A/N: Axel is getting rather tired of the Iron Islands. Imagine his surprise when someone comes over from the mainland just to talk to him.
-x-X-x-
His words to Asha about what came after Euron's defeat being far more complex than the defeat itself had turned out to be downright prophetic. After all, killing Euron and his Kraken and then conquering the Iron Islands had taken less than a day.
But the rest of it? From making sure his edicts were being followed to hosting the Kingsmoot to helping Asha deal with any particularly stubborn holdouts… it was all bringing his stay on the Isle of Pyke up on two weeks now. Axel wished he didn't care as much as he did, because he would have left by now otherwise. Alas, here he was, nearly two weeks later, still helping Asha settle into her new rule.
To be fair, it wouldn't be much longer. Just a couple more days and the last of Axel's boats would be departing from the Iron Islands and returning to Westeros. And there was only one more thing he really wanted to do before he departed himself… aside from a long and protracted 'goodbye' with Asha, that is.
Yes, Axel Baratheon was very much ready to leave the Iron Islands behind for the foreseeable future until the next time he visited Asha. Which is why he was so surprised when he was informed that he had a visitor who had just come in on the latest ship from the mainland.
"Tyrion Lannister. You've certainly come a long way to beg an audience with me."
Being informed of the Lannister Imp's arrival and his request to see him had honestly thrown Axel for a loop… until he realized he shouldn't have been all that surprised. The last time they'd spoke, Tyrion had made it clear that his father sent him to try and see if he could weasel his way into one of the vacancies on Axel's Small Council. Specifically, the position of Master of Coin.
Axel, in turn, had made up an excuse on the spot about how it would be a 'conflict of interest' to have a member of House Lannister in the position when the Crown still owed a considerable sum of gold (nearly a million golden dragons in fact) to the Lannisters. In reality, he just didn't want Tywin Lannister to have any sort of power or influence in King's Landing.
The man had gotten on Axel's bad side with his actions during Renly's Rebellion, and his daughter had left a… mixed impression on him. On the one hand, Cersei Lannister had been a rather enjoyable lover. On the other hand, she'd tried to poison him all throughout his life and then had a mental breakdown and attempted to assassinate him with her own two hands after the Trial by the Seven.
… Yes, mixed was the right word for it.
Regardless, he'd told Tyrion that the only way he would even consider the dwarf for the position of Master of Coin was if House Lannister was willing to forgive the rest of the Crown's debt. This was something Axel had been confident that Tywin Lannister would ultimately never accept.
In fact, he'd been so confident that despite telling Tyrion he would give them until he was 'back with Euron's head' to come to a decision… Axel hadn't actually had any intentions of returning to the mainland via the Westerlands. At least, not over land anyways. Instead, he was planning to fly back to King's Landing without stopping anywhere along the way unless he absolutely had to. He was looking forward to it, in fact.
Yet here Tyrion was all the same. Somehow, Axel doubted that the Imp had come all this way to deliver a rejection to his offer. Then again, given Tywin's purported hatred for his deformed son, maybe he shouldn't put something like that past the Old Lion.
Bowing low at the waist, Tyrion Lannister holds the position for a long moment.
"I have indeed, Your Grace. And I greatly appreciate you allowing me to make my case."
Raising an eyebrow, Axel tilts his head to the side in bemused amusement.
"Is that what I'm doing?"
Tyrion lifts his head, looking a little nervous. No, scratch that. The Imp looks VERY nervous. Even more nervous than he'd been back outside of the Ruins of Lannisport when they'd first spoken in the War Council Tent. Hm… word of his 'exploits' had no doubt already reached Casterly Rock, hadn't they?
Honestly, his newest feats were probably harder to believe than his previous ones. Surviving wildfire for seven days and seven nights? Ridiculous, but one could perhaps lean on one's belief in the Seven to explain it away. But killing a Kraken singlehandedly? Flying through the air and sinking half of the Ironborn Fleet by himself?
It was all patently insane, and yet there were tens of thousands of men who had seen it happen. And they would all be telling the exact same story. On top of that, Axel had no intentions of hiding his true self anymore. So eventually, the inhabitants of King's Landing would see him fly as well. It was going to become a fact of life soon enough. The sky is blue, water is wet, and the King can fly.
For now though, Tyrion seems to believe the tales and that's given him a healthy fear of Axel... as well it should have. But at the same time, Axel holds no particularly deep dislike for the dwarf. If anything, he enjoyed the Imp's sense of humor the first time they spoke. With a sigh, Axel waves his hand.
