ARYA
22 艾莉亞
Her father had
been fighting with the council again. Arya could see it on his face when he
came to table, late again, as he had been so often. The first course, a thick
sweet soup made with pumpkins, had already been taken away when Ned Stark
strode into the Small Hall. They called it that to set it apart from the Great
Hall, where the king could feast a thousand, but it was a long room with a high
vaulted ceiling and bench space for two hundred at its trestle tables.
那天父親大人又是很晚才來用飯，艾莉亞看得出他又跟朝廷鬧意見了。當奈德·史塔克大跨步走進“小廳”的時候，晚餐的第一道菜，那鍋濃稠的南瓜甜湯，早已被撤下桌去。他們把這兒叫做“小廳”，用以區(qū)別國王那足以容納千人的大廳。話雖如此，這里卻也不小，這是一間有著高聳圓頂?shù)莫M長房間，長凳上坐得下兩百號人。
“My lord,” Jory said when Father entered. He rose to his feet, and
the rest of the guard rose with him. Each man wore a new cloak, heavy grey wool
with a white satin border. A hand of beaten silver clutched the woolen folds of
each cloak and marked their wearers as men of the Hand’s household guard. There
were only fifty of them, so most of the benches were empty.
“大人?！备赣H進來時，喬里開口說。他站起來，其余的侍衛(wèi)也立即起身，他們個個穿著厚重的灰羊毛滾白緞邊的新斗篷，褶層上繡了一只銀手，標示他們是首相的貼身護衛(wèi)。由于總共才五十人，因此長凳顯得空蕩蕩的。
“Be seated,” Eddard Stark said. “I see you have started without me. I
am pleased to know there are still some men of sense in this city.” He signaled
for the meal to resume. The servants began bringing out platters of ribs,
roasted in a crust of garlic and herbs.
“坐下罷。”艾德·史塔克道，“我很高興這城里就你們還有點常識，至少知道先開動?！彼疽獯蠹依^續(xù)用餐，侍者端出一盤盤用蒜頭和草藥包裹的烤排骨。
“The talk in the yard is we shall have a tourney, my lord,” Jory said
as he resumed his seat. “They say that knights will come from all over the
realm to joust and feast in honor of your appointment as Hand of the King.”
“老爺，外面人人都在傳說要舉辦一場比武大會?！眴汤镒匚蛔??！奥犝f全國各地的騎士都會前來，為您的榮譽而戰(zhàn)，慶祝您走馬上任?！?/p>
Arya could see
that her father was not very happy about that. “Do they also say this is the
last thing in the world I would have wished?”
艾莉亞看得出父親對此不甚高興?！八麄冊趺床徽f這是我最不愿見到的事？”
Sansa’s eyes had
grown wide as the plates. “A tourney,” she breathed. She was seated between
Septa Mordane and Jeyne Poole, as far from Arya as she could get without
drawing a reproach from Father. “Will we be permitted to go, Father?”
珊莎的眼睛睜得跟盤子一樣大?！氨任浯髸??！彼丝跉?。她坐在茉丹修女和珍妮·普爾中間，在不引起父親注意的范圍內，盡可能離艾莉亞遠遠的?！案赣H大人，我們可以去嗎？”
“You know my feelings, Sansa. It seems I must arrange Robert’s games
and pretend to be honored for his sake. That does not mean I must subject my
daughters to this folly.”
“珊莎，你知道我對這件事的看法。這檔蠢事分明是勞勃自己的主意，我?guī)退I辦也就算了，還得假裝受寵若驚，但那不代表我必須帶女兒去參加?！?/p>
“Oh, please,” Sansa said. “I want to see.”
“哎喲，拜托嘛。”珊莎說，“人家好想去?！?/p>
Septa Mordane
spoke up. “Princess Myrcella will be there, my lord, and her younger than Lady
Sansa. All the ladies of the court will be expected at a grand event like this,
and as the tourney is in your honor, it would look queer if your family did not
attend.”
茉丹修女開口：“老爺，屆時彌賽
公主也會出席，而她年紀比珊莎小姐還小。遇到這種盛事，宮廷里的仕女們都應該出席。更何況這屆比武大會以您之名舉辦的，您的家人若不到場，可能有些不妥。”
Father looked
pained. “I suppose so. Very well, I shall arrange a place for you, Sansa.” He
saw Arya. “For both of you.”
父親神色痛苦?！拔蚁胍彩恰Ｒ擦T，珊莎，我就幫你安排個席位?！彼纯窗騺啞！皫湍銈儍蓚€都弄個席位?！?/p>
“I don’t care about their stupid tourney,” Arya said. She knew Prince
Joffrey would be there, and she hated Prince Joffrey.
“我才沒興趣參加什么無聊的比武會呢?！卑騺喺f。她知道喬佛里王子到時候一定也在場，而她恨死喬佛里王子了。
Sansa lifted her
head. “It will be a splendid event. You shan’t be wanted.”
珊莎昂頭道：“這會是一場盛況空前的慶祝。本來也沒人希望你參加?！?/p>
Anger flashed
across Father’s face. “Enough, Sansa. More of that and you will change my mind.
I am weary unto death of this endless war you two are fighting. You are
sisters. I expect you to behave like sisters, is that understood?”
