380 STARK REALITY AGAIN

“I need to go help the master blacksmith again.” I pleaded with Arya and she shook her head. “Please, Arya. I can't disappoint him after my performance last night.”

Arya gave me a stern look. “Eat again like yesterday.”

I didn't need telepathy to know what she meant. She hated only eating like a lady that her mother forced on her all the time and lunch yesterday had been a lot of fun for her.

“I'll grab another burlap sack when I'm at the blacksmiths and I'll pick you up before supper.” I promised.

Arya beamed a smile at me and finally let me go. Her eyes went to the door and then to my face.

“Don't you dare.” I whispered and slid out of bed.

“HI, JON!” Arya yelled and then giggled.

“Dammit!” I gasped and lunged for the window. I threw it open just as the man Ned sent after me to observe me, opened the door and saw me. I dove out the window and tumbled down the side of the building and kept rolling, hit the ground, and rolled away and under a nearby cart.

I looked up and saw the man's face staring at where I went, then he disappeared and closed the window. I slid across the ground and pulled myself out from under the cart and ran for the blacksmith's place. Luckily, just like every morning, the streets were mostly empty, except for those that had to get their days started before everyone else.

A few of the men laughed at me rushing by and a couple of the women gave me searching looks. I had to ignore them all and made my way to where I wanted to go. Both the master blacksmith and his apprentice were working on getting the forge going again and I skidded to a stop just inside the main part of the shop.

The older man chuckled at my dishevelled state and the apprentice let out another thanks to the gods and dropped out of the way to let me take over the bellows.

“I bet you'll be running a lot from now on.” The blacksmith said and kept shovelling coal and wood chips into the underside of the forge.

“I'd lose that bet.” I said and took over the bellows and pumped it harder than I had the day before. I didn't have a lot of time to waste, thanks to Arya letting it be known I was in her room and not my own, the little scamp. I wasn't sure if I could reach the stables before someone else tracked me down, though.

We had the forge glowing red in record time and the older man looked pleased. He then warned me that someone was coming that wasn't a customer, so I took off out through the back and apologized to the apprentice for not sticking around to help.

I ran through the less used streets this early in the morning and made it to the stables just as the main gate opened and the stable boy greeted me with a huge smile. It wasn't until I was inside that I realized he was smiling because there were two older girls there tending to the horses.

“You'll have to take it, Snow.” The man running the stables said and slapped my back. “Don't slack off because there's girls around.”

I held in my sigh and nodded as I went over to the piles of hay and picked up a pitchfork. There was a soft squeal of delight in one of the stalls, a horse neighed, and two blushing girls had their heads looking over the stall gates to stare at me. The funny thing was that their horses also looked over the gates to see what they were looking at.

I chuckled at the extra attention and might have mucked out the stalls a little more enthusiastically than usual and replaced the crumpled hay with a fresh spread. Both girls made happy sounds and moved their horses into the cleaned stalls. I took a few moments to talk to the horses and gave them feed bags, making the girls give me longing looks.

I went to the two vacated stalls as the other stable boys moved the other horses and I cleaned out the now empty stalls and spread fresh hay out for them. Rotating the animals kept them happy and it was only a little more work each morning to save a lot more work in the evenings.

The same stableboy helped me load up my mount for the day and I gave him another copper half-penny. He damn near shouted his head off that he'd be my servant for the rest of the week and the two girls laughed and gave me more longing looks with their blushing faces.

I didn't bother reminding them I was almost eight years old, because I somehow knew they would argue that I was closer to their ages than their mothers or sisters. I bid the stable master and the stableboy a good day and rode out at a low trot towards the west gate this time. More people were up and out in the streets by this time and a lot of them waved, or cheered, or thanked me as I rode by.

I needed to use a touch of telepathy to figure out what they were thanking me for and I had to laugh at it being about the improvised song I sang for Sansa last night. It had somehow spread all over Winterfell and it already gained a name, The Song Of The North. The best part? A few of the solders were humming it when I reached the west gate.

They waved me through and I nodded in thanks as I rode out into the countryside. There were a couple of different farms in this direction and I wanted to check them out firsthand. I knew what to expect this time, so I made sure to hang a basket of various foods on my saddle as I approached the first farm.

Like last time, it was the woman that saw me first. Unlike last time, she had a young son and an older daughter with her, which meant my stuffed food basket was going to be a huge help. I made a similar request, asking questions about farming, and it was the older daughter that accepted on her family's behalf.

