29珊莎

SANSA

29 珊莎

Sansa rode to the Hand’s tourney with Septa Mordane and Jeyne Poole, in a litter with curtains of yellow silk so fine she could see right through them. They turned the whole world gold. Beyond the city walls, a hundred pavilions had been raised beside the river, and the common folk came out in the thousands to watch the games. The splendor of it all took Sansa’s breath away; the shining armor, the great chargers caparisoned in silver and gold, the shouts of the crowd, the banners snapping in the wind?.?.?.?and the knights themselves, the knights most of all.

珊莎与茉丹修女和珍妮·普尔乘着轿子前往首相的比武大会。轿子的帘幕是用黄丝织成,做工极为精细,她可以直接透过帘幕,看到远方,而帘幕把外面的世界染成了一片金黄。城墙外,河岸边,百余座帐篷已然搭起,数以千计的平民百姓前来观赏。比武大会的壮观教珊莎看得喘不过气:闪亮的铠甲,披金挂银的高大战马,群众的高声吆喝,风中飘荡的鲜明旗帜……还有那些骑士,尤其是那些骑士。

“It is better than the songs,” she whispered when they found the places that her father had promised her, among the high lords and ladies. Sansa was dressed beautifully that day, in a green gown that brought out the auburn of her hair, and she knew they were looking at her and smiling.

“这比歌谣里唱的还棒。”当她们在列席的领主和贵妇们中间找到父亲安排的座位时,她不禁轻声说。这天珊莎穿了一件绿色礼服,正好衬出她棕红色的头发,漂亮极了。她自知众人看着她的眼神里漾满笑意。

They watched the heroes of a hundred songs ride forth, each more fabulous than the last. The seven knights of the Kingsguard took the field, all but Jaime Lannister in scaled armor the color of milk, their cloaks as white as freshfallen snow. Ser Jaime wore the white cloak as well, but beneath it he was shining gold from head to foot, with a lion’s-head helm and a golden sword. Ser Gregor Clegane, the Mountain That Rides, thundered past them like an avalanche. Sansa remembered Lord Yohn Royce, who had guested at Winterfell two years before. “His armor is bronze, thousands and thousands of years old, engraved with magic runes that ward him against harm,” she whispered to Jeyne. Septa Mordane pointed out Lord Jason Mallister, in indigo chased with silver, the wings of an eagle on his helm. He had cut down three of Rhaegar’s bannermen on the Trident. The girls giggled over the warrior priest Thoros of Myr, with his flapping red robes and shaven head, until the septa told them that he had once scaled the walls of Pyke with a flaming sword in hand.

她们看着千百条歌谣里描述的英雄跃然眼前,一个比一个英姿焕发。御林七铁卫是全场焦点,除了詹姆·兰尼斯特,他们全都身着牛奶色的鳞甲,披风洁白犹如初雪。詹姆爵士也穿了白披风,但他从头到脚金光闪闪,还有一顶狮头盔和黄金宝剑。外号“魔山”的格雷果·克里冈爵士以山崩之势轰隆隆地经过他们面前。珊莎还记得约恩·罗伊斯伯爵,他两年前到过临冬城作客。“他的铠甲是青铜做的,有好几千年的历史,上面刻了魔法符咒,保护他不受伤害。”她悄悄对珍妮说。茉丹修女在人群中指出一身蓝紫滚银边披风,头戴一顶鹰翼盔的杰森·梅利斯特伯爵给她们看。当年在三叉戟河上他一人就斩了雷加手下三名诸侯。女孩们看到密尔的战僧索罗斯是个大光头,一身宽松红袍在风中拍动不休,不禁咯咯直笑,直到修女告诉她们他曾手持冒火长剑,独自攻上派克城墙,她们方才止住。

Other riders Sansa did not know; hedge knights from the Fingers and Highgarden and the mountains of Dorne, unsung freeriders and new-made squires, the younger sons of high lords and the heirs of lesser houses. Younger men, most had done no great deeds as yet, but Sansa and Jeyne agreed that one day the Seven Kingdoms would resound to the sound of their names. Ser Balon Swann. Lord Bryce Caron of the Marches. Bronze Yohn’s heir, Ser Andar Royce, and his younger brother Ser Robar, their silvered steel plate filigreed in bronze with the same ancient runes that warded their father. The twins Ser Horas and Ser Hobber, whose shields displayed the grape cluster sigil of the Redwynes, burgundy on blue. Patrek Mallister, Lord Jason’s son. Six Freys of the Crossing: Ser Jared, Ser Hosteen, Ser Danwell, Ser Emmon, Ser Theo, Ser Perwyn, sons and grandsons of old Lord Walder Frey, and his bastard son Martyn Rivers as well.

除此而外,还有许多珊莎不认得的人,有从五指半岛、高庭和多恩领来的雇佣骑士,有歌谣里并未提及的自由骑手和新上任的侍从,也有出身世家但排行居末的贵族少爷,或是地方诸侯的继承人。这些年轻人多半尚未建立显赫功勋,但珊莎和珍妮相信有朝一日他们的名字定将传遍七大王国。他们中包括巴隆·史文爵士;边疆地的布莱斯·卡伦伯爵;青铜约恩的继承人安达·罗伊斯爵士和他的弟弟罗拔爵士,他们的铠甲外面镀银,刻着和父亲一样的青铜保护符咒;雷德温家的双胞胎兄弟霍拉斯爵士和霍柏爵士,他们盾牌上标志着蓝底酒红色的葡萄串纹章;派崔克·梅利斯特,杰森伯爵的儿子;来自河渡口的杰瑞爵士、霍斯丁爵士、丹威尔爵士、艾蒙爵士、席奥爵士、派温爵士等六个佛雷家代表,通通都是老侯爵瓦德·佛雷的儿孙,连他的私生子马丁·河文也来了。

Jeyne Poole confessed herself frightened by the look of Jalabhar Xho, an exile prince from the Summer Isles who wore a cape of green and scarlet feathers over skin as dark as night, but when she saw young Lord Beric Dondarrion, with his hair like red gold and his black shield slashed by lightning, she pronounced herself willing to marry him on the instant.

