Chapter 第三十六章 丹妮莉丝（六）
DAENERYS
营地的恶臭是如此剧烈，丹妮得强忍住作呕的冲动。
The stench of the camp was so appalling it was all that Dany could do not to gag.
巴利斯坦爵士皱了皱鼻子说，“陛下不该来这儿，呼吸这些黑色体液的味道。”
Ser Barristan wrinkled up his nose, and said, “Your Grace should not be here, breathing these black humors.”
“我是龙之血脉，”丹妮提醒他，“你见过拉肚子的龙么？”韦塞里斯过去常声称坦格利安们不受折磨普通人的瘟疫侵扰，而且据她所知，那是真的。她记得寒冷、饥饿和恐惧的感觉，但从没有生过病。
“I am the blood of the dragon,” Dany reminded him. “Have you ever seen a dragon with the flux?” Viserys had oft claimed that Targaryens were untroubled by the pestilences that afflicted common men, and so far as she could tell, it was true. She could remember being cold and hungry and afraid, but never sick.
“即便如此，”老骑士说，“如果陛下回到城里，我会觉得好受些。”弥林多彩的砖墙已远在他们身后一英里。“自从黎明纪元开始，血痢疾便一直是每支军队的噩梦。我们分发食物吧，陛下。”
“Even so,” the old knight said, “I would feel better if Your Grace would return to the city.” The many-colored brick walls of Meereen were half a mile back. “The bloody flux has been the bane of every army since the Dawn Age. Let us distribute the food, Your Grace.”
“天明再说，现在都到这儿了，我想去看看。”她双脚一夹她的小银马，其他人便策马随行。乔戈在她前方骑行，阿戈和拉卡洛在后，挥舞着长长的多斯拉克马鞭阻止病患和将死之人靠近。巴利斯坦爵士骑在一匹斑灰马上走在她的右侧。她左边则是自由兄弟会的‘疤背’赛蒙和母亲之子的马瑟伦。60名士兵紧跟在他们的团长身后，保护装满食物的四轮马车。所有人都骑着马——多斯拉克人、铜面兽和自由民，只有职责才能让他们克服对彼此的厌恶聚集在一起。
“On the morrow. I am here now. I want to see.” She put her heels into her silver. The others trotted after her. Jhogo rode before her, Aggo and Rakharo just behind, long Dothraki whips in hand to keep away the sick and dying. Ser Barristan was at her right, mounted on a dapple grey. To her left was Symon Stripeback of the Free Brothers and Marselen of the Mother’s Men. Three score soldiers followed close behind the captains, to protect the food wagons. Mounted men all, Dothraki and Brazen Beasts and freedmen, they were united only by their distaste for this duty.
阿斯塔波人则排着每走一码就变得更长的病怏怏的队伍跌跌撞撞的跟在后面。有些人说的语言让她听不懂。其他人则没开口。许多人举起双手伸向丹妮，或者在她的小银马路过时跪下。“母亲，”他们这样叫她，用阿斯塔波、里斯、古瓦兰提斯语，还有多斯拉克语的喉音，魁斯的流音，甚至还有维斯特洛的通用语。“母亲，求求你……母亲，帮帮我的姐姐，她病的很重……给我的孩子点儿吃的吧……求求你，还有我的老父亲……帮帮他吧……帮帮她吧……帮帮我吧……”
The Astapori stumbled after them in a ghastly procession that grew longer with every yard they crossed. Some spoke tongues she did not understand. Others were beyond speaking. Many lifted their hands to Dany, or knelt as her silver went by. “Mother,” they called to her, in the dialects of Astapor, Lys, and Old Volantis, in guttural Dothraki and the liquid syllables of Qarth, even in the Common Tongue of Westeros. “Mother, please … mother, help my sister, she is sick … give me food for my little ones … please, my old father … help him … help her … help me …”
我也无法帮助更多了，丹妮绝望地想。阿斯塔波人无处可去，数千人滞留在弥林厚厚的砖墙外面——男人、女人、小孩、老人、小姑娘还有新生婴儿。许多人都病了，多数人都在挨饿，而所有人都注定死亡。丹妮莉丝不敢打开她的城门让他们进来。她已经尽自己最大的可能为他们提供帮助。她派出医者，蓝衣贤者还有诵术士甚至是庸医，但他们中的一些也生病了，而他们的技艺一点儿也没放缓苍白母马带来的血痢疾疾驰的脚步。将病患与尚未感染的人分开也被证实不可行。她的‘坚盾团’尝试过，即使阿斯塔波人哭泣着又踢又扔石子，他们还是将丈夫从妻子身边，孩子从母亲身边拉开。几天后，染病的人死了，而健康的人则病了。将人与人分开一点儿用也没有。
I have no more help to give, Dany thought, despairing. The Astapori had no place to go. Thousands remained outside Meereen’s thick walls—men and women and children, old men and little girls and newborn babes. Many were sick, most were starved, and all were doomed to die. Daenerys dare not open her gates to let them in. She had tried to do what she could for them. She had sent them healers, Blue Graces and spell-singers and barber-surgeons, but some of those had sickened as well, and none of their arts had slowed the galloping progression of the flux that had come on the pale mare. Separating the healthy from the sick had proved impractical as well. Her Stalwart Shields had tried, pulling husbands away from wives and children from their mothers, even as the Astapori wept and kicked and pelted them with stones. A few days later, the sick were dead and the healthy ones were sick. Dividing the one from the other had accomplished nothing.
即使喂饱他们也变得艰难。每天她都送给他们她能给的，但每天他们都变得更多，而能给的食物却变得更少。找到愿意运输食物的车夫也变得困难，因为派进营地的很多人回来后都被血痢疾感染了，其他人则在回城路上被攻击。昨天一辆马车翻了，她的两个士兵死亡。所以今天，女王决心自己去分发食物。她的每个谏者都激烈的反对，从雷兹纳克到剃顶大人，还有巴利斯坦爵士，但丹妮莉丝没动摇。“我不会背弃他们，”她固执地说，“女王需知道她的子民遭受的苦难。”
Even feeding them had grown difficult. Every day she sent them what she could, but every day there were more of them and less food to give them. It was growing harder to find drivers willing to deliver the food as well. Too many of the men they had sent into the camp had been stricken by the flux themselves. Others had been attacked on the way back to the city. Yesterday a wagon had been overturned and two of her soldiers killed, so today the queen had determined that she would bring the food herself. Every one of her advisors had argued fervently against it, from Reznak and the Shavepate to Ser Barristan, but Daenerys would not be moved. “I will not turn away from them,” she said stubbornly. “A queen must know the sufferings of her people.”
