SANSA
珊莎
Eddard Stark had left before dawn, SeptaMordane informed Sansa as they broke their fast. “The king sent for him.Another hunt, I do believe. There are still wild aurochs in these lands, I amtold.”
早餐的时候,茉丹修女告诉珊莎,艾德·史塔克大人天亮前就离了营。“国王找他去的,我想肯定又是去外面打猎。听说这附近还有野牛出没哪。”
“I’ve never seen an aurochs,” Sansa said,feeding a piece of bacon to Lady under the table. The direwolf took it from herhand, as delicate as a queen.
“我从没见过野牛。”珊莎喂了块培根给餐桌底下的淑女,冰原狼像王后般优雅地从她手上衔过去。
Septa Mordane sniffed in disapproval. “Anoble lady does not feed dogs at her table,” she said, breaking off anotherpiece of comb and letting the honey drip down onto her bread.
茉丹修女不以为然地哼了一声。“好人家的小姐不在用餐时喂狗的。”她掰开一块蜂窝,让蜜滴到面包上。
“She’s not a dog, she’s a direwolf,” Sansapointed out as Lady licked her fingers with a rough tongue. “Anyway, Fathersaid we could keep them with us if we want.”
“她才不是狗呢,她是冰原狼。”珊莎纠正。淑女伸出粗糙的舌头舔了舔她的手指。“反正父亲大人说小狼可以陪我们作伴。”
The septa was not appeased. “You’re a goodgirl, Sansa, but I do vow, when it comes to that creature you’re as willful asyour sister Arya.” She scowled. “And where is Arya this morning?”
修女看来很不服气。“珊莎,你是个好女孩,但只要一说到那只野东西,你就倔得跟你妹妹艾莉亚一个样。”她皱起眉头,“说到艾莉亚,她这会儿又跑哪儿去了?”
“She wasn’t hungry,” Sansa said, knowingfull well that her sister had probably stolen down to the kitchen hours ago andwheedled a breakfast out of some cook’s boy.
“她肚子不饿。”珊莎道。她心里很清楚,艾莉亚八成早就溜进厨房,好说歹说地跟哪个厨房小弟讨到一顿丰盛早餐了。
“Do remind her to dress nicely today. Thegrey velvet, perhaps. We are all invited to ride with the queen and PrincessMyrcella in the royal wheelhouse, and we must look our best.”
“得提醒她今天穿得体面些。那件灰色的天鹅绒衣服不错。王后和弥赛菈公主邀请我们过去一同搭乘轮宫,我们可要表现出最好的一面才行。”
Sansa already looked her best. She hadbrushed out her long auburn hair until it shone, and picked her nicest bluesilks. She had been looking forward to today for more than a week. It was agreat honor to ride with the queen, and besides, Prince Joffrey might be there.Her betrothed. Just thinking it made her feel a strange fluttering inside, eventhough they were not to marry for years and years. Sansa did not really knowJoffrey yet, but she was already in love with him. He was all she ever dreamther prince should be, tall and handsome and strong, with hair like gold. Shetreasured every chance to spend time with him, few as they were. The only thingthat scared her about today was Arya. Arya had a way of ruining everything. Younever knew what she would do. “I’ll tell her,” Sansa said uncertainly, “butshe’ll dress the way she always does.” She hoped it wouldn’t be tooembarrassing. “May I be excused?”
珊莎的表现已经好得不能再好。她把栗色长发梳得发亮,然后穿上她最好的蓝丝绒礼服。最近这一个多星期,她天天都在盼望今天的到来。能与王后作伴是至高无尚的荣耀,更何况乔佛里可能也在。那可是她的未婚夫呢。虽然他们还要等许多年才会成婚,但每当想到他,她心里总会产生一阵奇怪的悸动。算起来珊莎还根本不了解乔佛里,可她却已经爱上他了。他具有她心目中白马王子的每一项优点,高大英挺,体格强壮,一头漂亮金发。她珍视与他共处的每一个机会,可惜这样的时刻屈指可数。今天她惟一担心的便是艾莉亚。艾莉亚有种把每件事都搞砸的本领,你永远不知道她接下去会闯出什么祸来。“我去跟她讲,”她不太确定地说,“但她爱怎么穿是她的事。”她只能祈祷别太离谱了。“我可以先告退了吗?”
“You may.” Septa Mordane helped herself tomore bread and honey, and Sansa slid from the bench. Lady followed at her heelsas she ran from the inn’s common room.
“你去罢。”茉丹修女又拿了一堆面包和蜂蜜,珊莎滑下长凳,跑出旅店大厅,淑女紧跟在后。
Outside, she stood for a moment amidst theshouts and curses and the creak of wooden wheels as the men broke down thetents and pavilions and loaded the wagons for another day’s march. The inn wasa sprawling three-story structure of pale stone, the biggest that Sansa hadever seen, but even so, it had accommodations for less than a third of theking’s party, which had swollen to more than four hundred with the addition ofher father’s household and the freeriders who had joined them on the road.
门外,人们正忙着拆除大小营帐,把东西装上马车,准备新一天的行程。她在叫骂声和木头车轮的嘎吱声中站立了片刻。这是栋占地广阔,白石砌成的三层建筑,珊莎还没见过比这更大的旅馆。即便如此,却只能容纳国王手下不到三分之一的人手。加上她父亲的随从和沿途加入的自由骑手,国王的队伍已经超过了四百人。
She found Arya on the banks of the Trident,trying to hold Nymeria still while she brushed dried mud from her fur. Thedirewolf was not enjoying the process. Arya was wearing the same ridingleathers she had worn yesterday and the day before.
她在三叉戟河畔找到了妹妹。艾莉亚正死命按住娜梅莉亚,想把她身上干涸结块的泥巴刷掉,但显然小狼并不领情。艾莉亚身上穿的正是昨天那套皮革马装,她前天穿的也是这套。
“You better put on something pretty,” Sansatold her. “Septa Mordane said so. We’re traveling in the queen’s wheelhousewith Princess Myrcella today.”
“我看你还是快换件像样的衣服吧,”珊莎对她说。“这可是茉丹修女说的。今天我们要和弥赛菈公主一起搭乘王后的轮宫呢。”
“I’m not,” Arya said, trying to brush atangle out of Nymeria’s matted grey fur. “Mycah and I are going to rideupstream and look for rubies at the ford.”
“我不去。”艾莉亚一边说,一边试着把娜梅莉亚身上一撮打结的毛梳整齐。“我跟米凯要骑马到河上游的浅滩去找红宝石。”
“Rubies,” Sansa said, lost. “What rubies?”
“红宝石,”珊莎不明白,“什么红宝石?”
Arya gave her a look like she was so stupid.“Rhaegar’s rubies. This is where King Robert killed him and won the crown.”
艾莉亚白了她一眼,仿佛把她当成蠢蛋。“当然是雷加的红宝石啊。当年劳勃国王就是在那儿杀死他夺得王位的。”
Sansa regarded her scrawny little sister indisbelief. “You can’t look for rubies, the princess is expecting us. The queeninvited us both.”
