“Skahaz,” she told the Shavepate, “I thank you for your counsel.

Reznak, see what one thousand honors may accomplish.” Clutching her tokar,

Daenerys swept past them down the broad marble stair. She took one step at a

time, lest she trip over her fringe and go tumbling headfirst into court.“斯卡哈日，”她对“剃顶大人”说道。“多谢您的建议。雷兹纳克，试试一千荣耀币能买到多少消息。”随后丹妮莉丝扣着礼服经过二人身旁，顺着宽阔的大理石台阶而下。她走得很慢，一步一级，生恐绊上裙裾之后一头栽下宫廷大殿。

Missandei announced

her. The little scribe had a sweet, strong voice. “All kneel for Daenerys

Stormborn, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar

and the First Men, Khaleesi of Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Shackles, and Mother

of Dragons.”宣礼的是弥桑黛。她个子不大，却有一副洪润的嗓音。“大家跪下，叩拜弥林女王，安达尔、洛伊那及先民之王，草海首领，摧毁桎梏之人，巨龙之母，风暴降生、浴火无毁的丹妮莉丝，”她在丹妮缓步下楼时高声宣道。

The hall had

filled. Unsullied stood with their backs to the pillars, holding shields and

spears, the spikes on their caps jutting upward like a row of knives. The

Meereenese had gathered beneath the eastern windows. Her freedmen stood well

apart from their former masters. Until they stand together, Meereen will know

no peace. “Arise.” Dany settled onto her bench. The hall rose.

That at least they do as one.殿内四处都是人影。无垢者手持盾牌和长矛，背向宫柱而立，盔上尖刺如同一排利刃。弥林人聚集在东面窗下，精光的头皮参杂在各种怪异的发型当中。重获自由的人和先前的主人隔得很远。他们一日不肯站在一起，弥林就一日不得安宁。“平身，”丹妮落座后说道。殿内众人一同起身。至少在这件事上，他们还算一致。

Reznak mo Reznak

had a list. Custom demanded that the queen begin with the Astapori envoy, a

former slave who called himself Lord Ghael, though no one seemed to know what

he was lord of.雷兹纳克手捧一份觐见者名单。按照礼仪，女王首先召见的是阿斯塔泊的使臣，一个昔日的奴隶。现在他称自己是“伽尔公爵”，不过似乎没人知道这个头衔的来历。

Lord Ghael had a

mouth of brown and rotten teeth and the pointed yellow face of a weasel. He

also had a gift. “Cleon the Great sends these slippers as a token of his love for

Daenerys Stormborn, the Mother of Dragons.”伽尔公爵蜡黄的尖脸活似一只鼬鼠，棕色的嘴唇间露出一口烂牙。他呈上一份礼物，高声说道：“圣主克里昂谨以此双拖鞋，表达他对龙母丹妮莉丝的爱意。”

Irri slid the

slippers onto Dany’s feet. They were gilded leather, decorated with green

freshwater pearls. Does the butcher king believe a pair of pretty slippers will

win my hand? “King Cleon is most generous. You may thank him for his lovely

gift.” Lovely, but made for a child. Dany had small feet, yet the pointed

slippers mashed her toes together.伊丽接过拖鞋，套在丹妮脚上。这是双镀金的皮拖鞋，装饰着绿色的淡水珍珠。那个屠夫国王以为一双漂亮的拖鞋就能得到我的垂青么？“克里昂王的慷慨无人可比，”她说道。“你替我多谢他这份可爱的礼物。”的确可爱，不过那是双小孩的拖鞋。丹妮双足纤细，可这拖鞋仍是异常夹脚。

“Great Cleon will be pleased to know they pleased you,” said Lord Ghael. “His Magnificence bids me say that he stands

ready to defend the Mother of Dragons from all her foes.”“您喜欢这件礼物，圣主克里昂定会非常高兴，”伽尔公爵说道。“陛下命我转告龙母，他将随时为您抵御强敌。”

If he proposes

again that I wed King Cleon, I’ll throw a slipper at his head, Dany thought,

but for once the Astapori envoy made no mention of a royal marriage. Instead he

said, “The time has come for Astapor and Meereen to end the savage reign of the

Wise Masters of Yunkai, who are sworn foes to all those who live in freedom.

