A/N: Sorry it's been a while. We've been tearing apart our laundry room for the past few days and I was waiting on my lovely beta reader to edit the chapters I'd written (this one included) so that's why it's been longer than I would've liked. Anyway, here I am now with chapter 16. No fandom specific notes this time, so just read and enjoy. The beginning of the conversation between Dany and Telrav is taken mostly verbatim from Skyrim so, that in particular does not belong to me. There's a little bit that I added myself, but it's not enough to claim that I completely changed the dialogue. Many thanks to my beta reader (and sister) GrowlingPeanut.
Disclaimer: Either Bethesda or GRRM owns everything but Dar'Jazha. He's mine.
Rating: M for crude language and attempted rape.
It was around noon, and after having gotten the entire caravan turned around once that Khal Drogo declared a rather obvious flaw in the roads leading out from Riften and decided to abandon the path entirely, instead opting for a cross-country trek through the forest in the general direction of their destination.
Sighing heavily, Drogo frowned and glanced back over his shoulder before looking at Dar'Jazha where he rode beside the head of the procession. "Stay here with Daenerys. I'm going to go check on the caravan."
His partner nodded, but offered no comment, steering his horse beside Dany's as she watched her husband trot down the line toward the end. He must've seen the look of concern on her face because he offered a consoling, "Do not worry." When she turned back to look at him, he added, "The Khal is merely concerned for the safety of his people, and of our goods, yes. If he did not think we were safe, he would not have left Dar'Jazha as your only guard."
"I trust you with my safety." Dany replied with a smile. Although at first the Khajiit had made her a bit nervous, she trusted Drogo's judgment and therefore decided there was nothing to fear from his nearly constant companion.
Dar'Jazha laughed, a sound that issued from deep in his throat and was more akin to a purr than true laughter. "Then my Khaleesi trusts in skills that Dar'Jazha does not possess on his own. To keep one such as you safe from harm, many more than this one would be set as your guards. You are far too important to risk any harm."
"But you do know how to fight?" Even as she asked it, Dany realized that such a thing was to be expected when traveling across Skyrim, but it was yet another skill she wasn't graced with. It made her feel weak and inferior.
The Khajiit shrugged and flicked out his claws as he held up a paw. "If need be, yes. Dar'Jazha was taught when he was young."
They rode in silence for the next few minutes, listening to the creak of the wooden wagons, the dull thud of a hundred horses plodding over wet, grassy earth, and the occasional sound of Drogo's voice from somewhere behind them. After a moment, Dany looked back toward Dar'Jazha and raised her eyebrows.
"How did you and Drogo meet?"
Although he didn't turn his gaze, Dany saw one of his ears flick in her direction and his tail whipped to the side before he responded. "When Dar'Jazha was young, he ran from his homeland in Elsweyr and found himself here in Skyrim." Frowning, he added, "This land of the Nords is cold and not much to Khajiits' liking, but Dar'Jazha had nowhere else to go." He shrugged slightly. "Without any gold to pay for food, I turned to thievery and attempted to rob the caravan of Khal Drogo's father."
Daenerys frowned. His story was much like her own, with Viserys in Dar'Jazha's position. She was intrigued and ashamed by both the similarities and differences in how their stories had progressed.
"Dar'Jazha was a gifted thief, yes, but Khal Bharbo had eyes sharper than this one's paws were quick and caught him with his paws on a wheel of cheese. Bharbo's men urged him to throw me into some prison to rot, but Khal Drogo forbid it. He said he would take Dar'Jazha as a servant, to work off his crimes. I have been at his side ever since."
"Though as far more than a servant for a good many of those years since."
Dany smiled when Drogo rejoined them at the head of the caravan and he smiled back, gesturing to a break in the trees before them. "We should be back on a path shortly that will lead to the main road."
With the caravan master back in his spot, Dar'Jazha nodded in respect to both him and Daenerys before turning his horse around and trotting back to ride beside their carts of goods.
