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

[Rogue Sloth]

The final leg of their journey passed by, for the most part, in tense silence. Aside from looking out for night guards, Crow spent the time imagining different possible scenarios that they might encounter once they were within the walls of the castle and how he would handle them. He had hoped that by doing so, he would feel more prepared for the mission, but instead the thoughts just made him more aware of the countless unknowns they were going to face. His mind raced with unhelpful anticipation of situations he couldn’t even begin to prepare for.

Most prominent of all was the legend of the staff.

His heart fluttered nervously at the thought of it. It was something he had continuously heard about since the day they had left for the trip, and it was the one thing he could do nothing to change. If the legend was just a rumor, he was working himself up for nothing. But if it was true… well, he was no king. The realization that he may have been about to give up his own life for a piece of wood made his chest feel tight.

I’m doing this to stop a war, he looked up at the night sky, silently pleading to the gods. Surely you would agree that this is for the best. I don’t ask for much, but I’d like to live through this palace raid… so maybe don’t smite me just this once? Please?

--

When they finally arrived at the castle gate, the sun had just begun to peek over the eastern horizon. Crow hid with Penelope behind a wall of the nearest noble estate, just out of sight of the Younisian guards near the entrance. He squeezed her hand, suddenly finding it difficult to let her go. We have to part, he reminded himself. We have to stick to the plan.

He turned to Penelope, offering a halfhearted smile, “Well, this is it. Give them a good show for me.” He averted his gaze for a moment, forcing down the anxiety that rose up in his chest. She would be fine. Her initial role was the least dangerous between the two of them. As long as the servants believed her story, she would be taken into their protection. Everything would go according to plan.

Still, he didn’t like the idea of sending her in alone.

In a burst of affection, Crow wrapped his arms around Penelope in an embrace, holding her close to himself, and pressed a passionate kiss to her lips. They stayed like that for a long moment before he pulled back to meet her gaze, “I love you, and I’ll see you again at nightfall.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope let out a shaky breath as they finally arrived at the castle gates. This was where they would part ways and where the mission would really begin. Steady yourself.. You have to fool them. She took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself as she turned to Crow. “I will.” She promised him with a small smile.

As he embraced her, Penelope didn’t skip a beat, quickly wrapping her own arms around him and meeting his lips with equal passion. She closed her eyes tightly, savoring the moment while it lasted. As he pulled back, she met his gaze. “I love you too. Be safe.” She said and gave his cheek one last fleeting kiss before moving away from him. She turned to face the castle gates, looking over the two guards before finally moving out into the open. Time to perform...

The knight took on a nervous expression as she walked over to the guards. They saw her already but clearly weren’t that interested. At least they don’t think I’m a threat.. It was a good starting point at the very least. “E-Excuse me..” She began in a meek voice as she got close enough, putting on the Younisian accent. The guard on the right raised an eyebrow at her as she came up to them.

“What’s your business here?” He demanded impatiently. He may not have seen her as a threat but he made it clear that he did see her as a waste of time.

The other knight, however, glanced around with a confused look. “Are you all alone? Where is your escort?” He asked in a kinder tone.

“I-I don’t have one..” Penelope lowered her gaze to the ground and shuffled her feet. She lowered her voice to a softer tone, making it seem like she was losing confidence. “I’ve heard stories of people finding refuge amongst the staff here... I was hoping to find help.”

The guards fell silent for a moment and exchanged a glance. The colder of the two finally snorted and Penelope flinched in response. “And exactly what are you running from?”

“Amias, ease up a little...” The other knight muttered to his comrade before shifting his gaze over to Penelope. “Sorry about him... Everyone’s a little stressed out right now. But, uh, why are you here for such a thing?”

Penelope bit her tongue for a moment. “My husband... I’m trying to escape my husband.”

“Just because you’re not happy in your marriage doesn’t mean you can just stroll in here, lady.” Grumbled Amias as he waved his hand dismissively at her. “Go home.”

“No you don’t understand!” Time for the real acting. Penelope stepped forward with a look of desperation as she finally met Amias’ gaze. “He’s- He’s been beating me... It was barely anything at first, maybe a rough touch but it got worse as time went on. He’d hit me over small things.. Stupid mistakes. I thought I could deal with it until..“ She trailed off and moved her hand over the bandaged wrapped around her arm. Her gaze fell again and she gave a troubled frown. Penelope hesitated and shook her head. “Please... I just want to get away from him.” She pleaded.

Amias fell silent, his cold expression now wavered. The other knight gave Penelope a look of pity. “You’ll have to wait here.. The head of the servants will need to approve before anything is set in stone but we might be able to help you.” He agreed. He looked at Amias. “I’ll get Matilda.”

“No need. I’m right here.” Came a new voice from just slightly past the gate. An older woman with graying black hair was making her way up. She was rather tall and walked with grace despite her age and position. Her eyes were a deep brown that held a hint of sharpness to them. Behind her, a shorter woman tagged along eagerly. She was younger, likely around the same age as Penelope, and had bright blue eyes with light brown hair. She bounced after the head maid, carrying a bucket of water the two likely just got from a nearby well.

The two knights stepped back slightly as Matilda joined them at the gate. Her gaze ran over Penelope. “What’s your name, dear?” She asked. Her voice was rough though it was difficult to tell if it was from age or her sternness.

“Farah.” Penelope replied meekly.

“Hi Farah! I’m Dotty!” Chirped the bubbly short woman. Matilda shot her a silencing look and she ducked to stand back by the kinder knight who gave her a soft smile. Matilda moved closed to Penelope and held out her hand. “Let me see your arm, Farah.”

Penelope looked up at her and blinked, mildly surprised that was what she asked for. She held out her injured arm to Matilda. The head servant eyed the bandaging before carefully peeling it back slightly so she could view the injury. “This was done by a blade huh? Your husband did this?” She spoke quietly, trying to keep the conversation between just the two of them while the other servant spoke with the knights.

“Yes.”

“How?” Penelope tensed slightly.

“I was preparing dinner and he had just gotten home, completely drunk. He was angry... He was always angry when he was drunk but this time was worse. I tried to calm him down but he wouldn’t. At first he was just throwing stuff on the ground and when I tried to stop him, he picked up a knife and cut my arm... He threatened to cut my throat next if I ever got in his way again.” She kept her voice low and quiet, as if it was a story she didn’t want everyone to know.

Matilda let out a soft sigh and nodded her head as she listened. “I see..” She mused softly then moved to place a hand on Penelope’s shoulder. “You can relax now. You’ll be safe with us. Come on inside, I’ll have Dotty here help get you settled in.”

Penelope let out a quiet sigh of relief. So far, they seemed to buy her story. So far so good.. The knight thought as she looked over at the Younisians. As Matilda turned to lead the way inside, Penelope dipped her head gratefully to the knights as she passed by them. Amias paid no attention to her while the other knight gave a nod in return before saying his goodbyes to Dotty. The small servant quickly turned and hurried to Penelope’s side, seeming to beam at the idea of new company.

“Looks like I’ll get to show you around, Farah! Oh it’ll be so fun!” She giggled.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow watched from a distance as Penelope approached the two guards at the gate, holding his breath tensely. It was unlikely for anything to go wrong at this phase of the plan, since she wasn’t doing anything particularly threatening to the Younisians, but he was still prepared to run to her aid if she needed him.

He crouched down and leaned a little closer to the edge of the wall, straining to hear her conversation with the knights. He was far enough away that he couldn’t catch all of it, but from what he was able to understand, it sounded like the guards believed her story about seeking refuge from an abusive husband. He felt a small bubble of pride rise up in his chest. She had become quite skilled at lying. If he didn’t know better, he probably would have bought her tall tale too.

After a while, he saw two women appear from within the gates, one old and one young. They spoke to Penelope in soft voices that he couldn’t hear from his position behind the noble’s manor. However, the conversation must have gone well, because after they finished speaking, they disappeared behind the gates with Penelope.

Crow stepped away from the edge and turned around to press his back against the wall, letting out his breath in relief. So far, so good. As long as none of the castle staff figured out she was lying, Penelope would be safe in their care. All that was left was for him to sneak in after her once the sun went down that night. Until then, he would continue to prepare and learn as much as he could about the Younisian palace.

Performing a quick sweep of his surroundings to make sure no one had spotted him trespassing on the noble’s estate, the thief moved away from the wall and started to circle around the curtain wall of the castle, moving stealthily through the buildings in the surrounding citadel. It was early enough that none of the locals seemed to have woken up, but he was still careful to avoid being seen by any passing patrols. After all, he didn’t want to have to explain to anyone why he was prowling around the edge of the fortress of their beloved king while armed with poisoned weaponry.

He kept going until he reached the far side of the wall, the part that was built into the back of the keep, before he finally stopped. This area was closest to the window he had been eyeing earlier that night, so he didn’t want to wander too far off. He needed to save as much energy as he could to make the climb to the third floor, so running all the way from another part of the citadel right before would be counterproductive.

With only one day left to get ready for the mission, Crow didn’t want to waste any time. He scouted the area for a secure place to hide his bow and quiver before the sun rose and there would be more set of eyes around that might see him. After a bit of looking, he came across a garden on another noble estate. There were a few trees and large bushes to provide shade over a small seating area. It wasn’t much, but it was safer than hiding the weapon close to any stables or living quarters, where it was more likely to be found by a lucky servant.

He did one more search of the area, double checking that he was still alone, before he made his way over to the garden. When he reached it, he pulled the bow and quiver off of his shoulders and crouched down, sliding both far beneath a particularly wide bush. He climbed back to his feet and dusted himself off. There, he thought smugly to himself. No one is going to find that.

Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from the entrance of the manor as someone began to open the door. He hurriedly ducked behind the bushes just as a servant girl walked out, yawning tiredly as she carried an empty bucket to a well. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like she had noticed him, so he crept along the far side of the garden, staying just beyond her line of sight. He waited until she had gone back inside of the building before he finally stood up straight again.

“That was close,” he muttered under his breath. If the girl had come outside a few seconds sooner, she would have caught him stowing away his bow in the garden. He turned around to leave the estate, and then jumped back, inhaling sharply. Directly in front of him was a life-sized, bronze statue of a woman. He clutched his chest with one hand, letting out his breath as he regained his composure. Gods, that startled me. He shot the statue a glare, as if it was its fault for catching him off guard. However, as he eyed at the figure’s face, he realized it looked familiar.