Great Cleon bids me tell you that he and his new Unsullied will soon march.”如果他再替克里昂向我求婚，我就用这拖鞋招呼他的脑袋，丹妮心道。不过这次，阿斯塔泊的使臣总算没有再提求婚一事。

His new

Unsullied are an obscene jape. “King Cleon would be wise to tend his own

gardens and let the Yunkai’i tend theirs.” It was not that Dany harbored any

love for Yunkai. She was coming to regret leaving the Yellow City untaken after

defeating its army in the field. The Wise Masters had returned to slaving as

soon as she moved on, and were busy raising levies, hiring sellswords, and

making alliances against her.可他话题一转说道：“现在时机成熟，阿斯塔泊和弥林应一同结束‘贤主’在渊凯的暴政，他们乃是一切自由之民的死敌。伟大的克里昂命我转告陛下，他与麾下新的无垢者已经整装待发。”

Cleon the

self-styled Great was no better, however. The Butcher King had restored slavery

to Astapor, the only change being that the former slaves were now the masters

and the former masters were now the slaves.新的无垢者是个恶心的闹剧。“克里昂王最好打点自己的庄园，不必劳心渊凯的家务。”这并不意味着她对渊凯有任何好感。事实上，她已越发后悔当初在击溃渊凯大军之后，没有一举拿下那座黄石城池。她前脚刚走，“贤主”们后脚就复辟了奴隶统治，现在正忙着加税征兵，还四处结盟来对抗她。然而那个自封的克里昂王同样是一丘之貉，他也在阿斯塔泊复辟了奴隶统治，唯一的区别就是先前的奴隶变成主人，而先前的主人则沦为奴隶。他还是一个侩子手，双手沾满血腥。“我不过是个年轻女子，对战争之道知之甚少，”她继续说道。“不过据说阿斯塔泊人还在挨饿。克里昂王率领他们出征之前，总得先让他们填饱肚子。”她挥了挥手，伽尔躬身退下。

“I am only a young girl and know little of the ways of war,” she told Lord Ghael, “but we have heard that Astapor is starving.

Let King Cleon feed his people before he leads them out to battle.” She made a gesture of dismissal. Ghael

withdrew.“陛下，”雷兹纳克问道。“您是否要召见尊贵的希兹达尔·佐·洛拉克？”

“Magnificence,” prompted Reznak mo Reznak, “will you hear the noble Hizdahr zo Loraq?”又是他？丹妮点了点头，希兹达尔便大步上前。这是位非常瘦削的高个男子，琥珀色的皮肤光洁得近乎无暇。在他躬身行礼的地方，不久前还躺着“坚盾”的尸体。我需要此人，丹妮提醒自己。希兹达尔是名富商，在弥林交游甚广，与狭海对岸的关系更不简单。他游历过沃兰提斯、理斯和夸释，在托洛斯和伊莱黎亚都有亲朋，据说在新吉斯也有些影响。而渊凯人正试图在那里煽动对丹妮的敌意。

Again? Dany

nodded, and Hizdahr strode forth; a tall man, very slender, with flawless amber

skin. He bowed on the same spot where Stalwart Shield had lain in death not

long before. I need this man, Dany reminded herself. Hizdahr was a wealthy

merchant with many friends in Meereen, and more across the seas. He had visited

Volantis, Lys, and Qarth, had kin in Tolos and Elyria, and was even said to

wield some influence in New Ghis, where the Yunkai’i were trying to stir up enmity against Dany

and her rule.而且他很富有，富可敌国，富名远播…

And he was rich.

Famously and fabulously rich …如果我答应他的请求，他会更加富有。丹妮下令关闭城内的角斗场之后，那些场馆的价值一落千丈。希兹达尔乘机大肆收购，现在已买下了弥林一大半的场馆。

And like to grow

richer, if I grant his petition. When Dany had closed the city’s fighting pits, the value of pit shares had

plummeted. Hizdahr zo Loraq had grabbed them up with both hands, and now owned

most of the fighting pits in Meereen.这个贵族把两侧的头发盘成了翼形，整个头彷佛展翅待飞一般。颌下的赤褐长须上挂着不少金环，衬得他的长脸愈加细长。他身着一件紫色礼服，上面缀满珍珠和紫晶。

The nobleman had

wings of wiry red-black hair sprouting from his temples. They made him look as

if his head were about to take flight. His long face was made even longer by a

beard bound with rings of gold. His purple tokar was fringed with amethysts and

pearls. “Your Radiance

will know the reason I am here.”“陛下应该知道我为何前来。”

“Why, it must be because you have no other purpose but to plague me.

