Dany looked at the sleeping face of the man who tried to kill her child.
Her neck was sore and stiff. Soft purple bruises had bloomed along it, tinged in yellow. She could still speak, though the pain of it clawed at her throat like an angry beast and left her raw. Her rage was a twisted confusing thing, writhing and thrashing inside her heart, like a great rolling storm. It seemed to have no defined shape or feeling, it was a mass of emotions crashing against each other.
But her mind was well rested, and as clear and sharp as her arakh.
"I have spent the night with him, I gave him many cuts and bruises, he will not talk." Athnash remarked grumpily. She sat in the corner with her legs and arms crossed, wiggling one of her feet impatiently.
"I want him to look me in the eyes." Daenerys said simply. She threw a bucket of water on his face. He woke with a start, sputtering and struggling to move. Drogo stood behind her, brow furrowed and arms crossed. He did not see the point in keeping a captive alive unless they intended to use him as a slave. He understood torture and punishment, but not interrogation. Anything he needed to know he could find out for himself.
"Dothraki bitch." The man spat at Dany when he looked up and saw her. He was a homely man, brown hair, brown eyes, lightly tanned skin, medium height and weight. His features were still distinguishable under his mess of a body, Athnash had left him covered in blood and bruises. He could be anyone. He could be no one. His companion was the same. Dany slapped him.
He laughed, like a madman.
"Look at me." She commanded. "Look in my eyes. Do you know who I am? Do you really know?"
"I know that you are a horselords slut, and that you plan on putting your whelp on the throne. It won't happen. Neither of you can be king, fool." Blood and spit dribbled from his mouth as he spoke. Dany could see the sweat on his forehead, the crease between his eyes, the pain he was in.
She slapped him again, harder.
She took his face in her hand, squeezing his cheeks and forcing him to look her in the eyes.
"My name is Daenerys Targaryen." She started, quiet and calm. "I do not know what they told you about me, so I am going to tell you the truth. They call me the mother of dragons. The unburnt queen. Daenerys stormborn. Khaleesi. I am the wife of the great Khal Drogo and together we command a khalasar of over forty thousand strong warriors. We are going to take back your throne, because it is rightfully mine. The Usurper stole it from my family. Look at me!"
She shook him and forced his head upwards. He had started to laugh and mumble like a madman and was trying to avert his eyes.
"I saw to the birth of three dragons. The first that the world has seen in many lifetimes. I have crossed the world, and I will cross it again. With my daughter. The rightful heir to the throne. It is her blood right. She is the sister of these three dragons and together they are growing fierce and strong. These dragons are my blood and heritage. You will make a meal for them if you do not tell me who sent you!"
He spat at her feet again. She dropped him and stood up. She paced back and forth.
"You tried to kill my daughter. Family name aside that was a grave mistake, I am her mother, and the mother of dragons. A mother would never let something go by lightly. Your death could be slow, and painful. Or you could return to Westeros with a message for the king."
He laughed. "I could die here or die there, they will put my head on a spike."
"We could protect you." She replied.
"I don't want your protection, slut!" He yelled, struggling against his bindings. "Don't you understand anything? Your legacy is insanity, you are only carrying on your family's traditions!"
She could not contain herself. She slapped him again. She grabbed a fistful of his hair and forced his head back.
"No!" She shouted inches from his face. "You misunderstand me! You will tell me who sent you, whether you want to or not! The Usurper has already sent his hired knives after me and failed. They've followed me my whole life, why does he continue? Why does he refuse to leave me alone?"
Her rage was such that it would have frightened her on any other occasion. Fueled by the fear she had lived with her whole life, of being followed by these assassins. The fear that her daughter would have the same life. It was like a bubbling pool of magma inside her. The heat was so much that it felt as if she was surrounded by flamed. She grabbed his wrist, she held it so tight her nails drew blood. She could not remain calm.