Not you again, Crow wrinkled his nose with distaste as he recognized Aeklora’s four piercing eyes. He glanced back over his shoulder, following the statue’s gaze, only to groan inwardly when he saw that it was looking directly into the garden where he had just hidden his weapon. He turned back to the bronze figure and narrowed his eyes, “I’m only doing this to save Younis from a war. So unless you want your precious kingdom to burn, you’d better not tell anyone I was here. Got it?”

The statue, of course, said nothing.

The thief sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Nice going, Crow. You’re talking to a hunk of metal. Maybe you should see if that tree has anything to add to this weird conversation.” He shook his head, stepping around the Aeklora figure to leave the premises. With all the rumors and legends about the goddess, he was much more on edge than he normally would be before a run. He glanced back one more time to look at the statue, trying to reassure himself that there was nothing unusual about it, but instead, he felt his blood run cold. Was it just his imagination, or did one of its eyes look back at him for a second? He spun around and walked briskly away from the creepy figure.

Heart racing, he kept going until he could no longer see the bronze Aeklora. He eventually found himself weaving through shops in a luxurious-looking market that was just beginning to open. In an attempt to blend in, he mingled with the serfs in the streets who were running errands for their masters. He wandered along the edge of one road, pretending to examine various products as if he was looking for something specific. All the while, his mind reeled.

As impossible as it seemed, he could have sworn he saw the statue’s upper left eye flick in his direction for a brief moment. He didn’t know what that meant, but he was more sure than ever before that the goddess was watching him. He was also less sure about what would happen when he tried to steal the staff. He swallowed the anxious lump that had formed in his throat as his eyes wandered to the open end of the road that led away from the castle. A devilish voice began to whisper in the back of his mind: It would be so easy to turn back. No one is around to stop me. I could just forget about this cursed mission and go home…

He closed his eyes, raking his fingers through his hair. But I can’t. I can’t do that to Penelope. I gave her my word that I wouldn’t run. His feelings of confliction weighed down heavily on his chest, and he suddenly felt the need to get away from the crowd. He turned and ran out of the market, heading blindly down a nearby alley until the commotion died away behind him.

Once he had gotten far enough from the crowd, he leaned back against a wall, breathing heavily, and slid down to the ground. He dropped his head into his hands. He had never felt so trapped in his life. Ever since he had heard about the legend of the staff, he had gone back and forth trying to convince himself that he would be fine, but now he doubted he could take it without getting himself killed. How was he supposed to steal something that couldn’t be stolen?

As much as he wanted to save his own skin and abandon the suicidal mission, he couldn’t break his promise to Penelope either. She was relying on him to stop the war, and he couldn’t let her down just because he was afraid.

Afraid. The word rang in his head. Yes, that was what he was feeling. He was afraid of dying. He didn’t want to touch the staff if it meant his heart might stop. Every instinct he had was screaming at him to run away—to run as far from the danger as possible, but he couldn’t because of his loyalty to Penelope.

He felt a pang of longing, wishing she was by his side again. Her presence gave him resolve, and that was something he desperately needed at that moment. As the morning sun climbed higher in the sky, so did his temptation to bolt. He closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath to try and calm down. He focused on Penelope, the one he was doing this for. He thought about her kind smile, her warm embrace, her gentle voice, her soft lips, and everything else he loved about her. Slowly, he felt his pulse decrease and the pressure in his chest dissipate.

I can do this, he thought with restored confidence. It’s not my fate to die tonight. It can’t be—not while I still have so much to live for. He looked up at the blue sky above, hoping Penelope was faring better on her end than he was.

[BuzzingBee]

Stepping past the gates, Penelope looked around the castle grounds, trying to act curious rather than giving away that she was taking in the various aspects. It wasn’t much different than the Brerra castle, though the placement of certain things did vary. The barracks laid to the right alongside the castle. She noticed that there was an old, wooden door that seemed to lead under the castle placed besides the barracks. She didn’t pay much mind to it and continued to look around elsewhere. To the left, she spotted the stables alongside a rather peaceful looking garden. Beautiful plants and trees made their home there.

“Dotty, go ahead and finish watering the plants. Take Farah with you and show her around so she knows where everything’s at.” Matilda instructed. The old woman turned her head to look over at Penelope and Dotty. “Meet me in the servant’s quarters when you’re done.”

“Yes ma’am!” Dotty dipped her head to Matilda and watched as the older servant walked on towards the front entrance of the great building. She turned to Penelope and gave a large smile. “Come on then! We’ve got quite a bit to cover and I’m not even showing you the whole castle.”

Dotty too the lead and headed off the main path as she made her way over to the garden. Penelope followed her, admittedly relieved that Matilda had left her alone with the bubbly servant. Dotty seemed much more trusting than Matilda and the knight hoped to use that to her advantage in finding out as much as she could about the castle. As they neared the garden, Penelope was a bit impressed by how well looked after it was. The garden back home was mainly for herbs or other small crops and wasn’t usually looked after very well since often didn’t use the crops that grew there. However, this garden’s main purpose seemed to purely be enjoyment. A couple shady trees stood tall amongst the various plants and beautiful flowers bloomed all over.

“It’s so pretty here..” Penelope mused softly as she looked around. Dotty was already spreading the water over the plants and gave a soft chuckle.

“Well, the queen really loves this spot! She comes out here often to admire the flowers.. Sometimes she even sneaks out here through the pantry’s back door but don’t let his highness know that.” She grinned and winked at her.

Penelope gave a small smile of amusement and nodded her head. While Dotty's words were amusing, she was quick to find a bit of interest in the mention of the pantry having a back door. She eyed the wall of the castle and sure enough she spotted a narrow door nearby. It was hard to spot and nearly hidden amongst the side of the castle. “Right.” She said with a small laugh. “I’m surprised the pantry is so close to the garden..”

“It makes it easy to grab the herbs from the garden.” Dotty explained with a small shrug. “Alright! I’m done watering so let’s begin the tour!”

“Are we starting with the pantry?” Penelope asked.

“No. Unfortunately, they usually lock it up tight so the only way to open that door is from the inside. But that’s a boring place to start anyways! Come!” Dotty hurried off towards the main entrance, swinging the empty bucket in her hand as she walked. As they stepped up a couple small staircases, Penelope could already make out what lied beyond the main doors. She noted that it wasn’t as grand or luxurious as the inside of the Brerratic castle. It was decorated nicely and still told of great wealth though it lacked the gold and silver touches she had grown used to seeing in the castle back home. It’s almost.. humble... She thought to herself as she stepped inside, passing a couple of guards on the way.

“Welcome to the great castle of Younis!” Dotty said with a grand gesture. The guards glanced over at her, seeming to flinch with annoyance at her loud voice.

Penelope smiled at Dotty and placed a hand on the servant’s shoulder. “We should probably keep moving.” She said softly as she noticed the guard’s irritation.

Dotty blushed a little and nodded her head as she continued to walk further inside. “Ok well, that’s the main staircase,” She gestured to the large staircase that took up most of the entrance. “It only leads up to the third floor though. You probably won’t ever go higher than the second floor though. Unless you become a servant of one of the royal family. We’ll go up to the second floor so I can show you the great hall and the library.” She took the lead and hurried up the stairs. Penelope quickly followed.

The great hall was located right upon the left of the stair case on the second floor. They pushed opened the doors and Dotty let her have a brief look around. There really wasn’t anything of much interest, as it was currently empty. What Penelope paid more attention to was the knights that passed on their regular patrol. If I could just get a feel for their routine and route... She followed behind Dotty as they left the great hall and moved onto the library.

So far it seemed that the layout wasn’t too different from the castle back in Brerra. Though things were in slightly different places, both the Brerratic and Younisian castle managed to have similar things on the same floors. Penelope hoped she was right in guessing that the rest of the castle would be the same and continued to follow Dotty as the servant briefly showed her the library and walked on through the hallway of the second floor.

[Rogue Sloth]

Still unnerved from his encounter with the goddess statue, Crow stayed put in the alley for a while longer before he finally climbed to his feet again. Having chosen not to run from his responsibility, he couldn’t waste any more time panicking about the possibility of divine intervention. It wasn’t like he could do anything about it anyway. If Aeklora was going to try and stop him from stealing the staff, there was no way that he, a mortal man, could do anything to prevent her from doing so. It was out of his hands.

Feeling a bit more resigned to his fate, whatever it may be, he walked back to the market to finish what he had gone there to do. He lingered by the edge of the swarms of servants, circling predatorily in search of someone wearing the blue and white colors of Younis or a royal crest or anything else that would signify a high position in the castle.

After a while of waiting and searching, he spotted a potential target, a young woman wearing a blue and white band around her left arm. She was browsing a row of merchants selling what looked like expensive fabrics for clothing. By that he guessed she was the personal attendant of one of the members of the royal family, although whether she served the queen or a woman of lesser status was difficult to say. Either way, she would have valuable information that would help him locate the king’s chambers more quickly if he could only get her to share it with him.

He watched her from across the street, trying to decide the best approach to get her to tell him what he wanted to know about the palace. He didn’t want to use force, since there were so many local guards around, yet he also doubted she would voluntarily tell a stranger risky information about the castle. He had to find a way to make her lower her guard enough to share with him the details he needed.

Having decided on a plan, Crow slipped into the crowd and made his way across the street towards the royal servant. When he reached her side, he pretended to look over the merchant’s wares, as if they were what had caught his attention. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, but it seemed like she was too busy examining a red silk cloth to have noticed him approach. Well, that was fine. He would just have to get her attention a little more directly.

“That’s a beautiful color,” he said, causing the girl to jump slightly at the sound of this voice.

She turned to look at him, seeming ready to chide him for startling her, but then paused. Her dark eyes swept over him and her cheeks turned rosy. She dropped her gaze and fiddled with the cloth square in her hands, “I-I’m trying to choose a fabric to make the queen’s new ball gown.”

