Chapter 第六十章 被拒绝的求婚者（昆汀三）

THE SPURNED SUITOR

将近鬼时，杰瑞斯·德林克沃特爵士返回金字塔报告：他发现豆子，书本，和老骨头比尔在弥林少有的一家体面的酒馆里，喝着黄色的葡萄酒，观看赤裸的奴隶用双手和锉尖的牙齿杀死彼此。

The hour of ghosts was almost upon them when Ser Gerris Drinkwater returned to the pyramid to report that he had found Beans, Books, and Old Bill Bone in one of Meereen’s less savory cellars, drinking yellow wine and watching naked slaves kill one another with bare hands and filed teeth.

“豆子拔出刀刃，并提议打赌是否背信弃义者的肚子里面装满了黄泥浆。”杰瑞斯爵士报告，“所以我抛给他一枚金龙，问是否黄金能办事。他咬了咬硬币问我打算买什么。当我告诉他时，他收起刀子问我是喝醉了还是疯了。”

“Beans pulled a blade and proposed a wager to determine if deserters had bellies full of yellow slime,” Ser Gerris reported, “so I tossed him a dragon and asked if yellow gold would do. He bit the coin and asked what I meant to buy. When I told him he slipped the knife away and asked if I was drunk or mad.”

“他爱怎么想就怎么想，只要他传递了口信，”昆廷说。

“Let him think what he wants, so long as he delivers the message,” said Quentyn.

“他太会这么做了。我敢打赌，你也将得到你的会面，只要破布（即破烂亲王）允许， 漂亮的梅里斯就会割掉你的肝脏和洋葱一起炒。我们应该听从赛尔弥的劝告。当无畏的巴利斯坦告诉你跑，一个聪明的人会系紧他的鞋带。我们应该找一艘去瓦兰提斯的船，趁港口仍然开放时。”

“He’ll do that much. I’ll wager you get your meeting too, if only so Rags can have Pretty Meris cut your liver out and fry it up with onions. We should be heeding Selmy. When Barristan the Bold tells you to run, a wise man laces up his boots. We should find a ship for Volantis whilst the port is still open.”

只不过是提及船，就让阿奇博尔德爵士的脸色变绿。“不坐船。我宁愿一只脚蹦跳着回瓦兰提斯。”

Just the mention turned Ser Archibald’s cheeks green. “No more ships. I’d sooner hop back to Volantis on one foot.”

瓦兰提斯，昆廷想。然后里斯，然后回家。从我来时的路回去，两手空空如也。三位勇敢的人牺牲，为了什么？

Volantis, Quentyn thought. Then Lys, then home. Back the way I came, empty-handed. Three brave men dead, for what?

再次看到绿水河将是令人愉快的，造访阳戟城和流水花园，呼吸伊伦伍德清新甜美的山间空气，代替奴隶湾炎热，潮湿，肮脏的情绪。他的父亲不会说一句责难的话，昆廷知道，但他的眼神中会流露出失望。他的姐姐会鄙视，沙蛇们会嘲笑他，带着剑一般锋利的微笑，伊伦伍德伯爵，他的养父，他曾派他唯一的儿子来保护他的安全……

It would be sweet to see the Greenblood again, to visit Sunspear and the Water Gardens and breathe the clean sweet mountain air of Yronwood in place of the hot, wet, filthy humors of Slaver’s Bay. His father would speak no word of rebuke, Quentyn knew, but the disappointment would be there in his eyes. His sister would be scornful, the Sand Snakes would mock him with smiles sharp as swords, and Lord Yronwood, his second father, who had sent his own son along to keep him safe …

“我不会留你们在这，”昆廷告诉他的朋友。“我父亲把这项任务加派于我，不是你们。回家去吧，如果这是你们想要的。走你们喜欢的无论什么途径。我留下。”

“I will not keep you here,” Quentyn told his friends. “My father laid this task on me, not you. Go home, if that is what you want. By whatever means you like. I am staying.”

大人物耸了耸肩。“那么我和德林克也留下来。”

The big man shrugged. “Then Drink and me are staying too.”

第二天晚上，丹佐·德汉出现在昆廷的门前来谈条件。“他明天见你，在香料市场。在市场里找一扇画有紫莲花的门。敲两下并喊‘自由’。”

The next night, Denzo D’han turned up at Prince Quentyn’s door to talk terms. “He will meet with you on the morrow, by the spice market. Look for a door marked with a purple lotus. Knock twice and call for freedom.”

