Ⅱ 列王的纷争 Chapter7 凯特琳

CATELYN

在凯特琳·史塔克眼中，儿子罗柏新铸的王冠，宛如一顶重担，沉沉地压在他头上。

Her son’s crown was fresh from the forge, and it seemed to Catelyn Stark that the weight of it pressed heavy on Robb’s head.

冬境之王的古老王冠早在三百年前托伦·史塔克向征服者伊耿臣服时便已失传。他把王冠献给了伊耿，而伊耿对之如何处置，无人知晓。今天，凭着霍斯特公爵手下铁匠的优良手艺，罗柏的王冠正如故事中形容的那样，宛如史塔克先王：青铜铸造的冠冕，上刻先民的符文，九根长剑形状的黑铁尖刺挺立其中。这顶王冠没有黄金、没有白银、没有珠宝装饰，惟有钢铁和青铜，沉暗而坚硬，正是对抗严寒的冬之金属。

The ancient crown of the Kings of Winter had been lost three centuries ago, yielded up to Aegon the Conqueror when Torrhen Stark knelt in submission. What Aegon had done with it no man could say. Lord Hoster’s smith had done his work well, and Robb’s crown looked much as the other was said to have looked in the tales told of the Stark kings of old; an open circlet of hammered bronze incised with the runes of the First Men, surmounted by nine black iron spikes wrought in the shape of longswords. Of gold and silver and gemstones, it had none; bronze and iron were the metals of winter, dark and strong to fight against the cold.

他们在奔流城的大厅里静待囚犯。她见罗柏把王冠往后推，安放在蓬厚的棕发上。没过多久，他又往前拉，接着转了转，好像这能让他戴得更舒服。戴王冠不是件容易事啊，凯特琳边看边想，对一个年仅十五的孩子而言，尤其如此。

As they waited in Riverrun’s Great Hall for the prisoner to be brought before them, she saw Robb push back the crown so it rested upon the thick auburn mop of his hair; moments later, he moved it forward again; later he gave it a quarter turn, as if that might make it sit more easily on his brow. It is no easy thing to wear a crown, Catelyn thought, watching, especially for a boy of fifteen years.

等犯人带入，罗柏便命取剑。奥利法·佛雷剑柄在前，递了上去，儿子抽出宝剑，横放于膝，威压的意图非常明显。“陛下，这就是您要的人。”徒利家的侍卫队长罗宾·莱格爵士高声宣布。

When the guards brought in the captive, Robb called for his sword. Olyvar Frey offered it up hilt first, and her son drew the blade and laid it bare across his knees, a threat plain for all to see. “Your Grace, here is the man you asked for,” announced Ser Robin Ryger, captain of the Tully household guard.

“兰尼斯特！见了国王还不快快跪下？”席恩·葛雷乔伊大喝，罗宾·莱格爵士把囚犯按倒。

“Kneel before the king, Lannister!” Theon Greyjoy shouted. Ser Robin forced the prisoner to his knees.

他丝毫没有狮子的模样，凯特琳暗忖。这位克里奥·佛雷爵士的母亲是泰温·兰尼斯特的妹妹吉娜夫人，但他半分都没遗传兰尼斯特家著名的美貌和金发碧眼，他反而继承了父亲艾蒙·佛雷爵士——瓦德·佛雷老侯爵的次子——的体征，生得一头纤细棕发，下巴短小，脸形削瘦，一双眼睛苍白无色，水汪汪的，还眨个不停。或许这是光线的关系吧，奔流城下的地牢阴暗潮湿……近来又格外拥挤。

He did not look a lion, Catelyn reflected. This Ser Cleos Frey was a son of the Lady Genna who was sister to Lord Tywin Lannister, but he had none of the fabled Lannister beauty, the fair hair and green eyes. Instead he had inherited the stringy brown locks, weak chin, and thin face of his sire, Ser Emmon Frey, old Lord Walder’s second son. His eyes were pale and watery and he could not seem to stop blinking, but perhaps that was only the light. The cells below Riverrun were dark and damp … and these days crowded as well.

“克里奥爵士，起来吧。”儿子的声音虽不若乃父那么冰冷，却也不像十五岁的孩子。是战争，迫使他提早成年。横放膝上的那把剑映着晨光，刃缘微微闪亮。

“Rise, Ser Cleos.” Her son’s voice was not as icy as his father’s would have been, but he did not sound a boy of fifteen either. War had made a man of him before his time. Morning light glimmered faintly against the edge of the steel across his knees.

然而使克里奥·佛雷爵士焦虑的并非宝剑，而是那头冰原狼。儿子将它取名为“灰风”，它的身躯大如猎鹿犬，身无赘肉，毛色烟黑，眼瞳宛若熔金。他缓步向前，踱到被俘的骑士身边嗅了嗅。大厅里的所有人都能闻到恐惧的气息。克里奥爵士是在呓语森林一役中被俘，是役灰风共咬断了五六个敌兵的咽喉。

Yet it was not the sword that made Ser Cleos Frey anxious; it was the beast. Grey Wind, her son had named him. A direwolf large as any elkhound, lean and smoke-dark, with eyes like molten gold. When the beast padded forward and sniffed at the captive knight, every man in that hall could smell the scent of fear. Ser Cleos had been taken during the battle in the Whispering Wood, where Grey Wind had ripped out the throats of half a dozen men.

骑士踉跄站起，慌忙后退，引得几名观者哈哈大笑。“谢谢您，大人。”

The knight scrambled up, edging away with such alacrity that some of the watchers laughed aloud. “Thank you, my lord.”

“‘陛下’！”外号“大琼恩”的安柏伯爵怒叱。在罗柏的北方诸将中，属他嗓门最大……也最为忠诚勇猛，至少他自己这么坚持。他是尊儿子为北境之王的第一人，自然容不下任何对自己新王的不敬之举。

“Your Grace,” barked Lord Umber, the Greatjon, ever the loudest of Robb’s northern bannermen … and the truest and fiercest as well, or so he insisted. He had been the first to proclaim her son King in the North, and he would brook no slight to the honor of his new-made sovereign.

“陛下，”克里奥爵士连忙改口，“请您原谅。”

“Your Grace,” Ser Cleos corrected hastily. “Pardons.”

此人并不勇敢啊，凯特琳心想，说真的，他比较像佛雷家的人，而非兰尼斯特。换作他表哥“弑君者”，想必是另一番态度。他们绝对无法逼詹姆·兰尼斯特爵士那张俏嘴吐出陛下二字。

He is not a bold man, this one, Catelyn thought. More of a Frey than a Lannister, in truth. His cousin the Kingslayer would have been a much different matter. They would never have gotten that honorific through Ser Jaime Lannister’s perfect teeth.

