A/N: Okay, some of the things that happen in this chapter may seem randomish, but they were actually the exact things that happened to my sister and me when we walked through the route from Riften to Markarth that Dany and Drogo are taking to figure out in-game time and stuff. Which was actually really fun. We did that for the SanSan journey too. Anyway, that's why the bridge happens and stuff like that. That's all, so just read and enjoy now. Many thanks to my beta reader (and sister) GrowlingPeanut. Reviews are appreciated.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Bethesda and George R. R. Martin except for Dar'Jazha. He is mine.
Rating: T for suggestive themes and a reference to both drugs and alcohol.
"I'm sorry about last night..." Drogo brought his lips down to brush across his wife's collar bone and she sighed, tangling her fingers in the dark locks of his hair.
"They were going to hurt me." His mouth fell to one of her breasts and she found herself forgetting all about Telrav and his bandits.
"I wouldn't have let them."
"Oh...well thank you for that."
He chuckled at the sarcasm in her tone and rested his chin lightly on her stomach. He wasn't sure if he was imagining things, or if it was only because she was safer and more comfortable with the caravan than she ever had been with her brother, but it looked as if she had gained some weight since their wedding night. It wouldn't surprise him if she was already pregnant, but she hadn't mentioned any changes so he'd stayed silent on the matter.
"I won't ever let you get hurt again, Dany." He'd married her to rescue her from Viserys' abuse, but hadn't considered that he may have led her into an even harder life.
Sighing again, she looked down at him and smiled slightly. "I know that. I trust you."
"Trust is a start, but I like to think that someday you'll learn to love me."
Dany's smile grew and she pulled him forward to give him a shy kiss. "I don't think that's beyond the realm of possibility."
"Need any more convincing?"
She blushed, but didn't say no, so Drogo bent his head back down to kiss her neck. A moment later, he was interrupted by Dar'Jazha who appeared at the entrance to their tent.
"Pardons, my Khal," He bowed. "Khaleesi, but the caravan is ready to leave. Might Dar'Jazha remind you that we are on a schedule..."
Giggling at the look on her husband's face, Daenerys pushed him off of her and crossed her arms shyly over her breasts before addressing the Khajiit peddler.
"Thank you, Dar'Jazha. We'll be ready in a moment or two."
Nodding, he withdrew and Drogo pushed himself off of the ground, tossing Dany her clothes as he dressed himself and fastened his curved glass blade to his hip.
"Where are we headed today?"
"I'm not sure," Drogo replied honestly, absently running a hand over his beard. "Helgen is the next city we'll reach, but I don't know how long it will take to get there. There are various factors that may delay our arrival."
"Such as?" Dany asked innocently, looking up at her husband as he stepped out of their tent and ordered a few men nearby to get it packed up.
"Such as whether or not I'll be able to keep my hands off of my beautiful wife," he responded, grabbing her around the waist and kissing her soundly. Dany laughed and pulled away with a blush. "Well then I doubt we'll get anywhere very quickly."
Chuckling and nodding in agreement, Drogo lifted her up onto her horse and mounted his own before yelling the command to start moving and kicking his horse to get it walking.
The morning was crisp and clear, a cool breeze occasionally ruffling the manes of the horses and lending a slight chill to the air. There was still a good amount of grass showing beside the road they traveled and they were still far enough south to have the warm weather that was so rare in the northern provinces, but if the sky ahead of them was any indication, the weather would take a turn for the worse by early afternoon as the northern snows began to fall.
Unsure of whether or not his wife was used to anything but the warm days and cool nights of Riften, Drogo made a mental note to have a cloak made for her from the bear pelt they'd traded for with Filnjar.
He was about to call Dar'Jazha up to give him that very order when an Orc slipped from the shadows beside the road and approached the caravan. Drogo swore under his breath when he saw Dany involuntarily flinch.
"Halt! What's your business on this road?"
The Orc put up his hands to signify that he was unarmed and his eyes flickered over to where Dany sat staring down at him warily. He smiled, tusks protruding over a thin upper lip.