珊莎难以置信地望着自己骨瘦如柴的小妹。“不准你去找什么红宝石,公主正等着我们呢,王后邀请的是我们两人。”
“I don’t care,” Arya said. “The wheelhousedoesn’t even have windows, you can’t see a thing.”
“我才不管。”艾莉亚说:“轮宫里连扇窗户都没有,什么也看不见。”
“What could you want to see?” Sansa said,annoyed. She had been thrilled by the invitation, and her stupid sister wasgoing to ruin everything, just as she’d feared. “It’s all just fields and farmsand holdfasts.”
“外面有什么好看?”珊莎不悦地说。对于这次邀请她可是满心期待,但她蠢笨的妹妹却要搞砸一切,正如她所害怕的。“不过是些田地、农场和村落罢了。”
“It is not,” Arya said stubbornly. “If youcame with us sometimes, you’d see.”
“才不是呢。”艾莉亚固执地说,“哪天你跟我们一起去看看就知道了。”
“I hate riding,” Sansa said fervently. “Allit does is get you soiled and dusty and sore.”
“我最讨厌骑马了,”珊莎激动地说,“只会溅得一身泥沙,浑身酸麻。”
Arya shrugged. “Hold still,” she snapped atNymeria, “I’m not hurting you.” Then to Sansa she said, “When we were crossingthe Neck, I counted thirty-six flowers I never saw before, and Mycah showed mea lizard-lion.”
艾莉亚耸耸肩。“别动,”她斥责娜梅莉亚。“我不会伤害你的。”然后她转向珊莎说,“不是啦,穿越颈泽的时候,我一共发现了三十六种以前没见过的花,米凯还给我看了一只蜥狮呢。”
Sansa shuddered. They had been twelve dayscrossing the Neck, rumbling down a crooked causeway through an endless blackbog, and she had hated every moment of it. The air had been damp and clammy,the causeway so narrow they could not even make proper camp at night, they hadto stop right on the kingsroad. Dense thickets of half-drowned trees pressedclose around them, branches dripping with curtains of pale fungus. Huge flowersbloomed in the mud and floated on pools of stagnant water, but if you werestupid enough to leave the causeway to pluck them, there were quicksandswaiting to suck you down, and snakes watching from the trees, and lizard lionsfloating half-submerged in the water, like black logs with eyes and teeth.
珊莎听了浑身颤抖。他们沿着蜿蜒的堤道,缓慢地通过看似永无止尽的黑色泥泞,一共花了十二天的时间方才穿越颈泽。对于这趟旅程,她可是从头痛恨到尾。那里的空气阴湿黏腻,加上堤道太狭窄,夜里连扎营都没办法,只好停留在国王大道上。长年浸泡在腐沼之中的浓密树丛,从道路两旁朝他们步步进逼,枝干间垂下帘幕般的菌类植物。巨大的花朵盛开在烂泥坑里,漂浮在死水潭上。可假如你愚蠢到想离开堤道去采摘,四处随时有流沙等着将你吞噬。密林里有虎视眈眈的毒蛇,水中有半浮半沉的蜥狮,看起来活像长了眼睛和牙齿的黑木头。
None of which stopped Arya, of course. Oneday she came back grinning her horsey grin, her hair all tangled and herclothes covered in mud, clutching a raggedy bunch of purple and green flowersfor Father. Sansa kept hoping he would tell Arya to behave herself and act likethe highborn lady she was supposed to be, but he never did, he only hugged herand thanked her for the flowers. That just made her worse.
想也知道,这些全难不倒艾莉亚。有次她居然满脸堆着马一样的笑容,头发乱成一团,衣服全是泥泞,拎了一束烂兮兮的紫绿花朵回来送给爸爸。珊莎一直希望哪天父亲大人会叫艾莉亚注意礼节,有点她应有的淑女模样,可他从没这么做过,这一次,他反而拥抱她并感谢那些花。简直就是火上浇油。
Then it turned out the purple flowers werecalled poison kisses, and Arya got a rash on her arms. Sansa would have thoughtthat might have taught her a lesson, but Arya laughed about it, and the nextday she rubbed mud all over her arms like some ignorant bog woman just becauseher friend Mycah told her it would stop the itching. She had bruises on herarms and shoulders too, dark purple welts and faded green-and-yellow splotches,Sansa had seen them when her sister undressed for sleep. How she had gottenthose only the seven gods knew.
事后大家才知道,那些紫花叫做“毒吻花”,而艾莉亚的双臂果然都起了红疹子。珊莎本以为这次的教训够她受了,没想到艾莉亚却只是笑笑,隔天一听她那朋友米凯说涂上烂泥可以减轻疼痛,便立刻照办,把自己弄得活像个未开化的沼泽女人。这还不止,晚上妹妹脱衣服睡觉时,珊莎注意到她的手臂和肩膀上有不少擦伤,深紫的瘀青和褪色的黄绿色脏东西。这些究竟是她打哪儿弄来的,恐怕就只有天上的七神知道了。
Arya was still going on, brushing outNymeria’s tangles and chattering about things she’d seen on the trek south.“Last week we found this haunted watchtower, and the day before we chased aherd of wild horses. You should have seen them run when they caught a scent ofNymeria.” The wolf wriggled in her grasp and Arya scolded her. “Stop that, Ihave to do the other side, you’re all muddy.”
瞧她现在吧,艾莉亚仍旧没完没了,一边梳理娜梅莉亚的毛团,一边絮絮叨叨这次南下的所见所闻。“上星期我们找到一座很阴森的瞭望塔,昨天我们才追赶了一大群野马。你真该来看看他们一闻到娜梅莉亚拔腿就跑的模样。”小狼在她的魔掌下扭个不停,艾莉亚又叱道:“别闹,还有一边要弄呢,瞧你全身都是泥巴。”
“You’re not supposed to leave the column,”Sansa reminded her. “Father said so.”
“你不该擅自脱队,”珊莎提醒她,“父亲大人说过的。”
Arya shrugged. “I didn’t go far. Anyway,Nymeria was with me the whole time. I don’t always go off, either. Sometimesit’s fun just to ride along with the wagons and talk to people.”
艾莉亚一耸肩:“我又没跑远。反正有娜梅莉亚陪在身边。况且我也不是每次都脱队,有时候跟着货车一起走,到处串串门子也挺有意思。”
Sansa knew all about the sorts of peopleArya liked to talk to: squires and grooms and serving girls, old men and nakedchildren, rough-spoken freeriders of uncertain birth. Arya would make friendswith anybody. This Mycah was the worst; a butcher’s boy, thirteen and wild, heslept in the meat wagon and smelled of the slaughtering block. Just the sightof him was enough to make Sansa feel sick, but Arya seemed to prefer hiscompany to hers.
