DAENERYS
丹妮莉丝
Her brother held the gown up for herinspection. “This is beauty. Touch it. Go on. Caress the fabric.”
哥哥举起长袍给她看。“真漂亮，你摸摸，没关系，你瞧瞧这料子。”
Dany touched it. The cloth was so smooththat it seemed to run through her fingers like water. She could not rememberever wearing anything so soft. It frightened her. She pulled her hand away. “Isit really mine?”
丹妮摸了摸，衣料柔软如水，流过她的手指，她从没穿过这么柔软的衣服。她突然害怕了起来，连忙抽回手。“这真是给我的么？”
“A gift from the Magister Illyrio,” Viseryssaid, smiling. Her brother was in a high mood tonight. “The color will bringout the violet in your eyes. And you shall have gold as well, and jewels of allsorts. Illyrio has promised. Tonight you must look like a princess.”
“这是伊利里欧总督送的礼物，”韦赛里斯微笑道。哥哥今晚心情很好。“袍子的颜色刚好衬出你紫罗兰色的眼睛。你还要配戴金饰，以及各式各样的珠宝玉石，今晚你看起来必须有个公主的样子。”
A princess, Dany thought. She had forgottenwhat that was like. Perhaps she had never really known. “Why does he give us somuch?” she asked. “What does he want from us?” For nigh on half a year, theyhad lived in the magister’s house, eating his food, pampered by his servants.Dany was thirteen, old enough to know that such gifts seldom come without theirprice, here in the free city of Pentos.
有个公主的样子，丹妮想着。她早已忘记那是什么样子了，也许她根本就不知道。“他为什么对我们这么好？”她问，“他想从我们这里得到什么好处？”过去近半年来，他们吃住都靠这位总督，在他的仆佣伺候下恃宠而骄。丹妮今年十三岁，已经懂得这种优渥的待遇不会凭空而来，尤其是在潘托斯这样的自由贸易城邦。
“Illyrio is no fool,” Viserys said. He was agaunt young man with nervous hands and a feverish look in his pale lilac eyes.“The magister knows that I will not forget my friends when I come into mythrone.”
“伊利里欧可不笨，”韦赛里斯回答，他是个削瘦的年轻人，双手局促不安，泛白的淡紫色眼瞳里有种狂热的神色。“他知道有朝一日当我重登王位，不会忘记曾经雪中送炭的朋友。”
Dany said nothing. Magister Illyrio was adealer in spices, gemstones, dragonbone, and other, less savory things. He hadfriends in all of the Nine Free Cities, it was said, and even beyond, in VaesDothrak and the fabled lands beside the Jade Sea. It was also said that he’dnever had a friend he wouldn’t cheerfully sell for the right price. Danylistened to the talk in the streets, and she heard these things, but she knewbetter than to question her brother when he wove his webs of dream. His angerwas a terrible thing when roused. Viserys called it “waking the dragon.”
丹妮没有答话。伊利里欧总督是个商人，专做香料、宝石和龙骨买卖，还有其他见不得人的勾当。据说他交游广泛，不仅遍布九个自由贸易城邦，更远至东方的维斯·多斯拉克，以及玉海沿岸的传奇之地。又有人说，只要开得出价钱，任何朋友他都乐于出卖。这些话丹妮都静静地听了进去，但她知道最好不要在兄长编织迷梦时戳破。韦赛里斯一旦生气起来非常骇人，他称之为“唤醒睡龙之怒”。
Her brother hung the gown beside the door.“Illyrio will send the slaves to bathe you. Be sure you wash off the stink ofthe stables. Khal Drogo has a thousand horses, tonight he looks for a differentsort of mount.” He studied her critically. “You still slouch. Straightenyourself” He pushed back her shoulders with his hands. “Let them see that youhave a woman’s shape now.” His fingers brushed lightly over her budding breastsand tightened on a nipple. “You will not fail me tonight. If you do, it will gohard for you. You don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?” His fingers twistedher, the pinch cruelly hard through the rough fabric of her tunic. “Do you?” herepeated.
哥哥把袍子挂在门边。“伊利里欧会派奴隶前来伺候你沐浴，记得把身上的马臊味洗掉。卓戈卡奥①虽有千百良驹，但他今晚要骑的可是另一种马。”他仔细端详着她，“你还是弯腰驼背的老样子，要抬头挺胸。”他伸手把她的肩膀往后挺。“让他们知道你已经有女人的形态了。”他的手指微微掠扫过她正开始发育的胸部，捏住一边乳头。“今晚你不许给我出丑，若是出了差错，以后可有你受的！你不想唤醒睡龙之怒吧？”他的手指越捏越紧，隔着粗料外衣她也疼痛难忍。“想不想？”他重复。
“No,” Dany said meekly.
“不想。”丹妮怯弱地回答。
Her brother smiled. “Good.” He touched herhair, almost with affection. “When they write the history of my reign, sweetsister, they will say that it began tonight.”
哥哥笑了，“很好，”他爱怜地轻抚她的秀发，“将来史家为我立传时，会说我的统治始自今夜。”
When he was gone, Dany went to her windowand looked out wistfully on the waters of the bay. The square brick towers ofPentos were black silhouettes outlined against the setting sun. Dany could hearthe singing of the red priests as they lit their night fires and the shouts ofragged children playing games beyond the walls of the estate. For a moment shewished she could be out there with them, barefoot and breathless and dressed intatters, with no past and no future and no feast to attend at Khal Drogo’smanse.