他们唯一不缺的便是苦难。“现在马和骡子几乎一头不剩了，尽管当初他们很多人是骑骡马从阿斯塔波过来的，”马瑟伦这样向她汇报。“他们吃掉了每一头，陛下，还有他们能捕捉到的每只老鼠、鬣狗。现在他们开始吃起他们死掉的人了。”
Suffering was the only thing they did not lack. “There is scarcely a horse or mule left, though many rode from Astapor,” Marselen reported to her. “They’ve eaten every one, Your Grace, along with every rat and scavenger dog that they could catch. Now some have begun to eat their own dead.”
“人不该吃同类的肉体，”阿戈说道。
“Man must not eat the flesh of man,” said Aggo.
“人所周知，”拉卡洛同意，“他们将受到诅咒。”
“It is known,” agreed Rahkaro. “They will be cursed.”
“他们受的比受诅咒糟糕多了，”‘疤背’赛蒙说。
“They’re past cursing,” said Symon Stripeback.
胀肚子的小孩尾随他们，已经瘦弱或恐惧到无法乞讨。眼睛凹陷的枯瘦男人蜷伏在沙石中，他们的生命也随着腹泻出的棕红色恶臭之物流逝。很多人衰弱到无法爬到她命令他们挖的沟渠那里，就在睡觉的地方排泄。两个人为一根焦黑的骨头大打出手。附近的一个十岁男孩站着吃老鼠。他用一只手吃，另一只手抓着一根削尖的棍子以防任何人试图抢走他的战利品。未埋葬的死尸到处都是。丹妮看到一个人在黑斗篷下躺卧在地，而当她骑过他身边时，那斗篷一下分散成数千只苍蝇。瘦骨嶙峋的女人紧抱着将死的婴孩坐在地上。她们的眼睛跟随着她。那些还有气力的人叫出声。“母亲……求求您，母亲……祝福您，母亲……”
Little children with swollen stomachs trailed after them, too weak or scared to beg. Gaunt men with sunken eyes squatted amidst sand and stones, shitting out their lives in stinking streams of brown and red. Many shat where they slept now, too feeble to crawl to the ditches she’d commanded them to dig. Two women fought over a charred bone. Nearby a boy of ten stood eating a rat. He ate one-handed, the other clutching a sharpened stick lest anyone try to wrest away his prize. Unburied dead lay everywhere. Dany saw one man sprawled in the dirt under a black cloak, but as she rode past his cloak dissolved into a thousand flies. Skeletal women sat upon the ground clutching dying infants. Their eyes followed her. Those who had the strength called out. “Mother … please, Mother … bless you, Mother …”
祝福我，丹妮苦涩地想。你的城市将化为焦土和骨骸，你的人民正在你周围死去。我没有避难所给你们，没有**，没有希望。只有不新鲜的面包和腐烂的肉，干硬的奶酪，一点点牛奶。祝福我，祝福我。
Bless me, Dany thought bitterly. Your city is gone to ash and bone, your people are dying all around you. I have no shelter for you, no medicine, no hope. Only stale bread and wormy meat, hard cheese, a little milk. Bless me, bless me.
连给孩子的牛奶都没有，这是什么母亲？
What kind of mother has no milk to feed her children?
“死尸太多了，”阿戈说，“应该烧掉它们。”
“Too many dead,” Aggo said. “They should be burned.”
“谁来烧死尸呢？”巴利斯坦爵士问道。“到处都是血痢疾。每一晚都有一百人死去。”
“Who will burn them?” asked Ser Barristan. “The bloody flux is everywhere. A hundred die each night.”
“接触死者没有好处。”乔戈说。
“It is not good to touch the dead,” said Jhogo.
“人所周知。”阿戈和拉卡洛一起说道。
“This is known,” Aggo and Rakharo said, together.
“也许是这样，”丹妮说道，“但是这件事也必须要做。”她想了一会儿。“无垢者不惧怕尸体。我会交代给灰虫子。”
“That may be so,” said Dany, “but this thing must be done, all the same.” She thought a moment. “The Unsullied have no fear of corpses. I shall speak to Grey Worm.”
“陛下，”巴利斯坦爵士说，“无垢者是您最好的战士。我们千万不能让瘟疫在他们当中散播。让阿斯塔波人自己烧掉死者吧。”
“Your Grace,” said Ser Barristan, “the Unsullied are your best fighters. We dare not loose this plague amongst them. Let the Astapori bury their own dead.”
“他们太虚弱了，”‘疤背’赛蒙说。
“They are too feeble,” said Symon Stripeback.
丹妮说，“更多的食物能让他们强壮起来。”
Dany said, “More food might make them stronger.”
赛蒙摇头，“食物不应该浪费在将死者身上，陛下。我们连活人都喂不饱。”
Symon shook his head. “Food should not be wasted on the dying, Your Worship. We do not have enough to feed the living.”
丹妮知道他说的没错，但这并没有让这些话听起来更轻松。“足够远了，”女王决定。“我们在这里救济他们。”她举起手。补给马车在她身后碰撞着停下，骑手们在马车四周散开，防止阿斯塔波人哄抢食物。不一会他们就被厚重的人群挤的寸步难行，而越来越多的难民仍在步履蹒跚的向马车涌来。骑手们拦住他们。“排好队，”他们吼道。“别推，退后，退后。每个人都有面包，排好队。”
He was not wrong, she knew, but that did not make the words any easier to hear. “This is far enough,” the queen decided. “We’ll feed them here.” She raised a hand. Behind her the wagons bumped to a halt, and her riders spread out around them, to keep the Astapori from rushing at the food. No sooner had they stopped than the press began to thicken around them, as more and more of the afflicted came limping and shambling toward the wagons. The riders cut them off. “Wait your turn,” they shouted. “No pushing. Back. Stay back. Bread for everyone. Wait your turn.”
