BRAN
布蘭
?? The hunt left at dawn. The king wanted wildboar at the feast tonight. Prince Joffrey rode with his father, so Robb hadbeen allowed to join the hunters as well. Uncle Benjen, Jory, Theon Greyjoy,Ser Rodrik, and even the queen’s funny little brother had all ridden out withthem. It was the last hunt, after all. On the morrow they left for the south.
打獵的隊(duì)伍于黎明啟程，國(guó)王希望能為今天的晚宴多添一道野熊大餐。因?yàn)閱谭鹄锿踝优c國(guó)王同行，所以羅柏也得到允許，跟著狩獵隊(duì)伍一同前往。班揚(yáng)叔叔、喬里、席恩·葛雷喬伊和羅德利克爵士他們都跟著一道去，就連王后的滑稽小弟也在隊(duì)伍中。畢竟這是他們?cè)诒狈阶詈蟮拇颢C機(jī)會(huì)，明天，國(guó)王的隊(duì)伍就要?jiǎng)由砟舷隆?/p>
?? Bran had been left behind with Jon and thegirls and Rickon. But Rickon was only a baby and the girls were only girls andJon and his wolf were nowhere to be found. Bran did not look for him very hard.He thought Jon was angry at him. Jon seemed to be angry at everyone these days.Bran did not know why. He was going with Uncle Ben to the Wall, to join theNight’s Watch. That was almost as good as going south with the king. Robb wasthe one they were leaving behind, not Jon.
布蘭和瓊恩、姐姐們以及瑞肯留在城里。瑞肯只是個(gè)小娃娃，女孩子們本來就不喜歡打獵，而瓊恩和他的小狼則跑得不見蹤影。布蘭也沒有努力去找他，因?yàn)樗X得瓊恩似乎在生自己的氣。瓊恩這幾天似乎在生城里每一個(gè)人的氣，布蘭很納悶，他要和班揚(yáng)叔叔到長(zhǎng)城去加入守夜人軍團(tuán)，那可不是和跟國(guó)王南下一樣的好事嗎？要留在家里的人是羅柏，不是瓊恩呀。
?? For days, Bran could scarcely wait to beoff. He was going to ride the kingsroad on a horse of his own, not a pony but areal horse. His father would be the Hand of the King, and they were going tolive in the red castle at King’s Landing, the castle the Dragonlords had built.Old Nan said there were ghosts there, and dungeons where terrible things hadbeen done, and dragon heads on the walls. It gave Bran a shiver just to thinkof it, but he was not afraid. How could he be afraid? His father would be withhim, and the king with all his knights and sworn swords.
這幾天來，布蘭興奮得坐立不安。他很快就要在國(guó)王大道上策馬馳騁了，不是騎小馬喔，而是騎真正的駿馬。父親將成為國(guó)王的首相，他們會(huì)搬進(jìn)君臨，住進(jìn)龍王建造的“紅堡”。老奶媽說那里鬧鬼，地牢里有不為人知的恐怖酷刑，墻上還掛著龍頭。布蘭光想想就渾身打顫，但他卻不害怕，有什么好怕的呢？他有父親保護(hù)，還有國(guó)王和他所有的騎士與宣誓效忠的武士呢。
?? Bran was going to be a knight himself someday, one of the Kingsguard. Old Nan said they were the finest swords in allthe realm. There were only seven of them, and they wore white armor and had nowives or children, but lived only to serve the king. Bran knew all the stories.Their names were like music to him. Serwyn of the Mirror Shield. Ser RyamRedwyne. Prince Aemon the Dragonknight. The twins Ser Erryk and Ser Arryk, whohad died on one another’s swords hundreds of years ago, when brother foughtsister in the war the singers called the Dance of the Dragons. The White Bull,Gerold Hightower. Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. Barristan theBold.
有朝一日布蘭自己也要當(dāng)騎士，加入國(guó)王的御林鐵衛(wèi)。老奶媽說他們是全國(guó)最優(yōu)秀的戰(zhàn)士。御林鐵衛(wèi)一共只有七人，身穿白衣白甲，沒有任何家室牽累，活著的惟一目的就是守護(hù)國(guó)王。關(guān)于他們的故事布蘭早就聽得滾瓜爛熟，倒背如流了：“鏡盾”薩文，萊安·雷德溫爵士，龍騎士伊蒙王子，幾百年前死在對(duì)方劍下的孿生兄弟伊利克爵士和亞歷克爵士——那是一場(chǎng)骨肉相殘，姐弟交戰(zhàn)，被后世吟游詩人稱為“血龍狂舞”的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，還有“白牛”杰洛·海陶爾，“拂曉神劍”亞瑟·戴恩爵士，以及“無畏的”巴利斯坦。
?? Two of the Kingsguard had come north withKing Robert. Bran had watched them with fascination, never quite daring tospeak to them. Ser Boros was a bald man with a jowly face, and Ser Meryn haddroopy eyes and a beard the color of rust. Ser Jaime Lannister looked more likethe knights in the stories, and he was of the Kingsguard too, but Robb said hehad killed the old mad king and shouldn’t count anymore. The greatest livingknight was Ser Barristan Selmy, Barristan the Bold, the Lord Commander of theKingsguard. Father had promised that they would meet Ser Barristan when theyreached King’s Landing, and Bran had been marking the days on his wall, eagerto depart, to see a world he had only dreamed of and begin a life he couldscarcely imagine.