“我把你从牢里放出来，是要你帮我送信到君临，给你表姐瑟曦·兰尼斯特。你将打着和平的旗帜，并且我将派出三十名得力手下负责护送。”

“I brought you from your cell to carry my message to your cousin Cersei Lannister in King’s Landing. You’ll travel under a peace banner, with thirty of my best men to escort you.”

克里奥爵士显然松了口气，“我很乐意替陛下送信给太后。”

Ser Cleos was visibly relieved. “Then I should be most glad to bring His Grace’s message to the queen.”

“但你要知道，”罗柏说，“我可没放你自由。你的祖父瓦德大人率领佛雷全族上下归顺于我，你的堂兄弟和叔舅们更在呓语森林之战中英勇奋斗，可你却选择为狮子旗而战。既然如此，你就是兰尼斯特家的人，而非佛雷。我要你以骑士之名誉立誓，一旦将信送达，不日即携带太后的答覆返回此地，继续作俘虏。”

“Understand,” Robb said, “I am not giving you your freedom. Your grandfather Lord Walder pledged me his support and that of House Frey. Many of your cousins and uncles rode with us in the Whispering Wood, but you chose to fight beneath the lion banner. That makes you a Lannister, not a Frey. I want your pledge, on your honor as a knight, that after you deliver my message you’ll return with the queen’s reply, and resume your captivity.”

请问要我带什么口信克里奥爵士立刻回答：“我在此立誓。”

Ser Cleos answered at once. “I do so vow.”

“你的话，大厅里每个人都听见了，”凯特琳的弟弟艾德慕·徒利爵士警告对方。由于父亲病危，现在由他代表奔流城和三河诸侯发言。“若你去而不返，举国上下都会唾弃你出尔反尔的行径。”

“Every man in this hall has heard you,” warned Catelyn’s brother Ser Edmure Tully, who spoke for Riverrun and the lords of the Trident in the place of their dying father. “If you do not return, the whole realm will know you forsworn.”

“我这个人说到做到。”克里奥爵士倔强地回答，“请问要我带什么口信？”

“I will do as I pledged,” Ser Cleos replied stiffly. “What is this message?”

“我的和平条件。”罗柏手握长剑，站了起来，灰风立刻跑回他身边。整个大厅寂静无声。“你去对太后摄政王说，只要她同意我的条件，我就收起这柄剑，结束彼此的纷争。”

“An offer of peace.” Robb stood, longsword in hand. Grey Wind moved to his side. The hall grew hushed. “Tell the Queen Regent that if she meets my terms, I will sheath this sword, and make an end to the war between us.”

凯特琳瞥见大厅后方，高大而憔悴的瑞卡德·卡史塔克伯爵推开一排守卫，默默地走了出去。其他人则一动不动。对这些骚动，罗柏不予理会。“奥利法，拿信来。”他下令。侍从取走长剑，递上一卷羊皮纸。

In the back of the hall, Catelyn glimpsed the tall, gaunt figure of Lord Rickard Karstark shove through a rank of guards and out the door. No one else moved. Robb paid the disruption no mind. “Olyvar, the paper,” he commanded. The squire took his longsword and handed up a rolled parchment.

罗柏展开信纸，“第一，太后必须释放我的两个妹妹，并让她们经由海路，从君临安全返回白港。我在此宣告，珊莎与乔佛里·拜拉席恩的婚约正式解除。一伺我收到代理城主的通报，确定她们已安然抵达临冬城，我便会立刻释放太后的两位表弟，侍从威廉·兰尼斯特和你弟弟提恩·佛雷，并护送他们安全抵达凯岩城，或者是任何她要求的地方。”

Robb unrolled it. “First, the queen must release my sisters and provide them with transport by sea from King’s Landing to White Harbor. It is to be understood that Sansa’s betrothal to Joffrey Baratheon is at an end. When I receive word from my castellan that my sisters have returned unharmed to Winterfell, I will release the queen’s cousins, the squire Willem Lannister and your brother Tion Frey, and give them safe escort to Casterly Rock or wheresoever she desires them delivered.”

凯特琳·史塔克真希望能读出隐藏在每张脸庞、每双起皱的眉头和每对紧抿的嘴唇之后的心绪。

Catelyn Stark wished she could read the thoughts that hid behind each face, each furrowed brow and pair of tightened lips.

“第二，立即归还先父遗骸，我们将遂先父所愿，将他安葬于临冬城的墓窖，让他和兄妹们一同长眠于地下。追随他死于君临的卫士们的遗体也必须归还。”

“Secondly, my lord father’s bones will be returned to us, so he may rest beside his brother and sister in the crypts beneath Winterfell, as he would have wished. The remains of the men of his household guard who died in his service at King’s Landing must also be returned.”

活人南下，枯骨北归。奈德说得没错，她心想，他属于临冬城，他一再重复，可我听进去了吗？不，我对他说：你一定要去，去作劳勃的首相，不仅是为了我们家族，更为了我们的孩子……都是我的错，我一个人的错……

Living men had gone south, and cold bones would return. Ned had the truth of it, she thought. His place was at Winterfell, he said as much, but would I hear him? No. Go, I told him, you must be Robert’s Hand, for the good of our House, for the sake of our children … my doing, mine, no other …

“第三，家父的巨剑‘寒冰’必须送来奔流城，交于我手。”

“Third, my father’s greatsword Ice will be delivered to my hand, here at Riverrun.”

她看着弟弟艾德慕·徒利爵士，他站在一旁，拇指勾着剑柄，面色凝重如石。

She watched her brother Ser Edmure Tully as he stood with his thumbs hooked over his swordbelt, his face as still as stone.

“第四，太后必须晓谕其父泰温公爵释放自绿叉河之役中俘虏的我方骑士和领主。他照办之后，我也会立刻释放所有在呓语森林和奔流城之战中扣押的人质。詹姆·兰尼斯特爵士除外，我会留着他，以确保他父亲表现良好。”

“Fourth, the queen will command her father Lord Tywin to release those knights and lords bannermen of mine that he took captive in the battle on the Green Fork of the Trident. Once he does so, I shall release my own captives taken in the Whispering Wood and the Battle of the Camps, save Jaime Lannister alone, who will remain my hostage for his father’s good behavior.”

她审视着席恩·葛雷乔伊促狭的微笑，心中纳闷那代表着什么。这位青年的神色总像在享受什么秘密的玩笑，凯特琳向来不喜欢这种调调。

She studied Theon Greyjoy’s sly smile, wondering what it meant. That young man had a way of looking as though he knew some secret jest that only he was privy to; Catelyn had never liked it.

