Disclaimer: I don't actually know exactly how the movie industry or film-making work beyond what I found on wikipedia and my own best guesses.
Jeyne liked Tanda Stokeworth the minute she saw her. The manager Mrs. Xoloja sent her to had the air of a kindly grandmother, all crinkled-eyed smiles and old-fashioned dresses. A hundred pictures of family and friends decorated her office, along with a few hand-knitted doilies and a potted plant.
"Sorry for the clutter." Mrs. Stokeworth greeted opening the door, "I usually meet new clients in my King's Landing office."
"Oh, that's alright. Pleased to meet you."
"Have a seat honey." Mrs. Stokeworth gestured to a chair, waited for Jeyne to sit down and then sat behind her desk. "Chataya already told me all about you. You read over the contract from SKS, that's correct?"
"I'm sorry, who?"
"SKS? Seven Kingdom Studios?"
Jeyne blushed. "Right, I'm sorry."
"Don't worry dear. With the way you perform on camera, you'll get used to this pretty soon." Mrs. Stokeworth grinned, "I looked over it a few nights ago, and I believe this is a wonderful first role for you. It's a family film, so they're not gonna have you do anything too risque. All expenses paid, though the shooting schedule is pretty long. Are you alright being on set for a whole year?"
An entire year? Jeyne had never been away from home longer than a few days. But she ought to have know that filming would take her away from home for while. "Yeah, I can handle a year." she replied, sounding more sure of herself than she felt.
Mrs. Stokeworth nodded, "Okay then. But if you ever feel homesick, or need to talk to someone, you can call me."
"Thank you." Jeyne said gratefully.
"Tyrion Lannister also sent the script. Did you have a chance to read through it?"
"Yeah, I think its great. Petunia's a great character. I really feel for her."
"Good. Its always so much harder when you have to play a character you hate." Mrs. Stokeworth responded, "Congratulations on starting your career on such a high note. You're gonna be working with some of the brightest young stars in the industry: Robb Stark, Jon Snow, they just cast Margaery Tyrell as the female lead. You two'll be working together a lot, judging from the script."
"Margaery Tyrell? I love her!" Jeyne gushed. Then she blushed again. "Oh, sorry. How am I suppose to talk to famous people?"
"Like you're talking to me." Mrs. Stokeworth encouraged, "Trust me, there's nothing that'll win a celebrity over faster than treating them like they're a normal person."
Jeyne nodded, though she still felt a little unsure. What if she made a huge dork of herself the first time she met her co-stars? Holy crap, Margaery Tyrell was going to be her co-star, along with Robb Stark and Jon Snow and gods know who else.
"About the salary," Mrs. Stokeworth continued, "You're fine with 25,000 dragons? It'll be paid out to you over the course of six months"
"Is that a lot, relatively speaking?" It was certainly more than she made in a year at her uncle's restaurant.
"It's a bit below average for a this kind of role considering your lack of experience, but if the movie does well and you keep getting good roles, other contracts will start with more. Do you want to push for more right now?"
"No, 25,000 dragons is plenty."
Mrs. Stokeworth shook her head fondly, "Alright kid; you're the one working for it. There's nothing left to do but sign." She printed out the last page of the contract and gave Jeyne a pen. When he signature was one the dotted line, Mrs. Stokeworth faxed it to KSK and said, "There you go. You're in."
"So, what do I have to do now?" Jeyne asked.
"The marketing team'll make the official announcement, take some pictures of you for the press, maybe set up an interview. You'll go to King's Landing for the filming prep and indoor scenes, then go to Crackclaw Point to film the outdoor scenes."
"This all sounds so amazing." Jeyne breathed.
"Well you are one lucky girl, Jeyne."
"We're gonna miss you so much Jeyne." Gawen hugged his daughter until all the air had left her lungs.
"I'm gonna miss you too Daddy." Jeyne rasped, trying her best not to cry. She wouldn't see them again for a whole year.
Eleyne wiped her tears with the back of her hand, "Promise me you'll get me Jon Snow's autograph?"
"Promise. Rolly, you'll be good for Daddy and Elly, won't you?"
He nodded, his lower lip trembling. "I don't you to leave Jeyne. Raynald left, then Mother."
"Oh, sweetling, I'm coming back. I promise, I'm coming back." Jeyne soothed, "Okay, don't worry. It'll just be a year. And I'll call on the phone whenever I can. Okay?"
Her little brother nodded and wrapped his skinny arms around her waist.
"I love you." Jeyne kissed his forehead.
"I love you too." Rollam croaked.
With one last look to her family, Jeyne picked up her luggage and walked through the terminal. Her flight to King's Landing took four hours, landing in King's Landing International Airport at a quarter past midnight, Eastern Standard Time. A tall man with roughened features in a suit held up a sign with her name.