父親聽了滿臉怒容?！皦蛄耍荷?。再說下去，小心我改變主意。我已經(jīng)被你們倆沒完沒了的爭吵給煩死了。再怎么說你們都是親姐妹，我希望你們像姐妹一樣相親相愛，知道了么？”
Sansa bit her
lip and nodded. Arya lowered her face to stare sullenly at her plate. She could
feel tears stinging her eyes. She rubbed them away angrily, determined not to
cry.
珊莎咬著嘴唇點點頭，艾莉亞低頭不快地盯著眼前的餐盤，感覺到淚水刺痛眼睛。她憤怒地抹掉眼淚，決心不要哭。
The only sound
was the clatter of knives and forks. “Pray excuse me,” her father announced to
the table. “I find I have small appetite tonight.” He walked from the hall.
四周只剩下刀叉碰觸的聲音。“很抱歉，”父親對全桌的人說，“今晚我沒什么胃口。”說完他便走出小廳。
After he was
gone, Sansa exchanged excited whispers with Jeyne Poole. Down the table Jory
laughed at a joke, and Hullen started in about h orseflesh. “Your warhorse,
now, he may not be the best one for the joust. Not the same thing, oh, no, not
the same at all.” The men had heard it all before; Desmond, Jacks, and Hullen’s
son Harwin shouted him down together, and Porther called for more wine.
他離開之后，珊莎立刻興奮地和珍妮·普爾竊竊私語起來。坐在長桌彼端的喬里有說有笑，胡倫也開始大談馬經(jīng)?！拔艺f啊，你那匹戰(zhàn)馬實在不是比武的最佳選擇，這和平時騎完全是兩碼事，懂嗎？完全兩碼事?！边@套說詞其他人很早就聽過，戴斯蒙、杰克斯和胡倫的兒子哈爾溫齊聲要他閉嘴，波瑟則叫人多來點葡萄酒。
No one talked to
Arya. She didn’t care. She liked it that way. She would have eaten her meals
alone in her bedchamber if they let her. Sometimes they did, when Father had to
dine with the king or some lord or the envoys from this place or that place.
The rest of the time, they ate in his solar, just him and her and Sansa. That
was when Arya missed her brothers most. She wanted to tease Bran and play with
baby Rickon and have Robb smile at her. She wanted Jon to muss up her hair and
call her “l(fā)ittle sister” and finish her sentences with her. But all of them were
gone. She had no one left but Sansa, and Sansa wouldn’t even talk to her unless
Father made her.
偏偏沒人跟艾莉亞說話。其實她也不在乎，她還挺喜歡這種情形。若非大人們不準，她寧愿躲在臥房里吃。遇到父親和國王、某某爵爺或某某使節(jié)共進晚餐的時候，她就可以得逞。不過多半，她跟父親和姐姐三人在首相書房里用餐。每當這種時候，艾莉亞最想念哥哥弟弟。她想取笑布蘭，想跟小瑞肯玩鬧，想讓羅柏含笑看著自己。她想要瓊恩弄亂她的頭發(fā)，叫她“我的小妹”，然后和她異口同聲說出一句話。如今她只有珊莎為伴，但除非父親逼迫，否則珊莎一句話都不和她講。
Back at
Winterfell, they had eaten in the Great Hall almost half the time. Her father
used to say that a lord needed to eat with his men, if he hoped to keep them.
“Know the men who follow you,” she heard him tell Robb once, “and let them know
you. Don’t ask your men to die for a stranger.” At Winterfell, he always had an
extra seat set at his own table, and every day a different man would be asked
to join him. One night it would be Vayon Poole, and the talk would be coppers
and bread stores and servants. The next time it would be Mikken, and her father
would listen to him go on about armor and swords and how hot a forge should be
and the best way to temper steel. Another day it might be Hullen with his
endless horse talk, or Septon Chayle from the library, or Jory, or Ser Rodrik,
or even Old Nan with her stories.
從前在臨冬城，他們常在城堡大廳用餐。父親總是說，做領主的必須要和手下一同進食，如此才能留住他們的心。“你不但要了解自己的部下，”有次她聽父親這么對羅柏說，“還必須讓他們也了解你。別想叫你的手下為一個他們所不認識的人賣命?！痹谂R冬城，他總會在自己的餐桌上特別留出一個座位，每晚請來不同的人。如果請來維揚·普爾，談的便是財務狀況、糧食補給和仆人們的事。下次若換成密肯，父親便會聽他分析盔甲寶劍，解說煉鋼打鐵時風爐的熱度。有時候則是三句不離養(yǎng)馬的胡倫，管理圖書室的柴爾修士，或是喬里，羅德利克爵士，甚至是最會說故事的老奶媽。
Arya had loved
nothing better than to sit at her father’s table and listen to them talk. She
had loved listening to the men on the benches too; to freeriders tough as
leather, courtly knights and bold young squires, grizzled old men-at-arms. She
used to throw snowballs at them and help them steal pies from the kitchen.
Their wives gave her scones and she invented names for their babies and played
monsters-and-maidens and hide-the-treasure and come-into-my-castle with their
children. Fat Tom used to call her “Arya Underfoot,” because he said that was
where she always was. She’d liked that a lot better than “Arya Horseface.”
