Valaena Fireborn of House Targaryen has been in exile her entire life. Robert's Rebellion twenty years ago forced her and her siblings out of their home to Essos. Valaena was sold to Khal Drogo as his wife so her brother could use her husband's arm...
"The frightened child who sheltered in my manse died on the Dothraki sea, and was reborn in blood and fire. This dragon queen who wears her name is a true Targaryen."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The following morning, we saddled our horses and exited White Harbor through the North Gate. The White Knife would make it difficult to approach Winterfell from the east, which was why we left on the western side of the river. There wasn't an official road connecting White Harbor and the Kingsroad, but we made do with the well trodden trails.
The Kingsroad may not be the most direct route to Winterfell, but it was the smoothest and that would make the ride faster than if we didn't use it. It should have taken us two days to reach Cerwyn, but Dothraki horses were strong and fast animals.
We left White Harbor at dawn shortly after breaking our fast and rode without stopping until well into the night. We considered stopping to sleep at twilight, but decided against it because we were so close to the next town. We didn't get much sleep that night. The moon was reaching its zenith when we found an inn, and we left at dawn so we could reach Winterfell sooner.
"Khaleesi, want to make a bet?" Kovarro pulled his horse closer to mine.
"Depends, what's the bet?" I let my lips curl into a smirk at the idea of winning a bet against my closest dothrakhoyi.
"Whoever can't stay standing in their saddle longer owes the other a favor." He winked slyly at me. He was clearly expecting to win.
"I accept." We nodded at each other then carefully stood up in our saddles.
Holding onto the pommel and reins, I lifted my feet from the stirrups to rest on my midnight's back one behind the other. Once I had my footing, I let go of the pommel and straightened my back, still holding the reins so I could direct my mare. Glancing over at Kovarro, I saw him in the same position as I. Both feet facing forward, legs close together, hips facing the side, chest facing forward, and the reins in one of his hands.
I turned my gaze back to the road before me and leaned onto my front foot slightly, telling my midnight to speed up. We had done this before, I had trained her to know what I wanted her to do simply by how I adjusted my weight on her back. She listened and sped into a trot, then a canter, and finally a gallop before I evened my weight between both feet so she knew to maintain her pace.
I rode standing for several minutes before turning to look behind me. Kovarro was still standing as well, but he lost his footing and fell back into his saddle when his stallion avoided something on the road. My loud laugh broke through the air as I watched him stumble and sit back down out of fear of falling from the saddle. I let out a triumphant cheer similar to a Dothraki war cry and turned back to face the stretch of road ahead of me.
My weight shifted to my back foot and my midnight slowed to a walk so Kovarro could catch up. Moments before he caught up to me, my midnight stumbled over a branch and I lost my footing on the saddle. Spreading my legs, I let my feet fall down beside her flanks and slide back into the stirrups while my rear hit my horse's back. With Winterfell finally in sight, I decided to continue our game.
