The Unyielding Stag (Game of Thrones AU/Invincible)
Chapter 31: Theoretical Matrimony

A/N: Oaths are sworn, Axel continues to be freakish, and Jon broaches the topic of matrimony.

-x-X-x-

Axel sits upon the Iron Throne, idly tapping the sheathed 'Rosethorn' against his knee as the herald announces each of the Great House Lords before they come up to swear fealty to him directly.

It was more than a little overdue, but that was just how things worked out sometimes. Frankly, that six of the seven Heads of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdom were all in the throne room at the same time was in and of itself a bit of an occasion.

Lord Tywin Lannister comes first, a small consolation prize after how badly Axel and Jon had wrung him dry a few short days ago. After him is Lord Eddard Stark, a somewhat dour looking man who was supposed to have been his father's best friend once upon a time.

Next up following the Warden of the North is Lord Edmure Tully of the Riverlands. He's younger than the others, but still older than Axel. In fact, Axel still recalled when old Hoster Tully had died a few years back, resulting in Edmure's ascension.

Finally, last and most certainly least, is Mace Tyrell. The Lord Paramount gets the frostiest reception from Axel's court, something even a buffoon like him can't possibly miss. His position at the back of the line despite having been in King's Landing the longest of the four Great House Lords was no mistake either.

Tywin Lannister might escape this visit to the Capital with only a slight marring to his reputation, but Mace Tyrell was effectively under house arrest until his mother arrived to take his place at her granddaughter's side.

Only then, once Lady Olenna and Lady Margaery were both secured in the Red Keep, would Mace be allowed to return to his lands and begin paying his penance to the Crown for his foolishness. And everyone knew it too.

Meanwhile, Jon and Stannis had long since sworn their oaths in person, so with Mace done, that's the end of the Great House Lords. Technically, Balon Greyjoy should have made his way to King's Landing by now as well, but the Iron Islands were notoriously prickly and isolationist. Jon assured Axel that so long as the Ironborn weren't outright raiding the coast of Westeros, they were better off ignored and based on everything he'd heard about them, Axel was inclined to agree.

Of course, that doesn't mean it's over. Once the four Great House Lords are all done, their vassal lords who have made the journey along with them come next. These ones don't get their own announcements at least, but there's still a line that stretched out the damn doors of the throne room as they each walk up, bow low at the waist, and move to the side just like happened after Axel's original coronation.

It's all so tedious and boring, but Axel was quickly discovering that ruling could be very tedious and boring, especially in peacetime. That wasn't to say that he necessarily wants the war back, not when it had resulted in the smallfolk of King's Landing starving and had almost ended in the bloodshed of tens of thousands of men fighting outside of the Capital…

… But even still, he finds himself adjusting upon the Iron Throne, wondering just how much longer this can all take. At least the damn thing can't cut him like it had so many of his predecessors, reportedly. It's uncomfortable as shit, but not painful. Not to someone like him anyways.

-x-X-x-

What feels like hours later, Axel has finally escaped the throne room and the endless parade of noblemen all bowing to him one after the other. He'd thought he got enough of that after his coronation, but it turns out that the tail end of an almost-war is the perfect time for a bunch of Westeros' nobility to finish the journey they were already making to King's Landing and all give their vows of fealty at the same time.

He's playing with the Valyrian Steel Sword again when Jon walks in on him, causing his Hand to immediately sigh and shake his head.

"Will you please stop cutting yourself with that thing, Axel? It's a nasty habit, no matter how quickly or fully you heal."

Looking up, Axel raises an eyebrow. Then he places his hand on the table palm up… and brings the Valyrian Steel down on it, right then and there. Jon's eyes widen and he takes a step forward, an aborted shout erupting from his lips.

"No-!"

And then he sees that while blood still wells up, the sword hasn't split Axel's hand in two like it should have. Instead, Axel wipes the blood away with a cloth and shows Jon that the gash in his palm is already healing, even as he sets the Valyrian Steel away.

"That 'nasty habit' as you call it had a purpose, Jon. I noticed a while ago that it wasn't cutting as easily or as deeply anymore. So I kept going. And the results speak for themselves, I'd say."