"Go on then. Make your case, Tyrion Lannister."
"Thank you, my King. I have… a letter signed and sealed by my father here. If you are willing to name me as your Master of Coin, then he will forgive the rest of the Crown's debt to our House effective immediately."
Axel blinks as Tyrion produces the letter and totters over on his stubby legs to hold it out. For a long moment, the King remains still… before finally taking it and cracking it open. The seal does indeed look genuine, given the number of Tywin's letters Axel had been subjected to during Renly's Rebellion. And the contents… it's just as Tyrion said.
Tywin Lannister is indeed giving Axel exactly what he asked for. He's accepting the insane deal that Axel made up at the spur of the moment.
… Why? Surely a million golden dragons in debt was worth more than one Small Council Seat, right? Or… was it? Fuck, now Axel was missing Jon. For all that he knew the man wasn't perfect, this was the kind of thing Jon would have been made for. The kind of thing he would have hopefully seen through and been able to explain to Axel.
What was Tywin hoping to gain from this? More influence in King's Landing, obviously. More influence on the Small Council, of course. But… a million golden dragons worth of influence? Axel's jaw clenches and his nostrils flare as he decides to be brutally honest with the dwarf in front of him.
"… I will confess I do not understand your father's game here, Tyrion. That he so easily agreed to my demand just makes me more suspicious and less inclined to accept this deal."
-x-X-x-
Tyrion grimaces at the King's blunt assessment of things. It was clear that Axel knew just enough to know that Tywin was trying to fuck him over in some way. Its tempting to do and say nothing and let Axel reject the offer and send him packing back to Casterly Rock.
But Tywin's words echo in Tyrion's head as he stands there across from the King.
"You will never be my heir. You will never inherit Casterly Rock. Even if Cersei doesn't give birth to a son, I would sooner name Lancel as my heir than allow you to become Lord of House Lannister. Do I make myself clear?"
What was there left for him in Casterly Rock? He certainly didn't want to stick around to be close to his only remaining sibling. Cersei was… no, best not to go there, not even in the privacy of his own thoughts. Sure, he could return to his father a failure and then try to go traveling again. Maybe make his way back to Oldtown and spend his days between whoring, drinking, and reading books at the Citadel.
Except… Tyrion suspects that this failure would be one failure too many. The King is right, Tywin's willingness to forgive a million golden dragons of debt is a testament to how badly he wants this deal to go through. If Tyrion can't make this work, then it's possible Tywin will finally wash his hands of him completely, maybe even disown him.
No more allowance, no more Lannister name to protect him, nothing but the clothes on his back.
… He needs this deal badly, Tyrion realizes. Not for his House, but for his own sake. So maybe it's time to go about things in his own way…
"You're right, Your Grace. It is suspicious. But when you take a moment to look at it from my father's point of view, it begins to make more sense."
Axel raises a brow, before wordlessly gesturing for Tyrion to continue.
"… The one thing that my father has wanted for longer than I've been alive is to see his blood seated upon the Iron Throne. If not for the accident, it would have been Joffrey Baratheon, his grandson. But we both know how that turned out. And then my sister made an utter fool of herself, not only getting herself expelled from King's Landing in the process but also seeing my niece Myrcella sent off to Storm's End, as far from my father's control as possible."
The King is still listening, Tyrion notes. In fact, it's a little intimidating how focused he is on every word that falls from Tyrion's lips.
"My father's influence over King's Landing and your court has been greatly diminished. And you've already proven just how ruthless you'll be when it comes to clearing out the Crown's debts. Over the next few years, you will no doubt make it a point to clear out the debt to House Lannister first and foremost."
"Try weeks or months, actually."
Tyrion stops at that, his mouth dry as he stares at Axel in confusion. The King grins wickedly in response.
"Since we're being so honest with one another… Euron Greyjoy managed to complete a successful voyage to Old Valyria. It's where he got the magical horn that allowed him to summon and control his Kraken."
His mouth hangs open as Axel just… drops that on him. But the King is far from done.
"He also brought back a ship's hold worth of Valyrian Steel as well. Valyrian Steel Swords, Valyrian Steel Daggers, even a set of Valyrian Steel Armor. Not to mention the jewelry and the cutlery. I've claimed it all for myself, of course. I intend to sell off what I need to in order to get the golden dragons to pay down the Crown's debts, not just to your family but also to every last one of our creditors. The rest, I'll give to loyal subjects and those who prove themselves worthy of it."
