SANSA

67 珊莎

In the tower

room at the heart of Maegor’s Holdfast, Sansa gave herself to the darkness.

在梅葛楼深处的高塔房间里，珊莎将自己彻底投入黑暗。

She drew the

curtains around her bed, slept, woke weeping, and slept again. When she could

not sleep she lay under her blankets shivering with grief. Servants came and

went, bringing meals, but the sight of food was more than she could bear. The

dishes piled up on the table beneath her window, untouched and spoiling, until

the servants took them away again.

她拉上床帘，昏沉沉地睡去，醒了便哭，哭累再睡。睡不着的时候，她蜷缩在被窝里，哀恸欲绝，颤抖不已。仆人们来了又去，为她送来一日三餐，但她一见食物就无法忍受。于是一碟碟碰都没碰的饭菜在窗边桌上越堆越高，直到后来发酸发臭，仆人将之收走为止。

Sometimes her

sleep was leaden and dreamless, and she woke from it more tired than when she

had closed her eyes. Yet those were the best times, for when she dreamed, she

dreamed of Father. Waking or sleeping, she saw him, saw the gold cloaks fling

him down, saw Ser Ilyn striding forward, unsheathing Ice from the scabbard on

his back, saw the moment?.?.?.?the moment when?.?.?.?she had wanted to look

away, she had wanted to, her legs had gone out from under her and she had

fallen to her knees, yet somehow she could not turn her head, and all the

people were screaming and shouting, and her prince had smiled at her, he’d

smiled and she’d felt safe, but only for a heartbeat, until he said those

words, and her father’s legs?.?.?.?that was what she remembered, his legs, the

way they’d jerked when Ser Ilyn?.?.?.?when the sword?.?.?.?

有时候她的睡眠沉重如铅，整夜无梦，等醒来精疲力竭，甚至较合眼时更累。但那还算好的，因为她若是做梦，必定与父亲有关。或睡或醒，她眼中所见都只有他被金袍卫士按倒在地的景象，伊林爵士大跨步向他走去，一边从背上的剑鞘里抽出“寒冰”，然后……然后……当时她只想把头转开，她真的好想把头转开，但她的双脚早已绵软无力，于是她跪倒在地。而不知怎地，她就是无法别过头去。四周的人大吼大叫，她的白马王子刚才不是对她露出微笑么？他真的笑了，她以为一切都没事了，但只有一瞬间，接着他便说了那句话。父亲的脚……她只记得他的双脚猛烈抽搐了一下……当伊林爵士……当他的剑……

Perhaps I will

die too, she told herself, and the thought did not seem so terrible to her. If

she flung herself from the window, she could put an end to her suffering, and

in the years to come the singers would write songs of her grief. Her body would

lie on the stones below, broken and innocent, shaming all those who had betrayed

her. Sansa went so far as to cross the bedchamber and throw open the

shutters?.?.?.?but then her courage left her, and she ran back to her bed,

sobbing.

我也死了算了，她对自己说，她发现这个念头一点也不可怕。假如她从窗户纵身跳下，便可结束一切苦难，多年以后，吟游诗人会歌颂她的悲伤。她将支离破碎地倒在塔下的石板上，纯洁无瑕，令所有背叛她的人均感羞愧。珊莎几度穿过卧室，敞开窗扉……但勇气就在那时离她而去，她只能哭着跑回床上。

The serving

girls tried to talk to her when they brought her meals, but she never answered

them. Once Grand Maester Pycelle came with a box of flasks and bottles, to ask

if she was ill. He felt her brow, made her undress, and touched her all over

while her bedmaid held her down. When he left he gave her a potion of

honeywater and herbs and told her to drink a swallow every night. She drank it

all right then and went back to sleep.

女侍送饭来时，曾试着和她说话，但她一概置之不理。有次，派席尔大学士带着一箱瓶瓶罐罐前来，询问她是否病了。他摸摸她的额头，命她宽衣，要女侍按住她手脚，他则摸遍她全身上下。临走时他留给她一罐蜂蜜和药草调成的药水，叮嘱她每晚喝一小口。她乖乖照办，然后倒头再睡。

She dreamt of

footsteps on the tower stair, an ominous scraping of leather on stone as a man

climbed slowly toward her bedchamber, step by step. All she could do was huddle

behind her door and listen, trembling, as he came closer and closer. It was Ser

Ilyn Payne, she knew, coming for her with Ice in his hand, coming to take her

head. There was no place to run, no place to hide, no way to bar the door.

Finally the footsteps stopped and she knew he was just outside, standing there

silent with his dead eyes and his long pocked face. That was when she realized

she was naked. She crouched down, trying to cover herself with her hands, as

her door began to swing open, creaking, the point of the greatsword poking

through?.?.?.?

