He stretched out his hand and patted the nose of the head in the middle of King Ghidorah. The head made a low grunt, as if to say, "The ground is too brittle." Then the three heads turned simultaneously to the other Dragon deep in Dragonpit who were watching from the shadows. Their golden eyes lit up in the darkness, as if to say: What are you looking at?
Redd ignored the silent confrontation between King Ghidorah and other Dragon, turned around and walked towards the artificially dug stone staircase tunnel leading to Red Keep.
The tunnel winds up along the interior of the rocky mountain. The stone steps are smooth and slightly sunken by the footsteps of successive kings and Dragonrider. There is an oil lamp at regular intervals on the two walls. The light of the fire sways slightly in the draft, casting Redd's shadow on the wall behind it, growing and shortening, like a black snake squirming in the darkness.
When he walked up the first stone step, there was a low sound like rolling rocks from somewhere deep in the tunnel - it was a disturbed Dragon turning over.
He didn't look back and continued walking upwards, with a steady and leisurely pace, as if he was walking in his own garden.
Dragonpit has indeed almost hollowed out the bottom of the entire rock mountain.
Red Keep is built on the top of the mountain, and Dragonpit below is like the inside of a giant tree that has been hollowed out. The crisscrossing passages and caves have carved the inside of the mountain into a maze.
When Redd is walking in the tunnel, he can feel extremely weak vibrations coming from above his head - these are the subtle tremors produced by the people in Red Keep when they are walking, talking, and moving furniture and dishes, and are transmitted through the mountain.
He thought in his mind: If one day a few Dragons in the Dragonpit fight, with their size and strength, the mountain that has been mostly hollowed out will not be able to hold on for long.
If Dragonpit collapses, it's hard to say whether those Dragons that were pressed under the mountain will be crushed to death, but Red Keep built on the top of the mountain - together with the kings, queens, princes and princesses inside Red Keep - will probably have to slide down from the top of the mountain with them.
Redd The moment he stepped out of the tunnel, at the end of the dim corridor, the twilight courtyard was brightly lit by torches and candlelight.
Red Keep There is a group of people standing on the stone floor of the inner court. Standing at the front are Rhaenyra, Viserys and Alicent. They must have heard about Redd's arrival from the sentry in the watchtower and came in a hurry.
Their positions are very interesting, Rhaenyra is further forward, Viserys is on her left, and Alicent is a little further on his right. They are like three chess pieces arranged in a triangle, each at their own coordinates. There is a connection between them and a distance that cannot be ignored.
Redd's eyes first fell on Rhaenyra.
She was wearing a dark red dress today, with the hem trailing to the ground and a golden three-headed dragon emblem embroidered on the edge, which shone with tiny rays of light under the torch.
Her hair was not tied up, but let down, and her dark golden curls fell from her shoulders to her waist, fluttering slightly in the evening breeze.
There was a complex expression on her face that was hard to hide, in which she wanted to remain dignified but couldn't suppress her inner excitement. The corners of her mouth were slightly raised, and her eyes were as bright as two ignited purple gems.
She stood there like a precious gem placed on a velvet cushion, all the light focused on her, and everyone's eyes were attracted to her.
Viserys stood beside her, his posture was much better than a month ago, his back was straighter than Rhaenyra remembered, and there was a proper, gentle, and somewhat polite smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.
He was holding a new crutch in his hand, and the gem inlaid on the top of the crutch reflected a dark red light in the firelight.
His face did not have the kind of surprise and vigilance that one should have when seeing an uninvited guest who suddenly arrived. Instead, he had a calm look like I knew you were coming, you can come at any time, and you will be an honored guest once you come.
But his fingers kept rubbing the gem at the top of the cane unconsciously, which betrayed his anxiety.
Alicent stood on the other side of Viserys, wearing a dark green long skirt with exquisite flower and plant patterns embroidered on it, which was House Hightower's signature color.
Her abdomen was swollen very high, and it was still clearly visible under the cover of her skirt. She held one hand on her waist when walking, and her posture seemed more cautious and steady than usual.
There was a decent and gentle smile on her face, and her eyes swept over Redd's face without leaving any pause. But at that moment, Redd caught something deeper and faster than her smile - something like a calmness that seemed to have silently calculated everything in her heart and was waiting for the results to emerge.
She looked calm and elegant. She had long expected Frey's arrival, but her calmness was different from Viserys's. Her fingers did not leave traces of rubbing on any object. Her breathing was smooth and even, and her smile was warm and friendly. Everything was watertight, so perfect that no flaws could be found.
The moment Rhaenyra saw Redd walking out of the corridor, the dignity on his face shattered.
She was like a child who had been suppressed for too long. The moment she finally saw her loved ones come home, she took off all her masks and defenses, and forgot all her identity and status.
She held up her skirt, took small steps, and almost ran towards Redd. Her hair flew back as she ran, and her skirt dragged a deep red trail on the stone floor, like a river dyed red by the sunset.
She rushed to Redd, without any hesitation or hesitation, opened her arms and threw herself into his arms.
Her arms hugged his waist tightly, her face was buried in his chest, her shoulders trembled slightly, and she let out a low, choked sigh that seemed to be squeezed out from the deepest part of her chest.
Redd was knocked back slightly by her, but quickly stabilized her body.
He raised his hand and landed on her back, his palm touching her slightly trembling body under her thin clothes.
He could feel her heartbeat, rapid and powerful, like a bird trapped in a cage flapping its wings desperately.
He could feel her breathing, uneven, with an eagerness that seemed to have finally found an outlet for something that had been suppressed for a long time.
He could feel her temperature. She had shed a thin layer of sweat from running and was a little chilled by the evening breeze.
She didn't speak, she just buried her face in his chest and held him tightly.
Redd didn't speak either. He stroked his palm slowly and step by step on her back, as if comforting a frightened cat.
His chin rested on the top of her head, and he could smell the faint smell of her hair, like a mixture of roses and honey.