As expected, it was not long before Rhaena was requested to visit Tyrion, who was now the acting Hand of the King in place of his father. A servant brought her the missive and Rhaena did not hesitate to go, finding her way to the Hand's residence and did her best not to think back to the day when Lord Stark's entire household had been put to the sword and how her slippers had become so bloodstained that they had to be thrown away. Pushing such thoughts aside, Rhaena arrived at the Hand's study and knocked on the door where she was instantly invited inside. She stepped in, and the moment she and Tyrion saw one another, his face instantly fell into one of tender horror. "My dear Rhaena..." It was enough to topple Rhaena's emotions into complete disarray. Without hesitation she raced across the room and flung her arms around Tyrion and embraced him so tightly his bones cracked as a strangled cry arose from her chest.
"Thank the gods you are returned safely, my lord, but how dare you leave me worrying for you all this time!" Squeezing tightly Rhaena then drew back in order to take hold of his face and search him for injuries. "You've been gone so long…you have no idea the kind of hell it has been here."
"If your face is anything to judge by, I can see it has indeed been hell for you." Tyrion winced as he turned Rhaena's face to look more closely at the ugly bruising that mottled her skin, injuries that were yet to heal and had remained poorly treated. He drew back her sleeves to reveal more bruising around her wrists and all the way up her arms, covering her neck, her chest…he dared not look any further but already it was enough to fill him with a sickened rage he was rarely provoked to feel. "I cannot begin to think what you have endured and suffered, dear Rhaena, but I promise you now. No one will touch you again." Despite his solemn words and tender vow, Rhaena could only smile sadly as she began to cry, the emotion now clenching in her chest until it was almost impossible to breathe.
"Oh my dearest little friend…you do not know how many good people have made me the same promise before you." She did not elaborate beyond that for it was not necessary. It hurt Tyrion deeply to see someone he cherished in such a state, so much so that she no longer believed someone when they vowed to protect her. "But never mind that now. Tell me your stories, Tyrion. Tell me everything that has happened to you from the moment we parted ways. Did you really see the Wall? What was it like? Did Jon get there safely with you?" A rush of questions came flooding through her so Tyrion invited her to sit comfortably so that they could talk together rather than remain knelt on the ground. It was only then Rhaena noticed that there was someone else in the room with them, turning after standing up to find the mercenary she had seen at Joffrey's nameday tournament. He was neither tall nor short, large or small, perhaps he could be described as lithe, and he was neither handsome nor unbecoming. He was situated rather pleasantly in between, in Rhaena's judgement.
"Ah, Rhaena. Allow me to introduce my personal bodyguard Bronn. He's a ruthless and skilled killer and it is because of him I am here today. Bronn, this lovely young woman is Lady Rhaena of House Targaryen, the only living dragon still remaining in all the Seven Kingdoms." Now looking at him properly, Rhaena could tell that this man had the mark of a killer about him. He seemed to be relaxed, for the most part, but only because he seemed so assured of his own skill that any sudden danger did not pose too great a nuisance to him and if Tyrion had hired him to protect his life then he must have considerable skill to earn Lannister gold. An eyebrow quirked upwards as the gaze of a hotblooded man roamed across the entirety of Rhaena's body which caused her to frown disapprovingly in reply.
"Only a stupid man would mark up such a pretty face." Bronn finally decided, reaching out with a finger to knock lightly underneath Rhaena's chin whilst viewing the heaviest collection of bruises with a disapproving click of his tongue. "Shame that is."
"Well from now on, if you catch anyone giving my good friend any trouble or harm, you are to cut off their hands immediately." Tyrion responded flatly as he took up Rhaena's hand as she looked at him in surprise. "Yes, that's right my dear. I intend to keep my word and I am rather excellent at staying alive, so you may rest assured from now on. Bronn will do anything I ask him because I think he quite likes me." He said laughingly so Rhaena dared a small smile, one side of her mouth curling upwards more than the other as not to shift the muscles of her face too much and cause herself pain.
"And because you pay him."