丹妮只能坐下看着。“爵士，”她对巴利斯坦·赛尔弥说，“我们就不能再做点什么吗？你还有存粮。”
Dany could only sit and watch. “Ser,” she said to Barristan Selmy, “is there no more we can do? You have provisions.”
“那是给陛下战士们的存粮。我们需要抵抗长期的围城。暴鸦团和次子团能够骚扰渊凯人，但不能指望他们让渊凯人退兵。如果陛下允许我集结一支军队……”
“Provisions for Your Grace’s soldiers. We may well need to withstand a long siege. The Stormcrows and the Second Sons can harry the Yunkishmen, but they cannot hope to turn them. If Your Grace would allow me to assemble an army …”
“如果必须一战，我会马上退至弥林的围墙后作战。让渊凯人尝试进攻我的城墙吧。”女王巡视四周。“如果我们平均分配食物……”
“If there must be a battle, I would sooner fight it from behind the walls of Meereen. Let the Yunkai’i try and storm my battlements.” The queen surveyed the scene around her. “If we were to share our food equally …”
“……阿斯塔波人在这些天会吃掉他们的那份，我们用来抵抗围城的就更少了。”
“… the Astapori would eat through their portion in days, and we would have that much less for the siege.”
丹妮的视线穿过营地，直到弥林的多彩砖墙。空气里充斥着苍蝇和哭泣声。“七神把这场瘟疫带给谦卑的我。太多人死去了……我绝不会让他们吃尸体。”她示意阿戈靠近。“去城门，让灰虫子带50个无垢者过来。”
Dany gazed across the camp, to the many-colored brick walls of Meereen. The air was thick with flies and cries. “The gods have sent this pestilence to humble me. So many dead … I will not have them eating corpses.” She beckoned Aggo closer. “Ride to the gates and bring me Grey Worm and fifty of his Unsullied.”
“卡丽熙。吾血之血愿意遵从。”阿戈催马疾驰而去。
“Khaleesi. The blood of your blood obeys.” Aggo touched his horse with his heels and galloped off.
巴利斯坦爵士难掩忧虑的看着。“您不该再在这儿逗留了，陛下。阿斯塔波人已经如您所令得到供食。我们无法再为这些可怜人做更多，是时候休整回城了。”
Ser Barristan watched with ill-concealed apprehension. “You should not linger here overlong, Your Grace. The Astapori are being fed, as you commanded. There’s no more we can do for the poor wretches. We should repair back to the city.”
“若你这么想，你就自己回去吧，爵士。我不会阻挠你。我不会阻挠你们任何人。”丹妮跳下马。“我无法治愈他们，但他们会见证母亲的关怀。”
“Go if you wish, ser. I will not detain you. I will not detain any of you.” Dany vaulted down from the horse. “I cannot heal them, but I can show them that their Mother cares.”
乔戈倒吸一口冷气。“卡丽煕，别。”他下马时，辫上铃铛轻柔作响。“您不能再靠近了，不能让他们碰触你啊！千万别啊！”
Jhogo sucked in his breath. “Khaleesi, no.” The bell in his braid rang softly as he dismounted. “You must not get any closer. Do not let them touch you! Do not!”
丹妮只是走过他身边，一个老人就在几尺外的地上哀鸣，盯着鼓胀的灰云。她在他身边跪下，由于异味而皱了皱鼻，接着将他肮脏的灰发抚到一旁以才测额头温度。“他的身体正受着煎熬，我需要给他沐浴，海水就行。马瑟莱恩（一个无垢者），帮我接点水来好么？我还需要油，以便火葬。谁来帮我焚烧死尸。”
Dany walked right past him. There was an old man on the ground a few feet away, moaning and staring up at the grey belly of the clouds. She knelt beside him, wrinkling her nose at the smell, and pushed back his dirty grey hair to feel his brow. “His flesh is on fire. I need water to bathe him. Seawater will serve. Marselen, will you fetch some for me? I need oil as well, for the pyre. Who will help me burn the dead?”
当阿戈马后跟着灰虫子和50名无垢者小跑而来时，丹妮的行为已经让他们无地自容，于是都开始帮起她来。条纹背赛蒙和他的人将活人和死人分开，堆积起死尸，而乔戈和拉卡洛则带着他们的多斯拉克人帮助那些依旧能走路的人去海湾洗澡，帮着他们洗衣服。阿戈盯着他们，好像他们都疯了一样，但是灰虫子还是在往后边跪下说，“鄙人会帮忙。”
By the time Aggo returned with Grey Worm and fifty of the Unsullied loping behind his horse, Dany had shamed all of them into helping her. Symon Stripeback and his men were pulling the living from the dead and stacking up the corpses, while Jhogo and Rakharo and their Dothraki helped those who could still walk toward the shore to bathe and wash their clothes. Aggo stared at them as if they had all gone mad, but Grey Worm knelt beside the queen and said, “This one would be of help.”
在正午前就已经有许多火堆燃烧。股股浓烟腾上高空污染了无情的蓝天。当丹妮从火油那边走回来时，她的骑装被熏得乌黑。“陛下，”灰虫子说，“鄙人和他的兄弟求您，让我们在工作完成后去咸海中沐浴，如此，依照我们伟大神灵的律法，我们就可以被净化了。”
Before midday a dozen fires were burning. Columns of greasy black smoke rose up to stain a merciless blue sky. Dany’s riding clothes were stained and sooty as she stepped back from the pyres. “Worship,” Grey Worm said, “this one and his brothers beg your leave to bathe in the salt sea when our work here is done, that we might be purified according to the laws of our great goddess.”
女王从不知道阉人也有他们自己的神灵。“这个神灵是谁？吉斯的某个神灵么？”
The queen had not known that the eunuchs had a goddess of their own. “Who is this goddess? One of the gods of Ghis?”
灰虫子看起来有点窘迫。“那个神灵有多个名字。她是矛之夫人，战斗之新娘，主人之母，但她的真名之有那些在她的神坛上烧了自己的**的可怜人才可知晓。我们无法对其他人提起。这点请求您的宽恕。”
Grey Worm looked troubled. “The goddess is called by many names. She is the Lady of Spears, the Bride of Battle, the Mother of Hosts, but her true name belongs only to these poor ones who have burned their manhoods upon her altar. We may not speak of her to others. This one begs your forgiveness.”
