The Unyielding Stag (Game of Thrones AU/Invincible)
Chapter 50: Aftermath

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A/N: This might shock some people, but Stannis REALLY doesn't want to be King.

-x-X-x-

Stannis races back to King's Landing as fast as humanly possible after receiving message by raven. Unfortunately, the written word proves wholly inadequate for explaining what actually happened. That there was another wildfire explosion is clear. That it took place in the Small Council Chambers during a meeting is also clear.

However… the rest of it is far less clear. In fact, the Lord Paramount of Storm's End is left with the mistaken impression that he's just become the rightful King of Westeros… and ironically, he finds that he doesn't really want it.

Sure, maybe after Robert's death he might have wanted to be King. Though, he hadn't even been given a chance to entertain the idea because he was away at Dragonstone when it happened. As a result, the news of Robert and his sons dying came at the same time as the news of Axel's legitimization and Jon's departure to the Vale to retrieve him.

But now? Now that he was finally given his due and recognized for his efforts by his nephew? Having Axel die so young and being forced to take his place was the last thing Stannis wanted. They were just beginning to stabilize the Realm, just beginning to work their way out of the hole that Robert dug them. And now… this.

Of course, ultimately it wasn't ever about what Stannis wanted. It was about his duty. Even if he didn't want to be King, he was the next in line for the Throne and he had a responsibility to the Seven Kingdoms that could not be ignored.

Except… upon arriving in King's Landing, Stannis found out that all was not as it seemed in more ways than one. Most importantly of all… Axel Baratheon was not dead.

The missive he'd received had been truthful, to be fair. It had simply been woefully incomplete. But then, how did you even begin to tell a tale as insane as this one over a simple letter? How did you even consider committing it to text without being able to provide proof of what had happened… what was still happening?

The Small Council was convened in their chambers when the wildfire went off. The King, his Hand, the Master of Whispers, and the Grandmaester were all in attendance. Meanwhile, Ser Arys, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, had just been sent to retrieve a missing Master of Coin mere moments before the explosion went off.

Jon Arryn, Varys the Spider, and Grandmaester Pycelle were all very, very dead. This was indisputable, as their charred remains had been identified from the burnt out husk of the Small Council Chambers once the wildfire had finally died out days later.

Axel Baratheon though… kept breathing. Not just that, he kept moving. When the first of the Red Keep's servants had arrived on the scene, they'd wisely kept their distance. Of course they did. After all, anyone would upon seeing the horrifying green flames licking at stone that had so thoroughly occupied the city's nightmares for months.

But even as the servants kept their distance, they reported someone walking out of the flames. There were too many witnesses to call them crazy as well… and Stannis had come to see the proof with his own eyes at this point too.

What would later be identified as Axel Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm… walked out of the Small Council Chambers under his own power. Burning brightly with enough green flames to send the less courageous onlookers running, leaving nothing but ash and footprints flickering with green flames behind him, Axel Baratheon had walked… and walked.

There was no covering up what had happened, not when the burning King had walked right out of the Red Keep and into the city. Many had fled from him in fear and confusion… but many others had stayed and watched from hastily found hiding places as the unrecognizable King had made his way through the streets of King's Landing.

His only source of identification was the Valyrian Steel Sword clutched tightly in one of his fists. Rosethorn as it had been known when Loras Tyrell wielded it. Stonehart as it had been renamed once it came into Axel Baratheon's possession. It had fused with his burning hand, the pommel destroyed by the wildfire but the Valyrian Steel remaining unmarred.

Axel hadn't wandered aimlessly either. He'd gone straight from the Red Keep to the Great Sept of Baelor. Even though eyewitnesses reported him having no face most of the time, his head a burning mass of wildfire just like the rest of him, the King took no detours and made no stops along the way. Just one impossible moving foot in front of the other until finally, he arrived at his destination and knelt before the statue of the Father in the center of the Great Sept.

Some assumed that he would die then, once he stopped walking, as though a great force of will and a truly pious heart had moved him to reach that spot as his final resting place and no further. But no… by the time Stannis reached the city days later, Axel Baratheon still lived. Even as he burned, he still breathed rattling breath after rattling breath.

The Kingsguard, led by Ser Arys, had taken up positions around the Great Sept and in a somewhat controversial move, would let no one enter without their say-so. Fortunately, their actions were backed by the High Septon and the Most Devout, who all seemed to be waiting with bated breath to see what would happen next.

