☆〄 ⎯ ★ ⎯ 〄☆
"𝐍𝐎."
"Sit down."
"No."
Rhaenyra groaned as she dragged her personal guard by his wounded shoulder to which he winced at when her nails dug into the raw flesh. She placed him on the edge of her bed- quite easily considering he was bigger than her in every way.
"Stay." She demanded with a point of her finger and turned to her bedside table where she took out a gauze and bandage for his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as she pulled out many vials and white cotton before placing them on the top of the table.
The princess stood in front of him once more with a hand on her hip and expectant eyes, "take off your shirt." Rhagar looked up at her with a raised brow to which she challenged with her own, he groaned lowly as he stood to his full height and began untying the armour plating around his body until he felt her eyes watching his every move.
"Do you mind?" He asked and his hands paused their movements when he looked up at her through his eyelashes.
Rhaenyra's face showed one of embarrassment before she cleared her throat and stood tall, trying to ignore the red creeping up her neck. "No, I don't actually," hearing her words he tilted his head up fully to meet her eyes with his own before sighing from his nose he stood to his full height once more.
"Then I suppose the princess wouldn't mind if she were to help," Rhagar flickered his eyes to the black armour like leather he wore before looking back up to her. They were two steps away from one another and Rhaenyra dared to take another until she was in perfect arms reach to discard of his top.
"No," she cleared her throat and focused her eyes and fingers on the buckles that held his shoulder plates together. "No she wouldn't."
The two were silent as she worked the buckle on his many shoulder plates and whilst her eyes were narrowed on the leather and metal, he kept on looking at her- examining her for any imperfections. But to his great distaste he found none, no mark on her pale skin, no cracks in her lips where many would often bite. Her hair was neatly tied back in the many braids she often sported with not a wisp out of place.
She couldn't be a human she's far too perfect was Rhagar's very thought and his lungs stopped taking in air once her concentrated gaze snapped to his own in an instant. He'd panicked for a millisecond she couldn't have read his mind, he nearly laughed at himself at how stupid he sounded but still worried as she hadn't opened her big mouth yet.
Rhaenyra seemed to think of her words coyly before she said, "risking a limb for the position as my guard, you have to be mad." He caught her smirk that played on her lips as she now moved to the other side of the shoulder pads on his suit.
"To be frank I also gained the opportunity to be Commander of the City Watch so no I am not mad, it's not all about you prin- " she once again dug her nail into his cut making him groan lowly in pain.
"Careful now we wouldn't want you to have anymore accidents," she tutted before dropping the metal onto her floor.
Rhagar rolled his eyes with a small huff but felt slightly fearful of what she would do after all he did have to heed her every call and he was already getting sick of it.
Now only his metal vest was left, it wasn't like the hunks of silver that now rested messily on her floor but thin and sleek which let his torso twist more freely than any other knight.
"Lift up your arms." She didn't bother asking him too and the order was clear in her voice making Rhagar feel small even though he was stood over her.
She gripped the material by the hem before slowly lifting it upwards where he lifted his arms and silently groaned as it scratched his cut. Rhaenyra tossed the bloodied under armour to her right and let it pool to the floor.
Her eyes betrayed her mind as they wandered down from his shoulders to his bare chest that was rich with scars. Many jagged and rough with a white undertone to them but some were a fading pink but there were few trailing across his stomach. His very toned stomach that she couldn't help but stare at and with her eyes that followed across his form so did her fingertips that made him shiver.
Rhagar's eyes were on her face once more with curiosity in them whilst he didn't move a muscle as her nails traced a map down his body. Only when her fingers stopped as the waistline of his pants was when he moved backwards and sat down at the edge of her large bed.
She snatched her hand back quickly as if she'd been burnt and cleared her throat in awkwardness before grabbing a cloth from the table and placing some liquid on it. She walked back to stand between his legs in complete silence and carefully dabbed across the skin that would soon have small scabs covering it.
He'd turned his head away from her sight as she worked around his wound and was preparing himself for the stinging sensation to rear its ugly head. She turned the cloth before pressing it onto the source of bleeding to which he hissed at and gripped the wood between his fingertips.