珍妮·普尔承认她被贾拉巴·梭尔给吓着了,他是个遭到放逐的王子,来自盛夏群岛,穿着红绿交织的羽毛披风,皮肤漆黑如夜。但当她看到一头红金头发,黑盾牌上画着闪电的贝里·唐德利恩伯爵时,又宣布自己当下就愿意嫁给他。

The Hound entered the lists as well, and so too the king’s brother, handsome Lord Renly of Storm’s End. Jory, Alyn, and Harwin rode for Winterfell and the north. “Jory looks a beggar among these others,” Septa Mordane sniffed when he appeared. Sansa could only agree. Jory’s armor was blue-grey plate without device or ornament, and a thin grey cloak hung from his shoulders like a soiled rag. Yet he acquitted himself well, unhorsing Horas Redwyne in his first joust and one of the Freys in his second. In his third match, he rode three passes at a freerider named Lothor Brune whose armor was as drab as his own. Neither man lost his seat, but Brune’s lance was steadier and his blows better placed, and the king gave him the victory. Alyn and Harwin fared less well; Harwin was unhorsed in his first tilt by Ser Meryn of the Kingsguard, while Alyn fell to Ser Balon Swann.

“猎狗”也在队列之中,还有国王的弟弟,英俊的风息堡公爵蓝礼。乔里、埃林和哈尔温是临冬城和北境的代表。“跟别人比起来,乔里就像个乞丐。”他出现时茉丹修女嗤之以鼻,而珊莎不得不同意这句评价。乔里穿着灰蓝色的盔甲,上面没有任何纹章或雕饰,肩头薄薄的灰披风活像件脏兮兮的破布。虽然如此,他依旧表现不俗,头一遭上场便将霍拉斯·雷德温刺下马,第二回合又打落一个佛雷家的骑士,第三次时他与一个盔甲和他同样单调,名叫罗索·布伦的流浪武士三番交手,双方都没能将对手刺落,但布伦持枪较稳,击中的地方也比较精准,所以国王宣告他胜利。埃林和哈尔温就没这么抢眼了,哈尔温第一次上场就被御林铁卫的马林爵士一枪挑下马,埃林则败在巴隆·史文爵士枪下。

The jousting went all day and into the dusk, the hooves of the great warhorses pounding down the lists until the field was a ragged wasteland of torn earth. A dozen times Jeyne and Sansa cried out in unison as riders crashed together, lances exploding into splinters while the commons screamed for their favorites. Jeyne covered her eyes whenever a man fell, like a frightened little girl, but Sansa was made of sterner stuff. A great lady knew how to behave at tournaments. Even Septa Mordane noted her composure and nodded in approval.

马上长枪比武进行了一整天,直到黄昏。战马蹄声轰隆,把比武场的土地践踏成一片破败不堪的荒原。有好几次,珍妮和珊莎眼见骑士相互冲撞,长枪迸裂粉碎,群众高声尖叫,都忍不住齐声为支持者呐喊。每当有人坠马,珍妮就像个受惊的小女孩般遮住眼睛,可珊莎认为自己胆子比较大,官家小姐就应该在比武大会上表现出应有的风范。连茉丹修女都注意到她仪态从容,因而点头称许。

The Kingslayer rode brilliantly. He overthrew Ser Andar Royce and the Marcher Lord Bryce Caron as easily as if he were riding at rings, and then took a hard-fought match from white-haired Barristan Selmy, who had won his first two tilts against men thirty and forty years his junior.

“弑君者”战绩辉煌,他如骑马表演般轻取安达·罗伊斯爵士和边疆地的布莱斯·卡伦伯爵,接着又与巴利斯坦·赛尔弥展开激战,巴利斯坦爵士前两回合均击败比自己年轻三四十岁的对手。

Sandor Clegane and his immense brother, Ser Gregor the Mountain, seemed unstoppable as well, riding down one foe after the next in ferocious style. The most terrifying moment of the day came during Ser Gregor’s second joust, when his lance rode up and struck a young knight from the Vale under the gorget with such force that it drove through his throat, killing him instantly. The youth fell not ten feet from where Sansa was seated. The point of Ser Gregor’s lance had snapped off in his neck, and his life’s blood flowed out in slow pulses, each weaker than the one before. His armor was shiny new; a bright streak of fire ran down his outstretched arm, as the steel caught the light. Then the sun went behind a cloud, and it was gone. His cloak was blue, the color of the sky on a clear summer’s day, trimmed with a border of crescent moons, but as his blood seeped into it, the cloth darkened and the moons turned red, one by one.

桑铎·克里冈和他巨人般的哥哥“魔山”格雷果爵士同样是无人能挡,他俩刚猛地击败一个又一个对手。当天最恐怖的事便发生在格雷果爵士第二次出场时,只见他的长枪上翘,正中一名来自艾林谷的年轻骑士护喉甲下,因为力道过猛,长枪直穿咽喉,对方当即毙命。年轻骑士摔在离珊莎座位不到十尺的地方,格雷果爵士的枪尖打断了他的脖子,鲜血随着越来越衰弱的脉搏向外汩汩流出。他的铠甲晶亮崭新,日光照射下,他向外伸张的双臂宛如两条窜动的火纹。直到后来云层遮住太阳,火焰才没了影子。他的披风是夏日晴空的天蓝,上面绣着道道新月,但鲜血渗透,披风颜色转暗,那上面的月亮也一个接一个变得血红。

Jeyne Poole wept so hysterically that Septa Mordane finally took her off to regain her composure, but Sansa sat with her hands folded in her lap, watching with a strange fascination. She had never seen a man die before. She ought to be crying too, she thought, but the tears would not come. Perhaps she had used up all her tears for Lady and Bran. It would be different if it had been Jory or Ser Rodrik or Father, she told herself. The young knight in the blue cloak was nothing to her, some stranger from the Vale of Arryn whose name she had forgotten as soon as she heard it. And now the world would forget his name too, Sansa realized; there would be no songs sung for him. That was sad.

