Knowing that her time at Winterfell would soon be coming to an end, Rhaena set about making every moment that remained to her count. Since on the morrow the king had announced his intention to go hunting to supply the banquet with fresh meat the night before they were to depart, Rhaena knew she had all but two days to fully immerse herself in the peace and tranquillity of Winterfell before she would be forced to leave it and perhaps never see it again. She spent her time with Sansa and the children, either sewing with the ladies where Septa Mordane taught her new skills in order to better her abilities, or playing hide and seek with the little ones. Occasionally she would bump into either Robb or Jon, have a polite conversation then they would help her find their siblings since they knew all their favourite hiding spots. On the fourth game or so, where Rhaena was left alone to find absolutely everyone including Sasa, Robb and Jon, she ran around the corner in such a flurried haste she near enough slammed into someone. "My lord, please forgive me!" Rhaena instantly backed away and stepped aside, bowing her head in apology as she prepared to be reprimanded.
"You stupid girl!" The voice who spoke was not one she recognised so she risked a glance up to find a rather pallid looking boy who seemed a number of years older than her but not quite grown into a man. A certain measure of fat still clung to his cheeks so when he pouted, he looked rather impetuous. A few moments longer allowed her to recognise who he was. Theon Greyjoy, the ward of House Stark. A prisoner just like her. "Watch where you are going."
"Forgive me." She murmured and backed up further into a wall until she had practically melted into it. Theon snorted sharply as he fussed with his appearance then lifted his head to take a closer look at the girl who had almost barrelled him over. Not that he would ever admit a scrap of a girl could almost send him flying. Instantly his face went slack in recognition, for who would not know the meaning of silver white hair and violet eyes? An arduous desire instantly began to stir within him all the way to his loins, twisting deep in his gut as a smirk slowly crept onto his face as he stepped forwards. Perhaps the gods were being good to him today.
"You're the Targaryen, aren't you? What's your name again…Renna, Rhyla…?"
"Rhaena, my lord." She answered dutifully, lifting her eyes to meet him and narrowing them slightly in annoyance. When was he going to leave? She had children to find and she did not want to keep them waiting long otherwise Rickon might start to cry, thinking he had been forgotten. Then she noticed the look in his eye. She knew that look. It was the look of a man in heat, and she knew to be afraid of it. Rhaena shifted uncomfortably and considered attempting an escape, but so far Theon was still a safe distance away from her and thus far had made no move to cause real alarm. Many men would only look but never dare touch for they knew they risked their own manhood should ever they touched Rhaena Targaryen. Not because she was beloved, not at all. But because should she ever get with child, then the King would kill them both. Men of the South in King's Landing knew to keep their hands away. Men of the North however…no. The men of the North thus far had been kind and cordial to Rhaena, this she had to acknowledge, but this person before her was born to islanders who stole what they wanted and raped women because they could. For now, Rhaena would remain wary, for she could not give outward offence without just cause. Her situation was still a perilous one after all.
"Rhaena…" He tasted the name on his mouth then licked his lips, stepping closer to her. Now Rhaena knew this was not a sensible man. He was a fool. One who believed himself to be far more than he was or ever would be and clearly did not have the intelligence to know what he could and could not touch. "A beautiful name. I am Theon Greyjoy, heir to my father Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands." He pushed himself into Rhaena's personal space which caused her to inhale sharply and attempt to move aside but Theon gripped onto her arm tightly to keep her from escaping, mistaking her gasp for one of excitement. "Are you a virgin, Rhaena?" He asked her in a dark whisper, dipping his head closer to her neck, breathing her in. Rhaena gagged and felt like vomiting.
"What business is it of yours? Now step away from me before I start screaming for help." She snapped then shoved at him with all her might. Her strength took Theon by surprise as she was able to not only break his grasp on her but force him to stumble in such an uncoordinated fashion that Theon ended up stepping onto his own foot and falling backwards, landing heavily on his rear. Rhaena blinked at him before laughing mockingly for she found the entire display hilarious to say the least. Perhaps in hindsight to laugh had been an unwise thing, for Theon had a short temper at the best of times and whenever it came to his pride, he would not suffer humiliation. Within the space of a heartbeat Theon was back on his feet and had slammed Rhaena backwards against the wall with brutish force and an unintelligible roar into her face which splattered her cheek with spittle as she instinctively turned away from his aggressive display.