“The queen?” Crow echoed, raising a brow. What luck! This attendant did work for the queen after all. He bit his tongue to stop the victorious grin that threatened to take over his lips. He didn’t want to give away his excitement that he had found the servant he had been looking for. Instead he allowed a friendly smile to soften his features as he went on, “I’m sure she would love the fabric you’ve chosen for her. You have great taste, love.”

“T-thank you,” the attendant blinked in surprise at his compliment, the blush on her cheeks deepening. She turned to the merchant and purchased a large roll of the red silk. However, when the man handed it to her across the table, Crow intervened and picked it up instead.

She looked up at him with a questioning expression, and he smiled at her again, “Allow me. I have some free time, so there’s no reason for you to carry this all the way to the castle when I can do it for you.”

“Oh, a-are you sure?” the girl asked politely, although he could see a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

“Of course,” he said with a laugh. “It’s not every day I find myself in the company of a woman as beautiful as you. I’d like to make this time last.”

The attendant’s cheeks burned scarlet and she averted her gaze, nodding silently at his words.

He took the lead as they walked towards the palace so she wouldn’t see the pleased look on his face. She was buying everything he was saying to her. It was almost too easy. He slowed his pace slightly to walk next to the girl, “So, what’s your name?”

“Lily,” she answered with a small smile and looked up at him again. “What’s yours?”

“Dante,” Crow supplied the name he remembered Hartley had used while they stayed with Malcolm. He turned the conversation back to her once again, intending to keep her flustered, “You have a lovely name. It’s quite fitting.”

“Thank you,” Lily bit her lip and looked away again.

They continued talking idly, with Crow throwing in compliments every once in a while, until they reached the castle gates. Unable to go farther, he handed off the roll of fabric to her, subtly allowing his hand to brush against hers during the exchange. He offered her one more charming smile before she moved to part ways with him, and then called after her, “Lily, wait.”

“Yes?” she turned back to him.

“Would you like to get dinner with me at a tavern this evening?” he scratched the back of his neck with mock bashfulness.

The girl hesitated for a moment, seeming caught off guard by his proposal, before she broke out in a grin, “I’d love to.”

“Really?” Crow beamed back at her, as if he was pleasantly surprised by her answer. “Where would you like to go?”

“How about the Running Bear tavern?” Lily suggested. “They have good food, and it’s not far from the market.”

“Great,” Crow smiled. “I’ll see you there, love.”

“See you, Dante,” she waved at him and then turned to walk through the gate with a slight skip in her step.

Once she had gone, Crow headed back toward the other side of the citadel, feeling pleased with himself. He had fully convinced the queen’s attendant that he was interested in her, and he had even persuaded her to meet with him again. All he had to do now was get her drunk at the tavern so she would tell him about the castle. It wouldn’t be long before he learned everything he needed to conduct the heist. The game was in motion.

[BuzzingBee]

“Well that’s about it for this floor!” Dotty announced after showing Penelope around the second floor. The other rooms weren’t of much interest to the knight. A couple closets with cleaning supplies, offices for some of the higher up servants like Matilda and those that directly served the royal family, and even a few empty bed chambers for lower level nobles. However, what Penelope did find interest in was the staircase that laid towards the end of the eastern hallway. With any luck, it seemed like it would put her rather close to the window she was supposed to meet Crow at.

She turned her attention back to Dotty and nodded her head. “So what’s next?”

“Bottom floor. That’s where you’ll basically live. We have all of our bed chambers down there plus the kitchen and pantry, of course.” Dotty explained as she began to lead the way back to the stairs. Penelope looked around as they walked and as they moved to pass by the great hall. Her gaze soon landed on the mural that was painted above the large doors. It was a portrait of Aeklora. Two of her eyes were focused on the small orb drawn in front of her, almost looking at it affectionately. However, her other two eyes piercingly looked ahead into the castle. The artist really want to make people think she was actually watching.. Penelope thought with distaste.

“Oh guess you finally noticed Aeklora!” Dotty chuckled, snapping Penelope out of her thoughts. “She’s all over the castle. Paintings, statues, busts. She’ll always be watching over you.”

Though Dotty’s words were meant to be assuring, Penelope was far from comforted by the goddess as she considered the legend behind the staff again. She glanced over at Dotty, wondering if the servant had anymore information on it. It’d likely be easy to get the information out of her if she did. The girl was practically the perfect guide for the knight with how much she had shared and trusted her. “Of course, just like she watches over everyone. Though, probably not as much as she watches over the king.” Penelope mused casually.

“Right! They’re connection is much more powerful!” Dotty nodded vigorously. As if suddenly struck by a thought, Penelope turned to Dotty with a look of curiosity. “Hey Dotty... Is it really true about his staff?”

The servant blinked, a little caught off guard by the sudden question. She shuffled her feet nervously. “Yes, of course.” She said, her answer sounding a bit guarded. Penelope felt her stomach drop slightly, worrying that she had been too forward with the question. Guess I need to be careful with that subject.. She thought and focused her gaze back on Aeklora.

“Sorry. I’ve just always heard about it growing up and at some points, I just wonder if she really is watching over us...” Penelope said softly, lowering her gaze as she put on a troubled look. Dotty frowned and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, seeming to guess that Penelope was thinking of the abusive husband she had claimed to flee from.

“She is! That’s why you’re here now and far from danger.” Dotty reassured her. The servant paused as her eyes drifted towards Aeklora. “You remember the incident that happened five years back with one of the servants, don’t you?”

“Kinda... Wasn’t it just a rumor going around though?” Penelope said looking over at her with a raised eyebrow. She had no idea what the servant was referring to but she guessed it had something to do with the mentioned servant touching the staff. When Dotty’s eyes widened and she shook her head, Penelope felt her heart race slightly with worry. She had mostly written the legend off as rumors to keep the king in power and to ward off thieves. However, if Dotty knew of a time when it actually happened, then perhaps it wasn’t just a rumor. It was still difficult for the knight to believe that the gods would play an active role in the mortal world though.

“No,no. It really happened! Matilda doesn’t like us talking about it since it was a servant but I swear it happened.”

“Did you see it happen?”

“Gods no. I kept away from that... I woke up the next morning to find out what had happened. The court physician even declared it was a smiting.”

Penelope nodded her head, relaxing slightly. The physician is probably in on the lie. She theorized, a bit comforted that Dotty hadn’t actually seen anything and had just heard the rumor like everyone else. She wouldn’t doubt it if they had merely poisoned the servant in an effort to make it look like he suddenly just dropped dead. Finding satisfied with her reasoning, she turned to Dotty. “I can’t believe that happened.”

“I know!” Dotty gawked as she turned to continue on towards the kitchen. “It was a crazy time here in the castle. Anyways, we should get back to the tour! I don’t want Matilda getting mad at me. She can be quite scary!”

“I bet.” Penelope chuckled.

The two made their way into the kitchen. It was large and quite busy as other servants worked to clean up the mess that was left over from what Penelope guessed to be breakfast. “You’ll probably help out in here once in a while, depending on what chores Matilda gives you.” Dotty told her as they stood off to the side. “Cooking is a hassle here though. We’ve got a ton of people to feed after all!"

“I see.. Well, I wouldn’t mind that.” Penelope mused. “I can make a pretty tasty stew.”

“Really?” Dotty said with a smile as looked over at her. “You must be a pretty good cook!”

Penelope feigned bashfulness. “I’m alright.. I just enjoy cooking. It’s relaxing.”

“Not for me! I’m always burning something or doing something wrong. I never get kitchen duty anymore.” Dotty laughed.

In truth, Penelope barely knew how to cook. Most of her meals were prepared by other people and she had only cooked for herself on a few occasions. However, she hoped by acting like it was an interest that Dotty would help get her on kitchen duty for later that night. Everything seemed to be working out better than Penelope thought. She smiled to herself as they headed out of the kitchen and towards the servant’s quarters which were down the opposite hallway.

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow returned to the area of the citadel behind the keep. Glancing up at the sky, he saw that it was about high noon. Since he had arranged to meet with Lily in the evening, he didn’t have much time to rest in between. He looked at the buildings around him in search of somewhere to eat lunch, eventually settling on a tavern near the curtain wall. It didn’t look too crowded despite the hour, so he headed inside.

When he passed through the doors, he paused to take another look around. It seemed that this tavern was popular among Younisian knights, because there were multiple tables filled with them. They all had empty ale mugs and flushed faces. They’re getting drunk on the job, he mused, smirking to himself. Maybe they’ll have loose tongues as well. Keeping a neutral expression, he made his way over to an empty chair near the intoxicated knights and sat down. However, before he had a chance to listen in on their conversation, a wench came over to take his request.

“I’ll just have whatever you think is best along with a mug of mead,” Crow offered her a friendly smile, though his eyes flicked back to the knights. While he was hungry, he was too distracted by the prospect of learning more about the castle to think about food at the moment. He liked to eat, but he liked surviving palace raids much more, so he wanted to focus on their conversation rather than think about what he was in the mood to have for lunch.

As the wench left to take his order, he eavesdropped on the drunken guards. For the most part, they only spoke about unhelpful things, such as upcoming jousting tournaments, who would beat who in a fight, noblewomen they found attractive, and other such pointless banter. He sighed. It was beginning to seem like they wouldn’t say anything useful after all.

After listening to them chatter for a while longer, he downed the rest of his mead and prepared to leave the tavern. Just as he was about to stand up though, one of the knights finally said something that caught his attention.

“Did you men hear about the new swords the palace guards are getting tonight?”

New swords? Interest piqued, Crow glanced at them out of the corner of his eye.

“Yeah,” another knight scoffed. “Apparently the king had them specially made by a skilled blacksmith. He wants the entire royal guard to exchange their current swords for the new ones when they come in.”

“Lucky bastards,” another knight shook his head. “What I wouldn’t give for a new blade. Mine is balanced terribly.”

“Mine too,” one of the knights rested a hand on the hilt of the sword at his side. “Maybe we should just ‘borrow’ some of the new ones. The king paid for so many that I doubt he’d notice if a few went missing.”

“Good luck getting past his watchdog,” the first knight snorted. “Even if you could get inside the weapons vault, there’s no way Aeklora would let you escape.”

“Lighten up,” the other knight threw up his hands. “I was only kidding. I’m not stupid enough to try to steal from the king.”

But I am, Crow smirked to himself. Having heard everything he needed to know, he got up from his table and exited the tavern, heading for the castle gates one more time.

