Chapter 第二十二章 提利昂

TYRION

他梦见了他的领主父亲和裹尸布大人。他梦见他们是一体的，当他的父亲用石质的手臂搂住他低头试图给他一个灰色之吻时，他骤然惊醒，口干舌燥满嘴血腥味，而心脏在胸膛里打鼓似的疯狂跳动。

He dreamt of his lord father and the Shrouded Lord. He dreamt that they were one and the same, and when his father wrapped stone arms around him and bent to give him his grey kiss, he woke with his mouth dry and rusty with the taste of blood and his heart hammering in his chest.

“我们的死侏儒回来了，”哈尔顿说。

“Our dead dwarf has returned to us,” Haldon said.

提利昂摇着头试图摇走梦的遗迹。伤心地，我刚才在伤心地迷失了。“我没死。”

Tyrion shook his head to clear away the webs of dream. The Sorrows. I was lost in the Sorrows. “I am not dead.”

“那得看情况再说。”“半学士”居高临下的说。“鸭子，跑跑腿给我们的小朋友弄点汤。他一定饿坏了。”

“That remains to be seen.” The Halfmaester stood over him. “Duck, be a fine fowl and boil some broth for our little friend here. He must be famished.”

他在害羞小姐号上，提利昂观察，在一个闻起来有浓浓醋味的破毯子下面。伤心地在身后，刚才我溺水只是一个梦。“为什么我闻起来像恶心的醋缸？”

He was on the Shy Maid, Tyrion saw, under a scratchy blanket that smelled of vinegar. The Sorrows are behind us. It was just a dream I dreamed as I was drowning. “Why do I stink of vinegar?”

“莱莫尔用醋给你擦洗。有人说这个可以帮助防止灰死病。我可不认为哪样，但是试一试也没坏处。在格里夫把你捞上来后是莱莫尔把你肺中的水挤出来的。你当时都冷的像冰了，嘴唇发紫。杨恩德里认为我们把你扔回去比较好，但是男孩没让。”

“Lemore has been washing you with it. Some say it helps prevent the greyscale. I am inclined to doubt that, but there was no harm in trying. It was Lemore who forced the water from your lungs after Griff had pulled you up. You were as cold as ice, and your lips were blue. Yandry said we ought to throw you back, but the lad forbade it.”

王子。记忆回溯：那个石人伸出灰色的碎手，关节处隐见血迹。他像块沉重的压箱石把我拽向河底。“格里夫把我拉上来的？”他肯定很讨厌这样做，要么他就任由我死掉了。“我昏迷了多久？这到哪里了？”

The prince. Memory came rushing back: the stone man reaching out with cracked grey hands, the blood seeping from his knuckles. He was heavy as a boulder, pulling me under. “Griff brought me up?” He must hate me, or he would have let me die. “How long have I been sleeping? What place is this?”

“赛尔霍利斯。”哈尔顿从袖子里抽出一把小刀。“给，”他说，低手把刀扔给提利昂。

“Selhorys.” Haldon produced a small knife from his sleeve. “Here,” he said, tossing it underhand at Tyrion.

侏儒畏缩了一下。那把刀插在了他双脚之间在甲板上嗡嗡直晃。他拔出了它。“这是干嘛？”

The dwarf flinched. The knife landed between his feet and stood quivering in the deck. He plucked it out. “What’s this?”

“脱了你的靴子，戳戳每根脚趾和手指。”

“Take off your boots. Prick each of your toes and fingers.”

“那听起来……很痛。”

“That sounds … painful.”

“希望如此。快脱。”

“I hope so. Do it.”

提利昂甩掉接连甩掉两只靴子，脱掉长袜，乜了一眼他的脚趾头。看起来他和平常相比也没怎么变糟。他小心翼翼地戳了戳一个大脚趾。

Tyrion yanked off one boot and then the other, peeled down his hose, squinted at his toes. It seemed to him they looked no better or worse than usual. He poked gingerly at one big toe.

“用力，”“半学士”哈尔顿督促。

“Harder,” urged Haldon Halfmaester.

“你是想让我弄出血来吗？”

“Do you want me to draw blood?”

“若需要的话。”

“If need be.”