這次有兩名御林鐵衛(wèi)和勞勃國(guó)王一同北來，布蘭瞠目結(jié)舌地看著他們，始終不敢上前攀談。柏洛斯爵士是個(gè)禿了頂、雙下巴的人，馬林爵士則兩眼低垂，須如鐵銹。只有詹姆·蘭尼斯特爵士看起來比較像故事里的偉大騎士，他也是七鐵衛(wèi)之一，不過羅柏說他殺了瘋狂的老王，已經(jīng)不能算御林鐵衛(wèi)了。如今世上最偉大的騎士是巴利斯坦·賽爾彌爵士，人稱“無畏的”巴利斯坦，他是御林鐵衛(wèi)隊(duì)長(zhǎng)。父親答應(yīng)過他們，等抵達(dá)君臨之后，一定會(huì)讓他們見見巴利斯坦爵士。布蘭每天在墻上畫記號(hào)數(shù)日子，迫不及待想動(dòng)身出發(fā)，去看看一個(gè)以往只存在于夢(mèng)中的世界，過另一種從來無法想像的生活。
?? Yet now that the last day was at hand,suddenly Bran felt lost. Winterfell had been the only home he had ever known.His father had told him that he ought to say his farewells today, and he hadtried. After the hunt had ridden out, he wandered through the castle with hiswolf at his side, intending to visit the ones who would be left behind, Old Nanand Gage the cook, Mikken in his smithy, Hodor the stableboy who smiled so muchand took care of his pony and never said anything but “Hodor,” the man in theglass gardens who gave him a blackberry when he came to visit?.?.?.?
可現(xiàn)在離出發(fā)只剩一天，布蘭卻突然若有所失起來。臨冬城是他惟一熟悉的家園，父親叮囑他今天要向大家道別，他也盡力去試。打獵隊(duì)伍離開后，他帶著小狼在城堡里閑逛，打算和熟人們一個(gè)個(gè)說再見。老奶媽、廚師蓋吉，鐵匠密肯，還有負(fù)責(zé)幫他照顧小馬，成天咧著嘴笑，除了“阿多”兩個(gè)字以外，一句話也不會(huì)講的馬夫阿多。每次布蘭去玻璃花園玩，阿多總會(huì)給他一顆黑莓。
?? But it was no good. He had gone to thestable first, and seen his pony there in its stall, except it wasn’t his ponyanymore, he was getting a real horse and leaving the pony behind, and all of asudden Bran just wanted to sit down and cry. He turned and ran off before Hodorand the other stableboys could see the tears in his eyes. That was the end ofhis farewells. Instead Bran spent the morning alone in the godswood, trying toteach his wolf to fetch a stick, and failing. The wolfling was smarter than anyof the hounds in his father’s kennel and Bran would have sworn he understoodevery word that was said to him, but he showed very little interest in chasingsticks.
但他開不了口。他先去了馬廄，看到自己的小馬，只是現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)不屬于他了。他很快便會(huì)擁有一匹真正的馬，而把小馬留在這里，突然間布蘭好想坐下來放聲大哭，于是他趕緊跑開，以免阿多和其他馬夫見到他眼中的淚水。他總共就說了這么一次再見，之后便一早上獨(dú)自躲在神木林里，教他的小狼把丟出去的樹枝叼回來，卻徒勞無功。他的小狼比父親獸舍里所有的獵狗都要聰明，他幾乎可以肯定他聽得懂他說的每一句話。只可惜他對(duì)叼樹枝似乎沒多少興趣。
?? He was still trying to decide on a name.Robb was calling his Grey Wind, because he ran so fast. Sansa had named hersLady, and Arya named hers after some old witch queen in the songs, and littleRickon called his Shaggydog, which Bran thought was a pretty stupid name for adirewolf. Jon’s wolf, the white one, was Ghost. Bran wished he had thought ofthat first, even though his wolf wasn’t white. He had tried a hundred names inthe last fortnight, but none of them sounded right.
他到現(xiàn)在還無法決定給它取什么名字。羅柏的狼叫做“灰風(fēng)”，因?yàn)樗芷饋硌附萑顼L(fēng)；珊莎的叫做“淑女”；艾莉亞用歌謠里某個(gè)古老的女巫王為她的狼命名；小瑞肯則把他的狼叫做“毛毛狗”——布蘭覺得給冰原狼起這種名字實(shí)在很蠢；瓊恩的那只白狼叫白靈。布蘭真希望自己比瓊恩先想到這個(gè)名字，即使他的狼毛色不是很白。過去這兩周以來，他不知道已經(jīng)想過多少名字了，偏偏就是沒一個(gè)聽來順耳。
?? Finally he got tired of the stick game anddecided to go climbing. He hadn’t been up to the broken tower for weeks witheverything that had happened, and this might be his last chance.
最后他累了，便決定去爬墻。最近發(fā)生了這么多事情，他已經(jīng)好幾個(gè)星期沒爬到殘塔上玩了，這說不定還是他最后的機(jī)會(huì)呢。
?? He raced across the godswood, taking thelong way around to avoid the pool where the heart tree grew. The heart tree hadalways frightened him; trees ought not have eyes, Bran thought, or leaves thatlooked like hands. His wolf came sprinting at his heels. “You stay here,” hetold him at the base of the sentinel tree near the armory wall. “Lie down.That’s right. Now stay...”
