Godswood The air is moist and cold, with the smell of earth and moss, mixed with some ancient, inexplicable smell that seems to have been deposited in this forest for thousands of years.
Red Keep's Godswood is not big. The creation of such a quiet forest land in the limited land of King's Landing is the result of the efforts of successive kings.
The branches and leaves of the trees are intertwined, filtering the sunlight above into fine golden spots, which are sprinkled on the ground covered with fallen leaves and soft turf, as if someone has knocked over a basket of gold coins.
Occasionally, one or two birds chirped on the branches, the sound was clear and short, echoed in the open forest for a few times, and then disappeared.
Redd frowned slightly when he followed the maid into Godswood.
He has been in King's Landing for more than a day or two. He has walked through most corners of Red Keep. Godswood is one of the few places in Red Keep that he doesn't come to often.
It is not the center of power, not a place for decision-making, and not a place where any important government activities take place.
It is a corner that only those who believe in Old Gods - or those who want to find a quiet place to be alone - come.
There is no place for anyone to hide in this forest. The trees are sparse and the view is wide. Between a tree and a horse, it is not difficult to see through the other party's intentions, and it is naturally difficult to set up an ambush.
He stopped and looked at the maid. She stood a few steps away from him, turned sideways, lowered her head slightly, and gestured in a certain direction with her eyes. "Your Highness, the queen is waiting for you over there."
The maid spoke in a very low voice, as if she was afraid of disturbing the birds perching on the branches above her head.
After saying that, she took two steps back, turned around and left along the way she came. Her steps were light and fast. The corners of her green skirt swept across the grass tips protruding from the gaps in the stone slabs, and quickly disappeared around the corner of the trees.
Redd looked in the direction she indicated.
Godswood Deep under a huge oak tree, Alicent stood there.
The morning light was chopped up by the leaves and fell on her, casting mottled light and shadow on the almost transparent green tulle she was wearing.
Her hair was not tied up, but hung loosely on her shoulders, with a few strands of curly hair sticking to her cheeks and neck, being blown by the breeze in the forest.
Her hands were folded on her swollen belly, her posture was dignified, like an aristocratic lady who came out of an ancient painting and was waiting for her lover.
The gauze was indeed extremely thin, so thin that it was almost transparent in the morning light.
The breeze in the forest gently lifted and lowered the hem of the tulle. The snow-white skin underneath was looming under the green tulle, like white jade covered by a very shallow water surface.
Her figure was plumper than usual due to pregnancy, with a higher chest line, and the curvature of her waist was softly transitioned by the bulge of her abdomen. Her whole body no longer exuded the sharp, uncarved beauty of Maiden.
Rather, it is a kind of moisture that is gentler and more tolerant, as if it has been polished by time and experience, with a soft luster that is unique to mature women and settles after melting away the edges and corners.
She doesn't look like a woman who's about to give birth and should be in bed recovering.
She stood there with a calm and elegant posture, like a willow tree leaning slightly in the wind, with soft branches and deep roots.
There was a faint, meaningful smile on her lips, and her eyes fell on the direction Redd was walking from the forest, as if she was waiting for an expected visitor.
Redd stepped forward.
He stood still a few steps away, his eyes falling on her, sliding from her slightly red cheeks to the faint outline of her body under the tulle.
Even her seven-month pregnancy did not make her figure bloated at all. Instead, it gave her body lines a soft, maternal roundness.
His eyes swept back and forth between the green gauze and the white skin, and then fell back on her face.
Alicent met his eyes, and the smile on the corner of her mouth deepened.
She did not back away, bow her head, or make any "offended" gesture.
She stood there, like a gambler who had laid out all his cards and was waiting for the other party to make a decision, calm and determined.
Redd didn't hesitate. He took a step forward, put his arms around her waist, and pulled her into his arms.
The thin layer of gauze had almost no texture in his palm, and his fingers directly touched her warm skin through the thin layer of fabric.
The skin on her waist was delicate and soft, with a slightly elevated body temperature caused by pregnancy. Under his palm, it looked like mutton-fat jade warmed by the sun.
She made a very light sound, like a sigh or a chuckle, but she didn't resist or push back.
She raised her hand, put it on his shoulder, and lightly scratched the material of his robe with her fingertips, as if to confirm that he was real and not a hallucination of her imagination.
Redd's hands started to move.
His fingers slid up from her waist and climbed along the arcs on both sides of her back. His fingertips traced her shoulder blades and the line of her neck, then went around to the front and landed on her bulging abdomen.
With his palm pressed against the arc of her abdomen, he could feel the weak pulse of the life that was being nurtured under the thin layer of skin. The pulse was like a tiny, deeply buried heart beating slowly and regularly.
His fingers stayed on that arc for a moment, then continued upward and landed on her chest.
She didn't stop him in any way, didn't make any attempt to lower her voice or hide anything. She let his fingers roam around her body, caressing every inch of her skin covered by gauze.
His fingertips hooked the ties of the tulle at the side of her neck, and with a gentle tug, the thin layer of fabric slipped from her shoulders and piled on the grass at her feet, like a piece of crumpled, fading green Leaf.
There was no trace of hair on her body, and the morning light fell on her body, coating every inch of her skin with a soft golden halo.
Her response was more proactive than he thought.
She stood on tiptoes, hooked one hand on the back of his neck, and put the other hand into the front of his robe, running her fingers against the skin of his chest.
There was a slight coolness on her fingertips, which formed a perfect contrast with the body temperature of his chest. The contrast made his breathing become heavier at that moment than before.
Her lips were close to the shell of his ear, and her voice was very soft, with a lazy, hoarse tone as if she had just woken up. "You fucked me all night last night."
Redd raised the corners of his mouth slightly, put more force on his hands, and pulled her into his arms. "Why, are you in a hurry?"
Alicent didn't answer, just raised his head and kissed his lips.
The kiss was long and direct, with an unabashed anxiety and initiative that had been accumulated after being left alone all night.
The tip of her tongue penetrated his mouth, almost predatoryly, as if she was declaring to him, "I am not a woman you can just leave alone."
Her hands slid from his chest to his waist, pulled open the ties of his robe, and stuck her fingers in, touching his skin all the way down.