“最后，乔佛里国王和摄政太后必须公告全国，放弃对北境和三河地区的统治权。从今往后，我国与其不再有任何瓜葛，而是一个自由独立的王国，与古时无异。我国领土包括颈泽以北所有史塔克家族的封地，以及三叉戟河及其支流流经的地区，西起金牙城，东迄明月山脉。”

“Lastly, King Joffrey and the Queen Regent must renounce all claims to dominion over the north. Henceforth we are no part of their realm, but a free and independent kingdom, as of old. Our domain shall include all the Stark lands north of the Neck, and in addition the lands watered by the River Trident and its vassal streams, bounded by the Golden Tooth to the west and the Mountains of the Moon in the east.”

“北境之王万岁！”大琼恩·安柏高喊，挥舞起猪腿般粗大的拳头。“史塔克万岁！史塔克万岁！北境之王万岁！”

“THE KING IN THE NORTH!” boomed Greatjon Umber, a ham-sized fist hammering at the air as he shouted. “Stark! Stark! The King in the North!”

罗柏卷起羊皮纸，“韦曼学士已经画好地图，上面标示着我国主权范围。我们会让你带上一张去交给太后。泰温大人必须立即自我国边界内撤军，并停止种种烧杀劫掠。摄政太后母子不能向我的子民抽取税收、索讨贡赋或徵求劳役，必须立即解除我国领主与骑士向铁王座、拜拉席恩家族或兰尼斯特家族所立下之各种效忠、誓言、抵押、债务及义务。此外，在双方同意的名单中，兰尼斯特家应挑选十名出身显赫的贵族，前来奔流城作为和平的担保。我将依据他们的身份地位，以贵宾之礼相待。只要对方信守条约，我将每年释放两名人质，护送他们安然返家。”罗柏把卷轴丢到骑士脚边，“这就是我的条件。如果她接受，我就给她和平，若是她不接受，”——他吹声口哨，灰风立刻咆哮趋前——“我就让她再尝尝呓语森林的滋味。”

Robb rolled up the parchment again. “Maester Vyman has drawn a map, showing the borders we claim. You shall have a copy for the queen. Lord Tywin must withdraw beyond these borders, and cease his raiding, burning, and pillage. The Queen Regent and her son shall make no claims to taxes, incomes, nor service from my people, and shall free my lords and knights from all oaths of fealty, vows, pledges, debts, and obligations owed to the Iron Throne and the Houses Baratheon and Lannister. Additionally, the Lannisters shall deliver ten highborn hostages, to be mutually agreed upon, as a pledge of peace. These I will treat as honored guests, according to their station. So long as the terms of this pact are abided with faithfully, I shall release two hostages every year, and return them safely to their families.” Robb tossed the rolled parchment at the knight’s feet. “There are the terms. If she meets them, I’ll give her peace. If not”—he whistled, and Grey Wind moved forward snarling—“I’ll give her another Whispering Wood.”

“史塔克万岁！”大琼恩再次大喊，此时其他人也齐声附和，“史塔克万岁！史塔克万岁！北境之王万岁！”冰原狼往后甩头，放声长号。

“Stark!” the Greatjon roared again, and now other voices took up the cry. “Stark, Stark, King in the North!” The direwolf threw back his head and howled.

克里奥爵士脸上血色尽失，“我会把您的信件带给太后，大——陛下。”

Ser Cleos had gone the color of curdled milk. “The queen shall hear your message, my—Your Grace.”

“很好。”罗柏说，“罗宾爵士，让他饱餐一顿，换上干净衣物，明天天明时分出发。”

“Good,” Robb said. “Ser Robin, see that he has a good meal and clean clothing. He’s to ride at first light.”

“遵命，陛下。”罗宾·莱格爵士答道。

“As you command, Your Grace,” Ser Robin Ryger replied.

“那么，今天的会议到此为止。”罗柏转身离去，灰风紧随在后，在场骑士及诸侯纷纷屈膝下跪，奥利法·佛雷快步跑到前面开门。凯特琳姐弟也跟着一同出去。

“Then we are done.” The assembled knights and lords bannermen bent their knees as Robb turned to leave, Grey Wind at his heels. Olyvar Frey scrambled ahead to open the door. Catelyn followed them out, her brother at her side.

“你表现得很好。”在大厅后的走廊上，她对儿子说，“但放狼吓唬人不是国君应有的举动，倒像小孩子把戏。”

“You did well,” she told her son in the gallery that led from the rear of the hall, “though that business with the wolf was japery more befitting a boy than a king.”

罗柏搔搔灰风耳根，“母亲，你没见他刚才什么表情？”他微笑着问。

Robb scratched Grey Wind behind the ear. “Did you see the look on his face, Mother?” he asked, smiling.

“我只看到卡史塔克大人走了出去。”

“What I saw was Lord Karstark, walking out.”

“我也看到了。”罗柏双手摘下王冠，交给奥利法。“把它拿回卧室。”

“As did I.” Robb lifted off his crown with both hands and gave it to Olyvar. “Take this thing back to my bedchamber.”

“陛下，我这就去办。”侍从即刻离去。

“At once, Your Grace.” The squire hurried off.

“我敢打赌，今天在场的有不少人和卡史塔克大人看法相同。”弟弟艾德慕表示，“如今兰尼斯特军像瘟疫一般四散在我父亲的领土各处，烧杀劫掠，无恶不作，怎么可以谈和？我再重申一次，应该立刻向赫伦堡进军。”

“I’ll wager there were others who felt the same as Lord Karstark,” her brother Edmure declared. “How can we talk of peace while the Lannisters spread like a pestilence over my father’s domains, stealing his crops and slaughtering his people? I say again, we ought to be marching on Harrenhal.”

“我们兵力不够。”罗柏怏怏地说。

“We lack the strength,” Robb said, though unhappily.

艾德慕坚持己见：“难道我们坐守城中，士兵就会增多吗？我们的部队正日渐削弱。”

Edmure persisted. “Do we grow stronger sitting here? Our host dwindles every day.”