她梦见高塔楼梯上传来脚步声，一种皮革与石头摩擦的不祥之声。有人正一步一步缓缓朝她卧室走来。她所能做的只有蜷缩门后，不住地发抖，听他越来越近。她很清楚那一定是手握“寒冰”的伊林·派恩爵士，准备来取她首级。但她无路可逃，无处可躲，无法将门闩上。最后脚步声总算停了下来，她知道他就站在门外，一言不发，长长的麻子脸，一双死人眼。这时她才发觉自己浑身赤裸，赶紧趴在地上，用手遮掩身体。门缓缓打开，嘎吱作响，巨剑的尖端穿刺而进……

She woke

murmuring, “Please, please, I’ll be good, I’ll be good, please don’t,” but

there was no one to hear.

她醒来之时，嘴里还不住念叨：“求求你，求求你，我很乖的，我会听话，请你不要杀我。”但没人理会她。

When they

finally came for her in truth, Sansa never heard their footsteps. It was

Joffrey who opened her door, not Ser Ilyn but the boy who had been her prince.

She was in bed, curled up tight, her curtains drawn, and she could not have

said if it was noon or midnight. The first thing she heard was the slam of the

door. Then her bed hangings were yanked back, and she threw up a hand against

the sudden light and saw them standing over her.

等他们当真找上门的时候，珊莎却没听见脚步声。开门的并非伊林爵士，而是她曾经的白马王子乔佛里。她正在床上，缩成一团，由于床帘紧闭，分不清中午还是午夜。她首先听见门轰然摔开，紧接着帷帐被猛地扯开，她赶忙伸手，遮挡突现的强光，发现他们高高地站在床边。

“You will attend me in court this afternoon,” Joffrey said. “See that

you bathe and dress as befits my betrothed.” Sandor Clegane stood at his

shoulder in a plain brown doublet and green mantle, his burned face hideous in

the morning light. Behind them were two knights of the Kingsguard in long white

satin cloaks.

“今天下午你要跟我上朝，”乔佛里道，“快去洗澡，换衣服，打扮得有点我未婚妻的样子。”桑铎·克里冈站在他身旁，穿着一件式样简单的褐色外衣，绿色披风，那张烧烂的脸在晨光中更显狰狞。站在二人之后的是两名御林铁卫，肩披长长的雪白锦缎披风。

Sansa drew her

blanket up to her chin to cover herself. “No,” she whimpered,

“please?.?.?.?leave me be.”

珊莎把毯子拉至下巴，遮住身子。“不要，”她哀求，“请……请放过我吧。”

“If you won’t rise and dress yourself, my Hound will do it for you,”

Joffrey said.

“你不赶紧起来换衣服，我就叫我的狗帮你换。”乔佛里说。

“I beg of you, my prince?.?.?.?”

“求求您，我的王子……”

“I’m king now. Dog, get her out of bed.”

“我是国王。狗，把她拖下来。”

Sandor Clegane

scooped her up around the waist and lifted her off the featherbed as she

struggled feebly. Her blanket fell to the floor. Underneath she had only a thin

bedgown to cover her nakedness. “Do as you’re bid, child,” Clegane said.

“Dress.” He pushed her toward her wardrobe, almost gently.

桑铎·克里冈抓住她的手腕，将她自羽毛床上拎起来，任她虚弱的挣扎。毯子滑落地面，她只穿了一件薄薄的睡袍。“孩子，照他的话去做，”克里冈说，“快把衣服穿上。”他把她推向衣柜，动作竟有些温柔。

Sansa backed

away from them. “I did as the queen asked, I wrote the letters, I wrote what

she told me. You promised you’d be merciful. Please, let me go home. I won’t do

any treason, I’ll be good, I swear it, I don’t have traitor’s blood, I don’t. I

only want to go home.” Remembering her courtesies, she lowered her head. “As it

please you,” she finished weakly.

珊莎推开他们。“我照王后的要求做了，写了信，内容也都是照她的话写的。您答应我会手下留情。求求您，让我回家吧。我不会背叛你的，我会很乖、很听话，我发誓。我体内没有叛徒的血统，真的没有。我只是想回家。”想起应该注重礼节，她垂下头。“如果您高兴的话，”她有气无力地说。

“It does not please me,” Joffrey said. “Mother says I’m still to

marry you, so you’ll stay here, and you’ll obey.”

“我一点也不高兴。”乔佛里道，“母亲说我还是得娶你，所以你必须留在这里，而且要乖乖听话。”

“I don’t want to marry you,” Sansa wailed. “You chopped off my

father’s head!”

“我不想嫁给你，”珊莎悲泣着说，“你砍了我父亲的头！”

“He was a traitor. I never promised to spare him, only that I’d be

merciful, and I was. If he hadn’t been your father, I would have had him torn

or flayed, but I gave him a clean death.”