他离开后，丹妮走到窗边，思慕地望着海湾。潘托斯的方砖高塔是斜阳残照里的黑色剪影，丹妮可以听见红袍僧点燃夜火时的诵唱祝祷，以及高墙外孩童玩耍的笑闹喧哗。就在那一刹那，她好希望自己能在外面和他们一起赤足嬉戏，穿着破烂衣裳喘着粗气：没有过去，没有未来，也不用参加卓戈卡奥的宅邸晚宴。
Somewhere beyond the sunset, across thenarrow sea, lay a land of green hills and flowered plains and great rushingrivers, where towers of dark stone rose amidst magnificent blue-grey mountains,and armored knights rode to battle beneath the banners of their lords. TheDothraki called that land Rhaesh Andahli, the land of the Andals. In the FreeCities, they talked of Westeros and the Sunset Kingdoms. Her brother had asimpler name. “Our land,” he called it. The words were like a prayer with him.If he said them enough, the gods were sure to hear. “Ours by blood right, takenfrom us by treachery, but ours still, ours forever. You do not steal from thedragon, oh, no. The dragon remembers.”
在夕阳狭海的对岸，有个青陵纵横、花开平野、深河奔涌的地方，那里有高耸于壮丽灰蓝峰峦间的黑石巨塔，有高举鲜明旗帜赶赴沙场的铁甲武士。多斯拉克人称之为“雷叙·安达里”，意思是“安达尔人之地”。在自由贸易城邦里，人们呼其为“维斯特洛”和“日落国度”。而哥哥有个更简单的说法，他称之为“我们的土地”。这个名字就像句祷词，仿佛只要他挂在嘴边，就定能上达天听。“那是我们真龙血脉所继承的土地，虽然遭阴谋诡计所夺，但仍然属于我们，永远属于我们。没人能从真龙手中偷走东西，门儿都没有，因为真龙凡事都永远记得。”
And perhaps the dragon did remember, butDany could not. She had never seen this land her brother said was theirs, thisrealm beyond the narrow sea. These places he talked of, Casterly Rock and theEyrie, Highgarden and the Vale of Arryn, Dorne and the Isle of Faces, they werejust words to her. Viserys had been a boy of eight when they fled King’sLanding to escape the advancing armies of the Usurper, but Daenerys had beenonly a quickening in their mother’s womb.
也许真龙记得罢，只是丹妮却记不得。那块位于狭海对岸，哥哥信誓旦旦属于他们的土地，她从来没有见过。那些他口中的名字：凯岩城、鹰巢城、高庭和艾林谷，多恩领和千面屿等，对她来说不过是文字的拼凑罢了。当年他们躲避节节进逼的“篡夺者”军队，被迫逃离君临时，韦赛里斯还是个八岁大的男孩，而丹妮只不过是母亲子宫里胎动的血肉。
Yet sometimes Dany would picture the way ithad been, so often had her brother told her the stories. The midnight flight toDragonstone, moonlight shimmering on the ship’s black sails. Her brotherRhaegar battling the Usurper in the bloody waters of the Trident and dying forthe woman he loved. The sack of King’s Landing by the ones Viserys called theUsurper’s dogs, the lords Lannister and Stark. Princess Elia of Dorne pleadingfor mercy as Rhaegar’s heir was ripped from her breast and murdered before hereyes. The polished skulls of the last dragons staring down sightlessly from thewalls of the throne room while the Kingslayer opened Father’s throat with agolden sword.
然而哥哥的故事听得多了，丹妮有时还是会在脑海里自行拼凑出过往的光景：母后他们乘着船影黑帆，在当空皓月下夜奔龙石岛；她的长兄雷加在染血的三叉戟河上与篡夺者殊死决斗，为他心爱的女人丧命；兰尼斯特和史塔克家族的部众，那些被韦赛里斯称做篡夺者走狗的队伍，洗劫君临；多恩的伊莉亚公主苦苦哀求，却眼睁睁地看着她和雷加的亲生骨肉，那个还在她胸脯上吸吮母奶的婴儿，被硬生生夺走，血淋淋地惨死；那些悬挂于王座大厅后方高墙上，末裔巨龙的亮磨头骨，用瞎盲的空洞眼窟看着“弑君者”拿起金色宝剑，切开父王的喉咙。
She had been born on Dragonstone nine moonsafter their flight, while a raging summer storm threatened to rip the islandfastness apart. They said that storm was terrible. The Targaryen fleet wassmashed while it lay at anchor, and huge stone blocks were ripped from theparapets and sent hurtling into the wild waters of the narrow sea. Her motherhad died birthing her, and for that her brother Viserys had never forgiven her.
逃亡之后九个月，她降生于龙石岛，时值夏季暴风来袭，仿佛要把城堡撕成碎片。据说那场暴风雨骇人无比，停泊在军港的坦格利安王家舰队被摧毁殆尽，巨石自城垛上崩落，朝海峡疯狂翻涌的潮水腾滚而去。她的母亲难产而死，为此韦赛里斯始终没有原谅她。
She did not remember Dragonstone either.They had run again, just before the Usurper’s brother set sail with hisnew-built fleet. By then only Dragonstone itself, the ancient seat of theirHouse, had remained of the Seven Kingdoms that had once been theirs. It wouldnot remain for long. The garrison had been prepared to sell them to theUsurper, but one night Ser Willem Darry and four loyal men had broken into thenursery and stolen them both, along with her wet nurse, and set sail undercover of darkness for the safety of the Braavosian coast.
