Ⅲ 冰雨的风暴 Chapter8 丹妮莉丝

DAENERYS

蔚蓝的海面十分平静，只听见缓慢沉稳的鼓点，以及木桨柔和的划动。大商船贝勒里恩号呻吟着，粗重的牵引绳紧紧绷起，风帆则可怜地从桅杆上悬垂下来，纹丝不动。即便如此，当她站在前甲板上看着她的龙在湛蓝的晴空中互相追逐时，丹妮莉丝？坦格利安依然感到前所未有的快乐。

Across the still blue water came the slow steady beat of drums and the soft swish of oars from the galleys. The great cog groaned in their wake, the heavy lines stretched taut between. Balerion’s sails hung limp, drooping forlorn from the masts. Yet even so, as she stood upon the forecastle watching her dragons chase each other across a cloudless blue sky, Daenerys Targaryen was as happy as she could ever remember being.

她的多斯拉克人把海洋称为毒水，只要马不能喝的液体就是不洁的东西。三艘船从魁尔斯起锚的那天，他们脸上的表情仿佛是在走向地狱，而不是驶往潘托斯。她年轻而勇敢的血盟卫们注视着逐渐缩小的海岸线，眼睛瞪得又大又白，但每个人都决心不在其他两人面前显露惧怕，她的女仆伊丽和姬琪则没有这番顾忌，她们死命抓住栏杆，即便再小的颠簸，都呕吐不止。丹妮的小卡拉萨的其余部众全待在甲板下面，宁可与紧张不安的马匹为伍，也不愿瞧见这个没有陆地的可怕世界。航行六天后，偶遇一场突来的风暴，当时她透过舱盖听到甲板下的声音：马儿蹬踢嘶鸣，骑手们则以轻微而颤抖的声音不住祈祷。

Her Dothraki called the sea the poison water, distrusting any liquid that their horses could not drink. On the day the three ships had lifted anchor at Qarth, you would have thought they were sailing to hell instead of Pentos. Her brave young bloodriders had stared off at the dwindling coastline with huge white eyes, each of the three determined to show no fear before the other two, while her handmaids Irri and Jhiqui clutched the rail desperately and retched over the side at every little swell. The rest of Dany’s tiny khalasar remained below decks, preferring the company of their nervous horses to the terrifying landless world about the ships. When a sudden squall had enveloped them six days into the voyage, she heard them through the hatches; the horses kicking and screaming, the riders praying in thin quavery voices each time Balerion heaved or swayed.

但没有风暴可以吓倒丹妮，她的称号便是“风暴降生”。当年，她在遥远的龙石岛哭号着出世时，维斯特洛历史上最大的一场暴风雨也于同时在海上呼啸。风暴如此狂烈，甚至刮裂城墙上的石像鬼，并将她父亲的舰队摧毁殆尽。

No squall could frighten Dany, though. Daenerys Stormborn, she was called, for she had come howling into the world on distant Dragonstone as the greatest storm in the memory of Westeros howled outside, a storm so fierce that it ripped gargoyles from the castle walls and smashed her father’s fleet to kindling.

狭海上时有风暴，丹妮在孩童时代便穿越过几十次，从一个自由贸易城邦逃到另一个自由贸易城邦，仅仅领先篡夺者的刺客一步之遥。在这个过程中，她喜欢上了海洋。她喜欢空气里刺鼻的咸味，喜欢苍穹覆盖下的无垠海面。这虽然让她自觉渺小，却也感到自由。她喜欢此刻跟着贝勒里恩号游泳的海豚，如银色标枪一般穿透波浪，她还喜欢不时瞥见的飞鱼。她甚至喜欢水手，喜欢他们的歌谣与故事。有一回，在航向布拉佛斯途中，当她注视着船员们顶风使劲拽下一面巨大的绿色船帆时，竟突发奇想地认为，成为一名水手该有多好。她把想法告诉哥哥，却被韦赛里斯狠狠揪住头发，大哭一场。“你是真龙血脉，”他朝她嘶喊，“真龙，不是臭烘烘的鱼。”

The narrow sea was often stormy, and Dany had crossed it half a hundred times as a girl, running from one Free City to the next half a step ahead of the Usurper’s hired knives. She loved the sea. She liked the sharp salty smell of the air, and the vastness of horizons bounded only by a vault of azure sky above. It made her feel small, but free as well. She liked the dolphins that sometimes swam along beside Balerion, slicing through the waves like silvery spears, and the flying fish they glimpsed now and again. She even liked the sailors, with all their songs and stories. Once on a voyage to Braavos, as she’d watched the crew wrestle down a great green sail in a rising gale, she had even thought how fine it would be to be a sailor. But when she told her brother, Viserys had twisted her hair until she cried. “You are blood of the dragon,” he had screamed at her. “A dragon, not some smelly fish.”