“那我每根脚趾上都会留下一个痂。”

“I’ll have a scab on every toe.”

“这么做又不是让你数脚趾的。我想看到你还会畏缩。只要戳的时候还会痛，你就还算安全。到你感觉不到利刃的时候你就该怕了。”

“The purpose of the exercise is not to count your toes. I want to see you wince. So long as the pricks hurt, you are safe. It is only when you cannot feel the blade that you will have cause to fear.”

灰死病。提利昂苦着脸。他扎了扎另一根脚趾，当血滴从刀剑流下时他咒骂了一句。“会疼的。你现在高兴了？”

Greyscale. Tyrion grimaced. He stabbed another toe, cursed as a bead of blood welled up around the knife’s point. “That hurt. Are you happy?”

“高兴的起舞。”

“Dancing with joy.”

“你的脚比我的还臭，尤罗。”鸭子拿着一碗汤。“格里夫警告过你别打石人的注意。”

“Your feet smell worse than mine, Yollo.” Duck had a cup of broth. “Griff warned you not to lay hands upon the stone men.”

“是啊，但是他忘记警告他们离我远点儿了。”

“Aye, but he forgot to warn the stone men not to lay their hands upon me.”

“当你戳的时候，找找有没有坏死的灰皮，指甲最先会变黑。”哈尔顿说。“若你发现了什么迹象，千万别犹豫，失去一根脚趾总比一只脚好，失去一只手臂也比整日在睡梦之桥上哀嚎好。若你乐意，现在开始，另一只脚，然后还有你的手指。”

“As you prick, look for patches of dead grey skin, for nails beginning to turn black,” said Haldon. “If you see such signs, do not hesitate. Better to lose a toe than a foot. Better to lose an arm than spend your days wailing on the Bridge of Dream. Now the other foot, if you please. Then your fingers.”

侏儒换了一下他发育不全的腿开始扎剩下的脚趾头。“我要扎扎我的老二么？”

The dwarf recrossed his stunted legs and began to prick the other set of toes. “Shall I prick my prick as well?”

“那倒无关痛痒。”

“It would not hurt.”

“我想你的意思是那对你无关痛痒，但对我来说钢枪太久没上膛和放着生锈也没什么区别啦。”

“It would not hurt you is what you mean. Though I had as well slice it off for all the use I make of it.”

“爱怎怎地。我们会晒干它塞点东西，卖了它换点钱。一个侏儒的老二据说有魔力。”

“Feel free. We will have it tanned and stuffed and sell it for a fortune. A dwarf’s cock has magical powers.”

“多年来我一直都这么对那些女人说。”提利昂用匕首的尖端挑进他的拇指，看着血滴冒出接着吮吸了一下。“我得这样折磨自己到猴年马月？什么时候我才能确定我没事儿了？”

“I have been telling all the women that for years.” Tyrion drove the dagger’s point into the ball of his thumb, watched the blood bead up, sucked it away. “How long must I continue to torture myself? When will we be certain that I’m clean?”

“说真的？”半学士说。“永不。你吞掉了半条河，现在你也许正在转变，从内部变成石头，从你的心肺开始。若是这样的话，扎扎你的脚趾或者用醋淋身一点儿用都没。若你真是这样，就来喝点汤吧。”

“Truly?” said the Halfmaester. “Never. You swallowed half the river. You may be going grey even now, turning to stone from inside out, starting with your heart and lungs. If so, pricking your toes and bathing in vinegar will not save you. When you’re done, come have some broth.”

汤是不错，提利昂想，他注意到半学士在他喝的时候横了一张桌子在他们之间。害羞小姐号已经飘到了罗伊达西岸的一个风化的码头旁。再过两个码头，有艘瓦兰提斯河舰正在卸下士兵们。商店摊棚还有仓库在一座沙石墙下挤作一团，城邦的塔楼和圆顶则耸立在它们身后，被夕阳染成红色。

The broth was good, though Tyrion noted that the Halfmaester kept the table between them as he ate. The Shy Maid was moored to a weathered pier on the east bank of the Rhoyne. Two piers down, a Volantene river galley was discharging soldiers. Shops and stalls and storehouses huddled beneath a sandstone wall. The towers and domes of the city were visible beyond it, reddened by the light of the setting sun.