于是他拔腿跑過神木林，還特地繞路避開心樹旁邊的那泓冷泉。布蘭一直很怕心樹，他總覺得樹不應(yīng)該長(zhǎng)眼睛，葉子也不該生成手掌的模樣。小狼跟在他身邊?！澳懔粼谶@兒?！彼谖淦鲙靿ν馍诒鴺湎聦?duì)它說，“乖乖躺下，對(duì)，就這樣，留在這兒別動(dòng)——”
?? The wolf did as he was told. Bran scratchedhim behind the ears, then turned away, jumped, grabbed a low branch, and pulledhimself up. He was halfway up the tree, moving easily from limb to limb, whenthe wolf got to his feet and began to howl.
小狼果然乖乖地留在原地，布蘭搔了搔它的耳后根，然后轉(zhuǎn)身一躍，抓住低垂的枝干，一翻身便上了樹?？僧?dāng)他爬到一半，正游刃有余地穿梭枝丫時(shí)，小狼卻霍地起身嗥叫開來。
?? Bran looked back down. His wolf fell silent,staring up at him through slitted yellow eyes. A strange chill went throughhim. He began to climb again. Once more the wolf howled. “Quiet,” he yelled.“Sit down. Stay. You’re worse than Mother.” The howling chased him all the wayup the tree, until finally he jumped off onto the armory roof and out of sight.
布蘭低頭一看，小狼便立刻安靜，睜大那雙亮閃閃的黃色眼珠往上瞧。布蘭覺得有股詭異的寒意流貫全身。他繼續(xù)爬，小狼又繼續(xù)嗥?！皠e叫啦！”他喊，“乖乖坐好別動(dòng)，你比媽還煩。”然而狼嗥卻一直跟隨著他，直到他跳上武器庫屋頂，消失了蹤影為止。
?? The rooftops of Winterfell were Bran’ssecond home. His mother often said that Bran could climb before he could walk.Bran could not remember when he first learned to walk, but he could notremember when he started to climb either, so he supposed it must be true.
臨冬城的屋頂幾乎可算是布蘭的第二個(gè)家，母親總說他連走路都還沒學(xué)會(huì)，就先學(xué)會(huì)爬墻啦。布蘭既不記得自己什么時(shí)候?qū)W會(huì)走路，也不知道自己什么時(shí)候?qū)W會(huì)爬墻，所以他猜她說得應(yīng)該沒錯(cuò)。
?? To a boy, Winterfell was a grey stonelabyrinth of walls and towers and courtyards and tunnels spreading out in alldirections. In the older parts of the castle, the halls slanted up and down sothat you couldn’t even be sure what floor you were on. The place had grown overthe centuries like some monstrous stone tree, Maester Luwin told him once, andits branches were gnarled and thick and twisted, its roots sunk deep into theearth.
對(duì)一個(gè)小男孩而言，臨冬城的城墻高塔、庭院甬道就像是座灰石砌成的廣袤迷宮。在城堡比較老舊的部分，無數(shù)廳堂四處傾斜，容易讓人產(chǎn)生不知置身何處之感。魯溫學(xué)士曾說，幾千年來，城堡就像一棵不斷蔓生的怪物般的石頭巨樹，枝干扭曲，盤根錯(cuò)節(jié)。
?? When he got out from under it and scrambledup near the sky, Bran could see all of Winterfell in a glance. He liked the wayit looked, spread out beneath him, only birds wheeling over his head while allthe life of the castle went on below. Bran could perch for hours among theshapeless, rain-worn gargoyles that brooded over the First Keep, watching itall: the men drilling with wood and steel in the yard, the cooks tending theirvegetables in the glass garden, restless dogs running back and forth in thekennels, the silence of the godswood, the girls gossiping beside the washingwell. It made him feel like he was lord of the castle, in a way even Robb wouldnever know.
當(dāng)布蘭穿過錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜的傾頹古城，爬到接近天空的地方，全城的景致終于一覽無遺。他很喜歡臨冬城在他面前展開的遼闊樣貌，城堡里的一切熙來攘往、人聲喧嘩都在他腳下，惟有天際飛鳥在頭上盤旋。布蘭往往就這樣趴在首堡之上，置身在形狀早已不復(fù)辨識(shí)、被風(fēng)霜雨雪摧殘殆盡的石像鬼間，俯瞰下方的城間百態(tài)?？粗鴱V場(chǎng)上拖運(yùn)木材和鋼鐵的長(zhǎng)工，看著玻璃花園里采集菜蔬的廚師，看著犬舍里來回奔跑、局促不安的獵狗，看著靜默無語的神木林，看著深井邊交頭接耳的女侍，仿佛他才是城堡真正的主人，即使羅柏也無法體會(huì)這種境界。
?? It taught him Winterfell’s secrets too. Thebuilders had not even leveled the earth; there were hills and valleys behindthe walls of Winterfell. There was a covered bridge that went from the fourthfloor of the bell tower across to the second floor of the rookery. Bran knewabout that. And he knew you could get inside the inner wall by the south gate,climb three floors and run all the way around Winterfell through a narrowtunnel in the stone, and then come out on ground level at the north gate, witha hundred feet of wall looming over you. Even Maester Luwin didn’t know that,Bran was convinced.
