rank." John pointed out with a sigh. "Plus it'll be hard to track down his attendant."

Penelope gave it a small nod, thinking it over as they drew closer to the Great Hall. She blinked as an idea struck her and she turned to Crow with a smile. She knew she couldn't ask Crow to do it directly for her. He was still new to his position and she wasn't sure he wanted to get dragged into the future conversation she'd have with his father but he could still be able to help her get an audience with him. "Actually... I might have an idea on how to go about it effectively. Do you think Preston would be willing to relay a message to Hunter for me?" she asked him hopefully.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow nodded thoughtfully when Penelope said she was going to speak to his father as soon as possible. He wasn’t yet close enough to Albin to know what his schedule consisted of, but he hoped the king would make time to meet with her and see just how many people in his kingdom wanted to see the war end peacefully. From the brief glimpse he’d gotten of the petition at the party, it had looked like a compelling list. In his opinion, the monarch would have been making a rather unpopular decision if he stubbornly decided to go forward with his original plan to form an alliance with Gorm after this.

Thinking about his father, the viceroy was reminded of the brief conversation they’d had a while back in which Albin had advised him against courting anyone. The memory made him frown slightly. He had been fortunate enough to earn John’s blessing, but there was no telling what the king would say when he found out about his intention to marry Penelope. From what he knew about noble culture, the woman’s family had far more say in the matter than the man’s, but his father was the ruler of the entire kingdom. His word carried more weight than the average duke or baron. If Albin wanted him to wait until he was further along in his training, he wasn’t sure if they would be able to refute him.

Crow was drawn from his thoughts when Penelope asked him about his attendant. “Preston?” he echoed bemusedly. “They do know each other, so I’m sure he can.” He wasn’t sure how much contact his servant had with his father’s attendant, since Preston often kept to himself. Though they had shared stories about their experiences in Myrefall, he knew next to nothing about the boy’s current life in the castle. The peasant was something of an enigma, quiet and difficult to read. Regardless, he had seen him with Hunter two separate times, so that gave him enough reason to believe the former knew how to find the latter.

“He should be at the Great Hall this morning,” he mused. Since he’d spent the night in Penelope’s bedchamber, the dining area was the most likely place for his attendant to find him if he had been clever enough to put two and two together. The boy already knew about his secret relationship with the knight, so he was sure he would have realized what had happened when he had been missing from his room. But just in case… “If we don’t run into him there, I can look for him after my lesson with the king and pass the message on for you.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope smiled as Crow said he could ask Preston for the favor. "Thanks." she said appreciatively. It would likely save her quite a bit of time from having to run around talking to various people about requesting an audience with the king. That meant she'd have much more time to dedicate towards preparing sound argument. Most of her power lied in the signatures and letters of support she had received but she'd still have to speak with him about why it was so important to try to end the war peacefully.

Talking to the king would be much different than speaking in front of a large crowd like she had done the night before. He held the highest title in the kingdom and he wouldn't be drunk. Not to mention she still wasn't sure what to think of the king. He was the father of two people she was quite close to but at the same time, his history and lack of change made within the kingdom still made her weary as to the type of person he was.

Lost in thought, she fell behind her father and Crow as they made their way into the Great Hall. She was just barely stepping in when the sound of a familiar voice made her cringe, reminded of the one bad thing that did happen the night before. "Hey Penelope." in a voice more subdued than usual, Cedric addressed her from behind. He wore an apologetic look, clearly not forgetting her fury from the night before, and shifted awkwardly. "Do.. Can I join you for breakfast?" he asked tentatively.

"I—" Penelope began to reply but didn't get the chance.

"She's with me right now, Turner. I suggest you find someone else to sit with." John grumbled, shooting Cedric a cold look as he stepped up behind his daughter. Cedric had once asked John about courting her, and aware of what had followed, the older knight didn't exactly like him. And for once, Penelope was quite glad to let her father answer for her. Cedric may have been rather persistent in trying to repair the damage but even he wasn't foolish enough to challenge her father.