珍妮·普尔歇斯底里地嚎啕大哭,茉丹修女不得已只好先把她带开,让她镇静下来。珊莎坐在原位,两手交叉,放在膝上,看得入魔似的。这是她头一遭目睹别人丧命。她心里觉得也该哭的,但眼泪就是掉不下来。或许她已经为淑女和布兰哭干了眼泪罢,她对自己说,若换成乔里或罗德利克爵士,或甚至父亲大人,就不会这样了。这名年轻的蓝袍骑士与她毫无关系,只不过是个来自艾林谷的陌生人,他的名字从她左耳进右耳出。现在全世界也将和她一样,永远地遗忘他的名字,珊莎突然明白,不会有人谱曲歌颂他了。多么令人伤感啊。

After they carried off the body, a boy with a spade ran onto the field and shoveled dirt over the spot where he had fallen, to cover up the blood. Then the jousts resumed.

随后他们抬走尸体,一个男孩带着铲子跑进场内,铲起泥土盖住他跌落的地方,遮掉血迹。比武又继续进行。

Ser Balon Swann also fell to Gregor, and Lord Renly to the Hound. Renly was unhorsed so violently that he seemed to fly backward off his charger, legs in the air. His head hit the ground with an audible crack that made the crowd gasp, but it was just the golden antler on his helm. One of the tines had snapped off beneath him. When Lord Renly climbed to his feet, the commons cheered wildly, for King Robert’s handsome young brother was a great favorite. He handed the broken tine to his conqueror with a gracious bow. The Hound snorted and tossed the broken antler into the crowd, where the commons began to punch and claw over the little bit of gold, until Lord Renly walked out among them and restored the peace. By then Septa Mordane had returned, alone. Jeyne had been feeling ill, she explained; she had helped her back to the castle. Sansa had almost forgotten about Jeyne.

接下来,巴隆·史文爵士也被格雷果打下马,蓝礼公爵则输给了猎狗。蓝礼被狠狠地击中,几乎是从战马上往后平飞。他的头落地时剧烈地铿了一声,全场观众听了倒抽一口冷气。还好遭殃的只是他头盔上的金鹿角,其中一根被他压断了。当蓝礼公爵爬起来时,全场疯狂地为他欢呼,只因劳勃国王的幼弟向来很受群众喜爱。他优雅地鞠个躬,将那根断掉的鹿角递给胜利者。猎狗哼了一声,把断角抛进观众席,老百姓立刻为了那点金子争得你死我活,直到最后蓝礼大人走进群众里安抚,方才恢复秩序。这时茉丹修女也回来了,却是独自一人。她解释说珍妮身体不适,已被护送回城堡休息。珊莎几乎都忘记珍妮了。

Later a hedge knight in a checkered cloak disgraced himself by killing Beric Dondarrion’s horse, and was declared forfeit. Lord Beric shifted his saddle to a new mount, only to be knocked right off it by Thoros of Myr. Ser Aron Santagar and Lothor Brune tilted thrice without result; Ser Aron fell afterward to Lord Jason Mallister, and Brune to Yohn Royce’s younger son, Robar.

稍后,一位穿格纹披风的雇佣骑士不小心杀了贝里·唐德利恩的坐骑,被判出局。贝里伯爵换了匹马,随即被密尔的索罗斯打了下来。艾伦·桑塔加爵士和罗索·布伦交手三次均难分轩轾,连国王也无法判定,艾伦爵士后来被杰森·梅利斯特伯爵击败,布伦则输给约恩·罗伊斯的年轻儿子罗拔。

In the end it came down to four; the Hound and his monstrous brother Gregor, Jaime Lannister the Kingslayer, and Ser Loras Tyrell, the youth they called the Knight of Flowers.

最后场内只剩下四人:“猎狗”和他的怪物哥哥格雷果,弑君者詹姆·兰尼斯特,以及有“百花骑士”之誉的少年洛拉斯·提利尔爵士。

Ser Loras was the youngest son of Mace Tyrell, the Lord of Highgarden and Warden of the South. At sixteen, he was the youngest rider on the field, yet he had unhorsed three knights of the Kingsguard that morning in his first three jousts. Sansa had never seen anyone so beautiful. His plate was intricately fashioned and enameled as a bouquet of a thousand different flowers, and his snow-white stallion was draped in a blanket of red and white roses. After each victory, Ser Loras would remove his helm and ride slowly round the fence, and finally pluck a single white rose from the blanket and toss it to some fair maiden in the crowd.

洛拉斯爵士是高庭公爵和南境守护梅斯·提利尔的小儿子,年方十六,是场上年纪最小的骑士,然而当天早上他三进三出,便击败了三个御林铁卫。珊莎从未见过如此俊美的人儿。他的铠甲经过精心雕琢,上面的瓷釉包含着千束不同的花朵,他的雪白坐骑则覆以红毛毯和白玫瑰。每次得胜,洛拉斯爵士便会摘下头盔,从红毯上取下一朵白玫瑰,抛给群众里的某位美丽姑娘。

His last match of the day was against the younger Royce. Ser Robar’s ancestral runes proved small protection as Ser Loras split his shield and drove him from his saddle to crash with an awful clangor in the dirt. Robar lay moaning as the victor made his circuit of the field. Finally they called for a litter and carried him off to his tent, dazed and unmoving. Sansa never saw it. Her eyes were only for Ser Loras. When the white horse stopped in front of her, she thought her heart would burst.