How many times have I refused you?”“为何？”她回应道。“除了烦我，你并无其它理由。我拒绝过你多少次了？”

“Five times, Your Magnificence.”“五次，陛下。”

“Six now. I will not have the fighting pits reopened.”“那么现在是第六次。我不会同意角斗场重开。”

“If Your Majesty will hear my arguments …”“如果陛下愿意听听我的理由…”

“I have. Five times. Have you brought new arguments?”“我听过了。听了五次。你有新的理由？”

“Old arguments,” Hizdahr admitted, “new words. Lovely words, and courteous, more apt to move a queen.”“旧的理由，”希兹达尔承认道。“不过是新的措辞。恭敬而动听的措辞，更容易打动女王。”

“It is your cause I find wanting, not your courtesies. I have heard

your arguments so often I could plead your case myself. Shall I?” Dany leaned

forward. “The fighting pits have been a part of Meereen since the city was

founded. The combats are profoundly religious in nature, a blood sacrifice to

the gods of Ghis. The mortal art of Ghis is not mere butchery but a display of

courage, skill, and strength most pleasing to your gods. Victorious fighters

are pampered and acclaimed, and the slain are honored and remembered. By

reopening the pits I would show the people of Meereen that I respect their ways

and customs. The pits are far-famed across the world. They draw trade to

Meereen, and fill the city’s coffers with coin from the ends of the earth. All

men share a taste for blood, a taste the pits help slake. In that way they make

Meereen more tranquil. For criminals condemned to die upon the sands, the pits represent

a judgment by battle, a last chance for a man to prove his innocence.” She

leaned back again, with a toss of her head. “There. How have I done?”“我想听的是你的理由，而不是你的恭敬。你的理由我听得太多，多得我都可以替你复述。要我试试么？”她把身子向前倾了倾。“自弥林建立之初，角斗场便是这座城市的一部分。就本质而言，此类格斗完全是宗教仪式，是献与吉斯诸神的血祭。这门艺术并非纯粹的杀戮，它展示的是勇气、技艺和力量，那些最令诸神愉悦的东西。胜者拥有盛宴、享乐与荣耀，而英勇战死的人也会得到敬意、被人怀念。如果重开角斗场，我可以向弥林人表明，我尊重他们的生活与习俗。这些角斗场举世闻名，可以为弥林带来贸易，让国库内装满世界各地的钱币。世人都有好斗之欲，角斗场可以让他们得以满足，从而使弥林更加安宁。对于死囚而言，角斗场则是血光审判之地，是还其清白的最后机会。”说到这里，丹妮拂了拂头发。“好了。我讲得如何？”

“Your Radiance has stated the case much better than I could have

hoped to do myself. I see that you are eloquent as well as beautiful. I am

quite persuaded.”“陛下说得比我好了何止千倍。您不仅有倾城之貌，还有雄辩之才。我完全被您说服了。”

She had to

laugh. “Ah, but I am not.”她强笑道：“很好…可是我没被说服。”

“Your Magnificence,” whispered Reznak mo Reznak in her ear, “it is customary for the city to claim

one-tenth of all the profits from the fighting pits, after expenses, as a tax.

That coin might be put to many noble uses.”“陛下，”雷兹纳克在她耳边低声说道。“请允许我提醒您，按照传统，城市有权对角斗场课以十分之一的税收，那可是指剔除开支之后的全部收入。这笔钱可以办很多好事。”

“It might … though if we were to reopen the pits, we should take our tenth

before expenses. I am only a young girl and know little of such matters, but I

dwelt with Xaro Xhoan Daxos long enough to learn that much.“也许可以，”她承认道。“不过如果我们重开角斗场，我会在剔除开支之前收取这笔税收。我不过是个年轻女子，对贸易知之甚少，可我跟伊利里欧·摩帕提斯等人呆过很长时间。这倒无关紧要。希兹达尔，如果你遣词调令的本事能用来调兵遣将的话，你能征服这个世界…不过，我的回答仍然是‘不’。这是第六次。”