不，不是个城邦。赛尔霍利斯只算是个城镇，自古瓦兰提斯以来就一直被统治着。这里不是维斯特洛伊。

No, not a city. Selhorys was still accounted a mere town, and was ruled from Old Volantis. This was not Westeros.

莱莫尔拽着王子上了甲板，当她看见提利昂的时候，她冲过甲板来拥抱他。“圣母慈悲。我们都为你祈祷着，雨果。”

Lemore emerged on deck with the prince in tow. When she saw Tyrion, she rushed across the deck to hug him. “The Mother is merciful. We have prayed for you, Hugor.”

至少你祈祷了。“我对你没什么意见。”

You did, at least. “I won’t hold that against you.”

小格里夫的问候就没那么多感情了，年轻的王子闷闷不乐，依旧对杨恩德里和伊西拉能上岸而他不得不留在船上而生气。“我们只是为你的安全着想，”莱莫尔这样劝慰。“现在时局不稳。”

Young Griff’s greeting was less effusive. The princeling was in a sullen mood, angry that he had been forced to remain on the Shy Maid instead of going ashore with Yandry and Ysilla. “We only want to keep you safe,” Lemore told him. “These are unsettled times.”

半学士哈尔顿解释道。“在伤心地到赛尔霍利斯之间这段路，我们三次瞥河东岸有向南进军的骑手——多斯拉克人。又一次我们是如此的靠近，甚至能听到他们发辫上的铃声，夜晚不时还能看到他们的营火在东山后面照耀。我们也遇见了战舰，挤满了奴隶士兵的瓦伦提斯河舰。元老们显然在担心来自赛尔霍利斯方向的攻击。

Haldon Halfmaester explained. “On the way down from the Sorrows to Selhorys, we thrice glimpsed riders moving south along the river’s eastern shore. Dothraki. Once they were so close we could hear the bells tinkling in their braids, and sometimes at night their fires could be seen beyond the eastern hills. We passed warships as well, Volantene river galleys crammed with slave soldiers. The triarchs fear an attack upon Selhorys, plainly.”

提利昂立即明白过来。沿着主河道的城镇里，赛尔罗伊斯坐落于罗伊达的东岸，与它的姊妹们相比，她更容易收到来自马王们的袭击。即使这样，着也是一个小小的奖赏。若我是卡奥，我就会佯攻赛尔霍利斯，让瓦兰提斯人赶来营救，然后向南暗度陈仓直取瓦兰提斯。

Tyrion understood that quick enough. Alone amongst the major river towns, Selhorys stood upon the eastern bank of the Rhoyne, making it much more vulnerable to the horselords than its sister towns across the river. Even so, it is a small prize. If I were khal, I would feint at Selhorys, let the Volantenes rush to defend it, then swing south and ride hard for Volantis itself.

“我知道如何用剑，”小格里夫坚称。

“I know how to use a sword,” Young Griff was insisting.

“就算你祖先里最勇猛的人也知道危险的时候不离铁卫。”莱莫尔已经换下了她的修女袍，穿上一身更类似于富商妻女的衣服。提利昂仔细地观察着她。虽然他能轻而易举地嗅出染着蓝发的格里夫和小格里夫背后的真相，杨恩德里和伊西拉看起来也就是他们说的那样，而鸭子也差不多。但是莱莫尔……她又是谁？她在这里干什么？我猜，不是为了钱。这个王子对他来说又是什么地位？她又是不是个真正的修女？

“Even the bravest of your forebears kept his Kingsguard close about him in times of peril.” Lemore had changed out of her septa’s robes into garb more befitting the wife or daughter of a prosperous merchant. Tyrion watched her closely. He had sniffed out the truth beneath the dyed blue hair of Griff and Young Griff easily enough, and Yandry and Ysilla seemed to be no more than they claimed to be, whilst Duck was somewhat less. Lemore, though … Who is she, really? Why is she here? Not for gold, I’d judge. What is this prince to her? Was she ever a true septa?

