[1755]
—Westeros, King's Landing, the Red Keep, the Great Hall, 291 AC—
Within the Throne Room of the Red Keep. The long hall that could house many had only a few, no more than 10 people, yet none of them dared raise their eyes. King Robert Baratheon sat on the Iron Throne, his back straight and not drunk for once, which was rare for him; his furious gaze passed across all of them, a swing of his warhammer. One by one, each man and woman lowered their heads under the crushing weight of it.
They remembered that look.
Men who had fought beside or against him upon the Trident had seen that look before: the face of the young warrior who had crushed Prince Rhaegar Targaryen beneath his warhammer flashed in their heads. That same fury has now awoken in the king's eyes once more, though this time it was not a Targaryen prince he looked at with those eyes, but his own blood.
They were not the only ones who could not meet his gaze or even look in his direction.
Queen Cersei Lannister sat fixed on her smaller throne beside the towering Iron Throne, her golden-haired head bent low. Tears streamed down her cheeks without pause, though whether they were born of grief or fury, none could rightly say. Her thoughts lingered only on the conflict that had come between her sons.
The throne doors groaned open not long after, admitting the last who had been summoned as witnesses. Their murmurs died the moment their eyes fell upon the chained prisoners.
Gasps rippled through the hall.
The young Prince Joffrey Baratheon was on his knees, his wrists and ankles bound with iron chains, struggling against them like a caged beast. Rage distorted his face, and he let out cries of rage, anguish, and sobbing, but they all sounded like they came from a savage beast, though the guards paid him no mind.
Beside him, also on his knees, Ser Meryn Trant of the King's Guard.
The white cloak upon his shoulders seemed duller even with the hall's torchlight. His hands, legs, and torso were all shackled, yet he gave no struggle. His head remained down, his eyes hollow and distant, as though whatever spirit that was once within him had already faded.
The gathered lords, ladies, and courtiers gawked in stunned silence. A prince of the realm and a sworn brother of the King's guard brought forth in chains was a sight few in Westeros had ever lived to see.
King Robert rose slowly from the Iron Throne. When he spoke, his voice filled the hall like a war horn.
"Now that all who are needed stand before us," he said, each word heavy with barely restrained fury, "this court has convened."
His eyes fell upon the bound prince.
"This is the trial of the heir apparent, Joffrey Baratheon," Robert continued, his voice hard as stone, "who stands accused of the attempted murder of his brother, Prince Axel Baratheon."
"And Ser..." he said with disdain as he looked at 'Ser' Meryn Trant, "who also stands accused of the adding in the attempted murder of Prince Axel Baratheon."
The king's hands fisted, turning white under the force as he spoke.
Those who had stood beside him or against him upon the Trident felt a chill creep down their spines. For in that moment, the king before them was no weary ruler drowning in wine, feasts, and tourneys.
He was the Robert Baratheon of the War of the Usurper, the storm-lord who had faced Rhaegar Targaryen in single combat, smashed a prince from the saddle, and brought down the Targaryen Dynasty that had lasted for 282 years.
And the fury burning within him had not yet begun to fade.
Robert Baratheon sat back down on the Iron Throne as a gathering storm held back, but soon it would unleash its fury, his big hands resting on the few free places on the Iron Throne.
"So," the king said at last after a brief silence, his voice low and deep but loud enough for all to hear, "before I carry out my Judgment, does the accused, or anyone else present, have anything they would like to say?"
His eyes drifted across the hall.
Those who had been summoned later as witnesses felt that gaze fall upon them like a rushing bull or STAG. Not a single one dared hold the stare. One by one, they lowered their heads or looked to the floor, as though the stones beneath their feet were suddenly of great interest.
None spoke.
At the benches brought in for the small council, Lord Jon Arryn shifted in his seat, his mouth parting as if to speak. The whisperer Varys inclined forward slightly, as he prepared to offer some careful counsel. Even Queen Cersei lifted her head, her tear-streaked face tightening as words gathered upon her lips.
Yet the moment their eyes met Robert's, every one of them fell silent.
There was a storm raging behind those eyes; it was dark and violent, like the thunder that rained down on Storm's End before the breaking of the ground or sea. Whatever words they had meant to speak died in their throats.
Then another voice rose.
"I did nothing wrong!"
