The Unyielding Stag (Game of Thrones AU/Invincible)
Chapter 19: Small Council Perspectives

A/N: A Small Council Meeting. Also the Mannis finally arrives~

-x-X-x-

Yet again, they find themselves waiting for the Grandmaester to make his way to the Small Council Chambers. Yet again, Jon finds himself considering whether it might be time to send another letter to the Citadel and see if they would finally retire Pycelle and send someone younger to replace him.

The man had been Grandmaester for over forty years now and served more Kings than most people alive had ever even seen. Whether his service was worthwhile or not was debatable, but there was no denying that he'd been around for a long time. Too long.

Unfortunately, given the current climate, Jon knew he couldn't waste time trying to get Pycelle replaced at the moment. Maybe after this whole mess with Renly was handled… but maybe not even then. After all, once Renly was dealt with, there would be a dozen other things the Realm had to handle first before they tried to force the Citadel to make any kind of decision on a reasonable time table.

As the aging Grandmaester finally makes it to his seat, Jon looks around the room, huffing to himself. They were still missing a Lord Commander of the Kingsguard as well as a Master of Laws. To be fair, the Kingsguard was still reduced to just two men after all the deaths, both of whom were effectively assigned to the Queen and Princess full time at the moment.

At least Stannis Baratheon had finally arrived in King's Landing. The stoic and ever-frowning man is in his seat at the table, looking like he'd rather be continuing his rallying the Royal Fleet at the moment rather than sitting here.

Knowing full well that Stannis wouldn't want him to make a big deal about his presence, Jon just gives the Master of Ships a single nod, which he returns.

As for the position of Master of Laws… the position should probably have been refilled by now, but there'd simply been no time with everything that was going on. At least Varys, Petyr, and Pycelle are all in attendance each time he calls a meeting. Small mercies, that.

"… Let's talk good news first. As of today, it is believed that the last of the wildfire caches left behind by the Mad King have been removed from King's Landing. I think we can all rest a little easier now, no longer having to wonder if there might be green flames just lying in wait beneath our feet."

There are nods from the other four men at that, the relief in the air palpable. Stannis perhaps a little bit less so given he'd been gone for so long, but he'd still lived in the city for most of the past two decades. After a moment of silent appreciation, Jon continues on.

"Furthermore, the Lords of the Crownlands have finished rallying and now wait at Hayford Castle for further orders. They can be to King's Landing within hours if we call for them."

Of course, one might wonder why they hadn't called for them yet… but the answer there was simple. The Crownlands were not a true Kingdom, and thus did not have a true Kingdom's strength. The amount of men gathered at Hayford Castle numbered just over ten thousand… but while that was a paltry sum compared to the numbers that some of the Kingdoms could field, it was still ten thousand more mouths to feed than King's Landing was ready for.

Jon had done what he could to prepare as soon as Renly's first letter had arrived and the true depth of his treachery was understood. King's Landing had been on rations for weeks at this point, and they'd been stockpiling what food they could in preparation for a siege.

More and more, it was looking like they would need it… because the ten thousand men of the Crownlands currently garrisoning at Hayford Castle would not be nearly enough to fight off the combined forces that the Stormlands and the Reach were said to have gathering in the Kingswood. As well…

"From what our Master of Ships has told me, the Royal Fleet is also coming together quite swiftly and more ships are being built to reinforce it as fast as possible, yes?"

Stannis simply nods his head.

"Indeed. I have rallied my vassals on the Narrow Seas and had them turn their able-bodied smallfolk to either crewing or construction. We will have naval superiority over my treacherous younger brother if nothing else."

"Oh? What about the Redwyne Fleet? Are you not worried at all?"

Baelish cutting in and asking such an antagonistic question makes Jon want to sigh. But at the same time, it IS a question they need an answer to. That's something even Stannis himself seems to understand as he scowls at the Master of Coin across the table.

"… It will take time for House Redwyne to get their fleet mobilized and all the way from the Arbor to here. As well, while the Stormlands have harbors, they are not as large as the Arbor and will not be suited for resupplying and repairing a fleet as large as the Redwyne Fleet. Furthermore, my foolish younger brother has rushed things to such an extent that I'm not sure if the vast majority of the Redwyne Fleet has even left the Arbor yet. When they do finally come, the Royal Fleet will be ready."

Relieving to say the least, but Jon can't help his shoulders slumping slightly.

"Unfortunately, that may be where the good news ends. While my men in the Vale and Lord Tully's forces in the Riverlands expect to meet at Darry soon enough… the North will be further behind them due to the sheer distance involved. And the less said about the Westerlands, the better."