当天他最后一场决斗对上了罗伊斯兄弟里的弟弟。罗拔爵士的家传符咒似乎也抵挡不了洛拉斯爵士的英勇,百花骑士把他的盾牌刺成两半,将他打下马鞍,轰地一声惨摔在泥地上。罗拔躺在地上呻吟,胜利者则绕场接受欢呼。后来定是有人叫了担架,把头晕眼花、动弹不得的罗拔抬回营帐,然而珊莎根本没看到,她的视线全聚集在洛拉斯爵士身上。当他的白马停在她面前时,她只觉自己的心房都快要炸开。

To the other maidens he had given white roses, but the one he plucked for her was red. “Sweet lady,” he said, “no victory is half so beautiful as you.” Sansa took the flower timidly, struck dumb by his gallantry. His hair was a mass of lazy brown curls, his eyes like liquid gold. She inhaled the sweet fragrance of the rose and sat clutching it long after Ser Loras had ridden off.

他给了其他女孩白玫瑰,摘给她的却是朵红玫瑰。“亲爱的小姐,”他说,“再伟大的胜利也不及你一半美丽。”珊莎羞怯地接过花,整个人被他的英姿所震慑。他的头发是一丛慵懒的棕色鬈发,眼睛像是融化的黄金。她深吸玫瑰甜美的香气,直到洛拉斯爵士策马离开还紧握不放。

When Sansa finally looked up, a man was standing over her, staring. He was short, with a pointed beard and a silver streak in his hair, almost as old as her father. “You must be one of her daughters,” he said to her. He had grey-green eyes that did not smile when his mouth did. “You have the Tully look.”

当她再度抬头,却见一名男子正在她前面盯着她看。他个子很矮,一撮尖胡子,发际有几丝银白,年纪和父亲差不多。“你一定是她的女儿。”他对她说,嘴角虽然泛起笑意,那双灰绿色的眼睛却没有笑。“你有徒利家的容貌。”

“I’m Sansa Stark,” she said, ill at ease. The man wore a heavy cloak with a fur collar, fastened with a silver mockingbird, and he had the effortless manner of a high lord, but she did not know him. “I have not had the honor, my lord.”

“我是珊莎·史塔克,”她不安地说。那名男子穿着绒毛领口的厚重斗篷,用一只银色仿声鸟系住,他有着自然典雅的贵族气质,但她却不认得他。“大人,我还没有认识您的荣幸。”

Septa Mordane quickly took a hand. “Sweet child, this is Lord Petyr Baelish, of the king’s small council.”

茉丹修女连忙来解围。“好孩子,这是培提尔·贝里席伯爵,御前会议的重臣。”

“Your mother was my queen of beauty once,” the man said quietly. His breath smelled of mint. “You have her hair.” His fingers brushed against her cheek as he stroked one auburn lock. Quite abruptly he turned and walked away.

“令堂曾是我心目中爱与美的皇后。”男子轻声说。他的呼气有薄荷的味道。“你遗传了她的头发。”他伸手抚弄她的一撮红褐发束,指尖拂过她的脸颊。突然他转过身走开去了。

By then, the moon was well up and the crowd was tired, so the king decreed that the last three matches would be fought the next morning, before the melee. While the commons began their walk home, talking of the day’s jousts and the matches to come on the morrow, the court moved to the riverside to begin the feast. Six monstrous huge aurochs had been roasting for hours, turning slowly on wooden spits while kitchen boys basted them with butter and herbs until the meat crackled and spit. Tables and benches had been raised outside the pavilions, piled high with sweetgrass and strawberries and fresh-baked bread.

这时月亮早已升起,人们也累了,于是国王宣布最后三场比试将等到明天早上,在团体比武前举行。群众渐渐散去,一边讨论着当日的比武盛事和隔天的重头好戏,廷臣要员们则前往河边用餐。六头大得惊人的牦牛在烤肉铁叉上缓缓转动,已经烤了好几个小时,旁边的厨房小弟忙着涂抹奶油和草药,直到肉烤得香香酥酥,油脂四溢。帐篷外搭起大餐桌和长椅,桌上的甜菜、草莓和刚出炉的面包堆得老高。

Sansa and Septa Mordane were given places of high honor, to the left of the raised dais where the king himself sat beside his queen. When Prince Joffrey seated himself to her right, she felt her throat tighten. He had not spoken a word to her since the awful thing had happened, and she had not dared to speak to him. At first she thought she hated him for what they’d done to Lady, but after Sansa had wept her eyes dry, she told herself that it had not been Joffrey’s doing, not truly. The queen had done it; she was the one to hate, her and Arya. Nothing bad would have happened except for Arya.

珊莎和茉丹修女被安排在临时搭建的高台上的贵宾席,就在国王和王后的左边。当乔佛里王子在她右手坐下时,她直觉得喉咙发紧。自上次的事件后,他便一句话都没跟她说,她也不敢开口。起初因为他们杀了淑女,她以为自己恨他,然而等珊莎眼泪流干,她又告诉自己真正的错不在乔佛里,而在王后,王后才是她该怨的人,王后和艾莉亚。如果不是艾莉亚,就什么事都不会发生了。

She could not hate Joffrey tonight. He was too beautiful to hate. He wore a deep blue doublet studded with a double row of golden lion’s heads, and around his brow a slim coronet made of gold and sapphires. His hair was as bright as the metal. Sansa looked at him and trembled, afraid that he might ignore her or, worse, turn hateful again and send her weeping from the table.

今晚她实在没办法去恨乔佛里,因为他委实太过俊美。他穿了一件深蓝的紧身上衣,上绣两排金色狮头,额间戴了一顶用黄金和蓝宝石做成的纤细冠冕。他的头发如真金一般闪亮。珊莎看着她,不禁浑身颤抖,生怕他会不理她,甚至又对她恶声恶气,让她哭着跑开。

Instead Joffrey smiled and kissed her hand, handsome and gallant as any prince in the songs, and said, “Ser Loras has a keen eye for beauty, sweet lady.”