哈尔顿也注意到了她的变装。“我们这么轻易就丧失信仰了么？我还是喜欢看你穿修女袍的样子，莱莫尔。”

Haldon took note of her change of garb as well. “What are we to make of this sudden loss of faith? I preferred you in your septa’s robes, Lemore.”

“我更喜欢她什么也没穿的样子，”提利昂说。

“I preferred her naked,” said Tyrion.

莱莫尔责备的看了他一眼。“那是因为你有个猥琐的灵魂。代表维斯特洛伊的修女袍可能会为我们惹到不欢迎的眼神。她再次转向伊耿王子。“你不是唯一需要躲藏的人。”

Lemore gave him a reproachful look. “That is because you have a wicked soul. Septa’s robes scream of Westeros and might draw unwelcome eyes onto us.” She turned back to Prince Aegon. “You are not the only one who must needs hide.”

男孩看起来不怎么吃这一套。这些行为代表他是个完美的王子只不过还是半个男孩，对这个世界和它的苦楚还知之甚少。“伊耿王子，”提利昂说，“既然我们俩都被困在这船上了，也许我有幸与您玩一局锡瓦斯棋聊以度过这几个小时？”

The lad did not seem appeased. The perfect prince but still half a boy for all that, with little and less experience of the world and all its woes. “Prince Aegon,” said Tyrion, “since we’re both stuck aboard this boat, perhaps you will honor me with a game of cyvasse to while away the hours?”

王子给了他个小心谨慎的眼神。“我受够了锡瓦斯棋。”

The prince gave him a wary look. “I am sick of cyvasse.”

“你是说害怕输给一个侏儒？”

“Sick of losing to a dwarf, you mean?”

这深深刺痛了男孩的骄傲，就如提利昂预计的那样。“把那块板子还有棋子拿来，这回我一定碾碎你。”

That pricked the lad’s pride, just as Tyrion had known it would. “Go fetch the board and pieces. This time I mean to smash you.”

他们在甲板上玩起来，在舱后盘腿而坐。小格里夫用龙、象和重骑兵部署在前线做出攻击阵型。年轻人的编队，鲁莽的近乎白痴，他冒险只为速战速决。他让王子先走，哈尔顿在身后看着他们对弈。

They played on deck, sitting cross-legged behind the cabin. Young Griff arrayed his army for attack, with dragon, elephants, and heavy horse up front. A young man’s formation, as bold as it is foolish. He risks all for the quick kill. He let the prince have first move. Haldon stood behind them, watching the play.

当王子伸手去抓龙时，提利昂清了清嗓子。“我要是你就不会那么做。将龙这么早得放出来错大了。”他无辜的笑笑。“你的父亲知道龙过于勇猛的下场。”

When the prince reached for his dragon, Tyrion cleared his throat. “I would not do that if I were you. It is a mistake to bring your dragon out too soon.” He smiled innocently. “Your father knew the dangers of being overbold.”

“你认识我的生父吗？”

“Did you know my true father?”

“我见过他两三次，但是在劳伯杀了他时我也才十岁，家父死死得把我锁在石头后面。不，我不能说我认识雷加王子，不像你的养父那样，康宁顿大人是王子最亲密的朋友，不是么？”

“Well, I saw him twice or thrice, but I was only ten when Robert killed him, and mine own sire had me hidden underneath a rock. No, I cannot claim I knew Prince Rhaegar. Not as your false father did. Lord Connington was the prince’s dearest friend, was he not?”

小格里夫拨开眼前的蓝发。“他们在君临时一起当侍从。”

Young Griff pushed a lock of blue hair out of his eyes. “They were squires together at King’s Landing.”

“一个真正的朋友，我们的康宁顿大人。他一定是，对那个剥夺了他土地和头衔、送他去流放的国王的孙子如此的忠诚。对那点我深表遗憾。若不是这样，雷加王子的朋友在场，大概在我父亲洗劫君临时就能将雷加王子亲爱的小儿子从在墙上摔烂了脑袋的命运里拯救出来了。”

“A true friend, our Lord Connington. He must be, to remain so fiercely loyal to the grandson of the king who took his lands and titles and sent him into exile. A pity about that. Elsewise Prince Rhaegar’s friend might have been on hand when my father sacked King’s Landing, to save Prince Rhaegar’s precious little son from getting his royal brains dashed out against a wall.”

