I was often asked why the sister of the King is working in the horse stables instead of sitting comfortable in her rooms, stitching or reading, sipping tea and doing meaningless conversation. This never meant to be my fate.
Let me tell you the story from the beginning and you will understand.
It started in the battle against one of independent lords at the sea land. The King of the North was leading the army of three thousand men from the North against the Dark Castle. The chances to die were a bit too high for all the brave men and there were only a few whores to help them through that last night before that final slaughter.
My mother was a Dothraki woman captured and sold to a merchant in Volantis, who brought her to Westeros to serve the army with the beauty of her flesh.
Five girls were with her, waiting on a filthy mat in a tent for the soldiers taking turns with them, lining up in a long queue to get the chance to release themselves in a short moment of pleasure.
Mom knew the procedure. Though she knew the urge in the loins of the guys she hated to be used for their relief, taking more of their seed in only one night than a busy Valyrian whore in a month.
The first group of men entered the tent, their pants opened in the crotch, their manhood pointing upwards ready for their reward.
A noise at the entrance was heard, a messenger asked to see her.
"She is serving the army", he was told.
"The Lord is asking for her", the messenger insisted. "And pray she is not stained by any of the men..."
She gladly accepted the deliverance of that torture, the night with the King and his silver, which was a generous reward for a night that brought her much pleasure and blessed her with another gift in her womb: me.
When I was born months later the battle was lost and the blood of many brave men wasted. The King returned in the shame of a loser and Mom settled in the liege of some noble warlord to raise lambs, foals and a little daughter, the secret bastard girl of Lord Stark, the King of the North.
Life was hard for a single mom and her baby. Mom sold the wool of the sheep and vegetable from the garden for the food, and shared the bed with the dirty guys of the village for some eggs or milk.
I grew up with the horses and the lambs in the small barn. She taught me all her Dothraki skills to tame the animals and teach them little tricks they performed on the markets, and the people loved to give their change to the cute little girl, that talked with her lambs and commanded her horse, and I even dreamed of earning a living for us without Mom laying with these filthy guys or drunk assholes, to fill a hungry stomach.
In spite of all hopes prostitution still remained a part of our lives. Since I was five my mother sent me out into the barn when one of the men visited her. Though there were some fat noble guys now and then, which paid her with silver, most of the men were worthless scum that could not give much more than a bottle of milk or some vegetables as reward for a quickie. I secretly observed them a few times and it filled me with disgust to watch them lay on my mother's naked body and putting their tongues into her mouth while they went wild humping her body. So most of the time I kept hiding in the barn, enjoying the company of the animals, which was of course more pleasant than these guys.
Living that simple live I grew up, trying to help my mother survive and make a living from what I could contribute. Mom said, I was developing a beautiful woman and that she would find a decent blacksmith to make me his wife and she laughed at me, when I commented, that I would not imagine that somebody would lay on my body like they did with her.
I started bleeding and developing small buds of breasts and my mother kept making annoying remarks about my body. Some of them were funny of course, but some were really hard to understand, like the one that some guys would give her left hand only to be the first to be "inside me".
In that year our bad luck started. The first thing was the illness of our King. Rumors spread among the people on the markets, but we never thought it had a direct impact on our lives.
This changed on the day when a wild horde of raiders invaded the land, looting the harvest and the few belongings of the people, killing some men by change, raping the women they liked and stealing their children.
We had a bit of luck in that horror because I was on a ride in the forests when they attacked our village. They took all our animals from the barn and the meadow and everything valuable from our belongings.
Mom was crying silently when I returned. The village was a total mess and our home likewise. The only property that remained was the young horse I had with me on the ride.
That summer was hard for us. I collected herbs and berries and mother offered herself desperately to many guys, earning hardly anything for her sweat and tears.
After weeks of all these privations we talked for the very first time about the option to sell my body.
"Some of the guys asked if they could have you", she told me.
At the first moment I was really surprised.
"Oh really?", I asked her curiously.
"I told them to go to hell", she answered and grinned.
I tried a wry smile. My heart was in turmoil. The thought of having a dirty guy so close, using me to fulfill his animalic needs scared me to death. On the other side I had to admit that something excited me much, although I would never admit to myself, and I really wanted to help Mom to improve our desperate situation with every contribution I was able to make.