“这是谁的责任？”凯特琳斥责弟弟。当初正由于艾德慕坚持，罗柏才同意让河间诸侯在他加冕之后便即离开奔流城，回去防守各自的领土。马柯·派柏爵士和卡列尔·凡斯伯爵率先离去。杰诺斯·布雷肯伯爵紧随其后，临走时发誓夺回烧成废墟的家堡并安葬死者。眼下，就连杰森·梅利斯特伯爵也暗示要返回海疆城，诸神保佑，该城可是至今未遭战火波及啊。

“And whose doing is that?” Catelyn snapped at her brother. It had been at Edmure’s insistence that Robb had given the river lords leave to depart after his crowning, each to defend his own lands. Ser Marq Piper and Lord Karyl Vance had been the first to go. Lord Jonos Bracken had followed, vowing to reclaim the burnt shell of his castle and bury his dead, and now Lord Jason Mallister had announced his intent to return to his seat at Seagard, still mercifully untouched by the fighting.

这孩子做得没错“你总不能要求我的河间诸侯枯坐城中，无所事事，活活看着自己的领地惨遭掠夺，子民被屠杀吧？”艾德慕爵士道，“但卡史塔克大人是北方人，他若是离开，对我们震动极大。”

“You cannot ask my river lords to remain idle while their fields are being pillaged and their people put to the sword,” Ser Edmure said, “but Lord Karstark is a northman. It would be an ill thing if he were to leave us.”

“我会跟他谈谈，”罗柏说，“他两个儿子战死在呓语森林，他不愿和杀子仇人谈和，谁能怪他呢？……换做是我……”

“I’ll speak with him,” said Robb. “He lost two sons in the Whispering Wood. Who can blame him if he does not want to make peace with their killers … with my father’s killers …”

“死再多人也无法让你父亲或瑞卡德大人的儿子起死回生。”凯特琳道，“我们必须谈和——你若睿智的话，还应该多给对方一点甜头。”

“More bloodshed will not bring your father back to us, or Lord Rickard’s sons,” Catelyn said. “An offer had to be made—though a wiser man might have offered sweeter terms.”

“再给他们甜头，我就要噎死了。”儿子胡须的颜色比头发更红。罗柏似乎觉得留胡子可以让自己看起来更威猛，更有王者风范……也更成熟。但不管有没有胡子，他终究只是个十五岁的男孩，他对复仇的渴望并不亚于瑞卡德·卡史塔克，说服他提出和平条件已非易事，遑论条款优厚与否。

“Any sweeter and I would have gagged.” Her son’s beard had grown in redder than his auburn hair. Robb seemed to think it made him look fierce, royal … older. But bearded or no, he was still a youth of fifteen, and wanted vengeance no less than Rickard Karstark. It had been no easy thing to convince him to make even this offer, poor as it was.

“瑟曦·兰尼斯特绝不会同意用你两个妹妹来交换她两个表亲，你很清楚，她要的是她弟弟。”这话她说了好几遍，但凯特琳发现作国王的远不如作儿子的听话。

“Cersei Lannister will never consent to trade your sisters for a pair of cousins. It’s her brother she’ll want, as you know full well.” She had told him as much before, but Catelyn was finding that kings do not listen half so attentively as sons.

“我不能释放弑君者，就算我想放也放不了，我的诸侯绝不会同意。”

“I can’t release the Kingslayer, not even if I wanted to. My lords would never abide it.”

“你的诸侯拥护你登基为王。”

“Your lords made you their king.”

“也同样可以夺走我的王位。”

“And can unmake me just as easy.”

“假如你的王冠能换得艾莉亚和珊莎平安归来，那真是谢天谢地。想想看，你手下多少诸侯巴不得将兰尼斯特在牢里就地正法，万一他在狱中有个三长两短，别人一定认为——”

“If your crown is the price we must pay to have Arya and Sansa returned safe, we should pay it willingly. Half your lords would like to murder Lannister in his cell. If he should die while he’s your prisoner, men will say—”

“——他是罪有应得。”罗柏接口。

“—that he well deserved it,” Robb finished.

“那你妹妹呢？”凯特琳尖锐地反问，“她们也是罪有应得？我向你保证，倘若她弟弟出了意外，瑟曦必定会血债血——”

“And your sisters?” Catelyn asked sharply. “Will they deserve their deaths as well? I promise you, if any harm comes to her brother, Cersei will pay us back blood for blood—”

“兰尼斯特不会死。”罗柏道。“未经我允许，无人能和他交流。他有食物和饮水，还有干净的稻草床，照说他根本没资格过这么舒服。但是，我决不放他走，即便为了艾莉亚和珊莎也不行。”

“Lannister won’t die,” Robb said. “No one so much as speaks to him without my warrant. He has food, water, clean straw, more comfort than he has any right to. But I won’t free him, not even for Arya and Sansa.”

凯特琳突然发觉儿子正“低头”看她。是战争使他飞速成长，还是他们放在他额上的王冠使他心骄气傲？凯特琳扪心自问。“你怕与詹姆·兰尼斯特在战场上重逢，是不是？”

Her son was looking down at her, Catelyn realized. Was it war that made him grow so fast, she wondered, or the crown they had put on his head? “Are you afraid to have Jaime Lannister in the field again, is that the truth of it?”

灰风出声咆哮，彷佛察觉了罗柏的怒意。艾德慕·徒利连忙出手，兄弟似地拍拍凯特琳的肩膀。“凯特，别这样，这孩子做得没错。”

Grey Wind growled, as if he sensed Robb’s anger, and Edmure Tully put a brotherly hand on Catelyn’s shoulder. “Cat, don’t. The boy has the right of this.”

“不准叫我‘孩子’！”罗柏旋身面对舅舅，把满腔怒气都往可怜的艾德慕身上发泄，天知道对方只是想帮他解围。“我即将成年，而且我是国王——爵士先生，我是你的国王。我郑重声明：我不怕詹姆·兰尼斯特。我既然打败过他一次，再来一次也无不可。只是……”他拨开遮眼头发，摇了摇头，“我本想拿弑君者去交换父亲，可……”

“Don’t call me the boy,” Robb said, rounding on his uncle, his anger spilling out all at once on poor Edmure, who had only meant to support him. “I’m almost a man grown, and a king—your king, ser. And I don’t fear Jaime Lannister. I defeated him once, I’ll defeat him again if I must, only …” He pushed a fall of hair out of his eyes and gave a shake of the head. “I might have been able to trade the Kingslayer for Father, but …”

“……可换你妹妹就不行？”她冰冷地低语，“你妹妹不够重要，是不是？”

“… but not for the girls?” Her voice was icy quiet. “Girls are not important enough, are they?”

罗柏没有回答，但他眼里有受伤的神色。那双徒利家族的蓝眼睛啊，是她的遗传。她伤害了他，但他实在太像他父亲，因此不肯承认。

Robb made no answer, but there was hurt in his eyes. Blue eyes, Tully eyes, eyes she had given him. She had wounded him, but he was too much his father’s son to admit it.