他也因此挖掘出臨冬城許多不為人知的秘密，比如當(dāng)初建筑工人并沒有把城堡附近的地勢(shì)鏟平，所以城墻外面不但有起伏丘陵，還有溪澗峽谷。布蘭知道一座密閉的橋道，可以從鐘塔的四樓直接通鴉巢的二層。他還知道如何從南門進(jìn)入內(nèi)城墻里邊，順著門梯爬三層，便能找到一條狹窄的石砌甬道，它可以繞行臨冬城，最后抵達(dá)位于百尺高墻陰影下的北門底層。布蘭相信就連魯溫師傅也不知道這條捷徑。
?? His mother was terrified that one day Branwould slip off a wall and kill himself. He told her that he wouldn’t, but shenever believed him. Once she made him promise that he would stay on the ground.He had managed to keep that promise for almost a fortnight, miserable everyday, until one night he had gone out the window of his bedroom when hisbrothers were fast asleep.
母親一直很害怕布蘭哪天會(huì)不小心滑下來，失足摔死。任他再三保證，她卻怎么也不肯相信。有次她強(qiáng)迫他發(fā)誓不再往高處爬，結(jié)果這個(gè)諾言只勉強(qiáng)維持了兩個(gè)星期，他每天都痛苦無比，最后有一天夜里，趁他兄弟熟睡的時(shí)候，他還是爬出了臥房窗戶。
?? He confessed his crime the next day in a fitof guilt. Lord Eddard ordered him to the godswood to cleanse himself. Guardswere posted to see that Bran remained there alone all night to reflect on hisdisobedience. The next morning Bran was nowhere to be seen. They finally foundhim fast asleep in the upper branches of the tallest sentinel in the grove.
翌日他滿懷罪惡感地自行招認(rèn)，艾德公爵叫他獨(dú)自去神木林懺悔，還派了守衛(wèi)監(jiān)視，以確保他整晚都在林子里反省他不聽話的行為。沒想到第二天清晨，布蘭卻不見蹤影，最后眾人是在林間最高的一棵哨兵樹的上層枝干找到睡得正香甜的他。
?? As angry as he was, his father could nothelp but laugh. “You’re not my son,” he told Bran when they fetched him down,“you’re a squirrel. So be it. If you must climb, then climb, but try not to letyour mother see you.”
盡管父親氣得半死，終于還是忍不住笑道：“你一定不是我兒子，”當(dāng)其他人把布蘭抱下來時(shí)，他對(duì)兒子說，“你根本是只松鼠。算了，我認(rèn)了，如果你真的非爬不可，那就去爬吧，盡量別讓你母親瞧見就是?！?/p>
?? Bran did his best, although he did not thinkhe ever really fooled her. Since his father would not forbid it, she turned toothers. Old Nan told him a story about a bad little boy who climbed too highand was struck down by lightning, and how afterward the crows came to peck outhis eyes. Bran was not impressed. There were crows’ nests atop the brokentower, where no one ever went but him, and sometimes he filled his pockets withcorn before he climbed up there and the crows ate it right out of his hand. Noneof them had ever shown the slightest bit of interest in pecking out his eyes.
布蘭很努力，雖然他認(rèn)為母親對(duì)他的舉動(dòng)其實(shí)一清二楚。既然父親不愿阻止他四處攀爬，她便轉(zhuǎn)而采取迂回策略。首先來的是老奶媽，她跟他講了一個(gè)故事，說從前有個(gè)不聽話的壞小孩，越爬越高，最后被雷活活劈死，死后烏鴉還來啄他眼睛。布蘭聽了不為所動(dòng)，因?yàn)闅埶隙嗟氖菫貘f窠巢，那里除了他沒人會(huì)去，所以有時(shí)他會(huì)在口袋里裝滿玉米。一上塔頂，烏鴉便都開開心心地聚攏來從他手心啄食，怎么也不像會(huì)啄他眼睛的模樣。
?? Later, Maester Luwin built a little potteryboy and dressed him in Bran’s clothes and flung him off the wall into the yardbelow, to demonstrate what would happen to Bran if he fell. That had been fun,but afterward Bran just looked at the maester and said, “I’m not made of clay.And anyhow, I never fall.”
眼看這招無效，魯溫師傅便用陶土捏了個(gè)小男孩，為它穿上布蘭的衣服，然后從城墻上丟下去，好讓布蘭了解他若是摔下，會(huì)有多么凄慘的結(jié)果。那是個(gè)有趣的實(shí)驗(yàn)，但事后布蘭卻只盯著魯溫師傅，面無表情地說：“我不是泥做的，而且我絕對(duì)不會(huì)摔下去?！?/p>
?? Then for a while the guards would chase himwhenever they saw him on the roofs, and try to haul him down. That was the besttime of all. It was like playing a game with his brothers, except that Branalways won. None of the guards could climb half so well as Bran, not even Jory.Most of the time they never saw him anyway. People never looked up. That wasanother thing he liked about climbing; it was almost like being invisible.
在此之后，輪到了城里的守衛(wèi)，有一段時(shí)間，只要他們發(fā)現(xiàn)他在屋頂上，就會(huì)吆喝追趕，想把他趕下來。那是最緊張刺激的時(shí)刻了，簡(jiǎn)直就像和哥哥弟弟們玩游戲，只不過，這游戲每次都是布蘭獲勝。衛(wèi)兵們誰也沒有布蘭這種本事，連喬里也拿他沒轍。不過多數(shù)時(shí)候他們根本就沒看見他，人是從來不往上看的。這也是他喜歡爬墻的原因之一，仿佛可以因此隱身遁形。
?? He liked how it felt too, pulling himself upa wall stone by stone, fingers and toes digging hard into the small crevicesbetween. He always took off his boots and went barefoot when he climbed; itmade him feel as if he had four hands instead of two. He liked the deep, sweetache it left in the muscles afterward. He liked the way the air tasted way uphigh, sweet and cold as a winter peach. He liked the birds: the crows in thebroken tower, the tiny little sparrows that nested in cracks between thestones, the ancient owl that slept in the dusty loft above the old armory. Branknew them all.