Stannis himself took to investigating this insanity the moment he arrived in the city and had gained a semblance of real knowledge. He'd tried his best to make sense of the chaos of what had happened. In the end, the Lord Paramount had some success, but ultimately he still had more questions than answers… especially given the news that had arrived from the West in more recent days.

Still, when he received notice this morning that the situation in the Great Sept had changed, Stannis had rushed down with all haste. Axel Baratheon had burned for seven days and seven nights in total… but at long last, he burned no more.

Wildfire burned long (not this long, a small voice in the back of Stannis' mind points out) but it didn't and couldn't burn forever. Learned men knew this, but in the eyes of the smallfolk… well, the seven days and seven nights were seen as a sign. It didn't help that it was already being preached as a sign by the Faith on every street corner in King's Landing.

Stannis just grimaces as he stands there in the middle of the Great Sept a few feet away from his naked nephew. Axel's body is completely healed somehow, without a single scar or blemish. He's also completely hairless. The King has been rendered bald by the wildfire. The green flames had burned away all his hair, all his flesh, and should have burned the rest of him too… but hadn't.

Instead, Axel still lived and he kneels before the statue of the Father, unmoving and silent. Normally, Stannis would have broken the quiet by now… but even he can't bring himself to speak. It's not until Axel finally rises to his feet after an indeterminate amount of time that Stannis surges forward, wrapping the cloak in his hands around the broad shoulders of his extremely tall nephew.

The King jolts at the touch, before reaching up and taking hold of the cloak, his fingers feeling along its edge for a moment. His eyes remain fixed upon the Father's statue… but finally, he breaks his silence.

"Who?"

His voice, quiet and even, nevertheless echoes through the otherwise silent Great Sept. Axel's tone is filled with emotion. Grief. Sorrow. Rage. Fury. Stannis hears it all and he's always been told he's rather terrible at reading other people. Not today though. Not with Axel. He can practically feel the other man's emotions radiating off of him as he stands there, still as a statue.

Scowling for a moment, Stannis flicks his eyes towards the doors of the Great Sept.

"… Some are wondering if it was I who orchestrated the attack. They claim I certainly had the motive."

He doesn't know why he says it like that. Is he complaining? Is he simply putting it out there now so Axel hears it from his mouth instead of anyone else's? In the end, he needn't have worried. Axel scoffs at the very idea.

"Who would be fool enough to think that?"

Stannis doesn't smile, but his lips do take on a firmly grim satisfaction as he looks again towards the doors.

"Your Kingsguard has taken to protecting you by encircling the Great Sept since you arrived here. Ser Meryn Trant almost barred me entry this morning on the grounds that I may have been the one to arrange the attack on you. Fortunately, Ser Arys set him straight."

Axel hums, still staring up at the statue of the Father.

"…How did I get here from the Red Keep anyways?"

Frowning, Stannis looks to the floor, where even now Axel's ashen footprints can be seen. The wildfire flames he left in his wake have all gone out days ago by this point thankfully, but the path he'd carved from the Red Keep all the way to the Great Sept nevertheless remains untouched.

There are some among the Faith that are even calling the spots where his feet fell evidence of Hallowed Ground. If they have their way, they'll have named Axel's route through the city by the end of the week. Something like "Path of the Blessed King" or whatever, Stannis imagines.

"You don't remember? You walked, Your Grace. You walked all the way here under your own power."

Again, Axel falls silent for a time. And yet, his very presence seems to fill the space around them, sending a shiver down Stannis' spine. When he finally speaks, he changes the subject.

"Ser Trant is an idiot. I'm glad to hear that Ser Arys survived. I suppose he was lucky we sent him to retrieve Baelish before the wildfire went off."

The tension in Stannis' shoulders relaxes just a smidgen as Axel confirms Ser Arys' alibi. Admittedly, Stannis had been a little suspicious of the Lord Commander's tale, but at the same time he'd had ample opportunity to try to finish the job these past seven days. In the end, the Lord Paramount could admit that he hadn't truly believed that Arys had anything to do with it.

More concerning is the monotone that the King has begun speaking in. Stannis almost preferred when Axel was more emotional, because now it seems that his rage has gone completely cold. Straightening up, Stannis works his jaw for a moment… before finally speaking.

