The day came in which Princess Myrcella Baratheon was to leave King's Landing and her mother in order to sail south into the clutches of Dorne where she was to remain until she was of age and be married to one of the Martell sons. Rhaena was sad to see her go, managing to give the princess a secret embrace and kiss to send her on her way as the princess wept gracefully. She did not sob and weep, doing her best to maintain a composed and regal countenance, however she could not keep herself from crying completely for, despite everything, she was still just a little girl being torn away from all that she knew and sent away to a place she did not want to go. The entire arrangement was made by the Hand of the King, however Rhaena suspected that Cersei would never forgive her brother for sending away her only daughter and was likely to find a way to repay him for the pain she now suffered to lose Myrcella. It was her way, after all.
Having nothing of value to give to the princess as a gift, all Rhaena could give little Myrcella was a wish for her happiness and a promise that if ever she heard that the Martell family were mistreating her, she would sail to her rescue on a great ship and spirit her away from them. This at least brought a smile the princess's face as Rhaena rubbed away at her tears, doing her best to console her. Eventually however she was forced to let her go, remaining at Sansa's side as Princess Myrcella was boarded into a little skiff and was rowed out to sea where her ship awaited her to begin the venture south into Dornish lands. In front of her Rhaena could hear Prince Tommen crying at his sister's departure, sweet and gentle hearted as he was. It was touching to see how much he loved his sister but his elder brother ruined it with his cold cruelty and spitefulness. "You sound like a little cat mewling for his mother. Princes don't cry."
"I saw you cry." Sansa spoke without due consideration, the slip of her tongue causing Joffrey to turn on her quickly with a sharp and dangerous look.
"Did you say something, my lady?" Having grown better at correcting herself, Sansa swiftly amended her words before Joffrey could realise that she had insulted him, much to Rhaena's relief.
"My little brother cried when I left Winterfell." Now frowning at her, Joffrey queried her point so Sansa elaborated for him, because apparently the boy-king was too thick headed and stupid or too heartless to understand the sadness one felt when parting from a loved one. "It seems a normal thing."
"Is your little brother a prince?" Lifting her eyes slightly, Rhaena had to physically bite on her tongue to refrain from telling the idiot Joffrey that technically, Bran was now a prince as his elder brother Robb had been proclaimed King in the North. As much as she would love to throw such a fact in his face, Rhaena valued her life and her tongue more. Sansa also did not draw a distinction under such a fact and curtly responded with a simple no to Joffrey who then scowled at her mockingly. "Not really relevant then, is it?" Turning away from Sansa, Joffrey began to lead the entourage away from the harbour back to the keep as the High Septon finished chanting his prayers on behalf of the little princess. "Come, dog." After Ser Meryn Trant, the Hound followed after the boy-king with everyone else following one by one. Two other ladies accompanied Sansa as well as Rhaena, walking behind them dutifully as the crowds who had gathered to see the royal family and their retinue began to call out to the king, offering him blessings and well wishes.
At first all seemed normal, but then other voices began to be heard, ones who proclaimed him to be a murderer and a bastard. Lifting her head, Rhaena began to notice the sense of discord and desperation in the faces of the poor as they clustered in the street, parted by the City Watch in order to give way to the king and his followers. As Sansa had followed after Joffrey, Cersei and Tyrion were behind her along with Tommen and his nurses and servants so when Tyrion ordered that the little prince be taken back to the keep immediately, all Rhaena saw was several guards ushering them away when she had risked a glance back over her shoulder. Her nerves were on edge, there was heaviness which clung to the air like a foul odour. The more the peasants shouted the more Joffrey began to take note of what they were saying until one dared to act upon their anger for their hunger and suffering. A thick wad of excrement was thrown and rather impressively hit Joffrey in the side of his head. Rhaena would have praised the man's aim had she seen who had thrown it. In response to the assault, however, the Hound as well as the Kingsguard immediately drew their swords in defence of their king who began to seethe and rage as he straightened himself, his face stained with the projectile which had been thrown at him.
In response to the daring attack more shouts began to rise until it was taken up like a battle cry, the starving begging for food from their king who saw only fury. "Who threw that? I want the man who threw that. Find who did that and bring him to me!" Answering their king's command the City Watch began to push back at the crowd as they began to retaliate, raging and crashing against the wall of guards which were all that held back the desperate people from the royals, the nobles and their servants. Joffrey lost all sense in wake of his outrage and insult, humiliation driving him to idiotic madness as he screamed. "Just kill them! Kill them all!" Lunging forwards, Rhaena grasped hold of Sansa by the arms and attempted to move her forwards along with the Kingsguard and guards as the dissent escalated into violence so brutal not even the City Watch could keep them at bay for long.