"He doesn't act as your equal," Dany commented, looking up at her husband.
Drogo shrugged and glanced over his shoulder toward the Khajiit. "He refuses to. He seems to think I saved his life that day and insists that the debt will not be repaid until he has died to save my own life." Frowning, he turned back to the road and added, "I hope that day never comes. I've grown quite fond of him after all these years. He's a savvy partner, and a good friend."
The next few hours passed without much further discussion beyond the polite upkeep of conversation straying to everything from the civil war to the rumours regarding the return of dragons to Skyrim. After passing a small mountain spring, trading with a pair of seasoned hunters there, and finally rejoining the main road to Markarth, they passed a small cave with a bloody goat head impaled on a stake outside.
Looking at the grisly trophy reminded Dany of what Drogo had said during their time in Shor's Stone. "The Forsworn are your people not only in race, but because of what they've been through." As much as she wanted to refute his statement, she knew he was right. They may have turned to savagery and witchcraft to deal with their past and fight for their homeland, but they still had a strange sort of pride in themselves and a fierce determination to reclaim what had been taken from them. Dany almost wished she was more like them.
Drogo must have followed her gaze and worked through her thoughts because he casually commented, "They could benefit from a strong leader. One that isn't locked up in prison." She looked up to meet his gaze, but he was looking forward, toward something she could not see. Frowning, he motioned for the caravan to slow its pace.
Craning her neck to see past Drogo's large red stallion, Dany spotted a wounded Imperial on the side of the road beside a broken cart and she involuntarily cried out, her hand traveling to her chest. "Is he alright?"
Khal Drogo didn't answer but merely yelled something back to Dar'Jazha who was soon passing commands down the line until the man had been given a small portion of food and the well wishes of the caravan. When they kept moving, Dany stayed rooted to her spot on the path and before she realized what she was doing, she yelled loud enough for most of the caravan to hear, "I command you to stop!"
The look in Drogo's dark eyes when he met her gaze was unreadable, but he didn't counter her command or stop her when she got down off her horse and approached the man beside the road.
"Are they gone?" he asked weakly as she approached, reaching a hand out toward her when she knelt in the dirt beside him.
Taking his hand, Dany frowned in concern and looked him over, ignoring his question for a moment as she searched for injuries. "Are you okay?"
Wincing in pain when she lightly touched a bloody gash on his arm, he looked into her pale lavender eyes and answered shakily. "Bandits attacked and ransacked my cart. Can you help me?"
Daenerys hesitated before glancing over her shoulder at Drogo, but he said nothing so she turned back and held the wounded Imperial's hand in both of hers. "Yes. What can I do?"
Smiling in relief, he gathered what little strength he had and gestured vaguely behind him. "My camp is nearby in the ruins of Nilheim. Get me there safely and you'll be rewarded."
Rewarded. That was always something that caravans wanted to hear. Even if it was only a monetary reward, they could always use a heap of septims to purchase more goods. Perhaps this would earn her some favor with the caravan.
Glancing back at Drogo for consent, she smiled when he nodded curtly and then exchanged a look with Dar'Jazha. She hoped he would be proud of her. This was something that a queen would do.
"I can do that." Dany's smile grew and the man mirrored her joy, leaping surprisingly nimbly to his feet before seeming to remember he was injured and hobbling a few steps away. She was amused by his excitement and supposed it was because he would be returning to his friends or family. Sometimes, she almost missed Viserys and wished she could do the same. There were times when he had been kind and it was these she chose to remember with a pang of homesickness.
"It's just across the bridge and up that hill." When he took off at an awkward limping run, Dany hurried after him, slowing him with a hand to his arm when they reached the bridge. Obliging, he met her pace and then gave her a wide smile. "Might I know the name of the woman who has so bravely rescued me?"
"Daenerys Targaryen," she replied laughing. She'd never been considered anyone's savior. It was a nice feeling. "And you?"