--

Crow crouched behind a stable, his gaze fixed on the main road as he waited for the wagon that would be delivering the swords that the knights had been talking about. He glanced up at the sky every once in a while, hoping it wouldn’t be too much longer before the cart arrived. He didn’t want to shortchange himself on sleep to the point where he wouldn’t be able to function at his best during the heist. Stifling a yawn, he shook his head, trying to ignore his exhaustion and stay focused on the task at hand.

After a while of waiting, a horse drawn wagon finally came into view, headed by two Younisian knights. The thief watched them from his hiding place, tensing to run as soon as he saw an opportunity to sneak inside of the cart. He didn’t have to wait long. As soon as the knights passed by the stable he was crouching behind, he shot out and hopped into the wagon bed, wincing as it lurched slightly from his added weight. Fortunately, the knights didn’t seem to notice the motion. He looked down to find bundles of sheathed swords at his feet. There were dozens of them, so he would have to work fast.

Opening up the closest bundle, he drew the first sword. It really was a beautifully crafted piece of weaponry—probably expensive too. He almost felt sorry for what he was about to do to it.

He laid the sword down flat on the bed of the wagon, then stood on top of it with his right foot, gripped the hilt firmly, and pulled up until the blade snapped beneath his weight. Picking up the two pieces of the now-broken weapon, he replaced it in its scabbard and repeated the process until he had successfully destroyed every single sword in the shipment. He looked over the bundles of seemingly untouched sheaths and grinned, I almost hope one of the royal guards finds me, just so I can see the look on his face when he only draws half of a sword.

Having finished sabotaging the knights’ weapons, Crow snuck out of the cart and headed back to the other side of the citadel. He stretched lazily as he started to feel the toll of missing a full night of sleep. There was still enough time for him to take a nap before his meeting with Lily, so he began to search for someplace safe to stop and rest.

After a while, he spotted a stable with a pile of crates beside it. Changing direction, he stepped up to the crates and used them to climb onto the roof of the stable. He looked around and smiled to himself. No one would see him up here. It was a perfect place to take a nap. Letting out his breath contentedly, he laid down on the rooftop and closed his eyes, propping his head up on his arms as he drifted off to sleep.

[BuzzingBee]

Once they reached the servant’s quarters, Penelope was quick to spot Matilda speaking with a man. He didn’t appear to be a servant though as he was dressed in a different type of uniform. The knight blinked. Is he the physician? He looked rather young to be a physician in her opinion. The older servant glanced past him to spot the two as they entered the room. “There they are.” She grumbled. “I hope you showed her everything, it took you long enough to at least.”

“I did!” Dotty said unfazed by Matilda’s tone. Penelope walked up to join the other two with Dotty, now getting a better look at the man that stood there. He was around average height, just a little taller than Penelope, with a darker complexion and short, well kept hair.

“Farah, this is-“

“Henley.” The man interrupted. He looked over at Matilda and gave a soft smirk. “I’d like to introduce myself, Matilda.” The older servant gave a huff and waved her hand dismissively. He looked back to Penelope and offered a smile. “I’m the physician’s apprentice. Matilda got me because she was worried about some injury you have?”

“Oh..” Penelope mumbled a bit surprised that the head servant had gone to such trouble. It wasn’t like the wound was fresh after all. “Yeah, I-I have a cut from a couple days ago but, it’s really nothing to worry about.”

“No offense, but I’ll be the judge of that.” Henley chuckled though there was a sternness to his voice. He stepped back by the desk that was in the room and pulled out the chair for her. His supplies sat on the desk in a small bag. “Here sit down and I’ll give it a look.”

Penelope moved to reluctantly sit down in the chair and let the apprentice check over her wound while Matilda and Dotty stood off to the side discussing what would come next for Penelope. “Well, it’s healing well.. Looks like you’ve had a bit of practice with dealing with wounds.” He mused as he rewrapped her injury. Penelope gave a small shrug at his comment.

“So she’s fit to work then?” Matilda questioned crossing her arms. Ahh so that’s why she got him... Penelope thought with some amusement.

“Yes Matilda, but I don’t think she should do any heavy lifting or such. it might reopen.” He told her as he began to gather his things to leave.

“Good enough.” Matilda mused before shifting her gaze to Penelope as the physician said his farewell. “We’ll give you shelter in exchange for work so don’t expect to be slacking off. Dotty will show you to your room and then you’ll accompany her with her work for today.”

“Ok. Thank you, ma’am.” Penelope said politely. She got up and moved to join Dotty once again as the servant showed her to where she would be staying. They walked along a long hallway of rooms until they finally reached one that was almost at the very end. Dotty opened the door to reveal a quaint little room with two beds and two small dressers. “You’ll be rooming with a woman named Cora. She’s usually not around very much though... She likes to keep busy. Anyways, that side’s all yours! Oh and Matilda wanted me to make sure you start wearing this.” She held up a solid white band and moved to wrap it around Penelope’s arm. Penelope noticed that Dotty was wearing a white band around her arm as well.

“There’s also a dress in there for you.. It’s not as nice as the one your wearing though but it’s all we could spare.” Dotty added kindly.

“Thank you. I’ll have to try it out tomorrow.” Penelope said with a small nod.

The two left the room and headed out to begin the chores Dotty had been given for the day. It seemed most of it was cleaning and Penelope worried she wouldn’t be able to get into the kitchen as easily as she had once hoped. I’ve still got quite a bit of time before they begin preparing dinner... I’ll figure something out.. She thought to herself as they walked. Ahead, she noticed a guard had entered the castle, likely a switch of shifts.

“Oh hey Emeric!” Dotty greeted the guard with clear joy as they drew closer. Penelope was quick to realize that it was the other guard she had come across at the gates. He turned at the sound of her voice and smiled.

“Hi Dotty. Still showing her around?” He asked as he stepped over to them.

“Kinda! We finished going over the castle and now Matilda’s got us cleaning up the floors down here.”

As the two continued to talk, Penelope couldn’t help but notice a certain closeness between them despite the differences in social class. Perhaps there wasn’t such strictness in how nobles acted around commoners? However, he was the first guard Dotty had even bothered to address. Penelope eyed the servant girl and knight as they talked, barely paying attention to their conversation as she noted how they acted towards each other.

“Alright well, I better get going. I have to go take Merrick off of his shift. See ya later.” Emeric waved goodbye then headed up the staircase.

“Bye!” Dotty said giving a small wave in return. She gave a soft sigh and smiled to herself before turning to continue on to start her work.

“You two seem close.” Penelope commented after a brief silence. Dotty flushed at her words, giving Penelope the answer she was looking for.

“Oh well-well he’s a good friend of mine."

“He seems nice.”

“He is..” Dotty trailed off for a moment. “Ah anyways! Time to start sweeping!” She announced as she pulled out a broom from the supply closet they had reached. Penelope smiled a little in amusement.

----

As the day dragged on, Penelope found herself thankful she hadn’t ended up as a servant. Though the work wasn’t as rigorous compared to the training of a knight, it was also incredibly dull and time consuming. It took most of the day to clean the floors, first sweeping, then mopping and then drying them. Dotty was good company though. Penelope nearly felt bad for having to use her for their raid, however, it was necessary if she wanted their mission to go well.

The sun was slowly beginning to descend now and the two sat outside near the garden, taking a break from the long day of work. Penelope looked up at the sky as she leaned back on the palms of her hands. Not much longer now... I’ll have to get in the kitchen soon... She thought to herself, glancing over her shoulder towards the castle’s main entrance. As she did, she noticed another servant girl walking out, looking particularly excited about something.

“Hi Lily!” Dotty greeted the servant as she drew closer. Lily paused and looked over at them giving a small wave.

“Hi Dotty.” Lily said with less friendliness. “Sorry I don’t have much time to talk! I’m off to the Running Bear Tavern.”

“Oooooh.” Dotty mused with a knowing look. She grinned at Lily and waved. “Have fun! And be safe!”

Lily waved goodbye and continued on her way out of the gates. Dotty smirked and leaned over to Penelope as she watched Lily go. “She’s meeting some man.” She told her with a wink, having caught on to Penelope’s confusion about the situation.

“Ahh.... Do you know who it is?” Penelope chuckled.

Dotty shook her head. “No clue. She doesn’t share much with me... Or any of the ‘lower’ servants.”

“Lower?”

“Yeah.. She’s the queen’s attendant. Sometimes they’re more stuffy than the nobles themselves!” Dotty said. She shrugged and then moved to stand up. “We should probably get back inside. Matilda might need us for something else.. Especially with dinner rolling around soon.”

“It must be a big production huh?” Penelope stood up and stretched her shoulders.

“Definitely!”

Penelope paused. “Maybe we can stop by the kitchen when they start preparing for dinner? I-If Matilda doesn’t have us busy with something else that is.”

Dotty looked over at Penelope and smirked a little. “I guess you really do like cooking, Farah.” She giggled. “Sure I’ll see if Matilda will let us. Come on let’s go.”

Penelope bit down a grin of victory as Dotty agreed to try to help her get in the kitchen. The plan was going smoothly and as long as Matilda agreed, she wouldn’t have much trouble slipping the henbane into the food. She glanced up at the sky, wondering how Crow was faring now that the time was drawing closer.

[Rogue Sloth]

When Crow awoke on the stable rooftop, the sun had sunk quite far down the horizon. He yawned widely and sat up, stretching his limbs as he slowly came back to himself. He was slightly sore from sleeping on the uneven surface, but he felt more refreshed than anything else after the pleasant nap. It was nice to finally get some much needed rest after going almost two days without getting any at all, and he was glad he had found the time to do so between his other preparations for the raid.

He climbed down from the roof of the stable and headed back into the town near the market he had found earlier. It was about time to meet with the queen’s attendant, so he needed to figure out where the Running Bear tavern was. Looking around at all of the signs, he realized the task was easier said than done. There were a number of different taverns in the area, each one filled with lounging serfs, but, being illiterate, he couldn’t tell which one he was supposed to meet her in.

