The Unyielding Stag (Game of Thrones AU/Invincible)
Chapter 23: Small Council Perspectives Redux

A/N: A multi POV showing the true feelings of Axel's Small Council to the news of a Trial by the Seven.

-x-X-x-

With Renly agreeing to the challenge, a date for the Trial by the Seven is pinned down in just a few more messages and like that, it's confirmed.

Truthfully, Jon doesn't know how to feel about it. Part of him can't help but wonder where Axel got the idea in the first place. Had the Most Devout whispered it in the young King's ear during one of his daily visits to the Great Sept? Or was it someone else with even worse intentions than the High Septon?

Frankly, the Lord of the Vale doesn't know whether to be relieved or worried now. At this point Renly has already lost, he just doesn't know it yet. By agreeing to let things be decided by a Trial by the Seven, Renly has effectively forfeited his claim to the Iron Throne.

After all, it's not like Axel is going to lose. Jon still remembers in vivid detail what Robert's son had done to those treacherous Baratheon Knights that day on the Kingsroad. He'd barely seemed human with how fast he'd moved and how strong he'd been. Cutting men in half with his sword, punching jaws clean off with his fist.

None of their enemies had been safe that day. Only those who had fled the moment they realized the tide was turning had survived and Jon suspected if Axel hadn't had to look after him, they too would have been run down and killed. He'd seen how swift the younger man was after all. Jon didn't doubt that Axel could have run down even the fastest horse in Westeros.

But that brought up the issue of what came next. Renly would lose and either surrender to take the Black or be executed for his traitorous actions. That part was all but set in stone now, with the only thing left to choose being the men Axel would fight with on the day.

But that was Axel's choice, not Jon's. More than a dozen knights staying in the Red Keep had been helping Axel hone his skills with a sword ever since his coronation. All of them had volunteered to participate in the Trial by the Seven once it was announced.

Even after Axel had told them he would be naming the survivors of the Trial to the Kingsguard, no one had retracted their offer. To be fair, being a member of the Kingsguard was one of the greatest honors a knight could strive for, regardless of how restrictive their vows were.

As well, much like Robert before him, Axel was capable of inspiring great loyalty in people. His stature, his strength of arms, and his personality had led to the men he'd been training with all wanting to follow him to the ends of the earth and back.

The young King would know who the best of those knights were, so Jon left it up to him to decide who would stand by his side the day of the Trial. Jon himself was far more concerned with what would happen afterwards.

For instance, there was House Tyrell to be considered. Renly would either die or take the Black, but as frustrating as it was, Jon would not be advising Axel to remove House Tyrell from their seat in the Reach. It wasn't like there was anyone else in the Reach who had stayed loyal to elevate to their position, to be fair. The Reach Lords had sided with their Lord Paramount to a man, leaving them with little options.

However, Margaery Tyrell had apparently traveled with Renly on this war for some reason, so once the Trial was won, they would at least have her as a hostage. Jon would suggest that Axel keep Margaery in King's Landing for a time, to make sure that her family stayed in line.

On top of that, the Reach would almost certainly be forced to pay reparations for a good long while for this. At least a decade, perhaps more if Axel was feeling particularly vengeful. That might even be able to help them start working on the Crown's debt too.

Frankly, Jon wished that they could do the same with House Lannister, especially since so much of the debt was owed to the Lions of Casterly Rock. Unfortunately, Tywin had threaded the needle and remained just shy of being blatantly disloyal.

If nothing else, that was another thing Jon liked about this Trial by the Seven… it took all the power out of the hands of opportunistic men like Tywin Lannister and put it back where it belonged, in Axel's hands.

But speaking of Axel's hands… well, Jon couldn't truly prepare yet for that part. They would have to wait and see just how much of his true nature Axel had to expose in the Trial before Jon would know what damage control he needed to run. Fortunately, the Faith was still on their side for now… and the somewhat open secret of Renly's preferences should keep the Faith and the Most Devout on their side once Axel won.

Still, it was only going to be as clean as Jon made it. So even though the war was pretty much already over… the work was only just beginning.

At least Jon could rest easy knowing that Renly had seemingly ignored the tales from those survivors on the Kingsroad and had absolutely no idea what the fuck he'd just agreed to…

-x-X-x-

Stannis Baratheon knew what people thought of him. He knew that he was not a well-liked man. A combination of being a hard man with a strong sense of pride had led him to run afoul of many people over the length of his life.

