[1249 Words]
—Westeros, King's Landing, within the Red Keep, 291 AC, Seven years later—
The wind blew through the large windows of Maegor's Holdfast, carrying with it the sounds of the hustle and bustle from Blackwater Bay but also the faint stench of shit from the streets. In a hall overlooking the yard, a small group of workers spoke in hushed voices.
"Have you seen the twin princes lately?" whispered a lady in a crimson silk gown, her fingers tightly gripping her goblet. "Already seven years old, and already as different as fire and ice."
A gold cloak snorted quietly. "Aye, the elder, Joffrey, may the Seven save us."
"The boy has the look of a lion," said a septa, quietly, "but he has none of the discipline of one. He is rash, cruel in his temper, quick to wail when crossed."
"Cruel?" the lady said in a question. While she hadn't heard good things about Joffrey, she did not think a child only seven name days old could be cruel.
"I've seen him hurt a stableboy bloody for falling in front of him," the septa replied in a voice full of disdain and disgust. "And when the boy shoved him back, what did the prince do? He screamed for his lady mother, who punished the stableboy, how I know not, but I have not seen him in a long while."
A thin smile passed between them.
"No warrior, that one," the gold cloak said. "Not yet, and I don't see him becoming one; he struts around with a wooden blade, but when another child presses him hard, he casts it down and howls for the queen."
"And the younger?" asked a maester's assistant, who had lingered longer than what would be considered wise. With that question, the talk changed from a tone of disdain, disgust, and other things like that.
"Axel," the lady said in a softer tone, "he's a quiet one."
"Aye," the gold cloak agreed. "He speaks a scant few words, but watches a lot, with a strange look in his eyes, a strange calmness for a boy of seven names, day old."
"He shows courtesy at every new thing he sees, asks questions politely," the septa added. "He nods his head to the servants, thanks them, and always looks a person in the eye when speaking to them."
"And when angered?" the assistant ventured.
The gold cloak's jaw tightened, a strange look in his eyes, like he was remembering something strange. "When angered, there is no mistaking whose blood runs in him. I saw him in the yard last moon. A squire twice his age mocked him. The prince said nothing, not even a word; he just picked up his wooden sword and laid the boy flat on his back before the lad knew what struck him."
"So young?" the lady whispered in awe and slight fear for what he could do when grown up.
"He does not lose, or at least I haven't seen him lose," the gold cloak said plainly. "Not to boys his age, not to those older, wooden blade or no, he moves like a raging storm breaking through defences quickly. Not crying for his mother like someone."
"The Baratheon fury," the septa sighed, remembering the king who just come from the Trident, hammer in hand, as he walked his way to the castle.
"And the Lannister roar," said the lady, almost to herself in a whisper remembering the Lannisters men who tried to enter her room in the inn, but Tywin stopped them with his voice that boomed not like he meant to save her, he just wanted them to secure a perimeter and he also did not want Lannister men to assault noble ladies that would look bad on house Lannister.
Below them, in the yard, the twins could be seen away from the clamor of squires and servants and whoever else may be in the yard.
Joffrey stood apart, his face red as he was shouting at a servant boy who dared laugh too loudly, disturbing his fun. Even from afar, the wind carried his shrill voice. A guard shifted uneasily, glancing toward the queen's apartments.
Axel knelt in the grass nearby, not bothered by the noise or used to it. Before him sat their little sister, six years of age, her golden curls bright in the sun. He handed her a carved wooden lion, listening as she was going on about some tale she read from a book. When she tugged his sleeve, he adjusted the toy's position with care and a small smile on his face.
"He does not heed the whispers," the assistant said quietly.
"No," the lady agreed. "One prince would see every tongue cut out for speaking of him."
"And the other?"
The gold cloak watched as Axel rose when a bigger boy approached too roughly, placing himself between the child and his sister without a word.
"The other cares not," he said at last. "He has no care for the whispers said by people he couldn't care less about."
"Does that mean all of us?" The assistant asked in a bit of a disgruntled manner. "Yes, all of us will any of you go down there and say that to his face." The gold cloak, while the lady, the septa, and the assistant said nothing against his words.
—In the Yard—
"Do it!" he shouted at the gold cloak beside him, pointing at the servant boy who stood before him, shaking. "Hit him, make him bleed! I command it!"
The loudness of his cry made little Princess Myrcella flinch. Though she did not completely understand the meaning of his words, she knew it was wrong. Tears welled in her bright green eyes and spilled down her cheeks.
Axel saw the tears welling in her eyes and shifted his gaze from his sister to his brother, then to the guards posted near him and his sister. His face was composed, his green eye and blue eye looked at them with cold eyes.
"Take her to her chambers," Axel said evenly. "And fetch Persia from my room so she may comfort her." As he spoke, it was not a plea, but a command.
The guards obeyed without hesitation. One gathered Myrcella into his arms and carried her towards her apartment in the keep. The other lingered, the words he was about to say silenced by the look in the young prince's eyes before following the other guard.
For a second, Axel had a faint smile as his sister was taken away from what was about to happen.
WAK!!! Then came a loud slapping sound from behind him. The smile disappeared from his face, fading to a blank face. 'Fucking little shit,' Axel thought as he turned.
Joffrey had taken hold of the sheathed sword from his guard and was bringing it down upon the servant boy ruthlessly, who had gotten into a fetal position to protect his important places like his head and lower bits. Joffrey kept hitting the boy.
Axel crossed the yard in a rush and caught the sheathed sword as Joffrey lifted it again, intent on continuing before it could fall once more, his hand closing firmly around it
Joffrey snarled, pulling at it with all his strength. "Grrr, what are you doing, brother?" he demanded, straining to wrench it free.
Axel did not answer; he just looked at him with disdain as he did not release his hold on the sheathed sword.
[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?
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 next chapter will continue right where this one left off, so expect a fight, quick as it might be. It will show the relationship between the children and their parents. Now this will be a group/collection/chain chapter, so I suggest you wait to read it until all chapters are out, and it will be between 3-5. 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! :)]