Cedric jumped, not noticing that Penelope had been accompanying her father until that moment. "Ah, mister Vermillion, sorry I didn't mean to intrude on anything."

"Good. Then we have no further business to talk about." John grunted. He waved Penelope ahead of him this time and pointed out an empty table for the three to take a seat at.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow returned Penelope’s smile when she thanked him for offering his help. His eyes flicked briefly to John, but the knight didn’t seem to have any thoughts on the plans they were making. At least, if he did, he was a master at keeping them to himself. He turned forward again as they kept walking, noticing that a few guards here and there were casting him estranged looks. They had probably noticed that he was wearing the same outfit as he had the day before. He wanted to roll his eyes. In the outer villages, it wasn’t uncommon for a man to only own a couple sets of clothes: something light in the warm weather, and something made of a heavy wool for the cold seasons. The only reason he had a couple extra tops and bottoms when he was living in the outer villages was because participating in the war had put his clothes at risk of being shredded to pieces. It was just nice to have a backup.

It was astounding how much the nobles in the inner kingdom cared about appearance. He had only worn this tunic for one extra day, yet a couple of the knights looked at him as if he hadn’t bathed in months. Part of him was tempted to start rewearing his clothes regularly, if only to pester the snotty noblemen who wrinkled their noses whenever someone acted in ways of which they disapproved. However, he was sure his father wouldn’t be happy to hear that he was intentionally giving himself a bad name, so he pushed the temptation aside for now and just turned his chin up at any man who gaped at him instead.

When he and the Vermillions arrived at the Great Hall, Crow was the first to step inside. Since he’d had to dance and talk so much at the party, he hadn’t had time to eat very much, and his empty stomach was now punishing him for it. He was eager to have a hearty breakfast to make up for the loss. However, before he could take two steps toward the closest table, he halted at the sound of a familiar voice behind him. Narrowing his eyes, he turned and poked his head around John to see that Cedric had approached Penelope to ask her to join him for a meal. Quick to shut that down, the viceroy parted his lips to tell her former suitor that they already had plans that morning, but before he could vocalize the first word, John intervened.

Crow watched with intrigue as the older knight shooed the younger one away. He hadn’t thought about it before, but he supposed John must not have liked Cedric either. If the latter had courted Penelope once before, that meant he’d gotten permission to do so from her father. Knowing how terribly their relationship had gone, he assumed John must have had some lingering hard feelings. A smug smirk crossed his lip as he watched the unfriendly exchange, taking pleasure in the startled look on Cedric’s face.

To his further delight, the other knight seemed to take notice of his presence when John stepped out from between them. Cedric looked like a stag standing in the face of a hunter, and the viceroy grinned at him cockily before walking with the others to their table. He may have been trying to keep up a decent reputation with most of the people in the castle, but he couldn’t have cared less what Penelope’s ex-lover thought of him, so he didn’t bother hiding his gratification with what had just happened.

Piled with the other things that had been going so well for him lately, watching Cedric get turned away by John had left Crow in a great mood that morning. He slid onto the bench next to Penelope, ready for whatever conversation the older knight was planning to have with them about their approaching courtship.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope slid into the bench across from her father and glanced over at Crow as he joined her. She felt a small spark of renewed excitement over the fact that they'd be able to begin courting soon. It was even more confirmed now that even her father was on board. Despite the rough part of the morning, she was beaming with how well things were going lately. Off handedly, she wondered if perhaps it was the gods' doing and a sign that her efforts to end the war would pay off. She didn't dwell on it for long though as her father finally spoke up.

"Aside from my blessing, I want to go over a couple things. One being that I expect you to bring this matter up with the king." John told Crow sternly as he rested his arms against the table. "I'm one of the few that know about your relation to him and typically there must be some sort of agreement from both fathers. Of course this isn't a normal situation but I certainly don't want to not give him the choice of getting involved."