他很喜歡攀爬時(shí)那種一石高過一石，手腳并用，聚精會(huì)神的感覺。每次他都先把靴子脫掉，然后光著腳丫爬墻，如此一來讓他覺得自己多出兩只手。他喜歡每次事后渾身肌肉那種疲累卻甜絲絲的酸疼；喜歡高處清冽的空氣，冰冷甘美宛如冬雪甜桃；喜歡各式各樣的鳥類，包括群聚殘塔上的大烏鴉，筑巢亂石間的小麻雀和棲息在舊武器庫積滿灰塵閣樓里的老夜梟。布蘭對(duì)這些事物通通了如指掌。
?? Most of all, he liked going places that noone else could go, and seeing the grey sprawl of Winterfell in a way that noone else ever saw it. It made the whole castle Bran’s secret place.
不過他最喜歡的還是登上人跡罕至的地方，看著城堡以一種不曾為他人展示的樣貌，在眼前灰蒙蒙地呈現(xiàn)出來。整座臨冬城似乎都因此成了布蘭的秘密基地。
?? His favorite haunt was the broken tower.Once it had been a watchtower, the tallest in Winterfell. A long time ago, ahundred years before even his father had been born, a lightning strike had setit afire. The top third of the structure had collapsed inward, and the towerhad never been rebuilt. Sometimes his father sent ratters into the base of thetower, to clean out the nests they always found among the jumble of fallenstones and charred and rotten beams. But no one ever got up to the jagged topof the structure now except for Bran and the crows.
他對(duì)曾是臨冬城最高瞭望臺(tái)的殘塔情有獨(dú)鐘。很久很久以前，在他父親出生前約一百年，高塔遭暴雷擊中，起火燃燒，頂端三分之一的建筑朝塔內(nèi)崩塌，自此以后始終沒有重建。父親偶爾會(huì)派人進(jìn)到殘塔底層清理斷垣殘壁間的老鼠窩，然而除了布蘭和烏鴉，從來沒有人登上過塔頂廢墟。
?? He knew two ways to get there. You couldclimb straight up the side of the tower itself, but the stones were loose, themortar that held them together long gone to ash, and Bran never liked to puthis full weight on them.
他知道兩種登上塔頂?shù)耐緩?，一是直接從殘塔外圍爬上去，但是由于?dāng)年刷的泥漿早已干燥風(fēng)化，磚石容易松落，因此布蘭爬的時(shí)候不太敢把重心放在上面。
?? The best way was to start from the godswood,shinny up the tall sentinel, and cross over the armory and the guards hall,leaping roof to roof, barefoot so the guards wouldn’t hear you overhead. Thatbrought you up to the blind side of the First Keep, the oldest part of thecastle, a squat round fortress that was taller than it looked. Only rats andspiders lived there now but the old stones still made for good climbing. Youcould go straight up to where the gargoyles leaned out blindly over emptyspace, and swing from gargoyle to gargoyle, hand over hand, around to the northside. From there, if you really stretched, you could reach out and pullyourself over to the broken tower where it leaned close. The last part was thescramble up the blackened stones to the eyrie, no more than ten feet, and thenthe crows would come round to see if you’d brought any corn.
最好的方法還是從神木林出發(fā)，爬上高高的哨兵樹，從武器庫的屋頂跳到守衛(wèi)室的屋頂，其間光著腳以免守衛(wèi)聽見，如此便可順利抵達(dá)城中最古老的首堡后方。那是座低矮的圓形堡壘，其實(shí)它比乍看上去要高得多。如今堡內(nèi)雖只有老鼠和蜘蛛，但當(dāng)年建筑的古老石塊仍舊提供了攀爬的最佳場(chǎng)所。你甚至可以直接爬到眼神空洞的石像鬼雕像駐守的空曠高臺(tái)，兩手勾緊，從這個(gè)石像鬼懸蕩到那個(gè)石像鬼，隨后抵達(dá)城樓北端。接著，只要全力伸展，便可夠到傾斜的殘塔。最后的部分只是翻越焦黑的亂石堆登上養(yǎng)鷹樓，爬不到十尺，烏鴉群便會(huì)競(jìng)相迎接，看你有沒有帶玉米粒給它們了。
?? Bran was moving from gargoyle to gargoylewith the ease of long practice when he heard the voices. He was so startled healmost lost his grip. The First Keep had been empty all his life.
這天布蘭一如往常，駕輕就熟地在石像鬼雕像間蕩來蕩去，不料卻聽到說話的聲音。他嚇得差點(diǎn)松手，首堡向來是個(gè)人跡罕至的地方呀！
?? “I do not like it,” a woman was saying.There was a row of windows beneath him, and the voice was drifting out of the lastwindow on this side. “You should be the Hand.”
“我不喜歡這樣，”有個(gè)女人的聲音說。布蘭下方有一排窗戶，聲音是從最后一扇窗里傳出來的，“當(dāng)首相的該是你才對(duì)?！?/p>
?? “Gods forbid,” a man’s voice replied lazily.“It’s not an honor I’d want. There’s far too much work involved.”
