A/N: Time to deal with certain members of the Small Council~
-x-X-x-
The first thing Axel does the very next day, after spending the night cuddling with his Queens of course, is wake up nice and early and make his way down to the Street of Steel. Why? Well to commission a special project from Tobho Mott.
After finding out what sort of resources the Qohorik Blacksmith will need to create what Axel is envisioning, the King slips over to the Royal Treasury, pilfers some Valyrian Steel from his own coffers, and brings it back to Mott with nobody being any the wiser. Better to have as little people know about how much Valyrian Steel is in Mott's smithery as possible, Axel figures.
Of course, after that's all said and done, the whole thing taking about an hour in full, Axel goes and finds his Master of Coin, intent on telling him what he's done. Tyrion, as it so happens, is an early riser as well, though whether that's normal or not, Axel doesn't know, because he ultimately finds the Lannister dwarf not in his office, but over at a freshly constructed foreman's office next to the Dragonpit.
The moment Axel sets down amidst the early morning workers, a hush falls over the area, one that causes Tyrion to look up from the plans he's currently leaning over. A frown immediately overtakes the dwarf's face, though he quickly wipes it away and lets his expression go blank as he bows at the waist from where he's standing atop a chair.
"Your Grace. So… kind of you to join us."
Axel sweeps his gaze around at everyone else and isn't all that surprised when they all scurry away to whatever their current tasks are, leaving him and Tyrion mostly alone as he approaches the table.
"Alright Tyrion, don't hold anything back now. You've done a spectacular job as Master of Coin these past several months. Give it to me straight, how much have I screwed you over?"
Tyrion grimaces, glancing down at the papers in front of him again.
"… It will cost a lot of gold to renovate enough of the Dragonpit for even one of the Targaryen's dragons, Your Grace. Gold that you DO have, but still… is it worth it? Might be better to just… keep them on Dragonstone or something."
That was a fair suggestion, honestly. And it was something Axel had thought about too. Technically, there was something to be said about keeping Daenerys and her dragons as far apart as possible. But at the same time, if her dragons decided to break free of their current captivity completely of their own accord and run amok, Axel might not hear about it for days.
No, it would be better if he could have both Daenerys and her dragons right where he could see them. And on the other side of the coin, he wanted to be able to give Daenerys rewards for good behavior as well. Axel didn't really think that the Targaryen woman meant any harm to him or his people at this point. And given the amount of self-loathing she had now, he doubted she really wanted to take over the Seven Kingdoms anymore either.
Letting her have even one of her dragons close to her here in King's Landing would go a long way to building on the loyalty he'd started to ingrain in her when he saved her life with his impassioned plea to the Seven. Plus, once he was certain that she and therefore her dragons WERE loyal, he could count on them to defend King's Landing or other parts of Westeros while he was off doing other things.
Axel… doesn't want to tell Tyrion ALL of that. So he does his best to keep things a little simple while giving the Master of Coin what he needs to know.
"I have tamed the last Targaryen, Tyrion. I know it might seem unbelievable but consider for a moment all of the other impossible things you've seen me accomplish."
Tyrion grimaces but nods, conceding that point even as Axel continues on.
"Daenerys and her dragons might have started as our enemies, but now they are mine. And that means her dragons will need a place to stay. I know it will cost us quite a lot Tyrion… but we have the coin to spend, yes?"
The Master of Coin doesn't look happy about it, yet he slowly nods again.
"… Yes. For now. So long as the project doesn't go too far over budget."
Axel chuckles.
"Well, you're always telling me that we need to invest back into the city's population, right? We saw a bit of an economic boom just from your restructured sewer system. All the coin that the people of Flea Bottom made off of those projects went right back into improving their lots in life. Shouldn't the same happen here with the Dragonpit?"
Tyrion pauses for a moment… before getting a certain gleam in his eye.
"It should, Your Grace. Although if we wanted to make sure some of that coin made its way back to us more directly…"
He trails off, clearly not wanting to overstep his bounds. But Axel still knows exactly what Tyrion is talking about. The Master of Coin had brought forward a proposal a while back that had been immediately shut down by Stannis Baratheon. Axel's uncle had taken one look at the idea and said absolutely not and Axel had been… of a similar mind at the time.
But now he finds himself reconsidering. Sure, he didn't want to let another Baelish crop up. But Tyrion was not Petyr Baelish. He was a much better Master of Coin and far more loyal to boot.
"Hm… I'll talk to my uncle about it, Tyrion. See if I can't get him to come around to the idea of opening up some Crown-Sponsored Brothels in King's Landing after all."
Tyrion brightens up considerably. Indeed, the dwarf's idea did hold a certain amount of merit. The places where Baelish's old brothels had been located were still in ruins from where Stannis turn down the buildings and dug the land up looking for buried gold.
They'd stayed ruined because technically the land was owned by the Crown and so nothing could be done with it without the crown's approval. Tyrion had proposed rebuilding and reopening the brothels once more, seeing as apparently each of Baelish's old establishments had been positioned perfectly for such ventures in certain high traffic locations across the city.
