Rhaena could not remember the last time she had slept so deeply and peacefully, or awoken so slowly and without a sudden flash of fear. She was exactly where she was when she had fallen asleep, covered in something soft and warm, with Bronn the Sellsword slouched in one of the chairs with his feet resting upon the table, picking at his teeth from where he had been eating the remaining food. Sensing someone watching him, he glanced to the girl and saw that her eyes were open. "Awake are you?"
"Where is Lord Tyrion?"
"Gone to deal with some fancy matters of business, no doubt." Taking in a deep breath, Rhaena shifted but immediately winced from her stiff limbs so moved more slowly as she tentatively rubbed her neck. "There's something for you there, by the way. The little lord left it behind before he went." Nodding to roll of paper that was set upon the table, tied simply with string, Rhaena picked it up and turned it in her fingers until she found her name written in an unfamiliar scrawl. "Said a lad by the name of Jon Snow gave it him to bring back. Almost lost it when he were captured but it was returned after I won that duel." Hearing Jon's name, Rhaena instantly brightened. Pulling the string free she deftly unrolled the scroll and instantly smiled as she did her best to read Jon's rather unkempt handwriting as he hoped to find her well and told her a little about the Wall and the men he had met there. After all these months, Jon had finally fulfilled his promise to write her a letter. "A lover, is it?"
"No, Jon is just a friend. We met at Winterfell a year past." Holding the letter up towards the light, Rhaena wondered if Tyrion would allow her to write a response. So long as they did it in secret then there shouldn't be an issue, only it was almost impossible to keep secrets in King's Landing, even if Tyrion trusted her not to write to Jon with any sensitive information. All she wanted was to tell him that she was alright, even if it was a lie. She would never see Jon again. It would be nice if they could exchange at least one letter each before their lives separated for good.
"Seems like a lover to me. If a man takes the time to write down something for a pretty lass like you, then there's some feelings going on." To Rhaena, Bronn seemed like the type of man who would be difficult to argue with once he had made his mind up about something, so she decided to not validate his comment with a direct response. Instead she rolled the letter up and hid it away in her sleeve before turning her attention onto him, deciding that she would see if he would answer questions about himself.
"Where are you from, Bronn?"
"Nowhere you would know."
"You may be surprised, I have studied many maps of Westeros and can remember quite a number of places. Perhaps you should try me." He smiled at her in amusement but did not reveal anything, so Rhaena ventured further. "Do you have family?"
"Aye, most like everyone else."
"Are you in contact with them?"
"Don't have any reason to be." Every question Rhaena asked was met with a vague and rather ambiguous response. Usually this would frustrate people as Bronn had well learned, however Rhaena only laughed and shook her head without pressing any further before moving onto her next question until she eventually caved and ceased her attempts to learn a little about the stranger. Using the covering as a shawl, Rhaena stood up and began to walk about the large study, running her hand down the spines of books standing in their cases before then moving towards the balcony where a clear breeze was blowing from the sea, which meant she could smell the salt from the waves rather than the usual odour of the city.
"Thank you for saving his life." Looking up from where Bronn had moved to cleaning his nails, he studied the back of the frail, broken girl as she looked outward, the light of the setting sun seemingly shining through like she were little more than glass. "Lord Tyrion, I mean."
"No need for thanks, he paid me well for my services. I only stood for him to get paid."
"Did you know you would win?" Turning around in order to look back at Bronn as she leaned against the stone wall, Rhaena met with Bronn's eyes which remained guarded and secretive.
"I reasoned I had a decent chance, and with a reward being what it was it seemed like a good risk to take." This much of Bronn's character was clear as day. So long as you paid him well, Bronn was yours to command so long as it did not overly risk his life. He was a strategic man, one who weighed carefully the cost and risk with the reward. This made him easier to understand and allowed Rhaena to know how to trust him to some degree. So long as Tyrion was paying him she could trust that Bronn would see no harm came to her so long as he was able. The moment someone else started to line his pockets, however…Rhaena hoped Tyrion would always be able to beat the price. He was rich, so he probably could, but there were always other things that could be used in payment other than gold. Land. Titles. Women. Men were easy to buy. They liked to believe themselves superior but in truth they were cheap once you knew what they wanted, and they were utter slaves to their desires. "You look like you're thinking about something unpleasant." Bronn noted to her as he observed her expression. "Was it something I said?"
"No, I was merely thinking that men were easily bought."
"Women can be bought as well. I pay for them quite often, you know." Unable to restrain her smirk, Rhaena turned her head in an attempt to hide it but Bronn's eyes were quick. "Ah, I saw that smile, little lady. Don't try hide it." Teasing her with a grin as he continued cleaning his fingernails, Rhaena gave a soft sigh as she came away from the balcony and back inside to the study.
"I should return. Sansa will be worried for me and she'll want to settle for the night soon enough." Drawing the covering from her shoulder Rhaena folded it neatly before placing it upon the chair which she had sat on. She began to give her farewell to Bronn but found him already getting up and moving towards the door.
"Come on then, I'll walk you back."
"Please, do not feel that you must…"
"The lord's paying me to look after you, little lass, and I work hard to earn my coin. I'll see you safely back, don't worry none." Clicking his tongue and gesturing with his head for her to hurry along, Rhaena sent him a puzzled look before obliging, thanking him as she left the study and walked with him to where she was quartered. Bronn took one look at the cloistered room and gave it a look of distaste. No doubt his lordship will want to know about it, but Rhaena made no comment as she fetched some things from inside, a book and some ribbon, before then leading the way to where Sansa Stark was settled. "This the place?" The contrast between the two rooms could not have been more different, though Bronn did note that the room the little lady had looked rarely used.
