ARYA
50 艾莉亚
High,” Syrio Forel called out, slashing at her head. The stick swords clacked as Arya parried.
“上。”西利欧·佛瑞尔叫喊着，朝她头部挥去。艾莉亚举剑挡格，木剑相交，喀的一声。
“Left,” he shouted, and his blade came whistling. Hers darted to meet it. The clack made him click his teeth together.
“左。”他又叫，木剑随即呼啸而出。她的剑也急速迎去。又是喀的一声，她咬紧牙关。
“Right,” he said, and “Low,” and “Left,” and “Left” again, faster and faster, moving forward. Arya retreated before him, checking each blow.
“右，”他说，之后是“下”、“左”、“左”，越来越快，向前步步进逼。艾莉亚则不断后退，挥开每一记攻势。
“Lunge,” he warned, and when he thrust she sidestepped, swept his blade away, and slashed at his shoulder. She almost touched him, almost, so close it made her grin. A strand of hair dangled in her eyes, limp with sweat. She pushed it away with the back of her hand.
“开始冲锋了。”他警告。于是当他向前猛攻，她往旁边一闪，扫开他的剑，朝他肩膀砍去。她差一点就碰到他了，就差那么一点点，她禁不住得意地笑起来。一撮淌着汗水的头发垂下，在她眼前晃来晃去，她用手背拨开。
“Left,” Syrio sang out. “Low.” His sword was a blur, and the Small Hall echoed to the clack clack clack. “Left. Left. High. Left. Right. Left. Low. Left!”
“左。”西利欧叫道。“下。”他的剑快得看不清，喀喀声响彻小厅。“左，左，上，左，右，左，下，左！”
The wooden blade caught her high in the breast, a sudden stinging blow that hurt all the more because it came from the wrong side. “Ow,” she cried out. She would have a fresh bruise there by the time she went to sleep, somewhere out at sea. A bruise is a lesson, she told herself, and each lesson makes us better.
这一剑刺得很高，正中她的胸膛。她剧痛难忍，因为这次攻击方向全然不对，打了她一个措手不及。“哎哟！”她叫道。看来，等今晚在海上某个地方睡觉的时候，胸部大概已经淤青一片了。每次受伤都是一次教训，她告诉自己，而每次教训都让我们更强。
Syrio stepped back. “You are dead now.”
西利欧后退。“你已经死了。”
Arya made a face. “You cheated,” she said hotly. “You said left and you went right.”
艾莉亚扮起鬼脸。“你作弊啦，”她气冲冲地说，“你明明说左边结果却打右边。”
“Just so. And now you are a dead girl.”
“就是这样，你从此就是个死女孩了。”
“But you lied!”
“可你‘骗人’啊！”
“My words lied. My eyes and my arm shouted out the truth, but you were not seeing.”
“我的嘴巴骗人，我的眼睛和手说的可是真话，只是你视而不见。”
“I was so,” Arya said. “I watched you every second!”
“我哪里看不见，”艾莉亚说，“我每秒钟都盯着你看！”
“Watching is not seeing, dead girl. The water dancer sees. Come, put down the sword, it is time for listening now.”
“死掉的小妹妹，‘观看’不代表‘洞察’。水舞者一定要能洞察。来，把剑放下，听课的时候到了。”
She followed him over to the wall, where he settled onto a bench. “Syrio Forel was first sword to the Sealord of Braavos, and are you knowing how that came to pass?”
她跟着他走到墙边，他在板凳上坐下。“西利欧·佛瑞尔能当上布拉佛斯海王的首席剑士，你知道凭什么吗？”
“You were the finest swordsman in the city.”
“因为你是全城最厉害的剑客。”
“Just so, but why? Other men were stronger, faster, younger, why was Syrio Forel the best? I will tell you now.” He touched the tip of his little finger lightly to his eyelid. “The seeing, the true seeing, that is the heart of it.
“就是这样，但为什么是我？有很多人比我强壮，比我敏捷，比我年轻，为什么是西利欧·佛瑞尔最厉害？现在让我来告诉你。”他用指尖轻轻碰了碰睫毛。“诀窍在于洞察，洞察事物的真相。”
“Hear me. The ships of Braavos sail as far as the winds blow, to lands strange and wonderful, and when they return their captains fetch queer animals to the Sealord’s menagerie. Such animals as you have never seen, striped horses, great spotted things with necks as long as stilts, hairy mouse-pigs as big as cows, stinging manticores, tigers that carry their cubs in a pouch, terrible walking lizards with scythes for claws. Syrio Forel has seen these things.
“听着。海风吹到何方，布拉佛斯的船就开往何地。他们去过很多稀奇古怪的地方，每次返航，船长都会为海王的百兽园献上远方的动物。那是你从未见过的各式珍禽异兽，比如有条纹的马，全身长满斑点、脖子像高跷一样长的东西，还有浑身是毛、长得跟母牛一样大的鼠猪，会螫人的狮身蝎尾兽，把幼兽装在袋子里的老虎，还有走来走去、有镰刀般的爪子的恐怖蜥蜴。这些东西西利欧·佛瑞尔通通都见过。”
“On the day I am speaking of, the first sword was newly dead, and the Sealord sent for me. Many bravos had come to him, and as many had been sent away, none could say why. When I came into his presence, he was seated, and in his lap was a fat yellow cat. He told me that one of his captains had brought the beast to him, from an island beyond the sunrise. ‘Have you ever seen her like?’ he asked of me.
“我说的那天，前任首席剑士刚刚去世，海王便传我过去，只因按照布拉佛斯的传统必须立刻选择继承人。之前已有不少杀手去见过他，结果通通都被遣走，谁也说不出原因。我进去的时候，他安详地坐着，膝上躺了一只肥胖的黄猫，他告诉我：这是他手下某位船长从比日出之地更远的小岛上带回来给他的。‘你没见过像她这样的动物吧？’他问我。”
“And to him I said, ‘Each night in the alleys of Braavos I see a thousand like him,’ and the Sealord laughed, and that day I was named the first sword.”
