A/N: Daenerys is tired of being ignored. Axel is feeling guilty over his lack of impulse control.
-x-X-x-
"Your Grace."
Axel does not freeze, he swears he doesn't. But… he does tense up a little bit as the familiar voice of Daenerys Targaryen reaches his ears. Turning slowly to regard the former Dragon Queen, Axel lets out a low breath and then smiles.
"Lady Daenerys. What can I do for you?"
If she's at all upset still about losing every ounce of authority she once held, Daenerys doesn't show it as she approaches him. Standing before him, the violet-eyed woman frowns slightly and seems to muster up her courage.
"… You've been avoiding me."
Hey now, that is not what he's been doing!
"I have not been avoiding you. I've been giving you time to settle in."
But his gentle, chiding tone doesn't have the effect he's hoping for. Daenerys shakes her head, still frowning. Pouting, really.
"I've been settled for days now, Your Grace. It's been a week and in that time you've let me spend more time with your pregnant Queens than we've spent together. The very same pregnant Queens you were so afraid for that you were ready to let me burn other parts of Westeros just to make sure they stayed safe."
That… Axel tenses up at that, his nostrils flaring and his eyes narrowing into slits. He takes a threatening step forward, causing Daenerys' breath to hitch as the distance between them closes.
"Excuse me? And how exactly do you know that?"
Did he have spies in the Red Keep? Who would have possibly overheard him talking to Sansa and Arianne about his fears? The only other people in the room had been Margaery and Tyene but surely-
"Melisandre. It was… it was Melisandre."
Axel's catastrophizing immediately stops and he groans as the name that drops from Daenerys' lips answers all of his questions right then and there. That Red Priestess bitch and her fucking future sight… Axel was glad she was dead, but he constantly found himself wishing that he could have killed her himself.
"… The fact remains that you allowed a monster like me in close proximity with your Queens but have been avoiding interacting with me yourself. Why? Am I not one of your women now?"
And there it was. That was the reason Axel had been… avoiding Daenerys for the past week. Fine, he'd admit it. Yes, he was keeping away from her. Yes, he was focusing on his Queens, his Small Council, and his Court over prioritizing her.
All because at the end of the day, Axel found himself questioning whether it was really right for him to have made Daenerys' surrender contingent on her 'becoming his woman'. Contrary to the rumors, Axel Baratheon did not force himself on women. Especially women who were already in love with another.
His Queens had told him they would look into things and that everything was under control, but they'd been irritatingly tight lipped beyond that. As such, Axel was forced to just continue under the assumption that Daenerys and her dark skinned handmaiden were in a loving relationship and that his demands were tearing that apart.
Letting out a sigh, Axel shakes his head.
"Perhaps I was hasty to demand something like that of you. You can still be one of my loyal subjects without being my woman, Lady Daenerys. I can rescind that requirement for your surrender and we can move forward without that awkwardness between us…"
"No!"
Axel blinks as Daenerys' response is resoundingly negative. Wait, what? Of course, she flushes a moment later, seeming embarrassed.
"Rather… I-I only mean that you would be a fool to give a monster like me any leash whatsoever, Your Grace. As one of your women, you can keep a much closer eye on me than as just one of your subjects."
Scowling, Axel crosses his arms over his chest and shakes his head.
"You are not a monster, you know. You are a woman who was led astray by a master manipulator. I know something of that myself. My Melisandre was a weasel of a man named Petyr Baelish, and he very nearly got away with destroying everything before I caught him."
Daenerys stares at him with wide eyes as Axel continues.
"We have both been tricked, fooled, and thoroughly used Daenerys. But that doesn't make either of us monsters. You must rise beyond past mistakes and simply do better in the future. That is the only path forward in the face of failure."
The last Targaryen's mouth opens and closes for a few moments. But before she can muster up a response, a panting page comes running up.
"Your Grace! Messages for you!"
Blinking, Axel takes the two short missives, reading one and then the other as a smile begins to spread across his face. On a whim, he looks to Daenerys.
"It seems I have errands in the city. Care to join me, Lady Daenerys?"
Caught off guard by the invitation, Daenerys looks shocked for a moment before quickly nodding.
"I w-would love to, Your Grace!"
"Then let us be off…"
-x-X-x-
They make good time to Tobho Mott's blacksmith on the Street of Steel. Axel can tell that Daenerys doesn't quite understand what's going on, so as they step inside, he gives her a grin.
