Under her father's bed, dressed in a nightshirt just her size, hiding, hiding from the men who came to kill them all. The door broke down, she could see boots, and the harsh voices of men. She covers her mouth, to hold in the whimpers, and silently prays to the Seven that they don't hear her; that they go go away, that they don't look under the bed, and that they don't find mother and baby Egg either. She wishes that Balerion was here. She wishes that Balerion could turn into a real dragon, and chase away all the bad men with fire.
He looks under the bed. Face like a pig, cruel, wicked and smiling. He grabs her arm, and pulls her out. She's screaming, so very loud, screaming for mother, guards, even father, though everyone says that he's dead. He raises the dagger, and brings it down. Warm blood is sprayed over her face.
Except it's not her blood. It's the cruel man's. A dagger tip pokes from the front of his throat.
It is a ghost.
A ghost killed him.
She sees it!
It's pale, so very pale, like it's sick; like her mother after she had Egg, but worse. It stabbed the cruel man. It has daggers in each hand, and is covered in blood. It's been killing the cruel man's friends.
It pulls out it's dagger from the cruel man's throat, and prys her loose from a dead man's grasp. She's screaming, crying.
Oh Seven!
She didn't want the cruel man to hurt her, but she doesn't want to be left alone with a ghost either!
It raises a hand to her head. Is this it? Has it come to take her away?
It opened it's mouth. It says a single word;
'Forget.'
"Wake up little one. It's time to wake up..."
Little Rhaenys Targaryen opened her eyes, meeting the gaze of her mother, Elia of Dorne.
Her head was resting in her mother's lap, and Rhaenys also saw that mother was holding Baby Egg as well.
"Mother?" Rhaenys asked, warily, "Are we safe?"
"Yes little one." Elia answered, tears forming in her eyes, "We are safe."
Rhaenys sat up and took in her surroundings. They were in a cramped wooden room, with a solitary small bed, and a single wooden door.
The whole room was rocking back and forth, and Rhaenys could hear the faint sound of the ocean outside the wooden walls.
"Where are we mother? Are we in the Holdfast?"
"No Rhaenys." Elia replied, "We are on a ship. A ship that is taking us far away from the Keep, the men who came to hurt us, and... and your Grandfather."
"How did we get here Mother?" Rhaenys asked as she turned to look up at Elia, "Last thing I remember was hiding under my bed when I heard the shouts, and then... and then..."
Elia wrapped her free hand around Rhaenys' head and embraced her daughter, "Shush little one. They can't hurt us now. I now it was terrible, but we are safe now. What happened to you-"
"But mother," Rhaenys interrupted, "I don't remember what happened after I hid under the bed."
For a moment Elia said nothing, "Perhaps that is for the best then child."
A gentle knock came from outside the door, "Princess Elia, are you decent? May I come in?"
"Yes, please come in." Elia said.
The door opened and in stepped a tall man. He was dressed in black long sleeved shirt, grey pants with leather boots, and a red cape lined with silver. He had brown eyes, black hair, and a short beard, and looked to be about thirty years of age. An ornate dagger with a golden sun on it's handle hung from his belt, as well as a bastard sword, styled with a dragon motif.
"I'm sorry to disturb you Princess Elia, but the time has come for us to leave this vessel."
"We are making land so soon Lord Maxwell?" Elia asked, concerned, "We can not be very far from the coast."
Maxwell shook his head, "We're not docking, we are transferring to another ship, one of mine to be exact. We had to 'confiscate' the ship we are now on from her original owner in order to get you out of King's Landing, but it's sparsely supplied, and will run out long before we reach our destination. In about an hour we'll be boarding my ship, the Vinsomer. She'll be much larger than the tub we're on now, and we will be joined by a half dozen escort ships. The Vinsomer take us the rest of the way. It has enough supplies and fresh water to last for six months, and a larger cabin for you and your children. We're going through the Stepstones, so expect pirate attacks. Don't worry, my men and I shall protect you."