“而我对他说：‘每晚我在布拉佛斯的小巷都见到几千只他这种动物。’海王听了抚掌大笑，当日就任命我为首席剑士。”
Arya screwed up her face. “I don’t understand.”
艾莉亚露出一张苦脸。“我不懂。”
Syrio clicked his teeth together. “The cat was an ordinary cat, no more. The others expected a fabulous beast, so that is what they saw. How large it was, they said. It was no larger than any other cat, only fat from indolence, for the Sealord fed it from his own table. What curious small ears, they said. Its ears had been chewed away in kitten fights. And it was plainly a tomcat, yet the Sealord said ‘her,’ and that is what the others saw. Are you hearing?”
西利欧把牙齿磨得咯咯作响。“那只是一只平凡无奇的猫。其他人以为会看到珍禽异兽，所以他们眼中就只看得到珍禽异兽。他们说这只猫很大，可那只猫并不特别大，只不过因为好吃懒做，海王又常拿自己餐桌上的东西喂它，所以才稍微发福。他们又说它耳朵小巧玲珑，其实只是因为和其他猫打架的时候被咬掉了一块。那明明就是只公猫，但海王开口说‘她’，他们也就信以为真。你听懂了吗？”
Arya thought about it. “You saw what was there.”
艾莉亚仔细想想。“你洞察了事情的真相。”
“Just so. Opening your eyes is all that is needing. The heart lies and the head plays tricks with us, but the eyes see true. Look with your eyes. Hear with your ears. Taste with your mouth. Smell with your nose. Feel with your skin. Then comes the thinking, afterward, and in that way knowing the truth.”
“就是这样。最重要的就是睁大眼睛。心会说谎，头脑会愚弄我们，只有眼睛雪亮。用你的眼睛看，用你的耳朵听，用你的嘴巴尝，用你的鼻子闻，用你的皮肤去感觉，最后才用脑袋去想，这样才会洞察真相。”
“Just so,” said Arya, grinning.
“就是这样。”艾莉亚嘻嘻笑道。
Syrio Forel allowed himself a smile. “I am thinking that when we are reaching this Winterfell of yours, it will be time to put this needle in your hand.”
西利欧·佛瑞尔难得地露出微笑。“我在想，等我们抵达你家那个临冬城，也差不多是该让你使用这把缝衣针的时候了。”
“Yes!” Arya said eagerly. “Wait till I show Jon...”
“太棒了！”艾莉亚迫不及待地说，“到时候我让琼恩看——”
Behind her the great wooden doors of the Small Hall flew open with a resounding crash. Arya whirled.
轰的一声，身后的小厅大木门被人撞开，艾莉亚立刻旋身。
A knight of the Kingsguard stood beneath the arch of the door with five Lannister guardsmen arrayed behind him. He was in full armor, but his visor was up. Arya remembered his droopy eyes and rustcolored whiskers from when he had come to Winterfell with the king: Ser Meryn Trant. The red cloaks wore mail shirts over boiled leather and steel caps with lion crests. “Arya Stark,” the knight said, “come with us, child.”
一名御林铁卫站在门拱下，身后跟了五个兰尼斯特卫士。他全副武装，只把头盔的面罩打开。此人陪国王来临冬城作客时，艾莉亚见过他，记得他那低垂的眼睛和铁锈色的小胡子，这必是马林·特兰爵士无疑。红披风的侍卫穿着皮革背心和锁甲，头戴雄狮钢盔。“艾莉亚·史塔克，”骑士说，“孩子，跟我们走。”
Arya chewed her lip uncertainly. “What do you want?”
艾莉亚犹豫不决地噘起嘴。“你们找我做什么？”
“Your father wants to see you.”
“你父亲要见你。”
Arya took a step forward, but Syrio Forel held her by the arm. “And why is it that Lord Eddard is sending Lannister men in the place of his own? I am wondering.”
艾莉亚向前走了一步，但西利欧·佛利尔握住她的手。“艾德大人为何不派他的手下，反而派兰尼斯特家的人来呢？我很好奇。”
“Mind your place, dancing master,” Ser Meryn said. “This is no concern of yours.”
“舞蹈老师，别不识好歹，”马林爵士说，“此事与你无关。”
“My father wouldn’t send you,” Arya said. She snatched up her stick sword. The Lannisters laughed.
“我父亲才不会派你们来呢。”艾莉亚说着举起她的木剑。兰尼斯特侍卫见了哈哈大笑。
“Put down the stick, girl,” Ser Meryn told her. “I am a Sworn Brother of the Kingsguard, the White Swords.”
“小妹妹乖，把棍子放下，”马林爵士告诉她，“我乃御林铁卫众弟兄的一员，是宣誓效命的白骑士。”
“So was the Kingslayer when he killed the old king,” Arya said. “I don’t have to go with you if I don’t want.”
“杀老国王的弑君者也是啊。”艾莉亚说，“我不想去，我不想跟你走。”
Ser Meryn Trant ran out of patience. “Take her,” he said to his men. He lowered the visor of his helm.
马林·特兰爵士没了耐性。“抓住她。”他对手下说，然后放下面罩。
Three of them started forward, chainmail clinking softly with each step. Arya was suddenly afraid. Fear cuts deeper than swords, she told herself, to slow the racing of her heart.
三个卫士向前走来，锁子甲随着跨出的每一步发出清脆的碰撞。艾莉亚突然害怕起来。恐惧比利剑更伤人，她告诉自己，慢慢缓和狂乱的心跳。
Syrio Forel stepped between them, tapping his wooden sword lightly against his boot. “You will be stopping there. Are you men or dogs that you would threaten a child?”
西利欧·佛瑞尔走上前来，挡在中间，边拿木剑轻敲靴子。“到此为止。你们是人还是狗，居然有脸威胁小孩子？”
“Out of the way, old man,” one of the red cloaks said.