然而她也不记得龙石岛。就在“篡夺者”弟弟的舰队初成，率众来伐的前夕，他们继续亡命天涯。当时原本属于他们的七大王国②之中，只剩下他们历史悠久的家族堡垒龙石岛尚未落入敌人手中。而就连这样的情形也维持不了多久，城中守军早已暗中计划把他们出卖给“篡夺者”。但某天夜里，威廉·戴瑞爵士带着四位死士杀进育婴房，把他们连同奶妈一起带走，在夜幕掩护下纵帆驶往布拉佛斯的海岸。
She remembered Ser Willem dimly, a greatgrey bear of a man, half-blind, roaring and bellowing orders from his sickbed.The servants had lived in terror of him, but he had always been kind to Dany.He called her “Little Princess” and sometimes “My Lady,” and his hands were soft as old leather. He
never left his bed, though, and the smell of sickness clung to him day and
night, a hot, moist, sickly sweet odor. That was when they lived in Braavos, in
the big house with the red door. Dany had her own room there, with a lemon tree
outside her window. After Ser Willem had died, the servants had stolen what
little money they had left, and soon after they had been put out of the big
house. Dany had cried when the red door closed behind them forever.
她只依稀记得威廉·戴瑞爵士，他是个魁梧的灰胡壮汉，纵使后来眼睛半盲，还能从病榻上高声怒吼、发号施令。仆人们很怕他，但他待丹妮始终亲切慈蔼，唤她作“小公主”，有时则是“我的小姐”；他的双手犹如皮革般柔软。然而他始终没有离开病床，日夜被疾病的气息所缠绕，那是种湿热而恶心的甜味。当时他们住在布拉佛斯一栋有着红漆大门的房子里，丹妮有自己的房间，寝室窗外还有棵柠檬树。威廉爵士死后，仆人们把仅剩的一点钱全给偷走，没过多久他们便被逐出那栋宽敞红屋。当红漆大门为他们永远关闭时，丹妮再也止不住眼泪。
They had wandered since then, from Braavosto Myr, from Myr to Tyrosh, and on to Qohor and Volantis and Lys, never stayinglong in any one place. Her brother would not allow it. The Usurper’s hiredknives were close behind them, he insisted, though Dany had never seen one.
从那之后，他们开始了流浪的岁月，从布拉佛斯到密尔，从密尔到泰洛西，后来又到过科霍尔、瓦兰提斯和里斯，漂泊无依，未曾在一处落脚扎根。哥哥不肯定居下来，他总说“篡夺者”派来的杀手紧追在后，然而丹妮却连半个刺客也没见着。
At first the magisters and archons andmerchant princes were pleased to welcome the last Targaryens to their homes andtables, but as the years passed and the Usurper continued to sit upon the IronThrone, doors closed and their lives grew meaner. Years past they had beenforced to sell their last few treasures, and now even the coin they had gottenfrom Mother’s crown had gone. In the alleys and wine sinks of Pentos, theycalled her brother “the beggar king.” Dany did not want to know what theycalled her.
起初统治各自由贸易城邦的总督、大君和商界巨贾很乐于接待坦格利安后裔，但随着日子渐渐过去，“篡夺者”在铁王座上越坐越稳，原本为他们敞开的门便一扇扇关了起来，他们的日子也日益艰苦。几年来，他们当掉了所有的珠宝。到如今，连贩卖母亲的王冠所得的钱币也全部花光。在潘托斯的酒馆和巷弄里，人们给哥哥取了个外号叫“乞丐王”，丹妮不敢想像他们怎么称呼她。
“We will have it all back someday, sweetsister,” he would promise her. Sometimes his hands shook when he talked aboutit. “The jewels and the silks, Dragonstone and King’s Landing, the Iron Throneand the Seven Kingdoms, all they have taken from us, we will have it back.”Viserys lived for that day. All that Daenerys wanted back was the big housewith the red door, the lemon tree outside her window, the childhood she hadnever known.
“我的好妹妹，有朝一日我们定会收复故土。”韦赛里斯经常这么对她承诺，有时他边说手还会无法克制地颤抖。“想想那些珠宝丝绸，龙石岛和君临，铁王座和七大王国，全都从我们手中抢了过去，而我们通通会要回来的。”韦赛里斯之所以活着就是为了那一天的到来，丹妮却只想重回那栋有红漆大门的宅院，想要她窗外的那株柠檬树，还有她失去的童年。
There came a soft knock on her door. “Come,”Dany said, turning away from the window. Illyrio’s servants entered, bowed, andset about their business. They were slaves, a gift from one of the magister’smany Dothraki friends. There was no slavery in the free city of Pentos.Nonetheless, they were slaves. The old woman, small and grey as a mouse, neversaid a word, but the girl made up for it. She was Illyrio’s favorite, afair-haired, blue-eyed wench of sixteen who chattered constantly as she worked.
门上响起一阵轻敲。“进来。”窗边的丹妮回过神，伊利里欧的仆婢们走进屋内，鞠躬行礼，然后动手准备沐浴。他们皆为奴隶，是总督熟识的多斯拉克人酋长中某一位赠送的礼物。自由城邦潘托斯名义上没有奴隶制度，即便如此，握有实权的人们却能够逾越体例。那名瘦小而灰白如鼠的老妪总是不发一语，但另外那位年轻女孩正好弥补这个空缺。她是个金发碧眼的十六岁少女，也是伊利里欧最宠爱的奴婢，工作时总是喋喋不休。
They filled her bath with hot water broughtup from the kitchen and scented it with fragrant oils. The girl pulled therough cotton tunic over Dany’s head and helped her into the tub. The water wasscalding hot, but Daenerys did not flinch or cry out. She liked the heat. Itmade her feel clean. Besides, her brother had often told her that it was nevertoo hot for a Targaryen. “Ours is the house of the dragon,” he would say. “Thefire is in our blood.”
