A/N: Axel makes his girls rest.
-x-X-x-
"You could even claim right now, if you wanted."
Val's words hang in the air for a mont before Daenerys squawks indignantly.
"What?! You… you harlot! He just recovered from the brink of death! He needs his rest!"
Actually, Axel feels fine. Daenerys' healing is all-encompassing and he's already slept for days at this point. He feels like he could do just about anything right now. More than his rest, what Axel needs to do is get a move on. However, before he can say that he stops himself.
First because a glimpse out through the flaps of Val's tent shows him that it's currently dark out and likely the middle of the night. And second because looking at Val and Daenerys… he realizes that both of them are the ones who actually need their rest.
Daenerys had very clearly flown straight here from King's Landing and hadn't stopped even once. She was at the end of her rope, having burnt her stamina down to the nub of a candle only to then heal him like she had.
Val, anwhile, had given up her sleep to look after him and tend to his wounds these past couple of days. He wouldn't be surprised if she had gotten less than four hours of proper sleep in the last fifty or so hours.
They're both dead on their feet and trying not to show it. Daenerys because she wants to be useful to him even now, and Val because she doesn't want to miss out on her 'opportunity'. Axel still doesn't fully understand why the wildling woman is so taken with him all of the sudden. Fuck, she's seen him at his absolute weakest, the closest he's ever co to hitting rock bottom. And yet… she still wants to be with him?
Either way, in the end it doesn't matter.
"Nobody is being claid tonight. The two of you are going to sleep."
Both Daenerys and Val stiffen and open their mouths, but Axel cuts them off, rising from his bed and reaching for them, pulling them to him.
"No arguing. This isn't a debate. Co here, both of you. Rest."
He pulls them down onto the furs with him, tugging Val to one side and Daenerys to the other. Both are tense as he does so, and there's a certain… filthiness to all three of them. None have had a bath in so ti after all. Nor are they clad in what one could consider sleep clothes.
But it doesn't matter. Axel makes them tuck themselves into the crook of his arms, holding them both close to his chest. And within monts of laying their heads down… both won are out like a light. Despite their unspoken protests, despite their reluctance, both Val and Daenerys fall asleep in seconds, their breath evening out as they slumber against him.
Axel, of course, is not remotely as tired. He's not going to fall asleep so easily… in fact, he's probably not going to fall asleep at all. Still, it's much too late in the night for him to get anything done and with months of ti left before the Night King brings down the Wall, they have ti. Vanishing little of it… but they do have it.
For now, he just lays back and stares, first at the tent ceiling, and then at Daenerys and Val, and then around the tent itself. His eyes alight upon his Valyrian Steel Sword after a mont, resting as it is off to the side. Val had kept the Colossal-Sized Blade safe for him. That alone made Axel rather fond of her, truth be told.
Staring at the rippling patterns in the sword's tal, Axel realizes he never did quite co up with a na for it. But he has one now. It feels right, even as it drops from his lips like a promise and a curse at the sa ti.
"… Winter's End…"
The Night King and his White Walkers would not prevail. The Great Other would not prevail. Axel would make sure of that. And he wasn't going to let anyone get in his way.
-x-X-x-
The next morning, Axel ets with Mance Rayder and the other wildling leaders once more. They gather for a morning al and just like the last ti, hundreds if not thousands of wildlings gather around, all of them watching on.
Except this ti around, the illusion has been broken. They've seen Axel fall. They've seen him weak and broken. The wildlings know a secret that nobody in the entirety of Westeros, save for maybe Daenerys, knows.
Axel Baratheon is NOT invincible.
Truthfully, he expects to see more derision, distrust, and suspicion on their faces. He expects them to question everything about him now that the unbeatable veneer has been washed away. Instead… he sees a lot more respect than he was expecting.
"You've seen them now. More than that, you've survived them."
Mance Rayder's voice rings out through the clearing despite having its own raspy quality to it. Axel suspects that the 'King Beyond the Wall' hasn't slept much these past couple of days either. Still, his words cause a wave of shuffling and murmuring. Axel straightens up but nods all the sa.
"… Yes. I flew north for as long as it took. I found the White Walkers and their army. More than that… I found their leader, the Great Other's Champion."
There's so curious looks at that, causing Axel to smile grimly.
"Just as I am the Champion of the Seven, so too is the Night King the chosen of the Great Other. He cos to destroy us, ALL of the living, in the na of his patron deity. You were all just unlucky enough to be the first people in his path.
The wildlings whisper among themselves, though Mance just looks at Axel quietly. Axel gives him a slight nod before turning and addressing everyone around him.
"I found the Night King and his Walkers and we fought. I was overco. I barely escaped with my life. I could not defeat them alone. These things I cannot deny. Winter cos for us all. It cos in the form of demons and dark gods, in the form of our cherished and honored dead returning to do their bidding. If we are to defeat them, then we must band together. No matter where we co from, no matter our origins, the living must act as one!"
Never mind that they were 'wildling savages'. Never mind that he was Starborn, with a parent that ca from the dark abyss of the night sky itself. Each and every one of them had a pulse. Each and every one of them had breath in their lungs. That was all that mattered when their enemy wished to steal that breath and turn it against them.
There's a ragged cheer at Axel's words… but he is not their King. Not their ruler. They are not technically his people. In the end, most eyes turn to Mance… and Mance in turn only has eyes for Axel. Finally, he speaks.
"You will let us through the Wall then? All of us?"
Axel grunts, nodding sharply.
"I will. However, there will be a cost."
Mance doesn't look surprised. The wildlings watching on aren't happy though. Axel knew they wouldn't be. Perhaps he should have saved the motivational speech for after this next part, but alas, too late to go back and do it over again now.
"The people south of the Wall, my people… they fear you. I need your help to make them see you as I see you."