“滚开，老头子。”一名红袍侍卫叫道。
Syrio’s stick came whistling up and rang against his helm. “I am Syrio Forel, and you will now be speaking to me with more respect.”
西利欧的木棍咻地一声上窜，敲了那人头盔一下。“我是西利欧·佛瑞尔，从现在开始，你跟我讲话要放尊重点。”
“Bald bastard.” The man yanked free his longsword. The stick moved again, blindingly fast. Arya heard a loud crack as the sword went clattering to the stone floor. “My hand,” the guardsman yelped, cradling his broken fingers.
“秃头浑球。”来人拔出长剑。木棍再度窜动，快得刺眼。艾莉亚只听喀啦一声，钢剑已掉在石地板上。“我的手。”那名守卫惨叫着握住断掉的手指。
“You are quick, for a dancing master,” said Ser Meryn.
“以一个舞蹈老师来说，你挺快。”马林爵士评价。
“You are slow, for a knight,” Syrio replied.
“以一个骑士而言，你太慢。”西利欧回敬。
“Kill the Braavosi and bring me the girl,” the knight in the white armor commanded.
“宰了这布拉佛斯人，把那小女孩抓来。”白甲骑士命令。
Four Lannister guardsmen unsheathed their swords. The fifth, with the broken fingers, spat and pulled free a dagger with his left hand.
四个兰尼斯特士兵纷纷抽出佩剑，断指的那个啐了口唾沫，用左手拔出匕首。
Syrio Forel clicked his teeth together, sliding into his water dancer’s stance, presenting only his side to the foe. “Arya child,” he called out, never looking, never taking his eyes off the Lannisters, “we are done with dancing for the day. Best you are going now. Run to your father.”
西利欧·佛瑞尔喀喀咬紧牙齿，滑出水舞者的姿势，侧面迎敌。“小艾莉亚，”他叫道，但他看都没看她一眼，自始至终没将视线自兰尼斯特卫兵身上移开。“今天的舞蹈课到此为止。你最好快走，跑步去找你父亲。”
Arya did not want to leave him, but he had taught her to do as he said. “Swift as a deer,” she whispered.
艾莉亚不想抛下他，但他教导她要听话。“疾如鹿。”她小声说。
“Just so,” said Syrio Forel as the Lannisters closed.
“就是这样。”西利欧·佛瑞尔说。兰尼斯特士兵向他围去。
Arya retreated, her own sword stick clutched tightly in her hand. Watching him now, she realized that Syrio had only been toying with her when they dueled. The red cloaks came at him from three sides with steel in their hands. They had chainmail over their chest and arms, and steel codpieces sewn into their pants, but only leather on their legs. Their hands were bare, and the caps they wore had noseguards, but no visor over the eyes.
艾莉亚缓缓后退，手里紧紧握着木剑。看着西利欧应战的架式，她才明白平日和她交手时，他不过随意玩玩罢了。红袍武士握着钢剑从三面向他进逼，他们的胸膛和手臂受锁甲保护，短裤缝了金属护膝，但脚上只有皮革绑腿，双手暴露在外。他们的头盔虽有护鼻，却没有面罩遮眼。
Syrio did not wait for them to reach him, but spun to his left. Arya had never seen a man move as fast. He checked one sword with his stick and whirled away from a second. Off balance, the second man lurched into the first. Syrio put a boot to his back and the red cloaks went down together. The third guard came leaping over them, slashing at the water dancer’s head. Syrio ducked under his blade and thrust upward. The guardsman fell screaming as blood welled from the wet red hole where his left eye had been.
西利欧不等他们靠近，便闪身向左。艾莉亚不敢想象人的动作竟能那么快。他用木棍挡住一把剑，旋身躲过第二把。第二个人失去重心，踉跄着朝先前那人跌去。西利欧朝他后背补上一脚，两个红袍武士摔成一团。第三个卫士跳过他们冲来，挥剑往水舞者的头砍去。西利欧身子一低，向上疾刺。那名守卫惨叫倒地，本来是左眼的地方，如今只剩一个血淋淋的窟窿。
The fallen men were getting up. Syrio kicked one in the face and snatched the steel cap off the other’s head. The dagger man stabbed at him. Syrio caught the thrust in the helmet and shattered the man’s kneecap with his stick. The last red cloak shouted a curse and charged, hacking down with both hands on his sword. Syrio rolled right, and the butcher’s cut caught the helmetless man between neck and shoulder as he struggled to his knees. The longsword crunched through mail and leather and flesh. The man on his knees shrieked. Before his killer could wrench free his blade, Syrio jabbed him in the apple of his throat. The guardsman gave a choked cry and staggered back, clutching at his neck, his face blackening.
摔倒的人准备爬起。西利欧踢中一人的面门，扯下男一人的头盔。拿匕首的人朝他猛刺，西利欧用头盔接住他的攻势，然后用木棍敲碎了来人的膝盖。最后一个红袍武士喝骂一声，双手持剑，猛力挥砍着朝他冲锋。西利欧疾闪向右，于是那个没了头盔，正挣扎着站起的人遭了殃，那记屠夫般的猛斩正中他肩脖交接处。利剑砍碎锁甲、皮革和血肉，此人跪倒在地，厉声惨叫。杀他的人还来不及抽出剑，西利欧已刺中他的喉头。卫士发出窒息般的叫声，蹒跚后退，双手掐着脖子，脸如死灰。
Five men were down, dead, or dying by the time Arya reached the back door that opened on the kitchen. She heard Ser Meryn Trant curse. “Bloody oafs,” he swore, drawing his longsword from its scabbard.
等艾莉亚走到通往厨房的后门时，五个人不是倒地丧命，就是奄奄一息。她听见马林·特兰爵士咒道：“一群废物，”然后拔出长剑。
Syrio Forel resumed his stance and clicked his teeth together. “Arya child,” he called out, never looking at her, “be gone now.”
