BuzzingBee

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope raised an eyebrow as Crow didn't reply right away. She wondered what he seemed to be so lost in thought about and nearly went to question him about it but didn't get the chance to as Naida spoke up instead. The knight smiled amusedly and took a few bites from her food as they spoke. She nodded her head in agreement with Naida as the princess pointed out that he did manage to steal it without dying. While she believed her friend's claim to be true, there was a new unsettling realization that he very well could have died if not for Aeklora sparing him. She hadn't believed him at the time but after her meeting with Toreus, she couldn't deny his meeting with the Younisian goddess.

"At least it should make getting into the castle easier too." she mused with a smirk, pushing away thoughts about their interactions with the gods. Her gaze flickered over to Naida as she stood up to leave and she shook her head a little as she explained that she was off to get her brother drunk. "Bye Naida." she chuckled as she watched her friend walk off.

Her focus momentarily shifted onto her food as she took a few more bites before looking back across the table at Crow. "Well... you've sure got a lot to ask the king for." she mused with a small sigh. Despite feeling a bit uncertain about Crow being able to get permission for them to court as well as getting Naida on the trip to Younis, she managed a smile at the viceroy. "Hopefully he's in a good mood in the coming days.. Or at least not too upset over the change of plans."

She gave a stretch and set down her utensils. "In the meantime, I think I better head off too. Now that I've got a trip I need to start preparing for as well." she mused.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope's just trying to get away from Naida talking about courting xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope smiled as she listened to the two talk, glad that she was able to get Naida focused on a different subject other than their relationship. Her gaze flickered briefly away from the two as a servant arrived with her dinner. The knight said a small word of thanks before looking back over at Naida as the princess fidgeted. She gave her friend a sympathetic look. It must have been difficult being a knight and being stuck to only certain duties. Having trained with Naida before, Penelope knew she was quite capable in her skills and hoped that she'd be able to take the journey to Younis with Crow.

As she addressed her again, Penelope shrugged, choosing to ignore the mention of courting again. "Well for now, I was actually thinking about returning to my battalion. The war isn't quite over yet and I've done all I can for now here." she mused. She gave a small pause and then added, "I was actually thinking of accompanying Collin when he leaves since we'll be heading close to the same direction."

"Oh?" Naida's lips curled upwards into a mischievous smile and she nudged Crow's side. "What made you decide to leave so soon? Perhaps want to prolong a goodbye?"

"No." Penelope stated despite Naida being incredibly accurate. Having expected such a reaction from Naida, the knight had been prepared to lie. "I've been thinking about when I should leave since the party ended and now that I know your father is willing to try for peace first, I should go report back to my baroness. I just figured traveling a friend, or a couple if you're able to go, would be more enjoyable than traveling alone."

"Suuureee." Naida said with an unconvinced snicker.

Penelope rolled her eyes and shifted her gaze over to Crow. "So how are you feeling about going to Younis again?" she asked him then smirked slightly. "Provided you don't have to stealing a staff that was rumored to kill people as soon as they touched it."

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope messed with her a little bit xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope mirrored his smile as voiced his support of her idea. She was glad to see it cheered him up slightly despite the minor setback in their plans. "Any time we can get is good with me. Especially since we've been mainly relying on meals to spend time with each other as of late." she said amusedly. Regardless if they were courting or not, she would enjoy having the extra time with him before they had to split for the rest of his trip. She was about to add onto her comment when Naida came trotting up.

The knight let out a sigh, knowing exactly what was going to come from the princess' arrival. And ofcourse, Naida jumped right into it. She rolled her eyes subtly as Naida brought up the previous night immediately. However, this time the knight decided to tease her friend instead of denying her out right so before Crow could reply, Penelope jumped in. "Well actually we were just discussing when we could begin courting before you popped up." she mused with an air of casualness. She casted a quick glance at Crow, winking at him.

Naida's eyes widened with excitement. "Wait, whaaaaaat!! Really?"

"No, of course not." Penelope snorted, despite the fact that her words had actually held quite an amount of truth. "We were actually just talking about the council meeting Crow went to today."

Naida pouted. "Well you should be!" she insisted but then gave a curious look as Penelope brought up the council meeting. "Oh right! How'd that go?" she asked, turning to look up at Crow.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope waited a bit anxiously to hear what Crow had to say. As he explained that the king had actually decided to negotiate with Younis, the knight's eyes widened in surprise before a grin spread over her lips. So she had been successful after all. While she was ecstatic to know that all her work had paid off, she was now confused as to what the bad news was. She was just about to question it when he went on to explain that he'd be departing in only three days.

