[2222 Words]
—Westeros, in King's Landing, within the Red Keep, 291 AC—
[Axel's POV]
It has been two weeks since my fight with Joffrey in the yards of the Red Keep. For the first week after it happened, I was placed under house arrest, confined to my chamber like some troublesome kid, well, they may think that of me, but ha.
I was forbidden from training with the sword or watching others train, forbidden from going to the castle library to read or requesting a book from there, and even from leaving the room that served as both my prison and safe place.
My meals were brought to me by servants who spoke little and left as quickly as possible, of course, after asking if they could do anything as they should. The only entertainment I was able to enjoy was the few books that had already been on the bookshelves and tables of my chamber.
I read them more than once, some of them twice, not that I found any of them truly interesting, but simply to fill the long and dull hours that crept by.
Whenever Myrcella found the time to slip away from her own lessons and duties, she came to visit me. Persia was always with her, though not by choice of her own. As part of the punishment laid upon me, Persia had been ordered to remain constantly at Myrcella's side.
They wanted her to stay with Joffrey, but I protested fiercely, and they changed it to Myrcella. The arrangement was meant as another reminder of my misdeed, though in truth, it only meant that the two of them often arrived together. When they came, the room felt less like a cage.
They would sit with me, speak with me, and sometimes we would pass the time playing our small games or having idle talk. Myrcella's laughter carried easily through the chamber, soft and bright like wind chimes when a pleasant breeze came through.
Persia would either cuddle up with Myrcella or me, and when we play, she sits on one of our heads, mainly mine, because Myrcella does not want her hair messed up unless it was just before bed.
Those were the only hours during that first week that did not drag like chains across the floor. At the end of the week, Father finally came to see me, and Mother walked beside him when he entered.
Father told me that my confinement was finished and that I was free to leave my chambers again. Yet I was to stand in the same yard where Joffrey and I had fought and offer him a public apology for the fight.
Truthfully, I did not care much about that part.
I do not actually regret what happened between us. Joffrey deserved most of the hits I gave him. But words were just that, words, and if speaking them aloud before everyone who was there would satisfy everyone and reestablish peace, then I could give them without much thought.
They were only words. What troubled me far more than the apology was the way Mother looked at me.
She was not cruel, nor openly cold, but something in her eyes had changed since that day in the yard. The warmth that was once there had dimmed, and when she spoke to me, it was not like before; she did not scold me harshly. I can't put a name on it, but it felt off. But I'm sure it's just my imagination, but it was disappointing and saddening, though.
When I first offered my apology, I made sure that my words sounded sincere, though I did not mean them. I made sure they sounded sincere so no one would get mad at me.
Joffrey did not accept it. He just looked at me with hate, disdain, and disgust. Father then glared at him, and Mother stepped forward to speak with him in hushed tones.
Only after that did Joffrey finally accept the apology. Yet even then, he looked like he did not truly mean it, and it was plain on his face, like I'm sure he doesn't want to accept my apology but make it look like you do for the outsiders.
But I cast it out of my mind and returned to the things that had always been done. I spent my hours watching the knights in the training yard below the walls. When they allowed it, I trained beside them as well, with a wooden blade in hand, trying to match their pace and skill.
To my surprise, one morning I also saw Joffrey in the training yard with Uncle Jaime. He did not look invested in the practice; his stance was lax, and his attention wandered more often than not, but he was there all the same. I kept my distance from him, and I did not spar with him, not wishing to trigger another fight like the one before.
Beyond the yard, I passed some of my time within the castle library with Myrcella and Persia. The quiet there was a welcome thing, except for the turning of pages and the faint rustle of curtains stirred by the wind from Blackwater Bay.
At the evening meal, Father and Myrcella spoke with me much as they always had, their words easy and familiar. Mother, however, remained distant; her gaze often drifting anywhere but me unless I talked to her. As for Joffrey, whenever he was not pointedly ignoring me, he found some new insult to cast in my direction.
I simply ignored him.
[Third Person POV]
Axel, Myrcella, and Persia were gathered within one of the many chambers of the Red Keep, a quiet room where the tall windows overlooked the city below.
Axel held a wooden sword in his hands, swinging it through the air with his face looking determined, as he practiced the movements he had seen in the training yard.
Myrcella sat nearby, watching with her eyes bright in delight. Every time Axel managed a clever flourish or a swift turn of the blade, she clapped her hands with soft laughter, clearly impressed by his display.
Persia rested along the broad stone edge of the window, stretched comfortably where the pale light fell across the floor. Her tail flicked now and then as she watched the two of them.
Just then, the door opened, and Joffrey entered the chamber with Meryn Trant of the King's Guard at his side, the white cloak fluttering behind him from the wind of the open window.
Joffrey's gaze passed through the chamber until it landed on Myrcella. His mouth twisted with a sharp smile.
"Look at her, my sibling playing without me, can you believe this? Ser Trant?" Ser Meryn sent a disdainful look toward Axel.
"Yes, Your Grace, while your brother should be doing something else, your sister should be with you or in lessons." Ser Meryn Trant said as he looked at Axel with a sneer. Joffrey nodded once, pleased with the answer, and began to walk across the chamber.
"As Ser Trant said, Myrcella, let's go. If you like watching him train, then you'll love to look at me." Joffrey said as he walked closer to Myrcella, who stepped back and away from him, unease plain upon her face.
Axel, who saw it, stepped forward without a word and placed himself between them, his body cutting off Joffrey's path.
Joffrey slowly lifted his head, his eyes narrowing as he looked up at Axel, anger flaring hot across his face.
Seeing this, Axel stepped up to him, making Joffrey take a step back subconsciously, which only made him angrier.
"Get out of my way, Axel!!!" he commanded as he tilted his head up to look into Axel's green and blue eyes. Axel took a quiet breath and shook his head once.