西利欧·佛瑞尔恢复了战斗姿势，牙齿咯咯作响。“小艾莉亚，”他头也不回地叫道，“快走。”
Look with your eyes, he had said. She saw: the knight in his pale armor head to foot, legs, throat, and hands sheathed in metal, eyes hidden behind his high white helm, and in his hand cruel steel. Against that: Syrio, in a leather vest, with a wooden sword in his hand. “Syrio, run,” she screamed.
用你的眼睛看，他刚才教导过。于是她看了：骑士穿着全身重铠，头、脚、乃至喉咙、手臂都由钢甲保护，双眼隐藏在纯白高盔后，手拿狰狞的精钢长剑。反观西利欧：皮革背心和手中的木剑。“西利欧，快跑！”她尖叫。
“The first sword of Braavos does not run,” he sang as Ser Meryn slashed at him. Syrio danced away from his cut, his stick a blur. In a heartbeat, he had bounced blows off the knight’s temple, elbow, and throat, the wood ringing against the metal of helm, gauntlet, and gorget. Arya stood frozen. Ser Meryn advanced; Syrio backed away. He checked the next blow, spun away from the second, deflected the third.
“布拉佛斯的首席剑士从不临阵脱逃。”他朗声道。马林爵士挥剑朝他砍来，西利欧优雅地闪开，手中木棍划出一阵白光芒朝骑士攻去。才一次心跳间，他接连击中骑士的太阳穴、手肘和喉咙，木头敲响了头盔、护手和颈甲的金属。艾莉亚整个人愣在原地。马林爵士继续进逼，西利欧退后。他挡下一击攻势，躲开第二剑，又挥开第三击。
The fourth sliced his stick in two, splintering the wood and shearing through the lead core.
但第四剑将木棍拦腰砍断，木屑飞溅，铅制骨架断裂。
Sobbing, Arya spun and ran.
艾莉亚啜泣着迈开脚步，飞奔而去。
She plunged through the kitchens and buttery, blind with panic, weaving between cooks and potboys. A baker’s helper stepped in front of her, holding a wooden tray. Arya bowled her over, scattering fragrant loaves of fresh-baked bread on the floor. She heard shouting behind her as she spun around a portly butcher who stood gaping at her with a cleaver in his hands. His arms were red to the elbow.
她冲过厨房和贮藏室，在厨师和侍者间穿梭，害怕得什么都看不清。一个捧着木盘的面包师助手经过她面前，艾莉亚把她整个撞倒，刚出炉、香气四溢的面包洒了一地。她又绕过一个手拿切肉刀，肘部以下全是血，张大嘴巴吃惊地看着她的肥胖屠夫，隐约听见背后的叫喊。
All that Syrio Forel had taught her went racing through her head. Swift as a deer. Quiet as a shadow. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Quick as a snake. Calm as still water. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Strong as a bear. Fierce as a wolverine. Fear cuts deeper than swords. The man who fears losing has already lost. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Fear cuts deeper than swords. The grip of her wooden sword was slick with sweat, and Arya was breathing hard when she reached the turret stair. For an instant she froze. Up or down? Up would take her to the covered bridge that spanned the small court to the Tower of the Hand, but that would be the way they’d expect her to go, for certain. Never do what they expect, Syrio once said. Arya went down, around and around, leaping over the narrow stone steps two and three at a time. She emerged in a cavernous vaulted cellar, surrounded by casks of ale stacked twenty feet tall. The only light came through narrow slanting windows high in the wall.
西利欧·佛瑞尔所教过的每一件事都在她脑中迅速流窜。疾如鹿，静如影。恐惧比利剑更伤人。迅如蛇，止如水。恐惧比利剑更伤人。壮如熊，猛如狼。恐惧比利剑更伤人。害怕失败者必败无疑。恐惧比利剑更伤人。恐惧比利剑更伤人。恐惧比利剑更伤人。她紧握木剑，汗湿手心，当抵达塔里的楼梯时，已经上气不接下气。她愣了一会儿。往上还是往下？上楼之后会经过覆篷的桥，桥连接着议事厅和首相塔，但他们一定以为她会朝那边去，没错，而且西利欧不是说要“出其不意”吗？于是艾莉亚往下走，一层又一层螺旋，三步并作两步，跳过一级级狭窄的阶梯。直到最后进入宽敞的圆顶地窖，四周的麦酒桶足足堆了二十尺高。惟一的光源是高墙上的倾斜窄窗。
The cellar was a dead end. There was no way out but the way she had come in. She dare not go back up those steps, but she couldn’t stay here, either. She had to find her father and tell him what had happened. Her father would protect her.
地窖是条死路。除了她进来的路，无路可走。她不敢回头，也不敢留在这里。对了，她得找到父亲，告诉他事情经过才是。父亲会保护她。
Arya thrust her wooden sword through her belt and began to climb, leaping from cask to cask until she could reach the window. Grasping the stone with both hands, she pulled herself up. The wall was three feet thick, the window a tunnel slanting up and out. Arya wriggled toward daylight. When her head reached ground level, she peered across the bailey to the Tower of the Hand.
艾莉亚把木剑插进腰带，开始攀爬，在酒桶之间跳跃，终于到了窗边。她双手勾住石头往上拉。墙壁足有三尺厚，窗户有如一条往上向外倾斜的隧道。艾莉亚扭动身躯，朝天光爬去。当她的头到达地面的高度时，她隔着内城，朝首相塔望去。
The stout wooden door hung splintered and broken, as if by axes. A dead man sprawled facedown on the steps, his cloak tangled beneath him, the back of his mailed shirt soaked red. The corpse’s cloak was grey wool trimmed with white satin, she saw with sudden terror. She could not tell who he was.