"Do you recall a certain sword someone flung into Blackwater Bay during our fight?"
Immediately, she goes bright red and ducks her eyes, making it obvious that she still feels quite guilty over that despite the fact that it happened when they were trying to kill each other and was therefore fair game.
"I apologize Your Grace. I know how valuable Valyrian Steel is and I promise I will do everything in my power to repay you and-!"
"You don't have to worry about that. You have other things to focus on making up for, the sword is nothing."
Daenerys gapes at him.
"How… how can Valyrian Steel be 'nothing', Your Grace?"
Before Axel can answer her, Tobho Mott comes out of the back of the smithery with a massive bundle in his arms. The thing is longer than the Qohorik Blacksmith is tall, but while he struggles with it because of how unwieldy and huge it is, he doesn't struggle with carrying it… probably because of how lightweight it is as well.
"Here you are, Your Grace. Possibly the greatest weapon I have ever had the pleasure of forging."
Grinning, Axel moves to the table that Tobho moves to, watching with the eagerness of a boy as the blacksmith sets down the wrapped object and steps back.
"I will leave it to you to unwrap, Your Grace. It has been made exactly to your specifications."
He has no reason to doubt the Qohorik Blacksmith's word at this point, so Axel's hands are almost shaking with excitement as he reaches out to pull the cloth away from the biggest fucking sword that he's ever seen. The rippling patterns in the metal give away it's status as Valyrian Steel of course, but this is no longsword like Stonehart was. It's not even really a Greatsword like House Stark's Ice either.
No, this is something bigger than even a Greatsword, something that would be absurd and unwieldy for anyone, even with the lightweight nature of Valyrian Steel Metal. Of course, there was also the fact that it was perhaps the single most valuable Valyrian Steel weapon ever created due to just how big it was and how much of the precious metal went into its construction.
Daenerys comes up beside him, silent and wide eyed as she stares down at the blade as well. Axel chuckles and glances over at her.
"Oh, had I not mentioned it? Euron Greyjoy successfully traveled to Old Valyria and came back with an entire ship's hold of Valyrian Steel. All of which I took for myself when I killed him for his impudence. Losing Stonehart was a pain, sure… but it was far from my only source of Valyrian Steel."
Grabbing the sword by its pommel, Axel lifts it off of the table with one hand rather easily. The thing is, he has no clue what to even classify it as. As far as he knows, a Greatsword is the largest type of sword found on Westeros, and indeed perhaps in the entirety of the known world. But this thing… this thing is even bigger than a Greatsword. Its… truly colossal in size.
Perhaps that's what he should call it. A Colossal Sword. A new sword type that only someone of his strength and power can wield safely.
As Axel peers at the blade, Tobho Mott clears his throat.
"As requested Your Grace, it is Valyrian Steel all the way through. From tip to pommel. The wrapping for the hilt is the best leather I have and should be the only thing you eventually need to replace. May this sword serve you well."
Axel grins wickedly, still staring at the sword.
"Oh, I'm sure that it will, Master Mott. Well done. Very well done."
Finally getting over her shock, Daenerys chances a tentative question from his side.
"What… what will you name it, Your Grace?"
That… Axel honestly doesn't know. After a long moment of thought, he shakes his head.
"I won't rush into that sort of thing. This sword hasn't even been blooded yet, nor seen battle. I'll ponder it's name for a while yet."
It would need a glorious name, given it was the first of its kind. Axel wasn't so silly as to think he would start a whole new trend or anything like that, but it was still meaningful, a one of a kind weapon that had never been made before as far as he was aware.
Instead, he takes the sword and wraps it in a cloth sheath before fitting it onto his back with the straps that Tobho Mott has provided for him. It feels a little strange admittedly, with the tip of the blade mere inches from the ground behind him and the massive pommel sticking out over his shoulder. But it also feels good to be properly armed again. So very, very good.
Turning to Daenerys, Axel grins.
"You know, I received two messages back at the Red Keep. Care to come with me and see how the renovations to the Dragonpit are coming along as well?"
Daenerys' eyes widen in excitement before she gets herself under control. Chuckling and feeling to good after getting his new sword, Axel doesn't even bother waiting for Daenerys to answer. He scoops the lithe Targaryen woman up in his arms and blasts out of the Blacksmith and into the air, making her yelp as she suddenly finds herself being carried through the sky.