男孩脸唰的红了。“那不是我，我告诉过你，那只是个尿水弯皮革匠的儿子，他妈妈在生他时难产死了。他父亲把他以一壶阿博金的价格卖给瓦利斯大人。他还有其他的儿子但是没有尝过阿博金的味道。瓦利斯把那个尿水弯的男孩交给我奶娘带走了我。”

The lad flushed. “That was not me. I told you. That was some tanner’s son from Pisswater Bend whose mother died birthing him. His father sold him to Lord Varys for a jug of Arbor gold. He had other sons but had never tasted Arbor gold. Varys gave the Pisswater boy to my lady mother and carried me away.”

“是啊。”提利昂移动了他的象。“当那个尿水弯王子顺利死亡后，太监把你偷渡过狭海交给他的胖朋友奶酪商，接着他就把你藏在了平底船上找了个流放在外的领主声称是你的父亲。这真可以编一个精彩的故事，一旦你登上铁王座歌手们就会歌颂你如何逃脱……有趣的是我们的丹妮莉丝小姐与你喜结连理。”

“Aye.” Tyrion moved his elephants. “And when the pisswater prince was safely dead, the eunuch smuggled you across the narrow sea to his fat friend the cheesemonger, who hid you on a poleboat and found an exile lord willing to call himself your father. It does make for a splendid story, and the singers will make much of your escape once you take the Iron Throne … assuming that our fair Daenerys takes you for her consort.”

“她会的，她一定得。”

“She will. She must.”

“一定？”提利昂不敢苟同的啧了啧嘴。“那可不是女王喜欢听的词。你是个完美的王子，这点我同意，聪明勇武和任何处女的白马王子一样英俊。但丹妮莉丝？坦格利安可不是什么处女，她是一个多斯拉克卡奥的寡妇，龙之母和城市的掠夺者，一个长了乳头的征服者伊耿。她可能不会像你想当然的那样走。”

“Must?” Tyrion made a tsking sound. “That is not a word queens like to hear. You are her perfect prince, agreed, bright and bold and comely as any maid could wish. Daenerys Targaryen is no maid, however. She is the widow of a Dothraki khal, a mother of dragons and sacker of cities, Aegon the Conqueror with teats. She may not prove as willing as you wish.”

“她会愿意的。”伊耿王子听起来很震惊。显而易见以前他可没考虑过他的未婚妻可能拒绝他的可能性。“你不认识她。”他拾起他的重骑兵，重重地放下了它。

“She’ll be willing.” Prince Aegon sounded shocked. It was plain that he had never before considered the possibility that his bride-to-be might refuse him. “You don’t know her.” He picked up his heavy horse and put it down with a thump.

侏儒耸了耸肩。“我知道她的童年生涯就是流放历程，穷困潦倒，指望着美梦成真和权谋得逞，从一个城邦逃到另一个，担惊受怕从没安稳过，除了一个几乎半疯了的哥哥外没有寡亲无友……这个哥哥最后还把她以换取一支军队的代价卖给了多斯拉克人。我知道在这里的某处，她在草原上孵化了她的龙，就像她也重生了一样。我知道她很骄傲。为什么不呢？她除了骄傲还有什么残存？我知道她很强壮。为什么不呢？多斯拉克人唾弃弱者，若丹妮莉丝一味示弱，她早就和韦赛里斯一起烂在一起了。我知道她很凶猛。阿斯塔波、渊凯和弥林就是证据。她跨越草地和红色荒原，躲过刺杀、诡计和失败的巫术中而生存着，背负着一个哥哥、一个儿子和一个丈夫的忧伤，用穿着凉鞋的纤足将奴隶之城踏碎。好了，现在你认为这个女王会在你抓着你的乞碗哀求说‘早上好，姑姑。我是你的侄子，复活了的伊耿，我这辈子一直躲在一艘平底船上，但是现在我会洗掉我的蓝头发，而且，我想要一条龙，求求你……哦，还有，我刚才是不是没说，对于铁王座的继承权我排在你前面？’”