"Run Sansa!" Yelling above the crowd, Rhaena seized hold of Sansa and proceeded to run after Joffrey and his guards, hoping to escape the crowd before they could be separated or captured but the number of people seemed to suddenly swell up and swallow them whole, a mass of confusion surrounding them as screams began to rise from some poor soul who had become victim to the desperation of the starving. Rhaena did not want to think on it, could not think on it. She was afraid both for herself and for Sasna. The two women who had accompanied them were soon lost even as Rhaena glanced back to look for them. No doubt their fates were sealed, but Rhaena forced herself not to weaken herself to pity and go back for them. She pushed forwards, attempting to force her way through the crowds with her hand pressed against Sansa's head to keep it bowed low so that no one would get a proper look at her because once some wild rabid man saw her pretty face there would be no stopping them. She protected her as best as she could but Rhaena was powerless against such people who had utterly lost their senses to their starvation. Soon enough she could barely move, struggling to breathe amongst the heavy press of bodies all around her. Then she had lost her grasp of Sansa, ripped from her which caused another surge of panic and fear. "Sansa!" She turned back, using her elbows and knees to strike at people and force them aside as the guards continued to fight and attack anyone they could reach which only furthered the crowd's outrage. Soon it was a massacre, blood sweeping across the ground as the ravenous descended upon the fallen sometimes even before they were dead where their screams were drowned underneath the howling demand for flesh.
Soon enough the peasants even began to turn on one another, women stripped of their clothing and forced upon in the street, the noble ladies screaming and weeping as their virtues were pillaged and torn from them by deranged men. Sansa. Rhaena had to find Sansa before it was too late. She searched desperately, turning her head this way and that until finally by some stroke of fortune, she saw a flash of bright auburn hair. Rhaena dove towards it, using her slight size to squeeze through the people in order to chase after Sansa who had fled. Someone caught hold of Rhaena by the arm and she turned to see the look of a wild man in front of her, as if he were no longer human but simply a creature utterly controlled by desire and rage. His anger towards the king was turned upon her as he dug his fingers so deeply into Rhaena's flesh his nails broke her skin. Knowing that she had mere seconds to act, Rhaena lashed out with her foot to strike the man's groin with enough force to fell him completely, dropping him to the ground before he was then trampled upon by the masses. She did not care to see what became of her actions, Rhaena abandoned the man and rushed to where she had seen Sansa disappear down a dark alleyway as her pulse thundered throughout her body and her lungs burned in pain. Already Rhaena was beginning to cough, struggling to hold the instinctive desire back as she moved away from the crowds and into the tunnel where the shouts and screams of the people quietened only to be replaced by the screams of Sansa.
Rhaena had no weapon. No means to rescue and save her friend, but still Rhaena went. If it had been anyone else, Rhaena would have abandoned them to be ruined and murdered in favour of protecting herself, but since it was Sansa who had been captured, there was no choice in the matter. Rhaena ran towards the sounds and came upon a group of men who had struck Sansa to the ground, holding her in restraint as they prepared to violate her. They did not see Rhaena, too focused on their prize but before Rhaena could look for a weapon that may be of some use, Sansa had sighted her. "Rhae! Rhae help me! Help me please!" Her shout gave Rhaena away, causing the men to turn and see her standing in the doorway. Now there was no time and no chance left. All Rhaena could do was grasp the nearest thing to hand, an empty bucket, and swing it with all her might at the first man who ran at her. She was either stronger than she expected or the bucket was poorly fashioned, for it burst and splintered upon impact, causing the man to shriek and twist awkwardly away from her as another man followed. Now she had no weapon except her own hands and feet. She struggled and fought as she had been taught by Ser Barristan in secret, but she was still small and a great deal weaker than these men. Her strikes were little more than harmless, though she at least drew a little satisfaction when she managed to knock out a tooth before she was taken captive as well.
The men shouted at one another, arguing over who would have which girl and who would be first, but still Rhaena fought. Grasping hold of the man in front of her she flung her head forwards and slammed it against the ridge of his nose before then pulling him closer in order to clamp her teeth down upon his ear. She bit so deeply and forcefully that with a sharp tug, ripped the ear completely off to leave a jagged, bloody mess which caused the man to scream and retreat away from her as he clutched his injury. With a manic look in her eye, Rhaena spat the flesh in her mouth at the other man and began her attack against him, clawing at his face and eyes until she managed to jump upon him and drive her thumbs into his sockets, making him screech in agony as she pushed his eyes in deep until blood poured from his now useless orifices. Blinded, Rhaena kicked the man aside before she was then tackled to the ground by a full blown force, crashing in a tangle of limbs as she continued to snarl, hiss and fight back against the man who attempted to tame her. By the time she managed to kick him away, Rhaena dragged herself backwards as her hand desperately searched for a weapon of some kind, even a stone would do, but when her hand clamped down upon something solid and felt strangely like a boot, she turned in order to look. Sandor Clegane stood there, looking down upon Rhaena as she held his foot. It appeared she had found her weapon. Without a word the Hound stalked forwards and used his knife to cut the throat of the last man who had attacked Rhaena.
