A/N: Jon POV!
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Axel Baratheon was fucking insane. Technically, Jon had already had an inkling of that fact, all things considered. And not just because the King had revealed his plans to reform the Night's Watch either. After all, Jon himself had had some thoughts in that direction from time to time.
There was no denying that the Night's Watch was a mere shadow of its former self at this point. Nor that allowing so many criminals and traitors to take the Black had thoroughly diluted the once honorable and glorious organization down to practically nothing.
But while Jon was now wondering if he might be able to convince the King to stop offering the Black as a way to escape execution for the scum of Westeros in the future… he had never once considered the possibility of changing the vows themselves. The vows were… the vows! They were what made them Brothers of the Watch! To change them would be a step too far… right?
Then again. Axel Baratheon was the King. He decided what was 'too far'…
"Not bad! Not bad at all!"
Jon watches from the sidelines as Axel feasts with Mance Rayder and other wildling leaders. None of them quite seem to know what to do in this situation. Seated among them wearing armor and a crown with the biggest sword any of them are likely to have ever seen a man wield, the King of Westeros cuts quite the imposing figure. Yet his cheerful disposition and all around boisterous attitude make it clear he's neither worried nor trying to be overly intimidating.
Of course, in not trying to be intimidating… he's still managing to be very, very intimidating. Or at least provocative anyways. Jon can see the aptly named Rattleshirt glowering at Axel even now. At least the bone-covered wildling isn't glowering at Jon, but it's still a little disconcerting.
Meanwhile, the King Beyond the Wall looks like he isn't quite sure what to think of Axel as his royal counterpart eats his fair share of the hastily prepared feast and then some.
Mance Rayder hadn't always been a wildling from what Jon had heard. Once upon a time, he'd been a Brother of the Watch in fact. A deserter. But these days he had somehow rallied all of these people together, creating the biggest army that the Free Folk had ever made.
None of that mattered in the face of Axel Baratheon, however. Jon now knew from personal experience that the rumors about Axel were all true. And the Free Folk should at least be wary after seeing the man fly under his own power and wield a sword that was longer than he was tall.
Jon just hoped that-
"Snow."
Jolting from being elbowed in the side, Jon looks over and has to quickly control his reaction as Ygritte sits down next to him. He also has to resist the urge to sigh in relief. While he'd been confident in Ygritte's skills as a huntress and a fighter, there was never any guarantees, especially north of the Wall. Until this moment, he couldn't be sure she was still alive.
Swallowing down the gratitude he feels at the fact that she IS still breathing and carefully putting his earlier conversation with the King out of his mind, Jon slowly nods.
"Ygritte… good to see you well. Is Tormund…?"
Ygritte side eyes him for a moment before snorting softly, her lips curling into a half-grin.
"Yeah, Snow. Tormund's still kicking. Enough about that. The fuck are you doing here… and with him too?"
She nods her head in Axel's direction, causing Jon to sigh.
"The King… the King wanted to come and assess the situation himself, to strip away any biases and find out what was really going on with his own two eyes."
Ygritte hums, her own eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
"Just him and you? Arrogant one, isn't he?"
Shaking his head, Jon grabs Ygritte by the arm, startling her. He would never do this sort of thing under normal circumstances, but he needed her to understand.
"We left King's Landing this morning, Ygritte. We flew from King's Landing, all the way in the south, up here to the Wall. In just a few hours. The King did that all by himself, no dragon, carrying me the entire way."
Her brow furrows and her lips purse as she parses that. Jon just huffs.
"He's not arrogant, Ygritte. He's confident. And it's earned. If things come to blows, please don't do anything. Let him handle it… he'll keep it contained."
Or at least Jon hoped Axel would keep it contained. If someone like say, Rattleshirt, tried something, then hopefully only Rattleshirt would actually die. Though now that guest rights had been observed, Jon also hoped that nothing would happen whatsoever.
Ygritte just gives him a strange look, probably wondering why the fuck Jon thinks that she would ever let a Kneeler King 'handle it' if her own people started something. But before she can actually speak her incredulity, Axel's voice cuts through the air again.
"Alright then! Guest Rights are observed and so long as none of yours try to harm me or the man of the Night's Watch, I shall do no harm in turn. Let's get down to business, shall we? Mance Rayder. King Beyond the Wall, yes?"
Most eyes were on Axel Baratheon already, but those that weren't are definitely on him and those around him now. Back straight and head held high, Mance slowly nods.
"… That's right. And you are Axel Baratheon, First of His Name, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm."
Axel nods along, smiling grimly.
"They've tacked on a shitload of other titles in recent months, but I'm rather glad to be so far north that they haven't reached your ears yet."
This causes the blonde wildling in all white to snort in amusement.
"You kneelers and your titles. Even this 'King Beyond the Wall' is one of your titles. To be clear, Mance is not our King… he is simply our leader."
There's some shifting at her provocative words, but Axel doesn't seem at all upset. In fact, he outright grins at her, flashing his teeth as he turns his full attention in her direction.
"You're not wrong about titles down south. It gets rather ridiculous after a time. I'm partial to a few, but at the end of the day… I prefer names. Might I have yours?"
Jon blinks when the wildling woman, who had looked so composed and put together a moment ago, actually rears back a little bit and blushes at Axel's words. Technically, he should be upset on his sister's behalf… but unfortunately Jon knew far too much about the number of women who shared Axel's bed with his sister, as well as just how okay his sister was with the… arrangement.
"V-Val. My name is… Val."
Murmurs start up at that and even Ygritte leans in close and whispers in Jon's ear.
"Shit, not sure I've ever seen a man able to disarm Val that easily. Then again, for a kneeler king, he IS a prime piece of meat, isn't he?"