Rhaenyra glanced at the side of his face, mouth slightly ajar as the liquid stung with a bitter bite, eyes closed along with his eyebrows furrowed as she dragged the cotton.
She took another bottle from the table before getting a clean cloth to the one she had before and this time it hurt Rhagar more than he'd had liked. On instinct his hand lurched from the wood that splintered with his touch and grabbed her waist as he huffed in pain.
The princess stuttered her hand slightly and nearly fell if she hadn't grabbed onto his left shoulder with her hand. She'd taken the cloth back and he opened his eyes saying a small, "I'm sorry," but made no move to remove his hand from her hip.
"It's quite alright," she now looked down on him with a newfound heat in her gaze before she stepped out of his touch and took the bandages from her nightstand.
Up and over then round and out was what her mother taught her when Rhaenyra scraped her knee when coming off of dragon back. She was the youngest dragon tamer in history which only lead her to rub it in Rhagar's face every time she could. He'd only been able to ride Klauth two years later something that made him quiet whenever the girl brought it up for he'd have no rebuttal.
"Your done," she murmured quietly before releasing her hands from his chest and turned to put the vials back in her draw.
"Why wouldn't you allow the maesters to do this?"
She chuckled half heartedly, "not even a thank you, you ungrateful halfwit." He rolled his eyes before frowning and turned his body to where she held his back to him.
"Alright I suppose I'm thankful for your help so answer me this why wouldn't you allow the maesters anywhere near me?"
Rhaenyra shut her wooden door to the draw softly before planting her hands on it as she let out a sigh that made her shoulders sink. He became alert and was prepared to catch her as she looked ready to faint.
"I- I have lost my trust in them ever since," she trailed off sadly her commanding tone long gone.
Rhagar too fell silent he hadn't thought about it like that his first instinct was to blame Viserys, a part of him blamed himself for telling Rodrick to go get her. He thought he was helping he didn't want her mothers last words to be to him but seeing the loom on Rhaenyra's face made him sick.
"I'm sorry," he said clearly though his head was bowed in shame. Rhaenyra turned to him with furrowed eyebrows and crossed arms as she leant against the table besides her bed.
"Whatever for?"
"For failing Aemma for failing...you," his voice was small and no longer matched his chiselled chest or stoic face it was out of the ordinary.
The princess let out something that was crossed between a laugh and a disbelieving scoff, "you idiot." He looked up at her with a deep frown on his face only to find her coyly grinning as she walked back over to him, "you didn't fail us- they did."
"I blame your father," he blurted out and she drilled her feet to the floor and stared to him whilst fiddling with the many rings on her fingers.
Rhagar continued with his voice wavering slightly, "I still blame him I hate your father. I don't see the maesters kil- murdering Aemma, I see Viserys," he spat out the word murder with malice in his voice.
Rhaenyra's eyes finally fell to the floor until she took an audible deep breath, "I too agree," she whispered lowly as though it was treason to think such a thing. "If only I was born a son then maybe my father wouldn't have done what he did to my mother," her words were low and cold as if she'd lost the ability to cry over the words that used to plague her mind.
"A part of me hates him," she continued softly and twirled the gold on her fingers, "but a bigger part of me still loves him because he his my father and as much as I want to hate him I can't. Because I love him too much."
Rhagar thought what if it was his father in Viserys position would he saved his newborn or chose his wife, he couldn't say. Whenever he brings up his mother Kratus tends to shut down or either direct the conversation to something else entirely.
Their eyes were locked once more and it was as if they were young children again hiding in Godswood as they played hide and seek with Alicent and Katrina. Or when the two would sit under the Weirwood tree till dark and share story's of where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do in the world.
Once again she moved closer to him and held her hand out for him to take as if a truce, "I want you to teach me how to fight."
He looked down at her hand and back up to her face with an arched eyebrow but her stoic face held no room for argument. Rhagar placed his large hand in hers and stood up, "by time I'm done with you the people will call you Visenya reborn."
Rhaenyra gave him a small smirk to which he gladly returned before saying, "let's begin."