'Very official.' Jeyne thought as she approached the man. "Hi, I'm Jeyne Westerling. The girl who's going to be in the movie?" Did she always sound like such a dork?
"Bronn Blackwater, Mr. Lannister's assistant. This way Ms. Westerling." He led her to a car in the airport parking lot, then left her alone in the backseat. Through the window, he said, "He'll take you straight to the hotel. Goodnight Ms. Westerling, and welcome aboard."
The car took her straight to the Gold Tower Hotel, a place that looked far above anything her family could ever hope to afford. Jeyne felt incredibly out of place in this fancy hotel wearing her beat-up sneakers, t-shirt and cutoffs. Mouth dry, she walked up to the front desk to check in. The receptionist didn't seem to mind her plain appearance and gave her the room key with a costumer-service smile.
The studio put her in 1309, a spacious single with a small balcony overlooking the southeastern side of the city. The Red Keep, where the Westerosi government met, shone against the black sky. King's Landing had been built many centuries ago, and the old city walls still stood strong. Everything inside the wall was consider the historical section. The Gold Tower had been just outside the wall, next to a gate in the ancient walls that the surrounding neighborhood had been named after.
Just as Jeyne stripped down to shower, a knock came at her door. She slipped on a fluffy bathrobe before answering. "Hello?"
A short, fairly attractive woman in her late twenties stood at the door. "Hello, you must be Jeyne. I'm Shae Campe, the assistant director. My job is basically to make sure everything's running smoothly."
"Nice to meet you Ms. Campe." Jeyne replied.
"Please, just call me Shae. So, the front desk just let me know you checked in. I can see you're a bit busy, so I'll just hand you your schedule for the next few weeks." Shae pulled out a few stapled sheets of paper. "You can order room service, but there's also a ton of restaurants where the other cast and crew eat, if you want to get to know everyone better."
"That sounds lovely." Jeyne said accepting the papers.
Shae smiled, "Excellent. Well, goodnight."
"Goodnight," Jeyne called as she closed the door. She returned to the bathroom for a quick shower. Once she changed into pajamas and got into bed, she glanced over the schedule. She had nothing to do until the day after tomorrow, so Jeyne figured she'd go sightseeing. She turned off the lights and went to sleep.
The next morning she woke up at around eight, got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. The Gold Tower did have several nice restaurants, including a large breakfast nook. Jeyne seated herself at the coffee bar and ordered a mocha espresso and waffles. As she poured syrup on her waffles, a young man in a tight, white Henley and jeans sat next to her.
"Hey." he smiled at her.
"Hi, I'm Jeyne." She replied before taking a bite of her waffles.
"Robb. Nice to meet you."
Jeyne almost choked on her breakfast. Now she recognized him: the auburn curls, the large blue eyes, the high cheekbones. He was even hotter in person. "I-oh my god. No, wait I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it." he chuckled, "So you recognized me."
She nodded, not trusting her voice. Instead, she took a sip of her coffee. How was she suppose to eat with Robb Stark sitting right there?
Robb ordered an omelet and plain black coffee. "If you don't mind me asking, what're you here for?"
"I'm playing Petunia." Jeyne replied quietly. She kept eating, trying not to look as nervous as she felt. Mrs. Stokeworth said that actors liked to be treated as normal people, so she continued on as though he were another cute boy flirting with her at a restaurant. Flirting? No, he wasn't flirting with her; he was just being nice.
His smile widened, making Jeyne's heart beat faster. "Really? Well its nice to know you won't be leave too soon."
Just as Jeyne felt she was about to faint, another guy walked up to them. He had dark hair and looked rather serious look - Jon Snow. As in, Robb's adopted brother and fellow superstar? 'Calm down girl.' Jeyne told herself. 'You're gonna have to work with these two for the next year. You should at least be able to have breakfast with them.'
"Hey Robb. Who's your friend?" Jon sat on the stool next to Robb. Did he just call her Robb Stark's friend? Was it too early in the morning to have a heart attack?
"That's our new Petunia." Robb replied.
"Jeyne Westerling." Was all she said. She didn't trust herself not to start giggling from both excitement and nervousness.
"I didn't know Petunia had been cast." Jon Snow said.
When they both looked to her, Jeyne explained. "I-it hasn't been announced yet."
"Hey guys." Shae, life-saver that she was, appeared out of nowhere holding a heavy-looking clip board. "Good to see you've already met Jeyne." The three of them said hello to Shae. "So, we've got some good news. Margaery's plane landed earlier than expected this morning, so the first photo-shoot is being moved up to noon today. Does that work out alright for you guys?"
"Yeah, totally." Jeyne replied. Robb and Jon nodded in agreement.