"Greetings, sister. You look a bit weary. I have something to help you relax, if you're interested."
She glanced over at Drogo in confusion. "What does he mean?"
Before he could reply, the Orc supplied an answer of his own. "The finest skooma, the sweetest moon sugar...At a fair price, of course."
Somewhere during the exchange, Dar'Jazha had silently ridden up to join the Khal and he swung down from his horse. "Dar'Jazha will take care of this one, my Khal. Let it be no trouble to you or the Khaleesi."
Fully aware of the Khajiit's skooma addiction, he nodded slightly and let the highly illegal transaction take place without comment. He could tell from the expression on Daenerys' face that she didn't approve, but he didn't imagine she understood the extent of a skooma addiction or the predilection for such a habit in the Khajiit race.
Dar'Jazha returned a moment later with six bottles of skooma, three bowls of moon sugar and one bottle of sleeping tree sap. He put the latter two groups in one of the wagons and returned to his saddle. "Purchased for fifty septims, all of it."
Drogo nodded in approval. To the right customers, it would sell for a far greater amount and bring in a considerable profit for the caravan.
"You can't sell that!" It took him a moment to realize that the outcry came from Dany and he turned toward her with a frown.
"What?"
"That's illegal. You can't sell it. It...it wouldn't be right." A stubborn determination burned in her pale lavender eyes and Drogo sighed, smiling slightly.
"We're not selling it illegally. Alchemists pay a great deal for moon sugar. It's said to have restorative properties to one's magicka if brewed properly with additional ingredients by a skilled alchemist."
From the look of embarrassment that crossed her features, he gathered that she knew what he was referring to, as she should have. While waiting in the main hall of Mistveil Keep on the day of their wedding, he had briefly conversed with the court wizard, a young woman skilled in both alchemy and enchantments, though a bit scatterbrained to say the least. She'd asked him to retrieve a few items she'd 'misplaced' about Skyrim. As if he had the time.
"I'm sorry, my lord," Daenerys said quietly, looking down at her hands. "I was wrong to assume."
Shrugging, Drogo started the caravan off again and glanced over at his wife. "No apology necessary. You don't yet know me well enough to know the exact nature of my trade. I assure you that all transactions made are in compliance with the laws of whichever hold we happen to be trading in."
Except for you. He ventured to guess that purchasing a wife was generally frowned upon. And yet his intentions had been honorable. He only hoped that she would one day understand if she didn't already.
They had only ridden a few paces when Daenerys gasped and pointed off to their left. "What is that?" Following her finger to a mill visible on a nearby farm with an eerie blue glow coming from its fields, he smiled.
"Sarethi farm. We made a trade agreement with the Sarethi sisters a few years back. Their harvest brings in a good profit."
"What do they grow?" She was sitting up slightly in her saddle, trying to get a better view of the farm from their position on the road above it.
"Nirnroot. Ever heard of it?"
"In passing. I heard Wylandriah telling Viserys she needed a shipment of some for one of her experiments. I'm not sure what it is or what it's for, but he seemed annoyed at having been asked to procure it."
"Well, as the name suggests, it's a root, and I believe from my dealings with it that it's highly poisonous, and also, very rare, which probably explains your brother's irritation. What small amount is available for purchase always comes with a high price." He gestured to Dar'Jazha to signal a slight detour and they veered off the road toward the farm.
"Then why would anyone want to buy it? I mean, if it's poisonous."
"To slip it in someone's stew perhaps?" He stifled a laugh at Dany's horrified expression and shrugged slightly. "A skilled enough alchemist can extract the beneficial properties from it. We'll stop and see if they have a crop for us. One of the Sarethi sisters might be able to explain better than I can."
Slowly, they made their way off the road and down the hill to the farm with only their two horses, Dar'Jazha's, and one half-empty cart. Avrusa Sarethi met them halfway there.
"Always a pleasure, Khal Drogo. What brings you back this time?"
"My wife," he replied, getting down off his horse and helping Dany down after him. "Avrusa, this is Daenerys Targaryen. Dany, meet Avrusa Sarethi."