In the following weeks we had to go to bed hungry many nights. From the early morning until late night we worked hard to take care for our living and we never talked about that option again until we had a discrete visitor one day.
Mom called me from the barn where I was mucking out the barn. Dirty and in my working clothes I came to our main room to find a woman visiting us, which was wearing the dress of a chambermaid, her face hid under a large hood.
"This is Jenni", my mother introduced me and I curtsied politely.
The woman looked at me intensely from head to the toes. "She is a cute little thing", she commented what she saw. "Did she start bleeding?"
I was stunned by the question. Who in the world's business was to discuss by period or any other intimate detail of my life?!
"She did", my Mom answered without further elaborating on the indiscretion of the question.
"Undress", she commanded me and repeated the instruction when I hesitated a moment too long.
Slowly I slipped out of my clothing and removed my coarse undergarments and endured the unworthy investigation procedure without a word.
"She is intact", was her judgment at the end. "Shave her and make sure she is washed when we send for her."
Then she was gone as fast and unexpected as she had appeared.
"Do you want me to...", I stammered bewildered. I could hardly believe what was happening.
"I am so sorry", my mother answered and hugged me close, tears in her eyes.
"Some unnamed noble man has taken a liking on you and requested to... have you", she explained. "It would be a chance for us to survive. The winter is coming soon..."
I nodded with tears in my eyes. Though I was still very young I had learned the bitter truth, that the small people would have to serve the noble people in any way they would like. This was the cruel world we were living in. But it was a chance for both of us to prepare for the winter. Maybe the hunger would end...
"Only if you wish to", my Mom confirmed but we both knew, that we had no choice but follow the request of the noble man.
The next days were filled with the numbing uncertainty of the things that would happen. My mother was really empathetic to explain me some details about the taking of my maidenhood that even scared me more. She showed me to brew a potion of herbs that should reduce the risk of getting pregnant from the consummation of the act, though she said that it would lack its effect if I would not drink it regularly a few weeks in advance.
Two week passed without any notice. By the time I was so nervous that I almost wished it would finally happen, only to have it behind me.
Then the King died and the country fell in mourning. The King had been strong and mighty, but he had made the North an independent realm of Westeros, although it had taken a lot of battle to secure the borders.
I thought the period of mourning was the reason for the delay of my big day, but I wasn't really sad about it.
Finally one day a knock at the door filled me with fear and fright. Mom was on the market, so I quickly decided to open the door to find some gentleman, who politely requested admission.
My heart raced and my knees were shaking when I asked him into our simple living room. In my mind I thought that the moment that had scared me the last weeks had finally come and I was sentenced to be used by whatever way the noble man was requesting me.
"I did what I was requested", I hear me say. "I shaved my privates and washed me clean."
He looked at me with surprise. "I am glad to hear", he answered. "Which is of course seems to be appropriate for a lady of royal blood."
"What...?" I thought he was joking. Or was he about to say, somebody of the King's family was requesting my service?
"I am very sorry", he excused himself when he saw the puzzled look in my face. "I shouldn't have scared you with my words. If you like, I will come back later and talk to your mother."
"It's okay", I told him. "I am almost ready to go."
He cleared his throat. "I will have to explain that to you then", he continued. "My name is Skylar Stark. I am the bastard son of the King, a half brother of Lord Eorl Stark, his son and heir of the throne. In the Last Will of His Majesty he has decreed that we should take care of his illegitimate daughter Jennifer Snow. You might be understand our surprise, that we have a sister. You!"
"Me?", I stared at him blankly. "Is this a bad joke? Are you punishing me for my agreement of offering my maidenhood for a noble man's pleasure?"
"You agreed to...?" Now he was the one that was perplex. "Whoever would you make such an indecent proposal would be risking his head, as I am a Stark of Winterfell."
"Then there is no... deflowering planned anymore?" I was relieved and a little bit disappointed.
"It may even be no question", he proclaimed. "I will take you with me to the castle of Winterfell to offer you a living, near... the family. I have heard, you like animals and you are adept at dealing with them. So I would like to ask you in the name of my brother, Lord Eorl Stark, Lord of Winterfell and heir of the crown to take your place in the family. Maybe not as a Stark princess, but sure as a noble lady. Are you willing to become what you are meant to be?"
"Yes, I will", I whispered happily. "With all my heart."