他是个傻瓜，大傻瓜，丹妮心想，如果他更理智，更有耐心，那么此刻航向西方以取回王座的应该是他而不是我。虽然她明白韦赛里斯既愚蠢又恶毒，但有时候，还是忍不住想念他——不是想念那个残酷而软弱的牺牲品，而是想念那个童年时代准她爬上他床的哥哥，那个常给她讲述七大王国故事的男孩，那个为她描绘登上王位以后美好生活的国王。

He was a fool about that, and so much else, Dany thought. If he had been wiser and more patient, it would be him sailing west to take the throne that was his by rights. Viserys had been stupid and vicious, she had come to realize, yet sometimes she missed him all the same. Not the cruel weak man he had become by the end, but the brother who had sometimes let her creep into his bed, the boy who told her tales of the Seven Kingdoms, and talked of how much better their lives would be once he claimed his crown.

船长走到她身边，“若是贝勒里恩号能象与她同名的龙一样腾空飞翔，陛下，”他用杂着浓重潘托斯口音的瓦雷利亚语说，“我们就无需划桨，无需牵引，也无需祈祷起风了。”

The captain appeared at her elbow. “Would that this Balerion could soar as her namesake did, Your Grace,” he said in bastard Valyrian heavily flavored with accents of Pentos. “Then we should not need to row, nor tow, nor pray for wind.”

“就是这样，船长，”丹妮微笑作答。她很高兴在短时间内把这个人争取了过来。格罗莱船长和他的主子伊利里欧？摩帕提斯一样，是个老潘托斯，用自己的船搭三头龙令他紧张得像个少女——就连现在船舷外仍挂着数十桶海水，以防万一着火。起初，格罗莱想把龙关进笼子，为安抚他，丹妮答应下来，但龙的可怜模样让她很快改变了主意，坚持放他们自由。

“Just so, Captain,” she answered with a smile, pleased to have won the man over. Captain Groleo was an old Pentoshi like his master, Illyrio Mopatis, and he had been nervous as a maiden about carrying three dragons on his ship. Half a hundred buckets of seawater still hung from the gunwales, in case of fires. At first Groleo had wanted the dragons caged and Dany had consented to put his fears at ease, but their misery was so palpable that she soon changed her mind and insisted they be freed.

格罗莱船长从这个安排中得到了好处，虽然有过一场微不足道的小火，但比起从前以赛杜里昂号之名航行的时代，贝勒里恩号上突然少了许多老鼠。她的船员们曾经既好奇又害怕，而今却开始对“他们”的龙油然生出古怪而强烈的骄傲，从船长到帮厨小弟，都喜欢看他们三个飞翔……尽管没有丹妮那么强烈。

Even Captain Groleo was glad of that, now. There had been one small fire, easily extinguished; against that, Balerion suddenly seemed to have far fewer rats than she’d had before, when she sailed under the name Saduleon. And her crew, once as fearful as they were curious, had begun to take a queer fierce pride in “their” dragons. Every man of them, from captain to cook’s boy, loved to watch the three fly … though none so much as Dany.

他们是我的孩子，她告诉自己，若巫魔女所言非虚，他们还将是我惟一的孩子。

They are my children, she told herself, and if the maegi spoke truly, they are the only children I am ever like to have.

韦赛利昂的鳞片是新鲜的乳白色，他的角、翅骨和脊骨则是暗金色，好似阳光下闪亮的金属。雷哥则由夏天的碧绿和秋天的青铜色构成。他俩在船队上方翱翔，一圈一圈地盘旋，越升越高，竞相攀比。

Viserion’s scales were the color of fresh cream, his horns, wing bones, and spinal crest a dark gold that flashed bright as metal in the sun. Rhaegal was made of the green of summer and the bronze of fall. They soared above the ships in wide circles, higher and higher, each trying to climb above the other.