That was a matter of no small amount of frustration to their young King, all things considered. Frankly, Jon didn't understand it. He'd seen some of the letters Cersei had written to her father. He'd sent them by raven himself, even. And from what he'd heard, Tywin Lannister WAS calling his levies and gathering them together at Lannisport.

However, there was simply no denying that the Old Lion was dragging his feet. It reminded Jon of the last time around, with Robert's Rebellion. Tywin had taken his time there too, calling up his banners, marshaling his armies, and marching on King's Landing. To reinforce it? Some certainly believed that, but in the end he'd been the one to take and sack the city before Robert, Jon, and the other Rebel Lords could even arrive.

The difference this time around was that the Lannister Lord's daughter and granddaughter were both in the city. One would think, all things considered, that Tywin would have been considered their safety of the utmost importance and moved faster to help them.

Admittedly, even if he had… well, the Lannister Armies alone, even reinforced by the forces from the Crownlands, would not have been able to defeat the combined armies of the Stormlands and the Reach in open combat. However, they could have held them off long enough for the Vale, Riverlands, and even the North to eventually arrive and put an end to this farce.

Tywin Lannister delaying his departure from Lannisport and taking his time could quite literally mean the difference between victory or defeat, though Jon would be damned if he didn't do everything in his power to make sure that wasn't true.

Clearing his throat, Varys speaks up with an apologetic smile.

"To add onto the bad news… my little birds whisper that Renly Baratheon and Mace Tyrell's forces have made contact in the Kingswood at this point. They will be upon the city any day now."

Jon grunts, giving the Spymaster a nod. Yes, what scouts they'd sent into the Kingswood had reported the same thing… those who had managed to come back alive anyways. Unfortunately, they'd all but lost control of those woods at this point. The last confirmed news that Jon had heard was of the massive caravans the Reach used to transport their armies reaching the edge of the woods from their end of things.

"… It might be worth considering whether we can hold the city at all at this point. Perhaps a retreat North would allow for us to meet up with the armies forming there. Then, we could come back and retake the city with overwhelming numbers."

Lord Baelish's suggestion hangs in the air for a long moment, silence falling as the other men at the table all pause to look at him. Stannis in particular looks disgusted with Petyr's perceived cowardice. But the truth is… his idea isn't a bad one on the face of it. However, when one looks just a layer beneath the surface, it quickly becomes untenable.

Jon shakes his head with a sigh.

"No. Logically, your plan is a good one Lord Baelish. But the Lords of Westeros are not always logical creatures. Losing King's Landing and the Iron Throne would shake the confidence that the Lords of the Great Houses have in our new King. Allowing Renly to take the city would be ceding him far too much ground. We would be giving him legitimacy he does not deserve."

Not to mention, it might be exactly the sort of thing that would cause Tywin to doubt their ability to deal with these traitors. So far, this technically wasn't much of a war yet. There'd been no battles and the only blood shed at this point was nameless scouts lost in the Kingswood.

But fleeing from King's Landing would be like losing a battle that they didn't even try to fight. It would give Renly the sort of victory he needed to push forward his claim on the crown. And of course, it would give him the Iron Throne.

None of that could be allowed to happen, but most importantly of all… Jon knew that Axel would never go for it. Even disregarding what the Lords of Westeros might think of him for what would appear to be cowardly rather than smart, the young King would rather throw himself at Renly's army alone than flee in the opposite direction.

Indeed, Jon had found himself forced to talk Axel out of any… unannounced trips into the Kingswood multiple times at this point. He'd made the mistake of letting the King know about the deaths of their first scouts, and ever since Axel had been gnashing his teeth over those men dying for him. They'd died in his place, at least in his eyes.

"No… fleeing is out of the question. This is King's Landing. The capital of the Seven Kingdoms and the heart of Westeros. We will make our stand here and-!"

Before he can finish his sentence, the door to the Small Council Chambers suddenly opens, a young guardsman completely out of breath rushing into the room. There's some alarm from the others, even as Jon Arryn rises to his feet.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion? Report!"

Catching his breath after a moment, the young man swallows thickly and lifts his head, showing wide, fearful eyes.

"T-They're here, milord. The Stormlanders, the Reach… t-they're here!"

… Damn.

-x-X-x-

The Small Council ends rather quickly after that, which is good because Petyr has so many things to do he doesn't even know where to begin. He had not expected Renly's forces to arrive quite so soon. In truth, he'd thought he had a few more days before they would come pouring out of the Kingswood.