艾莉亞最喜歡坐在父親桌邊聽他們說話，她也喜歡聽坐在下方長凳上的人們說話：堅毅粗魯?shù)淖杂沈T手，彬彬有禮的成年騎士，口無遮攔的年輕侍從，飽經(jīng)風霜的沙場老兵。以前她常朝他們丟雪球，或幫他們從廚房里夾帶餡餅。他們的妻子會烤餅給她吃，她則替她們的寶寶起名字，和她們的孩子玩“美女與怪獸”、比賽尋寶、做城堡游戲。胖湯姆老愛叫她“搗蛋鬼艾莉亞”，因為他說她老是跑來跑去。她喜歡這個綽號遠勝過“馬臉艾莉亞”。
Only that was
Winterfell, a world away, and now everything was changed. This was the first
time they had supped with the men since arriving in King’s Landing. Arya hated
it. She hated the sounds of their voices now, the way they laughed, the stories
they told. They’d been her friends, she’d felt safe around them, but now she
knew that was a lie. They’d let the queen kill Lady, that was horrible enough,
but then the Hound found Mycah. Jeyne Poole had told Arya that he’d cut him up
in so many pieces that they’d given him back to the butcher in a bag, and at first the poor man
had thought it was a pig they’d slaughtered. And no one had raised a voice or
drawn a blade or anything, not Harwin who always talked so bold, or Alyn who
was going to be a knight, or Jory who was captain of the guard. Not even her
father.
只可惜那都是發(fā)生在臨冬城的事，仿佛是另一個世界，現(xiàn)在一切都變了。說來今天是他們抵達君臨以來頭一次和下人一同用餐，艾莉亞卻恨透了這種安排。她恨透了其他人說話的聲音，恨透了他們開懷大笑的方式，以及他們所說的故事。他們曾經(jīng)是她的朋友，與他們?yōu)槲樵屗苡邪踩?，如今她知道這全是假的。他們袖手旁觀，讓王后殺了淑女，這本來已經(jīng)夠糟，后來又任“獵狗”逮著了米凱。珍妮·普爾告訴艾莉亞，他把米凱大卸八塊，人們只好把尸體用袋子裝起來交還屠夫，只可憐那殺豬匠起初還以為里面裝的是剛殺的豬仔。沒有人對此質疑或拔刀相助，什么都沒有，不管是最會吹噓自己勇敢的哈爾溫，還是立志要當騎士的埃林，或是身為侍衛(wèi)隊長的喬里，就連父親也沒有出面阻止。
“He was my friend,” Arya whispered into her plate, so low that no one
could hear. Her ribs sat there untouched, grown cold now, a thin film of grease
congealing beneath them on the plate. Arya looked at them and felt ill. She pushed
away from the table.
“他是我朋友呀?！卑騺唽χ捅P低語，聲音低到無人聽見。她的排骨躺在盤里，動也沒動，已經(jīng)冷掉了，餐盤和肉塊間凝了一層油。艾莉亞越看越惡心，便推開椅子站起來。
“Pray, where do you think you are going, young lady?” Septa Mordane
asked.
“等等，小姐，你要去哪里?。俊避缘ば夼畣?。
“I’m not hungry.” Arya found it an effort to remember her courtesies.
“May I be excused, please?” she recited stiffly.
“我不餓?！卑騺喯肫鹨櫦岸Y節(jié)?！罢垎?，我可以先告退嗎？”她生硬地背誦道。
“You may not,” the septa said. “You have scarcely touched your food.
You will sit down and clean your plate.”
“還不行，”修女說，“你的東西幾乎都沒吃，請你坐下來先把盤里的食物清干凈。”
“You clean it!” Before anyone could stop her, Arya bolted for the
door as the men laughed and Septa Mordane called loudly after her, her voice
rising higher and higher.
“要清你自己清！”趁人們還沒反應過來，艾莉亞便往門邊奔去。其他人哈哈大笑，茉丹修女則跟在后面大聲叫喚，聲音越來越高。
Fat Tom was at
his post, guarding the door to the Tower of the Hand. He blinked when he saw
Arya rushing toward him and heard the septa’s shouts. “Here now, little one,
hold on,” he started to say, reaching, but Arya slid between his legs and then
she was running up the winding tower steps, her feet hammering on the stone
while Fat Tom huffed and puffed behind her.
胖湯姆守在崗位上，負責把守通往首相塔的門。眼見艾莉亞朝自己沖來，又聽見后面修女的喊叫，他眨了眨眼。“喲呼，小娃娃，別亂跑呀?！彼艅傞_口，準備伸手阻攔，艾莉亞便已穿過他胯下，跑上迂回的高塔樓梯。她的腳步重重地踩在石階上，胖湯姆則氣喘吁吁地跟在后面。
Her bedchamber
was the only place that Arya liked in all of King’s Landing, and the thing she
liked best about it was the door, a massive slab of dark oak with black iron
bands. When she slammed that door and dropped the heavy crossbar, nobody could
get into her room, not Septa Mordane or Fat Tom or Sansa or Jory or the Hound,
nobody! She slammed it now.
諾大的君臨城，艾莉亞惟一喜歡的地方就是自己的臥室，尤其是那扇用深色橡木做成，鑲有黑鐵環(huán)的厚重大門。她只要把門一摔，放下沉重的門閂，便誰也別想進來。不論茉丹修女、胖湯姆、珊莎、喬里還是死獵狗，他們都進不來，通通都進不來！這會兒她就把門一摔。
When the bar was
down, Arya finally felt safe enough to cry.