"I accompany Lady Sansa and share her room with her. She does not like to sleep alone." Rhaena explained before dipping into a curtsey. "Thank you for your company, Bronn. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Aye, aye. I'll be seeing you lass." Not one to linger where he was not needed, Bronn swiftly left which allowed Rhaena to turn to the door and let herself inside whereby Sansa immediately rushed to her and flung her arms out to embrace her.
"You've been gone for such a long time! I was so worried for you, are you alright? They didn't hurt you again did they?" Sansa fussed but Rhaena expertly calmed her down and assured her that she had only been summoned by Lord Tyrion and that he was an old friend of hers and would never do any harm to her. Relieved, Sansa allowed herself to be sat down so that Rhaena could brush her hair out and told her a little of what Tyrion had told her of his experiences, though she kept a lot of it including Jon's letter to her a secret. Although there would have been no harm in showing the letter to Sansa, Rhaena did not want her feelings to be hurt to think that Jon had written to her and not his own sister, or give her false hope that they could begin sending secret letters to her brothers. It was better to keep her in the dark about some things, and this was one of them. At least for the time being.
Finishing with Sansa's hair she wove it into a simple braid and tied it off with a ribbon before the two girls settled themselves in bed where Rhaena read from the book she had brought with her aloud for Sansa, regaling her with the story of some fanciful prince who fell in love with a lowborn girl and their epic tale of overcoming hardship to eventually be happily married and ruling their kingdom together with a brood of plump, rosy cheeked children at their feet. These were not the sort of stories Rhaena enjoyed but she knew Sansa liked them and they allowed her to escape for a little while into a fantasy, so she read them without complaint. She stopped once she realised that Sansa had fallen asleep, her friend curled up and dreaming peacefully so Rhaena set her book down, blew out the candles then lay herself down to rest despite not feeling tired. Her sleep from earlier had restored a great deal of her energy so she lay awake long into the night where her thoughts circled around in her head, attempting to map out everything she knew concerning the current situation and affairs of state.
Robb was King in the North and still winning against the Lannisters. Renly and Stannis Baratheon had both declared themselves kings but were yet to make any such move as to march their armies to fight for their claim, and somewhere far in the east Daenerys Targaryen, Rhaena's last living relative, was somewhere far beyond reach where not a word had been heard of her in some time. For all she knew, her sister could be dead too. However, Tyrion was now Hand of the King and had sworn to protect Rhaena from his sister and odious nephew, so Rhaena could only presume he would protect Sansa also if only for the fact that she was still a useful pawn. Other than Tyrion and Bronn, Rhaena had no other allies she could depend on for safety. Varys still did what he could, but mostly out of pity, Rhaena believed. Any medicines to treat her injuries that found their way into her rooms were left by his little spies and always deeply appreciated. Turning her head, Rhaena looked at the sleeping form of Sansa. They could count the number of their allies on a single hand with fingers to spare. It was better than before, but still it was not enough. If only Sansa would simply agree to run away with her, then Rhaena was certain she could get them both safely to her brother Robb and her mother. As much as she liked and trusted Tyrion, she did not believe he would allow both herself and Sansa to run away, not whilst his brother Jaime was still captured by Robb. However, he would give her a lot of money if she simply asked for it and not question her as to why she wanted it, but this felt dishonest and a poor way to repay all his kindnesses and friendship over the years.
Rhaena would have to think carefully. They would require money to both bribe people and to secure them supplies and horses. Had she the funds, she would simply pay off Bronn to get them both out and escort them to Robb to be rewarded twice over, but no one could match the price of a Lannister. Bronn would not do it simply for a smile and a promise of possible future riches. Everyone else was already in the pocket of the queen, and the only knight who would have protected them without want for coin was Ser Barristan who by now must have sailed across the Narrow Sea far beyond Rhaena's reach. Darker thoughts began to encircle her head. Perhaps her body might be worth something if she would give it up in exchange for hers and Sansa's safe passage out of King's Landing. She was a Targaryen, possibly the last Targaryen, and that alone was more valuable than a simple woman with a pretty face. Rhaena shuddered at the thought of selling herself either for coin or protection. She had not reached that point of desperation just yet. Though perhaps trying to go North was not the best option. Battles were happening everywhere and even if Rhaena managed to get Sansa to her brother and mother, she would only be following a war and still every bit in danger as before. They were already in King's Landing, and just beyond the walls was a port full of ships sailing up and down the coast as well as across the sea.
Perhaps she too could set sail and find her long lost sister with Sansa safe with her, or go up the northern coast to head to the Wall and to Jon who would protect them. They could even sail south, where there was a chance that Rhaena could persuade the Martell family of Dorne to give them both shelter. Their families had once been connected by marriage, they may just take her in secretly and shield her from the Lannisters who would be too busy fighting their wars to bother with her for a long while yet. Now Rhaena was sitting upright. Yes, these were good ideas, sensible ideas. Though she still lacked the funds and the cooperation of Sansa, she at least had possibilities. Maybe even Varys would be willing to help by securing them passage so long as she paid the right price and at least with him Rhaena knew that he would have no use of her body. There were too many holes in her schemes, but at least Rhaena had hope that she could muddle her way through if she simply planned and thought it out carefully. First she needed funds, then someone she could trust to go and purchase supplies and passage. With a dry snort to herself, Rhaena wondered which would be more difficult to acquire. The coin, or a trustworthy person who could keep a secret.