龙喜欢从高处攻击，丹妮已经知道，爬到对手与太阳之间，就会折起翅膀，尖啸着俯冲而下。接着他俩会互相扣住，纠缠成一团鳞甲的球，一边自天空翻滚下落，一边舞爪甩尾。他们第一次争斗时，她好怕会伤到彼此，结果证明这对他们而言只算活动筋骨。等降到海面，两条龙即刻分离，咝咝尖叫着再度升起，舞动翅膀挥开蒸腾的海水。卓耿也在飞，但早已飞出她的视线范围。他常到远方去捕猎，离船有好多里。

Dragons always preferred to attack from above, Dany had learned. Should either get between the other and the sun, he would fold his wings and dive screaming, and they would tumble from the sky locked together in a tangled scaly ball, jaws snapping and tails lashing. The first time they had done it, she feared that they meant to kill each other, but it was only sport. No sooner would they splash into the sea than they would break apart and rise again, shrieking and hissing, the salt water steaming off them as their wings clawed at the air. Drogon was aloft as well, though not in sight; he would be miles ahead, or miles behind, hunting.

她的卓耿一直很饿，成长也最为迅速。再过一两年，也许就大到可以骑了，到时候我无需用船就可渡过咸水汪洋。

He was always hungry, her Drogon. Hungry and growing fast. Another year, or perhaps two, and he may be large enough to ride. Then I shall have no need of ships to cross the great salt sea.

但那个时候还没有到来。再说，雷哥和韦赛利昂还只有小狗的体型，卓耿虽比他们大一些，但任何一条狗都比他们重——因为龙的身躯基本由颈项、尾巴和翅膀组成，比看上去要轻。丹妮莉丝？坦格利安要回家还得靠木头、帆布和风。

But that time was not yet come. Rhaegal and Viserion were the size of small dogs, Drogon only a little larger, and any dog would have outweighed them; they were all wings and neck and tail, lighter than they looked. And so Daenerys Targaryen must rely on wood and wind and canvas to bear her home.

迄今为止，前两者均为她提供了优良服务，变幻无常的风却成为叛徒。六天六夜，海面波澜不惊，而今已是第七天，依然没有好转的迹象。惟一值得庆幸的是，伊利里欧总督派给她的船中有两艘是划桨商船，各有两百支桨，并配备了精壮水手。难在大商船贝勒里恩号，她象肥母猪般笨重宽阔，体积大，帆也大，可没桨，无风的时候半点动弹不了。瓦格哈尔号和米拉西斯号放出绳索拖拽，她缓慢而痛苦地前进着，三艘船上都挤满人和各种商品。

The wood and the canvas had served her well enough so far, but the fickle wind had turned traitor. For six days and six nights they had been becalmed, and now a seventh day had come, and still no breath of air to fill their sails. Fortunately, two of the ships that Magister Illyrio had sent after her were trading galleys, with two hundred oars apiece and crews of strong-armed oarsmen to row them. But the great cog Balerion was a song of a different key; a ponderous broad-beamed sow of a ship with immense holds and huge sails, but helpless in a calm. Vhagar and Meraxes had let out lines to tow her, but it made for painfully slow going. All three ships were crowded, and heavily laden.

“我看不到卓耿，”乔拉？莫尔蒙爵士来到前甲板上，站到她身旁，“他又迷路了吗？”

“I cannot see Drogon,” said Ser Jorah Mormont as he joined her on the forecastle. “Is he lost again?”

“迷路的是我们，爵士先生。卓耿不喜欢如婴儿般蠕动爬行，我也不喜欢。”黑龙比其他两条胆大，他第一个在水面上展翅试飞，第一个在船只间翱翔穿越，第一个冲入浮云消失无踪……也是第一个开始捕猎杀戮。想当初那条飞鱼刚破出水面，便被一道火焰紧紧包裹，接着卓耿将其一口吞掉。“他能长多大？”丹妮好奇地问，“你清楚吗？”

“We are the ones who are lost, ser. Drogon has no taste for this wet creeping, no more than I do.” Bolder than the other two, her black dragon had been the first to try his wings above the water, the first to flutter from ship to ship, the first to lose himself in a passing cloud … and the first to kill. The flying fish no sooner broke the surface of the water than they were enveloped in a lance of flame, snatched up, and swallowed. “How big will he grow?” Dany asked curiously. “Do you know?”