等門閂放好，艾莉亞終于覺得自己可以盡情地哭了。
She went to the
window seat and sat there, sniffling, hating them all, and herself most of all.
It was all her fault, everything bad that had happened. Sansa said so, and
Jeyne too.
她走到窗邊坐下，一邊吸著鼻涕，一邊痛恨著所有的人，尤其恨她自己。一切都是她的錯，所有的事都因她而起。珊莎這么說，珍妮也這么說。
Fat Tom was
knocking on her door. “Arya girl, what’s wrong?” he called out. “You in there?”
胖湯姆正在敲門?！鞍騺喰∶?，怎么啦？”他叫道，“你在里面嗎？”
“No!” she shouted. The knocking stopped. A moment later she heard him
going away. Fat Tom was always easy to fool.
“不在！”她吼回去。敲門聲停了，片刻之后她聽見他走遠的聲音。胖湯姆向來很好騙。
Arya went to the
chest at the foot of her bed. She knelt, opened the lid, and began pulling her
clothes out with both hands, grabbing handfuls of silk and satin and velvet and
wool and tossing them on the floor. It was there at the bottom of the chest,
where she’d hidden it. Arya lifted it out almost tenderly and drew the slender
blade from its sheath.
艾莉亞拖出放在床腳的箱子，她跪下來，掀開蓋子，雙手并用，開始把她的衣服往外丟，把滿手絲質、綢緞、天鵝絨、羊毛織的衣物扔到地板上。東西藏在箱底，艾莉亞輕輕地捧起它，抽出劍鞘。
Needle.
縫衣針。
She thought of
Mycah again and her eyes filled with tears. Her fault, her fault, her fault. If
she had never asked him to play at swords with her?.?.?.?
她想起米凱，頓時淚水盈眶。是她的錯，她的錯，她的錯。如果她沒要他跟自己練劍……
There was a
pounding at her door, louder than before. “Arya Stark, you open this door at
once, do you hear me?”
門上響起更大的敲門聲?！鞍騺啞な匪?，立刻把門給我打開，你聽見了沒有？”
Arya spun
around, with Needle in her hand. “You better not come in here!” she warned. She
slashed at the air savagely.
艾莉亞倏地轉身，手中緊握‘縫衣針’?！澳悴灰M來！”她出聲警告，一邊對著空氣瘋狂揮砍。
“The Hand will hear of this!” Septa Mordane raged.
“我會讓首相知道這件事！”茉丹修女怒喝。
“I don’t care,” Arya screamed. “Go away.”
“我不管?！卑騺喖饨?，“走開?！?/p>
“You will rue this insolent behavior, young lady, I promise you
that.” Arya listened at the door until she heard the sound of the septa’s
receding footsteps.
“小姐，我跟你保證，你一定會為自己粗野的行為而后悔?！卑騺喸陂T邊側耳傾聽，直到聽見修女漸行漸遠的腳步聲。
She went back to
the window, Needle in hand, and looked down into the courtyard below. If only
she could climb like Bran, she thought; she would go out the window and down
the tower, run away from this horrible place, away from Sansa and Septa Mordane
and Prince Joffrey, from all of them. Steal some food from the kitchens, take
Needle and her good boots and a warm cloak. She could find Nymeria in the wild
woods below the Trident, and together they’d return to Winterfell, or run to
Jon on the Wall. She found herself wishing that Jon was here with her now. Then
maybe she wouldn’t feel so alone.
她又回到窗邊，手里握著‘縫衣針’，朝下方的庭院望去。要是她能像布蘭一樣爬上爬下就好了，她心想，那么她就能爬出窗戶，爬下高塔，逃離這個爛地方，遠離珊莎、茉丹修女和喬佛里王子，遠離所有的人。順便從廚房偷點吃的，帶上“縫衣針”，上好的靴子，外加一件保暖的斗篷。她可以在三叉戟河下游的森林里找到娜梅莉亞，然后她們就可以一起回臨冬城，或跑到長城去找瓊恩了。她發(fā)現(xiàn)自己好希望瓊恩此刻在自己身邊，那樣她就不會覺得這么孤單了。
A soft knock at
the door behind her turned Arya away from the window and her dreams of escape.
“Arya,” her father’s voice called out. “Open the door. We need to talk.”
輕輕的敲門聲將艾莉亞從她的脫逃夢里拉回現(xiàn)實?！鞍騺啠备赣H喚道，“開門罷，我們需要談談?！?/p>
Arya crossed the
room and lifted the crossbar. Father was alone. He seemed more sad than angry.
That made Arya feel even worse. “May I come in?” Arya nodded, then dropped her
eyes, ashamed. Father closed the door. “Whose sword is that?”
艾莉亞穿過房間，舉起門閂。只見父親獨自一人站在門外，那樣子與其說是生氣，毋寧說是悲傷。這卻讓艾莉亞更難過?！拔铱梢赃M來嗎？”艾莉亞點點頭，羞愧地垂下視線。父親關上門?！澳前褎κ钦l的？”
“Mine.” Arya had almost forgotten Needle, in her hand.