An annoyed look briefly crossed his otherwise stoic expression. It gave Penelope the feeling that her father was hoping that the king would elect to stay out of the matter of their courtship. Not that she blamed him. Still uncertain about the type of person the king was, she preferred him not to get involved with their personal life. Especially if he had a higher standard set for the women he'd allow his viceroy to court. She may have started to make a name for herself but she certainly didn't hold that prestigious of a title. Suddenly she was much more concerned about what the king would think.

"Also there's the matter of the dowry. I'll offer you the same I offered Gavin, six hundred gold pieces and her regular pay." John explained. He paused seeming to realize Crow likely wouldn't understand what he meant by pay. "Unlike male knights, female knights don't usually get the pay directly for their work, with the exception of a few that are either unmarried or fatherless. Fathers or husbands receive their salary instead so once you two wed, it'll shift from being apart of my monthly pay to yours."

[Rogue Sloth]

As soon as John mentioned the king, Crow deflated slightly. He had been hoping to start courting Penelope and tell his father about it later, so Albin wouldn’t have the chance to stop them, but it sounded like her father wasn’t even going to humor that option. He drummed his fingers against his leg beneath the table, wondering if there was a way he could approach the subject delicately enough to at least convince the king to hear him out when he brought it up. Perhaps if he promised to continue investing most of his energy into his studies, Albin would be placated enough to let him prepare for marriage on the side.

He was drawn from his musings as John brought up the dowry. The mention of it made him blink confusedly. Even though he knew it was customary for a noble father to offer collateral to the man who took his daughter’s hand, he hadn’t thought the knight would offer payment to him. For one thing, he had been a peasant until less than a month ago. For another, he’d always found the tradition to be crass. It felt strange that a noble would be compelled to pay someone to marry his daughter, as if he wouldn’t want to take her otherwise. He knew John didn’t think he was interested in Penelope because of the monetary compensation, but he would have married her even if he didn’t see a single copper coin in return.

However, he was living in the world of the aristocrats now, so there was no point in voicing his dissent. If John wanted to uphold tradition, the viceroy wasn’t going to try to stop him. “I have no idea what I would do with all that gold,” he smiled sheepishly. “But if you insist, you can size the dowry however you’d like. I don’t have an opinion on the subject.”

As he finished speaking, his gaze drifted past the knight’s shoulder, where he saw Preston and two other servants approaching their table with plates of food. It seemed his earlier guess had been right, and Penelope would be able to personally ask the attendant to deliver her message to Hunter. He subtly nudged her side with his arm and nodded in the boy’s direction to make sure she had noticed him walking over.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope was a bit lost in her concerns about the king's involvement that she didn't pay much attention to the conversation about the dowry that followed. Though she understood why her father didn't want to do things behind the king's back, the knight couldn't help but wish now that there was a way to keep him out of meddling with their courtship. We've had a good streak of luck lately though so perhaps he won't even get involved. she thought on a more hopeful note. If she was accomplishing what Toreus had asked of her, perhaps the gods would be willing to shine more fortune their way when Crow went to deal with the king.

She was finally brought out of her thoughts as Crow nudged her side. "Hm?" she mumbled as she looked over at him, assuming she had missed something that had been said to her. As he nodded to something, she followed his gesture over to the approaching servants and quickly realized that he was pointing out Preston. Reminded that there was still work for her to do, she focused back on the main task at hand, which would be getting an audience with the king.

The knight waited for the servants to set down the plates, giving a brief thanks to the one that set her own down. As the other two left, she turned to Preston as he was about to test Crow's food. "Hey Preston, I was wondering if you'd be able to do me a favor today?" she asked with a hopeful look. "I need to schedule an audience with the king as soon as possible and I was hoping you might be able to help with that by getting ahold of his attendant, Hunter, for me."