An Act of Kindness
He told her once that he had been expecting a child; he had hoped for a girl. He told her she reminded him of his firstborn, his Sun Dragon. She had suffered a loss, and the spirits had brought him to her. They were the same now. Why couldn't she try and return the favor?
A spell to bring forth lost loved ones goes array when Bonnie finds herself with a living room full of Starks.
I do not own the characters of Vampire Dairies or A Song of Fire and Ice/Game of Thrones. They belong to their respected owners. I only own this plotline.
Hi there y'all.
So I know I haven't really updated this in a while but I wanted to get back into it. I'm putting this note in all my updates until January: I'm tight on cash so I will be doing overtime weekly in addition to peek season hours. If I do update, please have some patience. I will be sleep deprived and I always admit fault with errors.
Peak starts this Friday, so please understand that after the hellish time I had in October and these last two weeks, I am just doing my best. I may post new projects or chapter updates to new projects this week. But the projects I'm working on will be worked on.
Thank you and please enjoy this update.
Chapter One
In the weeks following Shelia's death, Damon had made it his personal mission to try and figure out just who this Ray person was. He was annoyed to find it was almost a deadline on all fronts.
All anyone knew about Ray was that he came into the Bennett family's life when Bonnie was a few months away from being born. Abby had never really liked him; apparently her daughter only calmed down when either him or Shelia held her. Damon couldn't really blame her for that. He'd hate someone too if they were taking away from his personal time with his child.
But other than that, there was nothing. No birth certificate, no forwarding address. Not even a social security number to track. The guy was a living ghost and Damon did not like that. He didn't like how this guy had stuck into the Bennett's lives and he had no idea.
Was he a good guardian? Hell no.
Was keeping the line safe his task? Yes, but he hadn't done that in years. Not since Shelia was a civil activist.
So he was a bit peeved that some fairytale knight was taking on his task. It was making him look bad. Normally he liked looking bad, it added some flare to his character. But now? Oh he was pissed.
Movement caught his eye and he watched as Ray's car pulled into the driveway of Bonnie's house. It was an old black sedan, and he couldn't both to check the make or model. It couldn't have been older than ten years though. The man shut off the engine and then opened his door.
He was quick to move along to the trunk and open it. He pulled four bags of groceries from his trunk and shut the trunk back before heading for the front door. It opened before he even made it up the stairs. Bonnie came out, dressed in a pair of leggings, flats and a shirt too big for her.
She reached for the groceries in his left hand and took them inside. Ray followed behind her and then turned to close the door, though his eyes seemed to look out and find Damon's.
Those eyes of his seemed to blaze with a fire before he shut the door behind him, leaving Damon to watch the house.
"Have you decided when you want to go back?"
Rhaegar glanced at Bonnie, briefly stopping his task of making dinner for the two of them. He was also making some made ahead meals for her and Rudy. That was if the other man ever showed up.
He hadn't been home since before Shelia's funeral. He hadn't even bothered coming to his ex-mother in law's farewell. It left a bitter taste in the former prince's mouth; knowing his charge had been abandoned by all of her family. Shelia hadn't been a choice. She died so Bonnie wouldn't have to; she had done it for love.
Abigail and Rudy though. His fingers tightened around the knife in his hand. It was no secret he didn't like them and they had never liked him either. A mutual hatred for each other for no reason other than Bonnie favored Rhaegar. It wasn't that she could help it.
Their familiar bond made it so they needed to be close. He had decided to stay out of Mystic Falls once Bonnie turned a teenager. Before that, he had been living in Shelia's house, unseen by so many. Now, he stayed only a town over.
Or he had before he had secretly moved back into town. Bonnie was going to need him and he could still go off for work every once and awhile. Currently he was searching for Abby; at the very least even if he disliked her, she deserved to know her mother was gone.
In the time he was going to be gone, Bonnie needed to do something. The school had offered to let her take some time off but she was not in a mood to go back to school. But he couldn't leave her alone.
If push came to shove, he'd see about having Caroline stay with her while he was gone. Or perhaps Matt would do. He was meaning to ask if he wanted to move in. The boy was struggling and Rhaegar felt for the boy like a son.