The young Breton stepped forward and offered a warm smile. "Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you Lady Sarethi. My husband was trying to tell me of your Nirnroot crop, but thought you would be better equipped to do so."
Avrusa raised her eyebrows and looked up at Drogo. "Lady Sarethi? This is a good wife you have here, Drogo. Keep her around."
He chuckled and smiled down at Daenerys. "I plan to."
Nodding, the Dunmer apothecary took the younger woman by the hand and led her over toward the magnificently glowing Nirnroot field where she stopped suddenly and put her hands on her hips.
"Aduri, why haven't the fields been tilled as I asked?"
Her younger sister looked over from where she was leaning against the windmill and made a face. "Because it's boring. The fields will be fine...you don't have to dote over them so much."
"Boring?!"
Dany and Drogo exchanged a look and the latter took an exaggerated step backward. Dany giggled.
"That nirnroot is paying for everything. If we lose even one crop of it, we may starve or be forced to beg and I won't have that!"
Aduri sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, I understand. I'll do it tomorrow, just get off my back."
When the older sister turned back to her fields with a frustrated sigh, Drogo stepped forward. "I have enough men to harvest all of your fields in a few hours."
Avrusa looked relieved, but narrowed her eyes slightly. "What would you ask for in return? I won't have much coin to pay you until this crop has been sold."
"One quarter of the yield and we'll call it even. That'll fetch us a fair enough price at the Hag's Cure once we reach Markarth."
Nodding, the Dunmer extended a hand and they shook on it before Drogo returned to the caravan and asked for help from a few able-bodied young men. As promised, the entirety of the Sarethi crop was harvested and neatly arranged in carts ready for the marketplace just before midday.
It wasn't until they had taken their share, said their farewells, and started off down the road that Daenerys spoke up. "I like them."
Drogo looked over and raised his eyebrows. "Hm?"
"The Sarethi sisters. I like them. They're making their own way in the world."
"Well, Avrusa is. Aduri just wants to get out of Skyrim."
Dany shrugged. "I can't say that I blame her. You've made me start thinking of going home again. Truly home."
Drogo smiled. "Whatever your decision, I will stand by your side."
A sudden start from one of the horses brought their conversation to an end and Drogo dismounted, running to the head of the caravan to join Dar'Jazha where he stood at the edge of a bridge.
"What happened here?"
The Khajiit shrugged and twisted his tail nervously around one of his paws. "They wear no armor. This was not a death in the war, but a senseless killing."
Sure enough, there were three commoners dead on the bridge with a stray dog nudging its way between the corpses in search of food. Drogo shooed it away before sighing and hefting one of the bodies over his shoulder.
"Move them out of the way. We need to come through here and the children don't need to see this."
Dar'Jazha obeyed without comment and only spoke again once they had been dragged to the side of the road. "Who would do such a thing?"
Drogo shrugged, but couldn't help thinking of the rumors regarding the Hound that had apparently gotten loose from Lannister control. If he was anything like his brother, the blood of the three innocents could easily be on his hands. "I don't think I want to know," he replied honestly.
"We should bury them."
Turning around, he was startled to see Dany standing behind him looking sadly down at the bodies beside the road. She looked up and added, "It won't take long."
Dar'Jazha nodded his agreement and helped Daenerys drop the corpses into their graves as Drogo dug them. The caravan behind offered no complaints for the delay in travel, all as solemnly silent as their masters.
By the time they were finished, it had begun to rain and the weather did nothing to brighten their moods as they returned to their horses and trudged slowly through the mud. The rest of the caravan seemed to sense what had happened and a little girl placed a handful of flowers over one of the mounds of dirt as she passed. A few others were in tears.
The rest of the day passed in silence as the road brought them past a small uninhabited shack filled with alchemical ingredients that were quickly loaded into the carts, a courier hurrying on his way with a 'very important letter', through the mountains and a veritable blizzard to the Redguard and his Khajiit and Breton companions, and finally, at sundown, to their destination.
Drogo sighed and gestured forward as the gates were opened. "Welcome to Helgen."