"Where is our destination exactly Lord Maxwell?" Elia asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are we going to Dorne, with my brother Doran?"
"No Princess. I fear there is no where on Westeros that is safe for you, or your children. Robert or Tywin will stop at nothing until you and your children are no longer a threat."
"Essos then? To Tyrosh?" Elia asked again.
"No, assassins could just as easily reach you there. We go far away; to a place beyond the reach of your children's enemies.
"We go my homeland; to Thedas."
"I... I see." Elia said, slowly nodding her head before looking Lord Maxwell in the eye, "We are in your debt your Lordship. Thank you for saving me and my children."
Maxwell bowed his head, "I am sorry that I could not do more for you Princess."
His brown eyes settled on Rhaenys, and he gave her a warm smile, "I see the little Princess is finally awake now."
Elia looked at her daughter and smiled, "Yes, she is. Rhaenys, you remember Lord Maxwell Trevelyan do you not? He's my friend."
Rhaenys nodded, "I remember him mother." she looked at Maxwell, "Thank you for saving us!"
Maxwell smiled, "It was my pleasure Princess Rhaenys."
"Come on people, we don't have long before we need to ship out for 'Thedas' Edge', and I don't want to be here before the Rebel ships come looking for us." Maxwell shouted on the deck of the Vinsomer as his crew scurried all around him, carrying the meager supplies from the ship that Elia and her children were on just minutes ago.
Elia was sitting on a bench, holding Aegon and keeping a hand on Rhaenys' (who was sitting next to her) shoulder.
When the Vinsomer pulled up alongside their starboard Elia saw that she was indeed a much larger ship; almost double in size, painted in black, and had a design entirely unlike any Elia had seen before.
Elia noticed several men and women carrying staffs and dressed in robes among the group that Maxwell had brought with him. She remembered several of them were part of the group that helped her and her children escape Maegar's Holdfast before Lannister soldiers could kill kill them.
She found it more than little curious that they wore no swords, or any kind of weapon for that matter.
"Lord Trevelyan!" one of the staff bearing robed men called to Maxwell. He was young, maybe in his mid twenties, and had long blonde hair and a short beard to match.
"The last of your party and the last of the cargo is on board the Vinsomer. Shall we sink the ship we arrived on now?"
"Leave no trace Enchanter." Maxwell said before walking over to Elia.
"You and your children will want to watch this your Grace. Few things are as impressive as watching mages work their magic."
"'Magic your Lordship?" Elia asked skeptically as she stood up, taking Rhaenys by the hand and followed Maxwell over to the edge of the deck, "Surely you jest. The pyromancers and charlatan wizards that my good-father Aerys was fond of could burn things as well, but I wouldn't call it magic. What will your mages do? Throw pots of wildfire at it?"
Maxwell smiled, "Just wait and see your Grace."
He nodded at the man he had addressed as 'Enchanter.' Enchanter raised his right hand, and motioned for the other men and women wearing robes and carrying staves to stand with him. Six men and seven women stood at the railings of the ship, gazing out on the ship that had brought them out of King's Landing.
"Mages!" Enchanter commanded, "Burn it!"
Moving as one, each mage raised their right hand. To Elia and Rhaenys' amazement fire emerged from their fingertips and shot at the smaller ship, setting the deck, sails, and other parts of the vessel aflame.
Enchanter raised his staff, and, as if he was gathering energy to him, conjured a giant fire ball in front of him, which then grew larger and larger with each passing second. He then released it, and the fireball shot forward and down at the other ship, exploding when it hit the deck, and setting even more of it on fire.
"Alright, I think that's enough. Good work Enchanter, she'll sink soon now." Maxwell said, and the mages ceased their bombardment of the smaller ship.
Enchanter bowed to Maxwell before he left, the other mages following close behind. Maxwell turned and smiled at the stunned Elia and Rhaenys.
"We do not have charlatan wizards in Thedas. We have real magic."