“我的?！卑騺喭恕p衣針’還握在自己手里。
“Give it to me.”
“給我?！?/p>
Reluctantly Arya
surrendered her sword, wondering if she would ever hold it again. Her father
turned it in the light, examining both sides of the blade. He tested the point
with his thumb. “A bravo’s blade,” he said. “Yet it seems to me that I know
this maker’s mark. This is Mikken’s work.”
艾莉亞心不甘情不愿地交出劍，心里嘀咕不知還有沒有機會再握起它。父親就著光反復翻轉，審視劍鋒的兩面，然后用拇指測量銳利程度。“這是殺手用的劍，”他說，“但我似乎認得鑄劍人的記號，這是密肯打的?！?/p>
Arya could not
lie to him. She lowered her eyes.
艾莉亞知道騙不過他，只好低下頭。
Lord Eddard
Stark sighed. “My nine-year-old daughter is being armed from my own forge, and
I know nothing of it. The Hand of the King is expected to rule the Seven
Kingdoms, yet it seems I cannot even rule my own household. How is it that you
come to own a sword, Arya? Where did you get this?”
艾德·史塔克公爵嘆氣道：“我九歲大的女兒從我自家的武器爐中拿到武器，我卻毫不知情。首相的職責是管理七大王國，結果我連自己家里都管不好。艾莉亞，你怎么弄到這把劍的？從哪兒弄來的？”
Arya chewed her
lip and said nothing. She would not betray Jon, not even to their father.
艾莉亞咬著嘴唇，不發(fā)一語。她絕不出賣瓊恩，即使是對父親大人也一樣。
After a while,
Father said, “I don’t suppose it matters, truly.” He looked down gravely at the
sword in his hands. “This is no toy for children, least of all for a girl. What
would Septa Mordane say if she knew you were playing with swords?”
過了半晌，父親說：“其實，你說不說都沒差?！彼拖骂^，沉重地看著手中的劍。“這可不是小孩子玩具，女孩子家尤其不該碰。要是茉丹修女知道你在玩劍，她會怎么說？”
“I wasn’t playing,” Arya insisted. “I hate Septa Mordane.”
“我才不是玩劍呢?！卑騺唸猿郑岸椅液捃缘ば夼?。”
“That’s enough.” Her father’s voice was curt and hard. “The septa is
doing no more than is her duty, though gods know you have made it a struggle
for the poor woman. Your mother and I have charged her with the impossible task
of making you a lady.”
“夠了，”父親的語氣嚴厲而堅定?！靶夼皇潜M她的職責本分，天知道你讓這可憐女人吃了多少苦頭。你母親和我請她教導你成為淑女，這根本就是件不可能完成的任務?！?/p>
“I don’t want to be a lady!” Arya flared.
“我又不想變成淑女！”艾莉亞怒道。
“I ought to snap this toy across my knee here and now, and put an end
to this nonsense.”
“我真應該現(xiàn)在就用膝蓋把這玩意兒折斷，終止這場鬧劇?！?/p>
“Needle wouldn’t break,” Arya said defiantly, but her voice betrayed
her words.
“‘縫衣針’不會斷的。”艾莉亞不服氣地說，然而她知道自己的口氣頗為心虛。
“It has a name, does it?” Her father sighed. “Ah, Arya. You have a
wildness in you, child. ‘The wolf blood,’ my father used to call it. Lyanna had
a touch of it, and my brother Brandon more than a touch. It brought them both
to an early grave.” Arya heard sadness in his voice; he did not often speak of
his father, or of the brother and sister who had died before she was born.
“Lyanna might have carried a sword, if my lord father had allowed it. You
remind me of her sometimes. You even look like her.”
“它還有名字？”父親嘆道，“啊，艾莉亞，我的孩子，你有股特別的野性，你的祖父稱之為‘奔狼之血’。萊安娜有那么一點，我哥哥布蘭登則更多，結果兩人都英年早逝。”艾莉亞從他話音里聽出了哀傷，他鮮少談及自己的父親和兄妹，他們都在她出生前就過世了?！爱敵跞羰悄阕娓复饝?，萊安娜大概也會舞刀弄劍。有時候看到你，我就想起她，你甚至長得都跟她有幾分神似?！?/p>
“Lyanna was beautiful,” Arya said, startled. Everybody said so. It
was not a thing that was ever said of Arya.
“萊安娜是個大美人?！卑騺嗗e愕地道。每個人都這么說，但從沒有人拿她來形容艾莉亞。
“She was,” Eddard Stark agreed, “beautiful, and willful, and dead
before her time.” He lifted the sword, held it out between them. “Arya, what
did you think to do with this?.?.?.?Needle? Who did you hope to skewer? Your
sister? Septa Mordane? Do you know the first thing about sword fighting?”
“可不是嗎？”艾德·史塔克同意，“她既美麗又任性，結果紅顏薄命?！彼e起劍，隔在兩人之間?！鞍騺?，你要這……‘縫衣針’做什么？你想拿來對付誰？你姐姐？還是茉丹修女？你知道劍道的第一步是什么？”
All she could
think of was the lesson Jon had given her. “Stick them with the pointy end,”
she blurted out.
她惟一能想到的只是瓊恩教過她的東西?！坝眉獾哪嵌巳ゴ虜橙?。”她脫口而出。
Her father
snorted back laughter. “That is the essence of it, I suppose.”