艾莉亚专门结交哪些人,珊莎太清楚了:侍从、马夫与女仆,老头子和不穿衣服的小孩,还有满嘴粗话,出身低贱的自由骑手。艾莉亚跟任何人都能做朋友,而这米凯是最糟糕的一个:他是个屠夫的学徒,十三岁,野得很,躺在运肉的货车上,闻起来活像只待宰的猪。光瞧见他就足以令珊莎作呕,谁知艾莉亚却宁可与他为伍。
Sansa was running out of patience now. “Youhave to come with me,” she told her sister firmly. “You can’t refuse the queen.Septa Mordane will expect you.”
珊莎觉得自己快要失去耐性。“你一定要跟我去,”她语气坚定地告诉妹妹,“你不能拒绝王后的邀请,茉丹修女正等着你呢。”
Arya ignored her. She gave a hard yank withthe brush. Nymeria growled and spun away, affronted. “Come back here!”
艾莉亚充耳不闻,她突然猛力一刷,娜梅莉亚吃痛,低吼一声,扭头便跑。“你给我回来!”
“There’s going to be lemon cakes and tea,”Sansa went on, all adult and reasonable. Lady brushed against her leg. Sansascratched her ears the way she liked, and Lady sat beside her on her haunches,watching Arya chase Nymeria. “Why would you want to ride a smelly old horse andget all sore and sweaty when you could recline on feather pillows and eat cakeswith the queen?”
“等下有柠檬蛋糕和茶可吃喔,”珊莎继续说,摆出一副大人说理的口吻。淑女蹭了蹭她的脚,珊莎用她喜欢的方式帮她搔搔耳朵,淑女便后脚蹲地,在她身边坐了下来,看着艾莉亚追赶娜梅莉亚。“当你可以舒舒服服靠着羽毛枕头,和王后一起享受蛋糕时,怎么会想骑着臭马,弄得四肢酸痛,满身大汗呢?”
“I don’t like the queen,” Arya saidcasually. Sansa sucked in her breath, shocked that even Arya would say such athing, but her sister prattled on, heedless. “She won’t even let me bringNymeria.” She thrust the brush under her belt and stalked her wolf. Nymeriawatched her approach warily.
“我不喜欢王后。”艾莉亚随口道。珊莎听了倒抽一口冷气,即便是由艾莉亚口中说出来,她仍旧十分震惊。但艾莉亚却满不在乎地继续下去,“她连让我带娜梅莉亚都不准。”她把梳子往腰带里一插,偷偷地朝她的小狼走去。娜梅莉亚小心翼翼地看着她逼近。
“A royal wheelhouse is no place for a wolf,”Sansa said. “And Princess Myrcella is afraid of them, you know that.”
“御用轮宫本来就不是让狼撒野的地方。”珊莎说,“而且你也知道弥赛菈公主很怕它们。”
“Myrcella is a little baby.” Arya grabbedNymeria around her neck, but the moment she pulled out the brush again thedirewolf wriggled free and bounded off. Frustrated, Arya threw down the brush.“Bad wolf!” she shouted.
“弥赛 是个小娃娃。”艾莉亚一把攫住娜梅莉亚的脖子,可她才拔出梳子,冰原狼便使劲一扭逃开了。艾莉亚气得丢下梳子。“你这个大坏蛋!”她吼道。
Sansa couldn’t help but smile a little. Thekennelmaster once told her that an animal takes after its master. She gave Ladya quick little hug. Lady licked her cheek. Sansa giggled. Arya heard andwhirled around, glaring. “I don’t care what you say, I’m going out riding.” Herlong horsey face got the stubborn look that meant she was going to do somethingwillful.
珊莎不禁微笑。以前临冬城里的驯兽长法兰曾对她说过,有什么样的主人就会养出什么样的动物。她轻轻抱了淑女一下,淑女舔舔她的脸颊,珊莎咯咯直笑。艾莉亚听见笑声,转身怒视道:“我不管你怎么说,我就是要去骑马。”她那张又长又顽固的马脸露出一种即将任性而为的表情。
“Gods be true, Arya, sometimes you act likesuch a child,” Sansa said. “I’ll go by myself then. It will be ever so muchnicer that way. Lady and I will eat all the lemon cakes and just have the besttime without you.”
“老天爷,艾莉亚,有时候你才真像个小孩子。”珊莎道,“那我就自己去啰。你不去更好,这样我和淑女就可以把所有的柠檬蛋糕吃完,好好享受美好时光。”
She turned to walk off, but Arya shoutedafter her, “They won’t let you bring Lady either.” She was gone before Sansacould think of a reply, chasing Nymeria along the river.
她转身要走,艾莉亚却在她身后叫道:“他们也不会让你带上淑女的。”珊莎还没想好如何回嘴,她便沿着河岸追赶娜梅莉亚,跑得不见人影了。
Alone and humiliated, Sansa took the longway back to the inn, where she knew Septa Mordane would be waiting. Lady paddedquietly by her side. She was almost in tears. All she wanted was for things tobe nice and pretty, the way they were in the songs. Why couldn’t Arya be sweetand delicate and kind, like Princess Myrcella? She would have liked a sisterlike that.
珊莎觉得既孤单又羞愤,只好独自返回下榻的旅店,她知道茉丹修女一定在等她。淑女静静地走在她身边,走着走着,她的眼泪便掉了下来。她只不过希望一切都像歌谣里描绘的那样顺利美好,为何艾莉亚偏偏不能当个甜美优雅又善良的好女孩,像弥赛菈公主那样呢?有个那样的妹妹该有多好啊。
Sansa could never understand how twosisters, born only two years apart, could be so different. It would have beeneasier if Arya had been a bastard, like their half brother Jon. She even lookedlike Jon, with the long face and brown hair of the Starks, and nothing of theirlady mother in her face or her coloring. And Jon’s mother had been common, or sopeople whispered. Once, when she was littler, Sansa had even asked Mother ifperhaps there hadn’t been some mistake. Perhaps the grumkins had stolen herreal sister. But Mother had only laughed and said no, Arya was her daughter andSansa’s trueborn sister, blood of their blood. Sansa could not think why Motherwould want to lie about it, so she supposed it had to be true.
珊莎怎么也想不透,年龄仅仅相差两岁的姐妹,个性怎么会差那么多。艾莉亚要是个私生女就好了,就像她们的私生子哥哥琼恩。说老实话,艾莉亚连长相都跟琼恩非常神似,两人都有史塔克家的长脸和棕发,却完全没有他们母亲的容貌、肤色与头发。听别人闲话,琼恩的妈妈不过是一介平民而已。珊莎小时候,有一次忍不住问母亲是否弄错了,会不会是什么古灵精怪把她真正的妹妹给抱走了?但母亲只笑笑,然后说没这回事,艾莉亚的确是她女儿,也是珊莎的亲妹妹。珊莎想不出母亲有什么理由要骗她,便把她的话当真了。
As she neared the center of camp, herdistress was quickly forgotten. A crowd had gathered around the queen’swheelhouse. Sansa heard excited voices buzzing like a hive of bees. The doorshad been thrown open, she saw, and the queen stood at the top of the woodensteps, smiling down at someone. She heard her saying, “The council does usgreat honor, my good lords.”