“他是个叛徒，我从没答应饶他一命，只说会手下留情，我也真的手下留情了。他要不是你父亲，我会把他分尸剥皮，但我却让他死得干脆。”

Sansa stared at

him, seeing him for the first time. He was wearing a padded crimson doublet

patterned with lions and a cloth-of-gold cape with a high collar that framed

his face. She wondered how she could ever have thought him handsome. His lips

were as soft and red as the worms you found after a rain, and his eyes were

vain and cruel. “I hate you,” she whispered.

珊莎怔怔地望着他，这才头一次把他瞧了个清楚。他穿着绣满狮子的加衬鲜红外衣，金缕披风，高领搭配着他那张脸。她不禁纳闷自己怎么会觉得他英俊潇洒？他的嘴唇又红又软，活像雨后土中翻到的蠕虫，他的双眼则是虚妄又残忍。“我恨你。”她低声说。

King Joffrey’s

face hardened. “My mother tells me that it isn’t fitting that a king should

strike his wife. Ser Meryn.”

乔佛里国王脸色一凛。“母亲说国王不应该动手打妻子。马林爵士。”

The knight was

on her before she could think, yanking back her hand as she tried to shield her

face and backhanding her across the ear with a gloved fist. Sansa did not

remember failing, yet the next she knew she was sprawled on one knee amongst

the rushes. Her head was ringing. Ser Meryn Trant stood over her, with blood on

the knuckles of his white silk glove.

她还不及反应，骑士便已拉开她试图遮脸的手，掐起重拳甩了她一记耳光。珊莎不记得自己跌倒，但等她回过神来，已经单膝跪倒在草席上，头晕目眩。马林·特兰爵士矗立在她上方，白丝手套指节处有血迹。

“Will you obey now, or shall I have him chastise you again?”

“你是乖乖听话，还是要我再让他教训你一次？”

Sansa’s ear felt

numb. She touched it, and her fingertips came away wet and red.

“I?.?.?.?as?.?.?.?as you command, my lord.”

珊莎的耳朵没了知觉，她伸手一摸，指尖湿湿的都是血。“我……听候您差遣，大人。”

“Your Grace,” Joffrey corrected her. “I shall look for you in court.”

He turned and left.

“是‘陛下’。”乔佛里纠正她，“等会儿朝廷上见。”说完他转身离去。

Ser Meryn and

Ser Arys followed him out, but Sandor Clegane lingered long enough to yank her

roughly to her feet. “Save yourself some pain, girl, and give him what he

wants.”

马林爵士和亚历斯爵士随他离开，但桑铎·克里冈粗略地拉了她一把，提她起来。“小妹妹，为你自己好，照他的想法去做。”

“What?.?.?.?what does he want? Please, tell me.”

“他……他想怎么样？求求您，告诉我吧。”

“He wants you to smile and smell sweet and be his lady love,” the

Hound rasped. “He wants to hear you recite all your pretty little words the way

the septa taught you. He wants you to love him?.?.?.?and fear him.”

“他想看你笑容可掬，浑身香气，当他的美丽未婚妻。”猎狗嘶声道，“他想听你背诵那套漂亮话语，就跟修女教你的一样。他想要你既爱他……又怕他。”

After he was

gone, Sansa sank back onto the rushes, staring at the wall until two of her

bedmaids crept timidly into the chamber. “I will need hot water for my bath,

please,” she told them, “and perfume, and some powder to hide this bruise.” The

right side of her face was swollen and beginning to ache, but she knew Joffrey

would want her to be beautiful.

他走之后，珊莎立刻又软倒在草席上，怔怔地望着墙壁出神，直到两个女侍怯怯地走进房间。“我需要沐浴，请帮我准备热水。”她告诉她们，“还有香水，以及妆粉，好遮住淤伤。”她的右半边脸整个肿了起来，隐隐作痛，但她知道乔佛里希望她打扮得漂漂亮亮的。

The hot water

made her think of Winterfell, and she took strength from that. She had not

washed since the day her father died, and she was startled at how filthy the

water became. Her maids sluiced the blood off her face, scrubbed the dirt from

her back, washed her hair and brushed it out until it sprang back in thick

auburn curls. Sansa did not speak to them, except to give them commands; they

were Lannister servants, not her own, and she did not trust them. When the time

came to dress, she chose the green silk gown that she had worn to the tourney.

She recalled how gallant Joff had been to her that night at the feast. Perhaps

it would make him remember as well, and treat her more gently.