"After we get the photos done, we're going to announce the rest of the six maidens: Leslyn Fawnet, Helly Ennet, Cass Potts and Jyzene Towers. Oh, and Piper and Blackwood will be there too. Meet outside the hotel 11:00 so you can all leave together."
Jeyne didn't recognize any of those names. Maybe they were young hopefuls like herself. Shae politely said goodbye and went off to...do whatever it is an assistant director did.
"Have you ever been to King's Landing before?" Robb asked.
It took Jeyne a few seconds to realize he had spoken to her. "Um, no. I've never left Lannisport before."
"Well, we should show you around some time." Jon offered.
Jeyne grinned, "That would be great."
Ten minutes later the trio finished eating and took a stroll around the neighborhood, Old Gate. Old Gate boasted high-end restaurants and boutiques, but Jeyne and the boys didn't go in any of them. When the time came, they walked back to the Gold Tower to find two large SUVs waiting for them. Five other young women were standing around talking, one of whom Jeyne recognized instantly.
"So you must be our sixth maiden." Margaery superstar-since-she-was-twelve-years-old Tyrell walked up to Jeyne and hugged her. "I'm Margaery Tyrell, but you can just call me Margie."
"I, um, I'm Jeyne. Its so, really nice to meet you." Jeyne stammered. Margaery (she just couldn't call her "Margie" in her head) introduced the four other girls: Leslyn, the lanky blonde playing Rose; the short, stout Helly, who had black, wavy hair and amber eyes, would be playing Lily; Cass, a tiny redhead whose pale skin was covered in a thick cloud of freckles, played Daisy; and finally, dark, curvy Jyzene would play Violet.
Two older gentlemen joined them a few minutes later, Clement Piper, a heavyset, balding redhead, and the slightly younger Tytos Blackwood. Jeyne remembered her father talking about some of their movies, but she herself wasn't a huge fan. Still, it was pretty cool to be working with such experienced actors.
Margaery took Jeyne's hand, "Hope you don't mind us stealing her away." she winked at Robb and Jon before pulling Jeyne into one of the SUVs with Cass, Helly and Jyzene. The others went into the other SUV.
"So Jeyne, what have you been in?" Cass asked in a thick Braavosi accent.
"You mean, like, other movies? This is the first acting gig I've ever had." Jeyne admitted.
Jyzene raised a perfectly-sculpted eyebrow. Her thickly-applied make-up reminded Jeyne of Lessa, and a sudden burst of homesickness hit her.
"You must be pretty talented to land a secondary role on your first try." Margaery remarked. "It took me three years to land my first big gig."
"But you were in Maidenvault when you were twelve."
"Don't tell me people still remember that train-wreak." Margaery shuttered.
"It was my favorite movie growing up." Jeyne blushed.
Shaking her head, Margaery laughed, "Always nice to meet a fan."
They made small talk for the next forty-five minutes. King's Landing traffic was even worse than Lannisport traffic, apparently. The actors reached the photography studio just on time. Wardrobe and make-up artists swarmed them, getting them in semi-formal wear and brushing out their flaws.
"This is just the first round of promotional shots, so people knew who we are." Margaery explained. "Our costumes still aren't ready yet, but once they are, we'll practically be living in them."
An hour later, Jeyne wore a new coat of make-up and a magenta dress, her long dark brown hair braided over her shoulder. She posed for head shots for about twenty minutes, then did a few group shots with the other girls.
"Lovely," the photographer praised, "The public's just gonna eat you up."
Afterwards, Jeyne watched Margaery and Robb pose together. They weren't quite in character, but there was a little flirtation in their body language. It was kind of strange to watch.
"By the end of the week," Margaery said looping her arm around Jeyne's as they walked out of the studio, "you'll officially be famous."
While they all got back to the hotel, Jeyne got a call from Lessa. "Mind if I take this?" Jeyne asked Margaery as they climbed out of the SUV. Margaery nodded.
"Hey, how's the college tour treating you?" she answered jovially.
"The what? Oh, that. Listen, Jeyne, have you gone online today?" Lessa said in a rush. "I could have swore there was a picture of you with Margaery Tyrell on twitter."
"What?" Jeyne gasped. The paparazzi worked fast.
"'Margaery Tyrell arm-in-arm with mystery girl.'" Lessa quoted. "Can you imagine?"
"Oh my gods." Jeyne looked over to her co-stars, who seemed to waiting for her, "Just, don't spread it around okay."
"Honey, it won't need me to spread." Lessa laughed, "You're gonna be famous pretty soon."
"Or not. Look, I gotta go. Call me later?"
"Sure thing. Bye Jeyne."
"Bye Lessa. Talk to you later." She hung up.
"Everything okay?" Robb appeared behind her.
"Yeah," Jeyne shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "Just some personal stuff back home."
"Cool. Do you want to go out again, or maybe take a break?"
