[Changing her mind? It's best not to let him go. And this somewhat balding middle-aged man, so he's the Jorah who was screwed over by a spendthrift woman.]
Seeing Daenerys dazed and not immediately sending Rakharo to find an exit, Drogon thought to himself again; he also quite liked Jorah.
The voice appeared again. She hadn't misheard; it came from Jeyne's direction. And he mentioned Jorah's spendthrift... woman? Who was that?
Just as Daenerys thought she was hallucinating due to prolonged hunger and exhaustion, she heard the voice again.
"Khal Drogo..." Being stared at by Daenerys with wide eyes for no reason, Jeyne was a bit afraid and called out softly.
Drogon glanced at Big Bear Jorah, then raised his long neck to look curiously at Dragon Mother, wondering what she was doing.
Could it be my little dragon speaking? And in the most ancient Valyrian Language, with words even she didn't know.
Looking at Drogon who was watching her, Daenerys had an absurd thought.
But if not Drogon, then who? Based on the direction of the sound, it was him; there was no mistake.
[Why are you looking at me? Your little dragon is starving to death, hurry up and give me some food!]
Seeing Dragon Mother looking at him, Drogon was confused. He just wanted to eat now, he was starving. He couldn't care about Rakharo's matter; let them worry about it.
Complaining in his heart, he ignored Dragon Mother and spread his wings to urge Jeyne to bring him meat.
Hearing the voice again, Daenerys was 100% certain it was Drogon speaking, but not with his mouth—he was speaking in his mind.
I can actually hear Drogon's inner thoughts! And he doesn't even know it. Daenerys felt a secret joy and quickly looked away, fearing Drogon would notice.
"Rakharo, you stay behind for now! It's enough for the others to go for the time being," Daenerys instructed Rakharo.
Since Drogon said Rakharo would die, there must be a reason. Although she didn't know why he said that, she'd let Ago and the other go find a path first. If they couldn't find one, she'd think of something else, Daenerys thought.
Though Rakharo found it strange, he didn't ask questions and led his horse to the side.
Jorah also questioned Daenerys's decision, but this clearly wasn't the place to ask.
Jeyne walked to the black horse carrying the wooden cage and took out some meat to hand to Drogon.
Drogon could smell that the meat in the basket was raw; he wanted Jeyne to take it out and roast it for him.
In his memory, Jeyne's mount had flint and tinder. He led Jeyne to her mount, a yellow horse, and hooked the flint bag with his wing.
"Drogon wants cooked food."
Understanding Drogon's intention, Daenerys spoke up.
[Dragon Mother understands me best.] Drogon responded in his mind.
Though Daenerys was afraid Drogon would realize she could hear his thoughts and stopped staring, she kept watching him. Seeing him hook the flint bag, she remembered her brother Viserys saying, "Only humans and dragons eat cooked food."
She hated that she only remembered now. Letting the little dragons go hungry for so long, she was truly an incompetent Mother of Dragons.
"Jeyne, roast some meat for them now. Roast as much as they'll eat."
Hearing Daenerys's command, Jeyne quickly set up the roasting rack and started a fire.
In a short while, the meat was done. Jeyne took the sizzling, golden horse meat off the skewers and fed it to Drogon. He swallowed it without even chewing, like a starved ghost reborn.
Daenerys and her handmaid Illyrio released the other two little dragons. Rhaegal and Viserion, seeing Drogon feasting, couldn't contain themselves and flapped their wings to join the scramble for food.
[Why are these two stupid dragons eating so much! They're going to die sooner or later anyway, eating is a waste!] Drogon was very dissatisfied with the two dragons stealing his food.
The golden dragon Viserion was hit by the javelin champion Night King and became an ice dragon; the Green Dragon Rhaegal was killed in a sneak attack by a Giant Crossbow.
Rhaegal's accidental death, combined with the beheading of Dragon Mother's close advisor Missandei, directly led to Dragon Mother's rage. She burned King's Landing, earning the unsavory title of City Burner, and planted the seeds for the final ending.
Hearing Drogon's thoughts, Daenerys's hands stiffened as she was closing the wooden cage. What did she just hear? Drogon said Viserion and Rhaegal would die, but how was that possible?
When they fly high and grow large enough to blot out the sky, who could harm them? Were they killed while young? And why did Drogon know they would die?
Then, Daenerys recalled Rhaenys. She was the wife and sister of Aegon the Conqueror I. The dragon she rode was killed by a Scorpion bolt. Could her two dragons also be shot down?
Daenerys was filled with doubt and fear. These three little dragons were her children, her greatest reliance. If two of the three died, how could she bear it?
And what about Drogon? Was he okay? Daenerys was plunged into the panic of losing her dragons, feeling soul-shaken.
"Khal Drogo?"
Jorah saw Daenerys standing there stiffly with a changing expression and asked worriedly.
Hearing the call beside her, Daenerys suddenly turned her head. Jorah was startled by her expression; he felt as if he were seeing that thirteen-year-old girl again when she first entered the Magister's Manse in Pentos—timid, terrified, and helpless.
"Khal Drogo, what's wrong?" Jorah asked urgently, a flicker of pity passing through his heart.
Since Khal Drogo's death, though Daenerys was heartbroken and occasionally sought courage from him, she had mostly been strong and brave. Not even the desperate situation of the Red Waste had broken her. This was why he had sworn fealty to her. What could possibly make her so hopeless and terrified now?
"Ser Jorah, as a knight, why did you come from fertile Westeros to Pentos?" Daenerys asked instead of answering.
"This... it's because Eddard Stark wanted my head for selling a few slaves..." Jorah didn't know why Daenerys was asking about his past.
"...My wife, Lynesse, loved jewels, dancing, and hosting banquets, while my ancestral home of Bear Island had nothing."
"I hired cooks, jewelers, and seamstresses for her, but she was still unsatisfied. I even built a great ship for her pleasure, spending all my savings and forcing me to become a mercenary... In the end, she still left me and married a wealthy merchant..."
Though a bit ashamed to speak of it, Jorah told the truth.
"Lynesse is the spendthrift woman Drogon mentioned!" Daenerys's face turned pale, her breathing rapid. Rhaegal and Viserion would die—though she didn't understand how Drogon knew, it was true. Her body swayed, nearly falling.
"Khal Drogo..." Jorah hurried to support Daenerys, not understanding why she reacted so strongly to his story.
"I... I'm fine. I'm sorry about your past," Daenerys composed herself.
Jorah knew something was on Daenerys's mind, but since she was unwilling to share, he couldn't press further.
Watching the three little dragons fighting over the roasted meat, Daenerys swore to herself that no one would harm them while she was around.
"Jeyne, have the filly slaughtered to feed the little dragons," she said painfully. To save them from death in the future, she had to ensure they were well-fed, strong, and grew up quickly.
In a short while, they had finished an amount of roasted meat equal to the weight of the three little dragons, yet they were still not full.
Daenerys immediately ordered others to set up more roasting racks. She would rather go hungry herself than let the little dragons starve.