BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope thought over Naida's suggestion before nodding. It had been quite a while since she had last gone out to a tavern with friends. At least, one that didn't involve digging up information. Plus she hadn't be able to celebrate much at the party since she had been far too busy with the festivities to begin with. It would be a nice change of pace to merely go out for the enjoyment of it. When Crow agreed to it as well, she glanced over with a small hint of surprise. The knight had partially expected him to deny the invite but was glad to find out that he would be joining them.

She smiled at her friend's enthusiasm and then glanced at Percy next to her as Crow extended the invite to him. While he denied it, the knight took another bite from her supper before focusing back onto the viceroy as he spoke up once more. Penelope smirked at his words and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you'll find that they aren't too much different." she mused with a chuckle.

"Well as long as you're going to the places we're going to!" Naida piped in. "There's a few dull places for sure but luckily I know all the best spots."

Penelope gave an amused look at her friend before looking back to Crow. "It's also Olivia approved so that alone should tell you what you need to know." she mused. The knight focused back on her food, feeling a hint of excitement over their plans. After everything seemed to finally be going their way and getting the king's approval, a couple drinks with two people close to her sounded quite enjoyable. Finishing off her food, she glanced over to see that Naida had hurried to finish off her supper in eagerness for their after dinner plans.

"Are you two ready to go?" Naida asked glancing between Crow and her.

"I suppose but I better go get a cloak otherwise I'll freeze on the way over there." Penelope mused. That and she wanted to get out of her armor. She had put it on only to be presentable as a lieutenant in front of the king and had been too ecstatic about telling them about the news that she hadn't stopped at her room to take it off prior. "I can just catch up to you two at the main entrance."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Nice xD Now she's just trying to get them to party again lol

Oh geez me too xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope gave Crow a small smile as he jumped in to guide the conversation way from Naida's track of trying to poke at their closeness. As him and Percival went on to talk, the knight gave a small nod of agreement with Naida's words. Not only was the war likely just as hard on them but having seen the culture of Younis first hand, she guessed that they wanted an end to this bloodshed as much as she did. She just hoped pride wouldn't get in the way of peace. Her gaze shifted briefly onto Crow. Now that she had done her part to convince the king, negotiations for the war's end would soon be passed off to him. Having faith in him despite the fact that he was still so new to the position of viceroy, it did manage to ease her nerves.

"I suppose that'll be my next project to get started on." Penelope mused as Crow brought up repairing the borders. "Hopefully I can garner enough support to get a decent amount of gold flowing out to the villagers there. I should probably start planning more about how I'm going to go about that soon.."

"Gods do you ever take a break?" Naida snickered.

"Just a couple short ones." Penelope replied with an amused smirk. She gave the princess a small shrug, leaning back from the table as the servant appeared with her food. "While I wouldn't mind taking longer ones, there's simply too much to be done right now."

As Penelope dug into her food, Naida drummed her fingers against the table thoughtfully. "Well you don't have much to do for tonight and tomorrow right?"

"I suppose not. At this point, I can't do much more." Penelope answered.

Naida grinned and clapped her hands together. "Great! We should all go out to a tavern and celebrate your success!" she turned to Crow and nudged his side eagerly. "Your lesson probably got disrupted because of the change of plans so you should come with us! It'll be fun!"

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope really didn't help with that situation either xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope walked fast paced to the Great Hall. Once she reached the room, she stepped inside and quickly began to look around for Crow. She knew she had been a little late to supper due to her audience with the king but hoped that he would still be around. Luckily he was. The knight spotted him at a table and a grin spread across her lips. Without bothering to see who exactly he was sitting with, she hurried over to join him, buzzing with excitement.

"Crow! I—" She faltered slightly as her gaze finally caught sight of Naida. Not wanting to cause any more reason for her friend to suspect their feelings for each other, she quickly tried to cover up the fact that she had only been focused on telling Crow. "Nadia! I did it." she grinned at the two as she moved to slid in across from them. The knight could only hope that her friend hadn't noticed the small slip up. As she did, she also took notice of Percival's presence as she sat besides him and gave him a small nod of acknowledgement before focusing back on the two siblings across from her.

