Chapter 1: Falling
Trees passed quickly through the corners of her eyes. The only sound she could hear was her own labored breathing. Her legs were beginning to ache from fatigue, but she couldn't stop - she never wanted to stop.
Everything was happening too fast, her life taking one horrific turn after another. All Catelyn wanted was a break, five minutes to stop and breathe. She wasn't even allowed that, not while she was home. That was why she had to get away, as far away as she could. It didn't matter if she got lost or hurt, nothing mattered.
Her weariness got the best of her as she lost her footing and fell to the ground, her palms crashing into the dirt.
They always said that if you fall off a horse, you must get back up and try again. This was one of those times she began to question who "they" were, and what it was that knocked them down. Here on the ground, it felt safer. She was as far down as she could get, therefore no one could push her any farther. And better yet, she wouldn't have the chance to see what else the world could throw at her.
"Your sheets are clean, my lady," Eunice stated.
Catelyn turned around, softly laughing as she adjusted her necklace. It had been a recent gift from Lord Brandon Stark. She had been promised to his son, Eddard. They had already met and appeared to get along, which made things a lot easier.
"Of course they are. I was never a bed wetter," she explained.
Catelyn's smile soon disappeared as she saw the grave expression upon her hand's face. It didn't click right away what was wrong, but she could feel herself getting sick. The realization slowly crept upon her, bile rising up to the back of her throat.
"I just felt that I should mention it's been a few months since your last blood, my lady," she nervously informed her.
A baby. There was actually a baby in her belly from that awful beast. That entire night had been one that she wished to take to her grave with her, and now the whole world was about to know. Within her lie the proof of the incident, the seed exposing her dirty little secret.
She had just gotten over everything, the discomfort whenever touched by anyone, the shame, the anxiety. It had all finally subsided, and here she was, finding out that she would never truly get rid of the man.
Did the first person who fell off their horse have to deal with that? Did they have to figure out what they were about to do if their parents disowned them? Wrote them off as nothing more than a simple whore? Did they have to get turned away by everyone during a time in which they needed people the most? It was possible, but unlikely.
That was what she liked so much about Ned, he noticed that she was jumpy, and he was gentle with her. He seemed to actually care.
That was another thing she would never have - a man that cared. Being of noble birth, it's expected that your parents will choose who you marry based on promises and needs. It was just the way things were and she had gotten used to the idea. When she saw Ned though, it gave her some hope that maybe this would be a good marriage. That maybe it wouldn't end up like the ones where the man is always out and running around and doing whatever, and whoever, he damn well pleases.
This was her chance to be one of the few happy ones, and it was all stolen away from her. The act itself only took a few moments, yet those few moments caused a lifetime of consequences.