It was nighttime now, and the only lights came from either the moon and stars, or from the torches lit by the sailors.
Rhaenys, sitting on a crate, looked out over the railing of the ship to the northwest; the direction of King's Landing and Dragonstone, where her life had been.
Lord Maxwell had given them a new room; much larger than the one she had woken up on. There was a big bed as well, large a comfortable. Mother was asleep on it now, holding baby Egg tight least he be pried from her like so much else had these past few weeks.
It was all gone now. He rooms, her clothes, her friends, her toys. She thought of her old life, and found herself missing her rooms, her friends, her toys, and her dresses.
But most of all, she missed her cat, Balerion. She prayed to the Seven that he was all right.
Everything she had known was lost to her. Back in the Holdfast she had overheard the servants talk how it was her father's fault; how if he hadn't abducted the Stark girl, the war wouldn't have happened. Rhaenys couldn't believe that her father would do such a thing; kidnap a girl, and cause a war that got him killed, and would have gotten mother, and her, and Baby Egg killed with him.
'Did father even care about us, when he did what he did?' Rhaenys thought to herself, 'Was he thinking of us when he took the Stark girl?'
"Your father loved very much Rhaenys."
Rhaenys almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the voice. Quickly, she turned around, and came face to face with a pale skinned boy.
He looked sick, but not scary, and he wore a odd wide brimmed hat. He was dressed in clothes that were even odder.
"He loved you, even though he never said it out loud." the boy said, "You, and Egg, and your mother were in his thoughts. 'A dragon must have three heads.' He did what he did for you, though what he did didn't make sense, and he got a lot of people hurt. His intentions were good though."
"I..." Rhaenys said, "Thank you for your kind words Sir..."
"Cole." the boy said, "My name is Cole, and you don't have to call me sir. I'm not a knight."
"Cole..." Rhaenys whispered under her breath.
'Cole' smiled, "Yes, Cole. I help the hurt when I can.
"Here." he said, and he raised both hands to the brim of his hat and took it off.
Curled up on his head was a black cat. It raised it's head and looked at Rhaenys before immediately jumping off Cole and landing in Rhaenys' lap.
"It's- it's-" Rhaenys stuttered as the cat purred and rubbed it's head against her.
"It's Balerion!" Cole exclaimed as he put his hat back on his head, "I knew you would be lonely without him, so I got him for you out of Maegor's Holdfast."
"Balerion!" Rhaeny's exclaimed as she hugged the cat close, petting the cat's head before freezing.
"What happened to his ear?" she exclaimed. Balerion was, in fact, missing an ear, and white bandages covered his head.
"I'm sorry," Cole apologized, "Soldiers hurt him. He was trying to protect you, and the hurt him. I dressed his wounds. The Inquisitor helped. I'm sorry, but I couldn't save his ear."
"It's alright." Rhaenys said as she hugged the cat even tighter. She looked at Cole, "Thank you so much Cole. You have no idea how happy this makes me!"
"Oh, I may have an idea." Cole said with a smile. WIthout another word, he walked off, leaving Rhaenys alone with her cat.
"That was very good thing of you to do Cole." Maxwell said as he observed Rhaenys and Balerion from the shadows.
"I am Compassion Inquisitor, I help the hurt, you know that." Cole said as he sat down next to Maxwell.
"I know Cole, I know. Still it is remarkable; you carrying around that wounded cat in your shirt all throughout the fighting, just to make a lonely girl who's lost everything fell a little less lonely. You, my fiend, plan far in advance."
"I try Inquisitor." Cole replied.
"I noticed that when you were speaking to Rhaenys, you refered to me as 'Inquisitor' like you're doing now."
"I did?"
"Yes."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot that I'm not supposed to over here."
"It's alright Cole. Elia and her children are going to have to find out sooner or later. I'll tell them tomorrow. For now, they need rest. We all do."
"I don't." Cole said, and Maxwell chuckled.