"It's been very freeing so far, at least for me," Valerie said, leaning her head momentarily against the palm of her hand. "Even if we're bound by contracts, we can still choose what we want to do. That's often more than minor nobility are offered." The nobility were all sworn to someone, typically the king or other ruler, just as their soldiers and the rest were sworn to them. Very few were given the choice of what they wanted to take from life. But for the moment it seemed Valerie had escaped from that. It was as Markus said: using their own skills to make something of themselves, not title or birthright required.

She wasn't altogether surprised Markus was a bastard. They often had more reason than most nobles to leave home behind, especially if the family saw them as some kind of threat. She wondered if that was entailed in the "shit" that Markus spoke of. She certainly wasn't going to press him for details yet. It was understandable not to want to reveal everything to a stranger, even if he and Valerie were no longer such. But his birth didn't change her impression of him.

"The Winter family is second only to the King's in my homeland, Ardennia," she explained, after taking a long drink. "I'm full-blooded Winter, the third child of four, and the only daughter. I was sparring in the yard long before I ever learned to dance." She grinned. A different kind of dancing, she supposed. Her brothers rarely went easy on her. "I didn't dislike the life, to be honest. I traveled often in our lands, visiting and helping the people. My parents were quite lenient with me, never tried to marry me off for an alliance or anything." She nearly shuddered at the thought.

"I left because of a war our King instigated. He became greedy and eyed the lands to the north, looking to expand. My family could not oppose him without bringing war to our own lands, but... I refused to follow when called. My father's relations with the King were strong enough that my opposition was overlooked, but I couldn't be allowed to stay within the borders." She shrugged. "So I guess that makes me an exile. I don't know if I made the right choice, but I feel like I'm making a difference where I travel, even if it's just a small one."