热水，令她想起了临冬城，稍稍坚强起来。自从父亲死后，她就没洗过澡，这时才惊讶地发现水变得多脏。女仆为她洗去脸上的血污，刷净背上的尘土，将浆洗的头发梳成浓密的枣红发卷。除了下令，珊莎不和她们交谈：她们是兰尼斯特家的仆人，不是她自家的人，她不信任她们。穿衣服时，她特地拣了那件绿丝礼服，正是比武大会当天穿的那件。她记得那晚席间乔佛里对她有多殷勤，如果她穿上这件衣服，或许能让他联想起来，对她温柔一点。

She drank a

glass of buttermilk and nibbled at some sweet biscuits as she waited, to settle

her stomach. It was midday when Ser Meryn returned. He had donned his white

armor; a shirt of enameled scales chased with gold, a tall helm with a golden

sunburst crest, greaves and gorget and gauntlet and boots of gleaming plate, a

heavy wool cloak clasped with a golden lion. His visor had been removed from

his helm, to better show his dour face; pouchy bags under his eyes, a wide sour

mouth, rusty hair spotted with grey. “My lady,” he said, bowing, as if he had

not beaten her bloody only three hours past. “His Grace has instructed me to

escort you to the throne room.”

打扮完毕后，她坐下等待，喝了一杯酪乳，啃下几块甜饼干，暂时止住胃里的翻腾。到马林爵士来找她时，已经日当正午。他穿上了全套纯白甲胄：精工金线白鳞甲，高顶黄金日芒盔，护膝、护喉、护手和长靴都是闪闪发光的铁铠，还有一袭厚重的羊毛披风，装饰着黄金狮扣。他的头盔除去了面罩，显露出冷峻的脸；两个大眼袋，一张宽阔而乖戾的嘴，铁锈般的头发里夹杂着几许灰白。“小姐，”他鞠躬道，仿佛不记得自己三小时前把她打得满脸是血。“陛下吩咐我护送您上朝。”

“Did he instruct you to hit me if I refused to come?”

“如果我拒绝，他有没有吩咐你打我啊？”

“Are you refusing to come, my lady?” The look he gave her was without

expression. He did not so much as glance at the bruise he had left her.

“小姐，您这是在拒绝么？”他看她的眼神毫无感情，对他稍早造成的淤伤无动于衷。

He did not hate

her, Sansa realized; neither did he love her. He felt nothing for her at all.

She was only a?.?.?.?a thing to him. “No,” she said, rising. She wanted to

rage, to hurt him as he’d hurt her, to warn him that when she was queen she

would have him exiled if he ever dared strike her again?.?.?.?but she

remembered what the Hound had told her, so all she said was, “I shall do

whatever His Grace commands.”

珊莎突然明白，他并不恨她，也不爱她，他对她根本一点感觉也没有。对他来说，她不过是个……东西。“不是，”她说罢起身，心中好想疯狂发怒，狠狠地揍他，就像他打她一样，她要警告他，等她当上王后，他若再敢动她一根汗毛，便将他永世放逐……但她心中依然记得猎狗的话，所以她只说：“我将谨遵陛下的旨意。”

“As I do,” he replied.

“我也是。”他回答。

“Yes?.?.?.?but you are no true knight, Ser Meryn.”

“是么……可是，马林爵士，你不是真正的骑士。”

Sandor Clegane

would have laughed at that, Sansa knew. Other men might have cursed her, warned

her to keep silent, even begged for her forgiveness. Ser Meryn Trant did none

of these. Ser Meryn Trant simply did not care.

珊莎知道，桑铎·克里冈若是听了这话，准会哈哈大笑。换做其他人，或许会咒骂她，或许会警告她闭嘴，甚或恳求她原谅，但马林·特兰爵士什么也没做，因为他根本不在乎。

The balcony was

deserted save for Sansa. She stood with her head bowed, fighting to hold back

her tears, while below Joffrey sat on his Iron Throne and dispensed what it

pleased him to call justice. Nine cases out of ten seemed to bore him; those he

allowed his council to handle, squirming restlessly while Lord Baelish, Grand

Maester Pycelle, or Queen Cersei resolved the matter. When he did choose to

make a ruling, though, not even his queen mother could sway him.

除了珊莎，供旁听的楼台上空无一人。她低着头，强忍泪水，看着下面的乔佛里端坐铁王座，自以为公义地裁决国事。十件案子，有九件他觉得无聊，便把它们统统交给御前会议，自己则在宝座上焦躁不安地动来动去。贝里席伯爵、派席尔大学士和瑟曦太后忙个不停，但当国王偶而决定亲自出马时，连他的母后大人也左右不了局面。

A thief was

brought before him and he had Ser Ilyn chop his hand off, right there in court.

