BRAN

布蘭

?? The hunt left at dawn. The king wanted wild boar at the feast tonight. Prince Joffrey rode with his father, so Robb had been allowed to join the hunters as well. Uncle Benjen, Jory, Theon Greyjoy, Ser Rodrik, and even the queen’s funny little brother had all ridden out with them. It was the last hunt, after all. On the morrow they left for the south.

打獵的隊伍于黎明啟程巡扇，國王希望能為今天的晚宴多添一道野熊大餐筒扒。因為喬佛里王子與國王同行仇箱，所以羅柏也得到允許堪滨，跟著狩獵隊伍一同前往量蕊。班揚叔叔鞭达、喬里墓怀、席恩·葛雷喬伊和羅德利克爵士他們都跟著一道去，就連王后的滑稽小弟也在隊伍中。畢竟這是他們在北方最后的打獵機(jī)會，明天休讳，國王的隊伍就要動身南下橄唬。

?? Bran had been left behind with Jon and the girls and Rickon. But Rickon was only a baby and the girls were only girls and Jon and his wolf were nowhere to be found. Bran did not look for him very hard. He thought Jon was angry at him. Jon seemed to be angry at everyone these days. Bran did not know why. He was going with Uncle Ben to the Wall, to join the Night’s Watch. That was almost as good as going south with the king. Robb was the one they were leaving behind, not Jon.

布蘭和瓊恩、姐姐們以及瑞肯留在城里。瑞肯只是個小娃娃冬念，女孩子們本來就不喜歡打獵，而瓊恩和他的小狼則跑得不見蹤影戈轿。布蘭也沒有努力去找他色乾，因為他覺得瓊恩似乎在生自己的氣。瓊恩這幾天似乎在生城里每一個人的氣，布蘭很納悶梧宫，他要和班揚叔叔到長城去加入守夜人軍團(tuán)棍厂，那可不是和跟國王南下一樣的好事嗎颗味？要留在家里的人是羅柏，不是瓊恩呀勋桶。

?? For days, Bran could scarcely wait to be off. He was going to ride the kingsroad on a horse of his own, not a pony but a real horse. His father would be the Hand of the King, and they were going to live in the red castle at King’s Landing, the castle the Dragonlords had built. Old Nan said there were ghosts there, and dungeons where terrible things had been done, and dragon heads on the walls. It gave Bran a shiver just to think of it, but he was not afraid. How could he be afraid? His father would be with him, and the king with all his knights and sworn swords.

這幾天來脱衙，布蘭興奮得坐立不安。他很快就要在國王大道上策馬馳騁了例驹，不是騎小馬喔，而是騎真正的駿馬退唠。父親將成為國王的首相鹃锈，他們會搬進(jìn)君臨，住進(jìn)龍王建造的“紅堡”瞧预。老奶媽說那里鬧鬼屎债，地牢里有不為人知的恐怖酷刑，墻上還掛著龍頭垢油。布蘭光想想就渾身打顫盆驹，但他卻不害怕，有什么好怕的呢滩愁？他有父親保護(hù)躯喇，還有國王和他所有的騎士與宣誓效忠的武士呢。

?? Bran was going to be a knight himself someday, one of the Kingsguard. Old Nan said they were the finest swords in all the realm. There were only seven of them, and they wore white armor and had no wives or children, but lived only to serve the king. Bran knew all the stories. Their names were like music to him. Serwyn of the Mirror Shield. Ser Ryam Redwyne. Prince Aemon the Dragonknight. The twins Ser Erryk and Ser Arryk, who had died on one another’s swords hundreds of years ago, when brother fought sister in the war the singers called the Dance of the Dragons. The White Bull, Gerold Hightower. Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. Barristan the Bold.

有朝一日布蘭自己也要當(dāng)騎士硝枉，加入國王的御林鐵衛(wèi)廉丽。老奶媽說他們是全國最優(yōu)秀的戰(zhàn)士。御林鐵衛(wèi)一共只有七人妻味，身穿白衣白甲正压，沒有任何家室牽累，活著的惟一目的就是守護(hù)國王责球。關(guān)于他們的故事布蘭早就聽得滾瓜爛熟焦履，倒背如流了：“鏡盾”薩文拓劝，萊安·雷德溫爵士，龍騎士伊蒙王子嘉裤，幾百年前死在對方劍下的孿生兄弟伊利克爵士和亞歷克爵士——那是一場骨肉相殘凿将，姐弟交戰(zhàn)，被后世吟游詩人稱為“血龍狂舞”的戰(zhàn)爭价脾，還有“白拍恋郑”杰洛·海陶爾，“拂曉神劍”亞瑟·戴恩爵士侨把，以及“無畏的”巴利斯坦犀变。