“传说在七大王国，有的龙能擒出海里的巨海怪。”

“In the Seven Kingdoms, there are tales of dragons who grew so huge that they could pluck giant krakens from the seas.”

丹妮微笑：“令人惊叹。”

Dany laughed. “That would be a wondrous sight to see.”

“这只是传说而已，卡丽熙，”被放逐的骑士说，“传说中，有些睿智的老龙甚至能活一千年呢。”

“It is only a tale, Khaleesi,” said her exile knight. “They talk of wise old dragons living a thousand years as well.”

“那龙究竟能活多久？”她抬起头，只见韦赛利昂低低地掠过商船，翅膀缓缓拍打，扇起疲软的风帆。

“Well, how long does a dragon live?” She looked up as Viserion swooped low over the ship, his wings beating slowly and stirring the limp sails.

乔拉爵士耸耸肩，“龙的天然寿命比人长得多，至少歌谣里这么讲……七大王国的人民最熟悉的龙是坦格利安家族的龙。他们为战争而繁殖，也在战争中死去。屠龙很难，但并非不可企及。”

Ser Jorah shrugged. “A dragon’s natural span of days is many times as long as a man’s, or so the songs would have us believe … but the dragons the Seven Kingdoms knew best were those of House Targaryen. They were bred for war, and in war they died. It is no easy thing to slay a dragon, but it can be done.”

那个侍从白胡子起初站在精雕的船首像边上，用消瘦的手拄着长长的硬木拐杖，此刻转过身来，“黑死神贝勒里恩在仲裁者杰赫里斯一世统治时期方才死去，共活了两百岁。他大得出奇，可一口吞下整只野牛。陛下，龙是不会停止生长的，只要拥有食物和自由。”他本名阿斯坦，因为满脸白胡须，所以被壮汉贝沃斯起了个绰号叫白胡子，这个绰号也很快被大家所接受。他虽不及乔拉爵士肌肉结实，却比后者高大，眼睛是浅蓝色，长长的雪白胡子如丝绸一样顺滑。

The squire Whitebeard, standing by the figurehead with one lean hand curled about his tall hardwood staff, turned toward them and said, “Balerion the Black Dread was two hundred years old when he died during the reign of Jaehaerys the Conciliator. He was so large he could swallow an aurochs whole. A dragon never stops growing, Your Grace, so long as he has food and freedom.” His name was Arstan, but Strong Belwas had named him Whitebeard for his pale whiskers, and most everyone called him that now. He was taller than Ser Jorah, though not so muscular; his eyes were a pale blue, his long beard as white as snow and as fine as silk.

“自由？”丹妮略感不解，“什么意思？”

“Freedom?” asked Dany, curious. “What do you mean?”

“在君临，您的先祖为他们的龙盖了一栋圆顶巨堡，称为‘龙穴’，迄今仍矗立在雷尼丝丘陵顶，只是早成废墟。昔日，王室的龙就在那居住，好像一个大洞穴，外面有非常宽阔的铁门，里面可容三十个骑士骑马并肩通过。即便如此，龙穴里的龙却从没长到他们祖先的大小。学士们都说，这是墙和圆顶的关系。”

“In King’s Landing, your ancestors raised an immense domed castle for their dragons. The Dragonpit, it is called. It still stands atop the Hill of Rhaenys, though all in ruins now. That was where the royal dragons dwelt in days of yore, and a cavernous dwelling it was, with iron doors so wide that thirty knights could ride through them abreast. Yet even so, it was noted that none of the pit dragons ever reached the size of their ancestors. The maesters say it was because of the walls around them, and the great dome above their heads.”

“见鬼，假如墙能限制体积，那农民该像侏儒，而国王该像巨人，”乔拉爵士说，“事实恰恰相反，茅屋里往往生出大个子，城堡中住的却是矮子。”

“If walls could keep us small, peasants would all be tiny and kings as large as giants,” said Ser Jorah. “I’ve seen huge men born in hovels, and dwarfs who dwelt in castles.”