我这是在干什么？她对自己说。诸神在上，我到底怎么了？他不就是尽力想当个好国王吗？这些我都知道，这些我日夜所见，可是……我已经失去了奈德，失去了我生命的基石，若是连女儿也没了，我受不了……

That was unworthy of me, she told herself. Gods be good, what is to become of me? He is doing his best, trying so hard, I know it, I see it, and yet … I have lost my Ned, the rock my life was built on, I could not bear to lose the girls as well …

“我会为妹妹尽最大努力，”罗柏说，“只要太后还有一丝理智，她就会接受我的条件。否则，我将让后悔她的决定。”他显然不愿继续这个话题。“母亲，您真的不肯去孪河城居住？您应当远离前线，同时多多了解佛雷大人的女儿，等战争结束，便可为我挑选妻子。”

“I’ll do all I can for my sisters,” Robb said. “If the queen has any sense, she’ll accept my terms. If not, I’ll make her rue the day she refused me.” Plainly, he’d had enough of the subject. “Mother, are you certain you will not consent to go to the Twins? You would be farther from the fighting, and you could acquaint yourself with Lord Frey’s daughters to help me choose my bride when the war is done.”

他不要我，凯特琳虚弱地想，看来做国王的果真不能有母亲啊，何况我还总说些不中听的话。“罗柏，你长这么大，中意瓦德大人哪个女儿可以自己决定，用不着我帮忙。”

He wants me gone, Catelyn thought wearily. Kings are not supposed to have mothers, it would seem, and I tell him things he does not want to hear. “You’re old enough to decide which of Lord Walder’s girls you prefer without your mother’s help, Robb.”

“那您和席恩一起走罢。他明天动身，首先协助梅利斯特押送部分战俘去海疆城，随后搭船前往铁群岛。你也可以找条船，如果风向顺遂，不出一月便能返回临冬城。布兰和瑞肯需要你。”

“Then go with Theon. He leaves on the morrow. He’ll help the Mallisters escort that lot of captives to Seagard and then take ship for the Iron Islands. You could find a ship as well, and be back at Winterfell with a moon’s turn, if the winds are kind. Bran and Rickon need you.”

而你不需要？“你外公的时日所剩无多，只要他还活在世上一日，我就要留在奔流城守着他。”

And you do not, is that what you mean to say? “My lord father has little enough time remaining him. So long as your grandfather lives, my place is at Riverrun with him.”

“我是国王，我可以命令你走。”

“I could command you to go. As king. I could.”

凯特琳不理他，“我再说一遍，我希望你把席恩留在身边，派别人去派克岛。”

Catelyn ignored that. “I’ll say again, I would sooner you sent someone else to Pyke, and kept Theon close to you.”

“和巴隆·葛雷乔伊周旋，派谁比他儿子更合适呢？”

“Who better to treat with Balon Greyjoy than his son?”

“杰森·梅利斯特，”凯特琳提议，“泰陀斯·布莱伍德，史提夫伦·佛雷，谁都成……惟独席恩不行。”

“Jason Mallister,” offered Catelyn. “Tytos Blackwood. Stevron Frey. Anyone … but not Theon.”

儿子在灰风身旁蹲下，拨弄冰原狼的毛皮，藉此逃避她的目光。“席恩为我们立下不少功劳，我跟你说过他在狼林里从野人手中拯救布兰的事。而一旦与兰尼斯特家和谈不成，我就必须得到葛雷乔伊大王的长船舰队。”

Her son squatted beside Grey Wind, ruffling the wolf’s fur and incidentally avoiding her eyes. “Theon’s fought bravely for us. I told you how he saved Bran from those wildlings in the wolfswood. If the Lannisters won’t make peace, I’ll have need of Lord Greyjoy’s longships.”

“想得到他的舰队，最好的办法就是把他儿子留作人质，。”

“You’ll have them sooner if you keep his son as hostage.”

“他已经作了半辈子人质。”

“He’s been a hostage half his life.”

“那不是没有原因的。”凯特琳说，“巴隆·葛雷乔伊这种人不能信任。别忘了，虽说仅仅为期一季，可他毕竟曾自立为王。哪天他揪准机会，说不定又会再度作乱。”

“For good reason,” Catelyn said. “Balon Greyjoy is not a man to be trusted. He wore a crown himself, remember, if only for a season. He may aspire to wear one again.”

罗柏起身，“我不跟他计较这个。我是北境之王，满足他的愿望，让他当铁岛之王又如何？只要他助我击败兰尼斯特，我很乐意将王冠奉上。”

Robb stood. “I will not grudge him that. If I’m King in the North, let him be King of the Iron Islands, if that’s his desire. I’ll give him a crown gladly, so long as he helps us bring down the Lannisters.”

“罗柏——”

“Robb—”

“我决定派席恩。日安，母亲。灰风，我们走。”罗柏快步离去，冰原狼亦步亦趋。

“I’m sending Theon. Good day, Mother. Grey Wind, come.” Robb walked off briskly, the direwolf padding beside him.

凯特琳只能目送他离开，那是她的儿子，也是她的主君，好奇怪的感觉啊。想当初在卡林湾，她敦瞩他要“发号施令”，如今他果然照办。“我去看看父亲，”她唐突地说，“艾德慕，跟我一起来吧。”

Catelyn could only watch him go. Her son and now her king. How queer that felt. Command, she had told him back in Moat Cailin. And so he did. “I am going to visit Father,” she announced abruptly. “Come with me, Edmure.”

似乎一天天虚弱下去“戴斯蒙正在训练新募的弓箭手，我得去讲两句。晚些时候再去看他。”

“I need to have a word with those new bowmen Ser Desmond is training. I’ll visit him later.”

晚些时候说不定他就不在人世了，凯特琳心想，却没有说出口。弟弟宁可上战场，也不愿进病房。

If he still lives, Catelyn thought, but she said nothing. Her brother would sooner face battle than that sickroom.

垂危父亲的病房位于主堡，穿越神木林是最佳捷径。神木林里长满青草、野花、榆树和红木，浓密的叶片依然贪恋着枝干，对两周前白鸦带来的消息浑然不觉。秋季已至，枢机会虽已宣布，但诸神似乎还不愿把这个消息告诉清风和密林，为此凯特琳深觉感激。秋天，是个让人惧怕的季节，只因凛冬的阴影徘徊在前。一个人，无论睿智还是驽钝，都无法判断这次秋收会不会是今生最后的农获。

The shortest way to the central keep where her father lay dying was through the godswood, with its grass and wildflowers and thick stands of elm and redwood. A wealth of rustling leaves still clung to the branches of the trees, all ignorant of the word the white raven had brought to Riverrun a fortnight past. Autumn had come, the Conclave had declared, but the gods had not seen fit to tell the winds and woods as yet. For that Catelyn was duly grateful. Autumn was always a fearful time, with the specter of winter looming ahead. Even the wisest man never knew whether his next harvest would be the last.