They land on the Hill of Rhaenys just under a minute later, where they find that the Dragonpit… is still far from finished. However, the Dragonpit as a whole is a MASSIVE construction that spans the entirety of Rhaenys' Hill, and Axel had ordered it more than just restored… he's ordered it expanded.
Still, in the weeks since he sent the orders to do so from Dragonstone, laborers have been hard at work. And at this point, one section of the Dragonpit has been finished… a section big enough to house one of Daenerys' three dragons.
They're taken on a short tour of the accommodations, with Daenerys looking around in wonder as Axel watches her. She looks so innocent like this, overawed as she is by her surroundings. Finally though, he pops the question.
"What do you think? Would you want to bring one of your dragons over from Dragonstone, to house them here in King's Landing."
Daenerys' head snaps in his direction at that, with Axel growing a little self-conscious as he scratches his cheek and coughs.
"I mean… I understand if you don't want to separate them. But the full renovations of the Dragonpit will probably take a lot longer than this. I had them focus hard on this first section, just so that we'd have a place for one oversized lizard… if you wanted it."
"Yes! Yes, I would… but no… no, you can't possibly trust me with that sort of thing. You know what I can do if one of my dragons is in close proximity. It would… it would be the height of foolishness to allow me access to my powers, Y-Your Grace."
Axel scoffs… and picks Daenerys up again. She squeaks even as they lift off the ground and orient in the direction of Dragonstone.
"You mean like your healing powers? The very powers that I'm expecting you to utilize to make up for your actions against Westeros by healing the injured and ailing here in King's Landing and elsewhere?"
Daenerys opens her mouth… and then closes it as they fly through the air, passing over the bay where they had fought a life and death struggle just a couple weeks before.
"I…"
Axel just grins.
"Didn't think of that, did you? You were always going to have to have access to one of your dragons, Daenerys. And… I trust you. I trust you to have learned from your mistakes, from your failures, and to do better in the future. You'll make sure my trust isn't misplaced… right?"
For a long moment, Daenerys is quiet. Then, finally, she nods into his chest.
"Y-Yes. I'll make sure of it, Your Grace. I swear it."
They arrive at Dragonstone a bit after that. Or rather, at Dragonmont. Axel doesn't bother announcing himself, not wanting to make some big production out of things. He lets the keepers taking care of the three dragons know that he's taking one of them of course and then allows Daenerys to pick.
In the end, she goes with Drogon, as Axel expected. Drogon was the one she'd rode into battle after all. And while all three of her dragons are massive, he is the largest by just a little bit. The favored draconic son.
They fly back side by side, with Daenerys on Drogon's back and Axel slowing down to keep pace next to them. It turns the trip back into a longer thing, and by the time they get back to King's Landing and then get Drogon situated within the completed portion of the massive Dragonpit, the sun has already begun to set and nightfall has arrived.
As he and Daenerys exit out of the Dragonpit, Axel is feeling pretty good about himself. But apparently Daenerys is feeling even better, because suddenly she grabs him by the front of his garments and pulls him down to her level, dragging him into a deep, tongue-filled, passionate kiss.
Axel blinks, caught off guard by both the kiss AND the strength. She's clearly leaning a little bit on her power in order to yank him forward… but he doesn't mind. In fact, he likes a strong woman in a body like Daenerys', he finds. It gives him all sorts of ideas…
Finally, the kiss ends and Daenerys growls.
"I am your woman, Axel Baratheon. It is far time that you acted like it and had me in your bed. So… s-so tonight, I want you to take me a-and make me squeal your name… please…"
Axel swallows, finding the mental imagery that provokes to be… quite enticing. At the same time, he can't help but ask.
"What about your handmaiden and lover, Missandei?"
Daenerys blinks… before smiling coyly.
"Is that what has held you off all this time? You truly are a much more honorable man than Melisandre ever allowed me to realize. And also rather silly, besides. Missandei will be joining us in your bed tonight, my King. As will the rest of your women, who will all watch as you conquer me and my lover to your heart's content."
Oh. So this is what his Queens meant by 'they'd take care of it'. Well now… Axel grins wickedly and wraps Daenerys in his arms, lifting off the ground and heading in the direction of the Red Keep.
After all, how could he say no to a suggestion like that?
-x-X-x-
A/N: Next time, Daenerys and Missandei finally join the harem officially~
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