"I can't say for certain who did this yet, but I have my suspicions. Petyr Baelish wasn't just absent from the Small Council Chambers when the wildfire exploded, he was absent from the city altogether. He'd left King's Landing alongside Lysa and Robert Arryn over an hour before the meeting was scheduled to take place."

Axel doesn't speak. He doesn't move. In fact, he goes absolutely still at those words.

"… What?"

Stannis grimaces, feeling another icy cold shiver run down his spine. He does not consider himself a weak man. He does not consider himself craven. And yet… standing in Axel's presence right now is like nothing he's ever experienced. Perhaps its having seen the young King while he was still burning, kneeling there at the foot of the Father's statue. But no matter. Stannis steels himself and focuses.

"In the course of my investigation, I found documentation in both the Tower of the Hand and the Master of Coin's office detailing a trip by sea that Baelish supposedly had approval to go on. According to the documents, which were stamped with Lord Arryn's seal and signed with his signature, Petyr Baelish was to escort the Lord of the Eyrie's wife and child back to the Vale before returning to King's Landing."

Pausing to take a breath, Stannis shakes his head.

"Through Ser Arys' testimony, I have my suspicions about the veracity of these documents, Your Grace. I hope you can confirm them for me. The Master of Coin did not have leave from either you or Lord Arryn to depart from King's Landing, did he?"

The question hangs in the air unanswered for a long moment before Axel finally shakes his head.

"… No. He did not. Jon would have told me. He didn't mention it. He didn't understand why Petyr was late to the meeting anymore than the rest of us."

Stannis grunts and bows his head. That was their man than. At the very least, it sounded like he knew of the attack and planned to escape without telling anyone.

"Than I suspect we might have our culprit… but there is more, Your Grace."

"What is it?"

Axel's tone is terse. Clipped. But Stannis can't exactly blame the younger man. This is all a bit much, even for Stannis. Not least of which because he's exchanging words with a man who should be dead. Don't get him wrong, he's glad Axel still lives. But it was unnatural all the same.

"… Euron Greyjoy has broken his exile from the Iron Islands. Rumors abound about the exact order of events, whether Balon Greyjoy died before Euron revealed himself or whether Euron killed him first. But it doesn't seem to matter which it is. The Ironborn have rallied behind him and he's declared himself King. Ironborn Ships have begun reaving up and down the continent's west coast."

Some of the people Stannis had talked to, like Davos Seaworth, had been confused by the Ironborn's behavior. Even Asha Greyjoy, daughter to Balon Greyjoy was reportedly outraged that the Ironborn had not at least followed their ancient traditions and called a 'Kingsmoot'. Supposedly, their actions didn't make sense even within the context of their own twisted, vile sort of honor.

Personally, Stannis didn't think much of the Ironborn. It didn't surprise him one bit that the savages couldn't even be trusted to keep to their own traditions. Whatever Euron Greyjoy had done to make the Ironborn follow him despite his infamous reputation and the lack of a 'Kingsmoot', it didn't really matter did it? It happened. Now they had to deal with it.

Of course, Axel just stands there silently, staring up at the Father's statue some more. His hands curled into fists at his sides, the King trembles with anger and grief alike. Stannis… Stannis holds his tongue.

He wants to ask of course. The question that's almost certainly on everyone's mind. How did the King survive? The wildfire wasn't diluted or anything like that. It had killed Jon Arryn, Varys, and Pycelle instantly. And then it had burned across Axel's body for an entire week before finally dying out.

So how the fuck had Axel Baratheon survived? How did he still live? Was it… was it truly the Seven as the Most Devout and High Septon were already preaching? Had they blessed Axel Baratheon and kept him alive against all odds?

Stannis had never been very religious, admittedly. He paid lip service to the Seven because it was the done thing, but he'd never put much stock in the gods, neither the Old nor the New. And yet… here was a miracle, right before his eyes.

Axel Baratheon had knelt and burned in the center of the Great Sept for seven days and seven nights, and then he had risen completely healed, his flesh pristine and blemish free.

If that wasn't divine will… then what else could it be?

-x-X-x-

A/N: Oh man, if even Stannis is thinking it's divine will, what the fuck is everyone else in King's Landing thinking? Anyways, this right here marks the end of Arc 3! Tomorrow we start Arc 4… and don't worry, Petyr Baelish has made himself Axel's Number One Priority~

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