Dany leaned back into the padded chair near the front window, fearing she might sink into it. She'd never seen such a pillowy piece of furniture. But then, she'd never seen a portal to another dimension hanging on a wall, either. Jax told her it was called a TV, and tried to explain to her how it worked, but she didn't understand.
Nothing that was happening made any sense to her, so she was trying to process it all in fragments. While she wanted nothing more than to mount a steel horse, or better yet, a real one, and go find the sorcerer Melisandre promised her was somewhere in this realm, she knew she had to be patient. She trusted Jax, and he was adamant that the most important thing for her to do was acclimate to her new environment, so she was trying to focus only on that. She could see in Jax's eyes that he was skeptical, that he didn't believe she was from a land like the medieval ones in his TV, But that was okay. Despite his doubts, he'd agreed to help her. That was all that mattered.
"Alright, Dany, I've got a job for you to do," Jax said, holding the box that controlled the portal on the wall. "The best way for you to get a crash course in American culture is to watch TV. You can study how people talk, how they dress, all that shit." He used the buttons on the box to change the picture on the screen several times before stopping. "Watch this. It's called reality TV, so it's real. Sort of. Just cameras following people around while they live their lives."
Dany quirked her eyebrow, confused. "So you want me to just sit here, and watch other people live their lives on your…TV, rather than have experiences in my own life?" Jax nodded. "Well that's just ridiculous."
"Welcome to the 21st century, baby," Jax chuckled. "Just pay attention…take notes, think of some questions for me, whatever. I've got some business to handle and I need to check on the boys, so I'm going to go make a few phone calls." This time, Dany didn't even have to ask. Jax saw the puzzled look on her face, and he knew. "Let me guess. You don't know what a phone is?" Dany shook her head. "Well then how do you get a hold of someone when you need to tell them something, or send them a message?"
"Crows and ravens?" It was more of a question than an answer. How did Jax not know that? No land Dany had ever been to was without them.
"Birds? You send your messages by bird?" Dany nodded. Jax roared with laughter. He shook his head as he headed toward the kitchen. "Birds…"
Dany smiled in spite of herself. As foreign as Jax's world was to her, hers was foreign to him as well. And while most of their differences were rather frustrating, some of them were downright comical.
She could just barely hear his voice in the other room as he made his calls. She tried her best to focus on the TV, to pay attention to what was happening on it. It was just so difficult for her to sit still and do nothing. It wasn't something she was used to.
After a while, Jax returned. He grabbed a set of keys from one of the tables, and slid a pair of white shoes onto his feet.
"Dany, I have to run to my shop for a bit. Are you okay here?" She looked up at him, her eyes glossy from boredom. "Or not. Why don't you come with me? Do some up-close and personal research on America's finest?"
"Like this?" Dany asked, pulling on the ends of her shirt. She'd seen so many different clothing styles on TV already, she wasn't sure what was appropriate for different occasions.
"Yeah, that's good," Jax assured her. "Just let me grab you some shoes." He disappeared down the hall and returned holding a pair of flat, black shoes made of cloth. Once again, he looked a little sad as he handed them to her, as if they held some sort of sentimental value. "Here. Try these."
Dany slipped her feet into the shoes with ease. "Perfect," she said.
She followed Jax out the front door, amazed by the glowing balls of light that littered the landscape. Jax had tried, and failed, to explain electricity to her. She didn't understand it, but she certainly appreciated it. It was beautiful.
She strapped on her helmet, which was nothing like the armored helmets she was used to back home, and slid in behind Jax on his steel horse, which he called a motorcycle. She watched in awe as glowing lights in all different colors zipped by in the night sky while they rode. When they arrived at a large, plain-looking building surrounded by the weakest fortress Dany had ever seen, Jax stopped.
"Is this your…shop?" Dany asked, unstrapping her helmet and hopping off the bike with ease.
"It is. Now, these people inside…they're kinda rough. It would probably be best if you engaged in conversation with them as little as possible. Just smile and nod as much as you can. Alright?"
"As you wish," Dany agreed.
The building Jax called his "shop" was full of people, loud noises, and smoky air. There were women dressed in next to nothing, touching and pressing their bodies against the men, flirting and laughing. It reminded Dany a bit of a pub she'd once visited while traveling, and a bit of a whore house. As soon as she and Jax walked through the door, all eyes were on them. The room fell silent.
Dany was aware of her beauty, she wore it like a badge of honor. Other women had been envious of her for as long as she could remember, so the scowls and glares did not intimidate her. Men had adored her all her life, so she was unphased by the way they all ogled her.
"Evening, everyone," Jax announced. "This is Dany. She's just a friend. Nothing to see here. Go about your business." Jax led Dany to a long, thin table with stools on one side of it and a wall of liquor on the other as the conversation among the crowd slowly picked back up. He introduced her personally to two men, Bobby and Chibs. They were older, their hair graying, and the shorter one was plump and had a long beard. Dany smiled and looked on as the men conversed with Jax, ignoring the dirty looks the scantily clad women mulling about the room were giving her. During a lull in the conversation, Jax turned to Dany and smiled.
"So Jackson," she said, unable to resist. "Which of these is your whore?" The old bearded man laughed so suddenly, he was unable to hold in the drink he'd just taken, but not yet swallowed. Liquor drizzled down his beard and dripped onto his shirt, which only made him, as well as Jax and Chibs, laugh harder.
"What happened to smiling and nodding?" Jax whispered into Dany's ear. She smiled, a small giggle escaping her lips. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed. It had been ages.
Jax smiled back, his eyes crinkling in the corners. For the first time, Dany realized how handsome he was. Sure, his hair and his clothes and his mannerisms weren't what she was accustomed to, but he was wonderful in his own way- kind and funny, patient and understanding.
"What?" Jax asked, taking notice of the way Dany was looking at him.
She shook her head. "Nothing." Oh, how she wished it was nothing.