“饒了我罷，”一個(gè)男人的聲音慵懶地回答，“這種苦差我可不想攬，想做的事多著呢?！?/p>
?? Bran hung, listening, suddenly afraid to goon. They might glimpse his feet if he tried to swing by.
布蘭懸在半空，靜靜地聽著，突然心生恐懼，不敢再往前蕩，生怕經(jīng)過時(shí)自己的雙腳會(huì)被他們發(fā)現(xiàn)。
?? “Don’t you see the danger this puts us in?”the woman said. “Robert loves the man like a brother.”
“你難道看不出背后隱藏的危險(xiǎn)？”女人接著說，“勞勃把那家伙當(dāng)親兄弟一樣?！?/p>
?? “Robert can barely stomach his brothers. Notthat I blame him. Stannis would be enough to give anyone indigestion.”
“勞勃最受不了他兩個(gè)弟弟。我也不怪他，有史坦尼斯那樣的老弟，任誰都要反胃?！?/p>
?? “Don’t play the fool. Stannis and Renly areone thing, and Eddard Stark is quite another. Robert will listen to Stark. Damnthem both. I should have insisted that he name you, but I was certain Starkwould refuse him.”
“別傻了，史坦尼斯和藍(lán)禮是一回事，艾德·史塔克又是另一回事。勞勃對(duì)史塔克會(huì)言聽計(jì)從。這兩人都該下地獄，早知道我就堅(jiān)持要他選你當(dāng)首相。我一直以為史塔克會(huì)拒絕他。”
?? “We ought to count ourselves fortunate,” theman said. “The king might as easily have named one of his brothers, or evenLittlefinger, gods help us. Give me honorable enemies rather than ambitiousones, and I’ll sleep more easily by night.”
“我們這樣已經(jīng)算走運(yùn)啦，”男人道，“諸神在上，誰知道國(guó)王會(huì)不會(huì)叫他弟弟或那個(gè)小指頭來當(dāng)首相。比起野心勃勃的對(duì)手，讓我面對(duì)講究榮譽(yù)的敵人，可能還會(huì)睡得安穩(wěn)些。”
?? They were talking about Father, Branrealized. He wanted to hear more. A few more feet?.?.?.?but they would see himif he swung out in front of the window.
布蘭這才會(huì)意，他們談?wù)摰恼歉赣H！他想多聽一些，再靠近幾尺……可他如果蕩過那扇窗戶，他們一定會(huì)看到他的腳。
?? “We will have to watch him carefully,” thewoman said.
“我們得好好監(jiān)視他才行?！迸苏f。
?? “I would sooner watch you,” the man said. Hesounded bored. “Come back here.”
“我寧愿好好看看你，”男人說，他的語氣聽起來很無趣，“過來吧?！?/p>
?? “Lord Eddard has never taken any interest inanything that happened south of the Neck,” the woman said. “Never. I tell you,he means to move against us. Why else would he leave the seat of his power?”
“艾德公爵從沒插手過南方的事務(wù)，”女人道，“從來沒有。我告訴你，他明明就是要對(duì)付我們，不然何必離開他的勢(shì)力中心？”
?? “A hundred reasons. Duty. Honor. He yearnsto write his name large across the book of history, to get away from his wife,or both. Perhaps he just wants to be warm for once in his life.”
“理由多的是，責(zé)任心、榮譽(yù)感都有可能，或者他想名垂青史，或者他們夫妻不和，甚至兩者皆有，也或許他只想找個(gè)溫暖的地方住住而已?！?/p>
?? “His wife is Lady Arryn’s sister. It’s awonder Lysa was not here to greet us with her accusations.”
“他太太是艾林夫人的姐姐，萊莎竟然沒有跑到這里，用她的指控歡迎我們，已經(jīng)很難得了?！?/p>
?? Bran looked down. There was a narrow ledgebeneath the window, only a few inches wide. He tried to lower himself towardit. Too far. He would never reach.
布蘭往下看去，窗子下方只有個(gè)幾寸寬的窗欞，他試著放低身子，但是距離太遠(yuǎn)，夠不到。
?? “You fret too much. Lysa Arryn is afrightened cow.”
“你想太多啦，艾林夫人不過是頭嚇壞的母牛嘛?！?/p>
?? “That frightened cow shared Jon Arryn’sbed.”
“這頭母?？墒呛铜偠鳌ぐ滞补舱淼??！?/p>
?? “If she knew anything, she would have goneto Robert before she fled King’s Landing.”
“假如她知道，早在離開君臨之前就去找勞勃告狀了。”
?? “When he had already agreed to foster thatweakling son of hers at Casterly Rock? I think not. She knew the boy’s lifewould be hostage to her silence. She may grow bolder now that he’s safe atopthe Eyrie.”
“在他剛剛決定要把她那沒用的兒子送去凱巖城作養(yǎng)子的時(shí)候？我想不會(huì)。她自己也明白如此一來她兒子會(huì)成為人質(zhì)，威脅她不準(zhǔn)說出實(shí)情?，F(xiàn)在回到了鷹巢城，只怕她膽子會(huì)大起來?！?/p>
?? “Mothers.” The man made the word sound likea curse. “I think birthing does something to your minds. You are all mad.” Helaughed. It was a bitter sound. “Let Lady Arryn grow as bold as she likes.Whatever she knows, whatever she thinks she knows, she has no proof.” He pauseda moment. “Or does she?”
