A/N: Everyone is finally arriving in the Westerlands!
-x-X-x-
If he didn't know any better, Axel would say that Euron Greyjoy was trying to kill him by way of sheer frustration over being denied a proper fight. At the very least, he was certainly giving it his best shot!
At long last, Axel and his armies had arrived outside of Casterly Rock to break the siege and relieve the Lannister Seat's garrison. To be fair, the armies of the Westerlands weren't doing a half bad job of that themselves before they arrived, but Axel and his men along with the Riverlands and the Vale had pushed that over the edge.
Except, by the time they forced the Ironborn all the way back to the ruins of Lannisport less than a mile south of Casterly Rock… the truth was revealed to them. The Ironborn they routed and slaughtered nearly to the last were nothing but a token force left behind while Euron Greyjoy and his damn fleet had fled back to sea.
At first, there'd been some fear that they'd gone South, to smash the Redwyne Fleet after all and put Oldtown to the torch while so much of the Reach's forces had made their way up the Ocean Road and arrived in Lannisport.
But no. The latest missives from the Arbor revealed that not a single Ironborn Ship had been sighted in days and in fact that the Royal Fleet had arrived by this point and were already making their way up the coast to connect with the armies outside of the ruins of Lannisport.
From everything they'd been able to discern, the Ironborn Fleet had retreated back to the Iron Islands, as if daring Axel to come after them. Or no, not 'as if'… that was exactly what Euron Greyjoy was doing.
Axel wasn't an idiot and neither were most of the men in charge of his armies. It was clear as day what Euron's plan was, especially when one took into account the massive fuck-off Kraken that was apparently at his beck and call.
… He'd gone and visited the ruins of Lannisport after they'd made sure the last of the Ironborn stragglers were dead. Axel had toured the city, wanting to see for himself the damage that Euron Greyjoy's ambitions had caused. It was interesting, the way the damage shifted depending on where you were in the ruins.
On the one hand, you had the half of the city closer to land. There, it was destroyed by mere men, ransacked with doors kicked in and wooden structures burned, but non-flammable structures largely intact. However, on the other hand, you had the half of the city closer to the water… closer to Euron Greyjoy's Monster.
There were survivors from the destruction of Lannisport who spoke in horrified whispers of the Kraken and Axel didn't doubt for a second that they told the truth about both its size and ferocity. However, the real proof was in the sight of Lannisport's coastal facing walls and the sheer destruction that the part of the city next to the water had suffered.
Standing among the ruins, Axel could almost see in his mind's eye the massive beast's tentacles whipping out and destroying stone walls that had stood for thousands of years. And not just the walls either. Once those had come down, the damn thing had crushed every building close enough to the sea and given its reach, that was pretty far in, almost all the way to the city center.
The stark difference between the parts of Lannisport destroyed by men and the parts destroyed by monster made it more than clear that the Kraken was very real and very large. And that, Axel suspected, was precisely what Euron Greyjoy was banking on.
His enemy's strategy was plain as day, truth be told. There was no great subterfuge, no massive deception. Euron Greyjoy no doubt thought he didn't need such things. After all, in his eyes he'd probably already won.
As far as Euron was concerned, it probably seemed like Axel had no good options. It was either die now or die later. The first choice, to take the combined Redwyne and Royal Fleets and sail straight to the Iron Islands as his father had done years and years ago… that would be walking right into a massive trap.
The Iron Fleet would be waiting, but more than that, Euron's Kraken would be waiting as well. There would be nowhere to run that far out at sea. The great big monster would no doubt destroy much of Axel's fleet, even if they did manage to kill the damn thing. And then Euron and his fleet could swoop in and clean up what remained.
Alternatively, the second choice was to not chase the obvious trap. But… then what? This many men could not remain in one place, mustered and ready for battle, forever. By now, all of the armies of the Seven Kingdoms had arrived in the Westerlands. Even the North was set to arrive today from what Axel had been told… in fact, he hears a commotion at the edge of camp and peering out… yep, there they are.
As the Northmen arrive at the massive war camp, filled with tents that dot the landscape from the ruins of Lannisport all the way to Casterly Rock, Axel grins.