Two knights came to him with a dispute about some land, and he decreed that

they should duel for it on the morrow. “To the death,” he added. A woman fell

to her knees to plead for the head of a man executed as a traitor. She had

loved him, she said, and she wanted to see him decently buried. “If you loved a

traitor, you must be a traitor too,” Joffrey said. Two gold cloaks dragged her

off to the dungeons.

有个小偷被拖上来，他吩咐伊林爵士在王座厅里当场剁下他的手。两名骑士对某块地产生纷争，上朝请他定夺，他则下诏令他们明日决斗解决，并且补上一句：“至死方休。”有个女人跪地乞求一位因叛国罪而被砍头的男子的首级，她说她很爱他，希望能让他全尸下葬。“你爱叛徒，说明你也是叛徒。”乔佛里说，于是两个金袍卫士把她拖进地牢。

Frog-faced Lord

Slynt sat at the end of the council table wearing a black velvet doublet and a

shiny cloth-of-gold cape, nodding with approval every time the king pronounced

a sentence. Sansa stared hard at his ugly face, remembering how he had thrown

down her father for Ser Ilyn to behead, wishing she could hurt him, wishing

that some hero would throw him down and cut off his head. But a voice inside

her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said

to her, here in this very hall. “Life is not a song, sweetling,” he’d told her.

“You may learn that one day to your sorrow.” In life, the monsters win, she

told herself, and now it was the Hound’s voice she heard, a cold rasp, metal on

stone. “Save yourself some pain, girl, and give him what he wants.”

生着一张青蛙脸的史林特伯爵坐在议事桌末端，身穿黑天鹅绒外衣，肩披闪亮的金缕披风，国王每下一个判决，他就点头称是。珊莎仔细地看着他那张丑脸，想起他当时如何把父亲按倒在地，让伊林爵士斩首示众，心中只盼能狠狠地报复他，希望哪个英雄能把“他”也按倒在地，斩首示众。但在她心底，有个声音却在低语：世上已经没有英雄了。她忆起培提尔伯爵从前在这个大厅里对她说的话，“小可爱，人生不比歌谣，”他告诉她，“有朝一日，你可能会大失所望。”看来在现实生活中，往往是怪兽得胜，她对自己说，接着她耳边又回响起猎狗那如金属和石头摩擦的冰冷嘶声：“小妹妹，为你自己好，照他想法去做。”

The last case

was a plump tavern singer, accused of making a song that ridiculed the late

King Robert. Joff commanded them to fetch his woodharp and ordered him to

perform the song for the court. The singer wept and swore he would never sing

that song again, but the king insisted. It was sort of a funny song, all about

Robert fighting with a pig. The pig was the boar who’d killed him, Sansa knew,

but in some verses it almost sounded as if he were singing about the queen.

When the song was done, Joffrey announced that he’d decided to be merciful. The

singer could keep either his fingers or his tongue. He would have a day to make

his choice. Janos Slynt nodded.

最后一件案子的被告是一位肥胖的酒店歌手，他被控谱曲嘲弄故王劳勃。乔佛里派人把他的木竖琴拿来，命令他当场表演给所有人听。歌手泪流满面，发誓再也不会唱这首歌了，但国王坚持要他唱。歌词其实挺有趣，大致是描述劳勃和猪打架。珊莎知道，那头猪就是杀死国王的野猪，但歌中的某些小节却像在影射太后。唱完之后，乔佛里宣布他将网开一面，歌手可以选择保留手指或者舌头，他有一天的时间来决定。杰诺斯·史林特点头称许。

That was the

final business of the afternoon, Sansa saw with relief, but her ordeal was not

yet done. When the herald’s voice dismissed the court, she fled the balcony,

only to find Joffrey waiting for her at the base of the curving stairs. The

Hound was with him, and Ser Meryn as well. The young king examined her

critically, top to bottom. “You look much better than you did.”

下午的朝政总算告一段落，珊莎松了口气，但她的苦难却没有结束。司仪宣布退朝后，她急忙逃离旁听台，谁料乔佛里正在蜿蜒的楼梯下等她，猎狗和马林爵士在他身边。年轻的国王从上到下，仔细地审视着她。“你看起来比先前漂亮多了。”

“Thank you, Your Grace,” Sansa said. Hollow words, but they made him

nod and smile.

“多谢陛下称赞。”珊莎说。虽是违心之论，他听了却点头微笑。

“Walk with me,” Joffrey commanded, offering her his arm. She had no

choice but to take it. The touch of his hand would have thrilled her once; now

it made her flesh crawl. “My name day will be here soon,” Joffrey said as they

slipped out the rear of the throne room. “There will be a great feast, and

gifts. What are you going to give me?”