她们在澡盆里放满从厨房提来的热水，洒进香油。女孩用条粗布巾裹住丹妮头发，搀扶她入浴。洗浴水滚烫无比，但丹妮莉丝没有吭声。她喜欢这种热，让她有干净的感觉。更何况哥哥常对她说，坦格利安家族的人是不怕烫的。“我们是真龙传人，”他常说：“血液里燃烧着熊熊烈焰。”
The old woman washed her long, silver-palehair and gently combed out the snags, all in silence. The girl scrubbed herback and her feet and told her how lucky she was. “Drogo is so rich that evenhis slaves wear golden collars. A hundred thousand men ride in his khalasar,and his palace in Vaes Dothrak has two hundred rooms and doors of solidsilver.” There was more like that, so much more, what a handsome man the khalwas, so tall and fierce, fearless in battle, the best rider ever to mount ahorse, a demon archer. Daenerys said nothing. She had always assumed that shewould wed Viserys when she came of age. For centuries the Targaryens hadmarried brother to sister, since Aegon the Conqueror had taken his sisters tobride. The line must be kept pure, Viserys had told her a thousand times;theirs was the kingsblood, the golden blood of old Valyria, the blood of thedragon. Dragons did not mate with the beasts of the field, and Targaryens didnot mingle their blood with that of lesser men. Yet now Viserys schemed to sellher to a stranger, a barbarian.
老妇人仔细地为她梳洗，把她银白色的秀发扎成辫子，默默理清纠结起来的发束。女孩则一边为她刷背洗脚，一边告诉她她有多么幸运。“听说卓戈家财万贯，连他奴隶的项圈都是金子做的。他的‘卡拉萨’③有十万名战士，他在维斯·多斯拉克城里的宫殿有两百个房间，还有用银子打造的门扉。”她说个不停，没完没了。她告诉丹妮，卡奥是多么英俊，多么高大凶猛，在战场上又是如何从不畏惧，说他不仅是有史以来最优秀的骑手，更是如恶魔般的神射手。丹妮莉丝从头到尾不发一语，她一直以为自己成年后嫁的人是韦赛里斯。自“征服者”伊耿娶两位妹妹为妻伊始，数百年来坦格利安王族成员向来是兄妹通婚。惟有如此，才能确保血脉纯正，这话韦赛里斯不知已经告诉过她多少遍了。他们体内流淌的是王者的血液，古老瓦雷利亚民族的金色血液，骄傲真龙的血液。真龙绝不和寻常野兽媾合，坦格利安族人自然更不会将他们的血液和下等人种混杂一起。然而现在韦赛里斯却打算把她卖给这个异乡的野蛮人。
When she was clean, the slaves helped herfrom the water and toweled her dry. The girl brushed her hair until it shonelike molten silver, while the old woman anointed her with the spiceflowerperfume of the Dothraki plains, a dab on each wrist, behind her ears, on thetips of her breasts, and one last one, cool on her lips, down there between herlegs. They dressed her in the wisps that Magister Illyrio had sent up, and thenthe gown, a deep plum silk to bring out the violet in her eyes. The girl slidthe gilded sandals onto her feet, while the old woman fixed the tiara in herhair, and slid golden bracelets crusted with amethysts around her wrists. Lastof all came the collar, a heavy golden torc emblazoned with ancient Valyrianglyphs.
沐浴清净之后，女奴扶她起身，拿毛巾擦干她的躯体。女孩把她的头发梳理得亮如熔银，老妇则为她搽上原产多斯拉克草原的花草香精，两腕、耳后、乳尖、双唇和下体各轻触一抹；接着为她穿上伊利里欧总督送来的内衣，再罩上深紫丝袍，衬出她的紫罗兰色眼瞳。女孩为她套上金边凉鞋，老妪又为她戴上宝冠和镶着紫水晶的金手镯。最后才是黄金打造的厚重项圈，上面刻满古瓦雷利亚的符文。
“Now you look all a princess,” the girl saidbreathlessly when they were done. Dany glanced at her image in the silveredlooking glass that Illyrio had so thoughtfully provided. A princess, shethought, but she remembered what the girl had said, how Khal Drogo was so richeven his slaves wore golden collars. She felt a sudden chill, and goosefleshpimpled her bare arms.
“这下你看起来总算有几分公主的模样了。”装扮完毕之后，女孩惊叹道。丹妮转身看看自己在镶银穿衣镜里的模样，镜子是伊利里欧殷勤提供的。有个公主的样子，她暗忖，忽然又想起女孩刚才说过的话，卓戈卡奥富可敌国，连他奴隶的项圈都是金子打造，不禁浑身发冷，鸡皮疙瘩冒了出来。
Her brother was waiting in the cool of theentry hall, seated on the edge of the pool, his hand trailing in the water. Herose when she appeared and looked her over critically. “Stand there,” he toldher. “Turn around. Yes. Good. You look ?.?.?.?”
哥哥在阴凉的门厅里等她，他坐在池塘边，探手在水里晃悠。看到她来了他便站起身，带着评审意味地上下打量。“站过来，”他告诉她，“转过去，对，很好，你看起来……”
“Regal,” Magister Illyrio said, steppingthrough an archway. He moved with surprising delicacy for such a massive man.Beneath loose garments of flame-colored silk, rolls of fat jiggled as hewalked. Gemstones glittered on every finger, and his man had oiled his forked yellowbeard until it shone like real gold. “May the Lord of Light shower you withblessings on this most fortunate day, Princess Daenerys,” the magister said ashe took her hand. He bowed his head, showing a thin glimpse of crooked yellowteeth through the gold of his beard. “She is a vision, Your Grace, a vision,”he told her brother. “Drogo will be enraptured.”