好在走近营地,方才的种种不快都被她抛在脑后。王后的行宫外正聚集了一群人,珊莎听见他们兴奋地交谈,像是一大群蜜蜂嗡嗡作响。行宫的大门敞开,王后站在木头阶梯的最上层,对着人群里的某人微笑。珊莎听见她说:“两位大人,重臣们真是太周到了。”
“What’s happening?” she asked a squire sheknew.
“发生了什么事?”她问一个认识的侍从。
“The council sent riders from King’s Landingto escort us the rest of the way,” he told her. “An honor guard for the king.”
“御前会议派人从君临来迎接我们,”他告诉她,“为国王派出的荣誉护卫。”
Anxious to see, Sansa let Lady clear a paththrough the crowd. People moved aside hastily for the direwolf. When she gotcloser, she saw two knights kneeling before the queen, in armor so fine and gorgeousthat it made her blink.
珊莎迫不及待想瞧瞧,便让淑女走在前面开路。人们见了冰原狼纷纷躲避。等她靠得够近,只见两名骑士单膝跪在王后面前,他们的铠甲做工之精细华丽,使她目炫神迷。
One knight wore an intricate suit of whiteenameled scales, brilliant as a field of new-fallen snow, with silver chasingsand clasps that glittered in the sun. When he removed his helm, Sansa saw thathe was an old man with hair as pale as his armor, yet he seemed strong andgraceful for all that. From his shoulders hung the pure white cloak of theKingsguard.
其中一名骑士穿了一套雕工繁复,上了瓷釉的白鳞甲,灿烂得活像一片覆盖初雪的洁白大地,白色银线和钩扣在阳光下熠熠发光。待他取下头盔,珊莎才发现他原是个老人,一头白发和他的铠甲颜色一般。虽然如此,他看起来却老当益壮,一举一动甚是优雅。他的双肩垂系着象征御林铁卫的纯白披风。
His companion was a man near twenty whosearmor was steel plate of a deep forest-green. He was the handsomest man Sansahad ever set eyes upon; tall and powerfully made, with jet-black hair that fellto his shoulders and framed a clean-shaven face, and laughing green eyes tomatch his armor. Cradled under one arm was an antlered helm, its magnificentrack shimmering in gold.
他的同伴年约二十,一身精钢打造的深绿铠甲,绿如密林。他是珊莎所见过的最英俊的男子,体格高大魁梧,黑玉般的及肩长发衬托出他修整干净的脸庞,那双带着笑意的蓝眼,正好与盔甲的颜色交相辉映。他怀抱一顶鹿角盔,两只华丽的鹿角金光闪闪。
At first Sansa did not notice the thirdstranger. He did not kneel with the others. He stood to one side, beside theirhorses, a gaunt grim man who watched the proceedings in silence. His face waspockmarked and beardless, with deepset eyes and hollow cheeks. Though he wasnot an old man, only a few wisps of hair remained to him, sprouting above hisears, but those he had grown long as a woman’s. His armor was iron-grey chainmailover layers of boiled leather, plain and unadorned, and it spoke of age andhard use. Above his right shoulder the stained leather hilt of the bladestrapped to his back was visible; a two-handed greatsword, too long to be wornat his side.
珊莎起初没注意到第三个陌生人。他形容憔悴,神情冷酷,并未像其他人一样屈膝下跪,而是独自站在他们的坐骑旁,默默地观望。此人满脸麻子,没有胡须,两眼深邃,面颊凹陷。虽然并不老,头发却没剩几根,只在双耳上面冒出几撮,不过他把这些仅存的头发留得跟女人家一样长。他硬皮衣外罩上铁灰色的锁子甲,虽式样平凡,毫无装饰,却历尽沧桑,看得出岁月的痕迹。在他右肩之后,可以见到一把脏污的皮革剑柄,大抵是他的双手巨剑太长,没法佩在腰间。
“The king is gone hunting, but I know hewill be pleased to see you when he returns,” the queen was saying to the twoknights who knelt before her, but Sansa could not take her eyes off the thirdman. He seemed to feel the weight of her gaze. Slowly he turned his head. Ladygrowled. A terror as overwhelming as anything Sansa Stark had ever felt filledher suddenly. She stepped backward and bumped into someone.
“国王外出打猎,等他回来见到你们,定会大感欣慰。”王后正对眼前跪着的两名骑士说话,但珊莎的视线却始终离不开第三个人。他似乎也察觉到她凝视的压力,缓缓地转过头来。淑女向他咆哮,珊莎·史塔克只觉一种前所未有的恐惧排山倒海地将她淹没。她踉跄后退,结果撞到了别人。
Strong hands grasped her by the shoulders,and for a moment Sansa thought it was her father, but when she turned, it wasthe burned face of Sandor Clegane looking down at her, his mouth twisted in aterrible mockery of a smile. “You are shaking, girl,” he said, his voice rasping.“Do I frighten you so much?”
一双强而有力的手稳住她的肩膀,珊莎起初以为是父亲,但待她回头,朝下看着她的却是桑铎·克里冈那张烧烂的脸,他的嘴角似笑非笑。“你在发抖啊,小妹妹。”他粗声道,“我有这么可怕么?”
He did, and had since she had first laideyes on the ruin that fire had made of his face, though it seemed to her nowthat he was not half so terrifying as the other. Still, Sansa wrenched awayfrom him, and the Hound laughed, and Lady moved between them, rumbling awarning. Sansa dropped to her knees to wrap her arms around the wolf. They wereall gathered around gaping, she could feel their eyes on her, and here andthere she heard muttered comments and titters of laughter.
他真的就那么可怕,自从珊莎初次看到那张被火毁容的脸以来,始终这么骇人。虽然如此,此际珊莎对他的恐惧却远不及对另一个人的一半。但她还是挣脱了他的掌握,“猎狗”哈哈大笑,淑女挤进两人中间,发出一阵低吼。珊莎蹲下去双手抱住小狼。这时他们反成了四周注目的焦点,她可以感觉到大家的视线都停留在自己身上,还听见此起彼落的窃窃私语和笑声。
“A wolf,” a man said, and someone else said,“Seven hells, that’s a direwolf,” and the first man said, “What’s it doing incamp?” and the Hound’s rasping voice replied, “The Starks use them for wetnurses,” and Sansa realized that the two stranger knights were looking down onher and Lady, swords in their hands, and then she was frightened again, andashamed. Tears filled her eyes.
“是只狼呀。”有人说,然后又有人说,“见鬼,那是冰原狼。”先前那个人接口问,“它在这儿干嘛?”这时“猎狗”厉声回答,“史塔克家的人养狼当保姆。”珊莎这才发现先前那两位陌生的骑士正手里持剑俯视着她和淑女。这下她越发惧怕,更觉羞耻,泪水充满了眼眶。
She heard the queen say, “Joffrey, go toher.”
她听见王后说:“乔佛里,快去保护她。”
And her prince was there.
