Daenerys had been very uneasy lately; whenever she fell asleep, a shadow would run into her dreams.
The shadow appeared humanoid in form, but possessed fearsome horns, a tail, and wings.
At first, the shadow only observed Daenerys in her dreams from afar, but later it no longer confined itself to watching and began to approach her side.
"Get away! I am Daenerys, the last dragon! khaleesi of the Dothraki, do not touch me with your filthy hands!"
Since her brother was burned to death by the molten gold crown, Daenerys had grown up quickly; she understood she could not always hide behind others, even if she was the wife of Khal Drogo.
Now Daenerys's belly was growing larger; for the sake of her child, she had to be strong.
But that shadow always appeared in her dreams without a word, disturbing Daenerys's sleep, and she simply had no way to stop it.
One night, Daenerys met Drogo in a dream. The husband and wife sat together by a campfire, eating roasted meat while watching the sunset sink into the Great Grass Sea.
Drogo lovingly stroked Daenerys's belly, imagining how brave their future child would be, while Daenerys responded with a smile in the Dothraki language she had just learned.
At this moment, Daenerys forgot all the hardships she had previously encountered, immersing herself in her husband's broad arms.
Suddenly, Daenerys felt that Drogo was different; his body temperature rose, and his skin became harder.
Daenerys looked up and was shocked to find that Drogo had turned into that shadow, staring intently at her with a featureless face.
"Ah!!!"
"khaleesi?! What is wrong?!"
Daenerys's handmaid heard the commotion and rushed in to check on the situation.
But only Daenerys was inside the tent. She took several heavy breaths and comforted the handmaid:
"It's nothing, just a nightmare. Don't worry about me."
Despite her words, from then on, the shadow became more aggressive in approaching Daenerys—sometimes turning into Drogo, sometimes disguised as her guards, even staying by her side at all times.
"No! Get away! You filthy thing!"
Daenerys wanted to dispel this shadow; she tried various methods: drinking sleeping tea, inviting people for blessings, and moving her tent.
However, none of it was of much use; instead, the shadow became increasingly bold.
That shadow gradually replaced Drogo in her dreams, beginning to accompany Daenerys, living with her, going out with her, and in the end, even the child Daenerys gave birth to in the dream turned into the shadow.
"No! No! This isn't real! What on earth are you?"
Daenerys truly had no choice; she could only speak of the things in her dreams to those around her.
But the people around her had lived in Dothraki territory their whole lives; how could they know anything about that shadow?
Except for one person: Jorah Mormont.
He was the son of the "Old Bear" Jeor Mormont. Because he married a wife who spent money lavishly, his family fortune was eventually exhausted, leaving him no choice but to secretly engage in the slave trade.
Later, after being discovered, he had to flee to the Eastern Continent with his wife. Jorah continued to work and earn money in the Eastern Continent to maintain his wife's luxurious lifestyle.
But while he was out working, his wife committed adultery. Jorah's heart was shattered, and he wandered everywhere, eventually arriving at the wedding of Daenerys and Drogo.
Since then, Jorah had slowly become infatuated with Daenerys, but at the same time, he was an informant for "The Spider," monitoring Daenerys in exchange for a pardon to return to Westeros.
Seeing that Daenerys was constantly troubled by nightmares, Jorah spoke a key piece of information:
"khaleesi, I think I might know who the shadow in your dreams is."
"Who?!" Daenerys asked urgently, as if grasping at a life-saving straw.
"Roman Rivers, the heir of Harrenhal. It is said that when he was found by Lady Helaena of House Hoare, he already had a tail covered in black scales, and later he gradually grew horns and wings."
"Now merchants from Westeros say Roman is a humanoid dragon seed, highly proficient in flight and magic, and is currently leading an army in a war against the iron throne."
Daenerys had learned much news of Westeros from Jorah, and she trusted this knight implicitly.
So when Jorah voiced his suspicion, she immediately fell into deep thought. Daenerys didn't know much about her family's past, and even less about dragons.
Daenerys was puzzled: if he was a dragon, why would he treat her like this in a dream? And why would he interfere between her and Drogo?
The others in the tent did not believe Jorah's speculation. A man with wings? A dragon with human intelligence? Everyone just thought Jorah had listened to too many stories.
Just as everyone was wondering, Khal Drogo burst in. He looked around and walked straight toward Daenerys.
"My moon, how are you?!"
Drogo picked Daenerys up and carefully examined her body, only breathing a slight sigh of relief after confirming she was fine.
Daenerys felt Drogo's gentle and strong arms and smelled the scent of blood emanating from him, knowing he must have been fighting others again.
But at this moment, Daenerys felt only peace. She felt only safety and relaxation with Drogo; this strong man could always make her let down her guard.
"It's alright, Drogo, I'm fine!"
Daenerys first comforted Drogo, then told him about her nightmare and Jorah's suspicion.
Hearing this, Drogo's face instantly darkened. His bronze chest heaved violently as a surge of anger ignited in his heart.
"Oh! It's the people of the Seven Kingdoms, those who live in stone houses and wear iron clothes! Jorah, I ask you, is what you say true?"
"It is absolutely true, Khal. Any merchant by the black salt water knows of these things; there can be no mistake."
Hearing Jorah's response, Drogo became even angrier, but he also became calmer.
Drogo turned and took Daenerys's hand, saying: "Do not fear, my moon. I will stay by your side. If you encounter that man again when you sleep, just grab my hand, and I will enter the dream to cut off his head!"
Afterward, Drogo placed the recently plundered spoils on the table. These were treasures he had originally obtained for Daenerys, and now he brought them out for her to choose from.
Accompanied by her husband, Daenerys spent a happy and peaceful day. For the next few nights, she did not encounter the shadow named Roman.
However, things eventually took a strange turn. In another dreamscape, Daenerys dreamed she was already sitting on the iron throne, and that Roman had shed his shadow, standing below the throne looking at her.
But Roman's entire body was covered in black scales, and his head was highly dragonized; his whole person was like a giant dragon being forcibly squeezed into a human body.
Daenerys found herself saying some words, but "Roman" refused.
Then a small boy beside Daenerys cursed "Roman" in Dothraki and transformed into a giant dragon to fight him.
At the end of the dream, that "Roman" cut off her son's head before Daenerys's eyes.
Daenerys woke up startled, her clothes completely soaked through.