Hizdahr, if you

could marshal armies as you marshal arguments, you could conquer the world … but my answer is still no. For the sixth

time.”同之前一样，他深鞠了一躬，衣上的珍珠和紫晶碰到大理石地面，发出阵阵轻响。希兹达尔的确是个处事圆滑之人。“女王陛下已经道明，”他说道。

“The queen has spoken.” He bowed again, as deeply as before. His pearls and amethysts

clattered softly against the marble floor. A very limber man was Hizdahr zo

Loraq.要不是那傻里傻气的头发，他也还算英俊。雷兹纳克和绿衣仁者一直都在极力劝说丹妮，让她物色一名弥林贵族成亲，以换取统治这座城市的民心。若是如此，希兹达尔倒值得仔细看看。他总比斯卡哈日强。那个“剃顶大人”曾表示愿意休妻之后娶她，但这主意让她不寒而栗。希兹达尔至少懂得微笑，不过当丹妮想象和他同床的情景时，差点捧腹大笑。

He might be

handsome, but for that silly hair. Reznak and the Green Grace had been urging

Dany to take a Meereenese noble for her husband, to reconcile the city to her

rule. Hizdahr zo Loraq might be worth a careful look. Sooner him than Skahaz.

The Shavepate had offered to set aside his wife for her, but the notion made

her shudder. Hizdahr at least knew how to smile.“陛下，”雷兹纳克看了看手上的名单说道。“高贵的格拉斯丹·佐·伽拉雷有事求见，您要召见他吗？”

“Magnificence,” said Reznak, consulting his list, “the noble Grazdan zo Galare would address you. Will you hear him?”“那是我的荣幸，”丹妮答道。她一面打量着拖鞋上闪闪发光的金子和珍珠，一面尽量不去注意被夹得生痛的脚趾。事前她已知道，格拉斯丹是绿衣仁者的表亲，而后者的支持对丹妮至关重要。这位女祭司的声音代表着对合法政权的认可、顺从以及和睦。无论她的表亲想要什么，我得表示尊重。

“It would be my pleasure,” said Dany, admiring the glimmer of the

gold and the sheen of the green pearls on Cleon’s slippers while doing her best

to ignore the pinching in her toes. Grazdan, she had been forewarned, was a

cousin of the Green Grace, whose support she had found invaluable. The

priestess was a voice for peace, acceptance, and obedience to lawful authority.

I can give her cousin a respectful hearing, whatever he desires.他想要的原来是钱。丹妮曾拒绝对任何“圣主”支付释放奴隶的补偿，但弥林人还是想法设法地讹诈钱财。这位高贵的格拉斯丹便是其中之一。他声称自己先前的一个女奴精通纺织，她的手艺不只在弥林大受欢迎，还享誉新吉斯和阿斯塔泊。该女年长之后，格拉斯丹命她将全部技艺传授给新买的六名年轻女奴。现在那位老妇已故，而这六名年轻女子在重获自由之后，便在港湾集市上经营一间织品店。格拉斯丹认为其收入的一部分应归他所有。“她们的技艺是拜我所赐，”他说道。“我把她们从拍卖场上买回来，又给她们机会学习纺织。”

What he desired

turned out to be gold. Dany had refused to compensate any of the Great Masters

for the value of their slaves, but the Meereenese kept devising other ways to

squeeze coin from her. The noble Grazdan had once owned a slave woman who was a

very fine weaver, it seemed; the fruits of her loom were greatly valued, not

only in Meereen, but in New Ghis and Astapor and Qarth. When this woman had

grown old, Grazdan had purchased half a dozen young girls and commanded the

crone to instruct them in the secrets of her craft. The old woman was dead now.

The young ones, freed, had opened a shop by the harbor wall to sell their

weavings. Grazdan zo Galare asked that he be granted a portion of their

earnings. “They owe their skill to me,” he insisted. “I plucked them from the

auction bloc and gave them to the loom.”丹妮不动声色地听完他的抱怨，这才问道：“那个老人叫什么名字？”

Dany listened

quietly, her face still. When he was done, she said, “What was the name of the old weaver?”“那个奴隶？”格拉斯丹晃了晃身子，皱着眉头说道。“她叫…艾莎，大概是吧。或者是叫艾娜。她死了都有六年了，我又有那么多的奴隶，陛下。”

“The slave?” Grazdan shifted his weight, frowning. “She was … Elza, it might have been. Or Ella. It was six years ago she died. I

have owned so many slaves, Your Grace.”“那我们就叫她艾莎，”丹妮举起一只手说道。“我们的判决如下：那些女孩不欠你任何东西。教她们纺织的是艾莎，而不是你。至于你，得给那些女孩买一架新的纺车，要最好的。这是罚你忘了那位老人的名字。你可以走了。”