“陪我散步吧。”乔佛里命令，一边伸出了手，她别无选择，只好挽着他。若是从前，摸到他的手会令她震颤不已，但如今她却浑身起了鸡皮疙瘩。“我的命名日快到了，”他们从王座厅后方离开时，乔佛里说，“我们将举办盛大的宴会，会有很多人送我礼物。你要送我什么？”

“I?.?.?.?I had not thought, my lord.”

“我……我还没想好送什么，大人。”

“Your Grace,” he said sharply. “You truly are a stupid girl, aren’t

you? My mother says so.”

“陛下，”他口气尖锐地说，“你真是个笨女孩，对不对？母亲早跟我说了。”

“She does?” After all that had happened, his words should have lost

their power to hurt her, yet somehow they had not. The queen had always been so

kind to her.

“她真这么说？”经过这些日子以来的经历，她以为他的话已经失去了伤害她的力量，但是却不然。王后向来对她很好啊。

“Oh, yes. She worries about our children, whether they’ll be stupid

like you, but I told her not to trouble herself.” The king gestured, and Ser

Meryn opened a door for them.

“噢，当然是真的，她还担心我们的孩子会不会像你一样笨，不过我叫她别操心。”国王做个手势，马林爵士便为他们打开门。

“Thank you, Your Grace,” she murmured. The Hound was right, she

thought, I am only a little bird, repeating the words they taught me. The sun

had fallen below the western wall, and the stones of the Red Keep glowed dark

as blood.

“谢谢您，陛下。”她嗫嚅着说。猎狗说得没错，她心想，我是一只小小鸟，只会重复别人教我的话。夕阳已经落下西边的城墙，红堡的砖石在暮色中沉暗如血。

“I’ll get you with child as soon as you’re able,” Joffrey said as he

escorted her across the practice yard. “If the first one is stupid, I’ll chop

off your head and find a smarter wife. When do you think you’ll be able to have

children?”

“一旦你能生孩子，我就会让你怀孕，”乔佛里陪她走过练习场。“如果头胎是个笨蛋，我就立刻把你的头砍了，另外找个聪明的妻子。你什么时候才能生孩子啊？”

Sansa could not

look at him, he shamed her so. “Septa Mordane says most?.?.?.?most highborn

girls have their flowering at twelve or thirteen.”

他把她羞辱成这样，珊莎无法正视他。“茉丹修女说多……多数的官家小姐在十二或十三岁的时候就会发育成熟。”

Joffrey nodded.

“This way.” He led her into the gatehouse, to the base of the steps that led up

to the battlements.

乔佛里点点头。“这边。”他领她进入红堡的城门塔，走到通往城垛的楼梯口。

Sansa jerked

back away from him, trembling. Suddenly she knew where they were going. “No,”

she said, her voice a frightened gasp. “Please, no, don’t make me, I beg you

?.?.?.?”

珊莎猛地从他身旁抽身，不住发抖，突然明白这是要去哪里。“不要，”她呼吸急促，语带恐慌。“求求你，不要这样，不要带我去，我求求你……”

Joffrey pressed

his lips together. “I want to show you what happens to traitors.”

乔佛里抿紧嘴唇。“我要让你瞧瞧叛徒的下场！”

Sansa shook her

head wildly. “I won’t. I won’t.”

珊莎疯狂地摇头。“不，我不要去看。”

“I can have Ser Meryn drag you up,” he said. “You won’t like that.

You had better do what I say.” Joffrey reached for her, and Sansa cringed away

from him, backing into the Hound.

“我可以叫马林爵士拖你上去，”他说，“你不会喜欢的。你还是给我乖乖照办的好。”乔佛里朝她伸手，珊莎向后退开，结果撞上了猎狗。

“Do it, girl,” Sandor Clegane told her, pushing her back toward the

king. His mouth twitched on the burned side of his face and Sansa could almost

hear the rest of it. He’ll have you up there no matter what, so give him what

he wants.

“小妹妹，听话。”桑铎·克里冈边说边把她推回给国王。他烧伤那边脸的嘴角抽搐了片刻，珊莎几乎可以听见他没说出来的话：无论如何他都会把你弄上去的，所以，照他想法去做吧。

She forced

herself to take King Joffrey’s hand. The climb was something out of a

nightmare; every step was a struggle, as if she were pulling her feet out of

ankle-deep mud, and there were more steps than she would have believed, a

thousand thousand steps, and horror waiting on the ramparts.

她强迫自己挽起乔佛里国王的手。登楼是一场噩梦，每一步都是挣扎，就像把脚从及膝的泥泞里抽出来那么困难。楼梯好似永无止尽，几千几万级，而梯顶的城墙上有无边恐惧正等着她。

From the high

battlements of the gatehouse, the whole world spread out below them. Sansa

could see the Great Sept of Baelor on Visenya’s hill, where her father had

died. At the other end of the Street of the Sisters stood the fire-blackened

ruins of the Dragonpit. To the west, the swollen red sun was half-hidden behind

the Gate of the Gods. The salt sea was at her back, and to the south was the

fish market and the docks and the swirling torrent of the Blackwater Rush. And

to the north?.?.?.?