然后她的白马王子就出现在她身边了。
“Leave her alone,” Joffrey said. He stoodover her, beautiful in blue wool and black leather, his golden curls shining inthe sun like a crown. He gave her his hand, drew her to her feet. “What is it,sweet lady? Why are you afraid? No one will hurt you. Put away your swords, allof you. The wolf is her little pet, that’s all.” He looked at Sandor Clegane.“And you, dog, away with you, you’re scaring my betrothed.”
“不准欺负她。”乔佛里道。他站在她身旁,穿着一身漂亮的蓝色羊毛衣和黑皮革外套,满头金发宛如艳阳下的王冠。他伸手搀扶她起身。“亲爱的小姐,你怎么了?你在怕什么呢?这儿没人会伤害你的。你们通通把剑收起来,这只狼不过是她的小宠物罢了,没什么好大惊小怪的。”他看看桑铎·克里冈。“还有你这只狗,滚远点罢,你吓到我的未婚妻了。”
The Hound, ever faithful, bowed and slidaway quietly through the press. Sansa struggled to steady herself. She feltlike such a fool. She was a Stark of Winterfell, a noble lady, and someday shewould be a queen. “It was not him, my sweet prince,” she tried to explain. “Itwas the other one.”
向来忠心耿耿的“猎狗”鞠了个躬,安静地穿过人群离开。珊莎勉强站稳脚步,觉得自己活像个蠢蛋。她可是堂堂临冬城史塔克家族的大小姐,有朝一日还要做王后的呢。“王子殿下,我怕的不是他。”她试图解释,“是另外那位。”
The two stranger knights exchanged a look.“Payne?” chuckled the young man in the green armor.
两位新来的骑士互望一眼。“派恩吗?”穿着绿甲的年轻人笑问。
The older man in white spoke to Sansagently. “Ofttimes Ser Ilyn frightens me as well, sweet lady. He has a fearsomeaspect.”
身着白甲的老人温柔地对珊莎说:“好小姐,有时连我见了伊林爵士也会怕。他看起来的确挺吓人的。”
“As well he should.” The queen had descendedfrom the wheelhouse. The spectators parted to make way for her. “If the wickeddo not fear the Mng’s Justice, you have put the wrong man in the office.”
“本该如此。”王后说着步下轮宫,围观的人群纷纷让路。“国王的御前执法官就是要让坏人惧怕,否则便表示你选择的人并不胜任。”
Sansa finally found her words. “Then surelyyou have chosen the right one, Your Grace,” she said, and a gale of laughtererupted all around her.
珊莎总算想到该如何应对。“这么说您肯定找对人了,王后陛下。”她说。四周立时响起一阵哄笑。
“Well spoken, child,” said the old man inwhite. “As befits the daughter of Eddard Stark. I am honored to know you,however irregular the manner of our meeting. I am Ser Barristan Selmy, of theKingsguard.” He bowed.
“小妹妹,这话说得好。”白衣老人道,“果然不愧是艾德·史塔克的掌上明珠。我很荣幸认识你,虽然这次的会面有些离奇。我乃御林铁卫的巴利斯坦·赛尔弥爵士。”
Sansa knew the name, and now the courtesiesthat Septa Mordane had taught her over the years came back to her. “The LordCommander of the Kingsguard,” she said, “and councillor to Robert our king andto Aerys Targaryen before him. The honor is mine, good knight. Even in the farnorth, the singers praise the deeds of Barristan the Bold.”
珊莎知道这个名字,此时茉丹修女多年来的悉心调教派上了用场。“您是御林铁卫队长,”她说:“是吾王劳勃的朝廷重臣和以前伊里斯·坦格利安的御林铁卫。尊贵的骑士,认识您是我的荣幸。即便身处遥远的北方,诗人依旧歌颂‘无畏的’巴利斯坦的丰功伟绩。”
The green knight laughed again. “Barristanthe Old, you mean. Don’t flatter him too sweetly, child, he thinks overmuch ofhimself already.” He smiled at her. “Now, wolf girl, if you can put a name tome as well, then I must concede that you are truly our Hand’s daughter.”
绿甲骑士又笑了,“应该是‘老迈的’巴利斯坦才对。小妹妹,马屁可别拍过头,这家伙已经够自命不凡了。”他朝她微笑,“小狼女,如果你也说得出我是谁,我才真相信你是我们首相的女儿。”
Joffrey stiffened beside her. “Have a carehow you address my betrothed.”
在她身边的乔佛里挺直身子:“称呼我未婚妻的时候客气点。”
“I can answer,” Sansa said quickly, to quellher prince’s anger. She smiled at the green knight. “Your helmet bears goldenantlers, my lord. The stag is the sigil of the royal House. King Robert has twobrothers. By your extreme youth, you can only be Renly Baratheon, Lord ofStorm’s End and councillor to the king, and so I name you.”
“我说得出的。”珊莎连忙接口,企图缓和王子的怒意。她对绿甲骑士笑道:“大人,您的头盔上有两只金色鹿角,这是王室的标志。劳勃国王有两个弟弟,而您又这么年轻,只可能是风息堡公爵和朝廷重臣蓝礼·拜拉席恩,我说的可对?”
Ser Barristan chuckled. “By his extremeyouth, he can only be a prancing jackanapes, and so I name him.”
巴利斯坦爵士忍俊不禁:“他年纪这么轻,只可能是个没礼貌的捣蛋鬼,像我这么说才对。”
There was general laughter, led by LordRenly himself. The tension of a few moments ago was gone, and Sansa wasbeginning to feel comfortable?.?.?.?until Ser Ilyn Payne shouldered two menaside, and stood before her, unsmiling. He did not say a word. Lady bared herteeth and began to growl, a low rumble full of menace, but this time Sansasilenced the wolf with a gentle hand to the head. “I am sorry if I offendedyou, Ser Ilyn,” she said.
蓝礼公爵听了哈哈大笑,旁人也随声附和,几分钟前的紧张气氛消失无踪,珊莎也渐渐觉得舒坦……直到伊林·派恩爵士挤开两个人,毫无笑容,一言不发地站到她面前。淑女露出利齿咆哮,吼声中充满敌意,但这回珊莎轻拍她的头,要她安静。“伊林爵士,假如我冒犯到您的话,我很抱歉。”
She waited for an answer, but none came. Asthe headsman looked at her, his pale colorless eyes seemed to strip the clothesaway from her, and then the skin, leaving her soul naked before him. Stillsilent, he turned and walked away.
她等着对方的回答,却始终没有等到。刽子手就这么看着她,他那双苍白无色的眼睛仿佛能褪去她每一件衣服,剥开肌肤,直到她的灵魂赤裸裸地呈现在他面前。最后他转身离去,依然未吐半字。
Sansa did not understand. She looked at herprince. “Did I say something wrong, Your Grace? Why will he not speak to me?”
珊莎不懂这是怎么回事,于是转头向她的王子求助:“王子殿下,我做错了什么?为何他不愿跟我说话?”
“Ser Ilyn has not been feeling talkativethese past fourteen years,” Lord Renly commented with a sly smile.
