The brown leather curtain of the yurt door was lifted, and a pregnant woman emerged with the help of two Dothraki girls. The air was filled with the sweet smell of laurel perfume and urine.
Dany was stunned after just one look.
She was not wearing a Dothraki painted vest, but rather a light, floral lace dress from Myr. The pale yellow color made her skin look even whiter. She had long, silver hair that fell on her shoulders, and her eyes were a hazy purple.
If not for the memories in her mind, she might have thought she had met another Targaryen.
Before he died, Jon Arryn shouted, "Strong seed," hinting at King Robert Baratheon's tragic life as a cuckold. People of the same bloodline often share physical features. For example, the Baratheons have black hair, the Tullys have auburn hair, the Lannisters have golden blonde hair, and the Targaryens have near-transparent silver-gold hair.
However, silver hair and purple eyes are also key characteristics of Valyrians. After the volcanic eruption that destroyed Valyria four hundred years ago, the ancient dragon civilization collapsed, and the bloodline of silver hair and purple eyes spread across the continent of Essos.
So it was no surprise to encounter a silver-haired, purple-eyed woman in the khalasar of the horse riders at that time.
"So it's Khaleesi."
Unlike petite, slender Dany, the silver-haired woman before her had a tall frame, full breasts, wide hips, and a broad, square face—very typical of a Westeros woman.
She was also older than Dany, nearly thirty.
The woman's expression was odd; her eyes held a mix of ridicule, pity, jealousy, smugness, and malice. Dany didn't like it. She frowned and asked, "Are you Lady Lilith? Jhaqo's wife?"
"Haha, perhaps I'll be Khaleesi soon." Lilith raised her eyebrows and smiled.
After Khal Drogo died, his khalasar would elect a new khal, and the new khal's wife would become the next Khaleesi.
In truth, the title of Khaleesi wasn't particularly respected in Dothraki society. Beyond the khals who ruled the grasslands, dozens of Khaleesis and Dosh Khaleens whose husbands had died lived in the sacred city of Vaes Dothrak.
Just days ago, Drogo had sent a group of riders to escort two khaleesis to Vaes Dothrak: the wives of Ogo and his son, whom Drogo had killed, and another from a fallen khal.
Dany's followers were not particularly intelligent, and they didn't understand the hidden meaning in Lilith's words. She had spoken in Valyrian, a language the Dothraki couldn't understand.
Otherwise, they might have whipped her or shot an arrow through her belly.
However, Ser Jorah was sharp-eyed and coldly said, "I've never heard of Jhaqo taking a wife. Even Khal Drogo had many women, but only Princess Daenerys is Khaleesi."
He emphasized the word "Princess," highlighting the weight of her identity.
Lilith's face twisted. No one knew what she was thinking, but she was so furious that she trembled all over. Her thick lips pressed into a hard, crooked line.
After a moment, she stumbled through her Dothraki and asked Dany, "Khaleesi, do you intend to violate the glorious traditions of the great Dothraki by stealing another warrior's spoils?"
As mentioned earlier, the original Dany had been kind and courageous. She couldn't bear to see the Dothraki abusing the captured women and had once rescued them by force.
Those she saved didn't express much gratitude, but the Dothraki whose "property" she had taken despised her.
Seizing a warrior's spoils was an insult to Dothraki honor.
"It's just a goose." Dany clumsily untied a silver medallion from her belt and tossed it to the ground. "Khaleesi's gifts cannot be refused. This is a return gift."
The large white goose that had just escaped the fat cook's grasp was pierced through the neck by Quaro's arrow. The shaft was buried ten centimeters into the mud. The goose let out a sad, weak quack as its snow-white feathers stained red.
Dany pointed at the goose. "Now it belongs to me."
The Dothraki had no marriage system or concept of finance—not even currency.
There was no general equivalent; no real trade existed. If they wanted something, they stole it. More commonly, other nations and city-states gave it freely, fearing the wrath of a hundred thousand mounted warriors. No city in Essos dared refuse a Dothraki "gift."
Though the Dothraki possessed gold and silver from plundering, they crafted these metals into medallions—gold, silver, or bronze—which they strung on belts worn around the waist.
Just as Dany had done, these medallions were exchanged in the most primitive form of trade—through gifts.