I hopped off of the horse smoothly and handed the stuffed basket to the mother, almost making her faint, and tied the horse to a fence post and gave him a feed bag. I followed the daughter to where her father was and he was doing something similar to the last farmer, clearing out the contaminated fields and plowing the fields by hand to prepare them for the first seeding of the season.

Just like the last one, he did not have a pulling horse or a plowshare. It was a huge expense and it was difficult enough to feed his family and the surrounding community with what little they had, without having to maintain a large piece of equipment and a horse that could only be used for plowing and hauling a cart. It would be a work horse and not for riding at all.

I asked questions as we worked and the man didn't even blink at me being able to keep up with him. He answered what he could, filling in the holes in my knowledge that the other farmer didn't know the answers to. It was only local knowledge, though. My own vast experience would work well if the weather was warmer, like in the midwest back on Earth.

When lunchtime arrived, instead of being served in the field where we worked, the daughter led us back to the house and sat beside me at the dinner table. The man looked surprised at all the food and gave me a pointed look.

“It was my own meal for the day, good ser. It's only fitting I shared it with your family as we talked.” I said before he could say anything about it being charity or not wanting to accept it.

“I toil in tha fields, boy.” The man scoffed. “I'm no ser.”

“If you say so.” I said and looked at his wife and daughter. “Some may beg to differ.”

The son let out a little laugh. “What they said in the keep's true?”

I didn't have to ask him what he meant as the daughter leaned against me and gave me the same look as Mikken had at supper the night before. I didn't try to kiss her cheek, though. Now was not the time for surprising people with boldness, not to mention it would mean a lot more to a family that lived outside the walls of Winterfell.

“I gave up my rights to Winterfell, yes.” I said, deliberately not mentioning the song, because that would make them ask me to sing it for them.

The man nodded and broke apart a bun of bread, half of which he handed to me. “I think yer the first noble we've ever heard of that gave it up to stand on their own.”

Which was why they respected me a lot more now. I thought and smiled as I added some strips of dried meat to my plate. “The old gods seemed to approve as well.”

“Of course they would. The first men weren't cowards and earned their respect.” The wife said and handed some food to her two children.

“Is it true the weirwood bloomed?” The daughter asked.

“Kind of?” I said, as if asking. “The leaves unfurled and spread out. I didn't see any flowered buds or anything, though.”

The four members of the family exchanged looks, nodded as one, and dug into the meal. That was apparently the end of the conversation and we ate in silence until a good portion of the food was gone. I thanked them for the hospitality and for breaking bread with me. The mother nodded at the daughter and the girl led me out of the house and over to my horse.

“Some girls won't care how young you are.” She said and kissed me cheek, her face red, and she ran back to the house and inside.

I chuckled at her only being bold when she was away from her parents and brother. I put the empty feed bag in a saddlebag and mounted the horse, using the fence as a step, and saluted the house where the mother was looking out through the window. I rode the horse back to the keep at a fast pace and the guards let me through the west gate without fuss.

I went to the blacksmith's place first and asked about plowshares. He had several smaller ones and one large one, so if I wanted another large one, he would need a day or two to build it. I ordered the large one and a smaller one and asked him to deliver it to the stables and would pay him then. I also had to buy two carts and the feed and equipment for two work horses.

The older man shook his head at me for wasting my money, assumed I had the money to pay, and agreed to deliver them and two carts to the stables. I thanked him and gently rode the horse to the stables to return it. The stableboy was there and we quickly had the horse sorted out, expertly groomed, and happy in his stall.

I approached the stable master and asked about the work horses and he had several of them. He didn't ask me why I wanted them and only asked if I wanted full kits for them. I did, as well as enough feed for them, and I would be having carts and plowshares delivered. The man laughed and told me I would need more than a bastard's monthly stipend from his lord father to pay for it all.

I knew that and left the stables to head to Ned Stark's office. I couldn't avoid everyone like that morning, since it was midday and everyone was out and about, even the children. So, I took it like a man and greeted everyone that spoke to me, answered questions about yesterday like I had back at the farm, and eventually made it to the main building and entered.

Once inside, I practically ran through the hallways to get to Ned's office, because I didn't want Catelyn to hunt me down to have me sacrificed in a pyre, or something worse, like apologizing. That thought made me laugh and I had to fight it down as I approached the door. I was not surprised to see the man Ned sent after me was already there and was reporting my whereabouts.