His heart clenched at the thought of his children. It had been almost twenty or so years. He had been young when he died and left behind his wives and children. His little brother and unborn sibling as well and he even missed his mother.
He shut his eyes. Now was not the time to dwell on his own misery. Bonnie needed him.
Speaking of his charge, the teenager was seated at the counter top, chewing absently at a multigrain cracker. She had a plate of them and some cucumbers and red pepper hummus as well though she was contradicting that with the bottle of soda she had asked for.
She looked to be far off; lost to her thoughts. He set the knife down and reached across the space between them, placing his hand over hers. He watched as she registered his touch and folded her other hand over his, giving it a squeeze.
Bonnie offered him an apology with her eyes. He knew it meant she hadn't heard him.
"Where are you, little star?" He asked.
"Off," she murmured in response. Her eyes moved to what he was chopping on the cutting board. Onions and a lot of them.
She bit her lip. "Are you making onion soup?"
"Your absolute favorite," he smiled. "Along with some roast beef sandwiches."
"Can I help?"
Rhaegar removed his hand from hers and nodded, moving so she could come over. Hopping off the stool, Bonnie moved towards the counter and grabbed an onion. Rhaegar had been finishing up one so she could always start on another one.
The two worked in silence for a few moments. The only sounds were the chopping of the knife and her scraping the layers off the onions and placing the scraps in the trash.
Bonnie peered up at the older man. Rhaegar had been apart of her life for as long as she could remember. He had been there for her when she was going through her parents divorce and her grandmother's alcoholism. And now, he was basically her guardian. Her dad tried but he would have preferred to be away from Mystic Falls. Too many memories of his marriage to her mom, to the knowledge his daughter was a witch.
A witch with a man affiliated with dragons as a familiar.
She thought of his past. The one he had told her when she was eleven and wanted to know why he was who he was. Why he acted the way he did: all regal and warm, but fierce like a dragon protecting his treasure.
Her grandpa Rupert had still be alive at that time, and he had chuckled when Bonnie called Rhaegar the nickname the old man had coined him: the Dragon. His full nickname was The Dragon Who Guards, but she hadn't bothered to remember all of that.
Rhaegar had taken her to the park; wanting to tell her away from Rudy. He had not said a thing for hours, just pushed her on the swings or watched with Bill Forbes as Caroline and Bonnie chased after each other. It wasn't until later at the Grille, over a triple chocolate fudge brownie sundae (with extra whipped cream and cherries) for Bonnie and a cup of black coffee with cinnamon syrup for Rhaegar, did he finally tell her.
He told her about how he'd been the Crown Prince of his country. Westeros had been the name and it had been filled with creatures like dragons and direwolves once upon a time. During his time, people fought over an Iron throne his father sat upon.
He has stirred his coffee and told her fondly of his children: his little girl Rhaenys and son Aegon. He told her of how Bonnie reminded him of his daughter: his Sun Dragon and how she resembled her mother in all ways but her eyes. Targaryens always had purple eyes; though some had darker eyes, almost black.
He never spoke of his wives; not without getting choked up. Elia and Lyanna had been why he fought. For his wives and the family they wanted to have.
Bonnie had seen the sadness in his eyes and it stunned her. Rhae never showed her how sad he was. He had always stood tall and had a warm smile upon his face. So the sight of him sad didn't sit well with the preteen. Scooping up a big chunk of brownie and chocolate ice cream, she held it out for him.
"Here," she said with a bright grin.
Rhaegar looked at the offered bite of teeth decaying sugar and the down at the girl offering it to him. "What's this for?"
Bonnie pushed up on her knees and leaned over the table. "You're sad and chocolate always makes me feel better. So this should make you feel better too."
He blinked at her. "Bonnie,"
"Hurry or it will melt," she said, talking over him.
He sighed and reached for the spoon. He took one more glance at it. It was more brownie than ice cream. Turning his eyes on Bonnie who was waiting with almost baited breath, he opened his mouth and placed the spoonful inside. He chewed it and found it actually tasted pretty good. It was chewy and he could taste a bit of fudge too.