结果乔佛里不仅面带微笑,还吻了她的手,跟歌谣里的王子一样英气勃发。他对她说:“亲爱的小姐,洛拉斯爵士眼光很好,知道谁才是真正的美人。”

“He was too kind,” she demurred, trying to remain modest and calm, though her heart was singing. “Ser Loras is a true knight. Do you think he will win tomorrow, my lord?”

“他对我太好了。”她装出严肃的样子,想要表现得礼貌而冷静,然而她的心却在歌唱。“洛拉斯爵士是位真正的骑士。大人,您觉得他明天可会获胜?”

“No,” Joffrey said. “My dog will do for him, or perhaps my uncle Jaime. And in a few years, when I am old enough to enter the lists, I shall do for them all.” He raised his hand to summon a servant with a flagon of iced summerwine, and poured her a cup. She looked anxiously at Septa Mordane, until Joffrey leaned over and filled the septa’s cup as well, so she nodded and thanked him graciously and said not another word.

“不会。”乔佛里道,“我的狗会收拾他,不然我舅舅詹姆也会。再过几年,等我可以进场,我会把他们全收拾掉。”他举起手,召仆人送来一瓶冰镇的夏日红,亲自为她斟上一杯。她不安地看看茉丹修女,直等到乔佛里靠过去把修女的酒杯也倒满,她才优雅地点头称谢,然后再没说话。

The servants kept the cups filled all night, yet afterward Sansa could not recall ever tasting the wine. She needed no wine. She was drunk on the magic of the night, giddy with glamour, swept away by beauties she had dreamt of all her life and never dared hope to know. Singers sat before the king’s pavilion, filling the dusk with music. A juggler kept a cascade of burning clubs spinning through the air. The king’s own fool, the pie-faced simpleton called Moon Boy, danced about on stilts, all in motley, making mock of everyone with such deft cruelty that Sansa wondered if he was simple after all. Even Septa Mordane was helpless before him; when he sang his little song about the High Septon, she laughed so hard she spilled wine on herself.

侍者不停斟酒,杯子从未干涸,但事后珊莎却不记得自己尝过酒。她无需喝酒,便已陶醉在今夜的魔力下,被种种迷人事物薰得头晕目眩,被她梦想了一辈子、却从来不敢奢望目睹的美丽给弄得意乱情迷。吟游歌手们坐在国王的营帐前,让乐音流转于暮色之中。一名杂耍艺人在空中抛掷着一根根燃烧的木棍。头脑简单的扁脸“月童”——国王的御用小丑——穿着五颜六色的衣服,踩着高跷跳舞,并嘲弄在场的每一个人,其机巧毒舌,教珊莎不禁怀疑他怎么可能头脑简单。连茉丹修女在他面前也没了矜持,当他唱起寻大主教开心的小调时,她笑得把酒洒了一身。

And Joffrey was the soul of courtesy. He talked to Sansa all night, showering her with compliments, making her laugh, sharing little bits of court gossip, explaining Moon Boy’s japes. Sansa was so captivated that she quite forgot all her courtesies and ignored Septa Mordane, seated to her left.

至于乔佛里,更是集所有礼数于一身。他整晚陪珊莎聊天,赞美之词一句接一句,逗她笑个不停,此外他还和她分享宫廷里的琐碎闲话,向她解释月童的笑话等等。珊莎只觉得心中犹如小鹿乱撞,便把自己所有的礼仪,外加坐在她左边的茉丹修女都忘得一干二净。

All the while the courses came and went. A thick soup of barley and venison. Salads of sweetgrass and spinach and plums, sprinkled with crushed nuts. Snails in honey and garlic. Sansa had never eaten snails before; Joffrey showed her how to get the snail out of the shell, and fed her the first sweet morsel himself. Then came trout fresh from the river, baked in clay; her prince helped her crack open the hard casing to expose the flaky white flesh within. And when the meat course was brought out, he served her himself, slicing a queen’s portion from the joint, smiling as he laid it on her plate. She could see from the way he moved that his right arm was still troubling him, yet he uttered not a word of complaint.

与此同时,菜肴一道道送上端下,有浓稠的大麦鹿肉汤、洒上坚果碎片的凉拌甜菜、菠菜和李子沙拉,还有蜂蜜大蒜煮蜗牛。珊莎没吃过蜗牛,乔佛里便教她如何从蜗牛壳里挖出肉,并且亲自喂她吃了甜美的第一口。接着是刚从河中捕来、封在黏土里的烤鳟鱼。她的王子帮她撬开覆盖在外的坚硬泥土,露出里面的白嫩鱼片。等肉食端上之后,他还亲自为她服务,从王后才配享有的部位切下一块,笑眯眯地放进她的餐盘。从他动作的方式她看得出他的右手仍旧困扰着他,但他没有半句怨言。

Later came sweetbreads and pigeon pie and baked apples fragrant with cinnamon and lemon cakes frosted in sugar, but by then Sansa was so stuffed that she could not manage more than two little lemon cakes, as much as she loved them. She was wondering whether she might attempt a third when the king began to shout.

之后又上了甜面包、鸽肉馅饼、散发肉桂香气的烤苹果、洒满糖霜的柠檬蛋糕,可珊莎已经吃得太饱,勉强撑下两个小柠檬蛋糕后就再也吃不下了。正当她考虑有没有办法再吃第三个时,国王咆哮了起来。

King Robert had grown louder with each course. From time to time Sansa could hear him laughing or roaring a command over the music and the clangor of plates and cutlery, but they were too far away for her to make out his words.

劳勃国王的声音随着每道菜的端上越来越大。珊莎不时能听见他放声大笑或以盖过音乐和餐具碰撞声的音量发号施令,但他们距他太远,听不出他说些什么。

Now everybody heard him. “No,” he thundered in a voice that drowned out all other speech. Sansa was shocked to see the king on his feet, red of face, reeling. He had a goblet of wine in one hand, and he was drunk as a man could be. “You do not tell me what to do, woman,” he screamed at Queen Cersei. “I am king here, do you understand? I rule here, and if I say that I will fight tomorrow, I will fight!”