"… Even Valyrian Steel doesn't cut you as deeply anymore…"

Axel smirks and shakes his head.

"So it seems. I guess I'm… getting used to it?"

His smirk drops at the end there, replaced with a contemplative frown. Honestly, he doesn't understand exactly how his body works. Jon, sighing, shakes his head as he walks over and takes a seat, looking tired for a moment.

"That's quite… abnormal, I'm afraid. I've never heard of a man who could cut himself on any kind of steel and eventually develop impervious skin. But then, I've also never heard of a man who is naturally impervious to Castle Forged Steel in the first place. I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that you're able to make yourself resistant to Valyrian Steel as well. But it does."

Axel bites his lower lip, feeling self-conscious and vulnerable for a moment.

"… Thanks for putting up with my strangeness, Jon."

Snorting, Jon reaches over and places a hand atop Axel's as he smiles wryly.

"It is my greatest pleasure, my King. Your strangeness won you the Trial and saved the Realm from a bloody war, after all. And for all we know, the Seven truly have blessed you. Who's to say otherwise, right?"

Right. Axel chuckles a little at that. Who is to say otherwise? Not the High Septon, who has been preaching about how the Seven are more present today than they've been since the time of Aegon's Conquest, all because of Axel's victory in the Trial. Both the general public and the Faith are eating it up too from what he's heard. His daily visits to the Great Sept have made the Most Devout very, very happy.

Jon's gaze moves to the rippled blade in Axel's hands and he grunts.

"You're going to need to rename that thing. Rosethorn is… distinctly uninspired and not really right for you either."

Axel tilts his head in acknowledgment, even as he also inspects the Valyrian Steel Sword for a long moment.

"… Still no idea where Renly even got it in the first place?"

Sighing, Jon shakes his head.

"I can confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that there's nobody on Westeros missing their Ancestral Sword. We would have heard of it by now. And that means Renly either found this lying under a rock or buried in some long forgotten tomb, or he got it from Essos. Either way, he's not talking seeing as you decided not to have him put to the question."

Axel's nose wrinkles instinctively at that. Maybe it was weak of him or something… but he just didn't really like the idea of torture. Even if it was his traitorous uncle. If it was more important, than he might have stomached it… but the truth was, so long as nobody was coming forward to say Renly stole the damn thing from them, Axel didn't care where he got the Valyrian Steel. It was his now and that was all that mattered.

As for the subject of renaming it… Axel had been thinking about that for quite some time. Rosethorn was, after all, a rather poor name all things considered.

"… I had a few ideas for it. But I think I've settled on one in particular. I wanted to pay homage to my past while respecting the House I now belong to. Tell me, what do you think of… Stonehart?"

His Lord Hand is silent for a moment in consideration before finally nodding.

"Stone to call back to your roots as a Vale Bastard and Hart for Stag? I think it's a good, strong name Axel. A worthy name."

Hm. Axel thinks for a moment longer, still looking down at the blade. Then, he makes his decision, not the type of bother fretting over it for any longer than necessary.

"Then that's what it will be called. Stonehart."

Jon inclines his head, even as Axel sheathes the sword and sets it aside. Looking to his Hand, he raises an eyebrow.

"I imagine you didn't come here to talk sword names with me, Jon. What other business brought you to me today?"

Smiling apologetically, the Lord of the Vale leans back in his chair.

"… The business of matrimony, I'm afraid."

Ah. Axel had… somewhat known this was coming. It was an issue that was shelved while Renly was making a fool of himself and throwing the damn Realm into chaos, but that just meant it was an even bigger issue now than it had been before. In fact, it was perhaps the biggest issue that a King could face. Succession.

Right now, Stannis was his heir because Axel had no children. Until he had a son, Stannis would become King of the Seven Kingdoms should he die. Now obviously Axel had no intentions of dying any time soon, but as Jon had explained to him, the confidence of his Lords and even the smallfolk themselves would surely deteriorate if he remained without a wife and children for too long.