Naida tilted her head slightly before the information seemed to register and she smiled at her friend. "Oh you mean the signatures? Yeah I'm sure you have enough to convince my father!"

"That's not what I meant." Penelope said with a gleeful laugh. "I meant I already convinced him. I just got back from an audience with him. He's going to talk with his council about ending the war with Younis peacefully."

"Huh." Percival mused with quiet interest.

"Oh congratulations!" Naida grinned at her friend. "See I knew you could pull it off!" Her good natured grin turned into a mischievous smirk as she glanced over at her half sibling. "I also see you had a real specific someone you wanted to share the good news with first, huh?" she teased Penelope.

The knight blinked and rolled her eyes. It seemed her minor slip up hadn't gone past Naida's notice as she had hoped. "I was just looking for the first friend I could find." she said dismissively before her smile returned. "I had to share the good news as soon as I could."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I'm sure he regrets that xD

And nice lol meanwhile Penelope's momentarily stress free xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The rest of her free time was spent in the company of the Lenz's and her father, who hung around after finding out how soon she'd be facing the king. Dimia fixed her hair and even added a touch of makeup to the knight, claiming that just because she was in armor didn't mean she couldn't use a bit of beauty when dealing with the king. While Penelope didn't think it as important as it had been for the party, she at least wanted to try and look more than presentable so she didn't fight the noblewoman's plans. Aside from that, most of her time was spent talking over strategies with her father and Oliver on how to go about talking to the king. And then it was time.

With all of the signatures and letters collected, she began her walk to the council room, feeling her stomach churn nervously. She had separated from the others, wanting a quiet moment alone before she was faced to face with the king. Penelope flickered her gaze up at the ceiling as she neared the room and took in a deep breath. Alright Toreus, here goes nothing. she thought as she tried to compose herself before stepping inside.

Having spoken to the king before, she was a little bit more familiar now with the lay out of the room and that alone managed to give her some sort of ease. Albin was sitting on his usual throne, clearly waiting for her arrival and giving orders to Hunter until his attention was drawn away by her appearance. He dismissed his servant before focusing onto the knight with an inviting smile. "Ah lieutenant, please come have a seat." he said with a gesture to the chair across from him.

Penelope bowed deeply to him before making her way over to sit across from him. She couldn't help but sit a bit ridgedly. With so much riding on this meeting between them, it was impossible to relax. "Thank you for seeing me so soon, your highness." she said politely. "I was just hoping to speak with you on the matter of ending the war again."

"Right." Albin sighed with a small frown. "I considered what you mentioned before I have already made plans to ensure our victory, I'm sure you must have heard some talk of them by now."

"I have, sir." Penelope admitted, shifting slightly. "I understand the reasoning behind your plans but I fear they're the wrong way to go about this situation. I just believe that it would be best to seek a peaceful end to this. Our forces are struggling on the war front and this war has been costly enough as it is. There is no guarantee that Gorm will ally with us and even if they do, that does not mean this war will end anytime soon."

The king pursed his lips. "I see your concerns, Vermillion, but the plan to ally with Gorm is firm. There may be some risks involved by our odds are better this way. There's no guarantee Younis would be willing to settle for a truce anyways."

"This war is likely affecting them just as badly as us." Penelope spoke again. It felt strange to be debating with the king. Usually she just received and followed orders so the change of pace made her slightly soft spoken. "I'm sure something could be arranged. Our outer villages are being decimated, our people slain and our resources being run dry. This war isn't worth it. It'll only leave us in a weakened state if it is to continue."

"The resources we would get from Younis would make up for what we lose." the king said plainly.

"Not if they're already drained too. Not to mention the portion that would have to go into paying off Gorm for the alliance." Penelope rebutted.

The king let out a long sigh. "Lieutenant, while your passion is admirable, it is for the wrong cause. This has been discussed and approved by my council, not to mention the outside support for it. It is simply the more popular option and the one that has been fully thought out. There's no sense in trying to seek peace with Younis."