"You bitch!" Theon's fist balled as he held Rhaena against the wall with his fingers at her neck, pinning her in place however she had already recovered her senses despite the heavy blow against her back which had knocked the wind out of her. She glowered at Theon heatedly and did not flinch as he made to strike her, rather Rhaena tore her head to the side so that Theon's fist hit the solid wall instead which was followed by a bellow of pain, releasing her in order to nurse his hand. Not wanting to give any time for Theon to recover, Rhaena grasped hold of him by the fur of his cloak then rammed her knee directly into his groin with all the force she could muster, being rather the expert at such a blow. Now Theon dropped completely, tearing up and hissing as he clutched at himself.
"Perhaps now you will remember your manners, Greyjoy." Speaking smoothly and calmly, Rhaena straightened her furs and neatened her hair as Greyjoy glared at her with a venomous rage just as Robb Stark himself appeared, drawn from his hiding place at the sounds of the commotion, though he halted in confusion as the scene before him came into view. Immediately Theon staggered to his feet though still clutched his tender region as it throbbed and ached from the rather well aimed blow.
"She attacked me!" Theon announced rather petulantly as Rhaena merely scowled and rolled her eyes, stepping inside with an incline of her head to Robb who recovered his senses and approached the pair of them. He had grown up with Theon and knew his character well. He had no doubt in his mind about what had just happened.
"I expect the attack was well deserved Theon. What did you do?" Looking at Robb curiously, Rhaena marvelled at how maturely he behaved for such a young boy. Theon became flustered and struggled to answer with a satisfactory excuse which ultimately failed. In the end he simply settled for shooting another poisonous look at Rhaena before storming away, though Rhaena took great satisfaction in noticing how stiffly he moved and the occasional grunts of pain he uttered under his breath before he vanished from sight. "Are you alright?" Robb queried with concern to Rhaena who took a deep breath then nodded to him with an effortless smile. She appeared far brighter and cheerful these days, Robb noted. Perhaps the North agreed with her. He hoped that was the case.
"Yes, I am unharmed." Rhaena assured him, looking rather pleased with herself which caused Robb to give her a slow smile, thinking that it was about time a woman pulled Theon down a few notches though never imagined it would be a slip of a girl who was barely any taller than his sister, Arya. Clearly Rhaena was not as meek and timid as she portrayed to others. "I don't suppose you'd help me find the others again? They seem to enjoy the benefit of placing me on hunting duty whilst they hide in their little nooks and crannies all over the place." At the polite request Robb agreed without hesitation, glad to have a reason to be appear useful to Rhaena who remained very much the talk of all the young boys in and around the castle.
"Bran will no doubt have climbed something in order to stay out of sight and I doubt Rickon will be far away." He told her and began to lead her through the halls again with her hand resting upon his arm. "I must apologize for Theon; he thinks with his breeches and not his head." Rhaena shrugged dismissively, seemingly untroubled by the event which would have left most girls crying and sobbing. Robb was glad she was not crying; he had never been very good at comforting people.
"It is not unusual." She responded distantly as she craned her neck to look through a window to see if she could spot Bran on the roof. "But perhaps you should have words with him, Lord Robb. A man should know which maid he may and may not pursue for pleasure and I am not one of those maids. In any case, no harm was done, but next time if he tries anything, if I do not gut him myself, I shall be certain to tell Ser Barristan Selmy what he has done. He may need to offer up prayers for his life thereafter." Laughing at the thought of Theon facing up to a great knight such as Ser Barristan, Robb snorted and rather enjoyed the image of Theon getting his arse planted in the mud by a man several decades his senior. Glancing across to him, Rhaena grinned too before both went off in search of his siblings to end the hunt once and for all.