?? Two of the Kingsguard had come north with King Robert. Bran had watched them with fascination, never quite daring to speak to them. Ser Boros was a bald man with a jowly face, and Ser Meryn had droopy eyes and a beard the color of rust. Ser Jaime Lannister looked more like the knights in the stories, and he was of the Kingsguard too, but Robb said he had killed the old mad king and shouldn’t count anymore. The greatest living knight was Ser Barristan Selmy, Barristan the Bold, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. Father had promised that they would meet Ser Barristan when they reached King’s Landing, and Bran had been marking the days on his wall, eager to depart, to see a world he had only dreamed of and begin a life he could scarcely imagine.

這次有兩名御林鐵衛(wèi)和勞勃國王一同北來，布蘭瞠目結(jié)舌地看著他們秋柄，始終不敢上前攀談获枝。柏洛斯爵士是個禿了頂、雙下巴的人骇笔，馬林爵士則兩眼低垂省店，須如鐵銹。只有詹姆·蘭尼斯特爵士看起來比較像故事里的偉大騎士笨触，他也是七鐵衛(wèi)之一懦傍，不過羅柏說他殺了瘋狂的老王，已經(jīng)不能算御林鐵衛(wèi)了芦劣。如今世上最偉大的騎士是巴利斯坦·賽爾彌爵士粗俱，人稱“無畏的”巴利斯坦，他是御林鐵衛(wèi)隊長虚吟。父親答應(yīng)過他們寸认，等抵達(dá)君臨之后，一定會讓他們見見巴利斯坦爵士串慰。布蘭每天在墻上畫記號數(shù)日子偏塞，迫不及待想動身出發(fā)，去看看一個以往只存在于夢中的世界邦鲫，過另一種從來無法想像的生活灸叼。

?? Yet now that the last day was at hand, suddenly Bran felt lost. Winterfell had been the only home he had ever known. His father had told him that he ought to say his farewells today, and he had tried. After the hunt had ridden out, he wandered through the castle with his wolf at his side, intending to visit the ones who would be left behind, Old Nan and Gage the cook, Mikken in his smithy, Hodor the stableboy who smiled so much and took care of his pony and never said anything but “Hodor,” the man in the glass gardens who gave him a blackberry when he came to visit?.?.?.?

可現(xiàn)在離出發(fā)只剩一天，布蘭卻突然若有所失起來掂碱。臨冬城是他惟一熟悉的家園怜姿，父親叮囑他今天要向大家道別，他也盡力去試疼燥。打獵隊伍離開后沧卢，他帶著小狼在城堡里閑逛，打算和熟人們一個個說再見醉者。老奶媽但狭、廚師蓋吉披诗，鐵匠密肯，還有負(fù)責(zé)幫他照顧小馬立磁，成天咧著嘴笑呈队，除了“阿多”兩個字以外，一句話也不會講的馬夫阿多唱歧。每次布蘭去玻璃花園玩宪摧，阿多總會給他一顆黑莓。

?? But it was no good. He had gone to the stable first, and seen his pony there in its stall, except it wasn’t his pony anymore, he was getting a real horse and leaving the pony behind, and all of a sudden Bran just wanted to sit down and cry. He turned and ran off before Hodor and the other stableboys could see the tears in his eyes. That was the end of his farewells. Instead Bran spent the morning alone in the godswood, trying to teach his wolf to fetch a stick, and failing. The wolfling was smarter than any of the hounds in his father’s kennel and Bran would have sworn he understood every word that was said to him, but he showed very little interest in chasing sticks.

但他開不了口颅崩。他先去了馬廄几于，看到自己的小馬，只是現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)不屬于他了沿后。他很快便會擁有一匹真正的馬沿彭，而把小馬留在這里，突然間布蘭好想坐下來放聲大哭尖滚，于是他趕緊跑開喉刘，以免阿多和其他馬夫見到他眼中的淚水。他總共就說了這么一次再見漆弄，之后便一早上獨自躲在神木林里睦裳，教他的小狼把丟出去的樹枝叼回來，卻徒勞無功置逻。他的小狼比父親獸舍里所有的獵狗都要聰明推沸，他幾乎可以肯定他聽得懂他說的每一句話。只可惜他對叼樹枝似乎沒多少興趣券坞。

?? He was still trying to decide on a name. Robb was calling his Grey Wind, because he ran so fast. Sansa had named hers Lady, and Arya named hers after some old witch queen in the songs, and little Rickon called his Shaggydog, which Bran thought was a pretty stupid name for a direwolf. Jon’s wolf, the white one, was Ghost. Bran wished he had thought of that first, even though his wolf wasn’t white. He had tried a hundred names in the last fortnight, but none of them sounded right.