“同意，”昆廷说。“阿奇和杰瑞斯和我一起去。他也可以带上两个人。不能再多。”

“Agreed,” said Quentyn. “Arch and Gerris will be with me. He can bring two men as well. No more.”

“如您所愿，我的王子。”用词足够礼貌，但丹佐的语气中含有恶意，战士诗人的眼中闪烁着嘲笑的精光。“日落之后来。并注意让你别被跟踪。”

“If it please my prince.” The words were polite enough, but Denzo’s tone was edged with malice, and the eyes of the warrior poet gleamed bright with mockery. “Come at sunset. And see that you are not followed.”

多恩人日落前一个小时离开大金字塔，以防万一，他们拐错了一个弯，或者说很难找到那朵紫莲花。昆廷和杰瑞斯腰挎剑带。大人物宽阔的背上挂着战锤。

The Dornishmen left the Great Pyramid an hour shy of sunset in case they took a wrong turn or had difficulty finding the purple lotus. Quentyn and Gerris wore their sword belts. The big man had his warhammer slung across his broad back.

“放弃做蠢事还为时不晚，”杰瑞斯说，他们沿着一条臭哄哄的胡同走向老香料市场。空气中弥漫着小便的气味，他们能听到前面一辆运尸车的铁框车轮的辘辘声。“老骨头比尔常说，漂亮的梅里斯可以满足一个男人找死的愿望，在一个月中。我们欺骗了他们，昆廷。利用他们来到这里，然后转投了暴鸦团。”

“It is still not too late to abandon this folly,” Gerris said, as they made their way down a foetid alley toward the old spice market. The smell of piss was in the air, and they could hear the rumble of a corpse cart’s iron-rimmed wheels off ahead. “Old Bill Bone used to say that Pretty Maris could stretch out a man’s dying for a moon’s turn. We lied to them, Quent. Used them to get us here, then went over to the Stormcrows.”

“正如我们被命令的那样。”

“As we were commanded.”

“可是，破布从没要我们来真的，”大人物插嘴。“他的其他手下，奥森爵士和迪克·斯特劳，亨格福德，丛林威尔，这太多了，他们仍被关在某个地牢里感谢我们呢。老破布可不会太喜欢。”

“Tatters never meant for us to do it for real, though,” put in the big man. “His other boys, Ser Orson and Dick Straw, Hungerford, Will of the Woods, that lot, they’re still down in some dungeon thanks to us. Old Rags can’t have liked that much.”

“是的，”昆廷王子说，“但他喜欢金子。”

“No,” Prince Quentyn said, “but he likes gold.”

杰瑞斯笑了。“我们毫不遗憾。你相信这条和约吗，昆廷？我不信。半座城市管那名屠龙者叫英雄，另一半提起他的名字就吐血。”

Gerris laughed. “A pity we have none. Do you trust this peace, Quent? I don’t. Half the city is calling the dragonslayer a hero, and the other half spits blood at the mention of his name.”

“哈祖，”大人物说。

“Harzoo,” the big man said.

昆廷皱眉。“他的名字是哈哥兹。”

Quentyn frowned. “His name was Harghaz.”

“希兹达赫，哈姆赞，哈哥奈哥，这有什么关系？我都叫他们哈祖。他不是屠龙者。他所做的就是把他的屁（和谐）股烤得又焦又脆。”

“Hizdahr, Humzum, Hagnag, what does it matter? I call them all Harzoo. He was no dragonslayer. All he did was get his arse roasted black and crispy.”

“他很勇敢。”我有胆量仅凭一支长矛就去挑战那只怪兽吗？

“He was brave.” Would I have the courage to face that monster with nothing but a spear?

“你的意思是，他死的很勇敢。”

“He died bravely, is what you mean.”

“他死的鬼哭狼嚎，”阿奇说。

“He died screaming,” said Arch.

杰瑞斯把一只手放在昆廷的肩膀上。“即使女王回来了，她也是已婚的。”

Gerris put a hand on Quentyn’s shoulder. “Even if the queen returns, she’ll still be married.”

“如果我拿战锤给哈祖国王轻轻地一拍，她就不再是了，”大人物建议。

“Not if I give King Harzoo a little smack with my hammer,” suggested the big man.