“人是人，”白胡子回答，“龙是龙。”

“Men are men,” Whitebeard replied. “Dragons are dragons.”

乔拉爵士哼了一声以示轻蔑，“还真把自己当那么回事。”被放逐的骑士不喜欢这个老人，打一开始就表现得很明显。“那有劳你给我们介绍一下龙的知识，怎么样呢？”

Ser Jorah snorted his disdain. “How profound.” The exile knight had no love for the old man, he’d made that plain from the first. “What do you know of dragons, anyway?”

“不，我也不甚了解。但好歹我当初在君临生活期间，铁王座上坐的是伊里斯国王，有幸见过悬挂在王座厅墙上的巨龙头骨。”

“Little enough, that’s true. Yet I served for a time in King’s Landing in the days when King Aerys sat the Iron Throne, and walked beneath the dragonskulls that looked down from the walls of his throne room.”

“韦赛里斯对我提起过那些头骨，”丹妮道，“据说篡夺者把它们取下来收藏，因为不堪忍受它们日日俯瞰他坐着偷来的王座。”她招手示意白胡子靠近。“你见过我的父王吗？”国王伊里斯二世在他女儿出生前就死了。

“Viserys talked of those skulls,” said Dany. “The Usurper took them down and hid them away. He could not bear them looking down on him upon his stolen throne.” She beckoned Whitebeard closer. “Did you ever meet my royal father?” King Aerys II had died before his daughter was born.

“我很荣幸地见过他，女王陛下。”

“I had that great honor, Your Grace.”

“他是否善良温和？”

“Did you find him good and gentle?”

白胡子尽力掩饰自己的感受，但那些感受其实清清楚楚地写在他的脸上。“陛下他……通常很和善。”

Whitebeard did his best to hide his feelings, but they were there, plain on his face. “His Grace was … often pleasant.”

“通常？”丹妮微笑，“不是一直？”

“Often?” Dany smiled. “But not always?”

“对于心目中的敌手，他会非常残酷。”

“He could be very harsh to those he thought his enemies.”

“明智的人决不会成为国王的敌手，”丹妮说，“那么，你也了解我哥哥雷加吗？”

“A wise man never makes an enemy of a king,” said Dany. “Did you know my brother Rhaegar as well?”

“据说没有人真正了解雷加王子。我只在比武会上见过他，也听他弹过银弦竖琴。”

“It was said that no man ever knew Prince Rhaegar, truly. I had the privilege of seeing him in tourney, though, and often heard him play his harp with its silver strings.”

乔拉爵士嗤之以鼻，“只怕是和成千人一起参加丰收宴会时听的吧，亏你还没宣称自己是他的侍从。”

Ser Jorah snorted. “Along with a thousand others at some harvest feast. Next you’ll claim you squired for him.”

“我当然不敢如此夸口，爵士。雷加王子的第一任侍从是米斯？慕顿，接下来是瑞卡德？隆莫斯。他俩后来都被他亲手册封为骑士，并成为他终身的伙伴。除此之外，王太子殿下还有许多密友，包括年轻的克林顿伯爵，以及老朋友亚瑟？戴恩。”

“I make no such claim, ser. Myles Mooton was Prince Rhaegar’s squire, and Richard Lonmouth after him. When they won their spurs, he knighted them himself, and they remained his close companions. Young Lord Connington was dear to the prince as well, but his oldest friend was Arthur Dayne.”

“拂晓神剑！”丹妮愉快地喊道，“韦赛里斯跟我说过那把不同寻常的白剑，他还说亚瑟爵士是全国上下惟一可与我哥匹敌的骑士。”

“The Sword of the Morning!” said Dany, delighted. “Viserys used to talk about his wondrous white blade. He said Ser Arthur was the only knight in the realm who was our brother’s peer.”

白胡子低头，“我没资格质疑韦赛里斯王子的话。”

Whitebeard bowed his head. “It is not my place to question the words of Prince Viserys.”