“如你所愿。我允许你们如愿去沐浴。感谢你们的帮忙。”
“As you wish. Yes, you may bathe if that is your desire. Thank you for your help.”
“我们生而为您服务。”
“These ones live to serve you.”
当丹妮丽丝四肢酸痛而心中难过地回到她的金字塔，她发觉得弥珊岱正在读着什么古老的卷轴而伊丽和姬奇则正就拉卡洛争吵。“你对他来说瘦死了，”姬奇说。“不差不多就是个男孩。拉卡洛可不会和男孩子睡觉，这众所周知。”伊丽反击。“众所周知你就是头母牛，拉卡洛也不和母牛睡。”
When Daenerys returned to her pyramid, sore of limb and sick of heart, she found Missandei reading some old scroll whilst Irri and Jhiqui argued about Rakharo. “You are too skinny for him,” Jhiqui was saying. “You are almost a boy. Rakharo does not bed with boys. This is known.” Irri bristled back. “It is known that you are almost a cow. Rakharo does not bed with cows.”
“拉卡洛是吾血之血，他的命属于我，不是你们，”丹妮对她们俩说。拉卡洛在离开弥林期间差不多长高了半尺，回来后四肢都更加强壮有力，发辫上又多了四个铃铛。他现在比阿戈和乔戈都高了，显然她的两个贴身女仆都有所注意。“现在安静点，我要洗澡了。”她还从没感觉这么脏过。“姬奇，帮我褪下这些依附于，然后带走烧掉。伊丽，告诉奎扎给我找点轻薄凉快的衣服。天真热。”
“Rakharo is blood of my blood. His life belongs to me, not you,” Dany told the two of them. Rakharo had grown almost half a foot during his time away from Meereen and returned with arms and legs thick with muscle and four bells in his hair. He towered over Aggo and Jhogo now, as her handmaids had both noticed. “Now be quiet. I need to bathe.” She had never felt more soiled. “Jhiqui, help me from these clothes, then take them away and burn them. Irri, tell Qezza to find me something light and cool to wear. The day was very hot.”
一阵凉风吹过台阶。当丹妮滑入她的水池时，她高兴地叹了口气。她命令弥珊岱褪去衣服和她同浴。弥珊岱为丹妮搓背时说：“昨晚在下似乎听到阿斯塔波人挖凿城墙的声音。”
A cool wind was blowing on her terrace. Dany sighed with pleasure as she slipped into the waters of her pool. At her command, Missandei stripped off her clothes and climbed in after her. “This one heard the Astapori scratching at the walls last night,” the little scribe said as she was washing Dany’s back.
伊丽和姬奇交换了个眼神。姬奇说：“根本没有人在挖凿，挖凿？他们靠什么挖？”
Irri and Jhiqui exchanged a look. “No one was scratching,” said Jhiqui. “Scratching … how could they scratch?”
“靠他们的双手，”弥珊岱说道。“砖墙老旧而稀松。他们正试着刨出一条进城的路。”
“With their hands,” said Missandei. “The bricks are old and crumbling. They are trying to claw their way into the city.”
“这或许将耗时数年，”伊丽说。“众所周知，砖墙厚实无比。”
“This would take them many years,” said Irri. “The walls are very thick. This is known.”
“的确如此，”姬奇表示赞同。
“It is known,” agreed Jhiqui.
“我也梦见这些。”丹妮牵着弥珊岱的手。“可他们的营地据此足有半里，小可爱。没有人在挖凿城墙。”
“I dream of them as well.” Dany took Missandei’s hand. “The camp is a good half-mile from the city, my sweetling. No one was scratching at the walls.”
“陛下英明，”弥珊岱说道。“还要不要为你洗头？雷兹纳克·莫·雷兹纳克和伽拉撒·伽拉瑞即将觐见，来讨论关于……”
“Your Grace knows best,” said Missandei. “Shall I wash your hair? It is almost time. Reznak mo Reznak and the Green Grace are coming to discuss—”
“……关于婚礼的筹备。”丹妮猛地坐起来。“我都快忘了。”或许我并不打算记得这些事。“而且，在此之后，我还要和希兹达尔共进晚餐。”她叹口气，“伊丽，把我的绿托卡拿来，镶有密尔蕾丝的那件。”
“—the wedding preparations.” Dany sat up with a splash. “I had almost forgotten.” Perhaps I wanted to forget. “And after them, I am to dine with Hizdahr.” She sighed. “Irri, bring the green tokar, the silk one fringed with Myrish lace.”
“卡丽熙，那一件正在修补。它的蕾丝被撕烂了。蓝托卡已经洗好了。”
“That one is being repaired, Khaleesi. The lace was torn. The blue tokar has been cleaned.”
“蓝色也行。他们不会因此失望。”
“Blue, then. They will be just as pleased.”
可事实并非全如她所料。祭司和总管很高兴见到她穿着托卡，符合弥林女性的装束。而他们却希望她什么都不穿。丹妮莉丝听他们说完这难以置信的要求，“我无意冒犯，但是我的确不想赤圌裸面对希兹达尔的母亲和姐妹。”
She was only half-wrong. The priestess and the seneschal were happy to see her garbed in a tokar, a proper Meereenese lady for once, but what they really wanted was to strip her bare. Daenerys heard them out, incredulous. When they were done, she said, “I have no wish to give offense, but I will not present myself naked to Hizdahr’s mother and sisters.”
“然而，”雷兹纳克·莫·雷兹纳克略微停顿，“然而，你不得不这么做，陛下。在成婚之前，男方家族检查新娘的子圌宫，额……女性部分，是这里的传统。以确信那地方发育正常并能，额……”
“But,” said Reznak mo Reznak, blinking, “but you must, Your Worship. Before a marriage it is traditional for the women of the man’s house to examine the bride’s womb and, ah … her female parts. To ascertain that they are well formed and, ah …”
“……生育，”伽拉撒·伽拉瑞把话说完。“这是古老的仪式，陛下。三名祭司将同去见证检查的过程并颂唱祷词。”
“… fertile,” finished Galazza Galare. “An ancient ritual, Your Radiance. Three Graces shall be present to witness the examination and say the proper prayers.”