"I said look at me! You tried to kill my child! I will kill you for this! With my own two hands! I will feed you to my dragons piece by piece while you are still alive! I will-"
She was interrupted by his screaming.
He thrashed and flailed as if she were burning him. She thought she could smell cooked meat, and she could feel his skin bubbling under her hand. She released his wrist.
She was burning him.
In the shape of her palm and fingers, his skin was covered in angry red blisters. Some spots appeared crisp and cooked, like the skin of a roasted pig. In other areas the flesh looked as if it had melted away. His screaming stopped when she released him, and was replaced by whimpering. She held out her hands to inspect them, but they did not appear unusual in any way. She wiped her brow and found that she was sweating, her chest was flushed and her heart was pounding.
She smiled. Almost a grimace.
She reached out and grabbed his face in both of her hands. His screaming turned into shrieks of agony. He struggled and cried. She dug her nails into his cheeks, watched the steam and smoke rise from under her fingers. She tried to focus all of her rage and fear into the palms of her hands, and pushed harder. She felt his skin melt and slough away under her. He wailed.
She pulled back. He collapsed to the ground but appeared conscious.
"Have you had a moment to reconsider?" She asked simply. He said nothing.
"I will place my thumbs over your closed eyelids." She told him. "As your eyelids melt away, your eyes will become exposed. I suppose it shall be extremely painful. But you do not need your eyes to talk. And I've only started on the top half of your body. I have many more ideas for what I will do to the lower half."
He said nothing. She placed her thumbs over his eyes and pushed against him, a few moments later he cried out.
"It wasn't the king!"
She removed her thumbs.
His eyes were wet with tears, and his eyelids were red with blisters. His eyeballs appeared intact. "I swear. I swear…" He looked as though he was going to fall faint.
"Do not dare fall asleep now, bastard." She warned him. "Who was it? You speak the common tongue by birth, I know you are native to the seven kingdoms, though you carry no sigil. Who sent you?"
"A man. A very small man with a pointy black beard. He wore a pin shaped like a bird. He told us to capture the princess and bring her back to Westeros as hostage. He offered us another thousand golden dragons each if we killed you as well. He did not tell us his name, and asked us not to seek it out. He saw us fight in the tourney and asked if we wanted to be rich." He was sobbing. "Please, I swear…"
"What else do you know?" She demanded. "Tell me!" When he shook his head, she forced his jaw apart and took his tongue in between her fingers. He screamed, but all that came out was a strange guttural cry. She pulled back.
"The king called off your assassination! Lord Eddard Stark convinced him to change his mind! Then he died! The king and Stark, they are both dead! The lord will be sending faceless men after you and us if you are not killed! Please, that is all I know!" He shrunk back away from her. He feared her.
"Thank you for your honesty. I suppose I am finished then." She told him calmly. He laughed in relief. Cried tears of joy.
"Thank you," He whimpered. "Thank you, my queen…"
She formed a fist and then straightened her fingers slightly, so they came to a point, and plunged the hand into his chest.
He screamed and cried, struggled and pissed himself. Her fingers slowly melted and cooked the flesh, parting her way to his heart as it sloughed away. She pushed into his chest for a considerable amount of time. His clothes and small wisps of flesh caught fire as they flew onto the ground. Her fingers found the ribs, they cracked and shattered under the pressure and heat. She wrapped her fingers around the round thing that must be his heart and pulled with all of her strength. She heard a sickening tearing sound.
The man screamed no more. His body twitched as Dany crushed his heart in her fist. It was much smaller than the horse's heart she had eaten, it looked pathetic in her hand. Both of her guards stared at her wide eyed, not sure how to ask the question. Drogo's jaw was hanging slack. She dropped the heart to the floor and crushed it further under her foot.
"Khaleesi…" Athnash started. Dany waved at her for silence.
"Gather yourselves and the khalasar, I have an announcement to make. Be outside of my tent soon. Irri, I need you to retrieve something for me." Dany replied stoically.