An entire ship's hold of Valyrian Steel? That was… that was insane. More than that though…
"… You must know how long my father has been trying to secure a Valyrian Steel Sword for our House, Your Grace. You could sell just one of those Valyrian Steel Swords to him and he would not only forgive the debt, but also pay one or two million more golden dragons in the process. You won't find a better deal in all of Westeros."
Axel chuckles and shakes his head at that.
"I know. And yet I'm not going to. I don't like your father very much, Tyrion, in case it wasn't obvious by this point."
Tyrion licks his lips, suddenly feeling a cold sweat down his back. He'd been afraid of Axel from the moment he stepped in, having heard too many tales of what the man was capable of to be able to discount any of them as untrue. And most telling of all, when Tywin had heard the latest rumors, he'd sent Tyrion here as soon as possible, meaning that even the Old Lion believed the things they were saying about Axel Baratheon these days.
Apparently, the King flew now.
And he didn't just fly either. He also pulled Kraken Corpses too heavy for a thousand men to lift straight out of the water, only to fling them atop Castle Pyke. Needless to say, Tyrion was treading very carefully right now. But this… this was more than that. That much Valyrian Steel was going to settle the Crown's debts AND refill the coffers all at once…
"Why… why would you tell me that, Your Grace?"
Axel smiles, his eyes glittering as he looks down at Tyrion.
"I'll answer your question with a question of my own. Why would you be so honest about your father's thinking with me? You all but laid out that his plan is to give up the short term benefit provided by the debt in order to get more long term benefit out of having you, his son, on my Small Council."
… The King was scarily quick on the uptake sometimes. Tyrion swallows thickly… but in the end, the dwarf finds that once the words start spilling out, they don't stop.
"Because I don't like my father very much either, Your Grace. I despise Tywin Lannister… no, I hate him, in fact. I hate my entire family at this point. The only men who were worthy of the Lannister name, my brother and uncles, are dead now. My father has made it clear that I am never going to inherit whether he still draws breath or not. I need… I need a way out. I need an escape."
For a long moment, Axel just stares at him. Finally, the King tilts his head to the side.
"Your first loyalty would be to me, not your father nor your House."
Tywin would never accept that, but Tyrion found he didn't much care anymore. His father could eat shit. House Lannister… could go and die out for all he cared.
"Of course, Your Grace."
"I won't ask you to publicly denounce your family unless they make it necessary, but I will expect you to tell me everything your father asks of you. And if I tell you to lie to him, you will obey."
Tyrion chances his own grin at that.
"It would be my pleasure, Your Grace."
Axel hums, before chuckling again.
"You will also be under close watch, at least at first. I'll give your father what he wants and name you my Master of Coin, but after Baelish… you won't just be allowed to do whatever you want in the position. Both my Hand and me will be watching closely for any slip ups or fuck ups. The punishment for even the smallest mistake could very well be incredibly severe."
Swallowing hard, Tyrion nevertheless nods. He would be allowed to join Axel's Small Council, but he would be a Master only in name. In actuality, he would be master of nothing until he'd managed to prove himself. Honestly… Tyrion didn't mind that one bit.
"I understand, Your Grace."
"… Very well. Consider yourself my Master of Coin for the time being, Tyrion Lannister. Let's go and find Lord Davos and let him know. You'll be traveling back to King's Landing with him by ship so you'll need a cabin."
Tyrion can hardly believe his ears as he moves to follow the King out of the room. This was actually happening. He was going to be Master of Coin. He was going to escape his father's clutches, once and for all. Though, his stomach drops when Axel suddenly stops and turns around. For a brief heart stopping moment, he fears that the King has second guessed his decision.
… Thankfully that's not the case.
"Oh, and if you're looking for ways to score major points with me, Baelish claimed to have a whole lot of gold stashed away before he was executed for his crimes. I doubt it's in one piece, of course. Find any part of that and you'll be well on your way to truly proving yourself loyal."
Tyrion blinks, before slowly nodding.
"Alright, Your Grace."
The smirk on Axel's face makes it clear he doesn't expect Tyrion to actually find much of anything. To be fair, Baelish would have had to have been an utter fool to hide anything he'd stolen IN King's Landing, right? Then again, the man had to have a way of paying people, right? Hm…
Certainly something to think about. Fortunately, it sounded like more of an afterthought than an actual expectation as part of his new duties. Tyrion would focus on proving he was truly capable of being Master of Coin before he went treasure hunting or anything like that.
This was, in a very real way, his last chance to make something of himself. He wasn't going to screw it up.
-x-X-x-
A/N: And so our new Master of Coin is recruited~
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