Penelope paused and gave the king an apologetic smile. She knew reasoning wouldn't be enough but hopefully the support she had would be. "I'm sorry your majesty but I sincerely disagree. I've been working on this since I returned to the castle and I'm not the only one who believes in this." she explained before holding out the stack of letters and petition to him. "I've acquired the support of many barons, knights, and other such nobles... I believe a couple are even ones on your council, if I'm not mistaken."

The lieutenant watched as the king slowly accepted the papers, staring at them in bewilderment. While it hadn't completely been her intention to catch him off guard, there was a small sense of satisfaction that came from his surprise. She hoped that the papers would help him to see her reasoning. Penelope watched him as his eyes read over the signatures and letters, letting a silence fall between them for a moment so he had time to see the amount of nobles that were on her side. "This idea is not mine alone. Many of your people want a peaceful resolution... Will you give it to them?" she asked him hopefully.

Albin remained silent for a moment, his jaw seemed quite tense as he looked at the papers, and then shifted his gaze up from them to look at Penelope. "I suppose I can try... seeing as how many support it." he muttered. He rubbed a hand over his face. "I'll discuss the details of it with my council."

Penelope stifled a grin and dipped her head graciously to the king. "Thank you, your majesty. I'm certain this will be the best route for all of us."

Albin gave a firm nod. "If that is all, then you are dismissed Miss Vermillion."

"Yes, thank you." Penelope rose from her seat and headed out of the council room. Though the king wasn't thrilled about the change of plans, she was ecstatic. All the work she had done had paid off and they were a step closer to preventing the destruction that Toreus had warned about. Her shoulders felt lighter after her accomplishment and she was practically giddy with glee. As she headed down the corridor, there was skip in her step. She couldn't wait to share the good news with everyone, especially Crow. The thought made her pick up her pace slightly as she headed towards the Great Hall for supper.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

True xD

Penelope gotta a little stressed out realizing how soon she'd have to see Albin lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

The two talked for the rest of the trip to the Lenz's room. Penelope listened with interest as her father depicted what followed his leave. It became clear to her that he never regretted the decision to leave with her mother despite all that he lost in the process. Finding that information out gave the knight a warm sense of comfort now that she knew for sure Layth's version of the story had been tainted by his own hate rather than her father's. John went on to describe his time in the outer villages, how he struggled at first to adjust and the issue that came with making money out there. He eventually ended the story as it reached Lilliana's death. Though John remained composed, Penelope was able to still detect the sorrow in his expression. He had never fully gotten over her death and Penelope doubted that he ever truly would, but at least her brief visit that night seemed to have helped him.

As they reached the room, John stepped back to part ways and Penelope knocked on the door. The door barely cracked open when another voice from down the hall caught their attention though. "Ah! Miss Vermillion there you are." Penelope turned her head to see Hunter further down the corridor, looking slightly relieved to have caught her. The king's servant scurried over and bowed to the nobles around him before focusing his gaze on Penelope. Her stomach turned with sudden anxiousness as she realized that he must have delivered her message to the king already.

"I apologize for the interruption. I just came to say that his highness got your request and will meet with you this evening." Hunter explained dipping his head.

Penelope's eyes widened. While she was hoping to speak with the king soon, she hadn't expected him to see her so soon. The knight thought she would have had at least a day before her audience with him. "O-okay. Um," she cleared her throat and dipped her head to the servant gratefully. "Thank you, Hunter."

"Oh my that doesn't leave you much time to prepare." groaned the voice of Dimia, who had answered the door.

As Hunter made his exit, Penelope turned to look over at the Lenz's, who both stood at the doorway, and her father, who had stepped back over after overhearing Hunter's announcement. All of them looked concerned to some degree and it made the knight shift uneasily. "I know. I was hoping I would at least have more time to prepare.. Gods I'm going to have to get ready quick." she said shaking her head.

Dimia pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh. "Well at least you have the signatures. Alright you go get what you need from your room and then come back here so we can get you prepared." she instructed, ushering the female knight off. Penelope nodded her head, agree quickly to the last minute plans before hurrying off to her room to collect the letters she had as well as get appropriately dressed in her armor.

New World, Old Friend [Bee + Buzzingbee]

Finally got a post up!

Juliet got a little tongue tied cx