Her grin faded as she realized that it would likely mean they'd have to put their courtship on hold, yet again. As glad as she was that they were a step in the right direction of ending the war, the news was incredibly disheartening. She had been hoping that they would get some time together before he had to ship off to Younis to strike a deal with their king. She met his gaze with a small frown, unsure what to say at first.

As Crow spoke up first, she let out a small sigh. "It's certainly not... ideal." she mumbled in disheartened agreement. She leaned her elbows onto the table and gave Crow a half hearted smile. "We might just get one day but at least we'll have plenty more after your trip is over." It wasn't the best outcome but if they could at least start courting before he left would be enough for the knight. Having so many things go different than they expected and having to wait due to her own agenda, the knight wasn't sure she how much of her patience was left when it came to putting their relationship on hold. She wanted them to at least be able to take that one step forward. Even if she only really got to enjoy it for a day.

At the thought of limited time, she blinked in realization. Now that the king was officially looking to end the war peacefully and she had done all she had came to do at the castle, it wouldn't be long before Mia likely requested her back to the battlefront once word reached the battalion. They may only be lucky to get a day at the castle but if she left at the same time as him, they could at least have a couple more days before they ultimately split. It would make her return to the war front sooner than expected but she didn't mind that aspect too much.

"Well... We might not get a ton of time together but I'll probably need to return to the battlefront at some point. If I leave when you do, at least we could have a few more days." she suggested. "What do you think?"

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It made Penelope think she may have failed xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope raised an eyebrow at Crow as he mentioned thinking it'd likely be the last time Elizabeth bothered them. She wasn't sure what made the viceroy seem confident about the change but the knight wasn't as quickly to believe in the change. The woman had been more stubborn and persistent than any of the other women that had tried to appeal to Crow during their time at the castle. Not to mention she was the only one that truly rubbed the knight the wrong way. She'd just have to wait and see if Liz had accepted reality.

However the noblewoman became the least of her concerns as Crow went on to reply to her words about the meeting. His hesitant tone only made the knight's stomach churn with worry. Perhaps she hadn't been as successful as she thought. Penelope had believed that even if the king wasn't thrilled about the change of plans that the number of signatures would at least back him into a corner. The knight shifted uneasily, unsure how to answer him at first. She pursed her lips together and gave her shoulders a small shrug.

"I guess tell me the good news first." she replied, hoping it would involve a way to fix whatever the bad news was.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Daamn Crow xD

Meanwhile Penelope's too focused on hearing about what happened to even ask about Elizabeth lol

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Penelope stepped into the Great Hall and began to look around for friendly faces. She spotted Naida with her siblings but the knight preferred not to interrupt the time with her family. Not to mention she also was quick to grab onto an excuse to avoid hearing the princess badger her about what had gone on between her and Crow the night before. The knight had a feeling that, even though Naida had been drunk, their closeness hadn't been disregarded by her stubborn friend. On the topic of stubborn, her gaze finally landed on the table with Elizabeth and Crow, making the knight's nose involuntarily wrinkle.

She had thought the noblewoman had finally given up on pursuing the viceroy after their last encounter but it seemed she had been sorely mistaken. The knight shifted a bit before eventually moving to take a step towards the table. Though Liz's presence made her reluctant to join them, it didn't outweigh her desire to sit with Crow. Luckily for her though, it seemed Elizabeth was going to make things easy. Just as Penelope had reached the table, Elizabeth rose to get up. The noblewoman wore a hurt expression that changed slightly as her gaze caught sight of Penelope. Her eyes narrowed at the knight but she remained silent, instead push past Penelope to make her exit.

Penelope watched her leave with a raised eyebrow before moving to sit down across from Crow. Once Elizabeth was out of earshot, she turned to Crow with a sigh. "It's amazing how some people refuse to take a hint." she mused shaking her head. She didn't bother to ask what had gone on. Having been around Elizabeth more than she personally wished to be, she saw no reason to ask him about it. She was much more interested to see how his day had gone, especially since she suspected that he had been present for the king's council meeting.

"Soo..How was your day? Did the king call his meeting?" she asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice.