A/N: Healing time!
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Just a few weeks ago, Axel was getting ready to deal with Daenerys Targaryen, her dragons, and an entire foreign army. Now they were standing together outside of the Great Sept of Baelor, where a gathering of ailing and injured smallfolk had been assembled at Axel's command.
The City Guard are out in force to make sure nobody starts anything, while a couple of his Kingsguard stick close to him and Daenerys… and the High Septon who stands nearby. The man is currently speaking to everyone at the top of his lungs, clutching at the edge of his podium as he says exactly what Axel told him to say.
"Lady Daenerys was tricked into committing many foul and sinful acts at the behest of foreign gods! But as our Good King has said, she was and remains a daughter of Westeros! And are the Seven not merciful? Are they not Just? House Targaryen has returned to us, not with madness and flame… but with their head bowed in supplication, for even Lady Daenerys recognizes the Blessed Power of King Axel the Unburnt, Champion of the Seven, Avatar of the Warrior!"
Well, almost exactly what he'd been told to say. That last part with all the titles was all the High Septon. Still, Axel simply smiles as the smallfolk cheer for him. With a hand on Daenerys' shoulder as he towers beside her, they give off a certain sort of image. Him in Valyrian Steel Armor, her in a soft white dress with her head bowed in penance.
Some of the Most Devout had put forward their own ideas for how Daenerys might be able to cleanse herself of the sin of consorting with foreign gods like the Lord of Light. The Walk of Atonement had been mentioned a few times as the most 'reasonable' and clearcut way of handling things. When Axel had heard exactly what it entailed, however, he had put his foot down and rejected the idea entirely.
There was no world in which Axel was about to let them shave Daenerys bald and then force her to walk the city streets naked. Not when she was his woman. After all, the sight of her nude form was for him and the other women who shared his bed and them alone.
Fortunately, there was another way to handle everything, a way that Axel had decided upon all the way back when he first saw Daenerys healing her dragons in that cave under Dragonmont. All he had to do to get the Faith on board was agree to allow the High Septon to give this sermon, and of course host the first of many such 'healing events' right here outside of the Great Sept.
Given that Daenerys had in fact been saved by the Seven, Axel didn't mind that too much truth be told. Whatever other doubts he might have had over the years as to whether the Seven existed or not, there was simply no denying that they'd helped when he'd begged them for their aid.
Finally done speaking, the High Septon nods to them and Axel in turn nods to the Kingsguard currently holding back the first of many smallfolk waiting in a ling nearby. Carefully, the woman in question hobbles up to them both, dragging a broken foot that healed wrong behind her as she goes.
Seeing this, Daenerys bites her lower lip and tugs at Axel, having him lean down so she can whisper in his ear.
"I can't… we need to rebreak the foot and set it right before I can heal it properly my King…"
Ah. That's unfortunate… but also makes a certain sort of sense to Axel. For a moment, he considers having the woman wait and calling up someone with an easier malady to be the first healing. However, that would only confuse things and diminish it just as much as… well, maybe this can still be salvaged.
Nodding to Daenerys, Axel kneels down as the woman is helped into a chair before them. She looks absolute flummoxed to have the King himself kneeling before her, and her eyes go wide when he reaches out and takes ahold of the lame foot.
Daenerys, realizing what he's about to do, hurriedly kneels down as well, beginning to call upon her power. There are whispers and murmurs from all over the plaza as the gathered crowd see Daenerys' eyes and veins begin to glow with orange fire. Axel ignores them, meeting the eyes of the smallfolk woman and giving her a smile.
"There will be pain before there is healing. Do you understand?"
She nods, speechless in his presence. Axel gestures to one of the Kingsguard to give her a folded cloth to bite down on, and once she has it secured between her teeth, he looks to Daenerys to make sure she's ready. When Daenerys signals that she is, Axel doesn't hesitate any longer.
S-SNAP!
The sounds of the woman's bones breaking all over again echo through the hushed plaza even as her screams are mostly muffled by the cloth she's biting down on. Axel is as careful as he can be, and he has to admit there's something strange about using his monstrous strength to help instead of harm. Like a Maester's blade instead of a butcher's knife.
He fixes the positioning of the woman's foot, trying to make it look as 'correct' as possible, while Daenerys brings her hands up to the destroyed ankle, a glow emanating from them. Watching her work is as fascinating as ever, but even more so seeing her use her healing on a person instead of a dragon.
In mere moments, the woman's muffled screams reduce to pained mewls, which in turn become trembling whimpers as the healing takes effect and the only pain left is in her mind. Soon enough, Daenerys pulls her hands away and nods to him while biting her lower lip. Clearly she's nervous about whether it worked or not, but Axel… Axel has faith.
With a smile, he rises to his feet and offers the smallfolk woman a hand up out of the chair. Looking from her healed foot to his face with wide eyes, she takes it and allows him to pull her to her feet… which she stands on correctly and without issue for the first time in who knows how long.
"T-Thank you, Yer Grace… t-thank you, thank you, thank you…"
Axel just chuckles.
"Of course. Lady Daenerys and I were happy to help."
He doesn't say anything as foolish as 'don't thank me, thank her' or anything like that. The whole point of this little song and dance is to tie Daenerys' healing to him and his rule. This was something that pretty much everyone around him had said was absolutely necessary if he was going to keep her around and make her useful.
Allowing Daenerys to go out and heal to make up for her past was one thing… but allowing her to do so in her own name rather than the name of the King, now that would have been something else entirely.
Even Daenerys herself had made sure that he was coming along for this first event. She was just as afraid as his Small Council and Queens that he might lose some of the overwhelming love that Westeros had for him if she started using her powers in public without his explicit backing.
Axel wasn't too worried though. Daenerys was his now… he had her measure and understood her far better now that they shared a bed. At the end of the day, the so-called 'Dragon Queen' really just wanted to submit to a man she loved and who would love her back. Axel Baratheon was sure that he could fill that hole in her heart. He was glad to, in fact.
After letting the smallfolk woman thank them both profusely for a few seconds more, Axel surreptitiously gestures for the Kingsguard to gently usher her over to the Goldcloaks and then send the next person in line up. The second 'patient' turns out to be a mere illness that Daenerys can wash away with a wave of her glowing hands, clearing up their sweaty pale pallor in moments and leaving them breathing evenly for the first time in weeks.
From there, things settle into a steady rhythm as Axel watches on. Sometimes the High Septon or another member of the Most Devout will step up to their podium off to the side and say a few things about how the Seven have blessed Daenerys with this power just as they blessed Axel. Sometimes they'll read out passages from the Seven Pointed Star to the somewhat captive audience crowded outside of the Great Sept.
Meanwhile, sometimes Axel is just standing aside and sometimes he's as involved as he was with the first one. The important thing is that he's present… and that his helping from time to time with the more difficult cases makes it look to those watching as though Daenerys couldn't necessarily do this without him.
That isn't true of course, and eventually there will probably come a point where Axel doesn't attend every single one of these events. But for now, word will likely spread through King's Landing that the 'Blessed King' has granted his former enemy a fragment of the power the Seven have bestowed upon him, allowing her to make up for her past crimes.
It's all a performance at the end of the day, but the people that Daenerys is healing are still being helped and that's the most important thing in Axel's opinion. The pageantry might be an unfortunate necessity, but the healing… the healing is real.
They're about two hours in with no signs of stopping any time soon when there's an interruption, however. Fortunately, it's nothing too big… only that Lord Commander Arys steps up beside him and whispers in his ear that Jon Snow is asking for an audience with him.
It's not like Axel has forgotten about the problems in the North, to be clear. But last he'd heard, the Wildlings and their leader Mance Rayder had made it to the Wall and were taking shelter in its vast and immense shadow. They still weren't actually allowed through the massive fortification in great numbers yet, but Axel had actually 'okayed' them to start sending through there women and children just a few days ago.
Still… in the end he simply nods and steps away from the event, moving back a bit. Not quite out of sight, his presence is still necessary, but he's definitely out of earshot of anyone as Jon Snow is brought to him. Axel raises an eyebrow at the look of concern on Jon's face.
"What is it?"
Jon swallows thickly.
"Fresh word just arrived from beyond the Wall, Your Grace. There are more and more wight sightings near the camp that you allowed the Free Folk to set up. They're being picked off and even hunting parties a dozen strong have gone missing. At this point, they're going to be slowly whittled down to nothing if something isn't done soon."
Frowning, Axel shakes his head.
"I have done something, have I not? They're receiving supplies from the both the North and the Night's Watch and I've even allowed them to send through their women and children."
That brings a grimace to the Night's Watch Brother's face. Jon squirms for a moment with whatever he's about to say before finally just saying it.
"That… edict might not be as effective as you might have hoped, Your Grace. Which truth be told, might in turn work in your favor if you really are worried about wildlings invading the North."
Axel narrows his eyes, his frown deepening.
"Explain."
Letting out an explosive breath, Axel regards Jon Snow for a long moment. The other man has not once wavered in his beliefs that the wildlings are on the level. And to be fair, everything Axel has seen so far points to them telling the truth as well. Even Daenerys was told by the Red Priestess Melisandre and her Lord of Light that the Great Other was coming to bring ice and death to Westeros.
Jon was right, in the end. The wildlings were not their enemies. But at the same time, they were also not his subjects. Axel needed… he needed to do what he should have done the moment he heard Daenerys was in Slaver's Bay gathering a fucking fleet. He needs to go see what's happening beyond the Wall himself.
"I'll fly North tomorrow. See what there is to see myself and make further decisions from there. Enough of this secondhand information that comes much too late."
Sansa's brother looks surprised… and then pleased as well as determined.
"Take me with you, Your Grace."
Axel blinks and gives Jon an amused look.
"You did hear me, right? I'm going to be flying North, Jon Snow. And I'll be flying fast to get all the way up there quickly."
But Jon won't be dissuaded. And in fact, he turns out to be most… persuasive.
"I understand. I'll cover myself in layers of fur if I have to, but please carry me North with you. As a brother of the Night's Watch, my place is on the Wall to begin with. The only reason that I came south to King's Landing in the first place was to convince you that the threat is real. But more than that, I've had experiences with the Free Folk. I can help, so please my King, allow me to accompany you."
He's impressed by the other man's inner steel, Axel has to admit. And… technically they did have a harness of sorts so that someone could fly with him safely and securely. It'd just never been used for a trip this long before. But… well, needs must. So in the end, he sighs and nods.
"Very well. Go get ready. Have your sister help you bundle up for the occasion, she and Arianne have the most experience flying with me at this point. Though only Sansa has experience flying as fast as we'll be flying tomorrow."
Jon furrows his brow at that, looking like he wants to judge Axel but also recognizes that Axel is his King. In the end, Axel just laughs and waves Jon off.
"Your sister is hard to say no to, Jon Snow. But I made her stop once we knew for sure she was pregnant. Now go… and be ready for the ride of your life."
Finally, Jon nods and departs. Axel, meanwhile, returns to Daenerys' side. He has a lot less he needs to do to prepare after all. He can tell everyone he's leaving once they're done healing for the day.
Lost in thought considering the Wall and the wildlings and their leader, Axel doesn't notice Daenerys stealing glances at him… and at Jon Snow's retreating back.
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A/N: Daenerys with her senses enhanced by the power she's drawing upon for the healing: I just heard EVERYTHING.
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