“颇有王家风范。”伊利里欧总督从过道里走出，他虽臃肿肥胖，踏起步来却意外地轻盈优雅。随着脚步，他那一身肥肉在宽松的火红丝衣下不住晃动。他的每根指头都有宝石闪烁，仆人更为他的黄色八字胡擦了油，亮得仿若真金。“丹妮莉丝公主，愿您在这个黄道吉日里，得到光之王的所有祝福。”总督说罢牵起她的手，低头行礼，透过金色胡须，他露出满嘴黄牙。“王子殿下，就算是梦中佳人也不过如此啊。”他告诉哥哥，“卓戈一定会满意的。”
“She’s too skinny,” Viserys said. His hair,the same silver-blond as hers, had been pulled back tightly behind his head andfastened with a dragonbone brooch. It was a severe look that emphasized thehard, gaunt lines of his face. He rested his hand on the hilt of the sword thatIllyrio had lent him, and said, “Are you sure that Khal Drogo likes his womenthis young?”
“她实在是太瘦了，”韦赛里斯说。他的头发和丹妮一样是淡银色，梳理到脑后，用一根龙骨发夹固定。他过分凝重的神色凸显出他僵硬枯槁的面容，他把手放在伊利里欧借给他的佩剑柄上。“你确定卓戈卡奥喜欢这么年轻的女人吗？”
“She has had her blood. She is old enoughfor the khal,” Illyrio told him, not for the first time. “Look at her. Thatsilver-gold hair, those purple eyes?.?.?.?she is the blood of old Valyria, nodoubt, no doubt?.?.?.?and highborn, daughter of the old king, sister to thenew, she cannot fail to entrance our Drogo.” When he released her hand,Daenerys found herself trembling.
“她既有过月事，对马王来说便已足龄。”这不是伊利里欧第一次重复了。“你瞧瞧她那头银金色的秀发，那双紫薇般的眼睛……她拥有古老瓦雷利亚的血统，毫无疑问，毫无疑问……况且她出身显赫，既是老王的女儿，又是新王的妹妹，说什么也不会吸引不了卓戈的。”当他放开她的手时，丹妮发现自己竟浑身颤抖。
“I suppose,” her brother said doubtfully.“The savages have queer tastes. Boys, horses, sheep?.?.?.?”
“是这样吗？”哥哥满腹狐疑地说，“这些野蛮人口味特别怪，连小男孩、马和羊都能搞……”
“Best not suggest this to Khal Drogo,”Illyrio said.
“最好别在卓戈卡奥面前提起这些。”
Anger flashed in her brother’s lilac eyes.“Do you take me for a fool?”
哥哥淡紫色的眼瞳里闪现怒火。“你当我是笨蛋？”
The magister bowed slightly. “I take you fora king. Kings lack the caution of common men. My apologies if I have givenoffense.” He turned away and clapped his hands for his bearers.
总督微微低头。“我当您是个王者。所谓王者无凡虑，倘若我冒犯了您，那么我向您道歉。”语毕他转身击掌，示意轿夫动身。
The streets of Pentos were pitch-dark whenthey set out in Illyrio’s elaborately carved palanquin. Two servants went aheadto light their way, carrying ornate oil lanterns with panes of pale blue glass,while a dozen strong men hoisted the poles to their shoulders. It was warm andclose inside behind the curtains. Dany could smell the stench of Illyrio’spallid flesh through his heavy perfumes.
待他们坐上伊利里欧雕琢华丽的轿子，潘托斯的街市已经漆黑一片。两名仆人走在前方照明，手里提着装饰精美，有着淡蓝玻璃罩子的油灯；另外十来个壮丁则协力扛着轿子。轿子帘幕之内封闭而温暖，透过伊利里欧身上那层厚重的香水，丹妮闻得到他苍白皮肤的臭味。
Her brother, sprawled out on his pillowsbeside her, never noticed. His mind was away across the narrow sea. “We won’tneed his whole khalasar,” Viserys said. His fingers toyed with the hilt of hisborrowed blade, though Dany knew he had never used a sword in earnest. “Tenthousand, that would be enough, I could sweep the Seven Kingdoms with tenthousand Dothraki screamers. The realm will rise for its rightful king. Tyrell,Redwyne, Darry, Greyjoy, they have no more love for the Usurper than I do. TheDornishmen burn to avenge Elia and her children. And the smallfolk will be withus. They cry out for their king.” He looked at Illyrio anxiously. “They do,don’t they?”
那斜卧在她身旁枕边的哥哥对此倒是浑然不觉，他的心思早飞到狭海对岸去了。“我们用不着他整个卡拉萨，”韦赛里斯说，手指头把弄着那把借来的宝剑剑柄。其实丹妮知道哥哥从未认真学过剑术。“只要一万人，我想就够了。有这一万名多斯拉克哮吼武士，我便可以横扫七国全境。届时诸侯望族必会纷纷起而效力，追随他们真正的国王。提利尔、雷德温、戴瑞、葛雷乔伊等家族和我一样痛恨‘篡夺者’，南境多恩领的人早就满腔怒火，要为伊莉亚公主和她的孩子们复仇。更别提平民百姓了，他们会发出正义的怒吼，为国王而奋战。”他有点紧张地看看伊利里欧，“他们一直都这么想，对吧？”
“They are your people, and they love youwell,” Magister Illyrio said amiably. “In holdfasts all across the realm, menlift secret toasts to your health while women sew dragon banners and hide themagainst the day of your return from across the water.” He gave a massive shrug.“Or so my agents tell me.”
“他们是您的子民，对您爱戴有加，”伊利里欧总督和颜悦色地回答，“全国上下的农庄村舍里，男人偷偷举杯向你致敬，女人则暗中缝制真龙旗帜，等待你率军渡海之日。”他耸耸宽阔的肩膀，“我的手下都这么说。”
Dany had no agents, no way of knowing whatanyone was doing or thinking across the narrow sea, but she mistrustedIllyrio’s sweet words as she mistrusted everything about Illyrio. Her brotherwas nodding eagerly, however. “I shall kill the Usurper myself,” he promised,who had never killed anyone, “as he killed my brother Rhaegar. And Lannistertoo, the Kingslayer, for what he did to my father.”