“希兹达赫，”昆廷说。“他的名字叫希兹达赫。”

“Hizdahr,” said Quentyn. “His name is Hizdahr.”

“被我的锤子亲一下，没人会在乎他的名字叫什么，”阿奇说。

“One kiss from my hammer and no one will care what his name was,” said Arch.

他们看不见。他的朋友们看不到他来这儿的真正目的。这条道路通过她，不是通向她。丹妮莉丝是得到奖品的工具，不是奖品本身。“‘龙有三个头，’她对我说。‘我的婚姻不必是你所有希望的终结，’她说。‘我知道你为什么在这里。为了血与火。’我体内流着坦格利安的血，你们知道这个。我的血统可以追溯到—”

They do not see. His friends had lost sight of his true purpose here. The road leads through her, not to her. Daenerys is the means to the prize, not the prize itself. “ ‘The dragon has three heads,’ she said to me. ‘My marriage need not be the end of all your hopes,’ she said. ‘I know why you are here. For fire and blood.’ I have Targaryen blood in me, you know that. I can trace my lineage back—”

“懆你的血统，”杰瑞斯说。“龙才不在乎你的血，也许除了它尝起来怎么样。以史为鉴，你不能驯服一条龙。他们是怪物，不是宠物。昆廷，这就是你真正想做的事？”

“Fuck your lineage,” said Gerris. “The dragons won’t care about your blood, except maybe how it tastes. You cannot tame a dragon with a history lesson. They’re monsters, not maesters. Quent, is this truly what you want to do?”

“这是我不得不做的事。为了多恩。为了我的父亲。为了克莱特、威尔和凯惴学士。”

“This is what I have to do. For Dorne. For my father. For Cletus and Will and Maester Kedry.”

“他们死了，”杰瑞斯说，“他们不在乎。”

“They’re dead,” said Gerris. “They won’t care.”

“都死了，”昆廷同意。“为了什么？带我来这儿，这样我就可以娶龙女王。克莱特称呼它，一场壮丽的冒险。魔鬼之路和风暴海洋，旅程的终点，有世界上最美丽的女人。一个故事告诉我们的子孙。但克莱特将永远不会成为一个孩子的父亲，除非他在他喜欢的客栈荡（和谐）妇的肚子里留下一个私生子。威尔将永远不会有他的婚礼。他们的死亡应该有一些意义。”

“All dead,” Quentyn agreed. “For what? To bring me here, so I might wed the dragon queen. A grand adventure, Cletus called it. Demon roads and stormy seas, and at the end of it the most beautiful woman in the world. A tale to tell our grandchildren. But Cletus will never father a child, unless he left a bastard in the belly of that tavern wench he liked. Will will never have his wedding. Their deaths should have some meaning.”

杰瑞斯指着一具倚靠着砖墙下滑的尸体，伴随着一团闪闪发光的绿苍蝇。“他的死有意义？”

Gerris pointed to where a corpse slumped against a brick wall, attended by a cloud of glistening green flies. “Did his death have meaning?”

昆廷厌恶地注视着尸体。“他死于传染病。离他远远的。”‘苍白母马’在城墙之内蔓延。难怪街道显得如此空旷。“无垢者会派一辆运尸车来运走他。”

Quentyn looked at the body with distaste. “He died of the flux. Stay well away from him.” The pale mare was inside the city walls. Small wonder that the streets seemed so empty. “The Unsullied will send a corpse cart for him.”

“毫无疑问。不过，这不是我的问题。人的生命具有意义，而不是他们的死亡。我也爱威尔和克莱特，但这不会把他们带回来给我们。这是一个错误，昆廷。你不能信任雇佣兵。”

“No doubt. But that was not my question. Men’s lives have meaning, not their deaths. I loved Will and Cletus too, but this will not bring them back to us. This is a mistake, Quent. You cannot trust in sellswords.”

“他们是人，像其他任何人一样。他们想要黄金，荣耀，权力。这些都是我所信任的。”这些，和我自己的命运。我是多恩的王子，龙的血液在我的血管里流淌。

“They are men like any other men. They want gold, glory, power. That’s all I am trusting in.” That, and my own destiny. I am a prince of Dorne, and the blood of dragons is in my veins.

