Rhaegar & Bellatrix

"Rhaegar— my lord!" Bellatrix gasped.

Without a single forgiving muscle, Rhaegar took her by the arm and dragged her behind him. He practically shoved her into a dark room that Bellatrix recognized to be the cargo hold, backing her into the corner his free hand grasping the hilt of his dagger.

"Who sent you?" Rhaegar demanded, eyeing her so intensely it could cut a hole through the ship. Bellatrix dared to stare back at him with feigned boldness.

"Nobody."

"Lies," Rhaegar hissed through gritted teeth, "are you here to take my mother? My brother?"

"N-no!" Her tone couldn't conceal the fear this time.

"Then? Speak or I swear before all the gods I'll kill you right now."

"You have to believe me," Bellatrix begged, "nobody sent me."

"Who was that? Who spoke?"

Bellatrix hesitated, watching him regretfully. But she was taking so much time that Rhaegar put a hand on her throat.

"My cousin." Bellatrix blurted out, "he's the Maester's apprentice."

"So the Maester is an accomplice. All three of you will be thrown out of this ship, I swear it."

Bellatrix desperately grabbed the arm that threatened to choke her. "Don't! Rhaegar, let me explain."

"You would address me as your equal, traitor?" He tightened his grip around her neck that Bellarix swore felt like pincers from a pyre.

"It's not what you think. We're— I'm—!" She choked as she said, "wizards."

Rhaegar's grip loosened in the slightest as he caught himself. Bellatrix coughed after finally managing to tear her neck free from his grip.

"Wizards? Of Valyria?"

"No," Bellatrix coughed while clutching her throat, "not from here. I can't… you'd need to listen to me to believe me, please."

"Tell me." Rhaegar did not tear his eyes away from her, still feeling threatened. Bellatrix leaned back against the cold wall to gain her composure.

"We, my cousin and I, are lost. We're from a different…time." She said it so carefully he could barely hear her. "If I tell you, you would not believe me."

"Where?" Rhaegar demanded more than asked. The anger in his eyes changed his face entirely, Bellatrix barely recognized him. And it stirred something within her. His energy and the intensity that emanated through to her, felt exciting. It was almost a familiar feeling, yet coming from him it felt...uneasy.

"London."

"You take me for a fool, girl?"

Bellatrix blinked, silenced by how direct he was.

"You expect me to believe you?" Rhaegar said with a deep sigh, and it almost sounded like it hurt him to say it.

"If I was on a mission, I would have succeeded long ago. I guarantee you." She felt the Bellatrix that she knew snap back into her body. The Bellatrix that nobody liked.

Rhaegar took a heavy step back, keeping his eyes on her.

"You can speak to him if you like. Sirius. He'll tell you the truth, which is what I've just told you." Bellatrix said. "I will not harm the queen."

"What is it you are here for then?"

"I just…want to go home." She said sincerely, "if you'll let us go unharmed, you'll never see us again. I swear it."

"You ask too much." Rhaegar chuckled incredulously. He took a moment to look just glare at her, and she knew that he was deep in his thoughts.

"You'll do your duty. Serve the queen. Persist in your pretense. Once we dock, you are stripped of your role. Leave. As of now, that is the best course. I'll kill you myself if you step out of line, both you and your cousin." He said in conclusion. And with that, he left her alone in the cold cargo hold. The swaying of the ship had grown heavier, but Bellatrix felt as glued to the floorboards like his words as a sword through her gut.

Instead of feeling relief that she kept her head, betrayal tore through her chest. It was a wonder that he left her alive.