“咱们伊林爵士这十六年来似乎都不爱讲话哦。”蓝礼公爵挂着一抹促狭的笑容解释。
Joffrey gave his uncle a look of pureloathing, then took Sansa’s hands in his own. “Aerys Targaryen had his tongueripped out with hot pincers.”
乔佛里非常嫌恶地看了他叔叔一眼,执起珊莎的纤纤玉手。“伊里斯·坦格利安叫人用烧红的钳子把他舌头给拔了。”
“He speaks most eloquently with his sword,however,” the queen said, “and his devotion to our realm is unquestioned.” Thenshe smiled graciously and said, “Sansa, the good councillors and I must speaktogether until the king returns with your father. I fear we shall have topostpone your day with Myrcella. Please give your sweet sister my apologies.Joffrey, perhaps you would be so kind as to entertain our guest today.”
“如今他改用剑说话,”王后道,“爵士先生精忠报国,其操守无庸置疑。”然后她满脸堆欢,“珊莎,今日我要和这几位爵爷商谈国事,顺便等国王和你父亲回来。恐怕你和弥赛菈的约定要延期了,请代我向你的好妹妹致上歉意。乔佛里,或许你今天愿意陪陪我们这位贵客?”
“It would be my pleasure, Mother,” Joffreysaid very formally. He took her by the arm and led her away from thewheelhouse, and Sansa’s spirits took flight. A whole day with her prince! Shegazed at Joffrey worshipfully. He was so gallant, she thought. The way he hadrescued her from Ser Ilyn and the Hound, why, it was almost like the songs,like the time Serwyn of the Mirror Shield saved the Princess Daeryssa from thegiants, or Prince Aemon the Dragonknight championing Queen Naerys’s honoragainst evil Ser Morgil’s slanders.
“母亲大人,那是我的荣幸。”乔佛里郑重其事地说,他挽起她的手,领她离开轮宫,珊莎顿时觉得幸福得飞上了天。和她的白马王子相处一整天!她崇拜地望着乔佛里,想起他方才把她自伊林爵士和“猎狗”手中拯救出来的样子,要多勇敢有多勇敢,简直就像诗歌里写的一样,就像“镜盾”萨文击败巨人救出戴丽莎公主;或是“龙骑士”伊蒙王子为了破除谣言,保护奈丽诗王后名节,与邪恶的莫格尔爵士决战的故事。
The touch of Joffrey’s hand on her sleevemade her heart beat faster. “What would you like to do?”
乔佛里隔着衣袖的碰触更让她心跳加速。“你想做点什么呢?”
Be with you, Sansa thought, but she said,“Whatever you’d like to do, my prince.”
我只想和你在一起啊,珊莎心想,但她说:“王子殿下,您想做什么,我就做什么。”
Jofftey reflected a moment. “We could goriding.”
乔佛里想了想。“我们可以去骑马。”
“Oh, I love riding,” Sansa said.
“噢,我最喜欢骑马了。”珊莎道。
Joffrey glanced back at Lady, who wasfollowing at their heels. “Your wolf is liable to frighten the horses, and mydog seems to frighten you. Let us leave them both behind and set off on ourown, what do you say?”
乔佛里回头看看跟在他们身后的淑女。“你的狼会吓着马,而我的狗好像也吓着了你,不如我们把他们都留在这儿,自己出去玩,你看怎么样?”
Sansa hesitated. “If you like,” she saiduncertainly. “I suppose I could tie Lady up.” She did not quite understand,though. “I didn’t know you had a dog?.?.?.?”
珊莎迟疑了一会儿。“您觉得好就好,”她犹豫道,“我想我得先把淑女拴起来。”可她还有些地方没听懂。“其实我不知道您养了狗……”
Joffrey laughed. “He’s my mother’s dog, intruth. She has set him to guard me, and so he does.”
乔佛里笑道:“他是我妈的狗,她叫他负责保护我,他就这么跟着我了。”
“You mean the Hound,” she said. She wantedto hit herself for being so slow. Her prince would never love her if she seemedstupid. “Is it safe to leave him behind?”
“原来您指的是‘猎狗’。”她边说边懊恼自己反应迟钝,假如她是个笨蛋,那么王子是决计不会爱她的。“这样做好吗?”
Prince Joffrey looked annoyed that she wouldeven ask. “Have no fear, lady. I am almost a man grown, and I don’t fight withwood like your brothers. All I need is this.” He drew his sword and showed itto her; a longsword adroitly shrunken to suit a boy of twelve, gleaming bluesteel, castle-forged and double-edged, with a leather grip and a lion’s-headpommel in gold. Sansa exclaimed over it admiringly, and Joffrey looked pleased.“I call it Lion’s Tooth,” he said.
乔佛里王子听了似乎有点不高兴。“小姐,用不着害怕,我都快成年了,我可不像你哥哥只会用木头剑,我有这个。”他抽出佩剑给珊莎看。那是把经过巧妙微缩,恰好适合十二岁男孩需要的长剑,剑身是用精钢打造,泛着蓝光,两面开刃,剑柄裹着皮革,尾端则是一个黄金做的狮头。珊莎看得连声赞叹,乔佛里相当满意。“我叫它‘狮牙’。”
And so they left her direwolf and hisbodyguard behind them, while they ranged east along the north bank of theTrident with no company save Lion’s Tooth.
于是他们把冰原狼和保镖抛在脑后,沿着三叉戟河北岸往西行去,除了‘狮牙’以外,没有别的同伴。
It was a glorious day, a magical day. Theair was warm and heavy with the scent of flowers, and the woods here had agentle beauty that Sansa had never seen in the north. Prince Joffrey’s mountwas a blood bay courser, swift as the wind, and he rode it with recklessabandon, so fast that Sansa was hard-pressed to keep up on her mare. It was aday for adventures. They explored the caves by the riverbank, and tracked ashadowcat to its lair, and when they grew hungry, Joffrey found a holdfast byits smoke and told them to fetch food and wine for their prince and his lady.They dined on trout fresh from the river, and Sansa drank more wine than shehad ever drunk before. “My father only lets us have one cup, and only atfeasts,” she confessed to her prince.
这是个神奇而灿烂的日子,温暖的空气里弥漫花香,这儿的树林有种珊莎在北方的林子从未见到的柔和之美。乔佛里王子的坐骑是匹箭步如飞的红鬃骏马,他驾驭马儿的方式更是横冲直撞,速度极快,珊莎必须死命驱赶胯下母马才能跟上。今天也是个适合冒险的日子。他们沿着河岸搜索洞穴,把一只影子山猫赶回巢穴。肚子饿的时候,乔佛里循着炊烟找到乡间庄园,吩咐他们为王子和他的同行女士准备食物和葡萄酒。于是他们享用了刚从河里捕来的新鲜鳟鱼,珊莎则一辈子没喝过这么多酒。“父亲大人只准我们喝一杯,而且只能在宴会上。”
“My betrothed can drink as much as shewants,” Joffrey said, refilling her cup.