He had to give it to her.
"Not bad," he told her, going for his cup of coffee to wash it down. He shut his eyes to savor the flavor of it and when he opened them, he noticed he was suddenly pressed into the side of the booth. Bonnie had wormed her way over to him, sitting with her sundae and a second spoon.
"You can use that one. It's got your germs on it now and I don't want adult cooties. Caroline says their gross," she told him, sticking her tongue out. It was the kind of reaction he's never see of Rhaenys or even Aegon. Their lessons wouldn't have allowed it. But it was what he expected of his little starlight.
They had sat there in the booth, Bonnie asking what Rhaenys would have liked or what she didn't like. She would have been three years older than Bonnie, but he assured her she would seen Bonnie as a sister. After she was done, he got her a hot cocoa and they finished their drinks.
By the time he had her back in bed, she had promised to dream of Westeros and him as a regal king atop of a throne of silver and dragon scales. He had only chuckled, kissed her forehead and wished her sweet dreams.
"Sweet dreams, little star," he whispered to her as she drifted off to sleep.
She never told him about her dream that night. About a little boy sitting under a tree, watching as two children played in the thick white snow. How he watched forlorn that he couldn't be with them, but had turned when he thought he felt eyes on him.
His eyes had been a deep grey, almost so dark they could mistaken for black. But they reminded her of Rhaegar.
"Starlight,"
She blinked out of her thoughts and looked up at the man. He was peering down at her with a look of curiosity in his gaze.
"Off again?" He asked her, taking the contents in her hand. She looked down at the smoked cheese and chilled roast beef. The air smelt of sweet onions and thick broth and she watched as he started on the sandwiches.
She flushed with embarrassment before muttering a reply. It got a chuckle from Rhaegar as he went to check the soup.
"By the way, have you decided on if you want to go back to school? They called for you this morning." He told her as he set the lid back on the simmering pot.
Bonnie settled back into her seat on the counter. Reaching for the cucumber slice, she bit into the vegetable, chewed it and swallowed it.
"Can I have one more week? I'm not ready to face...school just yet." Glancing at her, he didn't say anything else. Just allowed her munch on her snack.
"Alright," he said, letting it go. "But I'm going to see if Caroline or Matt will stay with you while I'm gone."
"Oh," she muttered. She had forgotten he was leaving for a few days. Off once again in search of the wandering mother she hadn't seen since she was six.
His hand came down on her shoulder, a look of assurance in his eyes. His lips pulled back in a smile and he leaned down, gently bumping his forehead against hers. It was if he could hear the years worth of abandonment ringing around her head. It was a wound that had never healed and she wasn't sure if it ever would.
What kind of a parent left their child of their own free will?
Rhaegar hadn't wanted to leave his children. He thought of them every day. But Abby had left her. It hurt think about, even now and she didn't want to keep thinking of it.
Instead she pressed her forehead against his after he had pulled away. His arms wound around her waist as he held her close.
"I won't be long, I promise." He told her, the promise spoke volumes in his tone.
"Okay," she breathed. Okay, she told herself. Everything was going to be okay.
Rhaegar sat at the table. It had been hours since their talk in the kitchen, and Bonnie was up in her room doing homework that Caroline had dropped off. He had made sure to check for the blue Camaro that kept coming around. And sure enough, it was parked a few houses down. When he had asked Caroline if she knew anyone with a blue Camaro, she had told him about Damon Salvatore.
Not that he didn't already know about him, more than she did actually. While she called him an egotistical jerk, Rhaegar was simply adding it to the list of things he had already associated him with. Which was, in the order from Shelia to Caroline: a raging sociopath (Shelia) with an inferiority complex and hung up on a woman who left him for dead (Once again, that was Shelia). He had a problem with his brother (Bonnie's tidbit of information) and was an egotistical jerk (that one was from Caroline). And on top of all that, he was a vampire who couldn't seem to keep out of his business.
The former prince sighed. His hand came up to rub at his face. Just what he needed while he was going away: a nosy vampire.
"Fuck," he cursed out.