The dwarf shrugged. “I know that she spent her childhood in exile, impoverished, living on dreams and schemes, running from one city to the next, always fearful, never safe, friendless but for a brother who was by all accounts half-mad … a brother who sold her maidenhood to the Dothraki for the promise of an army. I know that somewhere out upon the grass her dragons hatched, and so did she. I know she is proud. How not? What else was left her but pride? I know she is strong. How not? The Dothraki despise weakness. If Daenerys had been weak, she would have perished with Viserys. I know she is fierce. Astapor, Yunkai, and Meereen are proof enough of that. She has crossed the grasslands and the red waste, survived assassins and conspiracies and fell sorceries, grieved for a brother and a husband and a son, trod the cities of the slavers to dust beneath her dainty sandaled feet. Now, how do you suppose this queen will react when you turn up with your begging bowl in hand and say, ‘Good morrow to you, Auntie. I am your nephew, Aegon, returned from the dead. I’ve been hiding on a poleboat all my life, but now I’ve washed the blue dye from my hair and I’d like a dragon, please … and oh, did I mention, my claim to the Iron Throne is stronger than your own?’ ”

伊耿愤怒道双唇扭曲。“我不会像个乞丐一样去见我的姑姑的。我会以亲人的身份带着一支军队去找她。”

Aegon’s mouth twisted in fury. “I will not come to my aunt a beggar. I will come to her a kinsman, with an army.”

“一直微不足道的军队。”就是那个，那让他有喜又怒。侏儒不由自主想起了乔佛里。我还有份礼物送给怒头上的王子。“丹妮莉丝女王有她自己的大军，可不会对你道谢。”提利昂举起了他的十字弓。

“A small army.” There, that’s made him good and angry. The dwarf could not help but think of Joffrey. I have a gift for angering princes. “Queen Daenerys has a large one, and no thanks to you.” Tyrion moved his crossbows.

“随你怎么说。她都会是我的新娘。康宁顿大人说到做到。我就想血亲一样信任他。”

“Say what you want. She will be my bride, Lord Connington will see to it. I trust him as much as if he were my own blood.”

“也许与我相比你才是那个白痴。别信任任何人，我的王子。不是你没有项链的学士，你的养父，勇敢的鸭子或者可爱的莱莫尔，这些好朋友把你当成一个豆子种下去。但最重要的是，别相信奶酪商或者八爪蜘蛛，还有这个你准备迎娶的小龙后。所有那些不信任都会让你闹肚子、夜夜失眠没错，但是总比长眠不醒要好得多。”侏儒将他的龙推过山巅。“但我知道些什么呢？你的养父是个伟大的领主，我却只是个滑稽的小魔猴。但是，我却总是另辟蹊径。”

“Perhaps you should be the fool instead of me. Trust no one, my prince. Not your chainless maester, not your false father, not the gallant Duck nor the lovely Lemore nor these other fine friends who grew you from a bean. Above all, trust not the cheesemonger, nor the Spider, nor this little dragon queen you mean to marry. All that mistrust will sour your stomach and keep you awake by night, ’tis true, but better that than the long sleep that does not end.” The dwarf pushed his black dragon across a range of mountains. “But what do I know? Your false father is a great lord, and I am just some twisted little monkey man. Still, I’d do things differently.”

这吸引了男孩的注意。“怎么个另辟蹊径？”

That got the boy’s attention. “How differently?”

“若我是你？我会向西而非向东。以多恩为据点举起旗帜。以后七大王国可不会比现在更适宜进攻。铁王座归一个男孩所有，北方一片混乱，河间地则一片废墟，谋反者占据着风息堡和龙石岛。当凛冬来临，整个王国都会受饥挨冻。谁来对这一切负责？——谁统治了小国王就统治了七大王国——我那可爱的姐姐。除她再无别人。我的哥哥，詹姆，渴望战斗而非权力，他放走了每个可以统治的机会。我的叔叔凯冯生而就是个追随者而非领导者，虽然若强行交予他权力他会是个不错的摄政王，但是他不会主动索求。”好了，诸神和我那父亲大人。“梅斯？提利尔会兴高采烈地抓住权杖，但是我的亲人们可不会站在一边乖乖给他。而每个人都憎恨史坦尼斯。这么样剩下谁了呢？哇哦，就只有瑟熙了。”