太阳已经沉到城墙的背后，他们终于找到了紫莲花，漆在一扇风化的木门上，低矮的小砖房蹲在一排同样的茅舍中，在黄绿色大金字塔阿兹达的阴影下。昆廷依照指示敲了两下。隔着门一个粗哑的声音回应，用难懂的奴隶湾杂种语低声咆哮着什么，一种旧吉斯语和高等瓦雷利亚语难听的混合物。王子用同样的语言回答。“自由。”

The sun had sunk below the city wall by the time they found the purple lotus, painted on the weathered wooden door of a low brick hovel squatting amidst a row of similar hovels in the shadow of the great yellow-and-green pyramid of Rhazdar. Quentyn knocked twice, as instructed. A gruff voice answered through the door, growling something unintelligible in the mongrel tongue of Slaver’s Bay, an ugly blend of Old Ghiscari and High Valyrian. The prince answered in the same tongue. “Freedom.”

门开了。杰瑞斯第一个进去，为谨慎起见，昆廷紧随其后，大人物殿后。室内，空气中弥漫着淡蓝色的烟雾，那些芳香不能完全掩盖更臭的小便、酸葡萄酒和腐肉的气味。里面的空间比外面似乎要大很多，延伸到左右毗连的小屋。似乎街上一打小房子在内部变成了一间长厅。

The door opened. Gerris entered first, for caution’s sake, with Quentyn close behind him and the big man bringing up the rear. Within, the air was hazy with bluish smoke, whose sweet smell could not quite cover up the deeper stinks of piss and sour wine and rotting meat. The space was much larger than it had seemed from without, stretching off to right and left into the adjoining hovels. What had appeared to be a dozen structures from the street turned into one long hall inside.

在这个时候，房子还不到半满。几名顾客赐予多恩人或无聊、或敌意、或好奇的眼神。余下的人在房间的另一头聚集在深坑周围，坑中两名裸体男子正拿刀相互挥砍，同时观众为他们加油鼓劲。

At this hour the house was less than half full. A few of the patrons favored the Dornishmen with looks bored or hostile or curious. The rest were crowded around the pit at the far end of the room, where a pair of naked men were slashing at each other with knives whilst the watchers cheered them on.

昆廷没见到他们来会晤的男人的迹象。那时一扇他没有见过的门倏地打开，一个老女人冒了出来，一个皱缩的老东西，穿着暗红色的托卡，饰有微小的黄金头骨流苏。她的皮肤白的像马奶，她的头发太稀疏，以至他能看见底下的头皮。“多恩人，”她说，“我是扎丽娜，紫莲花。沿着这儿下去，你们会找到他们。”她按住门并示意他们通过。

Quentyn saw no sign of the men they had come to meet. Then a door he had not seen before swung open, and an old woman emerged, a shriveled thing in a dark red tokar fringed with tiny golden skulls. Her skin was white as mare’s milk, her hair so thin that he could see the scalp beneath. “Dorne,” she said, “I be Zahrina. Purple Lotus. Go down here, you find them.” She held the door and gestured them through.

在门的另一边是一段木制楼梯，陡峭又扭曲。这一次大人物引路，杰瑞斯殿后，王子走在两人之间。一个下层地下室。这是一段漫长的路，太黑了，昆廷不得不摸索着前进以防止打滑。接近底部，阿奇博尔德爵士拔出了他的匕首。

Beyond was a flight of wooden steps, steep and twisting. This time the big man led the way and Gerris was the rear guard, with the prince between them. An undercellar. It was a long way down, and so dark that Quentyn had to feel his way to keep from slipping. Near the bottom Ser Archibald pulled his dagger.

他们出现在一间砖砌地下室里，大小是上面酒馆的三倍。王子的视线所及之处，巨大的木桶沿着墙壁排列成行。一盏红灯笼挂在门内侧的钩子上，当做桌子使用的一只翻倒的木桶上，一根黑色脂肪蜡烛闪烁微光。这是唯一的光源。

They emerged in a brick vault thrice the size of the winesink above. Huge wooden vats lined the walls as far as the prince could see. A red lantern hung on a hook just inside the door, and a greasy black candle flickered on an overturned barrel serving as a table. That was the only light.

