Her dragons returned shortly before her handmaid did, barreling into the tent squealing with joy, fumbling on skinny awkward legs and flapping silky useless wings. They climbed onto her shoulders and rolled in her lap, they played around at her feet. They sniffed Rhaello cautiously and nuzzled her face. They were the same colours as their beautiful eggs, only they shimmered and glittered in the light as they moved. The green one nuzzled into her neck and she sighed happily.
Doreah soon followed and began to put together a plate of food, but when she turned around to give it to Dany the three dragons made her jump by hissing and jumping at the food, causing her to spill it.
"I am sorry Khaleesi, they frighten me so. I do not yet believe they can be real."
She flushed red and went to prepare another plate. "We were all so scared when we realized what you were doing, none of us understood. Very few of us knew what was even happening, it was all madness. But that is nothing compared to the madness now. Half of the khalasar wants to make you their sole ruler, half wants to see you dead."
"And Drogo?" Dany implored, "What does Drogo want? Has he been to see me?"
Doreah looked at her feet "Drogo is with his bloodriders on a hunt. They left shortly after you walked into the flames, when he realized you were lost to reason. He believed you intended to die in the fire. He does not know you survived, he does not know anything that has happened."
"But he will be back soon, won't he?"
Dany could feel the desperation in her voice.
"He will return, and he will not cast me aside lightly, as his Khaleesi and the mother of dragons. He can't."
"Khaleesi, if I may speak openly," Doreah started.
"The Khal will be gloriously relieved to find you unharmed, he will forgive you anything for a moment. But he will remember that he will have to live with a daughter instead of a stallion soon enough, and the relief will wear off. He was prepared to cross the narrow sea to see his son become king. He promised the whole khalasar, and himself, that he would do this. He may be afraid of the dragons, he may think you are a maegi, a witch. The Dothraki hold onto their superstitions tightly, and their traditions run deep. He wedded a beautiful princess, and you have become a strong, fearsome queen. It is not my place to assume how he may feel about this change."
Dany could feel the tears in her eyes. She blinked them back.
"So it shall be then." She said "He will soon find that I am not so easily discarded. I have honour enough for the both of us."
And she lay back on the furs with her plate of food and Rhaello lying next to her, sharing bits of horsemeat with her dragons and soon falling back asleep.
The following morning the khalasar packed up camp and prepared to move on. Her Khal had returned in the night, but had not yet come to her. Or so she heard, from her handmaids and from the whispers moving throughout camp. Her dothraki was still rough and unsophisticated, but she understood enough words to know what her people were talking about. She picked up the words disgrace and betrayal. She began to despair, her eyes burning with tears. I am the blood of the dragon, she told herself. She took a deep breath, and the tears dried.
Jirri gripped her arm "Khaleesi, hear my words."
They locked eyes for a moment, she knew hers were glassy and red, so she averted them.
"You may find that the Khal is as unsure about what will happen as you are. He does not understand what has happened or how you have made it so. He may fear that you will turn your beasts on him. If you want to remain Khaleesi, you must act like it. Remind him of who you are, and who you are to him."
Dany nodded. "I would like to see a bath drawn before we leave," She commanded "and bring me my finest riding gear. And my silver. I would like my bells strung on a chain I can wear. And I wish to wear my tiara."
Jirri smiled "Yes Khaleesi, so it shall be."
She exited the tent shortly, holding Rhaello in one arm with a harness across her shoulder, her dragons flapping and nipping at each other behind her. She would not ride in the carts, or with a handmaid, she knew. She would ride at the very head of the khalasar.
Rhaello looked up at her, eyes wide and bright, waving her tiny fists. She would have to become accustomed to riding a horse as soon as possible. Normally, her husband should have taken Rhaello for her first ride moments after she was born, he would have held their son above his head, shouting his name for all the khalasar to hear. He would have made it so that riding felt as normal as being carried to their child. But Dany would have to do it herself.
With the help of Doreah, she mounted her silver. She found that someone had added a section of padding for her to sit on and for that she was grateful. Even with the padding, she was still very tender and riding was near agony. She looked into her daughters eyes, and kicked into her silvers sides, driving her forward to catch up to the lead. Her dragons perched in large baskets attached to her saddles.
By then the camp was mostly packed away, save for a few stragglers, and they were off again. People stared and whispered as she passed, but she held her chin high and only looked forward, keeping her back as straight as she could. Soon she was the first rider in the khalasar. People parted for her, but whether it was out of fear or respect, she couldn't say.
Somewhere during her ride, Jorah Mormont had spotted her and moved to join her. For a moment he simply stared at her, then he let out a giant breath he had been holding.
"Khaleesi. I thank the gods that you are alright. I scarcely recognized you without your beautiful hair, eh?"
He was trying to joke, trying to make light of the situation. He smiled wide, but his eyes were wary and unsure. She met those eyes and stared him down, unwavering.
"I am sorry I did not come see you sooner. I was angry, I still am, that was a damn fool thing to do. I'm still not sure if it was worth the risk. But when I saw you come from the flames, holding a child and three dragons, it was like seeing a goddess rise from the ashes of a grave. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I've known for a long time that you would make a good ruler, but now I know it is your god-given destiny to rule. I will do everything within my power to keep you safe and see you reclaim your birthright. I would help you conquer the world, if you wished it"
He bowed his head, she knew he would offer her his sword if they were on foot.
"As long as I live I will not see you harmed, this I swear, Khaleesi. I am sorry I ever doubted you."
"Look at me, Ser Jorah. I hold no ill will, and I have never once doubted your loyalty. But I was lonely in that tent."
She turned so he could see the babe.
"Her name is Rhaello, she looks like him, does she not?"
Rhaello was squirming and cooing happily. She liked to be always moving, whether she was being rocked or carried, so she seemed to be comfortable on horseback already.
"She's as beautiful as her mother and as fierce as her father." Jorah confirmed, "And what have you named your three other children? You know they are calling you the mother of dragons, Rothno au Khaleesi, or the unburnt queen. Some of them are prepared to worship you as a god."
She nodded. "Then I shall become worthy of worship."
At this Jorah laughed, a great bark and bellow.
"Khaleesi, you have been something worth worshipping since the day you were born. That I do not doubt."
She looked at her dragons, curled up tightly together in one basket, sleeping.
"I have named the white one Viserion and the green one Rhaegon, for my brothers. And I have named the black one Drogon, for my husband. I do not know how to discern their gender, but I think they are all males."
"Speaking of your husband, Khaleesi, he draws near now. Should I turn him away?"
And so he was. He had moved from the sidelines to the front, and was almost level with her. She found his eyes, his hard, mean, accusatory eyes that seemed to say how could you? But instead of looking away, she jutted her chin out towards him and straightened her back further. A challenge. She was tired of looking away. But he would not either, and they were locked for some time. Eventually he fell back, back to the sidelines where he could observe and govern his people.
She sighed. A small victory, but a hollow one. I will need more than small victories to keep her safe. As if she could hear her thoughts, Rhaello keened loudly, wanting to be fed. Her cries woke the dragons, and then they wanted to be fed too.