这下每个人都听清楚了。“给我闭嘴,”他声如洪钟地大喝,压过了在场所有人的话音。珊莎讶异地发现国王身形蹒跚,满脸通红地站了起来,一手拿着一只高脚杯,醉得无以复加。“臭女人,休想管我做这做那,”他朝瑟曦王后尖叫,“我才是这里的国王,你懂不懂?这里是老子当家,老子说明天要打,就是要打!”

Everyone was staring. Sansa saw Ser Barristan, and the king’s brother Renly, and the short man who had talked to her so oddly and touched her hair, but no one made a move to interfere. The queen’s face was a mask, so bloodless that it might have been sculpted from snow. She rose from the table, gathered her skirts around her, and stormed off in silence, servants trailing behind.

每个人都目瞪口呆。珊莎看到巴利斯坦爵士,国王的弟弟蓝礼,还有稍早神态古怪地跟她说过话,还伸手摸她头发的矮个男子,然而没有人出面干涉。王后的脸全无血色,像副白雪雕成的面具。她从桌边站起,拉着裙子,一言不发地扭头便走,仆从们急忙跟过去。

Jaime Lannister put a hand on the king’s shoulder, but the king shoved him away hard. Lannister stumbled and fell. The king guffawed. “The great knight. I can still knock you in the dirt. Remember that, Kingslayer.” He slapped his chest with the jeweled goblet, splashing wine all over his satin tunic. “Give me my hammer and not a man in the realm can stand before me!”

詹姆·兰尼斯特伸手按住国王肩膀,但国王猛地把他甩开。兰尼斯特一个踉跄跌倒在地。国王狂笑道:“好个伟大的骑士!老子还是有办法叫你狗吃屎。记清楚啦,‘弑君者’。”他拿镶了珠宝的高脚杯敲敲胸膛,整件缎子外衣都洒上了葡萄酒。“只要我战锤在手,任谁也挡不住!”

Jaime Lannister rose and brushed himself off. “As you say, Your Grace.” His voice was stiff.

詹姆·兰尼斯特爬起来,拍拍尘土, “是的,国王陛下,”他口气僵硬地说。

Lord Renly came forward, smiling. “You’ve spilled your wine, Robert. Let me bring you a fresh goblet.”

蓝礼公爵笑盈盈地走上前。“劳勃,你把酒洒出来了,我帮你倒杯新的吧。”

Sansa started as Joffrey laid his hand on her arm. “It grows late,” the prince said. He had a queer look on his face, as if he were not seeing her at all. “Do you need an escort back to the castle?”

乔佛里伸手放在珊莎手臂上,把她吓了一跳。“时候不早了,”王子说。他的表情怪异,仿佛眼中看的根本不是她。“要不要送你回去?”

“No,” Sansa began. She looked for Septa Mordane, and was startled to find her with her head on the table, snoring soft and ladylike snores. “I mean to say?.?.?.?yes, thank you, that would be most kind. I am tired, and the way is so dark. I should be glad for some protection.”

“不用。”珊莎开口,她看看茉丹修女,结果惊讶地发现她趴在桌上,正以淑女的仪态轻声打鼾。“我的意思是说……好的,谢谢,你真是太周到了。我的确累了,路又很黑,有人保护再好不过。”

Joffrey called out, “Dog!”

乔佛里叫道:“狗来!”

Sandor Clegane seemed to take form out of the night, so quickly did he appear. He had exchanged his armor for a red woolen tunic with a leather dog’s head sewn on the front. The light of the torches made his burned face shine a dull red. “Yes, Your Grace?” he said.

桑铎·克里冈出现的速度之快,仿佛是黑夜的使者一般。他已经卸下铠甲,换上一件红色羊毛衫,胸前缝了一只皮狗头。火把的光芒把他灼伤的脸映得一片惨红。“王子殿下有何吩咐?”他说。

“Take my betrothed back to the castle, and see that no harm befalls her,” the prince told him brusquely. And without even a word of farewell, Joffrey strode off, leaving her there.

“带我未婚妻回城去,小心别让她受伤。”王子唐突地告诉他,然后连声再见也没说,便大踏步离去,把她留在原地。

Sansa could feel the Hound watching her. “Did you think Joff was going to take you himself?” He laughed. He had a laugh like the snarling of dogs in a pit. “Small chance of that.” He pulled her unresisting to her feet. “Come, you’re not the only one needs sleep. I’ve drunk too much, and I may need to kill my brother tomorrow.” He laughed again.

珊莎感觉得出猎狗正盯着她瞧。“你以为小乔会亲自送你回去?”他笑起来像是受困陷阱的狗在咆哮。“恐怕不太可能。”她毫无抵抗地任由他拉着站起。“走吧,不只你需要睡。我今晚也喝多了,明天还要打精神宰掉我老哥呢。”

Suddenly terrified, Sansa pushed at Septa Mordane’s shoulder, hoping to wake her, but she only snored the louder. King Robert had stumbled off and half the benches were suddenly empty. The feast was over, and the beautiful dream had ended with it.

珊莎突然一阵莫名惊恐,她推推茉丹修女的肩膀,想叫醒她,结果她的呼却打得更大声。劳勃国王跌跌撞撞不知走哪儿去了,长椅已然空了一半。晚宴已经结束,美丽的梦也随之烟消云散。

The Hound snatched up a torch to light their way. Sansa followed close beside him. The ground was rocky and uneven; the flickering light made it seem to shift and move beneath her. She kept her eyes lowered, watching where she placed her feet. They walked among the pavilions, each with its banner and its armor hung outside, the silence weighing heavier with every step. Sansa could not bear the sight of him, he frightened her so, yet she had been raised in all the ways of courtesy. A true lady would not notice his face, she told herself. “You rode gallantly today, Ser Sandor,” she made herself say.

