Drogon knew the captain had traveled a long way from Westeros, and his news was outdated. He estimated that the War of the Five Kings was likely raging fiercely at that very moment.
*Eddard is dead... Who are the Five Kings now?*
Just as Daenerys was about to ask Kuhuru again, she heard Drogon's mental voice.
She glanced at Drogon, who was listening intently to their conversation, and suppressed her questions. "Captain," she said, "thank you for bringing me such news. When will your ship return to Westeros?"
"Not for at least a year," Kuhuru replied regretfully. "I have cargo to deliver to the Shadowlands of Asshai to the east."
"Thank you again. I wish you a smooth journey and a prosperous return. When we meet again, I will reward you generously."
Daenerys had nothing of value to offer at the moment.
After Kuhuru departed, Daenerys eagerly questioned Jorah about the situation in Westeros.
*The old king is dead, the new one lacks legitimacy, and the old king's brother has rebelled. This is the perfect opportunity for me to enter Westeros.*
"King's Landing hasn't changed much," Jorah said, ever the pragmatist, as he continued his daily routine of dampening the future queen's ambitions. "Even if Robert's brother and Joffrey clash, you won't be able to intervene. Besides, numerous nobles are eyeing the Iron Throne."
"But I have dragons!" Daenerys insisted stubbornly, only to falter as she recalled Drogon's past mental whispers. Her confidence wavered.
Then she suddenly asked, "Eddard has been accused of treason. Will he be executed?" She still couldn't believe her dragons could die so easily—two of them, no less—and sought Jorah's confirmation of Drogon's prophecy.
"After Eddard's arrest, his eldest son, Robb, will become Lord of Winterfell and command the entire North. Though sparsely populated, the North's military strength is formidable. The new king won't execute Eddard; doing so would make him an enemy of the entire North. Knowing the Starks' temperament, they would march on King's Landing to avenge him."
"Moreover, the king's brother has already renounced his allegiance to King's Landing. A conflict between them is inevitable. The new king would never make an enemy of the North. With the realm on the brink of chaos, other lords will inevitably weigh their options, forge alliances, and repeat the Dance of the Dragons."
After hearing Jorah's analysis, Daenerys couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Drogon's prophecy might not be entirely true; her dragons wouldn't die.
Though she desperately wished Drogon could see the future, if that future meant her two dragons would perish, she'd rather he was simply talking nonsense.
"When can I go to King's Landing?" Daenerys asked, looking at Jorah with anticipation.
"You have nothing now. Even if war breaks out across the Seven Kingdoms, you'll need an army, a fleet, and allies. Otherwise, this war won't concern us much."
"I have dragons!" Daenerys said softly.
"But they're too weak now to do anything. Who knows when they'll grow strong enough?" Jorah continued to bring the future queen back to earth.
After hearing such harsh words repeatedly, Daenerys chose to remain silent this time.
Seeing her dejected expression, Jorah felt a pang of sympathy. But she was the future queen. If she couldn't face even this setback, how could she ever hope to claim the Iron Throne?
"Khaleesi," Jorah said, recalling something he'd heard that day, "you were going to send Rakharo to the southeast to find a way out of the wilderness. Why did you change your mind?"
Daenerys didn't know why Jorah was asking about this. She couldn't tell him it was because she'd heard Drogon's thoughts, which had revealed Rakharo's impending death.
After a moment's consideration, she lied, "I don't think that way leads out of the Red Waste. Why do you ask?"
"I overheard people on the street discussing a Dothraki Kha raiding in the northwest of Qarth. It's likely one of Khal Drogo's former Koth—Khal Pono or Khal Jhaqo."
"If Rakharo had gone out that day, he would have likely encountered them. Since he joined a Khalasar led by a woman, that Kha would have killed him without hesitation," Jorah said, his eyes showing a hint of reverence.
Daenerys's split-second decision might have saved Rakharo's life.
"What?"
Daenerys froze, the fragile hope she'd just clung to shattered.
Jorah watched her stunned expression with utter confusion. *Shouldn't she be happy about losing one less Bloodrider? Why is the Khaleesi so terrified?*
"Ser Jorah... keep a close eye on merchant ships from Westeros. Question them about King's Landing and the continent. We can't keep our eyes fixed solely on Qarth."
"Find out if there are any merchant ships heading west. We need to leave here as soon as possible."
Xaro didn't hesitate to cut his hand to activate Sumai. She didn't know what Xaro wanted, but she only had herself and her dragons, and she couldn't give him either. Her only option was to leave as soon as possible.
"Yes, Khaleesi." Seeing Daenerys gradually regain her composure after her outburst, Jorah felt relieved and left, though his doubts only deepened.
Glancing at Drogon, who was diligently roasting meat in the distance, Daenerys remained unsettled.
"Jhiqui, Irri, from now on, have my dragons practice flying and fire-breathing whenever they're not busy. Don't keep them locked up in cages."
Drogon had promised to train Rhaegal and Viserion, but Daenerys didn't know how he would do it. At least she could give him more time to train them.
The next day, Daenerys and Jorah attended a welcome banquet hosted by Xaro for her, while Drogon officially began his dragon-training plan.
Drogon's appetite was three times that of the other two dragons, and he had already grown nearly twice their size.
In his past life, he hadn't paid attention to the gender of the three dragons or witnessed their mating. Only after soul-transmigrating into Drogon did he recall the issue. After confirming that Drogon was still male, he felt greatly relieved. But Rhaegal, the green dragon named after Daenerys's brother Rhaegar, turned out to be a female.
As a steel-willed, straight-laced dragon, Drogon had no romantic interest in Rhaegal, the female dragon. Instead, he greatly admired the toned physiques of Jhiqui and Irri as they grilled his meat for him.
Though he appreciated their forms, he harbored no further thoughts, nor did he feel any stirrings of desire. Perhaps it was because they were still too young and physically immature.
This led Drogon to worry vaguely about his future sexual orientation.
During dragon training, there was no distinction between male and female. Female dragons showed no mercy to enemies, so to ensure their survival, Drogon would not hold back.
After following Drogon's lead for two days, the two young dragons, though not as skilled in flight or as powerful in fire-breathing as he was, were nearly impossible for ordinary humans to kill.
Drogon's training methods were simple: flying, fire-breathing, and fighting.
They practiced the first two diligently. Occasionally, when fighting over food, they also tried to steal from Drogon, but he sent them flying with a kick from each claw. After that, they behaved better, only daring to snatch food from each other.
At that moment, the two dragons were fiercely battling over a piece of meat. The handmaidens Jhiqui and Irri watched from the sidelines, showing no intention of intervening or feeding them again.
Daenerys had given them instructions the day before: feed Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion separately, but let Rhaegal and Viserion fight over the meat—whoever won got it. As long as they didn't set the house on fire or suffer serious injuries, they were to be left alone.