Given that the only other brothels in King's Landing were rather dingy ones down by the docks and all of them had a bad reputation, there probably was a lot of coin to be had in such a business venture. But of course, Stannis didn't see it that way. He saw no value in brothels, and even less so in having the Crown run such things.
Still… men and women both liked to fuck. And if it wasn't going into their coffers, the coin would just be going somewhere else.
"Thank you, my King. If you can convince him… I swear that I can make a success of the venture, just as I have everything else."
Axel chuckles at not just Tyrion's confidence, but also his determination. The half-man had so much more to prove compared to everyone else. And Axel had no problem whatsoever using that raw resolve to his benefit.
"I'm sure you will, Tyrion. For now, keep up the good work here on the Dragonpit. Though try not to stay out in the sun too long. You're the Master of Coin after all; you can afford to delegate a little bit."
Tyrion just nods and Axel turns to leave, only to remember why he came here in the first place. Wincing a little bit, he turns back to the dwarf and clears his throat.
"Ah… there was one more thing."
Fortunately, Tyrion is more exasperated than angry to hear about Axel's little commission down on the Street of Steel. In the end he just marks down the expenditure himself, agreeing with the King that it was probably best to keep the knowledge of just how much Valyrian Steel was currently in Mott's smithery between the two of them.
With that taken care of, Axel finally leaves the dwarf and the Dragonpit behind and flies back to the Red Keep, expecting to have a conversation he's been putting off for over a week.
Only, before he can find Stannis and have a sit down with his uncle at long last, Axel is waylaid by another member of his Small Council altogether.
"Your Grace."
"Aye, very well. The Citadel, Your Grace. It was the Archmaesters who secretly decreed that all glimpses of magic and… unnaturalness should come to an end. It was the Citadel who sought to destroy House Targaryen's monopoly on aerial violence at the behest of their Hightower Masters. But they've gone further than that too. As I said to you a while back, I would not be surprised if not every poisoning attempt from when you were a child came from Cersei Lannister."
Axel grits his teeth.
"They're all in on it? Every last one of them?"
Here, Marwyn hesitates before shaking his head.
"… I don't think so, no. Certainly not every single Maester in the Citadel or across the Seven Kingdoms. After the last of magic left these lands, the conspiracy to do away with it went dormant as well. Otherwise, I doubt I ever would have been allowed to become an Archmaester in the first place. I've ran afoul of some of the descendants of that way of thinking over the years. I can't tell you how many still remain though… or exactly how they'll react to the Targaryen Witch and her dragons. All I have are my suspicions."
Axel growls for a moment… before slowly setting Marwyn back down on the ground.
"You can't, can you? Then consider that your next directive, Grandmaester."
When Marwyn raises an eyebrow, Axel just scoffs at him.
"I don't care if I have the authority to order you around about this or not. You will do everything in your power to keep the Citadel from making any moves on King's Landing, do you understand me? If you do not, if anything DOES happen… I will hold you personally responsible and respond disproportionately."
Marwyn's second eyebrow raises to join the first and Axel thinks he sees the corner of the Grandmaester's mouth quirk up for a moment.
"Disproportionately, Your Grace."
Axel grins.
"Yes. As opposed to proportionately. I'm not playing games here, Marwyn. I have bigger things to worry about right now than a bunch of old men in robes who think they can control MY Kingdoms from the shadows. Find them out and stop them… or else."
He knows he's being rather heavy handed, but fortunately Axel has learned that's precisely the right way to talk to the Grandmaester. Indeed, Marwyn the Mage only hesitates for a moment longer before bowing low at the waist.
"As the King commands."
Axel turns to walk away at that, intent on going and finding Stannis. Before he can though, the Grandmaester calls out one final time.
"Oh and if it pleases Your Grace, I would love a chance to study your tamed Targaryen and her dragons some time. I would like that very much."
Axel snorts in amusement and doesn't dignify the request with a response for the time being. They would see just what came in the days to follow and whether or not Marwyn earned such a privilege… for now, Axel needed to know if he needed to go and find a new Hand.
-x-X-x-
When he finally locates his uncle, Stannis is seated with the Hand of the King's pin in his hands, toying with it and staring down at it in contemplation. Not a good start, but Axel figures he deserves this much in all honesty. Still…
"If you feel that you must resign your post, I would understand and accept it, uncle."
Stannis stiffens in his chair, glancing up to where Axel has appeared soundlessly in the open doorway of his study in the Tower of the Hand. Smiling crookedly, Axel steps inside, moving carefully like his uncle is a wild animal who might spook at any moment.
Or not even spook… but blow up at him. That's what he's expecting from Stannis Baratheon at this point, all things considered. After all, there was history aplenty between not just the last generations of the Targaryens and Baratheons, but also between Stannis and Daenerys specifically. Even if it WAS one-sided.
Daenerys, after all, has never laid eyes on Stannis in her life before yesterday in the Red Keep's front courtyard. Nor had Stannis laid eyes on her. But her and her brother's escape from Dragonstone and Stannis' failure to capture or kill them back at the tail end of Robert's Rebellion had nevertheless haunted Axel's uncle for decades afterwards, mostly because of how Axel's father had reacted.