“Let us say Elza. Here is our ruling. From the girls, you shall have

nothing. It was Elza who taught them weaving, not you. From you, the girls

shall have a new loom, the finest coin can buy. That is for forgetting the name

of the old woman.”雷兹纳克本想再宣一名华服者上前，但丹妮却坚持召见了一名重获自由的奴隶。之后，她便轮流召见旧时的贵族和昔日的奴隶。

Reznak would

have summoned another tokar next, but Dany insisted that he call upon a

freedman. Thereafter she alternated between the former masters and the former

slaves. Many and more of the matters brought before her involved redress.

Meereen had been sacked savagely after its fall. The stepped pyramids of the

mighty had been spared the worst of the ravages, but the humbler parts of the

city had been given over to an orgy of looting and killing as the city’s slaves

rose up and the starving hordes who had followed her from Yunkai and Astapor

poured through the broken gates. Her Unsullied had finally restored order, but

the sack left a plague of problems in its wake. And so they came to see the

queen.越来越多的问题开始涉及赔偿。弥林陷落之后，曾遭受疯狂的洗劫。贵族的金字塔避过了风头，可城中的平民区却未能幸免。奴隶的暴乱，加上渊凯和阿斯塔泊饥民的涌入，平民区内随处可见肆无忌惮的劫掠和残杀。虽然丹妮靠无垢者最终恢复了秩序，但这场浩劫却已留下众多余患。没有人知道到底哪条法律仍然成立，于是他们便来求见女王。

A rich woman

came, whose husband and sons had died defending the city walls. During the sack

she had fled to her brother in fear. When she returned, she found her house had

been turned into a brothel. The whores had bedecked themselves in her jewels

and clothes. She wanted her house back, and her jewels. “They can keep the clothes,” she allowed. Dany granted her the jewels but

ruled the house was lost when she abandoned it.一名贵妇的丈夫和儿子都战死于城破当日。洗城之时她逃到兄长家避难，回来后却发现家里变成了一间妓院，而她的衣物和首饰则穿戴在妓女们的身上。现在她要索回房子和首饰，而“衣物可以归她们”。丹妮将首饰判还给她，但裁定她弃家逃亡之时便已失去房产。

A former slave

came, to accuse a certain noble of the Zhak. The man had recently taken to wife

a freedwoman who had been the noble’s bed-warmer before the city fell. The

noble had taken her maidenhood, used her for his pleasure, and gotten her with

child. Her new husband wanted the noble gelded for the crime of rape, and he

wanted a purse of gold as well, to pay him for raising the noble’s bastard as

his own. Dany granted him the gold, but not the gelding. “When he lay with her,

your wife was his property, to do with as he would. By law, there was no rape.” Her decision did not please him, she could

see, but if she gelded every man who ever forced a bedslave, she would soon

rule a city of eunuchs.随后，一个旧日奴隶前来控告扎克家族的某位贵族。他的新婚妻子以前曾是这个贵族的床奴，此人夺走了她的贞洁，对她恣意玩弄并致其怀孕。现在，她的丈夫希望对该贵族按强奸罪施以宫刑，并要求他支付一袋黄金以抚养其私生子。丹妮判给了他黄金，但未同意宫刑。“之前你的妻子还是他的财产，可以由他处置，并不构成强奸。”她很明白，他对这一判决不满，然而如果她对每个拥有床奴的人施以宫刑的话，她治下的城市很快就会变成一座太监之城。

A boy came,

younger than Dany, slight and scarred, dressed up in a frayed grey tokar

trailing silver fringe. His voice broke when he told of how two of his father’s

household slaves had risen up the night the gate broke. One had slain his

father, the other his elder brother. Both had raped his mother before killing

her as well. The boy had escaped with no more than the scar upon his face, but

one of the murderers was still living in his father’s house, and the other had

joined the queen’s soldiers as one of the Mother’s Men. He wanted them both hanged.接下来的是一个比丹妮还小的男孩，体形单薄，脸上有道疤痕，身着一件破旧的银边灰袍。他哽咽着讲述了破城当晚，家中两名奴隶的暴行。二人杀死了他的父兄，还奸杀了他的母亲。虽然男孩除了脸上受伤之外，躲过了这一劫，但其中一个凶手却还霸占着他父亲的房子，而另一个则加入了丹妮麾下的“龙母战士”兵团。男孩请求能对二人施以绞刑。