“作母親的都一個(gè)樣，”男人把“母親”一詞說得仿佛是個(gè)詛咒，“我總認(rèn)為生產(chǎn)會(huì)燒壞腦子，你們?nèi)集偭??！彼酀匦π?，“不管她究竟知道什么，或自以為知道多少，反正她沒有證據(jù)?！彼Ａ艘粫?huì)兒，“她有么？”
?? “Do you think the king will require proof?”the woman said. “I tell you, he loves me not.”
“告訴我，你覺得國(guó)王會(huì)需要什么證據(jù)？”女人回答，“他根本就不愛我！”
?? “And whose fault is that, sweet sister?”
“好姐姐，這是誰的錯(cuò)??？”
?? Bran studied the ledge. He could drop down.It was too narrow to land on, but if he could catch hold as he fell past, pullhimself up?.?.?.?except that might make a noise, draw them to the window. Hewas not sure what he was hearing, but he knew it was not meant for his ears.
布蘭仔細(xì)看看窗欞，他應(yīng)該可以跳下去，雖然窗欞太窄，沒法站穩(wěn)，但他可以在墜落的時(shí)候鉤住，然后再攀上去……怕只怕會(huì)弄出聲音，引來他們的注意。他不太了解所聽到的事情，只是很確定這些話不是說給他聽的。
?? “You are as blind as Robert,” the woman wassaying.
“你和勞勃一樣都瞎了眼。”女人說。
?? “If you mean I see the same thing, yes,” theman said. “I see a man who would sooner die than betray his king.”
“如果你的意思是我和他看法一致，沒有錯(cuò)，”男人答道，“我眼中的艾德·史塔克是個(gè)寧死也不愿背叛國(guó)王的人?！?/p>
?? “He betrayed one already, or have youforgotten?” the woman said. “Oh, I don’t deny he’s loyal to Robert, that’sobvious. What happens when Robert dies and Joff takes the throne? And thesooner that comes to pass, the safer we’ll all be. My husband grows morerestless every day. Having Stark beside him will only make him worse. He’s stillin love with the sister, the insipid little dead sixteen-year-old. How longtill he decides to put me aside for some new Lyanna?”
“他已經(jīng)背叛過一個(gè)國(guó)王，你難道忘了嗎？”女人道，“噢，我不否認(rèn)他對(duì)勞勃忠心耿耿，這毋庸置疑，但要是勞勃死了，小喬繼承王位呢？而勞勃越早死，我們便越安全。我丈夫近來愈加焦躁不安，讓史塔克隨侍他身旁只會(huì)讓情況惡化。他到現(xiàn)在還愛著那個(gè)死了的十六歲小妹，誰知道哪天他會(huì)為了新的萊安娜，把我丟到一邊？”
?? Bran was suddenly very frightened. He wantednothing so much as to go back the way he had come, to find his brothers. Onlywhat would he tell them? He had to get closer, Bran realized. He had to see whowas talking.
布蘭突然覺得害怕極了，此時(shí)的他只想趕快循原路回去，去找他的兄弟尋求協(xié)助。然而他要告訴他們些什么呢？布蘭明白自己非再靠近一點(diǎn)不可，他得看看說話的人是誰。
?? The man sighed. “You should think less aboutthe future and more about the pleasures at hand.”
男人嘆道：“你別老擔(dān)心未來的事，多想想眼前的幸福罷?！?/p>
?? “Stop that!” the woman said. Bran heard thesudden slap of flesh on flesh, then the man’s laughter.
“少說這種話！”女人斥道。布蘭聽到突如其來的皮肉拍打，接著又聽見男人的笑聲。
?? Bran pulled himself up, climbed over thegargoyle, crawled out onto the roof. This was the easy way. He moved across theroof to the next gargoyle, right above the window of the room where they weretalking.
布蘭決定往上攀，翻過石像鬼，爬到屋頂上。這是比較容易的路徑，他跑到下一只石像鬼雕像旁，恰好在傳出說話聲的房間正上方。
?? “All this talk is getting very tiresome,sister,” the man said. “Come here and be quiet.”
“好姐姐，盡說些這種事，說得我都累了?！蹦腥苏f，“閉上嘴巴過來吧。”
?? Bran sat astride the gargoyle, tightened hislegs around it, and swung himself around, upside down. He hung by his legs andslowly stretched his head down toward the window. The world looked strangeupside down. A courtyard swam dizzily below him, its stones still wet withmelted snow.
布蘭跨坐在石像鬼雕像上，兩腿夾緊，然后整個(gè)人頭朝下倒轉(zhuǎn)過去。他兩腳緊勾住石像，緩緩地把頭靠近窗邊。上下顛倒的世界感覺非常怪異，庭院在他下方天旋地轉(zhuǎn)地晃動(dòng)，磚石上還留有未化的殘雪。
?? Bran looked in the window.
布蘭從窗外向里看去。
?? Inside the room, a man and a woman werewrestling. They were both naked. Bran could not tell who they were. The man’sback was to him, and his body screened the woman from view as he pushed her upagainst a wall.
房間內(nèi)一男一女正扭成一團(tuán)，兩人都沒穿衣服。布蘭認(rèn)不出他們是誰，男人背對(duì)著他，不斷地將女人往墻邊推擠，他的身體恰好擋住了女人的臉。
?? There were soft, wet sounds. Bran realizedthey were kissing. He watched, wide-eyed and frightened, his breath tight inhis throat. The man had a hand down between her legs, and he must have beenhurting her there, because the woman started to moan, low in her throat. “Stopit,” she said, “stop it, stop it. Oh, please?.?.?.?” But her voice was low andweak, and she did not push him away. Her hands buried themselves in his hair,his tangled golden hair, and pulled his face down to her breast.