But no, they were here… and they were quickly moving to surround the city and cut off all traffic. King's Landing was officially under siege.

This in and of itself was not necessarily a bad thing. Petyr had been preparing for a siege for weeks now. In fact, in one way, it was a very good thing indeed. Before Robert's death, the primary way in which Petyr had siphoned funds from the Royal Treasury was via the grandiose banquets, feasts, parties, and tourneys that the fat King had insisted on hosting.

After Robert's death, all of that had stopped… but paying for the removal of all those wildfire caches underneath King's Landing had made for an excellent way to continue siphoning more coin for himself out of the Red Keep's coffers. After all, it was so very easy to pay a cleanup crew one sum, say he'd paid them another larger sum, and pocket the difference for himself. Especially since he was in charge of the books.

Now with the wildfire caches removed however, Petyr was once more in need of a suitable distraction to keep Jon from looking too closely at said books. This siege would be perfect for that, as would the opportunities it brought with it.

In truth, he had known Lord Arryn would reject his proposal that they run away. After all, it was the most obvious and rational choice at this point. Sure, they had King's Landing… but they didn't have the men to hold it. Renly did. Giving it to him, going and joining up with their allies up North, and then coming and taking it back… well, it just made sense.

Which was exactly why Petyr knew Jon wouldn't go for it. And the man even understood that it was a good idea, heh, just as he understood all the reasons it was also a bad idea. It was almost enough to make Petyr respect the Hand of the King. Almost.

Regardless, this siege might be a little bit ahead of schedule, but Petyr would be damned if he wasn't going to still take advantage of it as much as possible. And that meant getting a move on, because those opportunities weren't going to seize themselves.

-x-X-x-

Varys watches on as Littlefinger scurries out of the Red Keep like a rat fleeing a sinking ship. Or maybe more like a rat trying to sell that sinking ship to some unsuspecting rube. His so-called rival was almost certainly going to do everything he could to make coin off of this siege. Meanwhile, Varys… still isn't entirely sure what side he's on.

Oh, he's more on Axel's side than Renly's at the moment, of course. All of his previous reasons for not wanting Renly as King continued to remain true. Meanwhile, studying Axel Baratheon over these last several weeks had been… interesting to say the least.

So far, the young man was a better King than his father had been. Some might say that wasn't a very high bar to clear, but given Axel's youth and inexperience, it was still impressive. That didn't mean he wasn't without his faults though. The sexual relationship with Cersei Lannister was… most definitely not advisable. It might not be quite as bad as whoring and drinking the nights away like Robert had done, but it was still pretty up there.

Axel had most definitely inherited Robert's love for fine women at a minimum.

There was also his strength of arms. Many would be aghast if they ever found out that Varys considered Axel's immense strength and speed to be a flaw… but in his eyes, it was highly suspicious. Certainly, the young King did his best to hide his power, to merely come across as an exceptionally talented young warrior. But Varys knew better.

The claim, of course, was that he was blessed by the Seven. The problem with that was a matter of faith, Varys supposed. On the one hand, he knew for a fact that magic was real. On the other hand… he'd spent the last thirty years on Westeros, serving under three different Kings. And not once in all that time had Varys seen a single sign that the Seven Who Are One were real.

He'd seen no miracles; he'd seen no awe-inspiring events. As far as he was concerned, the Faith of the Seven was built upon a shared belief in certain values… the gods themselves had never been very relevant, at least from Varys' perspective.

Even if the Seven had blessed Axel with inhuman strength, speed, and constitution… that raised another question. Why? For what reason or purpose would the Seven lift up Robert Baratheon's bastard son in such a way?

No… magic seemed more likely. The question then became if Axel was the practitioner… or the victim. This too might seem strange to anyone else if they could hear Varys' thoughts. How could someone like Axel be a victim?

But Varys knew better. And so far, their young King hadn't done a single thing to make him seem like a sorcerer. There had been no profane rituals, no blood sacrifices beneath the Red Keep, nothing. Prisoners hadn't gone missing from the Black Cells, and their new King hadn't performed a single act of magic beyond his unnatural physical capabilities.

In a lot of ways, Varys wanted to like Axel Baratheon. If this whole mess with Renly Baratheon could be handled without too much death, then maybe Axel could even be the King that Westeros deserved.

… But Varys refused to serve a sorcerer. So above all else, he would find out the secret to Axel Baratheon's power. One way or another.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Renly's forces are here and Jon has Axel scared of showing his true nature. Not to worry though everyone, Axel will have a plan for just how he's going to deal with Renly by the end of next chapter!

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