城堡顶层的房间里，奔流城公爵霍斯特·徒利卧病在床，床位朝东，腾石河和红叉河汇流处尽收眼底。凯特琳进来时，他正在熟睡，须发皆白，色泽竟和羽毛床褥无异，那曾经魁伟的身躯，如今已被逐渐扩散的死亡之气消磨得又瘦又小。

Hoster Tully, Lord of Riverrun, lay abed in his solar, with its commanding view to the east where the rivers Tumblestone and Red Fork met beyond the walls of his castle. He was sleeping when Catelyn entered, his hair and beard as white as his featherbed, his once portly frame turned small and frail by the death that grew within him.

床边，静坐着她的叔叔黑鱼，他依然穿戴锁甲，一身风尘仆仆的斗篷，长靴蒙尘，满是干泥。“叔叔，你回来了，罗柏知道吗？”布林登·徒利爵士掌管着罗柏的侦察部队，等于是他的耳目。

Beside the bed, still dressed in mail hauberk and travel-stained cloak, sat her father’s brother, the Blackfish. His boots were dusty and spattered with dried mud. “Does Robb know you are returned, Uncle?” Ser Brynden Tully was Robb’s eyes and ears, the commander of his scouts and outriders.

“还没有。我一进马厩，听他们说国王正在主持朝政，就直接过来了。我想我的消息应该私下报告给陛下。”黑鱼一头灰发，身形瘦长，动作精准，他刮得干净的脸上满是皱纹和风伤。“他情形如何？”他问，她知道他问的不是罗柏。

“No. I came here straight from the stables, when they told me the king was holding court. His Grace will want to hear my tidings in private first, I’d think.” The Blackfish was a tall, lean man, grey of hair and precise in his movements, his clean-shaven face lined and windburnt. “How is he?” he asked, and she knew he did not mean Robb.

“还是老样子。学士给他喝梦酒和罂粟花奶止痛，所以他大部分时间都在睡。他吃得太少，似乎一天天虚弱下去了。”

“Much the same. The maester gives him dreamwine and milk of the poppy for his pain, so he sleeps most of the time, and eats too little. He seems weaker with each day that passes.”

“说过话没？”

“Does he speak?”

“有……可越来越没条理。他常说起自己的悔恨，说起没完成的任务，还有过世很久的人和陈年往事。有时候他连季节都分辨不清，甚至把我当成我母亲。”

“Yes … but there is less and less sense to the things he says. He talks of his regrets, of unfinished tasks, of people long dead and times long past. Sometimes he does not know what season it is, or who I am. Once he called me by Mother’s name.”

“他一直想念她。”布林登爵士答道，“你和你母亲很像，从颧骨就看得出，这下巴……”

“He misses her still,” Ser Brynden answered. “You have her face. I can see it in your cheekbones, and your jaw …”

“你记得比我清楚，这都是好久以前的事了。”她在床边坐下，伸手拂开一小撮垂落父亲脸庞的华发。

“You remember more of her than I do. It has been a long time.” She seated herself on the bed and brushed away a strand of fine white hair that had fallen across her father’s face.

“每次我出城，都不知道回来时他是不是还活着。”虽然父亲当年和弟弟争执不下，但两人的感情依然十分紧密。

“Each time I ride out, I wonder if I shall find him alive or dead on my return.” Despite their quarrels, there was a deep bond between her father and the brother he had once disowned.

“好在你们和好了。”

“At least you made your peace with him.”

他们静坐半晌，最后凯特琳抬起头：“你有消息告诉罗柏？”霍斯特公爵呻吟一声，翻过身去，彷佛听见了他们的谈话。

They sat for a time in silence, until Catelyn raised her head. “You spoke of tidings that Robb needed to hear?” Lord Hoster moaned and rolled onto his side, almost as if he had heard.

布林登站起来，“到外面说吧，别吵醒了他。”

Brynden stood. “Come outside. Best if we do not wake him.”

她随他走上石制阳台，阳台呈三角造型，好似巨舰船首。叔叔朝天空瞄了一眼，皱眉道：“连白天都看得见，我的人唤它作‘红信使’……可它带来的，到底是什么信息呢？”

She followed him out onto the stone balcony that jutted three-sided from the solar like the prow of a ship. Her uncle glanced up, frowning. “You can see it by day now. My men call it the Red Messenger … but what is the message?”

凯特琳抬眼望去，彗星淡红的轨迹划过蔚蓝的天空，彷佛天神脸上的一记悠长的抓痕。“大琼恩对罗柏说，这是旧神为奈德展开的复仇火旗；艾德慕则认为那是奔流城胜利的预兆——他看到一条长尾巴的鱼，蓝底透红，正是徒利家的徽章。”她叹口气。“我真希望自己也像他那般有信心。绯红，可是兰尼斯特的色彩啊。”

Catelyn raised her eyes, to where the faint red line of the comet traced a path across the deep blue sky like a long scratch across the face of god. “The Greatjon told Robb that the old gods have unfurled a red flag of vengeance for Ned. Edmure thinks it’s an omen of victory for Riverrun—he sees a fish with a long tail, in the Tully colors, red against blue.” She sighed. “I wish I had their faith. Crimson is a Lannister color.”

“那东西既不是绯红，”布林登爵士道，“也不是徒利家河泥的的褐红，而是血红。孩子，那是横跨天际的一抹血迹。”

“That thing’s not crimson,” Ser Brynden said. “Nor Tully red, the mud red of the river. That’s blood up there, child, smeared across the sky.”

“我们的还是敌人的？”

“Our blood or theirs?”