Really, he was never going to go with the second choice. That would mean disbanding these armies and sending everyone home. That would mean returning to King's Landing with his tail tucked between his legs. It would also mean allowing Euron Greyjoy uncontested control over the west coast of Westeros thanks to that blasted Kraken of his.
Such a capitulation would just result in the slow death of Axel's authority anyways. Nobody would respect the Iron Throne if it could not even protect four of the Seven Kingdoms from the predations of the Ironborn. And that was assuming that Euron wouldn't come all the way around Westeros' coast just to make trouble for Dorne, the Stormlands, and King's Landing itself as well.
No… the only choice was to fight. And if Axel was being honest… he was kind of looking forward to it. For now though, he catches sight of Lord Eddard Stark at the head of the column of Northmen and he makes his way over to him, a grin on his face.
"Lord Stark!"
Blinking, Sansa's father begins to bend the knee before Axel stops him.
"My King-!"
"None of that now, stand tall Lord Stark, stand tall! Thank you for answering the call and making the long journey here."
Straightening up, the older man nods solemnly.
"It was my duty, Your Grace."
Axel's grin widens. There had been a moment, after his recovery, when he had considered other options for Hand of the King aside from Stannis. It wouldn't have been intended as a slight against the man, but rather a certain form of laziness.
Stannis seemed like he'd been settling well into the position of Master of Laws and he wouldn't have been able to keep doing that work if he was Axel's new Hand. So the initial thought was to just keep Stannis in the position and find another man to be Hand of the King.
However, none of the men Axel had thought of to take Jon's place had felt right. Of them all, only Lord Stark had seemed even remotely reasonable and Axel was smart enough to realize that the Warden of the North didn't want the role. Hence, Stannis had been given the title.
Now, Axel finds that he has many things to tell Eddard Stark. Such as the fact that he'll be marrying his daughter. Of course, he also plans to tell the Northern Lord that he's going to be marrying Princess Arianne as well. He has no intentions of keeping such things from his father's old friend.
However, before he can take the Lord of Winterfell aside and tell him anything at all, they're interrupted.
"Your Grace! It's a pleasure to meet you!"
The only reason Axel doesn't snap immediately is that the one doing the interrupting had been standing alongside Lord Stark all along. Indeed, once he inserts himself into the conversation, Eddard even turns and nods his way, introducing him.
"Ah yes. This is Theon Greyjoy, Your Grace."
… This was Theon Greyjoy. Axel looks him up and down for a long moment, taking him in. The other man straightens up under Axel's imperious gaze, the cocky smile on his face fading just a bit. He was… well, maybe it was Asha's words tainting Axel's first impression of Theon, but he couldn't help but think little of the man.
There was just something about him that immediately rubbed Axel the wrong way. But it wouldn't do to let that color his reactions too much so after a long pause, he simply nods.
"Well met, Greyjoy."
Shoulders slumping a fraction of an inch in relief, Theon proves discontent to leave things there.
"Your Grace, my Uncle Euron is a traitor and a Kinslayer, but I swear by my ancestors that House Greyjoy as a whole does not follow him!"
Why? Just because of Theon himself, standing here? Axel finds himself snorting derisively, unable to hold his tongue as he shakes his head.
"His remaining brothers, your other Uncles, certainly do. As do your people, it would seem."
Theon goes a little pale.
"They… they've just been led astray, Your Grace. I swear-!"
But Axel cuts him off, continuing his musings.
"Your sister doesn't though, I suppose."
That causes Theon to blink, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"My… sister?"
Suppressing most of his smirk, Axel nevertheless nods.
"Aye. Your father sent your sister to investigate your treacherous uncle's return to Westeros a few months ago. I met Asha Greyjoy in King's Landing, where she proved herself quite the fighter. Her ship sails with the Royal Fleet even now and should be here within the next few days."
Theon doesn't seem to know what to say to that news. He blinks some more and swallows convulsively in a very visible way. Axel turns back to Lord Stark, preparing to tell the man that he wants to speak privately, but this time before he can get the words out, he interrupts himself, catching sight of someone over Eddard and Theon's shoulders.
"Ah. Apologies… Lord Stark, hang onto this for me for a moment, would you?"
The look on the Warden of the North's face as Axel pulls his crown off of his brow and sets it in the man's hands is downright priceless, but Axel pays him little mind as he walks away, moving with purpose and a glint of steel in his eyes.