父親忍俊不禁?！拔蚁脒@的確是劍術的精髓。”
Arya desperately
wanted to explain, to make him see. “I was trying to learn, but?.?.?.?” Her
eyes filled with tears. “I asked Mycah to practice with me.” The grief came on
her all at once. She turned away, shaking. “I asked him,” she cried. “It was my
fault, it was me?.?.?.?”
艾莉亞拚命想解釋，好讓他了解。“我想好好學，可是……”她眼里溢滿淚水?！拔乙讋P陪我練?！彼械谋瘧Q這時一齊涌上心頭，她顫抖著別過頭去?！笆俏艺宜摹！彼拗f，“都是我的錯，是我……”
Suddenly her
father’s arms were around her. He held her gently as she turned to him and
sobbed against his chest. “No, sweet one,” he murmured. “Grieve for your
friend, but never blame yourself. You did not kill the butcher’s boy. That
murder lies at the Hound’s door, him and the cruel woman he serves.”
突然間，父親的雙臂抱住了她，她轉過頭，埋在他胸口啜泣，他則溫柔地擁著她?！皠e這樣，我親愛的孩子。”他低語道，“為你的朋友哀悼吧，但不要自責。屠夫小弟不是你害的，該為這樁血案負責的是獵狗和他殘酷的女主人。”
“I hate them,” Arya confided, red-faced, sniffling. “The Hound and
the queen and the king and Prince Joffrey. I hate all of them. Joffrey lied, it
wasn’t the way he said. I hate Sansa too. She did remember, she just lied so
Joffrey would like her.”
“我恨他們。”艾莉亞一邊吸鼻子，一邊紅著臉說出心里話?！拔液瞢C狗、恨王后、恨國王還有喬佛里王子。我恨死他們了。喬佛里騙人，事情根本就不是他講的那樣。我也恨珊莎，她明明就記得，她故意說謊話好讓喬佛里喜歡她?！?/p>
“We all lie,” her father said. “Or did you truly think I’d believe
that Nymeria ran off?”
“誰沒有說過謊呢，”父親道，“難道你以為我相信娜梅莉亞真的會跑掉？”
Arya blushed
guiltily. “Jory promised not to tell.”
艾莉亞心虛地臉紅了。“喬里答應我不說出去的?！?/p>
“Jory kept his word,” her father said with a smile. “There are some
things I do not need to be told. Even a blind man could see that wolf would
never have left you willingly.”
“喬里很守信用?！备赣H微笑道，“有些事不用別人說我也知道，連瞎子都看得出來小狼不會自動離開你?！?/p>
“We had to throw rocks,” she said miserably. “I told her to run, to
go be free, that I didn’t want her anymore. There were other wolves for her to
play with, we heard them howling, and Jory said the woods were full of game, so
she’d have deer to hunt. Only she kept following, and finally we had to throw
rocks. I hit her twice. She whined and looked at me and I felt so ’shamed, but
it was right, wasn’t it? The queen would have killed her.”
“我們丟了好多石頭才趕走她?！彼荒槺嗟卣f，“我叫她走，放她自由，說我不要她了。她該去找其他狼玩，我們聽見好多狼在叫，喬里說森林里獵物很多，她可以去追捕野鹿，可她偏偏要跟著我們，最后我們才不得不丟石頭趕她。我打中她兩次，她邊哀嚎邊看著我，我覺得好羞恥，但這樣做是正確的對不對？不然王后會殺她的?！?/p>
“It was right,” her father said. “And even the lie was?.?.?.?not
without honor.” He’d put Needle aside when he went to Arya to embrace her. Now
he took the blade up again and walked to the window, where he stood for a
moment, looking out across the courtyard. When he turned back, his eyes were
thoughtful. He seated himself on the window seat, Needle across his lap. “Arya,
sit down. I need to try and explain some things to you.”
“你做得沒錯，”父親說，“有時謊言也能……不失榮譽?！狈讲潘吷頁肀О騺啎r把“縫衣針”放在一邊，這會兒他又拾起短劍，踱至窗邊。他在那里駐足片刻，視線穿過廣場，望向遠方。等他回過頭來，眼里滿是思緒。他在窗邊坐下，把“縫衣針”平放膝上。“艾莉亞，坐下來。有些事我要試著跟你解釋清楚?！?/p>
She perched
anxiously on the edge of her bed. “You are too young to be burdened with all my
cares,” he told her, “but you are also a Stark of Winterfell. You know our
words.”
她不安地在床邊坐下?！澳隳昙o還太小，本不該讓你分擔我所有的憂慮?！彼嬖V她，“但你是臨冬城史塔克家族的一份子，你也知道我們的族語?！?/p>
“Winter is coming,” Arya whispered.
“凜冬將至?！卑騺嗇p聲說。
“The hard cruel times,” her father said. “We tasted them on the
Trident, child, and when Bran fell. You were born in the long summer, sweet
one, you’ve never known anything else, but now the winter is truly coming. Remember
the sigil of our House, Arya.”