“是的，”雷兹纳克接着说，“之后，将会有一个为订婚而特制的蛋糕，属于女人的蛋糕。男人不能品尝它。听说它美味至极，迷人而神秘。”
“Yes,” said Reznak, “and afterward there is a special cake. A women’s cake, baked only for betrothals. Men are not allowed to taste it. I am told it is delicious. Magical.”
但若是子圌宫凋敝遭到诅咒呢？哪里还会有那个蛋糕。 “希兹达尔·佐·洛拉克在婚后也将查视我那儿。”卓戈卡奥认为她那儿毫无瑕疵，凭什么他还得这样做一次？“让他母亲和他姐妹去检查别人，并与那人分享蛋糕吧。我不会去吃它，也不会去洗尊贵的希兹达尔的尊贵的脚。”
And if my womb is withered and my female parts accursed, is there a special cake for that as well? “Hizdahr zo Loraq may inspect my women’s parts after we are wed.” Khal Drogo found no fault with them, why should he? “Let his mother and his sisters examine one another and share the special cake. I shall not be eating it. Nor shall I wash the noble Hizdahr’s noble feet.”
“陛下，你不懂，”雷兹纳克反驳道。“根据传统，洗脚被视为神圣。它意味着你将从此侍奉丈夫。婚礼服装也饱含圌着深刻含义，新娘会穿着衬有暗红面纱的珍珠镶边的白丝托卡。”
“Magnificence, you do not understand,” protested Reznak. “The washing of the feet is hallowed by tradition. It signifies that you shall be your husband’s handmaid. The wedding garb is fraught with meaning too. The bride is dressed in dark red veils above a tokar of white silk, fringed with baby pearls.”
兔子女王结婚可不能没有了“兔子耳朵”。“珍珠会在我走路时嘎嘎作响。”
The queen of the rabbits must not be wed without her floppy ears. “All those pearls will make me rattle when I walk.”
“珍珠象征着多产。陛下您穿戴的珍珠越多，您就会产下越多强壮的后代。”
“The pearls symbolize fertility. The more pearls Your Worship wears, the more healthy children she will bear.”
“我何必要100个孩子？”丹妮转而向绿衣仁者说。“若是按维斯特洛的仪式结婚……”
“Why would I want a hundred children?” Dany turned to the Green Grace. “If we should wed by Westerosi rites …”
“吉斯的神并不认为那是真正的婚姻。”伽拉撒·伽拉瑞的脸隐藏在绿丝面罩之下。只露出眼睛，碧绿，明智，充满忧伤。“那样的结合，你只能成为希兹达尔的妃子，而非他的妻子。你的孩子只能算作是私生子。陛下必须在圣恩神庙嫁给希兹达尔，在弥林所有贵族的注视下结为夫妻。”
“The gods of Ghis would deem it no true union.” Galazza Galare’s face was hidden behind a veil of green silk. Only her eyes showed, green and wise and sad. “In the eyes of the city you would be the noble Hizdahr’s concubine, not his lawful wedded wife. Your children would be bastards. Your Worship must marry Hizdahr in the Temple of the Graces, with all the nobility of Meereen on hand to bear witness to your union.”
以一个借口把所有贵族的族长请出金字塔，达里奥曾说过。龙之族语乃是血火同源。丹妮试图不去想这些。她不该这样想。“如你所愿，”她叹气道。“我将着镶有珍珠的白托卡在神恩神庙嫁给希兹达尔。还有其他要求吗？”
Get the heads of all the noble houses out of their pyramids on some pretext, Daario had said. The dragon’s words are fire and blood. Dany pushed the thought aside. It was not worthy of her. “As you wish,” she sighed. “I shall marry Hizdahr in the Temple of the Graces wrapped in a white tokar fringed with baby pearls. Is there anything else?”
“还有件小事，陛下，”雷兹纳克说。“为了庆祝婚礼，重新开启角斗场显得格外合适。这将成为你赐予希兹达尔以及你所爱的人的结婚礼物，也将成为一个你尊重弥林传统与古道的标志。”
“One more small matter, Your Worship,” said Reznak. “To celebrate your nuptials, it would be most fitting if you would allow the fighting pits to open once again. It would be your wedding gift to Hizdahr and to your loving people, a sign that you had embraced the ancient ways and customs of Meereen.”
“同时也将取悦神祗，”绿衣仁者用轻柔的嗓音补充道。
“And most pleasing to the gods as well,” the Green Grace added in her soft and kindly voice.
以鲜血作成为新娘的代价。丹妮莉丝已经对这个议题的拉锯战感到厌倦。尽管巴利斯坦爵士不认为她能在这个战斗中胜利。“没有哪个统治者能照顾好他的每个子民，”赛尔弥曾告诉她。“受神祝福的贝勒祈祷、禁食并建造了装饰华丽足矣让诸神嫉妒的贝勒大圣堂，但他仍无法终结战争与贫穷。”女王必须倾听她子民的话，丹妮提醒自己。“婚礼之后，希兹达尔将成为国王。若他打算重启角斗场，他自可这样做。我不想参与这一计划。”他的手将沾满鲜血，而非我的。她提出：“如果要我给我的丈夫洗脚的话，他须要先为我洗。我会在今晚告诉他。”她很好奇他将如何接受这一提议。
A bride price paid in blood. Daenerys was weary of fighting this battle. Even Ser Barristan did not think she could win. “No ruler can make a people good,” Selmy had told her. “Baelor the Blessed prayed and fasted and built the Seven as splendid a temple as any gods could wish for, yet he could not put an end to war and want.” A queen must listen to her people, Dany reminded herself. “After the wedding Hizdahr will be king. Let him reopen the fighting pits if he wishes. I want no part of it.” Let the blood be on his hands, not mine. She rose. “If my husband wishes me to wash his feet, he must first wash mine. I will tell him so this evening.” She wondered how her betrothed would take that.