-x-X-x-
Ned is not used to being… baffled. But as he stands there holding the King's crown in his hands, his entire body turning to follow the younger man as he walks away, that's precisely what he's feeling. Befuddlement. And then he sees where Axel is going and his eyes widen in alarm.
"Man and I thought I was a big fucker!"
The uncrowned King of six and a half feet in height plants himself right in the path of the infamous Mountain Who Rides with a grin stretching from ear to ear and his hands on his hips. Ser Gregor Clegane, who had been walking through the sprawling war camp seemingly minding his own business, stops and blinks. The taller man stares down at Axel uncomprehendingly for a moment before sneering.
"Get the fuck out of my way."
When the Mountain moves to brush past Axel however… the King reaches out and grabs him by the arm, stopping him dead in his tracks.
"Now hold on friend. I just want to talk. Giant to bigger giant!"
Ser Clegane looks as befuddled as Ned feels by this, gazing down at where Axel is holding him as though he can't believe it. Axel though… the crownless King continues unabated, a cheery grin on his face.
"Now, I've never personally had any issues in this department myself, but I've heard that when men get to your size, they wind up losing something else in return. I just wanted to know if it was true or not."
The Mountain just stares, still confused but unable to pull himself free of Axel's grip from the look of things. The amount of strength that the King must be exerting…
"… What?"
Letting out a laugh, Axel releases Gregor's arm and even gives him a pat.
"Just a simple question friend! That height of yours… is it true that it left you with a smaller pecker than that of Tywin Lannister's dwarf son?"
Eddard Stark's eyes bulge out of his head at the extremely inflammatory, extremely crass insult. For a moment though, he's thrown back in time. For a moment, with Axel finally having facial hair, it's almost too easy to see Robert's form imposed over that of his son. That was, after all, just the kind of rude joke that Robert Baratheon would have made.
Of course, the Mountain… doesn't take it well. Despite being freed of the King's grasp, he pauses to listen to Axel's words. Upon finally realizing what Axel is implying… he gets angry. No, getting angry would be an understatement. What Ser Gregor does is let out a roar of pure rage and draw his sword on the crownless King.
Ned curses, one hand holding the crown while the other goes to his sword. At the same time, some Kingsguard nearby are also reacting, drawing their own blades. They're all so far away though. And barely anyone was really paying much attention to Axel's conversation with the Mountain.
And yet… none of that winds up mattering. Ser Gregor Clegane draws his sword and points it at the King of the Seven Kingdoms, but he never even gets the chance to swing it. Faster than Ned's eyes can track, Axel's own blade is freed from its scabbard before anyone else can take a step towards the altercation. It flashes out just as swiftly too and for a moment, the camp goes quiet around them as Gregor Clegane freezes in place.
After a few heartbeats, his body finally catches up with what's happened to it. The Mountain's head falls from his shoulders, rolling along the ground as the headless body drops to its knees and then slams into the ground, causing a minor quake from the sheer size of it.
Axel looks down at the Mountain's corpse, no smile in sight anymore. His eyes are dark and his face is expressionless as he wipes his Valyrian Steel Blade clean and then sheathes it.
"A man would not have drawn his blade against his King. A knight would not have broken his oaths a hundred times over for decades and remained unpunished. A shame that a mere dog was allowed to fool the people of Westeros for so long."
Striding back over to Ned and his ward, Axel doesn't even spare Theon a glance as he takes his crown back from Ned's hands and smiles thinly.
"Thank you Lord Stark. Now please, let us find somewhere more private, there are other things I must tell you."
Ned spares only one more glance towards the decapitated Mountain as he follows the King away. Despite how everything had just happened… he feels like an old weight has been lifted off of his chest from over two decades ago. Perhaps… perhaps Elia Martell and her children can rest just a little bit easier now.
-x-X-x-
A/N: Ding dong, the Mountain's dead! Axel did say he would take care of that at his earliest convenience~
Feedback is GREATLY appreciated, every comment helps me shape the story with a Daily Free Write like this one!
Plug: If you're interested in reading more ASAP, you can sign up over on my Patreon right now to read FIFTEEN chapters ahead!