丹妮没有手下，也无从得知狭海对岸的人们究竟在想些什么，做些什么，但她不相信伊利里欧这个人，也不相信他的甜言蜜语。然而哥哥却很热切地颔首同意。“我要亲自手刃篡夺者，”他立下宏愿，也没想想自己从没杀过人。“像他当年杀我哥哥一样。我也饶不了那个兰尼斯特家的‘弑君者’，我要为父王报仇。”
“That would be most fitting,” MagisterIllyrio said. Dany saw the smallest hint of a smile playing around his fulllips, but her brother did not notice. Nodding, he pushed back a curtain andstared off into the night, and Dany knew he was fighting the Battle of theTrident once again.
“这是再恰当不过的了。”伊利里欧总督道。丹妮瞥见他嘴际扬起细微的笑意，但哥哥却没注意，只是满意地点点头，然后掀开帘幕，望向无边黑夜。丹妮知道他脑海里又在演练当年三河血战的场景了。
The nine-towered manse of Khal Drogo satbeside the waters of the bay, its high brick walls overgrown with pale ivy. Ithad been given to the khal by the magisters of Pentos, Illyrio told them. TheFree Cities were always generous with the horselords. “It is not that we fearthese barbarians,” Illyrio would explain with a smile. “The Lord of Light wouldhold our city walls against a million Dothraki, or so the red priestspromise?.?.?.?yet why take chances, when their friendship comes so cheap?”
卓戈卡奥的寝宫坐落在海湾边，拔起九座高塔，高耸砖墙上爬满苍白的长春藤。伊利里欧告诉他们，这座宫殿是潘托斯的总督们联合致赠卡奥的礼物，自由贸易城邦向来对这些游牧族长礼敬有加。“其实我们也不是真怕这些野蛮人，”他笑吟吟地给他们解释，“红袍僧们保证，有光之王庇佑，纵使百万多斯拉克人来袭，我们也无须惧怕……但他们的友谊既然如此廉价，咱们何乐而不为呢？”
Their palanquin was stopped at the gate, thecurtains pulled roughly back by one of the house guards. He had the copper skinand dark almond eyes of a Dothraki, but his face was hairless and he wore thespiked bronze cap of the Unsullied. He looked them over coldly. MagisterIllyrio growled something to him in the rough Dothraki tongue; the guardsmanreplied in the same voice and waved them through the gates.
轿子在门口停下来，一名守卫粗鲁地掀开帘幕。他有多斯拉克人典型的古铜色皮肤和黑色杏眼，但脸上却没有胡须，戴着“无垢者”④的青铜盔，上面有根刺。他冷冷扫视轿内乘客，伊利里欧总督用刺耳的多斯拉克语朝他吼了几句，对方也用相同的声调回应，然后便挥挥手示意他们进去。
Dany noticed that her brother’s hand wasclenched tightly around the hilt of his borrowed sword. He looked almost asfrightened as she felt. “Insolent eunuch,” Viserys muttered as the palanquinlurched up toward the manse.
丹妮注意到她哥哥的手紧紧握住那把借来的佩剑剑柄，看起来仿佛和她一样害怕。“不知好歹的臭太监。”韦赛里斯喃喃道，轿子颠簸着抬进宅院。
Magister Illyrio’s words were honey. “Manyimportant men will be at the feast tonight. Such men have enemies. The khalmust protect his guests, yourself chief among them, Your Grace. No doubt theUsurper would pay well for your head.”
伊利里欧总督的话语甜如蜜糖：“许多达官显赫都会出席今晚盛宴，这些人平日里树敌甚多，作东的卡奥自然要保护客人，尤其是陛下您。不难想见，‘篡夺者’可是会出高价悬赏您的项上人头啊。”
“Oh, yes,” Viserys said darkly. “He hastried, Illyrio, I promise you that. His hired knives follow us everywhere. I amthe last dragon, and he will not sleep easy while I live.”
“可不是么？”韦赛里斯阴沉地说，“伊利里欧，他可是试了又试，这点我可以向你保证。他雇来的刺客紧盯我们不放，我是最后的真龙传人，只要我活着，他自然寝食难安。”
The palanquin slowed and stopped. Thecurtains were thrown back, and a slave offered a hand to help Daenerys out. Hiscollar, she noted, was ordinary bronze. Her brother followed, one hand stillclenched hard around his sword hilt. It took two strong men to get MagisterIllyrio back on his feet.
轿子速度渐缓，终于停了下来。帘幕再度掀开，一名奴隶伸手搀扶丹妮莉丝出轿。此时她注意到他的项圈不过是青铜打造罢了。她的兄长亦步亦趋地跟上，一只手仍旧紧握着剑柄不放。伊利里欧则靠着两名壮丁的帮忙好不容易才下了轿子。
Inside the manse, the air was heavy with thescent of spices, pinchfire and sweet lemon and cinnamon. They were escortedacross the entry hall, where a mosaic of colored glass depicted the Doom ofValyria. Oil burned in black iron lanterns all along the walls. Beneath an archof twining stone leaves, a eunuch sang their coming. “Viserys of the HouseTargaryen, the Third of his Name,” he called in a high, sweet voice, “King ofthe Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms andProtector of the Realm. His sister, Daenerys Stormborn, Princess ofDragonstone. His honorable host, Illyrio Mopatis, Magister of the Free City ofPentos.”