I stood off to the side and didn't let myself be seen until the man left with a handful of copper coins in his hand. They were full pennies, too. I stepped into the office and Ned's face changed from welcoming to guilty.

“Good day, father.” I said, because I had skipped breakfast and hadn't greeted him then. There were also people nearby and I had to keep up the ruse.

“Good day, Jon.” Ned said and motioned for me to close the door. “Why are you here?”

“I can't visit my father for no reason?” I asked with a smile.

Ned sighed and rubbed his face. “You don't have to keep calling me that when we're alone.”

I didn't respond and only tapped one of my ears.

“What do you want?” Ned asked me.

“I was wondering if you have many different kinds of coins in the coffers.” I said and his eyes widened.

“Surely, you don't expect me to...” Ned started to say.

I held up a hand and stopped him from assuming I wanted him to pay me off for giving up my rights. “I merely want to see them for myself, since I've only held half-pennies and pennies.”

Ned seemed to relax and nodded. He reached under his desk and pulled out a small chest. It looked heavy, so it must have been full of coins. He used a key hung around his neck to open the large lock and opened the chest's top and turned it to face me.

My eyes widened at all the denominations inside. He really does have some of everything. I thought and even saw a few handfuls of Golden Dragons, probably from Kings Landing. “May I touch them?”

Ned nodded and I stepped forward, a single hand out, and let him see me rifle through the coins as I made sure to touch everything and stored thousands of copies into my inventory. I didn't pick anything up, even if one of the Golden Dragons looked really shiny and tempting. He saw the glint in my eyes and chuckled.

“I feel that way too, sometimes.” Ned said and closed the top, turned it back to face himself, and locked it again and put it back under his desk. “I have to keep a few of them around in case a ship from Braavos manages to cross the large violent sea and still has cargo for sale.”

I understood what he meant. After surviving the trip, they would accept nothing less than the most expensive currency for their cargo. “Thank you for allowing me to see such a sight.”

Ned nodded and waited a moment before he gave me a pointed look. “You will be at the evening meal.”

“Yes, my lord.” I said and bowed slightly. I knew an order when I heard one. “I missed the midday meal here because I broke bread with a farmer's family several miles outside the west gate.”

Ned didn't look surprised, nor did he ask what I had been doing all morning, because he already knew. “You won't be singing again, will you?”

I chuckled and shook my head. “That was a special occasion for Lady Sansa's nameday. I won't be repeating it, even if the demands to do so are too loud to ignore.”

Ned rubbed his face again and had a look that was a mix of pride and resignation. “You have set the fox upon the hen house with your gift.”

I barked a laugh at that comparison. “That wasn't my intention.”

“No, it wasn't.” Ned said and sighed. “Sansa hasn't stopped talking about it.”

“Just Sansa?” I asked, knowing full well her new commoner friend was not going to let it go. Jeyne was getting asked about it as much as I was, and unlike me, she had no problems trying to sing the song for anyone that wanted to hear it.

“No, not just her.” Ned said and opened his mouth to explain about Catelyn's reaction, and decided that I didn't need to know about it. It was his problem to deal with and he would do his best to not let the woman vilify the boy over something like a musical talent, even if it was as unnatural as she claimed.

I was surprised to hear his thoughts about it and had to smile to cover it up. “Then I'll try to be as early as I can for the meal.”

Ned nodded and motioned for me to leave. “I have some work to do.”

“Yes, my lord.” I said and bowed slightly, turned around, and went to the door. I didn't bother trying to ask about my given name again, because it was too soon. He needed to stew over the things I had said during that confrontation and poking him too many times would only harden his resolve to not tell me.

I left the main building and made my way to my room in the living area. I pretended to dig under the bed and pulled out a small leather bag with a drawstring on it and dropped a good pile of coins of various denominations inside, then hefted it up to make it jiggle. I knew that man had paid off one of the maids to stay near me when I was around and she definitely heard the distinct money sound.

I tucked the pouch into my pocket and walked out of my room, nearly bumped into her on purpose, and gave her a quick hug and an apology. She blushed and shooed me away as she pretended to be more flustered than she really was to cover up her spying on me.

I walked away and out of the living area, then out into the street to head to the stable. I had a set of work horses and two carts to pick up, as well as everything needed to care for them. I just hoped my gifts of thanks to both farmers and their families wouldn't be rejected. Maybe I should throw in a pile of bear pelt blankets, too. They could keep one and sell or trade the rest of them for a good amount.