Attempting to regulate her breathing through her coughing, Rhaena wheezed as she spat blood from her mouth, trails of it dribbling from her mouth and landing upon the front of her dress as the Hound then went to where Sansa was held down and disposed of the other attackers as easily as he had the first. By the time the Hound had killed each of the men who had attempted to have their way with the girls, Rhaena had managed to climb to her feet and stagger over to Sansa, shifting her upright so that she could hold her in her arms and cradle her close. She watched as Sandor killed the last of them, seemingly purposefully doing so with his back turned so that Sansa did not see much in gruesome detail before he then turned and looked to the girls, sheathing his blade. "You're alright now, little bird. You're alright." He reached for Sansa first, offering her his hand in order to pull her up onto her feet before lifting her up over his shoulder effortlessly. "Now you, little dragon. Come on." With his hand extended, Rhaena curled her fingers around his and used his strength to pull herself onto her feet. Knowing he could only carry one of them, Rhaena anchored herself to his side and gripped onto his belt so that his sword hand could remain free, struggling for breath but strong enough to walk on her own. "Stay close to me. If you get lost again, I'll not come back for you." He warned her sharply. Quietly she nodded her head and shrunk closer to his side, all but melting into his armour as she clung to him.
Sandor Clegane paused a moment before setting off to place his arm around the little dragon girl and grasp tightly onto her to ensure that she did not become lost once again, considering her struggle to draw in air before then marching back into the riot. His massive frame and imposing look allowed them to go mostly unhindered as few would dare attack a man like the Hound, however one or two did attempt it. Sandor carried his knife in his hand as his sword was too large to handle whilst carting two girls around with him, though when several men attempted to drag Rhaena away from him, Sandor had snarled and slashed at their hands and faces in two quick strikes to fend them off her. Rhaena practically vanished under his cloak, drawing it around her like it would serve as a shield whilst stumbling along with his huge strides as he brought them back to safety in the keep where no one else had thought or even bothered to go back for them. Only him. Blood trickled down her chin from her coughing as her legs struggled to support her until eventually the Hound all but dragged her along with him, his fingers grasping her by the arm in order to keep her from fainting. When they finally passed through the guarded doors Sandor Clegane set Sansa down upon a bench where her two ladies who were miraculously unharmed rushed to attend to her, his other arm still locked around Rhaena who continually clung to him for support as she struggled for air, eyes closed and pale skin glistening with sweat. At first Tyrion had not seen Rhaena who was shrouded by the Hound's cloak, going first to Sansa in order to ask if she was hurt but Sansa was unable to respond from shock, staring blankly into space. "The little bird's bleeding. Someone take her back to her cage. See to that cut." Speaking gruffly, Sandor then looked down to the other girl still in his grasp and hidden in the fold of his cloak, wondering what to do with her as she seemed adamant to not let him go.
"Well done, Clegane." Barely hearing the Imp's praise, Sandor dismissed it gruffly.
"I didn't do it for you."
"But Lady Rhaena…where is…?" It was only then Tyrion saw Rhaena, the cover with the Hound's cloak thrown back to find her clutching onto his belt as she laboured to draw breath. The only reason she was still standing was because the Hound was supporting the entirety of her weight for her legs were buckling and her entire body trembled like a leaf thrust into the thrall of a storm. "Dear gods…my lady? My lady! Rhaena, speak to me!" Taking hold of her hand, Tyrion touched the girl's face to find it was deathly cold and an immediate flood of fear overcame him. "Get her to her chambers and call for someone to tend to her! Now!" Although these orders were not directed specifically to him, Sandor Clegane decided that he may as well carry them out. Rather than make the poor girl walk he hoisted her up in one arm as he had done once before and carried her away as her arms naturally rose to curl around his neck. She weighed nothing. He could not even feel her slight frame against his armour.
"Thank you…" Hearing her soft whisper against his ear, Clegane recoiled against it as her rasping breath tickled at him.
"Don't thank me girl. Just shut up and sleep before you catch your death again." A twist of a smile came to her mouth as Rhaena allowed herself to be carried away, too exhausted to care about anything other than the prospect of her own bed and a proper rest.
"I have no reward to give you."
"Didn't I say to shut up?"
"You did not have to come back for us. You could have left us to be violated by those men." Lifting one hand Rhaena smoothed it against the scarred side of Sandor Clegane's face, feeling the intricate webbing of his burns which had never healed under her fingers and palm. "For that you deserve some compensation. I have no coin, so all I have are my words and my gratitude." Lifting her head from his shoulder, Rhaena turned towards Clegane's cheek in order to place a kiss against him, something that caused him to stiffen and freeze on the spot in his shock. Rhaena chuckled richly. "It is all I have of value. Thank you, Sandor Clegane." Pecking at his cheek again Rhaena then dropped her head, a vague notion coming to her mind that she seemed to be carried often by men these days before exhaustion took hold and she faded away. Clegane stood for a few moments longer, gritting his teeth before grunting and continuing on. Although he could not feel the girl against his armour, the lingering imprint of her kiss remained upon his cheek long after he left her upon her bed and walked away, seemingly branding itself into his mind to remain as a constant reminder of one of the few knightly deeds Sandor Clegane had ever accomplished of his own volition.