Mother Of Dragons

Chapter 9

Two weeks left, only two weeks, Dany thought to herself as she mounted her silver. Vaes Dothrak was waiting, and she was more than ready to stay in one place. For the first time in her life, there was a permanent home waiting for her. She felt excited, happy, but a little nervous, too. Of course, she knew that in order for Drogo to remain Khal, he would need to leave and take his khalasar to raid and plunder villages, and visit cities that would give him gifts so his wealth and power would grow. The bigger his khalasar became, the less likely he would be threatened by a rival khal. This was the way of the Dothraki. But, unless she wanted to go, she could stay in Vaes Dothrak. She supposed she would go with him, but she hoped he would wait until after their son was big enough to withstand a long trek. She laughed a little to herself, glancing around at some of the women around her, a few babies still at the breast as they rode. Her son would be the same, likely traveling from place to place when he was only a few moons of age.

Life in the grass wasn't so bad, she admitted to herself. She was getting used to it, and was finding that she actually looked forward to riding every day in the fresh air. She had food to eat whenever she was hungry, and there was plenty of clean water to drink. Her home was comfortable, safe, and clean, and in some aspects it was downright luxurious, and Drogo being in it was the proverbial icing on the cake. Some days were hot, the horses didn't always smell very nice, but at least it wasn't the stink and filth of being in cities.

Dany happened to know a lot about that. She and Viserys had once hidden in an underground sewer overflow for months in Volantis. Thankfully, their hidden space wasn't ever pressed into service, but she never did get used to the smell, and even a few weeks after moving on, she still couldn't seem to scrub the awful stink off her. Her stomach churned at the memory. That was one of two times in her life that she could count her own ribs and see exactly how her elbow joints worked. Viserys would watch her bend her elbow over and over again, as she saw how the bones worked together before he would sigh and look away. She thought it was because she was annoying him, so she stopped doing it. A scarce two years later, she was dressed in silk and standing in front of a frightening horselord, letting him look her over until he accepted her as a gift to be his wife.

Ser Jorah rode next to her, asking her how she was feeling. She smiled and answered that she was feeling better. Her brother was following close by, a little too close for Rhakaro's comfort, she could tell by the slight twitch in her kha's hand, but her brother did not engage Dany in any way. Viserys seemed to be becoming more and more unhinged the closer they got to Vaes Dothrak, and it wasn't the first time Dany had thought about it. He seemed more on edge and nervous than ever, glancing at Drogo every now and again, almost as if he were afraid. Part of her was glad he was intimidated by Drogo because it would keep him from hurting her, but a larger part felt sorry for him. He had lived in fear most of his life, just as she had.

She palmed her little bump softly, smiling. Her son would not know anything about living in fear. Not as long as she drew breath. He would never go hungry, nor would he know anything about what she had survived in order to grow up to become his mother. Ser Jorah left her side and was talking to Viserys, so she moved her horse up the line to ride between Cohollo and Rhakaro. It would make Drogo happy, and his smile made her feel warm. Sometimes simply warm with happiness. More often, it was warm with want. Like right now.

Urging her filly forward, she managed to get right behind Drogo. Aggo noticed her from his place next to him, and he reined his horse back so she could ride next to Drogo, a curt nod to his Khaleesi when she smiled at him in thanks. It took a moment for Drogo to notice that Aggo was no longer next to him, his glance turning to a look of pleased surprise when he met her smiling eyes. "You're happy," he observed gruffly, trying to hide his answering grin.

"Not as happy as I would like to be," she teased, hinting. He stared straight ahead of him for a minute, grinning, his teeth glinting white in the sunlight. He raised his arm above his head for the khalasar to keep moving as he steered his horse off to the side, grabbing the bridle of her horse as well. A few warriors grinned at Drogo and leered playfully at Dany, knowing exactly what was going to happen in the tall grass as the khalasar rode by.