I am queen over

a city built on dust and death. Dany had no choice but to deny him. She had

declared a blanket pardon for all crimes committed during the sack. Nor would

she punish slaves for rising up against their masters.我所统治的是一座建立在残垣与死亡之上的城市。丹妮别无选择，只能拒绝他的请求。她曾对洗城之时的所有罪行颁行大赦，也无法惩处反抗贵族的奴隶。

When she told

him, the boy rushed at her, but his feet tangled in his tokar and he went

sprawling headlong on the purple marble. Strong Belwas was on him at once. The

huge brown eunuch yanked him up one-handed and shook him like a mastiff with a

rat. “Enough, Belwas,” Dany called. “Release him.” To the boy she said,

“Treasure that tokar, for it saved your life. You are only a boy, so we will

forget what happened here. You should do the same.” But as he left the boy

looked back over his shoulder, and when she saw his eyes Dany thought, The

Harpy has another Son.听到这个裁决，男孩朝她猛冲过来，可却被长袍绊倒，一头跌在了紫色大理石上，随即被“壮汉”贝沃斯制伏。他被这个棕色皮肤的高壮太监一把拎起，左右乱晃，像是猛犬口中可怜的老鼠。“够了，贝沃斯”，丹尼叫道。“把他放了。”随后她转向男孩说道：“好好保管那件袍子，它救了你一命。如果你盛怒之下碰到我的身体，你那只手就没了。你还是个孩子，所以我们会忘掉刚才这里发生的一切。你也应该忘记。”可看到男孩离去时回头的眼神，丹妮心中明白，鹰身女妖又多了一个儿子。

By midday

Daenerys was feeling the weight of the crown upon her head, and the hardness of

the bench beneath her. With so many still waiting on her pleasure, she did not

stop to eat. Instead she dispatched Jhiqui to the kitchens for a platter of

flatbread, olives, figs, and cheese. She nibbled whilst she listened, and

sipped from a cup of watered wine. The figs were fine, the olives even finer,

but the wine left a tart metallic aftertaste in her mouth. The small pale yellow

grapes native to these regions produced a notably inferior vintage. We shall

have no trade in wine. Besides, the Great Masters had burned the best arbors

along with the olive trees.时间就这般过去，沉闷与恐惧相继袭来，正午时分，丹妮已能明显感到头上皇冠的沉重和身下王座的坚硬。可等候觐见的人还是很多，所以她并未停下来就餐，而是命姬琪从厨房取来一碟面包、干酪、橄榄和无花果。她一边聆听觐见者的陈述，一边小口吃些食物，偶尔啜饮一口掺水的红酒。无花果还算不错，橄榄的味道更好，不过那些酒却有一股辣口的金属味。当地只产淡黄的小葡萄，仅能酿出劣酒。我们不会有酒类贸易，丹妮呷了口酒突然想到。另外，“圣主”们还烧毁了最好的树林以及成片的橄榄树。

In the afternoon

a sculptor came, proposing to replace the head of the great bronze harpy in the

Plaza of Purification with one cast in Dany’s image. She denied him with as

much courtesy as she could muster. A pike of unprecedented size had been caught

in the Skahazadhan, and the fisherman wished to give it to the queen. She

admired the fish extravagantly, rewarded the fisherman with a purse of silver,

and sent the pike to her kitchens. A coppersmith had fashioned her a suit of

burnished rings to wear to war. She accepted it with fulsome thanks; it was

lovely to behold, and all that burnished copper would flash prettily in the

sun, though if actual battle threatened, she would sooner be clad in steel.

Even a young girl who knew nothing of the ways of war knew that.待到下午，一位雕塑家前来建议将广场上那座鹰身女妖青铜巨像的头部换成丹妮的模样，这主意让她一阵恶寒。不过她的拒绝还是尽可能地彬彬有礼。随后，一名渔夫献上一条狗鱼，据说其个头创下了斯卡哈撒丹渔业史上的记录。她夸张地鉴赏了这条狗鱼，赏给渔夫满满一袋银币，而后命人将鱼送往她的厨房。还有一位铜匠替她打造了一件闪亮的铜环战甲，她再三感谢之后这才收下。它看上去的确漂亮，锃亮的铜环在阳光下应该非常耀眼，不过如果真的要上战场的话，她还是宁愿穿上钢甲。这点常识，即便是一个对战争之道知之甚少的年轻女子也很清楚。