“我的未婚妻爱喝多少就喝多少。”乔佛里边说边为她斟满酒杯。
They went more slowly after they had eaten.Joffrey sang for her as they rode, his voice high and sweet and pure. Sansa wasa little dizzy from the wine. “Shouldn’t we be starting back?” she asked.
酒足饭饱后,他们策马缓行。乔佛里唱歌给她听,他的嗓音高亢甜美、纯净无瑕。珊莎喝多了酒,觉得有点晕眩。“我们是不是该回去了?”她问。
“Soon,” Joffrey said. “The battleground isright up ahead, where the river bends. That was where my father killed RhaegarTargaryen, you know. He smashed in his chest, crunch, right through the armor.”Joffrey swung an imaginary warhammer to show her how it was done. “Then myuncle Jaime killed old Aerys, and my father was king. What’s that sound?”
“再等一会。”乔佛里道,“古战场就在前面,绿叉河转弯的地方。你知道罢,那便是我父亲杀死雷加·坦格利安的地方。他一挥手就敲碎对方的胸膛,咯啦,铠甲打得稀烂。”乔佛里挥舞着假想的战锤向珊莎示范。“后来我舅舅詹姆杀掉老伊里斯,我爸就当上了国王。咦,那是什么声音?”
Sansa heard it too, floating through thewoods, a kind of wooden clattering, snack snack snack. “I don’t know,” shesaid. It made her nervous, though. “Joffrey, let’s go back.”
珊莎也听到从林子里传来阵阵木头敲击。喀啦喀啦喀啦。“我不知道,”她说,但心里却紧张起来。“乔佛里,我们回去吧。”
“I want to see what it is.” Joffrey turnedhis horse in the direction of the sounds, and Sansa had no choice but tofollow. The noises grew louder and more distinct, the clack of wood on wood,and as they grew closer they heard heavy breathing as well, and now and then agrunt.
“我要瞧个究竟。”乔佛里掉转马头,朝声音的来源骑去,珊莎迫不得已,只好跟上。噪音越来越大,也越来越清晰,的确是木头碰撞的声响。待他们骑得更近,还听见沉重的喘气和隔三差五的闷哼。
“Someone’s there,” Sansa said anxiously. Shefound herself thinking of Lady, wishing the direwolf was with her.
“那儿有人。”珊莎不安地说。她发现自己想着淑女,盼望她的冰原狼此刻陪在身边。
“You’re safe with me.” Joffrey drew hisLion’s Tooth from its sheath. The sound of steel on leather made her tremble.“This way,” he said, riding through a stand of trees.
“有我在不用怕。”乔佛里从剑鞘里拔出‘狮牙’,金属和皮革的摩擦却让她浑身颤抖。“走这边。”说着他策马穿过一排树林。
Beyond, in a clearing overlooking the river,they came upon a boy and a girl playing at knights. Their swords were woodensticks, broom handles from the look of them, and they were rushing across thegrass, swinging at each other lustily. The boy was years older, a head taller,and much stronger, and he was pressing the attack. The girl, a scrawny thing insoiled leathers, was dodging and managing to get her stick in the way of mostof the boy’s blows, but not all. When she tried to lunge at him, he caught herstick with his own, swept it aside, and slid his wood down hard on her fingers.She cried out and lost her weapon.
树林那端有片空地,地势恰好俯瞰河流。他们在这里找到一对正玩着骑士游戏的男孩女孩,两人正以木棍(其实是扫帚杆)为剑,在草地上横冲直撞,精力充沛地相互砍杀。男孩的年龄要大几岁,个子则足足高出一头,体格也强壮许多,处于发动攻势的一方。女孩一身干瘦,穿着脏兮兮的皮衣,正手忙脚乱地抵挡男孩的攻击,却无法完全避开。当她试图反击时,被对方用剑挡住,并将她的剑往旁一扫,顺势用力劈她手指。她痛得立刻丢下武器大叫。
Prince Joffrey laughed. The boy lookedaround, wide-eyed and startled, and dropped his stick in the grass. The girlglared at them, sucking on her knuckles to take the sting out, and Sansa washorrified. “Arya?” she called out incredulously.
乔佛里王子哈哈大笑。男孩睁大眼睛吃惊地转过头来,随即一松手,木棍落地。女孩瞪着他们,一边吮着指关节想把刺吸出来,珊莎吓坏了。“艾莉亚,是你吗?”她难以置信地惊呼道。
“Go away,” Arya shouted back at them, angrytears in her eyes. “What are you doing here? Leave us alone.”
“走开。”艾莉亚眼里满是愤怒的泪水,大声地朝他们嚷嚷,“你们来这里做什么?不要管我们的事。”
Joffrey glanced from Arya to Sansa and backagain. “Your sister?” She nodded, blushing. Joffrey examined the boy, anungainly lad with a coarse, freckled face and thick red hair. “And who are you,boy?” he asked in a commanding tone that took no notice of the fact that theother was a year his senior.
乔佛里看看艾莉亚,又看看珊莎,目光扫了几遍。“这是你妹妹?”珊莎红着脸点头。乔佛里转而仔细审视那名男孩,他是个满脸雀斑,一头浓密红发的丑陋少年。“小子,你又是谁?”他以命令的口吻问,丝毫没在意对方年纪还大他一岁。
“Mycah,” the boy muttered. He recognized theprince and averted his eyes. “M’lord.”
“我叫米凯,”男孩低声说,他认出眼前的王子,连忙移开视线。“王子殿下。”
“He’s the butcher’s boy,” Sansa said.
“他是屠夫的学徒。”珊莎解释说。
“He’s my friend,” Arya said sharply. “Youleave him alone.”
“他是我朋友,”艾莉亚语气尖锐地道,“你们别欺负他。”
“A butcher’s boy who wants to be a knight,is it?” Joffrey swung down from his mount, sword in hand. “Pick up your sword,butcher’s boy,” he said, his eyes bright with amusement. “Let us see how goodyou are.”
“杀猪小弟也想当骑士,是吗?”乔佛里翻身下马,手中握剑。“屠夫小弟,把你的剑捡起来。”他眼里闪着愉悦的光芒,“咱们来瞧瞧你够不够格。”
Mycah stood there, frozen with fear.
米凯吓得伫立原地。
Joffrey walked toward him. “Go on, pick itup. Or do you only fight little girls?”
乔佛里朝他走去。“快啊,快捡,难道你只敢欺负小女生?”
“She ast me to, m’lord,” Mycah said. “Sheast me to.”
“大人,是她逼我的,”米凯说,“是她逼我这么做的。”
Sansa had only to glance at Arya and see theflush on her sister’s face to know the boy was telling the truth, but Joffreywas in no mood to listen. The wine had made him wild. “Are you going to pick upyour sword?”
珊莎只需瞄艾莉亚一眼,看见妹妹倏地红了脸,便知男孩所言不假。但乔佛里听不进去,刚喝的那些酒让他性子野了起来。“你到底捡还是不捡?”