从城门塔顶的城垛望去，整个世界摊在下方。珊莎可以看到座落于维桑尼亚丘陵上的贝勒大圣堂，父亲就是在那里被处死的。静默姐妹街的另一端，耸立着烧得焦黑的龙穴废墟。西边，红色的夕阳被诸神门遮掩了一半。在她身后，是咸海汪洋。南面有鱼市、码头和浩荡奔涌的黑水河，北面则有……

She turned that

way, and saw only the city, streets and alleys and hills and bottoms and more

streets and more alleys and the stone of distant walls. Yet she knew that

beyond them was open country, farms and fields and forests, and beyond that,

north and north and north again, stood Winterfell.

她望向北方，只见城市、街道、巷弄、丘陵……更多的街道巷弄，以及远方的城墙。然而她知道，在这些尘世扰攘之外，是开阔的原野、农田和森林，在更北更北更北的地方，是临冬城，是家。

“What are you looking at?” Joffrey said. “This is what I wanted you

to see, right here.”

“你在看什么？”乔佛里道，“我要你看这个，这里。”

A thick stone

parapet protected the outer edge of the rampart, reaching as high as Sansa’s

chin, with crenellations cut into it every five feet for archers. The heads

were mounted between the crenels, along the top of the wall, impaled on iron

spikes so they faced out over the city. Sansa had noted them the moment she’d

stepped out onto the wallwalk, but the river and the bustling streets and the

setting sun were ever so much prettier. He can make me look at the heads, she

told herself, but he can’t make me see them.

一堵厚厚的石砌胸墙环绕着壁垒外围，高及珊莎下巴，每隔五尺便有一个让弓箭手使用的雉堞。那些首级便位于城墙顶端的雉堞之间，插在铁枪尖端，面朝城市。珊莎踏上城墙的那一刻便注意到了，但河滨景致、熙来攘往的街道和落日余晖是那么的美。他可以逼我看，她告诉自己，但我可以视而不见。

“This one is your father,” he said. “This one here. Dog, turn it

around so she can see him.”

“这个是你父亲，”他说，“这边这个。狗，把头转过来给她瞧。”

Sandor Clegane

took the head by the hair and turned it. The severed head had been dipped in

tar to preserve it longer. Sansa looked at it calmly, not seeing it at all. It

did not really look like Lord Eddard, she thought; it did not even look real.

“How long do I have to look?”

桑铎·克里冈伸手到半空中，把首级转了过来。砍下的头颅浸过沥青，如此才能保存得较长。珊莎冷静地看着父亲的首级，不动声色。这看起来不像艾德公爵，她心想，看起来不像真的。“请问，您要我看多久？”

Joffrey seemed

disappointed. “Do you want to see the rest?” There was a long row of them.

乔佛里似乎大感失望。“你想不想看其他人的头？”城垛上有一大排。

“If it please Your Grace.”

“如果陛下您高兴的话。”

Joffrey marched

her down the wallwalk, past a dozen more heads and two empty spikes. “I’m

saving those for my uncle Stannis and my uncle Renly,” he explained. The other

heads had been dead and mounted much longer than her father. Despite the tar,

most were long past being recognizable. The king pointed to one and said,

“That’s your septa there,” but Sansa could not even have told that it was a

woman. The jaw had rotted off her face, and birds had eaten one ear and most of

a cheek.

于是乔佛里领她沿着走道前进，经过十几颗人头，还有两根空着的长枪。“这两根是我特地留给史坦尼斯叔叔和蓝礼叔叔的。”他解释。其他人死亡的时间比父亲长很多，首级待在枪尖上也久得多。虽然泡过沥青，但多数都变得难以辨认。国王指着其中一个说：“这个是你们家的修女。”可珊莎根本看不出那是女人的头。头颅的下巴已经整个烂掉，鸟儿吃掉了一只耳朵和大半边脸颊。

Sansa had

wondered what had happened to Septa Mordane, although she supposed she had

known all along. “Why did you kill her?” she asked. “She was godsworn?.?.?.?”

珊莎之前还纳闷茉丹修女到底发生了什么，现在想来，或许她早就心里有数了罢。“您为什么杀她呀？”她问：“她只是个虔诚的……”

“She was a traitor.” Joffrey looked pouty; somehow she was upsetting

him. “You haven’t said what you mean to give me for my name day. Maybe I should

give you something instead, would you like that?”

