A/N: Getting back to King's Landing~
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Stonehart was pretty much gone. So was the helm, but it was the sword that hurt the worst, Axel had to admit. He'd made a couple goes at trying to find it, but for all his power, speed, and strength, there were some things even he couldn't make happen.
Seeing in the dark, murky depths of Blackwater Bay was apparently one of them. While he could fight underwater as he'd proven against Euron's Kraken, fighting in the depths was far different from searching along the bed of an entire bay.
He could have blamed Daenerys he supposed, but ultimately, he wasn't really angry at her. She was trying very, very hard to kill him at the time after all, and he admittedly had waited far too long to take the fight against her seriously. In the end, losing Stonehart was Axel's own hubris coming back to bite him in the ass.
That said, he had every intention of replacing the Valyrian Steel Sword with something new once he got a free moment to go speak to Tobho Mott in King's Landing. The Qohorik Blacksmith might have been a master armorer first and foremost, but he knew how to handle weapons too. Axel was imagining getting himself something a little bit… bigger than the longsword Stonehart had been this time around.
After all, first with the kraken and then with Daenerys' dragons, he kept finding himself fighting these large fucking monsters. And sure, he'd simply used his entire body and speed to punch multiple holes through the kraken, while with the dragons he hadn't even tried to cut them too badly… but there was something to be said about having a big enough Valyrian Steel Sword to slice a wing or tentacle off of an ornery beastie. You know, just in case.
Still, even if he hadn't initially taken the duel with Daenerys and her dragons quite as seriously as he maybe should have, he'd taken the days following her surrender and submission very seriously indeed. He'd made sure that Daenerys had her handmaiden while avoiding her attempts to bed him, he'd made sure that she had her foreign army stand down, and he'd sent multiple letters to King's Landing with orders to prepare for their inevitable arrival.
Put simply… they were going to need a place to house Daenerys' dragons eventually. And not just house but restrain them. Admittedly Axel had a pretty good feeling about the Targaryen woman's loyalty at this point, what with her killing that Red Priestess and then being betrayed by her foreign Red God.
The Seven themselves had stepped in at HIS behest and saved Daenerys and her dragons from certain death. Axel figured that scored him major points with the last Targaryen and he didn't exactly expect her to go on some maddened rampage any time soon with what he'd seen these last few days. At the same time… it was better to be safe than sorry.
That's why Axel had sent a letter to Stannis and the rest of his Small Council about recruiting as many laborers as possible to begin renovating the ruins of the long abandoned Dragonpit post-haste. Everyone in King's Landing knew about the Dragonpit, of course. It was this huge, cavernous, ruined building that sat atop one of the three major hills in Westeros' largest city.
Of course, it had been abandoned and left to languish for over a hundred and fifty years at this point, given that the dragons it had once housed had all been gone from the world for about that long. With no more use after the death of the last dragons, everyone had all but forgotten about the place, allowing it to fall into greater and greater disrepair.
Frankly, Axel was surprised that none of his predecessors had ever tried to do anything else with the hill since the death of dragons, but in the end it did make a certain sort of sense. Until him and his father, every King that had come before them had been a Targaryen. And given House Targaryen's true power had come from their dragons in the first place, it was probably something of a sore spot for them.
Though one would think if they really thought they might get to use the Dragonpit for actual dragons again someday, that they would have at least tried to fix the place up…
In the end, Axel was just glad that nothing had ever replaced it, because now for the first time in all those years, the Dragonpit was going to have a purpose again. Through his letters, he had ordered the Royal Coffers opened for the grand project. He didn't just want the Dragonpit restored, he needed it expanded, because all of Daenerys' dragons combined were of a size that the old Dragonpit had never needed to house before.
Finally though, with his orders given and all of that started, it was time to depart from Dragonstone. Daenerys' dragons, who he learned were named Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion, consented under Daenerys' urging to allow themselves to be chained up in the caves under the Dragonmont.
There, they would be fed and cared for until such a time as they could be moved to King's Landing. Axel himself put the chains on them just to be sure and was confident that they should not be able to escape without their Mistress' assistance. Nor would they try without her urging either, he was fairly certain.
