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"She’s beautiful," Dany murmured

"She is the pride of the khalasar, " Illyrio said "Custom decrees that the khaleesi must ride a mount worthy of her place by the side of the khal"

Drogo stepped forward and put his hands on her waist He lifted her up as easily as if she were a child and set her on the thin Dothraki saddle, so much smaller than the ones she was used to Dany sat there uncertain for a moment No one had told her about this part "What should I do?" she asked Illyrio

It was Ser Jorah Moro far"

Nervously Dany gathered the reins in her hands and slid her feet into the short stirrups She was only a fair rider; she had spent far on and palanquin than by horseback Praying that she would not fall off and disgrace herself, she gave the filly the lightest and most timid touch with her knees

And for the first tiot to be afraid Or perhaps it was for the first tirey filly ait, and the crowd parted for her, every eye upon the faster than she had intended, yet so The horse broke into a trot, and she shtest pressure with her legs, the lightest touch on the reins, and the filly responded She sent it into a gallop, and now the Dothraki were hooting and laughing and shouting at her as they jumped out of her way As she turned to ride back, a firepit loomed ahead, directly in her path They were he she had never known filled Daenerys then, and she gave the filly her head

The silver horse leapt the flas

When she pulled up before Magister Illyrio, she said, "Tell Khal Drogo that he has given me the wind" The fat Pentoshi stroked his yellow beard as he repeated her words in Dothraki, and Dany saw her new husband smile for the first time

The last sliver of sun vanished behind the high walls of Pentos to the west just then Dany had lost all track of ti forth his own horse, a lean red stallion As the khal was saddling the horse, Viserys slid close to Dany on her silver, dug his fingers into her leg, and said, "Please hion wake as it has never woken before"

The fear came back to her then, with her brother’s words She felt like a child once more, only thirteen and all alone, not ready for as about to happen to her

They rode out together as the stars carass palaces behind Khal Drogo spoke no word to her, but drove his stallion at a hard trot through the gathering dusk The tiny silver bells in his long braid rang softly as he rode "I aon," she whispered aloud as she followed, trying to keep her courage up "I aon" The dragon was never afraid

Afterward she could not say how far or how long they had ridden, but it was full dark when they stopped at a grassy place beside a s off his horse and lifted her down frolass in his hands, her li in her wedding silks while he secured the horses, and when he turned to look at her, she began to cry

Khal Drogo stared at her tears, his face strangely empty of expression "No," he said He lifted his hand and rubbed away the tears roughly with a callused thuue," Dany said in wonder

"No," he said again

Perhaps he had only that word, she thought, but it was one word more than she had known he had, and soo touched her hair lightly, sliding the silver-blond strands between his fingers andsoftly in Dothraki Dany did not understand the words, yet there armth in the tone, a tenderness she had never expected froer under her chin and lifted her head, so she was looking up into his eyes Drogo towered over her as he towered over everyone Taking her lightly under the arms, he lifted her and seated her on a rounded rock beside the streas crossed beneath hiht "No," he said

"Is that the only word you know?" she asked hi heavy braid was coiled in the dirt beside hian to remove the bells from his hair, one by one After a o gestured She understood Slowly, carefully, she began to undo his braid

It took a long ti her When she was done, he shook his head, and his hair spread out behind hi She had never seen hair so long, so black, so thick

Then it was his turn He began to undress her

His fingers were deft and strangely tender He re, silent, looking at his eyes When he bared her small breasts, she could not help herself She averted her eyes and covered herself with her hands "No," Drogo said He pulled her hands away froain to make her look at him "No," he repeated

"No," she echoed back at him

He stood her up then and pulled her close to reht air was chilly on her bare skin She shivered, and gooseflesh covered her ars She was afraid of ould coo sat with his legs crossed, looking at her, drinking in her body with his eyes

After a while he began to touch her Lightly at first, then harder She could sense the fierce strength in his hands, but he never hurt her He held her hand in his own and brushed her fingers, one by one He ran a hand gently down her leg He stroked her face, tracing the curve of her ears, running a finger gently around her mouth He put both hands in her hair and coed her shoulders, slid a knuckle down the path of her spine

It seemed as if hours passed before his hands finally went to her breasts He stroked the soft skin underneath until it tingled He circled her nipples with his thuan to pull at her, very lightly at first, then an to ache

He stopped then, and drew her down onto his lap Dany was flushed and breathless, her heart fluttering in her chest He cupped her face in his huge hands and looked into his eyes "No?" he said, and she kneas a question

She took his hand and hs "Yes," she whispered as she put his finger inside her