她不必如此在意。希兹达尔·佐·洛拉克在日落一小时后才到。他穿着嵌有黄金长条镶着滴状黄金的深红色托卡。丹妮在倒酒时告诉了他关于她和雷兹纳克、绿衣仁者的谈论。“这些仪式空洞古板，”希兹达尔表示，“属于我们应该抛到一边的迂腐传统。弥林已经被这些愚蠢的传统侵占了太久。”他吻了丹妮的手，“丹妮莉丝，我的女王，倘若要成为你的国王和丈夫需要我哪怕从头到脚为你洗浴的话，我也会乐意之至的。”
She need not have been concerned. Hizdahr zo Loraq arrived an hour after the sun had set. His own tokar was burgundy, with a golden stripe and a fringe of golden beads. Dany told him of her meeting with Reznak and the Green Grace as she was pouring wine for him. “These rituals are empty,” Hizdahr declared, “just the sort of thing we must sweep aside. Meereen has been steeped in these foolish old traditions for too long.” He kissed her hand and said, “Daenerys, my queen, I will gladly wash you from head to heel if that is what I must do to be your king and consort.”
“成为我的国王和丈夫只需要你带来和平。Skahaz告诉我说你有一些最新的消息。”
“To be my king and consort, you need only bring me peace. Skahaz tells me you have had messages of late.”
“是的。”希兹达尔盘起长腿。他看上去似乎对自己很满意。“渊凯将给我们和平，但是是有代价的和平。奴隶贸易的中断对这个文明的世界带来了不小的损害。渊凯和她的盟友向我们索求赔偿，以黄金和宝石支付。”
“I have.” Hizdahr crossed his long legs. He looked pleased with himself. “Yunkai will give us peace, but for a price. The disruption of the slave trade has caused great injury throughout the civilized world. Yunkai and her allies will require an indemnity of us, to be paid in gold and gemstones.”
黄金和宝石倒是容易解决。“还有吗？”
Gold and gems were easy. “What else?”
“渊凯将恢复以前的奴隶贸易。阿斯塔波将会以奴隶的城市重建。你不会干涉吧。”
“The Yunkai’i will resume slaving, as before. Astapor will be rebuilt, as a slave city. You will not interfere.”
“渊凯在我眼皮底下重启奴隶贸易。我毁过约么？Cleon王请求我联合他一起对抗渊凯，而我对此提议置若罔闻。我不想对渊凯开战。我要说多少次？他们要怎样的保证？”
“The Yunkai’i resumed their slaving before I was two leagues from their city. Did I turn back? King Cleon begged me to join with him against them, and I turned a deaf ear to his pleas. I want no war with Yunkai. How many times must I say it? What promises do they require?”
“啊，屈服者如此棘手，我的女王。”希兹达尔说。“说归说，渊凯并不相信你的保证。他们对你的龙烧了他们的使节一事念念不忘。”
“Ah, there is the thorn in the bower, my queen,” said Hizdahr zo Loraq. “Sad to say, Yunkai has no faith in your promises. They keep plucking the same string on the harp, about some envoy that your dragons set on fire.”
“仅仅是点燃了托卡。”丹妮略带鄙视地说。
“Only his tokar was burned,” said Dany scornfully.
“也许事实确实是那样，但他们不信任你。新吉斯的人也这样认为。言语如风，正如你自己常说的那样。几句话不能保证弥林的和平。你的敌人需要你的行动。他们想看到我们结婚，然后我被加冕，在你旁边摄政。”
“Be that as it may, they do not trust you. The men of New Ghis feel the same. Words are wind, as you yourself have so oft said. No words of yours will secure this peace for Meereen. Your foes require deeds. They would see us wed, and they would see me crowned as king, to rule beside you.”
丹妮再次斟满酒杯，热切渴望她能够把酒壶朝他脑袋掷去然后让酒淹没他自鸣得意的笑。“婚姻或是屠杀，婚礼或是战争。这就是我面临的选择么？”
Dany filled his wine cup again, wanting nothing so much as to pour the flagon over his head and drown his complacent smile. “Marriage or carnage. A wedding or a war. Are those my choices?”
“我认为只有一个选择，陛下。让我们在吉斯诸神面前许下誓言然后共建新的弥林。”
“I see only one choice, Your Radiance. Let us say our vows before the gods of Ghis and make a new Meereen together.”
在女王思考如何回答的时候，她听到身后的脚步声。她以为是上菜。她的厨师向她保证说会为尊贵的希兹达尔烹饪其最爱的食物，外沾蜂蜜的填满梅脯和胡椒小狗。但当她向身后看去时，她发现巴利斯坦爵士站在那，沐浴一新，衣着白甲，手持长剑。“陛下，”他鞠了一躬，“我很遗憾打扰您，但我认为此事你须立即知晓。暴鸦团已经回城，同时也带回了敌人的消息。正如我们所害怕的那样，Yunkishmen正在向此进军。”
The queen was framing her response when she heard a step behind her. The food, she thought. Her cooks had promised her to serve the noble Hizdahr’s favorite meal, dog in honey, stuffed with prunes and peppers. But when she turned to look, it was Ser Barristan standing there, freshly bathed and clad in white, his longsword at his side. “Your Grace,” he said, bowing, “I am sorry to disturb you, but I thought that you would want to know at once. The Stormcrows have returned to the city, with word of the foe. The Yunkishmen are on the march, just as we had feared.”
希兹达尔·佐·洛拉克尊贵的脸不安地抖动了一下。“女王正在晚餐，佣兵的事可以稍后再谈。”
A flicker of annoyance crossed the noble face of Hizdahr zo Loraq. “The queen is at her supper. These sellswords can wait.”
巴利斯坦爵士不为所动。“我要达里奥大人给我报告，正如陛下命令那样。他大笑着说除非陛下为他派遣一个抄写员来教他写信，否则他只能用血书写了。”
Ser Barristan ignored him. “I asked Lord Daario to make his report to me, as Your Grace had commanded. He laughed and said that he would write it out in his own blood if Your Grace would send your little scribe to show him how to make the letters.”