厅院之内，空气中弥漫着火椒、肉桂和甜檬等香料的馨香气息。他们被护送进会客厅，彩色镶嵌玻璃描绘出瓦雷利亚的殒落场景。四面墙壁上黑色灯笼里的灯油燃烧不绝，刻绘着两片石叶的拱廊下，一名太监正高声宣告他们的到访：“坦格利安家族的韦赛里斯三世，”他用高亢甜腻的声音喊，“安达尔人、洛伊拿人及‘先民’的国王，七国统治者暨全境守护者。他的妹妹，龙石岛公主‘风暴降生’丹妮莉丝。他的赞助人，潘托斯自由贸易城邦总督，伊利里欧·摩帕提斯。”
They stepped past the eunuch into a pillaredcourtyard overgrown in pale ivy. Moonlight painted the leaves in shades of boneand silver as the guests drifted among them. Many were Dothraki horselords, bigmen with red-brown skin, their drooping mustachios bound in metal rings, theirblack hair oiled and braided and hung with bells. Yet among them moved bravosand sellswords from Pentos and Myr and Tyrosh, a red priest even fatter thanIllyrio, hairy men from the Port of Ibben, and lords from the Summer Isles withskin as black as ebony. Daenerys looked at them all in wonder?.?.?.?andrealized, with a sudden start of fear, that she was the only woman there.
他们越过太监，走进石柱林立，苍白长春藤四处攀蔓的庭院，叶影被月光染成白骨般的银色。院落里宾客往来穿梭，其中不少是多斯拉克卡奥，个个身躯高大，皮肤红褐，低垂长髯用金属银圈环环相扣，黑色长发乌黑油亮，绑成无数发辫，银铃悬系其间。然而人群中同样也有来自潘托斯、密尔和泰洛西的杀手和佣兵，有个比伊利里欧更胖的红袍僧，还有来自伊班港，浑身是毛的怪人，以及几位皮肤黑如暗檀的盛夏群岛领主。丹妮莉丝满怀惊奇地看着这些人……突然惊觉自己是在场惟一女性。
Illyrio whispered to them. “Those three areDrogo’s bloodriders, there,” he said. “By the pillar is Khal Moro, with his sonRhogoro. The man with the green beard is brother to the Archon of Tyrosh, andthe man behind him is Ser Jorah Mormont.”
伊利里欧向他们耳语道：“站在那边的三位是卓戈的血盟卫，柱子边的是摩洛卡奥和他儿子罗戈洛。那个绿胡子的人是泰洛西大君的哥哥，他后面的则是乔拉·莫尔蒙爵士。”
The last name caught Daenerys. “A knight?”
最后一个名字引起了丹妮莉丝的注意，“他是个骑士？”
“No less.” Illyrio smiled through his beard.“Anointed with the seven oils by the High Septon himself.”
“如假包换，”伊利里欧透过胡子咯咯笑道，“被总主教大人亲手涂抹七圣油的骑士。”
“What is he doing here?” she blurted.
“他在这里做什么？”她脱口而出。
“The Usurper wanted his head,” Illyrio toldthem. “Some trifling affront. He sold some poachers to a Tyroshi slaver insteadof giving them to the Night’s Watch. Absurd law. A man should be able to do ashe likes with his own chattel.”
“就为了点芝麻绿豆小事，”伊利里欧告诉他们，“‘篡夺者’下令要他项上人头。他把几个逮着的盗猎者私自卖给泰洛西的奴隶贩子，而没有把他们交给守夜人。真是荒谬的法律，人人都应当有权处置自己的财产才对。”
“I shall wish to speak with Ser Jorah beforethe night is done,” her brother said. Dany found herself looking at the knightcuriously. He was an older man, past forty and balding, but still strong andfit. Instead of silks and cottons, he wore wool and leather. His tunic was adark green, embroidered with the likeness of a black bear standing on two legs.
“晚宴结束前，我要和乔拉爵士谈谈。”哥哥说。丹妮发现自己也好奇地端详着这位骑士，他年纪颇大，约莫四十来岁，头发虽已逐渐稀少，但身体仍旧健壮。他不穿丝棉质的衣服，改穿羊毛和皮革，一件暗绿色的外衣上绣着双脚人立的黑熊。
She was still looking at this strange manfrom the homeland she had never known when Magister Illyrio placed a moist handon her bare shoulder. “Over there, sweet princess,” he whispered, “there is thekhal himself.”
伊利里欧总督用他潮湿的手拍了拍丹妮裸露的肩膀，此刻她正目不转睛地看着那名来自她一无所知的草原的怪异男子。“好公主，您瞧好了，”他悄声道，“这就是卡奥他本人啦。”
Dany wanted to run and hide, but her brotherwas looking at her, and if she displeased him she knew she would wake thedragon. Anxiously, she turned and looked at the man Viserys hoped would ask towed her before the night was done.
丹妮心中只想赶紧逃避躲藏，但哥哥正盯着她呢，假如惹火了他，又得唤醒睡龙之怒。于是她紧张地转过头去，怯生生地打量起那个韦赛里斯希望在今晚宴会结束前开口要求娶她为妻的人。
The slave girl had not been far wrong, shethought. Khal Drogo was a head taller than the tallest man in the room, yetsomehow light on his feet, as graceful as the panther in Illyrio’s menagerie.He was younger than she’d thought, no more than thirty. His skin was the colorof polished copper, his thick mustachios bound with gold and bronze rings.
先前帮她沐浴的那名女孩所说的和事实倒也差距不大：卓戈卡奥比在场最高的人都还要高出一头，然而动作却极为敏捷轻灵，矫健的身形一如伊利里欧百兽园里的猎豹。他远比她想像中来得年轻，应该不超过三十岁。他的皮肤乃是亮铜色，厚重的胡须上系着黄金和青铜的铃铛。
“I must go and make my submissions,”Magister Illyrio said. “Wait here. I shall bring him to you.”
“我得过去表明来意。”伊利里欧总督说，“在这儿等着，我会带他过来。”
Her brother took her by the arm as Illyriowaddled over to the khal, his fingers squeezing so hard that they hurt. “Do yousee his braid, sweet sister?”
