the sword and the shield | solo para
When Daniel had devised the plan to take over Dragonstone while Stannis Baratheon was out claiming Storm's End, Rhaegar had hesitated at first. The plan was absolutely mad! They had no army, no extra swords, and though they had been there for a while, they had no friends other than the company they already kept. There was only he and Daniel, and Rhaegar had refused to even acknowledge the possibility of letting Sansa and Rebekah in the vicinity of Stannis' men. But the more passionately Daniel spoke, Rhaegar had eventually given in, after all the idea of holding Dragonstone until the mother of dragons arrived to take back her claim had appealed to him very much. Of course he hadn't agreed until both the girls had promised to keep themselves safely tucked away, only coming out as they advanced through the castle.
In the end it was actually a brilliant plan, Stannis had taken most of his cohort with him leaving only guards for the castle, and though there was only he and Daniel, using the shadows of the night proved to be their advantage. Actually because of his size, Daniel had a better time slipping through the night, and where Daniel easily crept up behind them and slit their throats, Rhaegar found himself fighting a few of them off. Of course it was nothing he couldn't handle, and in no time at all, together they had rid the remaining of Stannis Baratheon's guards, Rhaegar himself hardly even breaking a sweat. He wasn't known for modesty after all.
As soon as he knew it was safe and that Daniel was unharmed, Rhaegar immediately searched for the girls, becoming increasingly troubled the longer he searched for them and still could not find them. The big oaf of a man was just mere moments from shouting out their names in panic when he heard their distance voices chattering against the wind. He found them in what he assumed was one of the old solar's, and when he did he could not help but rush towards Rebekah and engulf her in a hug, breathing out a huge sigh of relief when he held her in his arms again.
In the days that followed Rhaegar had noticed a change in Daniel, of course it was obvious from the minute that they had stepped foot in Dragonstone, but now Rhaegar could see the change happening more quickly now. He smiled less often now, not that Rhaegar had seen the boy smile much to begin with, but now garnering a smile from him was a rare oddity. Some would believe him broken, just like the boy they had seen last in the royal court of King's Landing. But Rhaegar knew better. Daniel was not fragile, he was made of stone. The time he had spent in King's Landing had tore away at him until there was nothing left. Did Rhaegar need to worry about that, and the boy? Of course, but he no longer believed Daniel was the fragile little lordling he had stolen away that night. The boy had been through much and survived, if he hadn't believed he would die for the boy then, he definitely did now.
Oft times he spent his time walking the castle gates, heading up the watchtowers to look out for the ship that would eventually beach with the last Targaryen. He looked forward to that time, often trying to rehearse what he would say. In the meantime he found himself spending more and more time with Lady Rebekah. Rhaegar wasn't sure where he stood with her yet, but in that moment he didn't care. All he knew was that they were safe, and that the only person he meant to bend his knee to was sailing for them now.