Certainly, Daenerys could give them her power, in the same way she could take from them to empower herself. However, that had a limit in range, one that the distance from Dragonstone to King's Landing easily overcame.
And so a week after Axel Baratheon left King's Landing for his Trial by Combat over the waters of Blackwater Bay, he returns to the city on a ship with Daenerys Targaryen, her handmaiden Missandei, and Lord Davos Seaworth and a couple of the man's sons at his side.
The crowd that turns out to greet them at the harbor is even larger than the one that had formed by the time Axel arrived at the Red Keep all those months ago when he made it to King's Landing for the first time with Jon Arryn at his side. The smallfolk are barely held back by a revitalized, stronger, and far more honorable City Guard, every last one of them hoping for a chance to get a glimpse of their King… and his prisoner.
Horses as well as a wheelhouse are brought forward, with Daenerys and Missandei beckoned inside the latter while Axel mounts a stallion at the front of the procession. From there, they begin to make their way into the city, following the Muddy Way from the docks towards the center of the city.
Axel, of course, has his head on a swivel, even as he picks up some of the things the smallfolk are saying, just like last time.
"The King returns! He won! He won again!"
"Of course he won! Blessed by the Seven, he is!"
"They say he spared the Targaryen and her dragons!"
"Spare? He tamed them! Why do you think they have us fixing up the Dragonpit after all this time?!"
"I bet they tried to bathe him in dragonfire, but the moment they realized he wouldn't burn, the Targaryen lost her nerve and surrendered on the spot!"
That last one makes Axel snort in wry amusement. It's funny, he hadn't actually known if he was immune to dragonfire or not back during his and Daenerys' duel because he'd dodged every flame for fear that it would mean the ruin of his Valyrian Steel Armor.
However, his curiosity could not be denied forever. One of the last things Axel had done after chaining up Daenerys' dragons had been to have the biggest one (by a few inches anyways), Drogon, breathe flames on him. Daenerys had been hesitant to give the command, but Drogon was smarter than he looked and quickly realized what Axel was asking for.
The big black dragon had coated Axel in dragonfire completely of his own initiative before Daenerys could even say 'Dracarys'.
… It'd ultimately tickled. Axel had come out the other side covered in soot and ash from his completely destroyed garments, but he himself was entirely unharmed. The flames from Drogon's maw hadn't so much as singed his hair somehow and his flesh… his flesh was left completely untouched as well.
Of course, that was the first time Daenerys had witnessed him naked as well, something that left the Targaryen woman blushing like mad. But seeing as he'd already seen her in a similar state after they'd fought and even held her naked form in his arms when they both thought she was about to explode on him… Axel figured it was only fair.
Making it to the center of the city, their procession turns onto the King's Way and the Red Keep looms in the distance, even as the crowds lining the streets grow even larger.
"The Unburnt!"
"The Avatar of the Warrior walks among us!"
"The Unyielding Stag!"
With those larger crowds comes Axel's… fawning worshippers. To be fair, this street as well as the Gods' Way have a near constant stream of… pilgrims from the Faith of the Seven on them pretty much any time of any day of the week.
After all, it was on this road that he'd walked from the Red Keep while still burning with wildfire. His footprints can even be seen off to the side of the procession, blocked off and protected from trampling by reverent members of the Faith. From this road, he'd turned onto the Gods' Way and walked all the way to the Great Sept of Baelor, continuing what some called the 'Path of the Unburnt'.
It was all a bit much in Axel's opinion, though he certainly wasn't going to try and stop them from loving him more. And that last one… heh, 'Unyielding Stag'. He kind of liked that one if he was being honest. Had a nice ring to it, didn't it?
Before he knows it though, they've already reached the top of the road to the Red Keep, arriving just outside of it with what feels like more than half of King's Landing following in their wake. On his own horse at Axel's side, Lord Davos leans in close and clears his throat.
"Might be worth saying something to the people, Your Grace. Just a quick word."