屋內(nèi)有種細(xì)小而濡濕的聲音，布蘭發(fā)覺他們正在親嘴。他張大眼睛，呼吸急促，驚恐地看著房里發(fā)生的這一切。男人伸手到女人兩腿間，他一定弄痛了她，因?yàn)榕碎_始低聲呻吟：“別……別這樣，”她說，“住手，住手，噢，求求你……”可她的聲音細(xì)小微弱，又始終沒有把他推開。她反而把雙手埋進(jìn)他凌亂的亮金色頭發(fā)里，把他的臉往自己胸前拉。
?? Bran saw her face. Her eyes were closed andher mouth was open, moaning. Her golden hair swung from side to side as herhead moved back and forth, but still he recognized the queen.
布蘭這才見著她的臉。雖然她緊閉雙眼，張嘴呻吟，金發(fā)隨著頭部動(dòng)作而劇烈晃動(dòng)，他仍然認(rèn)出她是王后。
?? He must have made a noise. Suddenly her eyesopened, and she was staring right at him. She screamed.
此時(shí)他一定是不小心發(fā)出了什么聲音，只見她突然睜開眼睛，視線直直地盯著他，然后驚聲尖叫起來。
?? Everything happened at once then. ‘ Thewoman pushed the man away wildly, shouting and pointing. Bran tried to pullhimself up, bending double as he reached for the gargoyle. He was in too muchof a hurry. His hand scraped uselessly across smooth stone, and in his panic hislegs slipped, and suddenly he was failing. There was an instant of vertigo, asickening lurch as the window flashed past. He shot out a hand, grabbed for theledge, lost it, caught it again with his other hand. He swung against thebuilding, hard. The impact took the breath out of him. Bran dangled,one-handed, panting.
所有的事情都發(fā)生得好快。女人狂亂地推開男人，一邊指指點(diǎn)點(diǎn)，一邊大聲叫嚷。布蘭想把自己翻上去，使盡腰力鉤住石像鬼雕像，然而他使力太急，雙手只是擦過平滑的石像表面，隨后他心里一怕，雙腿松開，立刻就往下掉。他感到一陣暈眩，窗欞從他身邊疾速閃失，一種不舒服的惡心感由胃里升起。他慌忙伸出一只手想抓住窗欞，卻立刻滑開，趕緊又用另一只手牢牢抓緊。他狠狠地撞上了墻壁，猛烈的沖擊力道痛得他幾乎無法呼吸。布蘭單手抓住窗欞，在半空中懸晃，喘不過氣來。
?? Faces appeared in the window above him.
兩個(gè)人的臉同時(shí)出現(xiàn)在他上方的窗邊。
?? The queen. And now Bran recognized the manbeside her. They looked as much alike as reflections in a mirror.
的確是王后。這時(shí)布蘭也認(rèn)出了她旁邊的男人，他們相貌神似，站在一起宛如鏡子里的倒影。
?? “He saw us,” the woman said shrilly.
“他瞧見我們了。”女人尖聲道。
?? “So he did,” the man said.
“他是瞧見我們了?！蹦腥苏f。
?? Bran’s fingers started to slip. He grabbedthe ledge with his other hand. Fingernails dug into unyielding stone. The manreached down. “Take my hand,” he said. “Before you fall.”
布蘭的手指開始松脫，他換用另一只手勾窗欞，指甲深深地陷進(jìn)堅(jiān)硬的巖壁。男人向下伸手?！皝?，”他說，“快抓住我，別要掉下去?！?/p>
?? Bran seized his arm and held on tight withall his strength. The man yanked him up to the ledge. “What are you doing?” thewoman demanded.
布蘭使出渾身力氣抓住他的手，男人把他拉上窗臺(tái)?！澳阆胱鍪裁?？”女人質(zhì)問。
?? The man ignored her. He was very strong. Hestood Bran up on the sill. “How old are you, boy?”
男人沒有理會(huì)她，他用健壯有力的手，把布蘭扶到窗臺(tái)上站穩(wěn)?！靶」?，你幾歲啦？”
?? “Seven,” Bran said, shaking with relief. Hisfingers had dug deep gouges in the man’s forearm. He let go sheepishly.
“七歲。”布蘭聽了如釋重負(fù)，但仍舊不免發(fā)抖。他的指頭深深摳進(jìn)男人的手臂，這時(shí)連忙慚愧地放開。
?? The man looked over at the woman. “Thethings I do for love,” he said with loathing. He gave Bran a shove.
男人轉(zhuǎn)頭去看著女人?！昂煤孟胍幌?，我為愛情做了些什么。”他極不情愿地說，接著便用力把布蘭朝外一推。
?? Screaming, Bran went backward out the windowinto empty air. There was nothing to grab on to. The courtyard rushed up tomeet him.
布蘭尖叫著飛出窗外，落進(jìn)半空。這次沒有任何東西可以讓他抓握，庭院以瘋狂的速度朝他襲來。
?? Somewhere off in the distance, a wolf washowling. Crows circled the broken tower, waiting for corn.
邈遠(yuǎn)處，孤狼長(zhǎng)吼；殘塔上，烏鴉盤旋，猶然等待玉米之賜。