"Telrav." Looking away, his smile grew and he took her hand before pointing in the direction they were moving. "We're close now. I can see the camp."
Sure enough, at the top of the hill, past a path of broken stone steps and shielded by a large outcropping of rock, there was a pillar of smoke rising and the occasional sound that signified the presence of a camp. Upon reaching the bottom of the steps, Telrav released her hand and appraised her for a brief moment with a strange glint in his eyes before giving her a thankful smile and soothing her sudden uneasiness.
"Wait here. I'll be right back with your reward."
Dany obeyed, waiting right where he'd directed and glancing over her shoulder to see if she could still see the caravan. They were out of sight by now and she sighed, wishing that Drogo was there to see her be praised by the grateful camp. She was trying to imagine the look of pride in his deep brown eyes when she felt a blade against her throat and a hand clamped over her mouth before she heard Telrav's voice beside her ear.
"Thank you for your help, m'lady..."
The dangerous edge to his words made Daenerys freeze and she squirmed uselessly in his grip when she realized that she'd been led straight into a trap. She held out her hands and shook her head slightly to signify that she wasn't going to fight and when Telrav hesitantly moved his hand away from her mouth, she managed to whisper, "Please...just let me go. They don't have to know. If you let me go now I can return to the caravan and—"
"Save your begging for later," Telrav sneered, putting his hand back over her mouth and tightening his grip on her arm as he marched her up into the camp where Dany was horrified to see a group of bandits laughing and drinking around the large fire between them. When they entered the camp, the conversation stopped and the biggest of the men openly leered at Daenerys.
"She's a pretty one, ain't she? Look what Telrav brought us back, lads. A pretty little cunt to warm our beds for the night."
His words, and the laughter that followed, sent Dany into a panic and she flailed about in the Imperial's arms, feebly kicking at his legs and trying to bite his hand as she let out a muffled scream. Telrav swore when her teeth finally met the flesh of his hand and he yanked it away from her mouth before kicking her to the ground and laughing along with his companions when she began to cry.
"Looks like she needs a lesson in obedience first, eh, Telrav?" The big man asked, grinning when their apparent leader nodded, glowering darkly.
"Cut the stupid bitch and see if she still wants to put up a fight, then. I want to make sure she's learned her lesson before I get to her."
Dany's tears only seemed to spur on the jeering laughter and she curled into herself, trying to distance herself from the group and crying out in pain when one of them yanked her back by her hair. She watched as the big man drew a jagged dagger from his belt and she had almost given up hope when all of the sudden, she heard the whoosh of an arrow and all hell broke loose. She scrambled away, covering her eyes, but could still tell well enough what had happened when she raised her head to see the blood and corpses that surrounded her.
"Are you alright?" A large hand smoothed the silvery locks of her hair away from her face and then gently turned her head to face him. When Daenerys saw the look of concern in her husband's dark eyes, she buried her face in his chest and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, clinging to him as she cried in relief.
While Dar'Jazha surveyed the carnage and searched the camp for anything worth taking, Drogo sat with Daenerys, cradling her in his strong arms and quietly waiting as her sobs turned to the occasional sniffle and she looked up at him. "He...they..." She took a shaky breath and Drogo nodded as he wiped a tear from her cheek.
"I know. I knew before you got off your horse."
Dany looked at him in confusion and pulled away slightly. "What do you mean?"
He shrugged and took hold of one of her hands. "When you've lived long enough along the roads, you can smell a trap easily enough."
"But why didn't you stop me?" She wanted to tear herself away from him, to run away and not look back, to cry in shame and rage to the gods, but instead, she stayed in his arms, confused and helpless.
"Would you have listened to me if I'd tried?" Drogo asked, smiling gently. "You have a gentle heart, and it enables you to block out the worst in people. That's both a gift and a curse."
Daenerys nodded slowly and then rose to her feet with her husband's help, looking around at the bodies that lay scattered about the still burning fire. It had taken a near brush with death, but she had learned the first of many lessons: trust no one.