原本坚实的木门只剩裂片、破败不堪，似乎被斧头砍烂。一个死人面朝下倒在阶梯上，披风压在身子下，后背的锁甲衫上全是鲜血。她突然惊恐地发现那是件灰羊毛镶白缎边的披风。但她看不出来那是谁。
“No,” she whispered. What was happening? Where was her father? Why had the red cloaks come for her? She remembered what the man with the yellow beard had said, the day she had found the monsters. If one Hand can die, why not a second? Arya felt tears in her eyes. She held her breath to listen. She heard the sounds of fighting, shouts, screams, the clang of steel on steel, coming through the windows of the Tower of the Hand.
“怎么会这样？”她小声说。到底出了什么事？父亲又在哪里？红袍武士为何来抓她？她忆起自己发现怪兽那天，那个黄胡子男人所说过的话：既然死了一个首相，为什么不能死第二个？艾莉亚眼里不自觉地充满泪水。她屏气倾听，听见从首相塔窗内传出打斗声，叫喊声，哀嚎声和武器交击声。
She could not go back. Her father?.?.?.?
她不能回去。父亲他……
Arya closed her eyes. For a moment she was too frightened to move. They had killed Jory and Wyl and Heward, and that guardsman on the step, whoever he had been. They could kill her father too, and her if they caught her. “Fear cuts deeper than swords,” she said aloud, but it was no good pretending to be a water dancer, Syrio had been a water dancer and the white knight had probably killed him, and anyhow she was only a little girl with a wooden stick, alone and afraid.
艾莉亚闭上了眼睛，一时间害怕得不敢动弹。他们杀了乔里、韦尔和海华，以及楼梯上那个不知名的守卫。说不定他们也会杀掉父亲，若她被逮着的话，恐怕也难逃一死。“恐惧比利剑更伤人，”她大声说，但假装自己是水舞者无济于事，何况身为水舞者的西利欧很可能已死在白骑士手下。她只是个担惊受怕、孤伶伶的小女孩，手中只有一把木剑。
She squirmed out into the yard, glancing around warily as she climbed to her feet. The castle seemed deserted. The Red Keep was never deserted. All the people must be hiding inside, their doors barred. Arya glanced up longingly at her bedchamber, then moved away from the Tower of the Hand, keeping close to the wall as she slid from shadow to shadow. She pretended she was chasing cats?.?.?.?except she was the cat now, and if they caught her, they would kill her.
她挤着身子，爬进广场，小心翼翼地环顾四周后，方才站起。城堡似乎空无一人，可城堡绝不可能空无一人。大家一定都关上门躲了起来。艾莉亚思慕地望望自己的卧房，然后沿着墙边阴影，离开了首相塔。她假装自己在抓猫……只可惜现在被抓的是她，而一旦被抓，铁定没命。
Moving between buildings and over walls, keeping stone to her back wherever possible so no one could surprise her, Arya reached the stables almost without incident. A dozen gold cloaks in mail and plate ran past as she was edging across the inner bailey, but without knowing whose side they were on, she hunched down low in the shadows and let them pass.
艾莉亚在建筑和高墙间穿梭，尽可能背靠着墙，防止别人偷袭，最后总算平安无事地抵达马厩。穿过内城时，她看到十来个全副武装、穿着锁甲和全身铠甲的金袍卫士从身边跑过，但由于不知他们站哪一边，所以她躲在阴影里蹲低身子等他们过去。
Hullen, who had been master of horse at Winterfell as long as Arya could remember, was slumped on the ground by the stable door. He had been stabbed so many times it looked as if his tunic was patterned with scarlet flowers. Arya was certain he was dead, but when she crept closer, his eyes opened. “Arya Underfoot,” he whispered. “You must?.?.?.?warn your?.?.?.?your lord father?.?.?.?” Frothy red spittle bubbled from his mouth. The master of horse closed his eyes again and said no more.
从艾莉亚有记忆以来便担任临冬城马房总管的胡伦趴在马厩门边的地上。他身上中刀无数，以致于外衣好似绣满了腥红花朵。艾莉亚本来确定他已经死了，然而等她爬进去，他却睁开眼睛。“捣蛋鬼艾莉亚，”他小声说，“你快去……警告你……你父亲大人……”马房总管嘴里冒出红色泡沫，接着合上眼睛，不再说话。
Inside were more bodies; a groom she had played with, and three of her father’s household guard. A wagon, laden with crates and chests, stood abandoned near the door of the stable. The dead men must have been loading it for the trip to the docks when they were attacked. Arya snuck closer. One of the corpses was Desmond, who’d shown her his longsword and promised to protect her father. He lay on his back, staring blindly at the ceiling as flies crawled across his eyes. Close to him was a dead man in the red cloak and lion-crest helm of the Lannisters. Only one, though. Every northerner is worth ten of these southron swords, Desmond had told her. “You liar!” she said, kicking his body in a sudden fury.
马厩里陈尸累累，有一个跟她玩耍过的马僮，三个父亲的贴身护卫。一辆满载箱子行李的马车弃置门边。这些人遭到攻击时，想必是正准备把东西运到码头吧。艾莉亚偷偷靠近，发现其中一具尸首是戴斯蒙，那个曾经拿长剑给她看，向她保证会保护父亲的戴斯蒙。他背朝地，空洞地仰视屋顶，苍蝇爬过他的眼睛。他旁边死了一个戴着狮盔的兰尼斯特红袍武士。只有一个。戴斯蒙不是告诉她“咱北方人一个人抵得上南方人十个”吗？“你骗人！”她突然一阵暴怒，踢了那尸体一脚。
The animals were restless in their stalls, whickering and snorting at the scent of blood. Arya’s only plan was to saddle a horse and flee, away from the castle and the city. All she had to do was stay on the kingsroad and it would take her back to Winterfell. She took a bridle and harness off the wall.
厩里的马都吓坏了，嘶叫个不停，不时对着呛鼻的血腥吐气。艾莉亚脑中所想只是赶紧找匹马儿放上马鞍，然后溜之大吉，逃得远远的。她只要沿着国王大道，就可以回到临冬城。于是她从墙上拿下一副马鞍和缰绳。
As she crossed in back of the wagon, a fallen chest caught her eye. It must have been knocked down in the fight or dropped as it was being loaded. The wood had split, the lid opening to spill the chest’s contents across the ground. Arya recognized silks and satins and velvets she never wore. She might need warm clothes on the kingsroad, though?.?.?.?and besides?.?.?.?