“If I were you? I would go west instead of east. Land in Dorne and raise my banners. The Seven Kingdoms will never be more ripe for conquest than they are right now. A boy king sits the Iron Throne. The north is in chaos, the riverlands a devastation, a rebel holds Storm’s End and Dragonstone. When winter comes, the realm will starve. And who remains to deal with all of this, who rules the little king who rules the Seven Kingdoms? Why, my own sweet sister. There is no one else. My brother, Jaime, thirsts for battle, not for power. He’s run from every chance he’s had to rule. My uncle Kevan would make a passably good regent if someone pressed the duty on him, but he will never reach for it. The gods shaped him to be a follower, not a leader.” Well, the gods and my lord father. “Mace Tyrell would grasp the sceptre gladly, but mine own kin are not like to step aside and give it to him. And everyone hates Stannis. Who does that leave? Why, only Cersei.

“维斯特洛伊支离破碎鲜血淋漓，我毫不怀疑就算现在我那可爱的姐姐仍能为它疗伤……用盐。瑟熙如残酷的梅葛一般温柔，和庸王伊耿一样无私，和疯王伊利斯差不多聪慧。她绝不忘记怠慢，无论是真的还是她想象的。她谨防懦夫的暗箭，从挑衅中挖掘异议。而且她很贪婪。贪恋权力、荣誉和爱。托曼的统治建立在我的父亲大人苦心经营的那些同盟上，但是很快她就会摧毁了它们，每一分每一毫。登陆吧，举起你的旗帜，人们会为你的事业团结在一起的。无论大领主还是小地主，就算是平民也一样。但别等的太久，我的王子。机会转瞬即逝。现在送你高升的潮水很快就会退下。确保在我的姐姐到台前登陆维斯特洛伊，否则某个更强的人就会接了她的位子。

“Westeros is torn and bleeding, and I do not doubt that even now my sweet sister is binding up the wounds … with salt. Cersei is as gentle as King Maegor, as selfless as Aegon the Unworthy, as wise as Mad Aerys. She never forgets a slight, real or imagined. She takes caution for cowardice and dissent for defiance. And she is greedy. Greedy for power, for honor, for love. Tommen’s rule is bolstered by all of the alliances that my lord father built so carefully, but soon enough she will destroy them, every one. Land and raise your banners, and men will flock to your cause. Lords great and small, and smallfolk too. But do not wait too long, my prince. The moment will not last. The tide that lifts you now will soon recede. Be certain you reach Westeros before my sister falls and someone more competent takes her place.”

“但是，”伊耿王子说，“没有丹妮莉丝和她的龙，我们怎么能奢求胜利？”

“But,” Prince Aegon said, “without Daenerys and her dragons, how could we hope to win?”

“你不需要胜利，”提利昂告诉他。“你要坐的就是举起你的旗帜，集结你的支持者并且保住他们，直到丹妮莉丝带着她的力量和你汇合。”

“You do not need to win,” Tyrion told him. “All you need to do is raise your banners, rally your supporters, and hold, until Daenerys arrives to join her strength to yours.”

“你说过她不会认可我的。”

“You said she might not have me.”

“看来我夸张了点儿，当你去求着她给予支持时她可能会可怜你。”祝福耸耸肩。“你是想用一个女人的突发奇想赌一赌你的御座吗？但去维斯特洛伊……啊，那你就是个反抗者了，不是什么乞丐——无畏而不惧艰险，一个坦格利安家族真正的子孙，踏着征服者伊耿的脚步。一条真龙。”

“Perhaps I overstated. She may take pity on you when you come begging for her hand.” The dwarf shrugged. “Do you want to wager your throne upon a woman’s whim? Go to Westeros, though … ah, then you are a rebel, not a beggar. Bold, reckless, a true scion of House Targaryen, walking in the footsteps of Aegon the Conqueror. A dragon.