Joffrey Baratheon had ceased his wild struggling, the chains at his wrists and ankles rattling faintly as he straightened, though still on his knees. The prince's face was painted with anger and wounded pride, yet now he spoke with certainty of one convinced of his own innocence.
"Axel came at me," Joffrey said bitterly, tossing his head. "I was only trying to play with his stupid little cat."
He spoke boldly, not noticing the silence that had fallen across the chamber, nor the dreadful stillness of the man he called father. The storm in Robert's eyes only darkened.
Robert drew in a slow breath through his nose.
"Oh, is that the truth of it, Ser Meryn Trant?" the king said at last, his voice full of disbelief. "Did Joffrey only mean to play with… what was the creature's name…"
For a moment, Robert frowned, clearly searching his memory for the cats name.
"Persia, Your Grace," came a steady voice from the side of the throne.
All eyes turned to Ser Barristan Selmy, Lord Commander of the King'Guards, who stood straight in his white cloak.
"Prince Axel speaks of her often during his training sessions," Barristan added respectfully.
Robert gave a short nod.
"Yes, right, thank you, Ser Selmy."
The king's gaze returned to the chained knight before him.
"So then, Ser Meryn Trant," Robert said, his tone now thick with sarcasm, as though he were asking the most foolish question ever put before the court, "did Joffrey mean to play with Persia… using your sword?" Robert's eyes fixed upon the disgraced knight.
The words felt like a falling axe to Meryn Trant, who understood he would be taking the fall for this, while Robert did not like Joffrey; he was still his son, so the punishment would not be light, but it would not be harsh, or at least for long.
So Ser Meryn Trant slowly lifted his head. His hollow gaze rose to meet the king's, knowing that his end would not be a good one.
Ser Meryn Trant, his head lifted, opened his mouth. "The prince commanded it," he said quietly but loud enough for all to hear who looked at Joffrey, who looked at Meryn Trant with hate.
Cersei rose halfway from her seat. "You lying dog..." she began, her voice shrill, but Robert slammed his fist against the arm of the Iron Throne. The sound rang through the hall like iron striking iron.
"Enough." His gaze fell upon Trant. "You swore an oath to defend the royal family," Robert said. "Instead, you turned your blade upon them." Robert stood. His voice grew deeper and heavier as he looked at Meryn Trant as if he were looking at human shit.
"Ser Meryn Trant, you are stripped of your white cloak and dismissed from the King's Guard." A murmur spread through the hall as the lords and ladies spoke to one another, but Robert's look silenced them.
"You will be sent to the Wall, there to take the black and spend the rest of your days defending the realm from the savages." Trant bowed his head.
"As Your Grace commands." He said, but his body was shaking with rage, all he did was follow his prince's command, but he was sent to the black with thieves and rapists.
'I am a knight of the King's Guard, sent to the Black; it's all his fault,' Meryn Trant thought as the guards were pulling him away. He looked at Joffrey, but he did not look in his direction.
Robert then looked down at Joffrey. He tried to hold his father's gaze, but like the weak coward he was, he failed. "You are a prince," Robert said slowly, "yet you behave worse than a gutter rat." Robert raised a thick finger.
"You lose all command over any servants and guards," he said again as he raised another finger, his voice getting deeper.
"You will be confined to Maegor's Holdfast for one full year, only being able to come out for normal daily things or your mother and I say so." He said as he raised another finger.
"You will serve Prince Axel personally for one year, as an apology for what you did, but you will also publicly apologize to him after he gets better." Joffrey's face went pale, but Robert continued, as he raised another finger, not caring what Joffrey felt.
"You will also squire daily under Ser Barristan Selmy, and if I hear one complaint about your conduct," he leaned forward. "Or I will send you to Dragonstone with Stannis, and may the Seven help you then."
Finally, Robert spoke about the last punishment. "And until I say otherwise, you are no longer my heir, thus making Axel Baratheon my heir."
The words fell like stones into water as the crowd reacted. Cersei, who had been quiet for all the other punishments, cried out, but Robert looked at her, but she did not stop, so Jaime grabbed her from the back, covering her mouth and falling back into the small throne.
And after those words, he waved his hand, walked down from the throne, and left, not sparing a look at anyone, even Jon, his father figure, Cersei, his wife, or Joffrey, his 'son.'
[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 start with the conversation between Axel and Adam, with the snippets of Adam's world I planned for the start of Axel's and Adam's conversation at the end of this, but it became too long, so it's going to be in the next chapter.
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! :)]