Jeyne stammered, "Actually, I have to go back to room." She gave them each a quick goodbye, and scurried off to her hotel room. When she had safely retreated to her temporary bed, Jeyne berated herself for being such a loser in front of a bunch of celebrities.
She picked up her cellphone and dialed home.
"Hello?" Rolly's voice came over the line sounding tired.
"Hey little guy, its Jeyne."
"Jeyne! How are you?"
"I'm great." She lied, "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
"No, its fine. Its morning here. Do you want to talk to Daddy?"
"Actually, I just called to check in. I'm pretty busy over here. Send Daddy and Eleyne my love, okay."
"Oh. Okay. Bye Jeyne."
"Goodbye sweetling." Jeyne hung up and lay back down on her bed.
"'Do you want to go out again, or maybe take a break?' Seriously? I'm such a loser." Robb ran a hand through his hair. "You'd think all those public speaking classes would teach me how to talk to a girl."
Jon shrugged, "Stop beating yourself up, dude." He sat on Robb's bed, a laptop in his lap.
"How can I? I sounded like such an idiot."
"Okay, you remember the first thing I said to Ygritte? 'Your hair looks lucky.' Trust me, you're not the first guy to embarrass yourself in front of a girl."
"You and Ygritte broke up months ago." Robb pointed out.
"Yeah, but we dated."
Robb shook his head, "Whatever. I need to calm down." He pulled out a beer from the mini-fridge and took a large gulp.
"She got that you that messed up, huh?"
"I don't want to talk about Jeyne anymore." Robb insisted. "Change the subject."
"Wow they already know about her." Jon said to himself.
"Who?"
"The press. They snagged a picture of Jeyne leaving the studio."
Robb let out a deep sigh, "You know what, forget it. I'm being ridiculous."
"Even a broken clock is right twice a day." Jon grinned.
"Shut up." Robb laughed. "Do you think she'd go out with me.?"
"I think you she'd had a heart attack if you asked." Jon replied.
Robb took another sip of his beer, "Because I'm famous?"
"Dude, she's totally star-struck; not just with you, but with all of us." Jon looked up at his friend, "Everything in her life's changing so fast. Getting into a relationship with you probably isn't the best thing for her right now. And who knows, she might already be in a relationship with someone back home. You know don't anything about her."
"You've got a point." Robb sighed. "Guess I'm just gonna have to let it go."
The first round of promotional pictures were up by the end of the week. Jeyne was practicing her Riverlands accent with a speech coach when she got a text from Margaery.
Margie T: u look amazng on camera! [heart eyes emoji] (10:31 a.m.)
By noon, journalists published about a dozen articles about the upcoming movie, and a few of them asked the same question: "Who the heck was Jeyne Westerling?" It wasn't that anyone expected Petunia to be an major character - after all, no-one knew the plot - but it must have irked them that she'd flown completely under their radar. So people knew who she was now, but hers was far from being a household name.
Mrs. Stokeworth sent her an e-mail with her congratulations, to which Jeyne replied with gratitude. She also called her family, and Eleyna's ecstatic cry nearly deafened her. "I can't wait for school to start again so I can tell everyone my big sister's a movie star." A few days after the photos were released, while she and Margaery were having lunch out in town, she spied a reporter taking pictures of them from behind a bush.
"Don't worry, we'll have a little more privacy at Crackclaw Point." Margaery had said in between bites of her sandwich. "It always gets more intense around premier time though."
"Its just a bit strange that people are interested in me."
Margaery shrugged, "You just get used it. Anyway, are you up for our first script reading tomorrow?"
"I guess. My accent still needs work."
"Remember that horrible Volantene accent I had to do for The Long Bridge?" Margaery giggled.
"Your accent was great!" Jeyne replied, "I should know. My mom's family is from Volantis and my uncle's restaurant is full of old people who refuse to eat anything that doesn't have beets in it."
"They eat a lot of beets in Volantis?"
Jeyne rolled her eyes, "Too many, in fact. And lots of spices. In fact my mother's maiden name is Spicer." Jeyne froze for a second at the mention of her mother. She hadn't thought of her in days. "Well, I assume. I've never been there, but my grandmother used to tell us stories about it all the time. Personally I can't stand the stuff."
"The stories?"
"The beets." Jeyne corrected, "Nana's stories were the best. She used to claim that her mother was a witch who could tell fortunes and cast spells on people."
"Sounds cool." Margaery nodded. "Did you inherit any special magic powers from dear old Great-Granny?"
"I wish." Taking a sip at her bottle of water, Jeyne continued, "I wish I could have met her, but she died just before I was born."
"Too bad. Does your mom talk about her?"
"Not really. She's not a very sentimental person."
"That sucks." Margaery shrugged, oblivious to effect this conversation had had on her new friend.