He stopped walking and rested a hand on his hip, looking between the various taverns on either side of the street. It would be risky to ask for directions, because it wasn’t unlikely for him to be standing right near the place he was looking for. He didn’t want to give away his inability to read and draw more attention to himself than was necessary. He exhaled, watching the passing servants in the hope that one of them would give him a clue as to where the Running Bear tavern was. Unfortunately, none of them mentioned the name he was looking for.

Come on, he thought in frustration. Am I really going to lose this opportunity over something as superficial as reading? He was about to keep searching again when he felt a pair of slender hands cover his eyes.

“Guess who?” Lily’s voice cooed from behind him.

“Hey there,” he turned around to face her and then froze. The girl had changed into a new, much more provocative dress with a low cut that showed off her chest. He flushed slightly and averted his gaze, trying to calm his heart that had begun to race in spite of himself. She’s a lot more brazen than I thought she would be, he thought nervously, wondering where the timid girl from the marketplace had gone.

“Thanks for waiting for me, Dante” Lily went on with a pleased smirk upon noticing his expression. “I hope you think this was worth it.” She smoothed down the front of her dress.

Crow swallowed. He hadn’t thought that his harmless flirting would cause any trouble, but now he was starting to regret doing it in the first place. Calm down, he forced himself to look at her, so as not to give away his discomfort. This is all for the sake of the mission. I’m not being unfaithful to Penelope… I won’t let it get that far. Pushing away his unease, he smiled at the girl and offered her his arm, “You look even more beautiful than the fabric you chose for the queen’s dress.”

“Why thank you,” Lily slipped her arm through his.

They walked to the Running Bear tavern—he subtly paid attention to where she was looking in order to find out which one it was—and sat down across from each other at a table. A wench stopped by briefly to take their orders, and then they were left alone. Lily rested her elbows on the table, lacing her fingers together and propping her chin on them. She smiled coyly, gazing at him with dark eyes hooded beneath long lashes, “So, at which estate do you work?”

Great, he thought with an inward groan. One question in, and I’m already not sure how to answer her. I hope our drinks come quickly. He returned her coy smile with an alluring smirk of his own, “The head of the manor is just a vassal you’ve probably never heard of. He doesn’t seem to have much to do with the royal family.”

“Try me,” Lily challenged. “I serve the queen, and she makes a point to learn the names of all the nobles in the citadel.”

Of course she does, he let out a soft sigh. There was no way he would be able to lie his way out of this subject, so he would just have to divert her attention somehow. “Well, if you insist. I work for—oh look,” he gestured past Lily’s shoulder. “Our food is here.” Luckily for him, the wench was walking back at that moment with their plates and mugs. She set everything down on their table and moved on to take the orders of another group of patrons.

“This looks great,” he smiled at Lily. “Seems like you have good taste in fabrics and food alike. I’m impressed.”

“I’m flattered that you think so,” she giggled, taking a small sip from her drink.

Crow mirrored her motion, drinking from his own mug as well. He tapped his foot impatiently underneath the table. If she continued to drink so slowly, there was no way she would get drunk. He needed to convince her to do more than just sip at her ale if he was going to get any information out of her.

“You’re a dainty drinker, aren’t you, love?” he teased, hoping to strike a competitive nerve in her.

“Of course,” Lily shrugged nonchalantly, unfazed by his taunting. “I have to be prepared to assist the queen at all times.”

“Well, you aren’t with her now, are you?” Crow pointed out, winking at her wryly. “You’re with me.”

“I suppose so,” Lily smiled back at him, biting her lip. “It could be fun to get a little… wild.”

Beneath the table he felt her slide her foot up his leg, and he fought the urge to cringe. Gods, this woman is forward, he forced a grin and raised his mug in a toast, “To having a good time.”

“And to having an even better night tonight,” Lily added with a wink of her own. She clinked her glass against his and they both drank. This time, she downed a sizeable portion of her ale.

Perfect, he fought to avoid giving away his feeling of triumph. If she keeps up like this, I’ll have the information I need in no time…

--

They both finished their dinners and their drinks, though Crow was careful to make sure he didn’t drink fast enough to become inebriated. He needed to stay sober so he could focus on his goal and combat Lily’s attempts to get physical with him. The more she drank, the more flirtatious she became until he was practically throwing herself at him. It was becoming a nuisance to keep her at a distance.

“So,” Crow began, guessing she was drunk enough to speak openly with him about the palace. “Tell me about your job serving the queen. What is the security like in the castle?”

“Thatsa boring question,” Lily tilted her head and then grinned at him drunkenly. “Let’s talk about you an’ me tonight.” She leaned in close to him, lowering her voice. “Don’ tell anyone, but I’ve always wan’ed to do it in the king an’ queen’s bed. Wanna try with me?”

Crow sighed in frustration. It was going to be hard to keep her on track while she only cared about sleeping with him. This is okay. I can work with this. He met her gaze with a coquettish smile, “Not unless you tell me where their bed is.”

“Tha’s easy,” Lily waved a hand dismissively. “They stay on tha fifth floor in tha west wing. So, you wanna do it in their bed?”

Fifth floor, west wing, he silently repeated to himself, trying to memorize the information as she gave it to him. “We’ll never make it to their room if we can’t get past the guards,” he tried a different approach.

“Don’ worry about them,” Lily scooted closer to rest a hand on his arm. “Tha guards only go through each wing a few times a day. ‘S not likely we’ll run into any.” She leaned in even closer to him. “They trust Aeklora to watch tha palace, so most o’ the guards are stationed outside. But we won’ be hurtin’ anyone, so she’ll pro’ly leave us alone…” Her eyes drifted down to his lips and she moved in to kiss him.

“Ah ah,” Crow leaned away from her, tilting his chin up so she couldn’t reach his mouth. “Not until tonight.” He decided to ask her just one more question, not wanting to linger around the persistent woman any longer than he needed to. “How would we get up to the fifth floor?”

“Tha stairs,” Lily frowned, seeming disappointed in his aversion to kissing her. “They’re in tha center of the palace.” She leaned in one more time in a clumsy attempt to meet his lips before he could move away.

“Great,” Crow stood up quickly, dodging her once more. “Thanks, love. That’s all I needed to know.”

“Huh?” she knitted her brow in confusion.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said dismissively. “Anyway, I should take off. Thanks for getting dinner with me. It’s been a lovely evening.”

“But what about tonight?” Lily frowned.

Crow clicked his tongue, “You know, I just remembered that I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t think the woman I love would approve,” he winked at her slyly and turned to walk out of the tavern, leaving the drunken girl behind.

Stepping out into the street, he looked up at the sky once again. It had gotten quite a bit darker as the sun had nearly vanished over the western horizon. He felt his heartbeat pick up. It was almost time.

I hope Penelope slipped the henbane into the staff’s food, he thought, making his way back to the garden to retrieve his bow. This will all be a lot easier if she did.

[BuzzingBee]

“Kitchen duty, huh?” Matilda crossed her arms as she looked at the two with clear uncertainty. Dotty had been the one to quickly request it for Penelope and even offered to help supervise the newcomer. “I was going to give you the rest of the evening off, you know, that way you could settle in more... Are you sure you want to do more work?”

“Yes ma’am.” Penelope said with a nod. “I prefer to keep busy. It helps keep my mind off things and this way, I’ll get to learn more about how things work around here.. If you don’t mind.”

Matilda hesitated and let out a sigh. “Alright, that’s fine.. But all I want you doing is aiding the kitchen staff. You have plenty to learn before you start helping them cook so just keep out of the way and help things run smoothly.” She stated sternly her gaze shifted over to Dotty. “And the same goes for you, Dotty... I don’t want any fires.”

“R-right.” Dotty said with a sheepish smile. As Matilda dismissed them, the two walked off to the kitchen. Penelope felt her heart begin to race anxiously. Everything had been fairly easy up until now since it had only required lying and a bit of acting. However, now it was time for her to figure out a way to poison the food. As they stepped into the kitchen, she began eying what was being prepared. There was a large pot being heated up over a fire as several servants busied themselves with chopping up various vegetables and meats. In another part of the kitchen, a different meal was being cooked by servants that had blue bands around their arms, which Penelope guessed meant they were of a higher status than her and Dotty. So that must being the royals food.. She noted it quietly to herself as she followed Dotty over to an older man who was cutting carrots up.

“Hi Flitz! We’re here to help!” Dotty grinned.

Flitz looked up with a cold gaze in his eyes. “Did Matilda approve this?” He grumbled.

“Yep! And I promise I won’t do any actual cooking! Oh and this is Farah. She’s new.” Dotty gestured to Penelope. Penelope smiled politely at the man and waved. Flitz didn’t seem very interested and focused back on his work.

“Help collect the cut up vegetables and pour them into the stew, Dotty. And you... Farah, get me some potatoes from the pantry.”

Penelope hesitated, nearly tempted to try and switch jobs with Dotty but figured it might draw attention. Patience.. You still have time.. She reminded herself trying to remain calm and level-headed. She smiled and nodded as she headed off to the pantry door. This will give me a chance to check out the door that’s locked there anyways... As she stepped into the quiet pantry, away from most of the other servants, she walked over towards the door at the very back of the room. It wasn’t easy to spot at first glance as shelves of various foods blocked it from direct view. It had two locks on it that would require a key. The knight glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was nearby before she began to look around for the keys. First, she checked the tops of the shelves nearby but they all seemed empty. She tried to move quickly not wanting to have Flitz or anyone else wondering why she was taking so long for such a simple task. Penelope searched around a bit longer before giving up and fetching the potatoes.

As she was about to head out of the room, she noticed a small ledge about the doorway. She glanced out into the kitchen, making sure no one was paying attention to her. All the servants were busy with their work luckily so she proceeded to lightly feel around the edge until her finger pushed against a pair of keys. She smirked to herself, pleased that she was able to locate them. That could come in handy later.. Penelope retracted her hand before anyone saw and quickly returned to Flitz to drop off the potatoes he had asked for.

The man eyed her with annoyance at how long it had taken her. “Sorry.. Took a while to find them.” Penelope apologized.

“Take these and help Dotty with adding them in... Stir it a couple of times too..” He ordered, ignoring the apology. He pushed the plate of carrots over to Penelope. Penelope carefully picked the plate and turned to look over over at the pot where Dotty was fumbling to add the various vegetables. She felt her stomach churn with anxiousness as she used her free hand to find the jar of henbane oil she had stashed away. I just have to get Dotty away... or distracted or something... She told ehrself trying to calm her racing heart.