“是的，艱苦而殘酷的時代即將來臨，”父親說，“我們在三叉戟河上嘗到了這種滋味，孩子，布蘭墜樓時也是。你生于漫長的盛夏時節(jié)，我親愛的好孩子，至今還未經(jīng)歷其他季節(jié)，然而現(xiàn)在冬天真的要來了。艾莉亞，不論何時何地，我要你牢牢記住我們的家徽?！?/p>
“The direwolf,” she said, thinking of Nymeria. She hugged her knees
against her chest, suddenly afraid.
“冰原狼。”她邊說邊想起娜梅莉亞，不由得縮起膝蓋、靠著胸膛，害怕了起來。
“Let me tell you something about wolves, child. When the snows fall
and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Summer is
the time for squabbles. In winter, we must protect one another, keep each other
warm, share our strengths. So if you must hate, Arya, hate those who would
truly do us harm. Septa Mordane is a good woman, and Sansa?.?.?.?Sansa is your
sister. You may be as different as the sun and the moon, but the same blood
flows through both your hearts. You need her, as she needs you?.?.?.?and I need
both of you, gods help me.”
“孩子，讓我來說說關于狼的軼事。當大雪降下，冷風吹起，獨行狼死，群聚狼生。夏天時可以爭吵，但一到冬天，我們便必須保衛(wèi)彼此，相互溫暖，共享力量。所以假如你真要恨，艾莉亞，就恨那些會真正傷害我們的人。茉丹修女是個好女人，而珊莎……珊莎她再怎么說也是你姐姐。你們倆或許有天壤之別，但體內終究流著相同的血液。你需要她，她也同樣需要你……而我則需要你們兩個，老天保佑?！?/p>
He sounded so
tired that it made Arya sad. “I don’t hate Sansa,” she told him. “Not truly.”
It was only half a lie.
他的話聽起來好疲倦，聽得艾莉亞好心酸?！拔也缓奚荷?，”她告訴他，“不是真的恨她?！边@起碼是半句實話。
“I do not mean to frighten you, but neither will I lie to you. We
have come to a dark dangerous place, child. This is not Winterfell. We have
enemies who mean us ill. We cannot fight a war among ourselves. This
willfulness of yours, the running off, the angry words, the
disobedience?.?.?.?at home, these were only the summer games of a child. Here
and now, with winter soon upon us, that is a different matter. It is time to
begin growing up.”
“我并非有意嚇你，然而我也不想騙你。孩子，我們來到了一個黑暗危險的地方，這里不是臨冬城。有太多敵人想置我們于死地，我們不能自相殘殺。你在老家時的任性胡為、種種撒氣、亂跑和不聽話……都是夏天里小孩子的把戲。此時此地，冬天馬上就要來到，斷不能與從前相提并論。如今，該是你長大的時候了?！?/p>
“I will,” Arya vowed. She had never loved him so much as she did in
that instant. “I can be strong too. I can be as strong as Robb.”
“我會的?！卑騺啺l(fā)誓。她從沒有像此刻這么愛他?！拔乙矔儚妷?，變得跟羅柏一樣強壯?！?/p>
He held Needle
out to her, hilt first. “Here.”
他把“縫衣針”遞給她，劍柄在前。“拿去罷”。
She looked at
the sword with wonder in her eyes. For a moment she was afraid to touch it,
afraid that if she reached for it it would be snatched away again, but then her
father said, “Go on, it’s yours,” and she took it in her hand.
她驚訝地盯著劍，半晌都不敢碰，生怕自己一伸手劍又被拿走。只聽父親說：“拿啊，這是你的了。”她這才伸手接過。
“I can keep it?” she said. “For true?”
“我可以留著嗎？”她問。“真的嗎？”
“For true.” He smiled. “If I took it away, no doubt I’d find a
morningstar hidden under your pillow within the fortnight. Try not to stab your
sister, whatever the provocation.”
“真的?！彼⑿χf?！拔乙前阉o拿走了，只怕沒兩個星期就會在你枕頭下找到流星錘罷。算啦，無論你多生氣，別拿劍刺你姐姐就好?！?/p>
“I won’t. I promise.” Arya clutched Needle tightly to her chest as
her father took his leave.
“我不會，我保證不會?！卑騺喚o緊地把“縫衣針”抱在胸前，目送父親離去。
The next
morning, as they broke their fast, she apologized to Septa Mordane and asked
for her pardon. The septa peered at her suspiciously, but Father nodded.
隔天吃早飯時，她向茉丹修女道歉，并請求原諒。修女狐疑地看著她，但父親點了點頭。
Three days
later, at midday, her father’s steward Vayon Poole sent Arya to the Small Hall.
The trestle tables had been dismantled and the benches shoved against the
walls. The hall seemed empty, until an unfamiliar voice said, “You are late,
boy.” A slight man with a bald head and a great beak of a nose stepped out of
the shadows, holding a pair of slender wooden swords. “Tomorrow you will be
here at midday.” He had an accent, the lilt of the Free Cities, Bravos perhaps,
or Myr.
三天后的中午，父親的管家維揚·普爾把艾莉亞帶去小廳。餐桌業(yè)已拆除，長凳也推至墻邊，小廳里空蕩蕩的。突然，有個陌生的聲音說：“小子，你遲到了?！比缓笠粋€身形清癯，生著鷹鉤大鼻的光頭男子從陰影里走出來，手里握著一對細細的木劍?！皬拿魈炱鹉阏缇捅仨毜健！彼f話帶著口音，像是自由貿易城邦的腔調，可能是布拉佛斯，或是密爾。
“Who are you?” Arya asked.