当她走到马车背后时，一个倒在地上的箱子吸引了她的注意。箱子一定是在打斗中被碰落，或在搬运途中掉下的。木板已经裂开，箱盖向上掀起，东西洒了一地。艾莉亚看到那些她从没穿过的绫罗绸缎，不过，旅行途中她可能会需要御寒衣物……而且……
Arya knelt in the dirt among the scattered clothes. She found a heavy woolen cloak, a velvet skirt and a silk tunic and some smallclothes, a dress her mother had embroidered for her, a silver baby bracelet she might sell. Shoving the broken lid out of the way, she groped inside the chest for Needle. She had hidden it way down at the bottom, under everything, but her stuff had all been jumbled around when the chest was dropped. For a moment Arya was afraid someone had found the sword and stolen it. Then her fingers felt the hardness of metal under a satin gown.
艾莉亚跪在泥地上散乱的衣物之中。她找到一件厚重的羊毛斗篷，一条天鹅绒裙子和一件丝质外衣，几条内衣裤，一件母亲为她缝制的裙服，还有一个可以变卖的银手镯。她推开破裂的盖板，在衣箱里翻找“缝衣针”。她原本把剑藏在箱子最底端，可箱子掉落时东西全搅成一团。艾莉亚突然很害怕有人先她一步找到剑，并把剑给偷走了。好在她的手指随即碰触到缎子礼服下的坚硬金属。
“There she is,” a voice hissed close behind her.
“原来她在这儿啊。”一个声音嘶喊着朝她逼近。
Startled, Arya whirled. A stableboy stood behind her, a smirk on his face, his filthy white undertunic peeking out from beneath a soiled jerkin. His boots were covered with manure, and he had a pitchfork in one hand. “Who are you?” she asked.
艾莉亚惊慌旋身。只见眼前站了个马僮，他脸上挂着不自然的笑容，穿了件脏兮兮的皮背心，里面也是件肮脏的白上衣，靴子沾满肥料，一手拿着根干草叉。“你是谁？”她问。
“She don’t know me,” he said, “but I knows her, oh, yes. The wolf girl.”
“她不认得我，”他说，“可我却认得她哩，嘿嘿，没错，认得小狼女哟。”
“Help me saddle a horse,” Arya pleaded, reaching back into the chest, groping for Needle. “My father’s the Hand of the King, he’ll reward you.”
“帮我装马鞍好吗？”艾莉亚拜托他，一边伸手到箱里，掏拿缝衣针。“我父亲是国王的首相，他会奖赏你的。”
“Father’s dead,” the boy said. He shuffled toward her. “It’s the queen who’ll be rewarding me. Come here, girl.”
“你老爸死翘翘啦。”男孩边说边向她靠近。“会奖赏我的是王后。小妹妹，过来。”
“Stay away!” Her fingers closed around Needle’s hilt.
“不要过来！”她握住缝衣针的剑柄。
“I says, come.” He grabbed her arm, hard.
“我叫你‘过来’。”他使劲抓住她的手。
Everything Syrio Forel had ever taught her vanished in a heartbeat. In that instant of sudden terror, the only lesson Arya could remember was the one Jon Snow had given her, the very first.
在那性命攸关的刹那，西利欧·佛瑞尔教她的一切招式全部消失无踪。在那恐惧的瞬间，艾莉亚惟一记得的要诀是琼恩·雪诺教她的那一招，她学会的第一招。
She stuck him with the pointy end, driving the blade upward with a wild, hysterical strength.
她用尖的那端去刺敌人，使出突如其来、歇斯底里般的蛮力往上猛刺。
Needle went through his leather jerkin and the white flesh of his belly and came out between his shoulder blades. The boy dropped the pitchfork and made a soft noise, something between a gasp and a sigh. His hands closed around the blade. “Oh, gods,” he moaned, as his undertunic began to redden. “Take it out.”
缝衣针刺进他的皮背心和白肚皮，从肩胛骨穿出来。男孩抛下干草叉，发出介于惊呼和叹息之间的绵软声音。他的手抓住剑。“喔，老天。”他呻吟道。他的上衣开始泛红。“把它拔出来。”
When she took it out, he died.
等她拔出剑，他已经死了。
The horses were screaming. Arya stood over the body, still and frightened in the face of death. Blood had gushed from the boy’s mouth as he collapsed, and more was seeping from the slit in his belly, pooling beneath his body. His palms were cut where he’d grabbed at the blade. She backed away slowly, Needle red in her hand. She had to get away, someplace far from here, someplace safe away from the stableboy’s accusing eyes.
马儿惊慌嘶叫。艾莉亚站在尸体旁，面对死亡，镇静而又害怕。男孩倒地时口冒鲜血，现在有更多的血从他腹部伤口涌出，在尸身下聚集成潭。他刚才握剑的手掌也被割伤。她慢慢后退，擎着血淋淋的缝衣针。她想离开，她必须离开，她要躲到远离这马僮充满控诉的眼神的地方。
She snatched up the bridle and harness again and ran to her mare, but as she lifted the saddle to the horse’s back, Arya realized with a sudden sick dread that the castle gates would be closed. Even the postern doors would likely be guarded. Maybe the guards wouldn’t recognize her. If they thought she was a boy, perhaps they’d let her?.?.?.?no, they’d have orders not to let anyone out, it wouldn’t matter whether they knew her or not.
于是她慌忙抓起马鞍和缰绳，朝她的母马跑去。然而正当举鞍准备放上马背时，艾莉亚突然恐惧地想到城门一定已经关闭，边门也多半有人看守。或许守卫认不出她。如果他们把她当成男孩，或许就会让她……不对，他们一定接到了不准任何人出去的命令，所以认不认出她都一样。
But there was another way out of the castle?.?.?.?