“打仗哪有单方面流血的呢？”叔叔摇摇头，“神眼湖周围的河间地成了一片火海，四处血流成河。眼下战事南延至黑水河，往北则越过三叉戟河，几乎就要波及到孪河城。马柯·派柏和卡列尔·凡斯小胜了几仗，南境的贵族贝里·唐德利恩则专心对付掠夺者，不断偷袭泰温大人派出的劫掠队，攻击后便闪电般地躲进森林。据报勃顿·克雷赫爵士大肆吹嘘杀死了唐德利恩，结果没多久他的队伍就被贝里大人骗进陷阱，最后全军覆没。”

“Was there ever a war where only one side bled?” Her uncle gave a shake of the head. “The riverlands are awash in blood and flame all around the Gods Eye. The fighting has spread south to the Blackwater and north across the Trident, almost to the Twins. Marq Piper and Karyl Vance have won some small victories, and this southron lordling Beric Dondarrion has been raiding the raiders, falling upon Lord Tywin’s foraging parties and vanishing back into the woods. It’s said that Ser Burton Crakehall was boasting that he’d slain Dondarrion, until he led his column into one of Lord Beric’s traps and got every man of them killed.”

“奈德带去君临的卫士中有一些就跟着这个贝里大人，”凯特琳想起来，“愿诸神眷顾他们。”

“Some of Ned’s guard from King’s Landing are with this Lord Beric,” Catelyn recalled. “May the gods preserve them.”

“倘若传闻属实，这个唐德利恩和跟随他的红袍僧挺机灵，尚足以照顾自己。”叔叔说：“你父亲麾下的诸侯可就凄惨了，罗柏实在不该放他们离开。他们四处分居，各自为战，真是荒唐啊，凯特，荒唐透顶。杰诺斯·布雷肯为保卫烧成废墟的家堡，身负重伤，他的外甥亨德利战死沙场。泰陀斯·布莱伍德虽将兰尼斯特军逐出自己的领地，却被敌军带走了所有牲畜和粮草，只留给他鸦树空城和一片焦土。戴瑞家的部队起初进展顺利，轻易夺回了他们的城堡，可不到半月，格雷果·克里冈便率兵攻至，把守军杀个一干二净，连他们的领主也不放过。”

“Dondarrion and this red priest who rides with him are clever enough to preserve themselves, if the tales be true,” her uncle said, “but your father’s bannermen make a sadder tale. Robb should never have let them go. They’ve scattered like quail, each man trying to protect his own, and it’s folly, Cat, folly. Jonos Bracken was wounded in the fighting amidst the ruins of his castle, and his nephew Hendry slain. Tytos Blackwood’s swept the Lannisters off his lands, but they took every cow and pig and speck of grain and left him nothing to defend but Raventree Hall and a scorched desert. Darry men recaptured their lord’s keep but held it less than a fortnight before Gregor Clegane descended on them and put the whole garrison to the sword, even their lord.”

凯特琳听了大惊失色，“戴瑞还是个孩子啊！”

Catelyn was horrorstruck. “Darry was only a child.”

“是啊，而且是戴瑞家最后的传人。用那孩子原本可换一笔高额赎金，可对格雷果·克里冈这种疯狗来说，黄金有什么用呢？我发誓，这个畜生的头是献给全国百姓最好的礼物。”

“Aye, and the last of his line as well. The boy would have brought a fine ransom, but what does gold mean to a frothing dog like Gregor Clegane? That beast’s head would make a noble gift for all the people of the realm, I vow.”

凯特琳知道克里冈爵士恶名昭彰，但这未免也太……“叔叔，不要提起头。瑟曦把奈德的头挑在枪尖，挂在红堡墙上，任由乌鸦和苍蝇糟蹋。”到了现在，她还是很难相信他就这么走了。有时她夜里醒来，半梦半醒之间，恍惚以为他就在身旁。“克里冈不过是泰温大人的走狗罢了。”泰温·兰尼斯特——凯岩城公爵、西境守护，瑟曦太后、“弑君者”詹姆爵士和“小恶魔”提利昂的父亲，新登基的幼王乔佛里·拜拉席恩的祖父——才是真正的乱源，凯特琳坚信。

Catelyn knew Ser Gregor’s evil reputation, yet still … “Don’t speak to me of heads, Uncle. Cersei has mounted Ned’s on a spike above the walls of the Red Keep, and left it for the crows and flies.” Even now, it was hard for her to believe that he was truly gone. Some nights she would wake in darkness, half-asleep, and for an instant expect to find him there beside her. “Clegane is no more than Lord Tywin’s catspaw.” For Tywin Lannister—Lord of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West, father to Queen Cersei, Ser Jaime the Kingslayer, and Tyrion the Imp, and grandfather to Joffrey Baratheon, the new-crowned boy king—was the true danger, Catelyn believed.

“很正确，”布林登爵士同意，“泰温·兰尼斯特精明着呢，他安稳地守在赫伦堡重重高墙后，拿咱们的粮食喂他的兵丁，拿不走的就烧掉。他放出的走狗不只格雷果一条，亚摩利·洛奇爵士也出马了，此外还有群科霍尔佣兵，这帮家伙性情残忍，爱把人弄成残废。我见过他们留下的景观：全村焚毁，妇女被奸淫后支解，遭屠杀的孩子暴尸荒野，不得埋葬，任由狼群和野狗竞食……这种场面连死人都受不了。”

“True enough,” Ser Brynden admitted. “And Tywin Lannister is no man’s fool. He sits safe behind the walls of Harrenhal, feeding his host on our harvest and burning what he does not take. Gregor is not the only dog he’s loosed. Ser Amory Lorch is in the field as well, and some sellsword out of Qohor who’d sooner maim a man than kill him. I’ve seen what they leave behind them. Whole villages put to the torch, women raped and mutilated, butchered children left unburied to draw wolves and wild dogs … it would sicken even the dead.”

赫伦堡的故事“艾德慕若是知道，准会气疯的。”

“When Edmure hears this, he will rage.”

“那正合泰温大人的意。凯特，散播恐怖自有其目的，兰尼斯特军要激我们与之决战。”

“And that will be just as Lord Tywin desires. Even terror has its purpose, Cat. Lannister wants to provoke us to battle.”

“只怕罗柏还求之不得，”凯特琳焦躁地说，“困守此地，他像笼子里的猫一样极不耐烦，可以想见，艾德慕、大琼恩及其他人必定日夜力促他出战。”儿子只打了两场胜仗，一次在呓语森林偷袭詹姆·兰尼斯特，另一次是击溃包围奔流城的无主散军，但在他的诸侯们口中，他已经俨然是征服者伊耿再世了。

“Robb is like to give him that wish,” Catelyn said, fretful. “He is restless as a cat sitting here, and Edmure and the Greatjon and the others will urge him on.” Her son had won two great victories, smashing Jaime Lannister in the Whispering Wood and routing his leaderless host outside the walls of Riverrun in the Battle of the Camps, but from the way some of his bannermen spoke of him, he might have been Aegon the Conqueror reborn.