“血？”丹妮惊恐地说。“仅仅是个笑话吗？不，不，别告诉我，我要面见他。”她是个年轻女孩，没有同伴。年轻女孩想哪出是哪出。“召集我的队长和指挥官。希兹达尔，我知道你能原谅我。”
“Blood?” said Dany, horrified. “Is that a jape? No. No, don’t tell me, I must see him for myself.” She was a young girl, and alone, and young girls can change their minds. “Convene my captains and commanders. Hizdahr, I know you will forgive me.”
“弥林的安危是当务之急。”希兹达尔和蔼一笑。“我们有别的晚上可以再叙，成千上万的晚上。”
“Meereen must come first.” Hizdahr smiled genially. “We will have other nights. A thousand nights.”
“巴利斯坦爵士会带你出去。”丹妮匆忙地召来仆从。她不会在面见她的军队长官时身着托卡。最后，在她试过一打长袍之后，她找到了她所喜爱的那件，但她拒绝戴着姬奇给她拿来的皇冠。
“Ser Barristan will show you out.” Dany hurried off, calling for her handmaids. She would not welcome her captain home in a tokar. In the end she tried a dozen gowns before she found one she liked, but she refused the crown that Jhiqui offered her.
当达里奥在她面前单膝跪地时，丹妮心里猛地一颤。凝结的血使他头发纠缠在一起。他的太阳穴上深深的切口显出湿润的红色和肉色。他右边袖子上血迹直至肘部。“你受伤了。”丹妮深吸一口气。
As Daario Naharis took a knee before her, Dany’s heart gave a lurch. His hair was matted with dried blood, and on his temple a deep cut glistened red and raw. His right sleeve was bloody almost to the elbow. “You’re hurt,” she gasped.
“这个？”达里奥摸摸自己的太阳穴。“一个十字弓手试图射向我的眼睛，而我躲过了。我赶回来见女王，沐浴在她微笑的暖意之中。”他摇摇袖子，溅出红色的血滴。“这并非我的血。我的一个部下说我们应该攻克渊凯，所以我伸进他的喉咙扯出了他的心。我本打算把它带给你当作给我的银色女王的礼物，可惜四个Cat拦住了我的路，对我咆哮又向我吐唾沫，其中一个差点抓住我，我只好把心脏扔向他的脸。”
“This?” Daario touched his temple. “A crossbowman tried to put a quarrel through my eye, but I outrode it. I was hurrying home to my queen, to bask in the warmth of her smile.” He shook his sleeve, spattering red droplets. “This blood is not mine. One of my serjeants said we should go over to the Yunkai’i, so I reached down his throat and pulled his heart out. I meant to bring it to you as a gift for my silver queen, but four of the Cats cut me off and came snarling and spitting after me. One almost caught me, so I threw the heart into his face.”
“英勇无比，”巴利斯坦爵士评论道，他的语气在暗示达里奥说更重要的事，“你有什么消息给陛下吗？”
“Very gallant,” said Ser Barristan, in a tone that suggested it was anything but, “but do you have tidings for Her Grace?”
“重大消息，“祖父”爵士。阿斯塔波被攻破了，人员众多的奴隶贩子正在北进。”
“Hard tidings, Ser Grandfather. Astapor is gone, and the slavers are coming north in strength.”
“这是老消息了，而且很无聊。”Shavepate低声说。
“This is old news, and stale,” growled the Shavepate.
“你母亲也这样描述你父亲的吻。”达里奥答道。“甜美的女王，我本该更早抵达面见你的，可山丘上挤满了渊凯的佣兵团。整整四支佣兵部队。你的暴鸦团不得不从中截断他们的部队。此外，更为糟糕的是。渊凯人正沿着海边道路移动他们的军队，同新吉斯的四支部队合为一处。他们拥有大象，足有百只的负有铠甲载有箭塔的大象。他们还有泰洛西的投石机，魁尔斯的骆驼骑兵。两支以上的Ghiscari部队在阿斯塔波登船。若俘虏没有说谎，他们将会在Skahazadhan登陆并切断我们和多斯拉克海的联系。”
“Your mother said the same of your father’s kisses,” Daario replied. “Sweet queen, I would have been here sooner, but the hills are aswarm with Yunkish sellswords. Four free companies. Your Stormcrows had to cut their way through all of them. There is more, and worse. The Yunkai’i are marching their host up the coast road, joined by four legions out of New Ghis. They have elephants, a hundred, armored and towered. Tolosi slingers too, and a corps of Qartheen camelry. Two more Ghiscari legions took ship at Astapor. If our captives told it true, they will be landed beyond the Skahazadhan to cut us off from the Dothraki sea.”
在他陈述这些时，偶尔会有鲜红的血滴啪啪落在大理石地面上，丹妮不由畏缩。“死了多少人？”丹妮在他说完之后这样问。
As he told his tale, from time to time a drop of bright red blood would patter against the marble floor, and Dany would wince. “How many men were killed?” she asked when he was done.
“我们的人？我没有停下来数。不过，我们得到的比失去的多。”
“Of ours? I did not stop to count. We gained more than we lost, though.”
“更多变色龙？”
“More turncloaks?”
“更多勇敢的人被你高贵的目标感化。女王您是不会讨厌他们的。有个人来自Basilisk群岛，他比贝沃斯更壮更残暴。你该见见他。还有些是维斯特洛人，有二十来个。他们不满渊凯，因此被风吹团放逐。他们将是出色的暴鸦兄弟。”
“More brave men drawn to your noble cause. My queen will like them. One is an axeman from the Basilisk Isles, a brute, bigger than Belwas. You should see him. Some Westerosi too, a score or more. Deserters from the Windblown, unhappy with the Yunkai’i. They’ll make good Stormcrows.”
“如你所说。”丹妮不去措辞。很快，弥林将不得不使用它所拥有的每一个佣兵。
“If you say.” Dany would not quibble. Meereen might soon have need of every sword.
巴利斯坦爵士对着达里奥皱了皱眉。“队长，你提到了四支佣兵部队。可我们只知晓三支，风吹团，Long Lances还有he company of the Cat。”
Ser Barristan frowned at Daario. “Captain, you made mention of four free companies. We know of only three. The Windblown, the Long Lances, and the Company of the Cat.”