猎狗抓起一只火把,权作照明,珊莎紧紧跟在他旁边。地面崎岖不平,岩石密布,被摇曳的火光一照,仿佛在她脚下晃动。她低垂视线,仔细看清,方才落脚。他们穿梭于营帐之间,每一间帐篷外都挂着不同的旗帜和盔甲。慢慢地,四周的宁静随着踏出的每一步而越显沉重。珊莎连看都不敢看他,他把她吓死了,只是她从小便被教导种种礼仪,而真正的淑女不会光注意他的脸的,她这么告诉自己。“桑铎爵士,您今天的表现英勇极了。”她勉强自己说。

Sandor Clegane snarled at her. “Spare me your empty little compliments, girl?.?.?.?and your ser’s. I am no knight. I spit on them and their vows. My brother is a knight. Did you see him ride today?”

桑铎·克里冈对她咆哮:“小妹妹,少拍我马屁……更不要开口爵士闭口爵士。我不是骑士,我瞧不起他们和他们的狗屁誓言。我老哥是骑士,你看他今天什么德行?”

“Yes,” Sansa whispered, trembling. “He was?.?.?.?

“是的,”珊莎颤抖着小声说,“他很……”

“Gallant?” the Hound finished.

“很英勇?”猎狗替她说完。

He was mocking her, she realized. “No one could withstand him,” she managed at last, proud of herself. It was no lie.

她明白他在讽刺他。“没人挡得住他。”最后她说,颇感自豪,毕竟这不是谎话。

Sandor Clegane stopped suddenly in the middle of a dark and empty field. She had no choice but to stop beside him. “Some septa trained you well. You’re like one of those birds from the Summer Isles, aren’t you? A pretty little talking bird, repeating all the pretty little words they taught you to recite.”

桑铎·克里冈突然在一片黑暗空旷的平地中央停下脚步。她没办法,只好也跟着停下来。“我看这修女把你训练得不错。你跟那种盛夏群岛来的小鸟没差别,是不是?会说话的漂亮小小鸟,人家教你什么漂亮话你就照着念。”

“That’s unkind.” Sansa could feel her heart fluttering in her chest. “You’re frightening me. I want to go now.”

“这样说太不厚道了。”珊莎的心狂跳不休。“你吓到我了,我要走了。”

“No one could withstand him,” the Hound rasped. “That’s truth enough. No one could ever withstand Gregor. That boy today, his second joust, oh, that was a pretty bit of business. You saw that, did you? Fool boy, he had no business riding in this company. No money, no squire, no one to help him with that armor. That gorget wasn’t fastened proper. You think Gregor didn’t notice that? You think Ser Gregor’s lance rode up by chance, do you? Pretty little talking girl, you believe that, you’re empty-headed as a bird for true. Gregor’s lance goes where Gregor wants it to go. Look at me. Look at me!” Sandor Clegane put a huge hand under her chin and forced her face up. He squatted in front of her, and moved the torch close. “There’s a pretty for you. Take a good long stare. You know you want to. I’ve watched you turning away all the way down the kingsroad. Piss on that. Take your look.”

“没人挡得住他,”猎狗粗声道,“此话倒是不假。的确谁也挡不住格雷果。今天那小伙子,他第二次出场时的那个,喔,干得可真漂亮。你也看见了吧?那小呆瓜根本是自讨苦吃,没钱没跟班又没人帮他穿好盔甲。他的护喉根本就没绑好,你以为格雷果没注意到?你以为格雷果爵士先生的长枪是不小心往上扬,是吗?会说话的漂亮小小鸟,你要真这样相信,那你就跟小鸟一样没大脑了。格雷果的枪想刺哪里就刺哪里。看着我。你看着我!”桑铎·克里冈伸出巨掌捏住她下巴,硬是逼她往上看。他在她面前蹲下,把火把凑近来。“你爱看漂亮东西是吗?那就看看这张脸,好好给我看个够。我知道你想看得很。国王大道上你一路都故意躲着它,别假惺惺了,爱看就看。”

His fingers held her jaw as hard as an iron trap. His eyes watched hers. Drunken eyes, sullen with anger. She had to look.

他的手指像铁兽夹一样用力钳住她下巴。他们四目相对,他那双满是醉意的眼里闪着怒火。她不得不看。

The right side of his face was gaunt, with sharp cheekbones and a grey eye beneath a heavy brow. His nose was large and hooked, his hair thin, dark. He wore it long and brushed it sideways, because no hair grew on the other side of that face.

他右半边脸形容憔悴,有着锐利颧骨和浓眉灰眼。他有个鹰钩大鼻,头发色深而纤细。他故意把头发留长,梳到一边,因为他另半边脸半根头发也没有。

The left side of his face was a ruin. His ear had been burned away; there was nothing left but a hole. His eye was still good, but all around it was a twisted mass of scar, slick black flesh hard as leather, pocked with craters and fissured by deep cracks that gleamed red and wet when he moved. Down by his jaw, you could see a hint of bone where the flesh had been seared away.