“她是个叛徒。”乔佛里看起来闷闷不乐，她似乎惹恼他了。“你还没决定送我什么命名日礼物。不然换我送你好了，你觉得怎么样？”

“If it please you, my lord,” Sansa said.

“如果您高兴的话，大人。”珊莎说。

When he smiled,

she knew he was mocking her. “Your brother is a traitor too, you know.” He

turned Septa Mordane’s head back around. “I remember your brother from

Winterfell. My dog called him the lord of the wooden sword. Didn’t you, dog?”

他一露出微笑，她便知道他在嘲讽自己。“你哥哥也是个叛徒，这你知道吧？”他把茉丹修女的头转回去。“我记得那次去临冬城见过你哥哥。我家的狗叫他玩木剑的少爷，对不对啊，好狗儿？”

“Did I?” the Hound replied. “I don’t recall.”

“我这么说过？”猎狗回答，“我倒是不记得了。”

Joffrey gave a

petulant shrug. “Your brother defeated my uncle Jaime. My mother says it was

treachery and deceit. She wept when she heard. Women are all weak, even her,

though she pretends she isn’t. She says we need to stay in King’s Landing in

case my other uncles attack, but I don’t care. After my name day feast, I’m

going to raise a host and kill your brother myself. That’s what I’ll give you,

Lady Sansa. Your brother’s head.”

乔佛里暴躁地耸耸肩。“你哥哥把我詹姆舅舅打败了。母亲说他是靠诡计和欺骗才得逞的。她接获消息时，马上哭了起来。女人都是软弱的动物，连她也不例外，虽然总是假装很坚强。她说我们必须留在君临，以防我的两个叔叔发动攻击，但我才不在乎。等过了我的命名日宴会，我就要召集一支军队，亲手把你哥哥杀掉。珊莎·史塔克，这就是我要给你的礼物，你哥哥的首级。”

A kind of

madness took over her then, and she heard herself say, “Maybe my brother will

give me your head.”

突来的一股狂念袭上她心头，她听见自己说：“或许我哥哥会把你的头拿来送我。”

Joffrey scowled.

“You must never mock me like that. A true wife does not mock her lord. Ser

Meryn, teach her.”

乔佛里皱起眉头。“不准你这样开我玩笑。一个好妻子绝不可以拿她丈夫乱开玩笑。马林爵士，教训教训她。”

This time the

knight grasped her beneath the jaw and held her head still as he struck her. He

hit her twice, left to right, and harder, right to left. Her lip split and

blood ran down her chin, to mingle with the salt of her tears.

这回骑士打她时，用一只手紧紧托住她下巴。他一共打了两次，先打左边，然后更用力地打右边。她的嘴唇整个破了，鲜血一直流到下巴，混杂着咸咸的泪水。

“You shouldn’t be crying all the time,” Joffrey told her. “You’re

more pretty when you smile and laugh.”

“你不要整天哭哭啼啼。”乔佛里告诉她，“你笑起来比较漂亮。”

Sansa made

herself smile, afraid that he would have Ser Meryn hit her again if she did

not, but it was no good, the king still shook his head. “Wipe off the blood,

you’re all messy.”

珊莎勉强挤出微笑，深恐若是不从，他又会叫马林爵士打她。可惜她笑了还是没用，国王嫌恶地摇摇头：“把血擦掉，你这样难看死了。”

The outer

parapet came up to her chin, but along the inner edge of the walk was nothing,

nothing but a long plunge to the bailey seventy or eighty feet below. All it

would take was a shove, she told herself. He was standing right there, right

there, smirking at her with those fat wormlips. You could do it, she told

herself. You could. Do it right now. It wouldn’t even matter if she went over

with him. It wouldn’t matter at all.

外围的胸墙高到她下巴，但靠内的走道没有任何遮挡，距离下方的庭院足有七八十尺。用力一推就成了，她告诉自己。他就站在那里，就在那里，张着蠕虫般的嘴唇傻笑。你可以办到的，她告诉自己，你可以的，动手罢。即使跟他同归于尽也没关系，一点也没关系。

“Here, girl.” Sandor Clegane knelt before her, between her and

Joffrey. With a delicacy surprising in such a big man, he dabbed at the blood

welling from her broken lip.

“过来，小妹妹。”桑铎·克里冈在她面前蹲下，正好挡在她和乔佛里之间。他轻轻地为她拭去自裂唇汩汩涌出的鲜血，动作出奇地温柔，令人很难与眼前的大个子联想在一起。

The moment was

gone. Sansa lowered her eyes. “Thank you,” she said when he was done. She was a

good girl, and always remembered her courtesies.

时机稍纵即逝，珊莎垂下眼睛。“谢谢。”他擦完之后，她向他道谢，因为她是个乖女孩，随时随地都要记得有礼貌。