The Queen in the North: Game of thrones fanfiction

Chapter sixty three Axel

Chapter sixty three

Apologies for the delay in updating I'm in America on holiday and there isn't much wifi 😁

Axel

Axel woke to a subdued headache and splitting pain reaching all over his body. Cautiously, not quite knowing what to expect, he fluttered his eyes open to see his arm, well more stump of an arm bandaged up tightly against his shoulder in the warm glow of the morning sun. He remembered nothing of how he quite got to be less of an arm  or why he appeared to his own bed, nor anything about what had happened in the night that had past. As the last thing he could remember was in daylight and that was watching King Stannis because killed by Harrion Karstark. Axel could remember pain at least, pain and a rough tugging sensation. The tugging; he eventually concluded must have been from the amputation of his arm.

He sighed then rolled onto his left side finding El sitting in a by his bed watching hm intently. "How long have I been asleep?" Axel asked, his voice croaky from lack of use.

"Oh only a few hours" El smiled, "how do you feel?"

"Confused" he admitted, "El what happened to my arm?"

El bit her lip for a moment considering her response "well, you see Axel, someone shot you, then someone else stabbed you and broke your forearm, so really the arm couldn't be saved, and if it had have stayed on you'd be dead, so they cut it off" she explained.

Axel was silent for a moment, "help me up"

El nodded and got to her feet, she pulled Axel up and propped him up on several pillows before sitting down beside him, "what do I?" She stammered, "Stannis is dead, most of my army is either dead or they deserted, and Winter is coming" she was nearly crying by the end of her sentence.

Axel took her hand in his, "we'll be fine El, you know we will, we alway are. We'll think of something okay?" He said and he pulled El closer and pressed his forehead to hers  gently, his hand quickly moved to the small swelling of her stomach, "how's the baby?" He whispered

"It's fine" El smiled, she pulled away from Axel with tears in her eyes just as the door flung open and Garlan entered carrying a tray of food.

"Ah he's awake" Garlan smiled, "you hungry?" Garlan said cheerfully sitting the other side of Axel.

"How can you be so happy in our current situation Garlan?" El said looking away from both men to hide her tears.

"I am happy El, because I am grateful for you, for our children and for Axel not dying after suffering severe injuries" Garlan said after placing the tray next to Axel, he walked round to where El sat on the bed and knelt in front of her. Garlan took his wife's hands in his, "I'm happy because of you" before El could both reply or move away, his lips were firmly pressed to hers and his tongue even pushed its way between her lips, in a gentle yet very decisive manor obviously trying to prove his love for El in front of Axel.

"Well as sweet as this is for someone in my position.." Axel coughed gaining their attention, "I, as a man who now has no right arm, and I, as a man who hasn't eaten in two days, you may see how the tray might be taunting me"

El laughed, and lifted the tray over Axel's body, placing it on his lap, "I'm assuming you won't need feeding?" El smiled.

"No I'll be just fine. you look exhausted, go get some rest, I'll be fine" Axel smiled, taking a taking spoon of broth to prove his capability of eating on his own.

Once they'd left Axel was surprised as to how alone he felt. He decided shortly after midday that he might get up and look out the window, that was when he remembered the large gauge in his left thigh which began to bleed through its bandage when he attempted to stand up. He then decided that sleep might be a way to pass the time until someone came back to check on him, which he thought would have to be pretty soon.

Axel was woken just before dust by someone shaking him gently and offering tea, he didn't quite register that the someone was Sansa, "My sister told me you might need some company" Axel smiled weakly as he took a sip of the tea, "she also said that she imagined you'd be a lot angrier than when she saw you"

"Why exactly?" He asked.

"Well since she was the one who made the decision to remove your arm, she thought you might have been angrier" Sansa said sipping her own tea.

"Why did she send you? Not some maid or.." Axel then realised what El was doing. He'd seem to look in her eyes earlier that morning when she'd pressed her forehead to his before Garlan came back, the guilt in her eyes when she pulled away from him.

Sansa was technically a widow, and Axel, who was unmarried and 24 so he understood why there might be cause for speculation. He had been confronted several times in recent days about rumours circling of the true nature of their relationship, which Axel firmly denied on every such occasion. But there would be no better way than to suppress theses rumours than to have Axel marry someone and El have Garlans child shortly after.

Sansa was pretty enough, she also looked quite a bit like Elonar, the same bone structure and skin, but colouring the girls couldn't be more different. But looks aside, Sansa wasn't El nor could she ever be El, and Axel loved El and wasn't yet ready to let her go.

"does it hurt?" Sansa asked to wake Axel from his thoughts.

"A bit yes" Axel smiled.

"Do you want me to go, my Lord?" She said sweetly.

Axel considered her words for a moment, as much as he wanted to be alone, he wanted someone to talk to more, "call me Axel, and please, stay."