The slippers the

Butcher King had sent her had grown too uncomfortable. Dany kicked them off and

sat with one foot tucked beneath her and the other swinging back and forth. It

was not a very regal pose, but she was tired of being regal. The crown had

given her a headache, and her buttocks had gone to sleep. “Ser Barristan,” she called, “I know what quality a king needs most.”终于，丹妮再也无法忍受屠夫国王送来的夹脚拖鞋，将它们踢到一旁，然后把一只脚盘在身下，另一只脚也开始前后摇晃。这不怎么符合皇室礼仪，可她对此早已厌倦。皇冠压得她头痛，而两股也已失去知觉。“巴利斯坦爵士，”她说道。“现在我知道一位王者最需要何种素质。”

“Courage, Your Grace?”“陛下是指勇气？”

“Cheeks like iron,” she teased. “All I do is sit.”“不，”她打趣说。“是铁一般的臀部。我成天做的事就是坐在这里。”

“Your Grace takes too much on herself. You should allow your

councillors to shoulder more of your burdens.”“陛下太过亲力亲为。您应该让议员们替您多分担一些重任。”

“I have too many councillors and too few cushions.” Dany turned to Reznak. “How many more?”“我的议员太多了。我需要的是座垫。”随后她转向雷兹纳克问道：“还有多少人？”

“ Three-and-twenty, if it please Your Magnificence. With as many

claims.” The seneschal

consulted some papers. “One calf and three goats. The rest will be sheep or lambs, no doubt.”“二十三人，如果陛下不介意的话。还有同样数目的索赔，”那个塞纳沙尔人翻了几页文件答道。“一头小牛，三只山羊。毫无疑问，其它都是些绵羊和羊羔。”

“ Three-and-twenty.” Dany sighed. “My dragons have developed a prodigious taste for mutton since we

began to pay the shepherds for their kills. Have these claims been proven?”“二十三只，”丹妮叹了口气。“自从我们开始赔偿那三条龙的猎物之后，它们的食量也越来越惊人了。这些索赔的人有证据吗？”

“Some men have brought burnt bones.”“有些人带来了烧焦的骨头。”

“Men make fires. Men cook mutton. Burnt bones prove nothing. Brown

Ben says there are red wolves in the hills outside the city, and jack-als and

wild dogs. Must we pay good silver for every lamb that goes astray between

Yunkai and the Skahazadhan?”“人也可以生火。人也可以烤肉。烧焦的骨头又能证明什么。据“褐面”本说，城外的山里还有赤狼、野狗和豺狼。渊凯到斯卡哈撒丹之间丢失的每只羊羔都要我们给钱吗？”

“No, Magnificence.” Reznak bowed. “Shall I send these rascals away, or will you want them scourged?”“不用，陛下，”雷兹纳克躬身说道。“要不我把这些无赖赶走，或者鞭打他们一顿？”

Daenerys shifted

on the bench. “No man should ever fear to come to me.” Some claims were false,

she did not doubt, but more were genuine. Her dragons had grown too large to be

content with rats and cats and dogs. The more they eat, the larger they will

grow, Ser Barristan had warned her, and the larger they grow, the more they’ll

eat. Drogon especially ranged far afield and could easily devour a sheep a day.

“Pay them for the value of their animals,” she told Reznak, “but henceforth claimants

must present themselves at the Temple of the Graces and swear a holy oath

before the gods of Ghis.”丹妮莉丝在王座上晃了一下身子。座上乌木坚硬无比。“不要让人害怕见我。赔给他们。”她不怀疑有人乘机讹诈，不过多数应该不假。三条龙已经长大了，不可能象之前一样满足于老鼠和小猫小狗。巴利斯坦爵士曾说过，他们吃得越多就长得越大，而长得越大就会吃得越多。尤其是卓耿，它飞得很远，一天吃掉一头羊也不在话下。“按照牲口的价钱赔偿他们，”她吩咐雷兹纳克道。“但从今往后，再有人来索赔的话，必须先去仁者大殿，在吉斯诸神之前起誓。”

“It shall be done.” Reznak turned to the petitioners. “Her

Magnificence the Queen has consented to compensate each of you for the animals

you have lost,” he told them in the Ghiscari tongue. “Present yourselves to my

factors on the morrow, and you shall be paid in coin or kind, as you prefer.”“遵命。”雷兹纳克随后转向等候召见的人群，用吉斯话说道：“女王陛下已经同意赔偿你们损失的牲口。明天去找我的理事，他们会赔给你们钱币或者你们想要的东西。”