卡苟——尸体杀手在大酒桶旁边踱步，他的黑色亚拉克弯刀挎在腰上。漂亮的梅里斯抱着十字弓站立，她的眼睛冷酷的像两颗灰色的石头。一旦多恩人进入，丹佐·德汉便闩上了门，然后在它前面占据了一个适当的位置，双臂交叉在胸前。

Caggo Corpsekiller was pacing by the wine vats, his black arakh hanging at his hip. Pretty Meris stood cradling a crossbow, her eyes as cold and dead as two grey stones. Denzo D’han barred the door once the Dornishmen were inside, then took up a position in front of it, arms crossed against his chest.

一个都嫌太多，昆廷想。

One too many, Quentyn thought.

破烂亲王本人坐在桌子旁边，捧着一杯酒。在黄色的烛光里，他的银灰色头发看起来几乎是金黄的，不过也将他的眼袋突出得像鞍囊一样大。他穿着棕色的羊毛旅行者披风，银色锁甲在下面闪着光。这预示着欺诈还是纯粹的谨慎？一名老雇佣兵是一名谨慎的雇佣兵。昆廷走近他的桌子。“我的大人。没穿您的披风您看上去不一样了。”

The Tattered Prince himself was seated at the table, nursing a cup of wine. In the yellow candlelight his silver-grey hair seemed almost golden, though the pouches underneath his eyes were etched as large as saddlebags. He wore a brown wool traveler’s cloak, with silvery chain mail glimmering underneath. Did that betoken treachery or simple prudence? An old sellsword is a cautious sellsword. Quentyn approached his table. “My lord. You look different without your cloak.”

“我的破烂衣服？”潘托斯人耸了耸肩。“可怜的东西……然而那些破布使我的敌人们满怀恐惧，战场上，我的破布在风中飘扬，比任何旗帜都更能鼓舞士气。如果我想隐姓埋名，我只需脱下它，成为平民百姓不再引人注意。他示意对面的长椅。“坐。我听说你是一位王子。但愿我已经知道。你要喝酒吗？扎丽娜也主动提供食物。她的面包不新鲜， 炖的菜恶劣得难以形容。动物油脂和盐，加一两小块肉。狗肉，她说的，但我认为鼠肉更有可能。不过，它不会杀死你。我发现，只有当食物是诱人的才必须要小心。下毒者总是选择最好的菜。”

“My ragged raiment?” The Pentoshi gave a shrug. “A poor thing … yet those tatters fill my foes with fear, and on the battlefield the sight of my rags blowing in the wind emboldens my men more than any banner. And if I want to move unseen, I need only slip it off to become plain and unremarkable.” He gestured at the bench across from him. “Sit. I understand you are a prince. Would that I had known. Will you drink? Zahrina offers food as well. Her bread is stale and her stew is unspeakable. Grease and salt, with a morsel or two of meat. Dog, she says, but I think rat is more likely. It will not kill you, though. I have found that it is only when the food is tempting that one must beware. Poisoners invariably choose the choicest dishes.”

“你带来了三个人，”杰瑞斯爵士指出，语气凌厉。“我们商定各带两个。”

“You brought three men,” Ser Gerris pointed out, with an edge in his voice. “We agreed on two apiece.”

“梅里斯不是男人，梅里斯，亲爱的，解开你的衬衫，给他看看。”

“Meris is no man. Meris, sweet, undo your shirt, show him.”

“那到不必要，”昆廷说。如果他听到的传闻属实，梅里斯的衬衫下面只会有被人割掉双乳留下的伤疤。“梅里斯是个女人，我同意。你依然歪曲了条款。”

“That will not be necessary,” said Quentyn. If the talk he had heard was true, beneath that shirt Pretty Meris had only the scars left by the men who’d cut her breasts off. “Meris is a woman, I agree. You’ve still twisted the terms.”

“破烂和扭曲，我是多么的无赖。三对二没有多大的优势，必须承认，但这算什么。在这个世界上，一个人必须学会抓住神选择送他的无论什么礼物。这是条经验，我付出一些代价学来的。我把它送给你作为我的诚信。”他再次示意了椅子。“坐，说你来这儿要说的话。我保证不杀你，直到我听了你的解释。至少我能为一名王子同伴做到这点。昆廷，是叫这个吗？”

“Tattered and twisty, what a rogue I am. Three to two is not much of an advantage, it must be admitted, but it counts for something. In this world, a man must learn to seize whatever gifts the gods chose to send him. That was a lesson I learned at some cost. I offer it to you as a sign of my good faith.” He gestured at the chair again. “Sit, and say what you came to say. I promise not to have you killed until I have heard you out. That is the least I can do for a fellow prince. Quentyn, is it?”