还有一条路可以离开城堡……
The saddle slipped from Arya’s fingers and fell to the dirt with a thump and a puff of dust. Could she find the room with the monsters again? She wasn’t certain, yet she knew she had to try.
马鞍从艾莉亚指间滑落，咚地一声，掉在泥土地上，溅起一阵灰尘。她还得去找那个充满怪兽的房间吗？她不确定，但她知道自己非试不可。
She found the clothing she’d gathered and slipped into the cloak, concealing Needle beneath its folds. The rest of her things she tied in a roll. With the bundle under her arm, she crept to the far end of the stable. Unlatching the back door, she peeked out anxiously. She could hear the distant sound of swordplay, and the shivery wail of a man screaming in pain across the bailey. She would need to go down the serpentine steps, past the small kitchen and the pig yard, that was how she’d gone last time, chasing the black tomcat?.?.?.?only that would take her right past the barracks of the gold cloaks. She couldn’t go that way. Arya tried to think of another way. If she crossed to the other side of the castle, she could creep along the river wall and through the little godswood?.?.?.?but first she’d have to cross the yard, in the plain view of the guards on the walls.
她找到刚才收集的衣服，然后披上斗篷，以遮掩缝衣针。她把其余东西绑成一束，将包裹夹在腋下，溜到马厩的另一头。她打开后门的锁，不安地向外偷瞄。远处传来剑击声，内城那边还有个人在垂死哀嚎。她必须走下螺旋梯，穿过小厨房和养猪场，上次她追赶黑公猫就是走的这条路……可这样走会直接经过金袍卫士的军营，所以行不通。艾莉亚绞尽脑汁地搜索别的逃跑路线，如果她穿过城堡的另一边，可以沿着河岸的城墙，走过小神木林……但她必须首先冒着城上守卫的众目睽睽，越过眼前这片广场。
She had never seen so many men on the walls. Gold cloaks, most of them, armed with spears. Some of them knew her by sight. What would they do if they saw her running across the yard? She’d look so small from up there, would they be able to tell who she was? Would they care?
她从没见过这么多人同时站在城墙上。其中大多是持枪的金袍武士，他们中有些人一眼就可认出她来。如果他们见她跑过广场，会怎么做？城墙距离这么远，她看起来一定像个小不点，他们还能辨别她吗？他们会理会一个小女孩吗？
She had to leave now, she told herself, but when the moment came, she was too frightened to move.
她告诉自己必须立刻动身，然而当要实际采取行动，她却害怕得不敢动弹。
Calm as still water, a small voice whispered in her ear. Arya was so startled she almost dropped her bundle. She looked around wildly, but there was no one in the stable but her, and the horses, and the dead men.
止如水，一个小小的声音在耳畔响起。艾莉亚吓了一大跳，差点把东西掉在地上。她慌乱地环顾四周，但马厩里除了她就只有马儿和死人。
Quiet as a shadow, she heard. Was it her own voice, or Syrio’s? She could not tell, yet somehow it calmed her fears.
静如影，那声音又来了。她说不准这是自己的声音，还是西利欧的话语，但不知怎地她渐渐不怕了。
She stepped out of the stable.
她迈开步伐，走出马厩。
It was the scariest thing she’d ever done. She wanted to run and hide, but she made herself walk across the yard, slowly, putting one foot in front of the other as if she had all the time in the world and no reason to be afraid of anyone. She thought she could feel their eyes, like bugs crawling on her skin under her clothes. Arya never looked up. If she saw them watching, all her courage would desert her, she knew, and she would drop the bundle of clothes and run and cry like a baby, and then they would have her. She kept her gaze on the ground. By the time she reached the shadow of the royal sept on the far side of the yard, Arya was cold with sweat, but no one had raised the hue and cry.
这是她一辈子所做过最恐怖的事。她想拔腿就跑，找个地方躲起来，但她强迫自己“走”完全程，慢慢地，一步接一步，仿佛她多的是时间，完全没必要害怕。她感觉到他们的视线如同虫子一样在她衣服下爬来爬去，但她头也不抬。艾莉亚很清楚如果她看见他们盯着自己，所有的勇气都会弃她而去，然后她就会扔下衣服，像个小婴儿一样哭哭啼啼，逃之夭夭。她便只瞧地面。等艾莉亚抵达广场彼端王家圣堂的阴影下，已经一身冷汗。好在没有人注意到她，没有人出声吆喝。
The sept was open and empty. Inside, half a hundred prayer candles burned in a fragrant silence. Arya figured the gods would never miss two. She stuffed them up her sleeves, and left by a back window. Sneaking back to the alley where she had cornered the one-eared tom was easy, but after that she got lost. She crawled in and out of windows, hopped over walls, and felt her way through dark cellars, quiet as a shadow. Once she heard a woman weeping. It took her more than an hour to find the low narrow window that slanted down to the dungeon where the monsters waited.
圣堂空荡荡的，里面，五十来支蜡烛静静地发散香气。艾莉亚猜想天上诸神应该不会介意少两根吧。于是她揣了两根塞进袖子，然后从后窗离开。潜回先前她堵住独耳公猫的巷子简单，但之后要找路就难了。她爬进爬出，翻过一道道围墙，在黑暗的地窖里摸索。静如影。途中她还听见女人的哭泣。足足花了一个多小时她才找到那扇向下倾斜，通往怪兽地牢的窄窗。
She tossed her bundle through and doubled back to light her candle. That was chancy; the fire she’d remembered seeing had burnt down to embers, and she heard voices as she was blowing on the coals. Cupping her fingers around the flickering candle, she went out the window as they were coming in the door, without ever getting a glimpse of who it was.