Penelope stepped over to the large pot besides Dotty. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kettle this big before.” She mused as she moved to dump some of the carrots in carefully. Dotty looked over at her and smiled.

“Well there’s a ton of people to feed! Even the guards sometimes eat with us.”

“Oh like Emeric?” Penelope teased.

Dotty flushed. “Y-yeah... Sometimes...”

“You should invite him to dinner once this is done.” Penelope suggested. She felt bad to use Dotty’s affection for the guard but she needed to try and get as many guards as she could to eat the food and if Emeric agreed, perhaps he would bring a few other guards with him.

“Oh I don’t know...” Dotty shuffled her feet bashfully. “I-I don’t want to be too obvious you know..”

“Well... Make it an open invitation to all the guards. Just make sure he knows that you want him there even though you’re inviting everyone.” Penelope said, feeling a surge of hope that Dotty would listen to her words. Dotty hesitated. “Maybe..” She replied slowly. Good enough for now. Penelope let out a small sigh and looked back at the pot. She had to get Dotty away.

The knight glanced over her shoulder and noticed Flitz had finished with cutting up the potatoes. “Oh, hey Dotty can you grab that plate. I think it’s the last one.” She said. Dotty blinked and followed Penelope’s gaze before giving a small nod and bouncing off to grab the plate.

Penelope fumbled as she used her body to try and block what she was doing from view. She popped open the lid and rushed to dump the henbane oil into the pot. “Here you go!” Dotty’s voice came from behind. Unable to completely stash the jar away in time, she slipped it up into the sleeve of her dress to hide it from view. A few drops of the oil not only stained her clothes but also got on her hand and arm. A soft tingle of numbness began to set in.

“Thanks, Dotty. Uh can you handle the rest of this? Some of the stew splashed up on me and I want to clean up real quick.” Penelope lied, clutching her arm as if it had burned.

“Oh no!” Dotty frowned. “Go ahead! I got you covered.”

Penelope gave her a grateful look before slipping away. She hurried to step out of the kitchen and glanced around the hallway with care. Seeing that she was alone, she let out an exhale of relief and slipped the empty jar back into it’s original hiding spot. She leaned back against the wall and grinned to herself. She had managed to pull it off and soon, the castle staff would be feeling the effects of the poison. Penelope wiped what she could off of her arm and slipped back into the kitchen to join Dotty once again.

“Dinner’s almost done!” Dotty told Penelope with a smile. “We just need to set the tables in the great hall.”

“And you need to invite the guards to dinner.” Penelope said with a wink. After having pulled off pouring the henbane into the stew, she was feeling rather confident.

“I don’t know...”

“It’s just dinner.. And he seemed rather, interested in you too..” Penelope said slyly. Dotty blinked in surprise at Penelope’s words.

“R-Really?”

Penelope smiled knowingly and nodded her head. Dotty beamed. “Well... it is just dinner... Alright! I’ll do it! I’ll be back soon! Just help them with the tables while I’m gone.” She said quickly before hurrying out of the kitchen.

Penelope watched as Dotty left and felt her smile fade. I’m sorry I have to use your love against you like this Dotty... But if I don’t, I might risk losing mine. The knight closed her eyes for a moment and took a steeling breath as she tried to ignore the guilt she felt over setting Dotty up like that. She tried not to think about what might come after for the bubbly servant instead focused on what lied ahead as the castle staff got ready to serve dinner. With Dotty gone, it also gave Penelope a chance to sneak away before anyone noticed her absence at the table. She moved to help carrying a couple trays up to the great hall, glancing towards a nearby window as she noticed it was growing dark out. I’ve done all I can for now... She assured herself as she still felt anxious despite all that she was able to accomplish. I’ll see you soon Collin..

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow crouched behind a wall as he watched the dinner party in the garden. Noblemen and women chatted idly and danced around a group of troubadours playing music. He sighed impatiently. This is just my luck… He had gotten back to the estate where he had hidden his bow and quiver shortly after leaving the tavern, but he couldn’t get close enough to retrieve the weaponry while the partygoers were there. On top of that, it didn’t look like they would be going anywhere anytime soon. He had been waiting for a while, hidden in the shadow of the manor, but every time it looked like they were finishing up their plates, more servants came outside with a new course of dishes. It was ridiculous how much food they had to eat.

He shifted his weight, starting to get uncomfortable from kneeling in the same position for so long, and glanced up at the darkening sky. The sun had just about vanished over the western horizon, and he wasn’t even close to the castle. If he didn’t get moving soon, he would be late to meet Penelope. He didn’t want her to worry that something had happened to him, or worse, try to finish the mission on her own when she had no prior experience with stealing. Besides, she shouldn’t be the one to risk her life by touching the king’s staff, he added, nervously tugging at the grass beneath his feet. He couldn’t keep waiting around. He had to do get his bow back.

His eyes swept over the garden as he tried to come up with a way to get past the nobles. It was dark out, so he doubted they would be able to see his face if he approached them directly and caused a commotion, but he didn’t want to risk scaring them and causing them to alert the local guards. That would bring all kinds of problems for him to make it back to the keep without getting caught. No, he would have to lure them away more subtly.

He looked over the individual nobles, trying to figure out which one was the lord of the estate. It was a difficult task to do from a distance in the darkness, but after a bit of searching, he spotted a man in an especially extravagant outfit sitting at the head of the table with a woman who was probably his wife. With the way their eyes kept flitting over the party guests, as if they were trying to ensure that everyone was having a good time, they definitely looked like the hosts.

Target acquired, Crow drew his dagger from his boot and slipped out from his hiding place. He walked across the lawn of the estate, moving with purpose so no one would find him suspicious. The nobles didn’t even spare him more than a passing glance as he made his way towards the table, and with the numerous servants bustling about to take care of their masters, he blended right in.

The thief eyed the wealthy nobleman at the head of the table, swallowing his fear as he poised his dagger. It’s dark out, he thought calmingly. I won’t even see the blood. Before he could change his mind, he walked past the noble’s chair and lifted his blade to drag a shallow cut across the back of the man’s neck, and then moved away to hide behind a tree before anyone could notice him.

The noble winced and slapped a hand to the place the dagger had cut. “I think something stung me,” he muttered, squinting at his hand to see if he had squashed an insect. Seeing nothing, he snorted and shook his head. However, after a moment, he knit his brow confusedly, clenching and unclenching his hand. He turned slowly to his wife, his mouth flapping wordlessly, and then toppled out of his chair into the grass.

Upon seeing this, one woman screamed, drawing the attention of all the others. They began rushing around to gather the poisoned man up and carry him inside the manor to see the physician of the house. Crow grinned to himself. This had been much easier than he had expected. He twirled his dagger in his hand, thankful that the henbane was working better than he could have hoped, and slid it back into its hidden sheath in his boot.

With the crowd out of the way, he stepped over to the bush he had stowed his bow and quiver beneath and reached under it to retrieve them. Fortunately, both were still where he had left them, completely untouched. He slung the weaponry over his shoulder and walked around the edge of the garden to leave. He didn’t want to stick around until the physician realized the nobleman had been poisoned intentionally. Although he doubted the truth would be discovered anytime soon, he also needed to get to the castle before it got to be too late.

He rounded a tree, heading for the curtain wall, and then stopped as his eyes fell on the bronze statue of Aeklora again. It may have been his imagination, but it almost seemed like she was watching him with sadness in her lifeless gaze. Despite his urgency to get to the keep, he lingered by the goddess figure. “What?” he narrowed his eyes at her, feeling a pang of defensiveness. “It’s not like I killed him. Besides, this is all to stop a war. I’m helping him, and all the rest of your precious Younisians.”

Crow shifted his weight, uncomfortably aware of how irrational he was being. It’s just a statue. I’m wasting my time... I should get going before someone sees me here. Despite the logic of his thoughts, he couldn’t make his feet move. He stood still, staring at the bronze goddess as if he expected her to come to life.

Suddenly, his feelings of defensiveness were replaced with a sharp wave of anger. He curled his hands into fists at his side. Aeklora, Aeklora, Aeklora… Cursed witch! I just want to steal the staff and leave this godsforsaken kingdom, yet here I am, arguing with a statue because I’m afraid of getting on the bad side of some overprotective goddess! In a fit of impulsiveness, the thief picked up a rock from the ground and hurled it at the bronze figure. It bounced off of her head with a loud clang that made him cringe.

“Damn it,” he muttered, glancing over his shoulder to see the door of the manor open as a servant with a lantern came outside to see where the noise had come from. It wouldn’t be long before the boy reached his hiding spot. He had to get away before that happened. With no time to lose, he spun around on his heel and ran away from the statue as fast as he could, ignoring the chill that trickled down his spine as he felt its eyes on his back.

Crow sprinted through the citadel, weaving between buildings to avoid being spotted by the night guards in the town, until he came to a stop in an alley near the curtain wall. He leaned back against the side of one building, panting as he caught his breath. In retrospect, it hadn’t been the smartest idea to attack the statue. He just hated how effortlessly Aeklora was able to get under his skin. He wished she would just mind her own godly business and leave the Kingdom of Younis to its own affairs. It would make his job a lot easier if he didn’t have to worry about being stopped by someone he couldn’t see, hear, or touch.

Too late now, he looked up at the enormous wall that loomed before him. If I pissed her off, I pissed her off. We’ll just have to wait and see. Adjusting the bow and quiver on his back, he stepped out from the alley and began the final walk to the castle’s keep.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope looked around the large dining room as the servants from the kitchen set up the various tables. She placed down a couple bowls before stepping back as the preparation was nearly complete. Already other servants and staff began to filter in, taking seats at the table and talking amongst themselves. She busied herself with helping the other servants finish up and before long they were bringing in the food.

The knight looked around nervously as she noticed that Dotty had yet to return with any of the guards. If they came in last minute and saw what was happening to the others, it would mean bad news for her and Crow. She gulped, worrying that she might have made a grave mistake. Luckily, her worries were put to rest as she noticed Dotty coming in through the doors, followed by Emeric and a couple other knights. There certainly weren’t as many guards as she had hoped for but she supposed it was better than nothing. Now I just have to get out of her without Dotty seeing me... She eyed the doors and watched as Dotty and Emeric began to part ways. With the servant’s attention focused on the guard, Penelope moved for the door and slipped out.