“马泰尔家族的昆廷。”

“Quentyn of House Martell.”

“青蛙更适合你。与说谎者和背弃者一起喝酒不是我的习惯，但你让我好奇。”

“Frog suits you better. It is not my custom to drink with liars and deserters, but you’ve made me curious.”

昆廷坐了下来。一句错误的话，半个心跳内就会导致流血冲突。“我请您原谅我们的欺骗。唯一航行至奴隶湾的，是那些被雇佣带你去战场的船队。”

Quentyn sat. One wrong word, and this could turn to blood in half a heartbeat. “I ask your pardon for our deception. The only ships sailing for Slaver’s Bay were those that had been hired to bring you to the wars.”

破烂亲王耸了耸肩。“每一个叛徒都有他的说词。你不是第一个向我发誓承诺用剑效劳，拿了我的硬币并跑掉。他们都有理由。‘我的小儿子生病了，‘或‘我妻子给我戴绿帽子，’或‘其他人都让我吸JJ。’多么可爱的孩子，最后的那位，但我并没有原谅他擅离职守。另外一名同伴告诉我，我们的食物太恶劣，因此他不得不逃走，在它让他生病之前，所以我把他的脚砍掉，烤它，并喂给他吃。然后我让他当我们营地的厨师。我们的伙食明显改善，当他的合同期满后他又签署了一份。你，即使……好几个我最好的人，被锁在女王的地牢里感谢你撒谎的舌头，我怀疑你甚至可以去做饭。”

The Tattered Prince gave a shrug. “Every turncloak has his tale. You are not the first to swear me your swords, take my coin, and run. All of them have reasons. ‘My little son is sick,’ or ‘My wife is putting horns on me,’ or ‘The other men all make me suck their cocks.’ Such a charming boy, the last, but I did not excuse his desertion. Another fellow told me our food was so wretched that he had to flee before it made him sick, so I had his foot cut off, roasted it up, and fed it to him. Then I made him our camp cook. Our meals improved markedly, and when his contract was fulfilled he signed another. You, though … several of my best are locked up in the queen’s dungeons thanks to that lying tongue of yours, and I doubt that you can even cook.”

“我是多恩的王子，”昆廷说。“我对我的父亲和我的人民负有责任。有一份秘密的婚姻协定。”

“I am a prince of Dorne,” said Quentyn. “I had a duty to my father and my people. There was a secret marriage pact.”

“我听说了。当银发女王看见你的小片羊皮纸，她倒进了你的怀里，是吗？”

“So I heard. And when the silver queen saw your scrap of parchment she fell into your arms, yes?”

“不是，”漂亮的梅里斯说。

“No,” said Pretty Meris.

“没有？哦，我想起来了。你的新娘骑着龙飞走了。嗯，等她回来时，一定要邀请我们去你的婚礼。军团的人爱喝你的喜酒，我喜欢维斯特洛的婚礼。闹洞房的部分尤其，只有……哦，等等……”他转向丹佐·德汉。“丹佐，我想你告诉过我，那位龙女王嫁给了某位吉斯人。”

“No? Oh, I recall. Your bride flew off on a dragon. Well, when she returns, do be sure to invite us to your nuptials. The men of the company would love to drink to your happiness, and I do love a Westerosi wedding. The bedding part especially, only … oh, wait …” He turned to Denzo D’han. “Denzo, I thought you told me that the dragon queen had married some Ghiscari.”

“一位弥林的贵族。富有。”

“A Meereenese nobleman. Rich.”

破烂亲王转过头来关注昆廷。“那是真的吗？当然不是。你的婚约的情况怎样？”

The Tattered Prince turned back to Quentyn. “Could that be true? Surely not. What of your marriage pact?”

“她嘲笑他，”漂亮的梅里斯说。

“She laughed at him,” said Pretty Meris.

丹妮莉丝从未嘲笑过。余下的弥林人可能视他为一名好笑的怪人，像在君临流亡的盛夏群岛国王罗勃特过去常常遭受的，但女王总是温柔的和他讲话。“我们来得太晚了，”昆廷说。

Daenerys never laughed. The rest of Meereen might see him as an amusing curiosity, like the exiled Summer Islander King Robert used to keep at King’s Landing, but the queen had always spoken to him gently. “We came too late,” said Quentyn.