Mycah shook his head. “It’s only a stick,m’lord. It’s not no sword, it’s only a stick.”
米凯摇头:“大人,这不过是根木棒,不是剑,只是根棍子罢了。”
“And you’re only a butcher’s boy, and noknight.” Joffrey lifted Lion’s Tooth and laid its point on Mycah’s cheek belowthe eye, as the butcher’s boy stood trembling. “That was my lady’s sister youwere hitting, do you know that?” A bright bud of blood blossomed where hissword pressed into Mycah’s flesh, and a slow red line trickled down the boy’scheek.
“你也不过是个杀猪小弟,根本不是骑士。”乔佛里举起‘狮牙’,剑尖指着米凯眼睛下方的脸颊,屠夫学徒站在原地颤抖。“刚才你打的是我这位小姐的妹妹,你知不知道?”一朵殷红的血花在剑刺入的地方绽放,男孩的脸上缓缓流下一道红线。
“Stop it!” Arya screamed. She grabbed up herfallen stick.
“住手!”艾莉亚尖叫,随即一把抓起刚才掉落的木棍。
Sansa was afraid. “Arya, you stay out ofthis.”
珊莎好害怕。“艾莉亚,你别插手。”
“I won’t hurt him?.?.?.?much,” PrinceJoffrey told Arya, never taking his eyes off the butcher’s boy.
“我不会把他……伤得太厉害。”乔佛里王子告诉艾莉亚,他的视线自始至终没离开屠夫的小徒弟。
Arya went for him.
艾莉亚朝他扑去。
Sansa slid off her mare, but she was tooslow. Arya swung with both hands. There was a loud crack as the wood splitagainst the back of the prince’s head, and then everything happened at oncebefore Sansa’s horrified eyes. Joffrey staggered and whirled around, roaringcurses. Mycah ran for the trees as fast as his legs would take him. Arya swungat the prince again, but this time Joffrey caught the blow on Lion’s Tooth andsent her broken stick flying from her hands. The back of his head was allbloody and his eyes were on fire. Sansa was shrieking, “No, no, stop it, stopit, both of you, you’re spoiling it,” but no one was listening. Arya scooped upa rock and hurled it at Joffrey’s head. She hit his horse instead, and theblood bay reared and went galloping off after Mycah. “Stop it, don’t, stop it!”Sansa screamed. Joffrey slashed at Arya with his sword, screaming obscenities,terrible words, filthy words. Arya darted back, frightened now, but Joffreyfollowed, hounding her toward the woods, backing her up against a tree. Sansadidn’t know what to do. She watched helplessly, almost blind from her tears.
珊莎见状急忙跳下马,但已经太迟了。艾莉亚双手握住木棒,朝王子后脑狠狠一敲,只听喀啦一声,棍子应声开裂。乔佛里则踉跄旋身,大声骂着粗话。米凯拔腿便往林子里逃。艾莉亚挥棒再打,但这回乔佛里举起‘狮牙’,把她手中的扫帚棍打断、震飞。他后脑勺全是血,眼里燃烧着怒火,珊莎拚命尖叫:“住手,你们两个都住手,你们把事情都搞砸了。”但没人听她的话。艾莉亚捡起石块朝乔佛里的头掷去,却打中了他的马。血红色的骏马扬起前腿,跟在米凯后面狂奔。“住手!不要打了!”珊莎尖叫。乔佛里挥剑朝艾莉亚猛砍,嘴里不停喝骂着可怕的脏话。这时艾莉亚也害怕得急步后退,但乔佛里节节进逼,把她逼到没有退路的林边。珊莎不知如何是好,只能无助地在旁观望,视线几乎被泪水所掩盖。
Then a grey blur flashed past her, andsuddenly Nymeria was there, leaping, jaws closing around Joffrey’s sword arm.The steel fell from his fingers as the wolf knocked him off his feet, and theyrolled in the grass, the wolf snarling and ripping at him, the prince shriekingin pain. “Get it off,” he screamed. “Get it off!”
说时迟,那时快,一团灰影从她身边闪过,下一刻娜梅莉亚已跃上乔佛里右手,张口便咬。狼把人扑倒在地,他手一松剑便掉落,人和狼双双在草地上打滚,狼不停咆哮撕扯,王子则惨叫连连。“把它弄走!”他尖叫道,“快把它弄走!”
Arya’s voice cracked like a whip. “Nymeria!”
艾莉亚的声音如鞭子划空。“娜梅莉亚!”
The direwolf let go of Joffrey and moved toArya’s side. The prince lay in the grass, whimpering, cradling his mangled arm.His shirt was soaked in blood. Arya said, “She didn’t hurt you?.?.?.?much.” Shepicked up Lion’s Tooth where it had fallen, and stood over him, holding thesword with both hands.
冰原狼立时放开乔佛里,跑到艾莉亚身边。王子躺在草丛里,抱着受伤的手臂啜泣。他的衣服上全是血。艾莉亚说:“她也没把你……伤得太厉害嘛。”她捡起‘狮牙’,站在他跟前,双手握剑。
Jofftey made a scared whimpery sound as helooked up at her. “No,” he said, “don’t hurt me. I’ll tell my mother.”
乔佛里抬头看到她,发出害怕的呜咽。“不要,”他说,“不要伤害我,不然我要去告诉妈妈。”
“You leave him alone!” Sansa screamed at hersister.
“你别欺负他!”珊莎对妹妹尖叫。
Arya whirled and heaved the sword into theair, putting her whole body into the throw. The blue steel flashed in the sunas the sword spun out over the river. It hit the water and vanished with asplash. Joffrey moaned. Arya ran off to her horse, Nymeria loping at her heels.
艾莉亚猛地一旋身,用尽全身力气把剑抛了出去。宝剑飞过河面,蓝钢打造的剑身在阳光下闪闪发光,最后噗通一声掉进水里,刹时便沉了下去。乔佛里见状又是一声呻吟。艾莉亚跑向她的坐骑,娜梅莉亚跟在她后面。
After they had gone, Sansa went to PrinceJoffrey. His eyes were closed in pain, his breath ragged. Sansa knelt besidehim. “Joffrey,” she sobbed. “Oh, look what they did, look what they did. Mypoor prince. Don’t be afraid. I’ll ride to the holdfast and bring help foryou.” Tenderly she reached out and brushed back his soft blond hair.
她们离开后,珊莎走到王子身旁。他痛苦地紧闭双眼,呼吸急促。珊莎在他身旁跪下。“乔佛里,”她抽噎道,“噢,看看她们做了什么好事,把你伤成这样。我可怜的王子,你别害怕,我这就骑马去刚才的庄园,找人来帮忙。”她伸手温柔地拨开他柔软的金发。
His eyes snapped open and looked at her, andthere was nothing but loathing there, nothing but the vilest contempt. “Then go,”he spit at her. “And don’t touch me.”
他猛然睁开双眼,眼里只有恨意和最彻底的轻蔑。“那就滚罢。”他对她啐了口唾沫。“还有,不—准—碰—我。”