“我告诉过你，我懂我们的小女王。让她听到他哥哥雷加被杀掉的儿子还活着，而这个勇敢的男孩已经在维斯特洛伊再一次竖起了她祖先的旗帜，在重重阻挠中打着一场硬仗来为父报仇，为坦格利安家族收回铁王座……那她会在风与水的支持下飞快的飞到你身边来。你是她最后的亲人了，而这位龙之母，碎链者，首先是一个拯救者。这个女孩让奴隶城市浸满了鲜血也不愿将里面陌生人留给枷锁，她不太可能抛弃她自己哥哥身处险境中的儿子。而当她来到维斯特洛伊，你们的第一次见面，平等的见面，一个男人与一个女人，而不是一个女王和一个恳求者。她又如何能不爱你呢，我说？”他笑着抓住了他的龙，让它飞过棋盘。“我恳求陛下原谅。您的国王已经无路可逃，四步即亡。”

“I told you, I know our little queen. Let her hear that her brother Rhaegar’s murdered son is still alive, that this brave boy has raised the dragon standard of her forebears in Westeros once more, that he is fighting a desperate war to avenge his father and reclaim the Iron Throne for House Targaryen, hard-pressed on every side … and she will fly to your side as fast as wind and water can carry her. You are the last of her line, and this Mother of Dragons, this Breaker of Chains, is above all a rescuer. The girl who drowned the slaver cities in blood rather than leave strangers to their chains can scarcely abandon her own brother’s son in his hour of peril. And when she reaches Westeros, and meets you for the first time, you will meet as equals, man and woman, not queen and supplicant. How can she help but love you then, I ask you?” Smiling, he seized his dragon, flew it across the board. “I hope Your Grace will pardon me. Your king is trapped. Death in four.”

王子盯着游戏盘。“我的龙——”

The prince stared at the playing board. “My dragon—”

“——远水救不了近火。你早该把他调到战斗中心去的。”

“—is too far away to save you. You should have moved her to the center of the battle.”

“但是你说——”

“But you said—”

“我撒了个小谎。别轻信任何人。还有，看紧你的龙。”

“I lied. Trust no one. And keep your dragon close.”

小格里夫拉开双腿一脚踢翻了棋盘，锡瓦斯棋的棋子飞向各处，在害羞小姐号的甲板上蹦跃旋转。“把它们捡起来，”男孩命令。

Young Griff jerked to his feet and kicked over the board. Cyvasse pieces flew in all directions, bouncing and rolling across the deck of the Shy Maid. “Pick those up,” the boy commanded.

他还真是个坦格利安。“若您乐意的话。”提利昂跪下来四肢触地开始在甲板上爬行，收集那些棋子。

He may well be a Targaryen after all. “If it please Your Grace.” Tyrion got down on his hands and knees and began to crawl about the deck, gathering up pieces.

当杨恩德里和伊西拉回到船上时已经接近黄昏。一个搬运工急匆匆地跟在他们身后，推着一辆高高的堆满了给养的手推车：盐和面粉，刚搅出来的黄油，包装在亚麻布理当成品培根片，几袋橙子，苹果和梨子。杨恩德里的肩膀上扛了一通陆涛就，而伊西拉则穿了一棍子梭子鱼在肩。那些鱼足有提利昂那么大个儿。（巨人你是在太小了……）

It was close to dusk when Yandry and Ysilla returned to the Shy Maid. A porter trotted at their heels, pushing a wheelbarrow heaped high with provisions: salt and flour, fresh-churned butter, slabs of bacon wrapped in linen, sacks of oranges, apples, and pears. Yandry had a wine cask on one shoulder, while Ysilla had slung a pike over hers. The fish was as large as Tyrion.

当看见站在跳板末端的侏儒时，她骤然停步导致杨恩德里几乎撞上她，差点送那串子鱼回老家。鸭子帮忙挽救了这种不幸。伊西拉怒视着提利昂，用三根手指做了个剧烈的动作——一种避开邪魔的手势。“让我帮你拿那些鱼，”他对鸭子说。

When she saw the dwarf standing at the end of the gangplank, Ysilla stopped so suddenly that Yandry blundered into her, and the pike almost slid off her back into the river. Duck helped her rescue it. Ysilla glared at Tyrion and made a peculiar stabbing gesture with three of her fingers. A sign to ward off evil. “Let me help you with that fish,” he said to Duck.