“他是国王，”丹妮纠正，“虽未经加冕，但依旧是七国之君，韦赛里斯三世。好啦，你刚才什么意思？”他的回答并不如她预期。“乔拉爵士曾说我哥雷加是最后的真龙传人，我以为他定是个非常厉害的战士，对吧？”

“King,” Dany corrected. “He was a king, though he never reigned. Viserys, the Third of His Name. But what do you mean?” His answer had not been one that she’d expected. “Ser Jorah named Rhaegar the last dragon once. He had to have been a peerless warrior to be called that, surely?”

“陛下，”白胡子道，“龙石岛亲王的确很厉害，但……”

“Your Grace,” said Whitebeard, “the Prince of Dragonstone was a most puissant warrior, but …”

“说，”她催促，“尽管直说。”

“Go on,” she urged. “You may speak freely to me.”

“遵命。”老人斜倚在硬木拐杖上，皱起眉头。“无可匹敌的战士……好动听的评价，可是女王陛下，您知道吗？评价往往不能决定胜负。”

“As you command.” The old man leaned upon his hardwood staff, his brow furrowed. “A warrior without peer … those are fine words, Your Grace, but words win no battles.”

“刀剑能决定胜负，”乔拉爵士生硬地说，“而雷加王子精于刀剑。”

“Swords win battles,” Ser Jorah said bluntly. “And Prince Rhaegar knew how to use one.”

“不错，爵士，他确实武艺高强，可……我目睹过上百次的比武和比我愿意见到的多得多的战争，无论哪个骑士，无论他如何强壮、如何迅捷、如何精准，只要他是人，终归有极限。他可以赢得一次艰难的比武，也可能输掉一场简单的斗争。草地中的小小污点，晚餐时吃的脏东西，或许就意味着失败。而一阵突然的风向改变却会赐予你胜利，”他瞥了乔拉爵士一眼，“或者手臂上女士赠予的信物。”

“He did, ser, but … I have seen a hundred tournaments and more wars than I would wish, and however strong or fast or skilled a knight may be, there are others who can match him. A man will win one tourney, and fall quickly in the next. A slick spot in the grass may mean defeat, or what you ate for supper the night before. A change in the wind may bring the gift of victory.” He glanced at Ser Jorah. “Or a lady’s favor knotted round an arm.”

莫尔蒙脸色一沉，“小心你的舌头，老头子。”

Mormont’s face darkened. “Be careful what you say, old man.”

阿斯坦见过兰尼斯港外那场比武会，当时莫尔蒙手缠女士赠予的信物，赢得了长枪比试，也赢得了那位女士——海塔尔家族的琳妮丝——的心，她是他的第二任妻子，高贵而美丽……但她毁了他，抛弃了他，如今对他而言，关于她的记忆是一种折磨。“别生气，我的好骑士，”她将手搭在乔拉胳膊上，“阿斯坦无意冒犯。”

Arstan had seen Ser Jorah fight at Lannisport, Dany knew, in the tourney Mormont had won with a lady’s favor knotted round his arm. He had won the lady too; Lynesse of House Hightower, his second wife, highborn and beautiful … but she had ruined him, and abandoned him, and the memory of her was bitter to him now. “Be gentle, my knight.” She put a hand on Jorah’s arm. “Arstan had no wish to give offense, I’m certain.”

“遵命，卡丽熙。”乔拉爵士的声音很不情愿。

“As you say, Khaleesi.” Ser Jorah’s voice was grudging.

丹妮回身面对侍从，“除了韦赛里斯的故事，我其实不大了解雷加，而长兄去世时，他只是个小男孩。说说看，他究竟是个怎样的人？”

Dany turned back to the squire. “I know little of Rhaegar. Only the tales Viserys told, and he was a little boy when our brother died. What was he truly like?”

老人考虑了一会儿，“首先，他很有才干。他坚定、沉着、忠实、诚恳。关于他有个著名的故事……无疑乔拉爵士也知道。”

The old man considered a moment. “Able. That above all. Determined, deliberate, dutiful, single-minded. There is a tale told of him … but doubtless Ser Jorah knows it as well.”

“我想听你说。”

“I would hear it from you.”