So yes, he's expecting Stannis to be very, very angry that he spared Daenerys' life. Which is why he's so surprised when his uncle… simply slumps back in his chair, looking more tired than anything else.
"You would be better off finding a more capable Hand than myself at this point, Your Grace. And perhaps one with a clearer mind as well."
Axel is completely caught off guard by the defeated tone of voice. What was Stannis even talking about? Approaching the desk, Axel furrows his brow in confusion and curiosity.
"I expected you to be angry with me for sparing the last Targaryen and her dragons. Not… this."
Shaking his head, Stannis scoffs.
"I was… at first. And then I realized how ridiculous my anger was when I finally laid eyes on the Targaryen woman. No, not woman… just a girl, really."
Daenerys was no girl. She was a woman grown, but the way Axel had her dress and told her to act HAD been designed to make her look like some innocent maiden despite the fact that she was a widow, the mother of a stillborn babe, and a dragon rider who had conquered entire cities to boot. Apparently the production had worked on the last man Axel expected it to work on… Stannis fucking Baratheon.
"… All these years I've hated her and her brother for escaping me. I've blamed them for Robert snubbing me at every opportunity. But then I saw Daenerys Targaryen in the flesh and realized just how misplaced my hatred was. She wasn't the reason my brother slighted me again and again and again."
Axel slowly nods.
"No, she wasn't. My father was just an idiot like that."
Stannis jolts at the casual insult delivered to his older brother. Axel just smiles crookedly, prompting Stannis to snort in derisive, dry amusement.
"Aye. But maybe I was an idiot too. If I wasted all of this time and energy hating Daenerys Targaryen… what else have I been wrong about? What else have I wasted all of my time and energy railing against?"
… Seriously? Was his uncle, who was infamously a stick in the mud, actually becoming self-aware and… dare Axel say it, introspective?
Seeing an opportunity, Axel clears his throat and shrugs.
"Well… I did just go and speak with Tyrion a bit ago. He's been doing a good job getting the work on restoring the Dragonpit started, but he's concerned about how expensive the overall project might wind up being. He's… asked me to talk to you about his old proposal regarding Crown-Sponsored Brothels rebuilt where Littlefinger's old establishments once stood."
For a moment, Stannis stiffens and a sneer starts to take over his face, a snarl building in his throat. But before he can express his objections to the idea in full… he suddenly catches himself and a moment later deflates. Then, Axel's uncle does something that Axel never in a million years expected Stannis to do.
He laughs.
To be fair, it's not a happy laugh. Nor is it victorious or celebratory or mirthful. It's the laugh of a defeated man who is just… done with it all.
"Why not? If not us, someone else will do it, I suppose. I've spent all my life holding men to the same standard I hold myself, only for them to disappoint me time and time again. They might as well start paying us for the privilege at this point…"
On the one hand, Tyrion would be ecstatic. On the other hand, Axel doesn't honestly know how to… fix this melancholic frame of mind that his uncle finds himself in. And before he can figure it out… Stannis holds up his badge of office.
"You're going to need to replace me, my King. Not right now… I'll do my duty for a while longer yet. But a year from now, two years from now, three years from now… whenever you find someone to take over, I want you to replace me."
Axel… doesn't know what to say. Fortunately, Stannis does.
"I've spent the last twenty something years here in King's Landing or off on Dragonstone. But neither has ever truly been my home. The day that Lord Arryn said you were making me Lord Paramount of the Stormlands… was the happiest day of my life."
That causes Axel's eyes to widen, but Stannis still isn't done.
"And so… if you wanted to, say, bribe me to accept the Targaryen woman and the dwarf's brothels and all the rest of this insanity… consider that my payment. When the time comes… you let me go. So that I might return to Storm's End, to the place of my birth, and rule the lands of my ancestors until my death."
Good lord. His uncle was serious. Him using the word 'bribe' in a positive context for the first time in his entire life made that abundantly clear. At the same time though, Axel finds he can't really blame him. Stannis was a man who had had his worldview consistently shattered multiple times since Axel had been crowned. Before that, he spent his entire life seeking the approval of a brother who was incapable of giving it for whatever reason.
Axel didn't know who the fuck he was going to replace Stannis with though at this point. Davos? He has to push down the urge to laugh at THAT particular impulsive thought. But he does know one thing… he has no problem agreeing to his uncle's terms.
"You have a deal, uncle. I promise, one day soon… you won't have to be my Hand anymore."
Stannis nods slowly, exhaling long and low for a moment before finally reaching up and putting the pin back on his chest. Then, he gives Axel a distinct Look.
"Until then… I still have a job to do, I suppose. And I hope my King knows what he's doing, bringing a sorceress with verified blood sacrifices to her name into our city."
Axel winces, feeling the oncoming talking-to just getting started. But after everything else, he's more than willing to bear with it at this point, the two of them talking back and forth about just how loyal Daenerys Targaryen really was and what Axel's plans for her and everything else were moving forward.
It's a very productive meeting, all in all.
-x-X-x-
A/N: Man, who is Axel going to replace Stannis with one day? Surely not Davos…
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