“真遗憾你没有早点舍弃我。”破烂亲王呷了一口葡萄酒。“所以……没有婚礼为青蛙王子举行了。这就是为什么你们卖力地返回我这儿？我的三位勇敢的多恩小伙子决定要执行他们的合同？”

“A pity you did not desert me sooner.” The Tattered Prince sipped at his wine. “So … no wedding for Prince Frog. Is that why you’ve come hopping back to me? Have my three brave Dornish lads decided to honor their contracts?”

“不是。”

“No.”

“多讨厌。”

“How vexing.”

“尤卡兹·祖·渊扎克死了。”

“Yurkhaz zo Yunzak is dead.”

“旧消息。我看见他死了。这位不幸的人看到一只龙，在他试图逃跑时绊倒了。然后，一千个他最靠近的朋友踩在他上面。无疑地，黄色城市被眼泪所淹没。你问我这个是对他的回忆祝酒？”

“Ancient tidings. I saw him die. The poor man saw a dragon and stumbled as he tried to flee. Then a thousand of his closest friends stepped on him. No doubt the Yellow City is awash in tears. Did you ask me here to toast his memory?”

“不是。渊凯人选出新的指挥官了吗？”

“No. Have the Yunkishmen chosen a new commander?”

“奴隶主委员会不能达成一致。耶赞·祖·喀高兹是最受拥护的，但现在他也死了。贤主大人们轮流执掌最高指挥权，今天我们的领导人，是一位被你部队中的朋友们称之为‘醉酒的征服者’的，到明天，将会是‘抖脸大人’。”

“The council of masters has been unable to agree. Yezzan zo Qaggaz had the most support, but now he’s died as well. The Wise Masters are rotating the supreme command amongst themselves. Today our leader is the one your friends in the ranks dubbed the Drunken Conqueror. On the morrow, it will be Lord Wobblecheeks.”

“兔子，”梅里斯说。“抖脸是昨天。”

“The Rabbit,” said Meris. “Wobblecheeks was yesterday.”

“我接受指正，亲爱的。承我们渊凯朋友们的好意，提供给我们一份图表。我必须努力更专心的查阅它。”

“I stand corrected, my sweetling. Our Yunkish friends were kind enough to provide us with a chart. I must strive to be more assiduous about consulting it.”

“尤卡兹·祖·渊扎克是雇用你的人。”

“Yurkhaz zo Yunzak was the man who hired you.”

“他代表他的城市签了合同。就这样。”

“He signed our contract on behalf of his city. Just so.”

“弥林和渊凯签署了和约。围城被解除，联合部队被解散。将会没有战争，没有杀戮，没有城市被洗劫和掠夺。”

“Meereen and Yunkai have made peace. The siege is to be lifted, the armies disbanded. There will be no battle, no slaughter, no city to sack and plunder.”

“生活充满了失望。”

“Life is full of disappointments.”

“你认为渊凯人会愿意继续付多长时间工资给四个自由兵团？”

“How long do you think the Yunkishmen will want to continue paying wages to four free companies?”

破烂亲王呷了一口酒，说，“一个棘手的问题。但这是我们自由兵团人的生活方式。一场战争结束，另一场开始。幸运的是，在某处总有某个人攻击某个人。也许就在这里。甚至当我们坐在这里喝酒，血胡子正敦促我们渊凯朋友赠与希兹达赫国王另一个脑袋。自由人和奴隶审视彼此的脖子，磨快他们的刀，哈比的儿子们在他们的金字塔里秘密谋划，‘苍白母马’所过之处奴隶和主人都一个样，我们的朋友们从黄色城市眺望大海，在草原某处，一头龙啃食着丹妮莉丝·坦格利安的细皮嫩肉。今晚谁统治弥林？明天又是谁来统治？”这位潘托斯人耸了耸肩。“有一件事我确信。有人会需要我们的剑。”

The Tattered Prince took a sip of wine and said, “A vexing question. But this is the way of life for we men of the free companies. One war ends, another begins. Fortunately there is always someone fighting someone somewhere. Perhaps here. Even as we sit here drinking Bloodbeard is urging our Yunkish friends to present King Hizdahr with another head. Freedmen and slavers eye each other’s necks and sharpen their knives, the Sons of the Harpy plot in their pyramids, the pale mare rides down slave and lord alike, our friends from the Yellow City gaze out to sea, and somewhere in the grasslands a dragon nibbles the tender flesh of Daenerys Targaryen. Who rules Meereen tonight? Who will rule it on the morrow?” The Pentoshi gave a shrug. “One thing I am certain of. Someone will have need of our swords.”