当伊利里欧摇摇摆摆地走向卡奥时，哥哥紧紧抓住她的手，箍得她直想喊痛。“好妹妹，你看到他的辫子了没？”
Drogo’s braid was black as midnight andheavy with scented oil, hung with tiny bells that rang softly as he moved. Itswung well past his belt, below even his buttocks, the end of it brushingagainst the back of his thighs.
卓戈的发辫黑亮宛如午夜长空，涂抹了香油，看起来沉甸甸的，上面系有许多金属小铃，随他行动而当啷作响。他的长发过腰，超过臀部，尾端轻拂着大腿。
“You see how long it is?” Viserys said.“When Dothraki are defeated in combat, they cut off their braids in disgrace,so the world will know their shame. Khal Drogo has never lost a fight. He isAegon the Dragonlord come again, and you will be his queen.”
“你看到他的头发有多长了没？”韦赛里斯问，“每当多斯拉克人在战斗中落败，他们便割去辫子以示不誉，如此全世界都会知道他们的耻辱。卓戈卡奥一辈子都没有吃过败仗，他称得上是龙王伊耿再世，而你将会是他的王后。”
Dany looked at Khal Drogo. His face was hardand cruel, his eyes as cold and dark as onyx. Her brother hurt her sometimes,when she woke the dragon, but he did not frighten her the way this manfrightened her. “I don’t want to be his queen,” she heard herself say in asmall, thin voice. “Please, please, Viserys, I don’t want to, I want to gohome.”
丹妮看着卓戈卡奥，他的容貌刚毅冷峻，眼瞳黑亮冰如玛瑙。当她不小心唤醒睡龙之怒的时候，哥哥会欺负她，但他不像眼前这个男人这样能把她吓得六神无主。“我不想当他的王后，”她听见自己用细小的声音说，“韦赛里斯，求求你，求求你，我不要，我真的好想回家。”
“Home?” He kept his voice low, but she couldhear the fury in his tone. “How are we to go home, sweet sister? They took ourhome from us!” He drew her into the shadows, out of sight, his fingers digginginto her skin. “How are we to go home?” he repeated, meaning King’s Landing,and Dragonstone, and all the realm they had lost.
“回家？”虽然他刻意把声音压低，但丹妮还是听得出话音里的愤怒。“好妹妹，你倒是说说看，我们回哪个家啊？我们的家早给人夺走了！”他把她拉进一旁的阴影里，避开众人的视线，指甲用力抠进她的肌肤。“我们回哪个家啊？”他重复着问，言下之意，家即是指君临、龙石岛和那整个失去的国度。
Dany had only meant their rooms in Illyrio’sestate, no true home surely, though all they had, but her brother did not wantto hear that. There was no home there for him. Even the big house with the reddoor had not been home for him. His fingers dug hard into her arm, demanding ananswer. “I don’t know?.?.?.?”she said at last, her voice breaking. Tears welledin her eyes.
可丹妮所指的根本就不是这些，她要的只是他们在伊利里欧宅邸里的居所，那儿虽然算不上真正的归宿，但毕竟是眼下他们所拥有的一切。可哥哥不愿听这些话，那里不是他的家，就连红漆门院也不是。他的指甲越掐越紧，似乎在逼问答案。最后她终于哑着嗓子，噙着泪水低语道：“我不知道……”
“I do,” he said sharply. “We go home with anarmy, sweet sister. With Khal Drogo’s army, that is how we go home. And if youmust wed him and bed him for that, you will.” He smiled at her. “I’d let hiswhole khalasar fuck you if need be, sweet sister, all forty thousand men, andtheir horses too if that was what it took to get my army. Be grateful it isonly Drogo. In time you may even learn to like him. Now dry your eyes. Illyriois bringing him over, and he will not see you crying.”
“我却是知道的。”哥哥尖刻地说，“我们会带着一支军队回家，好妹妹，我们会带着卓戈的千军万马回家。假如你必须嫁给他，跟他上床才能换来这些，你就给我乖乖去做。”他朝她浅笑，“只要我能得到那支军队，就算得让他卡拉萨里的四万人通通把你操上一遍，我也会同意，必要的话，连他们的马一起上也行。现在你只给卓戈一个人干，已经该偷笑了。还不快把眼泪擦干，伊利里欧就要带他过来，我可不想让他看见你哭哭啼啼的样子。”
Dany turned and saw that it was true.Magister Illyrio, all smiles and bows, was escorting Khal Drogo over to wherethey stood. She brushed away unfallen tears with the back of her hand.
丹妮转过头去，果然总督脸上堆满笑容，正一边打躬作揖一边陪送卓戈卡奥朝他们这边走来，她赶紧用手背抹去还未掉下的泪滴。
“Smile,” Viserys whispered nervously, hishand failing to the hilt of his sword. “And stand up straight. Let him see thatyou have breasts. Gods know, you have little enough as is.”
“快对他笑，”韦赛里斯的手又落到佩剑的剑柄上，紧张地说，“抬头挺胸，让他看看你那点胸部。诸神在上，你已经够平了。”
Daenerys smiled, and stood up straight.
于是丹妮莉丝露出微笑，挺起胸膛。
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①卡奥：游牧民族多斯拉克人首领的称号，类似蒙古人的“汗”或突厥人的“可汗”。
②七大王国：维斯特洛在征服者伊耿渡海而来时的七个国家，分别是北境王国、凯岩王国、河湾王国、山谷王国、暴风王国、河屿王国以及多恩王国。
③卡拉萨：多斯拉克语中一个一起行动的族群代称。每个卡拉萨都有一位卡奥。
④无垢者：一种经过阉割，训练精良，对命令绝对服从，战技精良的男性奴隶武士，可谓没有感情的终极杀人机器。