Jon flushes, tamping down on the anger and jealousy that Ygritte's words make him feel. He has no business getting mad at Ygritte for admiring the view. Not only are they nothing to each other, but how many times has Jon himself snuck admiring glances at Ygritte whenever he thought she wasn't looking?
Regardless, perhaps because of Val's stammering, or maybe because he's just tired of the distraction, Mance Rayder clears his throat and draws Axel's attention back over to him.
"She is my wife's sister, King Axel. Nothing more. Getting back on track… you've come a long way with little support. I wonder, what brings you to the other side of the Wall with just one crow?"
Val doesn't look too happy about being so blatantly dismissed by Mance, Jon notes. She nevertheless sits back and watches the two men converse though, her eyes intense like a hawk's but not another word of interruption spilling from her beautiful lips.
Chuckling, Axel looks around the camp for a moment.
"What else? I'm here to see for myself how bad things are and whether or not I should let you all through my Wall."
That gets a… significant reaction from the watching Free Folk. Jon himself wishes that Axel wouldn't be quite so provocative about things. But at the same time, he's not stupid, he can see that the King is doing it on purpose specifically to try and see how everyone will react and if they'll force him to defend himself over 'mere' words.
Those like Rattleshirt snarl and growl, some of them looking ready to cross blades right then and there. But Mance clears his throat and holds up a hand, causing everyone to settle down as he gazes at Axel somewhat impassively.
"… If you do not allow it, King Axel, then every man, woman, and child here be forced to die trying either way."
Mance's words hang in the air, a dread silence falling over everyone listening in on the 'diplomacy'. Axel stares for a long moment before his lips curl into a grin and he slowly nods.
"I like you, Mance Rayder. I like you a lot. Very well then. Tell me about the Others. Talk to me about the White Walkers you and your kind have seen. I'm here to hear it all. In fact, once you're done, anyone here who has seen a Walker with their own two eyes, I want to hear from you as well! Feel free to go and retrieve those who can give testimony, I'm not going anywhere!"
In the end, Mance had been the one to bring them altogether because there was nobody else. It was just as Val had said. He wasn't some King Beyond the Wall aiming to invade Westeros like his predecessors. He was just the only one who had the skill and gave enough of a damn to stop the Free Folk from being completely wiped out by the encroaching armies of the dead.
Axel, for his part, seems to really be listening. He gives first Mance and then every wildling after him his full, undivided attention. Not once does the King call any of them liars or question their honor by trying to poke holes in their stories. He simply hears them out one by one, encouraging more and more of them to speak out with his somber reactions.
During this time, as everyone is giving their testimony and telling their own story, Tormund arrives as well. He comes and sits on the other side of Ygritte, giving Jon one of those wild grins of his along with a nod of acknowledgment. The red haired man is savage and ferocious and untamed… but he's also a good man, Jon knows. Without Tormund and Ygritte after all, he and Benjen would be dead.
Finally, the camp falls quiet as the last wildling finishes talking and nobody else steps forward. After a few beats of silence, Mance clears his throat again.
"Well? You've heard everything we have to say, King Axel. What will you do now?"
Would he let them through the Wall? Would he allow them to flee to safety with those they had left? Jon can't help but lean forward along with the gathered Free Folk, all of them anticipating Axel Baratheon's answer. For a long moment, the King looks thoughtful… and then he nods and rises to his feet. Rather than say anything, he then proceeds to kick off the ground, rising into the air.
Everyone stares in wonder, especially those who had only come after Axel and Jon first arrived and had yet to see the King fly. Beside him, Jon hears both Ygritte and Tormund curse in surprise.
"What will I do now? I'll go find these White Walkers and see if I can't put an end to them myself."
Axel's hand goes to the handle of his massive Valyrian Steel Sword and Jon realizes he's serious. Though, before he departs, Axel's eyes find Jon… and he smirks knowingly when he catches Ygritte at Jon's side. Jon blushes hard as Axel looks back to Mance.
"I'll be back soon enough. In the meantime, anything done to Jon Snow will be revisited on every man in this encampment. Keep your people in check, Mance Rayder."
And with that rather ominous threat delivered, the King is gone, disappearing faster than the eye can really track. Jon blanches, almost wishing Axel hadn't singled him out like that right before leaving, because now every eye in the camp has turned to the 'crow' in their midst.
Before anyone else can speak, Val calls out.
"Crow. Is your Kneeler King full of shit or can he actually kill the Others?"
Even Mance Rayder looks like he's waiting for Jon to answer as everyone stares at him intensely. Swallowing thickly, Jon considers his words for a moment before slowly nodding.
"Down in the South, they call him a number of things because of his deeds. They call him the Unburnt because someone set him aflame with wildfire and he burned for seven days and seven nights without dying. They call him Kraken Slayer because he killed a kraken bigger than half a dozen ships over near the Iron Islands. They call him Dragon Tamer because he wrestled three dragons to submission in midair… and then convinced their mother, a Sorceress Queen from across the Narrow Sea, to bend the knee to him then and there."
Jon looks around and swallows thickly when he realizes they're all hanging off of his every word at this point.
"They say… they say he is blessed by the Seven Who Are One, the Gods of the South. They call him the Champion of the Seven and the Avatar of the Warrior. So… if anyone has a chance at killing the Others, then yes. I think it would be him."
After a moment, everyone turns and begins talking to each other about what just happened. Ygritte and Tormund, meanwhile, pepper Jon with questions he tries his best to answer.
All the while, Jon's eyes trace the path Axel took through the sky. He was all those things that Jon just said, to be fair.
… But at the same time, he was also something else. Axel Baratheon… was completely and utterly insane.
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A/N: Poor Jon lol.
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