“我需要那些剑。多恩会雇用你。”

“I have need of those swords. Dorne will hire you.”

破烂亲王瞥了一眼漂亮的梅里斯。“他并不缺乏胆子，这只青蛙。必须由我来提醒他？我亲爱的王子，我们签署的最后的合同，你用来擦你漂亮的粉红屁（和谐）股的那份。”

The Tattered Prince glanced at Pretty Meris. “He does not lack for gall, this Frog. Must I remind him? My dear prince, the last contract we signed you used to wipe your pretty pink bottom.”

“无论渊凯人付你多少，我都会付双倍。”

“I will double whatever the Yunkishmen are paying you.”

“在我们签署的合同上面摆上黄金，是吗？”

“And pay in gold upon the signing of our contract, yes?”

“我们到达瓦兰提斯时，我会付你一部分，剩下的等我回阳戟城再付。当我们启航时身边带着黄金，但是，一旦我们加入军团，将很难隐藏它了，所以我们把它存进了银行。我可以给你看文件。”

“I will pay you part when we reach Volantis, the rest when I am back in Sunspear. We brought gold with us when we set sail, but it would have been hard to conceal once we joined the company, so we gave it over to the banks. I can show you papers.”

“啊。文件。但我们会被付双倍。”

“Ah. Papers. But we will be paid double.”

“两倍厚的文件，”漂亮的梅里斯说。

“Twice as many papers,” said Pretty Meris.

“余下的你会在多恩拿到，”昆廷坚持。“我父亲是一位讲信用的人。如果我在一张契约上面加盖了我的印章，他就会履行它的条款。我向你保证这点。”

“The rest you’ll have in Dorne,” Quentyn insisted. “My father is a man of honor. If I put my seal to an agreement, he will fulfill its terms. You have my word on that.”

破烂亲王喝完了葡萄酒，翻转酒杯，扣在他们之间。“所以。让我想一下我是否已经明白了。一位被证实了的撒谎者和背誓者，希望与我们签订合同，并用承诺来支付。什么服务？我不知道。是让我的风吹团粉碎渊凯人，洗劫黄色城市？在战场上击败一名多斯拉克卡拉萨？护送你回家见你父亲？或者你会感到满意，如果我们将心甘情愿的丹妮莉丝女王送上你的床？告诉我真相，青蛙王子。你要我和我的人做什么？”

The Tattered Prince finished his wine, turned the cup over, and set it down between them. “So. Let me see if I understand. A proven liar and oathbreaker wishes to contract with us and pay in promises. And for what services? I wonder. Are my Windblown to smash the Yunkai’i and sack the Yellow City? Defeat a Dothraki khalasar in the field? Escort you home to your father? Or will you be content if we deliver Queen Daenerys to your bed wet and willing? Tell me true, Prince Frog. What would you have of me and mine?”

“我需要你帮我偷一条龙。”

“I need you to help me steal a dragon.”

卡苟——尸体杀手低声轻笑。漂亮的梅里斯似笑非笑地撇嘴。丹佐·德汉吹了声口哨。

Caggo Corpsekiller chuckled. Pretty Meris curled her lip in a half-smile. Denzo D’han whistled.

破烂亲王只是向后靠在椅背上，说，“双倍不够支付龙的价，年青王子。甚至一只青蛙都应该知道这些。巨龙来啦，亲爱的。用承诺付款的人，本该有起码的辨别力允诺更多。”

The Tattered Prince only leaned back on his stool and said, “Double does not pay for dragons, princeling. Even a frog should know that much. Dragons come dear. And men who pay in promises should have at least the sense to promise more.”

“如果你想要我付三倍——”

“If you want me to triple—”

“我想要，”破烂亲王说，“潘托斯。”

“What I want,” said the Tattered Prince, “is Pentos.”