“如您所愿。”白胡子说，“龙石岛亲王小时候好学得有点过分，他比别的小孩早得多就能识字读书，以致于人们常说蕾拉王后怀他时一定吞了书本和蜡烛。雷加对孩童的玩耍没兴趣，他的智慧令学士们惊奇，而他父亲手下的骑士们则酸溜溜地开玩笑说，圣贝勒又回来了……直到有一天，雷加王子从卷轴里发现了某些东西，突然改变了性格。没人清楚究竟怎么回事，只知道某天一大早，那孩子出现在较场上，正穿戴盔甲的骑士们惊讶地望着他直走向教头威廉？戴瑞爵士，说：‘给我长剑和铠甲，我必须成为战士。’”

“As you wish,” said Whitebeard. “As a young boy, the Prince of Dragonstone was bookish to a fault. He was reading so early that men said Queen Rhaella must have swallowed some books and a candle whilst he was in her womb. Rhaegar took no interest in the play of other children. The maesters were awed by his wits, but his father’s knights would jest sourly that Baelor the Blessed had been born again. Until one day Prince Rhaegar found something in his scrolls that changed him. No one knows what it might have been, only that the boy suddenly appeared early one morning in the yard as the knights were donning their steel. He walked up to Ser Willem Darry, the master-at-arms, and said, ‘I will require sword and armor. It seems I must be a warrior.’ ”

“他真的是个战士！”丹妮高兴地说。

“And he was!” said Dany, delighted.

“是的，”白胡子鞠了一躬。“请原谅，陛下。说到战士，壮汉贝沃斯起来了，我必须去服侍他。”

“He was indeed.” Whitebeard bowed. “My pardons, Your Grace. We speak of warriors, and I see that Strong Belwas has arisen. I must attend him.”

丹妮回头扫了一眼。太监正通过船中间的扶手爬上甲板，他体格虽庞大，动作却极灵敏。贝沃斯人不高，但胸膛宽阔，估计体重超过十五石，厚实的棕色肚子上横七竖八地满是淡白的旧疤痕。他穿着松垮的短裤，系一条黄丝肚兜，镶铁钉的皮背心则小得有些可笑。“壮汉贝沃斯饿了！”他朝所有人吼叫，“壮汉贝沃斯要吃东西！”他转身发现前甲板上的阿斯坦，“白胡子！你给壮汉贝沃斯拿吃的来！”

Dany glanced aft. The eunuch was climbing through the hold amidships, nimble for all his size. Belwas was squat but broad, a good fifteen stone of fat and muscle, his great brown gut crisscrossed by faded white scars. He wore baggy pants, a yellow silk bellyband, and an absurdly tiny leather vest dotted with iron studs. “Strong Belwas is hungry!” he roared at everyone and no one in particular. “Strong Belwas will eat now!” Turning, he spied Arstan on the forecastle. “Whitebeard! You will bring food for Strong Belwas!”

“你去吧，”丹妮告诉侍从。对方又鞠了一躬，然后离开，前去服侍他的主人。

“You may go,” Dany told the squire. He bowed again, and moved off to tend the needs of the man he served.

乔拉爵士注视着他的身影，那张生硬而坦诚的脸皱成一团。莫尔蒙高大健壮，有强硬的下颚和厚厚的肩膀，虽谈不上英俊，却是丹妮此刻最真诚的朋友。“这老头说话添油加醋，希望您明查，”白胡子走远后，他告诉她。

Ser Jorah watched with a frown on his blunt honest face. Mormont was big and burly, strong of jaw and thick of shoulder. Not a handsome man by any means, but as true a friend as Dany had ever known. “You would be wise to take that old man’s words well salted,” he told her when Whitebeard was out of earshot.

“女王须要聆听所有人的话，”她提醒他，“尊贵的人与低贱的人，强壮的人与弱小的人，高尚的人与堕落的人。一个人的声音也许会欺骗你，但综合许多人的意见才能得到真相。”这是她从书中读来的。

“A queen must listen to all,” she reminded him. “The highborn and the low, the strong and the weak, the noble and the venal. One voice may speak you false, but in many there is always truth to be found.” She had read that in a book.

“那么请听听我的话，陛下，”被放逐的骑士说，“这个白胡子阿斯坦在欺骗您！您不觉得作为侍从，他太老了吗？况且他若真的侍奉一个呆头呆脑的太监，怎会如此善于言谈？”

“Hear my voice then, Your Grace,” the exile said. “This Arstan Whitebeard is playing you false. He is too old to be a squire, and too well spoken to be serving that oaf of a eunuch.”