"No, Joffrey, I don't want to hurt you, but as you can see, Myrcella does not want to go with you, so she won't," Axel said as he dropped the wooden sword to the ground and raised his empty hands before him, palms open so all could see he meant no harm and sought no quarrel.
Then Joffrey's face distorted red with fury.
"You, you, ARRRRGGGG!!!!" Joffrey Baratheon screamed, the sound filled with rage as he realized he would not get his way this time.
His eyes darted wildly about the chamber, searching for something, anything, to lash out at. That was when he saw Persia.
The small creature lay stretched along the sun-warmed edge of a nearby window ledge. At once, Joffrey rushed toward the ledge.
Persia saw him coming.
In a flash, she leapt from the stone edge, hoping to escape the prince before his grasp could close upon her.
But Meryn Trant was closer and moved faster.
The knight of the King's guard stepped forward and caught her cleanly in midair with armored hands before she could reach the ground. Without hesitation or thought, he turned and placed the frightened creature into Joffrey's waiting grip.
Axel saw it all.
The moment Persia was seized, the restraint left his face. His expression darkened with open fury as he strode forward across the yard, each step making a thudding sound against the stone.
He stopped before Joffrey, his voice low with anger boiling beneath the surface.
"Joffrey, what in the seven hells are you doing? Let Perisa go, I will not ask again."
Axel said as he walked straight forward until he stood almost nose to nose with Joffrey, his presence looming over Joffrey like a storm held back by a ribbon.
Persia struggled desperately in Joffrey's grasp, twisting and clawing with all the strength her small body could muster, yet Joffrey's thick doublet and layered court silks blunted her claws, leaving her efforts useless against the heavy fabric.
Joffrey did not even flinch.
Instead, a strange and unsettling curiosity crept across his face as he looked down at the struggling cat in his hands.
"No, I don't think I will," Joffrey said slowly as he looked at Persia with that dark, wandering interest that often came over him when cruelty stirred in his mind. "I always wanted to see the insides of a cat, Ser Trant, your sword."
At his side, Ser Meryn Trant shifted his stance, the white cloak brushing the ground as his hand moved toward the hilt of the blade resting at his hip.
As Joffrey kept speaking, Axel's face grew darker with every passing second as Joffrey walked around the room with Ser Meryn Trant at his side, and Axel stood in place.
The calm restraint he had held onto moments before was fading quickly, replaced by something far more dangerous. His jaw tightened, and the light in his mismatched blue and green eyes burned brighter.
Joffrey reached for the sword. The blade slid partway free as Ser Trant obeyed the prince's command, bringing the weapon closer.
That was enough. The moment the sword neared Persia, Axel moved.
He rushed forward in a sudden burst of speed, closing the distance between them in an instant.
Off to the side of the yard, Myrcella Baratheon gasped at the sight. Realizing what was about to unfold, she turned at once and ran from the chamber as fast as her feet would carry her, racing through the corridors to find another guard before matters turned far worse.
Joffrey Baratheon, seeing Axel rush at first, had a fearful look in his eyes, the sudden charge catching him off guard. For the briefest of moments, he hesitated, his gaze widening as Axel closed the distance between them.
Then he realized something: there was a sword in his hand, and it was not sheathed. The fear vanished from his face almost at once. In its place, a darker light flickered deep within his eyes.
Without warning, he slashed at Axel's face.
For a moment, it seemed as though time slowed within the chamber. The blade moved through the air, drawing closer and closer to the center of Axel's face, the steel flashing pale beneath the rays of the sun that came from the window.
At the entrance to the chamber, Myrcella Baratheon had just returned, breathless from her run through the castle halls, with Ser Barristan Selmy of the King's Guard close behind her.
The old knight's eyes widened, then sharpened as he took in the scene before him.
Beside the prince, Meryn Trant stiffened where he stood, a flash of unease crossing his face as the strike unfolded faster than anyone could stop it.
Joffrey alone looked pleased. A bright, cruel delight spread across his face as the blade came down... Then the strike landed.
Just before the sword could split the center of Axel's face, Axel turned sharply to his right; even so, the blade still caught him.
Squelch, shhhhhp!!!!!!!!
The edge struck across his blue right eye, cutting him as the steel passed. In that same instant, as the blow landed, Axel felt a strange tingling sensation spreading from the back of his head, and a sudden rush of knowledge surged into his head, making him pass out.
The chamber filled with Ser Barristan Selmy's shocked expression, Myrcella's pained and hateful expression before she passed out, Ser Meryn Trant's fearful expression, Joffrey's delighted expression, and Axel, who lay in a pool of his own blood.
[Author's Note: If you're confused about anything, stick with me, I'm making this as we go! Did you like the changes I made? Yes, no, leave a comment and tell me I will do what I can, so leave a review and tell me what you may want to see, and as you know, this is a harem, so who would you want in it? I have saved up the chapters ending V-1: Childhood, so give me time if I find the will to make 4 chapters in one go, you will get them
Disclaimer: I have a rough idea of where this is going, but I haven't mapped out every single detail or an overarching idea. So if you have suggestions to make the story better or who you might want to see, please leave a comment and review! I hope you like the story. While I do use AI, I don't think it is slop, and if there is any, I will try to change it and or add humanity into it, but just give me a chance.
Next time: So the set next chapter will start with Robert and Cersei coming, and I wonder what you all think will happen with Joffrey if it's good, I may change what I wrote for it, and then a message from Adam will be shown, Axel will awaken the memories, and ??? will show his reaction from Adam's world. See you then!
Ending Note: Thank you for the support. Have a great( if you're not religious) and or blessed day, and check out my other account where I publish Og novels. It's called Fiction_Dragon! :)]