Mother Of Dragons

Chapter 7

Daenerys could hear the morning well before she could see it. People were tending fires and preparing food for the day well before the sun began to greet the new day. She had often wondered how they managed to do it, but then reasoned that the slaves only had to wait for the last of the bloodriders to drunkenly pass out wherever they might, and then decide it was a new day. She was glad Drogo didn't do much of that anymore, well, not without her nestled in his lap, anyway. He didn't seem to mind her nodding off, either. He would just lift her up and carry her to bed when he was ready to sleep.

She rolled over and looked at him, surprised to see him still asleep next to her. He always woke up before she did. He looked beautiful, so serene and even peaceful as he slept. She reached out to touch his face, tracing her finger around his cheekbone and over his scarred brow before his hand came up and clasped hers gently. Dark green eyes met her lavender ones, and almost seemed to look through her before he smiled. She noticed that the corners of his eyes crinkled up when he smiled at her, changing his whole face. His other hand wandered down and touched the slight bulge where his son was growing, and his smile grew bigger. He leaned in for a kiss, pulled her flush against him, and held her quietly for a few moments before letting her go and sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing his face before standing fully and stretching his arms over his head. He turned and grinned at her, catching her watching him. He leaned down and grabbed the blanket and tugged it off her, laughing quietly at her scrambling to grab it back, smacking her lightly on her naked rear as she leaned over, admiring the view. She flashed him a smile as she gave up, and flipped over on her back and grabbed a few cushions to burrow under, but he was too quick and scooped her up from the bed and set her down on her feet.

He casually bent down and retrieved her pants and handed them to her, then put on his own. She laced them up and adjusted the waistband a little to hide her bump. Apparently this is what he was waiting for her to do, because he reached out and untied them, loosened them a bit, then retied them so they settled lower on her hips, their baby suddenly on prominent display for anyone paying enough attention. He grinned at her as she huffed at him, and he sauntered out of the tent, shouting to his bloodriders as soon as he had stepped outside.

Irri came in to help braid her hair and teach her some more words. Pride was one word that she was having a hard time grasping. She was about to move on to the next one when she finally succeeded in wrapping her mouth around the word, just about the same time Irri put her palm to her breast. Her handmaiden's touch made her breast ache as if it were bruised. They felt fuller, heavier, and she had begun to wear tighter vests just to give herself some support. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"When was the last time you bleed, Khaleesi?" she asked with a smile, letting Dany know that she knew. Dany huffed a breath out, but said nothing.

"You're changing Khaleesi. It's a blessing from the Great Stallion," Irri said, smiling.

Dany gently cradled her little bump, smiling. "I know," she said. Happy 16th nameday to me, she thought, suddenly remembering. She hoped Viserys wouldn't ruin it. Irri had said he'd caught up to the khalasar when the sun's first light touched the sky, and Khal Drogo had offered him a cart to ride in. Dany had groaned inwardly at that, knowing her brother had taken the offer as genuine help instead of recognizing it as the insult it was. She was going to have to figure out a way to convince Drogo to let her brother have his horse back. It wasn't going to be easy, she knew that Drogo would enjoy the joke as long as he could. Viserys, why do you have to be so . . . stupid? Stubborn? Blind? She sighed. There really wasn't a word she knew that would cover everything her brother was.

After mounting her silver filly, she rode straight to the head of the khalasar to avoid her brother. She found her place between two of her khas with Drogo just a few horses ahead of her. Irri rode next to her, with Rakharo just behind. Surrounded and protected. She glanced back once that morning, but couldn't distinguish which cart her brother was in. Khal Rhaggat was the joke by the time the sun reached its zenith and the khalasar stopped for a little while. She sighed, knowing it couldn't be helped if the Cart King was going to be purposely culturally ignorant of the people around him.