She nearly thought she had made it out successfully. “Farah!” Dotty’s voice sounded from behind her, making her cringe. She put on a smile and turned to the shorter girl as she scampered up besides her. “Where are you going? Dinner’s going to be served any minute now.”

“I was just going to the bathroom first,” Penelope lied. “I’ll be right back. Save me a seat ok?”

“Oh, ok! Hurry otherwise your food will get cold!” Dotty smiled and then turned to head back into the dining hall.

Penelope nodded her head and watched as the servant left. She moved to head down the main staircase, pretending to head in the right direction. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure Dotty had gone before she quickly turned around and began to make her way back up the stairs. Slipping away from the main crowd of staff that were filtering into the dining hall, she headed down the eastern hallway towards the staircase that would hopefully take her to the window where she was suppose to meet Crow. She paused as she reached the base of it and glanced over her shoulder to make sure she was alone. Doing a quick survey of the area and finding no one nearby, she knelt down and drew her dagger. Better keep this ready.. She thought as she slipped it under her sleeve to hide it from plan sight.

She turned and began to head up the staircase to the third floor, trying to keep alert for anyone unexpected coming down them. The coast seemed clear until she reached the third floor. She heard footsteps and the voices of two men. The knight paused in the shadows casted by the wall and peaked out to see two guards patrolling the hallway with bored expressions. Of course they had to be on this floor right now. Penelope thought bitterly. Her grip tightened on the dagger. She had to deal with them, otherwise there was a chance they’d run into Crow sneaking in. As they drew closer, Penelope tensed and waited until they were slightly past her as she kept near the shadows of the wall.

She leapt out from behind them and brought the hilt of her dagger down on one of the guard’s head. He dropped upon the impact and it caused the other knight to whirl around, throwing a punch at his unknown attacker. Penelope was caught off guard by the knight’s sudden attack, not expecting him to respond in such a way. His punch landed rather squarely against her jaw, sending her to the ground almost immediately. Penelope groaned, dazed from the hit.

“What the hell!” The guard spat as he looked down at her, now shocked to find a servant had attacked them.

Clenching her teeth, Penelope swung out a leg to knock the knight down to her level. In a burst of energy, she launched herself at him and swiped her dagger at his arm. Unable to defend himself quick enough this time, she managed to leave a cut along his arm. The knight looked enraged and was nearly about to draw his sword when the effects of the henbane began to kick in. He faltered and narrowed his eyes at her.

“What..did you.. do?” He forced out. He swayed for a moment and tried to tighten his grip on his sword but wasn’t able to. Instead the knight fell over, unable to move as the poison coursed through him. Penelope let out a sigh of relief and slowly stood up to her feet. She glanced around, worried that the commotion may have drawn unwanted attention. The hallway was empty aside from her and the two immobile knights. She looked down at the two and tried to figure out what to do with them. I can’t just leave them out in the open...

Penelope wiped away some of the blood that was trailing down the corner of her lip that was caused from the punch she had received. She looked around until she spotted a supply closet, something she had gotten used to noticing after seeing them all over the first and second floor. They often had doors smaller than normal rooms so they were rather easy to spot. Thinking quick, she moved to grab the legs of the knocked out knight and dragged him over to the supply closet. She struggled a bit due to his weight but managed to get him inside. She proceeded to locate some rope and tied up both his arms and legs. The quality of the knot was debatable but she figured it would at least buy time when he eventually did wake up. She repeated the process with the poisoned knight, who nearly threw up when he was being moved.

Once that was done, she closed the door on the two and stepped back out into the now empty hallway. The only evidence in sight of the scuffle was her lightly bleeding lip. Now to figure out where that window is... She continued on down the hallway in hopes of figuring out where Crow had said to meet him.

[Rogue Sloth]

Hidden behind the nearest manor to the curtain wall, Crow stared up at the northeastern battlement of the castle, trying to see how many archers were posted that night. Large clouds had rolled in after sunset, blocking out most of the stars and making it difficult to see in the darkness. He couldn’t say for sure, but it looked like there were just two bowmen standing in the embrasures. They stood rigidly, much more alert than the knights he and Penelope had previously encountered, as they looked out over the grounds surrounding the keep. There was no way he would make it to the wall without getting struck by an arrow if he tried to run out into the open now.

The thief removed his own bow from where it laid across his shoulder and drew an arrow from the quiver. His heart raced with a mixture of nervousness and excitement as he loaded the weapon and pointed it up at the archer on the left. In the past, he had never been able to do anything about bowmen. Because of their distance, they were untouchable to him unless he had made plans ahead of time to sabotage their weapons. It was the reason why he had so many scars from arrowheads—archers were his worst enemies. But now, armed with a longbow of his own, things would be different.

He steadied his breathing as he fixated his gaze on the man he had targeted, willing himself to focus. He had been able to hit a tree in the forest, but he had never hit something from this far of a distance before. If he wanted to strike the archer on the crenellation, he would need all of his concentration. Breathing in slowly, he drew back the bowstring to the corner of his mouth, sent a quick prayer to the Brerratic god of hunting, and then loosed the arrow.

It was too dark to see the arrow’s trajectory, but after a moment, he heard a faint outcry and saw the archer to the right fall down. He blinked in surprise. I did it. I didn’t hit the one I was aiming for, but I hit something. Suddenly aware that he was still standing in the open, he ducked behind the wall again to hide from the other archer’s sight. Peeking around the corner, he saw that the remaining knight had done the same thing. He had vanished behind a merlon, likely scouting the area for whoever had struck down his partner.

Crow clicked his tongue. It would be a lot more difficult to hit the second bowman while his guard was up, especially since he had probably only struck the first one on a fluke. He gazed out at the curtain wall as he thought of a way to draw the man out of hiding. An idea formed, and he shifted uncomfortably, glancing back up at the crenellation. Was it really worth the risk? If I don’t shoot him, he’ll just alert the guards inside the castle, and this mission will be over before it even began, he sighed. Well, here goes nothing.

Stepping out from behind the wall, he ran into the field and headed straight for the keep. As he made his way towards the castle, he eyed the battlement where the remaining archer had hidden. As expected, the man appeared from behind a merlon as soon as he spotted the thief out in the open.

Moving quickly, Crow skidded to a stop and pulled another arrow from his quiver. He loaded his own bow and, taking aim as fast as he could, drew back the string to loose the arrow. He sent it flying and started to keep moving so he wouldn’t be a sitting target. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite fast enough. He gritted his teeth as he felt something pierce his left leg, just above his knee. The archer on the battlement had drawn faster than him. Despite taking a hit, however, he saw that his shot hadn’t been entirely fruitless either. The figure on the roof clutched his arm, seeming to have been grazed by his arrow. In the next instant, he crumpled to the ground as the henbane worked its magic.

With the immediate threat of the archers out of the way, Crow took a moment to check his injury. He jogged over to the curtain wall to take advantage of the shadow in case he had missed any other knights, forcing himself to ignore the pain of the arrowhead imbedded in his leg. Once he was confident that he was safe, he shifted to the right, taking his weight off of the wounded leg as he inspected the severity, thankful that the darkness hid the blood from his sight. Though it pained him, it didn’t look like the arrow had pierced too deeply. He would be able to keep moving as long as he withstood the discomfort and was careful not to make it worse.

He looked up at the giant wall in front of him and then back down to the arrow shaft protruding from his leg, chewing on the inside of his lip in thought. If he tried to climb up to the third floor now, the shaft would catch on the divots in the stonework, but he couldn’t just take it out either. Removing the arrow would cause him to lose blood every time he put pressure on his left leg during the climb, and he didn’t want to arrive at the palace light-headed.

With only one option left, he reached for the shaft with both hands and grasped it firmly. Taking a steeling breath, he pulled the arrow in opposite directions until it snapped, leaving just a short piece attached that would be less likely to snag on the wall. He tossed aside the part of the shaft that he had broken off and tentatively put weight on his left leg. The sting of the arrowhead caused him to wince, but it wasn’t unbearable. He could handle it until he had time to treat the wound later on.

Finally ready to scale the wall, Crow stopped leaning on it and turned around to get a good look at the stonework. His earlier guess had been correct—the stone slabs were much smoother and wider than the ones that made up the castle in Brerra. However, there were still some creases between each slab and divots caused by weather damage that he could use to climb it. He laced his fingers together and pushed his arms forward, stretching out his wrists, Let’s do this.

Reaching up, he grabbed hold of a crease with his left hand and found a pockmark with his right boot that he could use to lift himself up. Once he was off the ground, he stretched up higher to grip a large crack with his left hand, hugging his body close to the wall. So far, it looked like he wouldn’t have any trouble reaching the window on the third floor.

He continued to climb until he made it to what he guessed was the second level of the castle, where he paused to catch his breath. I forgot how exhausting this is, he thought, closing his eyes and resting his cheek against the soothingly cold stone. After a moment, he looked up again to see how much farther he had to go before he would reach the window. Even though there was only one more floor to climb up, it still looked far away. He groaned inwardly, Why do kings like tall ceilings so much? There’s nothing wrong with putting the third floor a little lower to the ground so thieves can reach it easier. So inconsiderate.

Not wanting to risk getting caught out in the open, Crow forced his tired body to keep moving towards the window. The last leg of the climb went by slower than the first as he grew more worn out, but he managed to reach the third floor without slipping. It was perfect timing too. As soon as he hauled himself onto the window ledge, he felt a drop of rain on his hand. He looked up at the sky and made a face. Apparently, the clouds in the sky were storm clouds after all. He turned to the window, trying to figure out how to get it open before the rain got heavier.

However, the more he looked, the more convinced he was that the window didn’t open at all. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Looks like I’m going to have to do this the old fashioned way. First checking to see if there were any guards visible in the hallway, he took an arrow out of the quiver and cocked it back in his hand, aiming the point at the glass. Then, he drove it into the window as hard as he could, turning away and closing his eyes in case any stray shards of glass flew towards him. There was a loud crashing noise as the glass shattered, granting him entrance to the corridor inside.