"Well yes, and because I pay him." Agreeing with her conclusion, Tyrion then looked to Bronn with a rather stern expression. "As well as your duties to me, I am tasking you to protect Lady Rhaena with your life. You have my expressed permission to intercede on my behalf and remove her from any situation that may be detrimental to her health. Am I understood?" At this Bronn gave a somewhat sly smirk to his employer and a wink at Rhaena who continued her study of the sellsword before her, attempting to unravel his character.
"Alright, so long as you pay me well for the trouble."
"I assure you, you shall be handsomely rewarded. Come now my dear, I believe you demanded stories from me and I have quite a few thrilling ones to tell." Drawing her over to a comfortable chair, Tyrion dutifully attended to Rhaena's needs, pouring her wine and bringing her food before settling himself and beginning his rather impressive tale. Of course he was rather crude at times, never one to shy away from the more mature facts of a story, recounting word for word the sins he had confessed at the Eyrie which made Rhaena giggle as she sipped at her wine and sampled some of the treats Tyrion had prepared especially for her. The events themselves sounded rather awful and for Tyrion were most likely quite terrifying at times with how often he was almost killed, but Tyrion had a wonderful skill which allowed him to tell any story and make it sound humorous or an entire joke. By the end, Rhaena was almost shrieking with laughter with Tyrion grinning as he watched her, observing how her eyes danced brightly with her smiles.
"I cannot believe you talked your way out of being killed by tribesmen from The Vale and not only that…hired them to fight for you. You truly have a golden tongue, my lord." Rhaena giggled as she set down her empty goblet which Tyrion promptly filled up once again though she did not take it up again immediately, letting it rest for a while. "But all laughter aside, I am truly glad that you survived and are back safely. I respect Lady Catelyn a great deal and am grateful for the kindness she showed me in Winterfell, but to hold you hostage…I know that you would never have done something so stupid as to send an assassin after an unconscious little boy." Humming in agreement, Tyrion thanked Rhaena for her confidence in him. "Everything has turned rather disastrous, has it not? Armies everywhere you look…a new king seemingly springing up in every kingdom…and all when winter is on it's way." She sighed heavily and allowed her head to dip to the side and rest against a plump pillow which cradled her neck. "I am glad you are here, my little friend. I hope you can bring back some order and sense now that you are the King's Hand."
"That is exactly what I intend to do, my dear." Tyrion responded as Rhaena's eyes began to slide shut. "I shall have medicine sent to treat your injuries. Perhaps you should get some rest, you look quite washed out if you do not mind me saying so." Her lips quirked upwards.
"I have not slept properly in weeks. Now I finally feel safe…" Both men could see her falling asleep exactly where she lay, curled up in her chair and seemingly as small as a kitten. "Please…do not leave me Tyrion…" Getting up after a moment, Tyrion quietly approached where Rhaena lay as her breaths began to deepen and grow more even, taking her hand as it slipped from her lap in order to hold it tenderly within his own.
"You have my word, dear Rhaena." Tucking her hand neatly against her, Bronn then appeared having somehow procured a covering from somewhere and lay it over the now sleeping girl in a rather unexpected display of tenderness. "Not growing soft are you Bronn?"
"The lass has suffered enough. Let her sleep here, I'll watch over her. Make sure no one disturbs her." Tyrion gave the sellsword a sharp look of warning, a thought appearing in his mind which Bronn seemed to immediately read. "I won't touch her, promise. I'm not that kind of scoundrel. If a man can't persuade a woman into his bed without forcing her then he's not a real man. Besides, you're paying me to protect her. I'd rather have the gold." Satisfied with Bronn's reasoning, Tyrion looked once more at Rhaena. Her hair was now rather brittle looking from the dye but it worked well to lessen her natural charm and fair looks. She was clever. Cleverer than most of them, and Tyrion had no doubt that one day, he would look back and feel utterly relieved that he had shown kindness and friendship to this particular dragon, for the world was yet to hear her roar. Rhaena was young and weak now, but she would grow, and she had a power that was entirely her own.
And that was she could make almost anyone utterly adore and love her.