To be fair, it wasn't as though Axel were opposed to the idea. Ever since Cersei had tried to kill him, he'd actually begun to get a little… pent up even. It had been weeks now since he'd last laid with a woman, where before he and the Queen Dowager had been going at it every other day or so.

Seeming to misread his silence, Jon leans forward.

"I know you might not be excited by the prospect, but you need a Queen, Axel. After how Robert and the Princes died… the Realm needs the security of a proper line of succession now more than ever. With Renly dealt with, this has to be our biggest priority."

Axel just chuckles.

"I understand Jon. And I agree. Though I also think the debt takes equal priority with getting me a wife."

Jon lets out a weary sigh at those words, even as he nods his head in solemn agreement. When Jon had told Axel just how much debt Robert had gotten them in, Axel had been flabbergasted. How had one King, even with over twenty years to do so, managed to spend six million golden dragons? In peacetime no less!

Hell, the total spent was actually more than that already staggering six million too because they were still taking in taxes from all across the Seven Kingdoms throughout that time. The six million of debt represented how much they still owed after collecting twenty plus years of Royal Taxes. Disgraceful.

Fortunately, they'd been able to wipe away some of that debt by leaning on a desperate Tywin Lannister. But with millions still owed to the Iron Bank of Braavos along with dozens of other, smaller lenders, Axel wasn't even sure if they would manage to pay the rest off in his lifetime.

All he could do was get a head start on the problem for the sake of his children, really.

"I agree completely, Axel. The debt… we will do everything we can to ease the burden on the Crown over the coming years. I appreciate your sense of frugality."

Axel just snorts derisively at that, shaking his head. Then, he turns back to the other matter at hand.

"Right then. A wife. I have a condition Jon. A major one."

His Hand raises a brow at him and Axel prepares himself for a fight, knowing full well that he's about to ask for something outside of the norm.

"I want a woman, Jon. My age or older. I don't want some girl maiden who's barely flowered or anything like that. I want someone like… like Margaery Tyrell. A woman grown and comfortable in her body."

Jon blanches at his example and rubs the bridge of his nose for a moment.

"… Axel, please tell me you know that you can't marry Margaery Tyrell. She's a ward of the Red Keep, a hostage against any more malfeasance from the Reach. She's not an acceptable marriage candidate."

Rolling his eyes, Axel waves Jon off.

"I know Jon, I know. She was an example. Anyone too much younger than her is off limits. I don't even want to hear about them."

"… That will vastly limit the number of potential brides, my King. Especially if we want to be sure that your wife comes to the bedding with her maidenhead still intact."

Scoffing, Axel shakes his head.

"I don't care about that sort of thing."

Jon gives him a long suffering look.

"You should, Axel. The nobility will. Even the smallfolk will. And the Faith certainly would. There needs to at least be a semblance of propriety."

The mention of the Faith makes Axel grimace… but he's not willing to back down on this. He has two reasons, really. Firstly, Cersei had been fun in bed for all that she'd turned out to be crazy. He found he had a liking for an experienced older woman like her. But marrying someone as old as Cersei was, of course, out of the question. Hence this compromise.

Secondly though… Axel was worried about his prospective wife being able to handle him or not. Even if he would have to moderate his strength no matter what, he still wants a woman who can at least try to go toe to toe with him, not a girl who doesn't know what to do. And he wants a woman who will be able to handle childbirth as well.

With all of that in mind, Axel gives Jon a determined look.

"Make it work, Jon."

Letting out a sigh, Jon falls silent, thinking for a moment. Finally, he grimaces and nods.

"I can think of two possibilities at the moment. Women of good enough pedigree who also fit your… stipulations. Lady Sansa Stark of Winterfell and Princess Arianne Martell of Sunspear."

Axel perks up. He's heard of both women… and of their beauty as well.

"Perfect. Let's get them to King's Landing and see if we're compatible then!"

But his Hand just gives him another long suffering look.

"It won't be nearly that simple, my King…"

-x-X-x-

A/N: Now that we're in Arc 3, it's finally time to start getting the harem together~

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