Crow hopped down from the ledge, careful to avoid the broken shards on the floor, and moved quickly to find a place to hide in case any knights in the castle had been close enough to hear him break in. He found a storage closet nearby and slipped inside, leaving the door cracked open just enough for him to watch the hallway without being seen. His green eyes swept over the empty corridor and his heart began to race anxiously, Come on, Penelope. Where are you?

[BuzzingBee]

As Penelope walked briskly down the hallway, she paused to look out of one of the windows, trying to get a sense of where the meeting place was as she looked out towards the battlement. I’m still slightly off... Hopefully not too far.. In the next moment, she heard a distant sound of glass breaking from further down the hallway. A feeling of relief washed over her as she guessed it was caused by Crow. She hurried towards the sound and turned down another corridor as she tried to recall where the source of the shattering had been heard from.

Sure enough, as she turned to the corner, the knight was quick to spot the broken window and the glass that now laid on the floor. She picked up her pace slightly, knowing that the thief was somewhere nearby. I just have to figure out where.. Her green eyes swept over the nearby doors. Nothing seemed out of place aside from the shattered glass. However, her steps faltered as she reached the broken window. Faint drops of scarlet on the floor caught her attention and flooded the knight with worry. She hoped it was just a small cut from breaking the glass.

She traced the blood over to the storage closet that was nearby and moved over to the door. “Crow, it’s me. There shouldn’t be any guards around.. At least on this level.” She paused to give a quick scan of the area, hoping she was right in assuming that the two guards she had dealt with were the only ones on the third floor. “Are you ok?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow leaned back against a shelf in the closet as he slowly caught his breath. Now that he had stopped moving, he was starting to feel the arrowhead in his leg much more prominently. He reached down with one hand and felt warm blood seeping into his pants from the injury. He grimaced. It was definitely worse now than before he had made the climb up to the third floor. I must have put too much pressure on it, he thought, forcing himself to stay calm. It’s fine. It’ll hurt a little more for a while, but it’s nothing to be concerned about.

Inhaling slowly, he focused on watching the hallway through the crack in the door to distract himself from the blood on his leg. Soon, he heard footsteps in the corridor, signaling someone’s approach. Unsure about who was there, he leaned away from the opening so the hanging lanterns wouldn’t cast light on his face. He couldn’t see the person from the angle the crack in the door showed him, so he stayed hidden in case a knight had come to investigate the broken window.

After a moment, relief flooded him as he heard Penelope’s voice outside. He pushed the door open and stepped into the hallway, wrapping his arms around her in an embrace. “Gods, I missed you,” he sighed, pulling back to look at her. However, when he did, he faltered, noticing the blood on her lip. He gingerly touched the cut and frowned, meeting her gaze, “How did that happen?”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope leaned into him as he embraced her. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and closed her eyes briefly as she enjoyed the comfort of his touch. As he pulled back, she smiled at him. “I missed you too..” She mumbled softly. When he faltered, she gave a slightly confused look, unsure what had caused the change in his expression until his hand moved to carefully touch the cut she had. “Guards.” She responded to him with a shrug. “They were patrolling this level and I figured I’d better do something about before you got here. One of them managed to hit me but I got both of them tied up in a supply closet now so I think we’re even.” She gave a proud smirk.

Her smirk faded as she looked him over with a concerned expression “But what about you? I saw blood..” She trailed off as she took a small step back looking for a wound. She soon located the arrow in his leg and her eyes widened in alarm. “My gods what happened?” She frowned and bent down to check the severity of the wound. She flinched slightly seeing the blood that was trickling from it as she lightly pulled back some of the fabric that was clinging to his skin because of the bleeding. The knight shook her head and stood back up to look at him with a stern gaze. “Let’s get your wound dressed before we do anything else.”

She stepped past him and over to the storage closet as she looked around for something to help stop the bleeding. She grabbed a small rag, eying it over to make sure it was clean before turning back to Crow. “They gave me new bandages for my arm but I don’t really need it since the wound is healing alright now..” She explained as she began to unravel the bandages around her arm. Her gaze drifted to what was left of the arrow. “Can you get the rest of the arrow out?"

[Rogue Sloth]

“Impressive,” Crow grinned when Penelope explained that she had brought down and tied up two guards on her own. He wished he could have seen the looks on their faces when a ‘peasant girl’ attacked them and won. However, his smile faded as she reminded him of his own injury. Now that he was thinking about it again, he winced slightly at the sting of the arrowhead in his leg. He averted his gaze as she moved to check the severity of his wound. “Let’s just say I drew an archer out of hiding, but I didn’t think it through,” he fidgeted embarrassedly. “It’s not that deep. I just strained it a bit when I climbed up here.”

“Let’s get your wound dressed before we do anything else,” Penelope said, causing him to shift his weight uncomfortably. He peered down at the far end of the hallway. It wasn’t a very safe place to stop and bandage a wound. If a knight happened to find them now, they would be completely exposed in the open corridor. He wanted to suggest that they look for a better place to dress his leg, but when he turned back to her, she was already unraveling the wrap on her own arm. Casting one more furtive glance down the hall, he sighed in resignation and moved to sit down against the wall so she could work on fixing up his injury.

“I can,” he nodded when she asked if he could get what was left of the arrow out of his leg. “I left enough of the shaft attached that it can still be pulled out.” He looked down at the arrow protruding from his leg, feeling sick at the sight of it. Now that he was out of the darkness, he could see that it had bled quite a bit more than he had thought. He wasn’t used to arrow wounds bleeding so much before the arrow was removed. Scaling the wall must have been harder on the wound than he had expected it to be.

Crow grasped the shaft with both hands and exhaled slowly, not looking forward to what was to come next. Pulling the arrow out was always the worst part. He closed his eyes and gave it a sharp tug, biting back a cry of pain so that it only came out as a soft whimper when the arrowhead came loose.

Once it was out of his body, he set it aside and pressed down on the remaining gash in his leg with his hands to slow the bleeding. “I’m ready for those bandages now,” he grimaced, looking up at Penelope.

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope nodded her head as he said that he could get the rest of the arrow out. She kneeled down besides him as he moved to pull the arrow out. She flinched slightly at the sight, guess how painful it much be. Most wounds she received were from blade rather than arrows but the process of removing an arrow always seemed rather gruesome to her. Luckily it seemed that his wasn’t very deep.

She nodded at his words and quickly set to work with dressing his wound. She pressed the rag over the wound first, knowing that she likely didn’t have enough bandages to wrap it up several times. Putting the rag first, she hoped it would make up for what she lacked. Using one hand to keep it firmly pressed down, she proceeded to wrap the bandages around his leg. She leaned back once the wrapping was done and lifted her gaze to met his. “Hopefully that’ll be enough.” She said. The knight stood up and offered her hand to help him up.

Her gazed flickered around the corridor, knowing it was time to get moving. Her feeling of anxiousness began to return as the least planned out part of their mission was now coming up for them. We just have to get it and get out.. She told herself, trying to keep herself calm. She let out a long exhale and turned to look back to Crow.

“I got the henbane in the food by the way. I don’t think I was able to effect many guards though so we’ll still have them to worry about... At least there doesn’t seem to be a ton of them around.” She informed him. She gave a half-hearted smile. “So, I guess now we just have to find the stairs and start climbing, right?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Crow sat back as Penelope began to dress his wound, closing his eyes again as he focused on breathing through the pain. While he had had many arrow wounds in the past, he would never get used to how badly they hurt during and after the removal of the arrow. He knew from his previous experiences that it wouldn’t be long before the ache subsided though, so at least he had that to look forward to.

When she finished bandaging his injury, he took her hand to stand up and tested his leg by putting weight on it again. The makeshift wrap held up and while it still pained him a bit, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. He guessed that as long as he didn’t overexert himself, he wouldn’t have any trouble getting the staff and getting out of the castle.

As long as Aeklora doesn’t smite me on the spot, he thought dryly. The goddess’s involvement in the heist was still an unknown. There’s nothing either one of us can do about her, he reminded himself yet again. Just focus on the parts within your control and hope she’s in a good mood tonight.

He glanced down at Penelope when she informed him about poisoning the staff. “Nice job,” he smiled at her. “That should mean the halls will be much clearer until they recover. As long as none of the palace guards find out what happened, we’ll have an easy time getting out of here.” He looked ahead again, trying to orient himself within the castle. They had started out in the northeastern wing on the third floor, and from what he could tell, they were headed towards the west side.

“I happened to find the queen’s attendant in a marketplace today,” he said with a proud grin. “I managed to get her to tell me where the royal chambers are, and how to find them.” Not wanting to upset her, he pointedly left out the details about how he had acquired such information. “If I remember correctly, she said the stairs that lead to the fifth floor are in the center of the castle.”

[BuzzingBee]

Penelope looked over at Crow as he mentioned meeting with the queen’s attendant. She raised an eyebrow at him as she recalled seeing Lily leave the palace that afternoon. “Oh, so you were the man Lily was sneaking off to see.” She mused as she put two and two together. She guessed that he had charmed the servant somehow and though she wasn’t ecstatic about it, she knew it was just for the mission. Besides, after all they had been through during their journey, she trusted him. She nodded as he mentioned learning where the staircase was.

“Alright. I think I have a sense of where that would be..” She said before moving to continue on down the hall. She hadn’t seen the stairs herself since the stairs she had climbed were different than what he mentioned. The knight kept alert as they traveled towards the staircase, despite the seemingly empty hall. Penelope fell silent for a while, still feeling anxious as she began to take notice of the weather outside. The rain was beginning to pick up and Penelope worried about what might follow. That’s not good... She knew she needed to get her mind off of it.

She glanced over at Crow and decided to try to keep things light while they still could. She moved to fall in step besides him and gave a quiet tsk as she looked up at him. Penelope smirked at him teasingly. “So, I leave your side for one day and you’re already chasing after other women." She kept her voice quiet as she was still on alert for anyone else in the halls. She shook her head at him with mock disapproval. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”

The knight suddenly paused as they drew closer to the stairs. Voices ahead caught her attention and she quickly slowed her pace. Her gaze shifted over to Crow, making sure he picked up on someone else being nearby. Guards? She mouthed to him as she tried to peak around the wall that hid them from view.