She stood on a cart outside of her tent. She was a frightful sight, covered in blood and sweat and dirt. Thousands of people had gathered to see her. She momentarily wished she were taller, but silently waved it away. She had a task to focus on.
"Athchomar chomakea!" She cried out. A respectful greeting.
"Anha Daenerys Vazyol h'Okreseroon Targeryen, Rothno au Khaleesi." I am Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the Unburnt Queen.
"I have called you all here to bear witness to what I am about to do." She continued in Dothraki. "You have seen me cross the world. You have seen me give birth to dragons and a Khalakki. You will see me put my daughter in her rightful place as ruler of the Land of the Andals. And now you will see me name my bloodriders." She reached for Irri.
"Athnash. Come forward." She commanded. Athnash looked mildly surprised for a moment, but she came forward and knelt in front of the cart.
"I offer you my great silver handled whip, which was a bride gift to me. I ask for your oath, that you will live and die as blood of my blood, riding at my side to keep me and my daughter from harm. I ask that you will continue to guard Rhaello with your life if I die." She held her hand out, offering her the whip. Athnash stood and took it from her. She appeared steady and somber.
"Yes, Khaleesi. Qoy qoyi." She told her. Blood of my blood.
"Qoy qoyi." Dany replied. "Lillouet. Please come forward." She called out. Lillouet seemed emotional, she wiped at her eyes and took a deep breath but stepped forward.
"Khaleesi." She said, her voice shaking. "You honour me."
"I offer you my magnificent dragonbone bow, which was a bride gift to me. I ask for your oath, that you will live and die as blood of my blood, riding at my side to keep me and my daughter from harm. Use it to guard Rhaello with your life if I die." She offered her the bow, Lillouet had already stood to take it. There were tears in her eyes again.
"I will live and die as your bloodrider, Khaleesi. I will guard your daughter as if she were my own. I am yours. Qoy qoyi." She choked out, holding the bow to her chest. Daenerys reached out to Irri once more.
"Qoy qoyi." Dany replied.
"Ser Jorah. Please come forward." She called out. Jorah was off to the side, but near enough that she saw him nod. He walked forward slowly, with his shoulders held up straight and tall. He knelt in front of her.
"I offer you my beautiful arakh, with hilt and handle chased in gold, which was a bride gift to me. I ask for your oath, that you will live and die as blood of my blood, riding at my side to keep me and my daughter from harm. I ask that you will guard Rhaello with your life if I die." She held it out to him. He hesitated for half a moment, but took it from her.
"Everything I am is yours Khaleesi. That has been true since the day I met you. Qoy qoyi." He said, his words in smooth Dothraki, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Qoy qoyi." She replied.
Daenerys pulled her own dagger out of its sheath and held it above her head.
"My people! You know who I am. I know who you are. You know what my wishes are. The Usurper had wishes too. He wished me dead. He wished my child dead. He and his lords have sent hired knives after me, we have killed his hired knives. And now the Usurper is dead!" She gripped her dagger tighter, trying to focus all of her energy into her palm and her fingers. She tried to muster up her anger from before.
"You three. Blood of my blood. You saved my life and the life of my daughter. You have shown me unwavering strength and loyalty. I am in your debt. Anha asshilak jin azh shafkea haji rekoon et shafka." I make this gift to you for what you did.
"If you wish to give me a gift in return, gift me with your loyalty and service. Gift me with your devotion. From now on, I will be completely devoted to you as your Khaleesi, as your blood."
She looked up, the dagger was turning slightly red. She could feel the heat coming off of it.
"I am Daenerys Targaryen! People tell me that these things I do are not done, and yet here I stand before you! People say I cannot claim a throne because I am not a man, but I have done things that no man has done before, and I will continue doing things that no person has done before!"
She thrust her dagger further into the air. The blade burst into flame.
"Anha vidrik khalasares anni jim, finaan nakhoe rhaesheser!" She cried out. I will take my khalasar west to where the world ends!