她先把包裹丢进去，然后快步跑回去点蜡烛。这太惊险了。她印象中的炭火已经烧得只剩余烬，当她忙着吹气以让它重新活跃时，听见有人进屋的声音。她赶在他们进门前，用手呵护摇曳的烛焰，从窗户翻出去，连瞥一眼来者是谁都来不及。
This time the monsters did not frighten her. They seemed almost old friends. Arya held the candle over her head. With each step she took, the shadows moved against the walls, as if they were turning to watch her pass. “Dragons,” she whispered. She slid Needle out from under her cloak. The slender blade seemed very small and the dragons very big, yet somehow Arya felt better with steel in her hand.
这回她一点也不怕那些怪兽，甚至觉得他们像老朋友。艾莉亚将蜡烛举到头顶，每走一步，墙上的影子都跟着移动，仿佛他们都转头注视她。“原来是龙啊。”她小声说。她从斗篷里抽出缝衣针。虽然纤细的剑身看起来好小，群龙看起来好大，但有剑在手，艾莉亚总算觉得比较安全。
The long windowless hall beyond the door was as black as she remembered. She held Needle in her left hand, her sword hand, the candle in her right fist. Hot wax ran down across her knuckles. The entrance to the well had been to the left, so Arya went right. Part of her wanted to run, but she was afraid of snuffing out her candle. She heard the faint squeaking of rats and glimpsed a pair of tiny glowing eyes on the edge of the light, but rats did not scare her. Other things did. It would be so easy to hide here, as she had hidden from the wizard and the man with the forked beard. She could almost see the stableboy standing against the wall, his hands curled into claws with the blood still dripping from the deep gashes in his palms where Needle had cut him. He might be waiting to grab her as she passed. He would see her candle coming a long way off. Maybe she would be better off without the light?.?.?.?
门后那间无窗的长厅，一如她记忆中那般黑暗。她左手握着缝衣针，右手拿着蜡烛。热烫的蜡油流下指关节。通往那口井的路在左边，所以艾莉亚往右走。她很想拔腿奔跑，又怕弄熄蜡烛。她听见微弱的老鼠吱吱声，在光线所及的范围边缘看到一双发亮的小眼睛。她不怕老鼠，却怕其他不知名的东西。其实她大可就躲在这里，就像上次她躲巫师和长八字胡的人一样。她几乎可以看见那个马僮就站在墙边，双手团成鹰爪，手掌被缝衣针深深割伤的地方还流着血。他正等着她经过呢。他大老远便可以看见她的烛光。或许她还是把火熄灭的好……
Fear cuts deeper than swords, the quiet voice inside her whispered. Suddenly Arya remembered the crypts at Winterfell. They were a lot scarier than this place, she told herself. She’d been just a little girl the first time she saw them. Her brother Robb had taken them down, her and Sansa and baby Bran, who’d been no bigger than Rickon was now. They’d only had one candle between them, and Bran’s eyes had gotten as big as saucers as he stared at the stone faces of the Kings of Winter, with their wolves at their feet and their iron swords across their laps.
恐惧比利剑更伤人，脑中那个静默的声音再度响起。艾莉亚突然忆起临冬城下的墓窖。她告诉自己那儿比这里可怕多了。第一次去的时候，她还是个小女孩。那次由哥哥罗柏领队，带着她、珊莎还有小布兰，当时的布兰还没现在的瑞肯大呢。他们只带了一根蜡烛，布兰的眼睛睁得像盘子，目不转睛地盯着列位冬境之王的石面尊容，以及他们脚边的冰原狼和膝上的铁剑。
Robb took them all the way down to the end, past Grandfather and Brandon and Lyanna, to show them their own tombs. Sansa kept looking at the stubby little candle, anxious that it might go out. Old Nan had told her there were spiders down here, and rats as big as dogs. Robb smiled when she said that. “There are worse things than spiders and rats,” he whispered. “This is where the dead walk.” That was when they heard the sound, low and deep and shivery. Baby Bran had clutched at Arya’s hand.
罗柏领他们走到长廊末尾，经过祖父、布兰登和莱安娜的雕像，让他们瞧瞧自己未来的坟墓。然而珊莎的目光却一直不敢离开越烧越短的蜡烛，担心它随时会熄灭。老奶妈之前告诉她，这下面有蜘蛛，还有狗一般大的老鼠。罗柏听她说起这事，只是微笑。“还有比蜘蛛和老鼠更可怕的东西哦，”他悄声道，“这是死人活跃的地方。”就在那时，他们听见了低沉而震颤的声音。小布兰紧紧抓住艾莉亚的手。
When the spirit stepped out of the open tomb, pale white and moaning for blood, Sansa ran shrieking for the stairs, and Bran wrapped himself around Robb’s leg, sobbing. Arya stood her ground and gave the spirit a punch. It was only Jon, covered with flour. “You stupid,” she told him, “you scared the baby,” but Jon and Robb just laughed and laughed, and pretty soon Bran and Arya were laughing too.
当幽灵从打开的坟墓里走出来，呻吟着要吸活人鲜血时，珊莎尖叫着朝楼梯跑去，布兰抱住罗柏的大腿抽噎起来，艾莉亚则站在原地，捶了幽灵一下。那不过是身上洒满面粉的琼恩罢了。“你笨蛋啦，”她告诉他，“看你把弟弟吓成这样。”但琼恩和罗柏却只是相视大笑，没过多久布兰和艾莉亚也跟着笑了。
The memory made Arya smile, and after that the darkness held no more terrors for her. The stableboy was dead, she’d killed him, and if he jumped out at her she’d kill him again. She was going home. Everything would be better once she was home again, safe behind Winterfell’s grey granite walls.
忆起往事，艾莉亚也不禁微笑。之后，黑暗便不再可怕。马僮已死，且是她亲手所杀，如果他又跳出来，她就再杀他一次。她要回家。等她回到家，安全地躲在临冬城的灰色大理石墙后，一切都会没事的。
Her footsteps sent soft echoes hurrying ahead of her as Arya plunged deeper into the darkness.
艾莉亚的脚步发出轻轻的回音，抢在她身前，朝黑暗的深处迈去。