他左半边脸烂成一团。耳朵整块烧蚀,只剩下一个洞。眼睛虽没瞎,但周围全是大块扭曲的疮疤,光滑的黑皮肤硬得跟皮革一样,其上布满了麻点和坑凹,以及一道道扯动就现出润红的裂缝。他下巴被烧焦的部分,则隐约可以见骨。

Sansa began to cry. He let go of her then, and snuffed out the torch in the dirt. “No pretty words for that, girl? No little compliment the septa taught you?” When there was no answer, he continued. “Most of them, they think it was some battle. A siege, a burning tower, an enemy with a torch. One fool asked if it was dragonsbreath.” His laugh was softer this time, but just as bitter. “I’ll tell you what it was, girl,” he said, a voice from the night, a shadow leaning so close now that she could smell the sour stench of wine on his breath. “I was younger than you, six, maybe seven. A woodcarver set up shop in the village under my father’s keep, and to buy favor he sent us gifts. The old man made marvelous toys. I don’t remember what I got, but it was Gregor’s gift I wanted. A wooden knight, all painted up, every joint pegged separate and fixed with strings, so you could make him fight. Gregor is five years older than me, the toy was nothing to him, he was already a squire, near six foot tall and muscled like an ox. So I took his knight, but there was no joy to it, I tell you. I was scared all the while, and true enough, he found me. There was a brazier in the room. Gregor never said a word, just picked me up under his arm and shoved the side of my face down in the burning coals and held me there while I screamed and screamed. You saw how strong he is. Even then, it took three grown men to drag him off me. The septons preach about the seven hells. What do they know? Only a man who’s been burned knows what hell is truly like.

珊莎哭了起来。这时他才放开她,然后在泥地上按熄火把。“没漂亮话说啦,小妹妹?修女没教你怎么赞美啊?”眼看她不回答,他又继续,“大多数人以为这是打仗来的,围城战,燃烧的攻城塔,或是拿火把的敌人所留下,还有个白痴问我是不是被龙息喷到。”这回他的笑比较缓和,却苦涩依然。“小妹妹,让我告诉你这伤是怎么来的吧。”他的声音从黑夜中传来,巨大的暗影离她如此之近,她甚至能闻到他呼吸中的酒臭。“当时我年纪比你还小,大概才六七岁,有个木雕师傅在我家城堡外的村落里开了家店,为讨好我爸,他送了点礼物给我们。这老头做玩具的功夫一流。我不记得自己收到了什么,但我想要的是格雷果的礼物。那是个木雕骑士,颜色涂得漂漂亮亮,每个关节都分开来,钉了钉子绑了线,你可以操纵他打架。格雷果大我五岁,当时已经当上了侍从,身高接近六尺,壮得像头牛,早就不玩玩具了。于是我把骑士据为己有,但我告诉你,偷来之后我一点都不快乐,我只是怕得要命。没过多久,果真被他发现。房间里刚好有个火盆,格雷果二话不说把我拎起来,将我半边脸就往炭堆里按,他就这样紧紧按住,任由我惨叫不停。你也看到他有多壮,即使在当时,最后还得靠三个成年人才有办法把他拉开。教士们成天说教七层地狱是如何可怕,他们懂个屁?只有被烧过的人才知道地狱是什么模样。”

“My father told everyone my bedding had caught fire, and our maester gave me ointments. Ointments! Gregor got his ointments too. Four years later, they anointed him with the seven oils and he recited his knightly vows and Rhaegar Targaryen tapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘Arise, Ser Gregor.’ ”

“我爸对别人说是我床单着了火,然后我们家师傅给我抹了油膏。油膏!格雷果也抹了油膏。四年之后他们为他涂抹七神圣油,他跟着背诵了骑士的誓词,雷加·坦格利安便拿剑拍拍他肩膀说‘起来吧,格雷果爵士。’”

The rasping voice trailed off. He squatted silently before her, a hulking black shape shrouded in the night, hidden from her eyes. Sansa could hear his ragged breathing. She was sad for him, she realized. Somehow, the fear had gone away.

黯哑的声音渐渐淡去。他静静地蹲坐她面前,如同暗夜中矗立的庞然巨物,而她什么也看不清。珊莎可以听见他急促的呼吸,突然发觉自己正为他感到悲伤。最初的恐惧不知怎么,已经消失无踪。

The silence went on and on, so long that she began to grow afraid once more, but she was afraid for him now, not for herself. She found his massive shoulder with her hand. “He was no true knight,” she whispered to him.

沉默持续下去,到后来她又害怕起来,然而这次她不是为自己,而是为了他。她伸手找到他宽阔的肩膀。“他不是真正的骑士。”她悄声对他说。

The Hound threw back his head and roared. Sansa stumbled back, away from him, but he caught her arm. “No,” he growled at her, “no, little bird, he was no true knight.”

“猎狗”仰头狂啸,珊莎踉跄后退想要逃开,但他一把抓住她的手。“不是,”他对她咆哮,“不是,小小鸟,他不是真正的骑士。”

The rest of the way into the city, Sandor Clegane said not a word. He led her to where the carts were waiting, told a driver to take them back to the Red Keep, and climbed in after her. They rode in silence through the King’s Gate and up torchlit city streets. He opened the postern door and led her into the castle, his burned face twitching and his eyes brooding, and he was one step behind her as they climbed the tower stairs. He took her safe all the way to the corridor outside her bedchamber.

回城途中,桑铎·克里冈没有再说半句话。他领她走到马车等候的地方,吩咐车夫把他们载回红堡,跟在她后面爬上车。他们在一片寂静中穿过国王大门,走上灯火通明的市镇街道。他打开边门,领她走进城堡,他烧伤的脸微微抽搐,眼里思绪满溢。攀登高塔楼梯时,他跟在她身后,仅隔一步之遥。他带她安然抵达寝室外面的走廊。

“Thank you, my lord,” Sansa said meekly.

“大人,谢谢你。”珊莎温顺地说。

The Hound caught her by the arm and leaned close. “The things I told you tonight,” he said, his voice sounding even rougher than usual. “If you ever tell Joffrey?.?.?.?your sister, your father?.?.?.?any of them?.?.?.?”

“猎狗”抓住她的手,靠了过来。“我今晚跟你说的事,”他的声音比平常还要粗哑。“你要是敢告诉乔佛里……或是你妹妹,你老爸……你要是敢跟任何人讲……”

“I won’t,” Sansa whispered. “I promise.”

“我不会说出去的。”珊莎悄声说,“我保证。”

It was not enough. “If you ever tell anyone,” he finished, “I’ll kill you.”

显然这还不够。“你要是敢跟任何人讲的话,”他把话说完,“我就杀了你。”

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