Updated 4/14/2019: Edited for a smoother read.
Chapter 25
Daenerys I
She couldn't seem to get away from her grey mount. She spent all day riding her and yet it was not enough. Her fingers combed through the silver mane as she brushed the days of dust from her neck. There were slaves to care for her horse, but brushing her mare was one of the few things that cheered her.
Although Drogo had not done anything not expected of a husband, he still made her uneasy. She was still coming to terms that she now...belonged to Khal Drogo. Even so, it was better than belonging to her brother. In spite of the intense heat of the sun, she shivered. Viserys no longer bothered her for which she was grateful. Now that she had been married, he tended to hover around her husband, making snide comments and insults regarding the deal they had made.
Not for the first time she wondered if Drogo understood her brother's foul words and merely tolerated him for her sake, or if he was completely ignorant of the manner in which he was spoken. It was difficult to believe that Drogo cared anymore about Viserys than his horse cared about a fly buzzing around its ear. No matter, she still maintained her distance with her brother. She didn't need anymore opportunities to 'wake the dragon.'
Dany hovered around her mare, humming a Dothraki tune she had heard recently. For all she knew, it was a song about butchering another Khal's tribe, but she had enjoyed the song. She was still learning the Dothraki tongue and she was starting to piece spoken sentences together, but sung words still eluded her.
They had stopped camp outside one of the free cities, Qohor, after a few months riding through the vast Forest of Qohor. She had marveled at the trees that towered over them and provided them shade on the way back to the Dothraki Sea. Having spent the majority of her life being escorted from house to house, only ever glimpsing the outside world, she could not contain her smile It seemed only now that she had this freedom and protection that she had lacked the whole rest of her life that she realized how huge and vibrant the world was.
Even despite being a little uneasy about marrying Drogo, being free to roam the world outside was worth marrying him.
I won't keep you in a cage, little one, she thought as her hand ghosted over her midsection. She had not bled in nearly two moons. Her maids had been excited to tell Drogo, but she insisted that she would inform him when she was ready. They made this...being that was growing inside her. She was unsure how she felt about this. She knew as a woman that her lot was to provide her husband with heirs, so surely he will be pleased with her now.
The crunch of the sand from approaching footsteps, startled her from her thoughts and she turned with a ready smile only for it to fall as the tangled silver mane of her brother shined in the sun. He smiled back at her, but it wasn't a smile of love, but one that was cold and cruel. "Sister, are you pleasing your husband?"
She stood frozen, clutching her horse's mane. Even her mare sensed the mood and shifted uneasily, though she was too well-trained to rear.
Viserys grabbed her jaw in a vice and his grin turned into a snarl. "I asked you a question! You will answer as your king demands! Are you pleasing your husband?"
"I...I think so," she managed to squeak out, her eyes filling with tears both in pain and fear.
"Then why won't that fucking savage give me the army I demand? It must be you! I want you to go to the Khal and suck his cock until he gives me my army! Do it now before you wake the dragon!"
He squeezed her cheeks and then let her go. She trembled for a moment against her mare, trying desperately to not cry. Drogo wouldn't like her tears either, but that's because it would once again put him at odds with her brother. She could tell he did not like the way her brother treated her and if her brother was to get his army then she could not be seen crying, by either of them.
"Khaleesi," the old knight Jorah Mormont was running over to them. He stopped short upon seeing Daenerys cowering against her horse and looked pained, but dropped to one knee in front of Viserys. "Your Grace, I have been to Qohor and learned important news from Westeros."
"Speak! What is it?"
"It seems the usurper Robert Baratheon has been overthrown. Lord Eddard Stark's bastard has stepped forward claiming to be the last trueborn son of your brother, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen."
Viserys' face went from a milky white to a blood red as he trembled with rage. "How can this be?! Another false dragon has taken my throne?! Explain," he snapped to Jorah Mormont.
"The usurper was visiting Lord Stark in Winterfell and elevated him to Hand of the King. There was a mishap. Ser Jaime Lannister and Queen Cersei Lannister were caught having...intimate relations. The king condemned them both to death. However, at the executions, Ned Stark's bastard stepped forward and claimed his birthright. He's now known as Aemon Targaryen. He freed Jaime Lannister and together with Ned Stark, overthrew King Robert. They're marching on King's Landing as we speak."
"My brother had no other children, especially not with that Stark whore! He will pay for this!"
"He has the North and the Westerlands already on his side, Your Grace, and he's expected to pick up the Riverlands and Vale with little trouble," Ser Jorah informed. To Daenerys he appeared nervous from the way she could see his eyes rove back and forth from the ground to her. Viserys, however, paid neither of them any attention.
"When I get my army! I will make them all burn! Saving the Lannister cunt who murdered our father?! Inexcusable. No dragon would do that. I will make them pay," Viserys snarled and stomped off, appearing to forget them much to Daenerys relief.
Jorah watched him go and when he was a safe distance away, he stood and peered at Khaleesi with worry. "Are you well, Khaleesi?"
"I'm-I'm fine," not quite able to hide her shakiness. Not wishing to focus on her situation, she then asked, "We-weren't you a lord in the North?"
Jorah drew his mouth into a firm line, but nodded.
"So you knew the usurper's friend Lord Stark?"
"Aye, I did. I fought with him in the Rebellion and...the Ironborn Rebellion."
"What do you think of his-his supposed bastard being a Targaryen?"
"I saw the boy once. He looked all Stark, so it doesn't surprise me that he's related to Lord Stark. No, the surprise was Stark having a bastard. He's known for being a true, honorable man. He would never break his marriage vows to father a bastard. It's a wonder he was able to hide the boy for so long."
"Do you believe he's my brother's son?"
"I do not know, Khaleesi. However, I highly doubt Lord Stark would have supported the boy's claim were it not for something drastic. If the Lord Stark says he's his sister's and the Prince's, then I believe it. However, word alone won't secure them support for the throne. They must have some other proof to help."
"Do you know what this boy is like?"
Jorah frowned. "If I'm not mistaken, he'd be about your age. I did not meet him, only saw him in passing when visiting Winterfell. I rather doubt Lord Stark would allow any of his children to act...to act like your brother, Khaleesi."
Daenerys felt a small amount of relief. Maybe all Targaryen's weren't as temperamental as her brother.
"The herbs you requested, Khaleesi," Jorah murmured, handing her a canvas pouch. He then bowed and walked away, throwing one last worried glance at her.
Daenerys sighed in relief and pulled open the drawstring pouch. She knew little about pregnancy, but her maids had assured her that certain herbs could be used to ease the morning sickness she was experiencing. Maybe now she might be able to keep her breakfast down. Her hand went to her stomach once as though to reassure herself of the child's presence, though it was too small to be felt yet. Maybe she would nestle the dragon eggs to her side again. They were supposed to be stone, but she had inkling that they weren't and that somehow the new life inside her could in some way grant life to the two eggs. It was a foolish notion, but it didn't hurt to try.
She stood and breathed deeply for a moment, collecting herself before striding purposefully to where Drogo had set up their tent. As she walked, she idly wondered about the new king who called himself Aemon. As son of the firstborn Prince, he would have a stronger claim on the throne than Viserys.
She hoped to meet her nephew someday, but with Viserys at the head of their efforts, she feared she would only meet him as her enemy, not her family.