“你是誰？”艾莉亞問。
“I am your dancing master.” He tossed her one of the wooden blades.
She grabbed for it, missed, and heard it clatter to the floor. “Tomorrow you
will catch it. Now pick it up.”
“我是你的舞蹈老師?！彼麃G給她一柄木劍。她伸手去接，卻沒有夠著，它咔啦一聲掉落在地。“從明天起我一丟你就要接住?，F(xiàn)在撿起來。”
It was not just
a stick, but a true wooden sword complete with grip and guard and pommel. Arya
picked it up and clutched it nervously with both hands, holding it out in front
of her. It was heavier than it looked, much heavier than Needle.
那不只是根棍子，而真的是一把木劍，有劍柄、護手，還有裝飾劍柄的圓球。艾莉亞拾起來，緊張兮兮地雙手交握在前。這把劍比看起來要重，比“縫衣針”重多了。
The bald man
clicked his teeth together. “That is not the way, boy. This is not a greatsword
that is needing two hands to swing it. You will take the blade in one hand.”
光頭男子齜牙咧嘴道：“不對不對，小子。這不是雙手揮的巨劍。你只準用單手握”。
“It’s too heavy,” Arya said.
“太重了”。艾莉亞說。
“It is heavy as it needs to be to make you strong, and for the
balancing. A hollow inside is filled with lead, just so. One hand now is all
that is needing.”
“這樣才能鍛煉你的手臂肌肉，還有整體的協(xié)調性。里面空心部分灌滿了鉛，就是這樣。你要單手持劍”。
Arya took her
right hand off the grip and wiped her sweaty palm on her pants. She held the
sword in her left hand. He seemed to approve. “The left is good. All is reversed,
it will make your enemies more awkward. Now you are standing wrong. Turn your
body sideface, yes, so. You are skinny as the shaft of a spear, do you know.
That is good too, the target is smaller. Now the grip. Let me see.” He moved
closer and peered at her hand, prying her fingers apart, rearranging them.
“Just so, yes. Do not squeeze it so tight, no, the grip must be deft,
delicate.”
艾莉亞把握劍的右手放下，在褲子上擦了擦掌心的汗，換用左手持劍。而他對此似乎相當滿意。“左手最好。左右顛倒，你的敵人會很不習慣。但你的站姿錯了，不要正對著我，身體側一點，對，就是這樣。你瘦得跟長矛一樣，知道嗎？這也挺好，因為目標縮小了?，F(xiàn)在讓我看看你是怎么握的?！彼窟^來，盯著她的手，扳開手指，重新調整?！皩?，就是這樣。別太用力，對，但要靈活，優(yōu)雅?！?/p>
“What if I drop it?” Arya said.
“劍掉了怎么辦？”艾莉亞問。
“The steel must be part of your arm,” the bald man told her. “Can you
drop part of your arm? No. Nine years Syrio Forel was first sword to the
Sealord of Braavos, he knows these things. Listen to him, boy.”
“劍必須和你的手合為一體?！惫忸^男子告訴她，“你的手會掉嗎？當然不會。西利歐·佛瑞爾在布拉佛斯海王手下干了九年的首席劍士，他懂得這些東西。聽他的話，小子?！?/p>
It was the third
time he had called her “boy.” “I’m a girl,” Arya objected.
這已經(jīng)是他第三次叫她“小子”了?！拔沂桥??！卑騺喛棺h。
“Boy, girl,” Syrio Forel said. “You are a sword, that is all.” He
clicked his teeth together. “Just so, that is the grip. You are not holding a
battle-axe, you are holding a...”
“管他男的女的，”西利歐·佛瑞爾說，“你是一把劍，這樣就夠了?！彼铸b牙咧嘴道，“好，就是這樣，保持這個握姿。記住，你握的不是戰(zhàn)斧，你握的是——”
“...needle,” Arya finished for him, fiercely.
“——縫衣針?！卑騺唭春莸靥嫠f完。
“Just so. Now we will begin the dance. Remember, child, this is not
the iron dance of Westeros we are learning, the knight’s dance, hacking and
hammering, no. This is the bravo’s dance, the water dance, swift and sudden.
All men are made of water, do you know this? When you pierce them, the water
leaks out and they die.” He took a step backward, raised his own wooden blade.
“Now you will try to strike me.”
“就是這樣?，F(xiàn)在我們開始跳舞。記住，孩子，我們學的不是維斯特洛的鋼鐵之舞，騎士之舞，揮來砍去，不是的。這是殺手之舞，水之舞，行動敏捷，出其不意。人都是水做的，你知道嗎？當你刺中人體，水流外泄，人就會死?！彼蚝笸碎_一步，舉起木劍?！艾F(xiàn)在你來打我試試?！?/p>
Arya tried to
strike him. She tried for four hours, until every muscle in her body was sore
and aching, while Syrio Forel clicked his teeth together and told her what to
do.
于是艾莉亞嘗試攻擊他。她一共試了四個小時，直到最后每寸肌肉都酸痛不已，而西利歐·佛瑞爾只是一邊齜牙咧嘴，一邊糾正個不停。
The next day
their real work began.
到了第二天，好戲才剛剛上演。