Daenerys herself had been a gift. Her brother Viserys offered her to the strongest khal on the Dothraki Sea, Khal Drogo, through the mediation of Illyrio, the magister of Pentos.
The Dothraki Sea is a vast grassland in eastern Essos facing Westeros across the sea. It is so immense that in summer, its waves of grass resemble ocean tides. The powerful and primitive Dothraki were born there.
Strictly speaking, Daenerys was sold to Drogo like a slave.
Viserys gave Drogo a gift. According to Dothraki custom, the khal must reciprocate with a gift of equal value. Options include ten thousand screaming Dothraki or a campaign across Westeros to restore House Targaryen.
In other words, to crown Viserys.
However, the crude Dothraki had an infuriating habit. If you gave them a gift, they would give one in return, but they alone decided when and how.
Viserys was desperate to reclaim the throne. As Dany's belly swelled and her baby neared birth, Drogo still hadn't sent troops or shown any intention of helping Viserys.
Viserys began pestering Drogo like a loan shark, throwing fits, stealing and selling his sister's property, harassing her, threatening her safety, yelling at the door, and resorting to violence.
Of course, there were no phones or paint cans in this world, but Viserys managed to imitate the behavior well enough.
He insulted and beat his sister—Drogo's wife—and publicly cursed Drogo, who didn't understand a word. No one translated for Drogo, likely out of respect for Dany.
Viserys even tried to steal the dragon eggs and sell them. Daenerys had considered giving him three herself.
His worst offense came when he drew a weapon in a sacred place akin to the "White Tiger Hall." While Drogo was dining with other khals, Viserys pointed a sword at Dany's belly and threatened to kill her and her unborn child unless Drogo helped him reclaim the throne.
Unfortunately for Viserys, he had all the arrogance of a thug but none of the power. Drogo wasn't a cowardly debtor. In fact, he was willing to keep his word; it was simply Dothraki custom to wait and follow ritual.
In the end, Viserys met a tragic fate. Drogo melted his golden belt into liquid and poured it onto Viserys's head.
"You want a crown?
Then have one—molten gold, right on the skull."
Such is the brutal Dothraki system of "gift trade." This is why, when Khaleesi offered her silver medallion, Lilith had no choice but to accept it. The goose now belonged to Dany.
Before leaving Jhaqo's tent, Dany stopped her silver mare, supported her belly with one hand, and turned back to look at Lilith, who was gritting her teeth.
"You've been part of Drogo's khalasar for some time, haven't you?" Since you speak of tradition, you should know that there has never been a khalesi who couldn't ride a horse, Even while pregnant."
With that, she turned her horse and rode away.
In Dothraki culture, everyone has a horse and knows how to ride. When Daenerys became Khalesi, her first priority wasn't learning the language, but learning to live in the saddle.
The massive khalasars had carriages, but they were reserved for eunuchs, the disabled, the elderly, children, and heavily pregnant women.
Dany was nearly ten months pregnant, yet she still rode. Despite suffering from an infected wound and being afflicted by black magic, Khal Drogo continued to ride on instinct alone.
The nobler the person, the more inseparable they were from their horse.
When Dany first saw the Dothraki Sea, she was so mesmerized by the endless grass that she ordered her khalasar to stop and rest. Viserys couldn't bear being "commanded"; his name was tied to Dany's khalasar, yet he saw himself as superior to her. He tried to whip her in anger, as he had many times before.
Viserys called himself "the dragon" and often spoke of "the dragon's wrath" when angry. In truth, he was a beggar prince who only knew how to vent his anger on his younger sister.
But by then, Dany had her own khalasar. How could Aggo and the others allow their khalesi to be struck?
That day, she forbade Viserys from riding a horse.
When he returned to the khalasar on foot, Dany mocked him with a nickname: Rema Khal—"the sore-legged king."
The next day, Drogo offered Viserys a carriage. Viserys accepted, thinking Drogo was apologizing for Daenerys's "rudeness."
He earned another nickname: Khal Lagat—"the carriage king."
It was that humiliating to walk—or ride in a cart—in Dothraki culture.
Looking at the silver medallion lying in the mud and then at Dany's figure riding away with apparent smugness, Lilith nearly bit her lip bloody.
"Before the khalasar breaks camp tomorrow, prepare a horse for me—a silver mare like that bitch's!" she shouted to the slave girl beside her.