A sense of vertigo hits Axel then as he's blasted into the past for a moment. Jon Arryn had said something so very similar to that in almost the exact same way in the exact same spot, all the way back during Axel's first procession through the city.
Just as Jon was right then, Davos is right now. Giving the Master of Ships a quick smile and nod, Axel dismounts from his horse and moves to the side of the wheelhouse. The door opens and Daenerys steps out, helped down by a hand from Axel.
A hush falls over the crowd as most of the people who might have caught a glimpse of Daenerys down at the docks definitely haven't made it all the way here. No, at this point the majority of smallfolk watching on are just now laying eyes on the conquered Dragon Queen for the first time.
Axel and Daenerys had discussed the… appearance she needed to give off when they arrived in King's Landing. She was a powerful woman by nature, but that sort of feeling wouldn't do when she was now his conquered and defeated foe.
As such, Daenerys is wearing a very feminine silver dress left behind by one of her female ancestors back on Dragonstone. It leaves her pale shoulders bare and accentuates her beauty and softness over her true nature as a warrior capable of making even Axel bleed.
Combine that with her short stature alongside his much greater height and a gaze fixed to the ground and the image of Daenerys Targaryen that everyone sees is a soft, repentant, and all around innocent looking maiden.
Obviously, this won't fool most. It certainly won't fool the important people. But for the unwashed masses, it gives just the right feeling, especially combined with the words that leave Axel's mouth.
"My people! I return victorious! I return triumphant once more!"
A massive cheer, near-deafening in volume, fills the air in response to his words. It takes over a minute for the people of King's Landing to stop cheering as Axel smiles on, watching them all run themselves ragged. Eventually though, he holds up a hand and they slowly fall quiet from that single gesture.
"Still, I imagine many might be confused by the fact that my enemy stands beside me, unchained and unharmed. There is a simple answer to that. Daenerys Targaryen… was never my enemy."
Complete and utter silence. Everyone looks shocked by such a declaration. Which, given the things they must have been hearing from the Faith or just on the street, Axel doesn't blame them. Still, he keeps up his bright smile, placing a gentle hand on Daenerys' back.
"This woman of Westeros, this daughter of the Seven… was led astray by a Red Priestess of the Lord of Light. She was tricked, manipulated, and abused. She was a victim of foreign gods who sought to use her as a weapon against me… and against all of you!"
He didn't really mind throwing the Red God under the wagon here. Not after all the bullshit the fucker had tried to pull back on Dragonstone. It's a sad, sad day when the Drowned God seems to accept defeat more gracefully than you. But hey, the Drowned God hadn't thrown a hissy fit on the same level as R'hllor. Axel knew full well which of the two deities he was on better terms with at the moment, even if both were on his shit list.
One day, he would have to make good on his promise to go and destroy all of R'hllor's temples too. After all, he'd said he would if the bastard didn't back off… and the only reason Daenerys still drew breath was because of the Seven, not because the Red God stood down.
"Daenerys Targaryen, once the wool had been pulled from her eyes, surrendered to me completely and unconditionally! She has fully renounced all ties to the Lord of Light and his Red Priesthood and she has been welcomed back into the Light of the Seven Who Are One once more! She has also renounced her and her House's claim to the Iron Throne now and forever. She has bent the knee to your King and agreed to serve Westeros under MY leadership from now until the end of her days!"
As Axel pauses for a half a beat, he can feel the tension in the air as everyone hangs off of his every word. He's building up to something, obviously. But he still has to stick the landing.
"My People… welcome our lost dragon home!"
Luckily, they all love him so a few words is all it takes. Even louder cheering than before fills the air, everyone screaming and roaring their excitement that he's managed to tame Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons somehow. But then at this point, Axel is pretty sure they're used to him managing such insane things.
They're all very, very happy though. As he turns to lead Daenerys into the Red Keep, the others trailing behind them, Axel can only hope that his Queens and Small Council will be just as understanding…
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A/N: Out of the frying pan and into the fire… luckily Axel is immune, huehuehue.
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