That, together with what he believed to be a completely reasonable sense of duty and justice, made him a pariah among the nobility of Westeros. No more so than with his late brother, Robert too.

Stannis had done everything that was asked of him and more. During the Rebellion, he'd successfully held Storm's End against Mace Tyrell's siege, even as he and his men had starved. Following the Sack of King's Landing, he'd built a Royal Fleet at Robert's behest to seize the Island of Dragonstone, the last stronghold in the possession of House Targaryen.

Through events outside of his own control, the Mad King's last remaining children had escaped Dragonstone even as Stannis had taken the island castle. But even though it wasn't his fault, Robert had blamed him all the same.

He'd gone on to name him Lord of Dragonstone, while Renly had been given Storm's End. To make matters worse, Renly had been made Lord Paramount of the whole of the Stormlands, a position that should have been Stannis' by birthright.

Even still, Stannis toiled at Robert's behest all these years. Decades of service as his brother's Master of Ships. Not a single ounce of appreciation in return.

Unlike Renly, since Stannis was away from the city at the time, news Robert's death had come with the news of his bastard's legitimization. Truth be told… it hadn't surprised him, not really. One last knife in the eye before his older brother finally met the Stranger.

If anyone had a right to be angry about being supplanted, it was Stannis. With Joffrey and Tommen dead, Stannis should have been Robert's Heir. Sure, Myrcella technically had a claim as Princess… but the Lords of Westeros would never abide by a Queen upon the Iron Throne and Stannis doubted that even Tywin Lannister would have tried for such a thing. Not that it had wound up mattering in the end. Instead, his fat oaf of a brother had made sure with his dying breath that Stannis would never sit on the Iron Throne.

Funny then that his legitimized bastard, Stannis' new king, was giving him a a chance at the throne anyways. If Axel Baratheon lost the Trial by the Seven, then Stannis fully intended to push his claim. He certainly wouldn't let Renly have the city or the throne while he still drew breath.

… But even if Axel won, Stannis didn't think he would mind, much to his own surprise. His nephew had shown more gratitude and affection towards Stannis in the short time since he'd arrived in King's Landing than Robert had all of his life. And sure, part of that was because the Royal Fleet was bringing in food that was keeping the city going through the siege. But even still, Axel seemed to truly appreciate that Stannis was loyal where Renly was not.

It was his duty, in the end. He would serve his new King just as he'd served the last, regardless of his own personal feelings in the matter. And if Axel should fall, than it was also Stannis' duty to make sure that his traitorous little brother never got the chance to sit on the Iron Throne.

Duty and justice. These were principles that Stannis had lived by all his life, no matter how difficult it was at times. But he had to admit… recently, it had been far easier.

x-X-x-

At the Small Council meeting, Petyr had of course said what he felt needed to be said… but his true feelings were a different story altogether. A Trial by the Seven was the last thing Petyr needed to happen at this point in time, and now that a date had been set and the Trial confirmed, Petyr was left scrambling against the sands of the hourglass he'd just been saddled with.

Even though the Master of Coin would have preferred more of an actual war and a whole lot more bloodshed, the siege had been extremely lucrative for his side businesses all the same. Specifically, Stannis turning the Royal Fleet towards supplying King's Landing from the water had given Petyr a rather massive opportunity.

Every single ship in the Royal Fleet that was currently transporting foodstuffs from other ports over to King's Landing was one less ship that was patrolling the Narrow Sea looking for pirates, smugglers, and other clandestine sailors who might be on his payroll.

In fact, a few of those ships from the Royal Fleet were now on his payroll as well, though their Captains didn't really know it. With some coin in the right hands and a few words in the right ears, it wasn't always just food that the ships were transporting into King's Landing. Nor did they always leave with cargo holds that matched their documentation either.

However, just when Petyr felt like he was really starting to gain momentum, it was all going to have to come to a crashing halt. If only the siege had lasted a little longer… or even graduated into a full blown war outside of the city once the armies from the Vale, Riverlands, and North arrived. If that had happened, then Petyr could have continued making golden dragons hand over fist.