The

pronouncement was received in sullen silence. You would think they might be

happier, Dany thought. They have what they came for. Is there no way to please

these people?听到此话，众人仍是一片死寂。本想他们应该高兴一点，丹妮有些着恼。他们来此的目的已经达到，难道没法令这些家伙满意？

One man lingered

behind as the rest were filing out—a squat man with a windburnt face, shabbily

dressed. His hair was a cap of coarse red-black wire cropped about his ears,

and in one hand he held a sad cloth sack. He stood with his head down, gazing

at the marble floor as if he had quite forgotten where he was. And what does

this one want? Dany wondered.待到众人开始散去，仍有一名矮胖男子踯躅殿内。他衣裳褴褛，满面风霜，粗乱的头发剃至耳际，仿佛一顶赤褐小帽，单手提着一个灰黯的布袋。他低头望着大理石地面，似乎已经忘记自己身在何处。这人想要什么？丹妮皱着眉头寻思道。

“All kneel for Daenerys Stormborn, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen,

Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Khaleesi of Great Grass

Sea, Breaker of Shackles, and Mother of Dragons,” cried Missandei in her high, sweet voice.“大家跪下，叩拜弥林女王，安达尔、洛伊那及先民之王，草海首领，摧毁桎梏之人，巨龙之母，风暴降生、浴火无毁的丹妮莉丝，”弥桑黛用她洪润的嗓音高声说道。

As Dany stood,

her tokar began to slip. She caught it and tugged it back in place. “You with the sack,” she called, “did you wish to speak with us? You may approach.”丹妮起身时礼服滑下了肩头，连忙重新整理妥当。“提布袋的那位，”她大声问道。“你有话对我们说吗？那你过来。”

When he raised

his head, his eyes were red and raw as open sores. Dany glimpsed Ser Barristan

sliding closer, a white shadow at her side. The man approached in a stumbling

shuffle, one step and then another, clutching his sack. Is he drunk, or ill?

she wondered. There was dirt beneath his cracked yellow fingernails.他抬起头来，双眼又红又肿，仿佛撕裂的伤口。丹妮从眼角瞥见巴利斯坦爵士无声地靠了过来，像是一道白影。那名男子拖着脚步，一步一步摇摇晃晃地走上前来，手中紧拽着那个布袋。这是个醉汉还是病人？丹妮寻思道。他姜黄的手指开裂，里面满是泥土。

“What is it?” Dany asked. “Do you have some grievance to lay before us, some petition? What

would you have of us?”“那是什么？”她问道。“你有什么冤屈还是什么请求？你要我们做什么？”

His tongue

flicked nervously over chapped, cracked lips. “I … I brought …”他紧张地舔了舔皲裂的嘴唇：“我…我带来了…”

“Bones?” she said, impatiently. “Burnt bones?”“骨头？”她不耐烦地说道。“烧焦的骨头？”

He lifted the

sack, and spilled its contents on the marble.他拎起布袋，将里面的东西倒在大理石地面上。

Bones they were,

broken bones and blackened. The longer ones had been cracked open for their

marrow.那是些骨头，焦黑的断骨。长些的已被弄破吸走了骨髓。

“It were the black one,” the man said, in a Ghiscari growl, “the winged shadow. He come down from the sky and … and …”“是黑色的那个，”男子用吉斯话低声说道。“那个长翅膀的幽灵。它从天而降，然后…然后…”

No. Dany

shivered. No, no, oh no.不…。丹妮战栗起来。不…不…不…不…

“Are you deaf, fool?” Reznak mo Reznak demanded of the man. “Did you not hear my pronouncement? See my

factors on the morrow, and you shall be paid for your sheep.”“你聋了吗？蠢货，”雷兹纳克冲他嚷道。“你没听到我说的话？明天去找我的理事，他们会赔你的羊。”

“Reznak,” Ser Barristan said quietly, “hold your tongue and open your eyes. Those are no sheep bones.”“雷兹纳克，闭嘴，”巴利斯坦爵士低声说道。“睁眼看看，那些不是羊骨。”

No, Dany

thought, those are the bones of a child.不是，丹妮明白，那是一具孩子的尸骨。