“看来‘祖父’爵士懂得数数。次子团反水加入了渊凯一方。”达里奥扭过头吐口唾沫。“这是给布朗·本·扑棱的。等到下次我看见他那张丑恶的脸，我定会撕开他的喉咙，扯出他的黑心脏。”
“Ser Grandfather knows how to count. The Second Sons have gone over to the Yunkai’i.” Daario turned his head and spat. “That’s for Brown Ben Plumm. When next I see his ugly face I will open him from throat to groin and rip out his black heart.”
丹妮试图说点什么却发现无话可说。她仍记得上次她和本见面时本的面庞，那是张温暖的脸，温暖到我可以信任的脸。深黑的皮肤和纯白的发色，残破的鼻子，眼角的皱纹。就连她的龙也颇喜爱老布朗·本，喜爱那个常自夸自己体内流着真龙血脉的人。你将经受三次背叛。一次为财，一次为血，一次为爱。扑棱是第三次背叛还是第二次背叛呢？她的大熊乔拉爵士又是哪一次呢？她再也没有他能信任的朋友了么？若是不能发现预言何时发生，预言又有什么用？若我在日出之前与希兹达尔结婚，这些军队会像初阳下的晨露那样融化，然后任由我和平地统治吗？
Dany tried to speak and found no words. She remembered Ben’s face the last time she had seen it. It was a warm face, a face I trusted. Dark skin and white hair, the broken nose, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. Even the dragons had been fond of old Brown Ben, who liked to boast that he had a drop of dragon blood himself. Three treasons will you know. Once for gold and once for blood and once for love. Was Plumm the third treason, or the second? And what did that make Ser Jorah, her gruff old bear? Would she never have a friend that she could trust? What good are prophecies if you cannot make sense of them? If I marry Hizdahr before the sun comes up, will all these armies melt away like morning dew and let me rule in peace?
达里奥的消息激起了一阵喧哗。雷兹纳克在痛哭，剃顶大人在小声抱怨，她的血盟卫发誓要复仇。壮汉贝沃斯捶打着肚子上的伤疤，发誓要就着李子和洋葱吃掉布朗·本的心脏。“诸位，”丹妮说，但只要弥珊岱似乎要听。女王站起来。“请安静下来，我已经听够了。”
Daario’s announcement had sparked an uproar. Reznak was wailing, the Shavepate was muttering darkly, her bloodriders were swearing vengeance. Strong Belwas thumped his scarred belly with his fist and swore to eat Brown Ben’s heart with plums and onions. “Please,” Dany said, but only Missandei seemed to hear. The queen got to her feet. “Be quiet! I have heard enough.”
“陛下。”巴利斯坦单膝跪地。“我们听从您的调遣。您想要我们做什么？”
“Your Grace.” Ser Barristan went to one knee. “We are yours to command. What would you have us do?”
“维持原计划不变。尽你们所能采集食物。”若我此时回头一切就完了。“我们必须关闭大门，然后让战士站在城墙上。禁止一切进出。”
“Continue as we planned. Gather food, as much as you can.” If I look back I am lost. “We must close the gates and put every fighting man upon the walls. No one enters, no one leaves.”
大厅安静了片刻。大家面面相觑。过会，雷兹纳克问道，“那阿斯塔波人呢？”
The hall was quiet for a moment. The men looked at one another. Then Reznak said, “What of the Astapori?”
她简直要尖叫了，此刻，她多么想咬紧牙齿，撕扯衣服，拼命捶打着门。然而她却说，“关上大门。你还要我说第三遍么？”阿斯塔波人是她的子民，但她此刻对他们爱莫能助。“都走开。达里奥你留下。先去清洗伤口，然后我再问你一些问题。”
She wanted to scream, to gnash her teeth and tear her clothes and beat upon the floor. Instead she said, “Close the gates. Will you make me say it thrice?” They were her children, but she could not help them now. “Leave me. Daario, remain. That cut should be washed, and I have more questions for you.”
其他人鞠躬然后离开。丹妮把达里奥带至她的卧室，伊丽用醋清洗他的伤口，姬奇拿亚麻布为他包扎。一切都弄完之后，丹妮遣走了她的女仆。“你的衣服染满血渍，”她对达里奥说。“把衣服脱了。”
The others bowed and went. Dany took Daario Naharis up the steps to her bedchamber, where Irri washed his cut with vinegar and Jhiqui wrapped it in white linen. When that was done she sent her handmaids off as well. “Your clothes are stained with blood,” she told Daario. “Take them off.”
他吻了她。“除非你也这样做。”
“Only if you do the same.” He kissed her.
他的头发尽是血液、烟灰还有马匹的气味。对她而言，他的最坚硬而温热。丹妮在他的胳膊里轻轻摇晃。当他们分开，她说，“我本以为你会背叛我。不朽者曾说过三次背叛，一次为血，一次为财，一次为爱。我以为……我怎么都没想到会是布朗·本。就连我的龙也信任他。”她紧紧抓住佣兵队长的肩膀。“向我保证你绝不会背叛我。我受不了背叛了。向我保证。”
His hair smelled of blood and smoke and horse, and his mouth was hard and hot on hers. Dany trembled in his arms. When they broke apart, she said, “I thought you would be the one to betray me. Once for blood and once for gold and once for love, the warlocks said. I thought … I never thought Brown Ben. Even my dragons seemed to trust him.” She clutched her captain by the shoulders. “Promise me that you will never turn against me. I could not bear that. Promise me.”
“绝不，我的挚爱。”
“Never, my love.”
她相信他。“我发誓若希兹达尔·佐·洛拉克能带来90天的和平，我便和他结婚。然而现在……我在见到你的第一眼就渴望着你，可是你是个佣兵，变化无常，背信弃义。你夸口说上过100个女人。”
She believed him. “I swore that I should wed Hizdahr zo Loraq if he gave me ninety days of peace, but now … I wanted you from the first time that I saw you, but you were a sellsword, fickle, treacherous. You boasted that you’d had a hundred women.”
“一百个？”达里奥的紫色胡须下露出笑容。“那是骗人的，甜美的女王。是一千个。可却从来没有上过一头龙。”
“A hundred?” Daario chuckled through his purple beard. “I lied, sweet queen. It was a thousand. But never once a dragon.”
她吻向他。“那你还等什么呢？”
She raised her lips to his. “What are you waiting for?”