But no. No, one way or another, the show was over and Petyr would be damned if he would be the one left holding the bag. It would probably require burning a few of his smuggler contacts in the process, especially with the speed that he had to move to get it all done in a timely manner, but that was just how the game went sometimes.

As soon as the Trial was over and a victor was decided, things would start to go back to normal. And that would mean a lot more scrutiny of… just about everything. Bribes would still work, but they would almost certainly go up in price and not be as effective as they were before. And ultimately, Petyr wasn't willing to risk any of it. No matter who won, he needed to be ready to take advantage of what came next.

There was, of course, some difference in the two outcomes. If Renly won, Petyr wasn't sure whether he would manage to keep his position or not. He was technically Lord Arryn's appointment, after all. At the same time though, if he could manage to stay on as Master of Coin, then the new Hand of the King would be Mace Tyrell and that utter buffoon would be perfect for Petyr's purposes.

On the other hand, if Axel won, then while Petyr was confident he would remain Master of Coin, things would be… much less perfect. In that scenario, he would have to tread carefully once Jon's focus was no longer caught up in a starving city and an army on their doorstep.

There were benefits and costs to both outcomes. And either way, there would be opportunities for Petyr to weigh when the time came. He just had to be ready for them... and make sure that he was playing the game to the fullest of his abilities.

One way or another, Petyr Baelish would weather the coming storm, no matter what form that storm took.

-x-X-x-

Varys had to admit, this Trial by the Seven… was precisely what he wanted. Oh sure, he'd been careful to give a somewhat neutral response in the Small Council Meeting, but the instant he'd heard the words from their young King's mouth, the Master of Whispers had been absolutely elated.

Not only would this limit the bloodshed drastically, but it would also give Varys a chance to see Axel Baratheon in a live combat situation. With men actually trying to kill him, the young King would no longer be able to hold back quite so much, Varys hoped.

After all, having watched Axel spar each day, he's noticed several oddities about the young man that others seem to be ignoring. Such as the fact that Axel has never received a single injury in the yard. He's never been winded, nor knocked down. Not even once.

Now on the face of it, one might assume that part of this was because of Axel's position. He was the King of the Seven Kingdoms after all. That, combined with his powerful physique and youth made him not just a formidable opponent to fight, but also a dangerous one. Nobody wanted to be the knight who put their King on his ass. Nobody wanted to be the knight who drew blood from their new King so soon after the last King had died.

However, that wasn't what was happening. Oh sure, initially some of the knights that Axel had sparred with had very clearly held back. But just as Varys had noticed, so had Axel. And he'd quickly disabused them of their belief that they couldn't go full strength with him.

No, instead, over the weeks, Axel Baratheon had begun pushing the men he fought harder and harder, dragging them up with him as he steadily learned from them, and taught them some things in turn. Varys wasn't much of a fighter, but even he had to admit that there was something awe-inspiring about watching the young King do battle. Like poetry in motion, really.

However, was it poetry in motion… or sorcery in motion? Because Varys hadn't just noticed that Axel was never injured, winded, or knocked down. He also noticed that the young man never seemed to even break a sweat. Oh, he made an effort of pretending to of course. Wiping his brow when necessary, even pretending to pant from time to time.

But Varys' little birds were often able to get ahold of Axel's clothes after a long sparring session once he'd stripped them off in order to take a bath. Those clothes told the true story. They weren't soaked through even a little bit. Either Axel Baratheon didn't perspire at all… or he simply hadn't encountered a tough enough fight to push him to that limit yet.

So yes, Varys was very, very interested in seeing Axel in the upcoming Trial by the Seven. Especially since the correspondence between the two Baratheon Kings had allowed him to slip a few of his little birds into Renly's camp… and deeper still, into Renly's tent. Varys had received copies of all of Renly's correspondence, and was kept up to date on what sort of letters the man was sending out.

One of those letters was quite intriguing. Not just the contents, but the recipient as well.

It would seem that Renly Baratheon was intent on arming his paramour and Lord Commander with a secret weapon. Loras Tyrell was already bound to be one of the stronger combatants in this upcoming Trial by the Seven. It would be quite interesting to see just how he might fair against Axel Baratheon… especially when armed with Valyrian Steel.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Dun dun DUUUUUN!

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