One of Jon's friends, the male wildling Tormund, calls out to that.
"And how exactly do you see us, kneeler king?!"
It's challenging and provocative… or at least, it's ant to be. But even as others shout in support of Tormund's question, Axel just smiles… and his smile makes them all go quiet, surprisingly enough.
"I'll tell you what I see when I look around . I don't see savages. I don't see a threat to my people. What I see… are survivors. I see individuals and I see families. I see clans and I see tribes. I see people, the sa people as my own, who have co together in the face of great adversity and remained defiant even as DEATH ITSELF NIPPED AT YOUR HEELS!"
That gets a more positive reaction. Everyone likes to be talked up, after all. More wildlings than last ti cheer on Axel's words. Even Tormund looks pleased by his answer. But the man also looks to Mance… and so do most others. Mance, who slowly nods even as his face remains as expressionless as ever.
"What do you need from us, Axel Baratheon?"
… He thinks Mance might be on his side in all of this. The 'King Beyond the Wall' was a forr brother of the Night's Watch after all. And that ant he'd co from the south of the wall, lived as a kneeler himself. He likely already knew what Axel would ask for. He was giving Axel the room he needed to persuade everyone else… or perhaps the rope to hang himself.
Letting out an explosive breath, Axel speaks honestly.
"If you are to co south with … then you will have to kneel."
The uproar is imdiate, but it was to be expected. Axel shouts over the rumbling murmurs, making his voice heard.
"It need not be permanent, however!"
That gives them all enough pause to let him finish his explanation.
"If you are all willing to accept the customs south of the Wall just for as long as you find yourself south of the Wall, then we can make this work. It will be… a performance of sorts. Your leaders will be nad Lords. Your clans and tribes will be called Houses. But nothing needs to change for any of you. You will still follow your current leaders. You will be safe on the RIGHT side of the Wall. The only thing that will change… is that your leaders will answer to ."
Looking Mance directly in the eye, Axel finishes his proposal.
"Bend the knee to , Mance Rayder, and I shall na you Lord Paramount of the Gift, the lands directly south of the Wall. Your fellow leaders will beco your Lords and Ladies. And all the people that follow you will be under your protection… and through you, under my protection as well."
Axel had already given away so of the lands of the New Gift to the Mountain Clans of the Vale who wanted to resettle there. However, both the Gift and the New Gift were massive stretches of land that were largely unsettled because they belonged to the Night's Watch and the Crown. And the Iron Throne was far, far away in the south while the Night's Watch took no wives and fathered no children.
There was plenty of room for the wildlings to settle there. And…
"And like I said, it can be temporary. It doesn't have to be permanent by any asure. The mont that the Night King is destroyed, the second that the Great Other is defeated and the lands north of the Wall are safe again, you are welco to return to your hos, to your ancestral lands… if that is your wish. I will not stop you. I will not try to keep you. And I swear to you all, here and now, that for as long as I live, I will never try to rule the lands north of the Wall."
That gets a mixed reaction. To be fair, it's an easy promise to make. Nothing north of the Wall is worth ruling, let alone living in. And yet so are still clearly suspicious of his intentions. Others almost give off a sense that they don't want it to be temporary. Still more seem to pick up on that second group's feelings and don't look happy by the idea of letting their guard down for even a second and allowing him to split them all apart.
In the end though, as Mance Rayder looks around and gauges the overall reaction of those currently watching… the King Beyond the Wall eventually seems to co to a positive conclusion. He nods to himself before stepping forward, his voice hardening and rising into the air as he makes himself heard. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs N()velFire
"Axel Baratheon speaks true! The living MUST band together! And we… we cannot stay here! All of us knew that when we first joined together and made our way south! All of YOU knew that when you nad your leader! We knew we had to get past the Wall to escape the Others!"
His words hang in the air for a second before Mance shakes his head.
"But what then? What were we to do once we made it past the Wall? Continue to flee? Run all the way south until the ocean itself stood before us and the Walkers ca behind us?"
There's so murmuring at that, though it seems more contemplative and introspective than negative. Mance turns to Axel and gives him a determined look.
"You intend to fight, don't you? You intend to man the Wall and fight the Great Other and his Champion right here."
Axel straightens up and nods.
"I do. I will. With whoever will fight by my side, I swear I will make my stand here and defend the living… to my dying breath if necessary."
He almost says sothing inflammatory, like offering them all ships across the Narrow Sea if all they want to do is flee. But he can tell that this isn't the ti for provocation. Mance is building up to sothing… and a mont later, he shows as much when he drops to a knee right then and there in front of everyone.
"Then I will bend my knee and swear fealty to you, Axel Baratheon, First of His Na, Protector of the Realm, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms."
A hush falls over the crowd. Axel smiles and steps forward until he's properly in front of Mance.
"I accept your oath, Mance Rayder, Lord Paramount of the Gift, Lord of House Rayder. Rise and prepare to carry out your duties in my na."
He offers the older man a hand and Mance takes it, standing back to his feet. And with that, it's done. Even with all that talk of Mance not really being their King and the wildlings being far freer than those in the south… everyone still falls in line. Whether that's because they're terrified of the Others, they actually like the plan, or they just understand which way the wind is blowing, it doesn't matter.
The other wildling leaders swear their own oaths and Axel accepts them, naming them Lords and Ladies as he promised. This conversation started between the King of Westeros and a bunch of wildling savages. It ends with a whole new section of Westerosi Nobility. And sure, it might turn out to be temporary. But Axel would deal with that when the butcher's bill ca due.
For now, only one thing mattered… protecting Westeros from the Great Other's minions. Everything else could wait.
-x-X-x-
A/N: Next chapter will be the end of this arc, and after that we're moving towards the end of this story with the final arc/epilogue. Just nine more chapters remain after this.
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