黑鱼布林登皱起他的灰色浓眉，“这正是他们愚昧之处。我作战的首要原则，凯特——是绝不让对方称心如意。泰温大人巴不得在他选择的地点与我们决战，他希望我们朝赫伦堡进军。”

Brynden Blackfish arched a bushy grey eyebrow. “More fool they. My first rule of war, Cat—never give the enemy his wish. Lord Tywin would like to fight on a field of his own choosing. He wants us to march on Harrenhal.”

“赫伦堡。”三河流域的每位孩童都听过赫伦堡的故事。这是三百年前由“黑心”赫伦王在神眼湖边建造的巨大堡垒。那个时代，七国境内真是七国分立，而河间地区由铁群岛的“铁民”所统治。骄傲的赫伦想拥有全维斯特洛最大的殿堂和最高的塔楼，所以他前后耗费四十年修建此城。巨大的阴影在湖边不断拔高，赫伦王的军队则四处劫掠，从邻国抢来石头、木材、黄金和工人。在采石场中，在拖木橇上，在修建那五座巨人般的高塔时，成千上万的奴工力竭而死。人们冬天挨饿受冻，夏天汗流浃背，风风雨雨，劳作不息。为筹备足够的梁柱和椽木，生长三千年的鱼梁木横遭砍伐，赫伦竭尽河间全境和铁群岛的一切资源，只为达成一己迷梦。最后赫伦堡终告竣工，然而就在赫伦王进驻城中的当日，征服者伊耿也率军登陆君临。

“Harrenhal.” Every child of the Trident knew the tales told of Harrenhal, the vast fortress that King Harren the Black had raised beside the waters of Gods Eye three hundred years past, when the Seven Kingdoms had been seven kingdoms, and the riverlands were ruled by the ironmen from the islands. In his pride, Harren had desired the highest hall and tallest towers in all Westeros. Forty years it had taken, rising like a great shadow on the shore of the lake while Harren’s armies plundered his neighbors for stone, lumber, gold, and workers. Thousands of captives died in his quarries, chained to his sledges, or laboring on his five colossal towers. Men froze by winter and sweltered in summer. Weirwoods that had stood three thousand years were cut down for beams and rafters. Harren had beggared the riverlands and the Iron Islands alike to ornament his dream. And when at last Harrenhal stood complete, on the very day King Harren took up residence, Aegon the Conqueror had come ashore at King’s Landing.

凯特琳还记得以前在临冬城，老奶妈是怎么把这个故事说给她的孩子们听的。“赫伦王发现厚墙和高塔无法对抗巨龙，”故事总在这里结束，“因为龙会飞。”龙焰吞噬了这座怪物般的堡垒，赫伦全族尽死其间。而从此之后，获得赫伦堡的每位家族都会遭遇不幸。赫伦堡虽然固若金汤，却是个阴暗而遭诅咒的地方。

Catelyn could remember hearing Old Nan tell the story to her own children, back at Winterfell. “And King Harren learned that thick walls and high towers are small use against dragons,” the tale always ended. “For dragons fly.” Harren and all his line had perished in the fires that engulfed his monstrous fortress, and every house that held Harrenhal since had come to misfortune. Strong it might be, but it was a dark place, and cursed.

“我决不会让罗柏在那座堡垒的阴影下作战，”凯特琳承诺，“可是叔叔，我们总得采取行动，扭转局面啊。”

“I would not have Robb fight a battle in the shadow of that keep,” Catelyn admitted. “Yet we must do something, Uncle.”

“而且要快，”叔叔同意，“孩子，我还没把最坏的消息告诉你。据我派往西方的探子回报，一支新军正在凯岩城集结。”

“And soon,” her uncle agreed. “I have not told you the worst of it, child. The men I sent west have brought back word that a new host is gathering at Casterly Rock.”

一只兰尼斯特新军，她惶惶不安。“这个消息必须立刻报告罗柏。这支部队由谁带领？”

Another Lannister army. The thought made her ill. “Robb must be told at once. Who will command?”

“据说是史戴佛·兰尼斯特爵士。”他将视线转往双河汇流处，红蓝相间的斗篷在微风中轻摆。

“Ser Stafford Lannister, it’s said.” He turned to gaze out over the rivers, his red-and-blue cloak stirring in the breeze.

“又是他侄子？”凯岩城的兰尼斯特家族实在枝叶茂盛，盘根错节。

“Another nephew?” The Lannisters of Casterly Rock were a damnably large and fertile house.

“是他堂哥，”布林登爵士纠正，“泰温大人亡妻的哥哥，所以是亲上加亲。但此人已老，脑袋又向来不太好使。可他有个儿子达冯爵士，据说骁勇善战。”

“Cousin,” Ser Brynden corrected. “Brother to Lord Tywin’s late wife, so twice related. An old man and a bit of a dullard, but he has a son, Ser Daven, who is more formidable.”

“就让我们祈祷领军的是父亲，而非儿子吧。”

“Then let us hope it is the father and not the son who takes this army into the field.”

“不管怎样，他们暂时不构成威胁。这支军队由流浪武士、自由骑手和兰尼斯港的小巷里召募的新手组成，史戴佛爵士必须首先武装他们，训练他们，之后才敢出兵……然而我们别心存幻想，泰温大人不是弑君者，他决不会没头没脑地出击，他一定会耐心等候，直到史戴佛爵士进军后，方才离开赫伦堡。”

“We have some time yet before we must face them. This lot will be sellswords, freeriders, and green boys from the stews of Lannisport. Ser Stafford must see that they are armed and drilled before he dare risk battle … and make no mistake, Lord Tywin is not the Kingslayer. He will not rush in heedless. He will wait patiently for Ser Stafford to march before he stirs from behind the walls of Harrenhal.”

“除非……”凯特琳道。

“Unless …” said Catelyn.

“怎样？”布林登爵士询问。

“Yes?” Ser Brynden prompted.

“除非他迫不得已，必须离开赫伦堡，”她说，“去应付其他威胁。”

“Unless he must leave Harrenhal,” she said, “to face some other threat.”

叔叔若有所思地看着她，“蓝礼大人。”

Her uncle looked at her thoughtfully. “Lord Renly.”

“蓝礼‘陛下’。”既然要求他帮忙，便得用他自封的头衔相称。

“King Renly.” If she would ask help from the man, she would need to grant him the style he had claimed for himself.

“这倒有可能，”黑鱼露出一抹危险的微笑，“不过，他会要求回报。”

“Perhaps.” The Blackfish smiled a dangerous smile. “He’ll want something, though.”

“国王要的东西都一样，”她说，“臣服。”

“He’ll want what kings always want,” she said. “Homage.”