他到現(xiàn)在還無法決定給它取什么名字。羅柏的狼叫做“灰風(fēng)”肺素，因為它跑起來迅捷如風(fēng)恨锚；珊莎的叫做“淑女”；艾莉亞用歌謠里某個古老的女巫王為她的狼命名倍靡；小瑞肯則把他的狼叫做“毛毛狗”——布蘭覺得給冰原狼起這種名字實在很蠢猴伶；瓊恩的那只白狼叫白靈。布蘭真希望自己比瓊恩先想到這個名字塌西，即使他的狼毛色不是很白他挎。過去這兩周以來，他不知道已經(jīng)想過多少名字了捡需，偏偏就是沒一個聽來順耳办桨。

?? Finally he got tired of the stick game and decided to go climbing. He hadn’t been up to the broken tower for weeks with everything that had happened, and this might be his last chance.

最后他累了，便決定去爬墻站辉。最近發(fā)生了這么多事情呢撞，他已經(jīng)好幾個星期沒爬到殘塔上玩了损姜，這說不定還是他最后的機(jī)會呢。

?? He raced across the godswood, taking the long way around to avoid the pool where the heart tree grew. The heart tree had always frightened him; trees ought not have eyes, Bran thought, or leaves that looked like hands. His wolf came sprinting at his heels. “You stay here,” he told him at the base of the sentinel tree near the armory wall. “Lie down. That’s right. Now stay...”

于是他拔腿跑過神木林殊霞，還特地繞路避開心樹旁邊的那泓冷泉摧阅。布蘭一直很怕心樹，他總覺得樹不應(yīng)該長眼睛绷蹲，葉子也不該生成手掌的模樣棒卷。小狼跟在他身邊∽８郑“你留在這兒比规。”他在武器庫墻外哨兵樹下對它說太颤，“乖乖躺下苞俘，對，就這樣龄章，留在這兒別動——”

?? The wolf did as he was told. Bran scratched him behind the ears, then turned away, jumped, grabbed a low branch, and pulled himself up. He was halfway up the tree, moving easily from limb to limb, when the wolf got to his feet and began to howl.

小狼果然乖乖地留在原地吃谣，布蘭搔了搔它的耳后根，然后轉(zhuǎn)身一躍做裙，抓住低垂的枝干岗憋，一翻身便上了樹∶可當(dāng)他爬到一半仔戈，正游刃有余地穿梭枝丫時，小狼卻霍地起身嗥叫開來拧廊。

?? Bran looked back down. His wolf fell silent, staring up at him through slitted yellow eyes. A strange chill went through him. He began to climb again. Once more the wolf howled. “Quiet,” he yelled. “Sit down. Stay. You’re worse than Mother.” The howling chased him all the way up the tree, until finally he jumped off onto the armory roof and out of sight.

布蘭低頭一看监徘，小狼便立刻安靜，睜大那雙亮閃閃的黃色眼珠往上瞧吧碾。布蘭覺得有股詭異的寒意流貫全身凰盔。他繼續(xù)爬，小狼又繼續(xù)嗥倦春』Ь矗“別叫啦！”他喊睁本，“乖乖坐好別動尿庐，你比媽還煩∧匮撸”然而狼嗥卻一直跟隨著他抄瑟，直到他跳上武器庫屋頂，消失了蹤影為止暮胧。

?? The rooftops of Winterfell were Bran’s second home. His mother often said that Bran could climb before he could walk. Bran could not remember when he first learned to walk, but he could not remember when he started to climb either, so he supposed it must be true.

臨冬城的屋頂幾乎可算是布蘭的第二個家锐借，母親總說他連走路都還沒學(xué)會问麸，就先學(xué)會爬墻啦。布蘭既不記得自己什么時候?qū)W會走路钞翔，也不知道自己什么時候?qū)W會爬墻严卖，所以他猜她說得應(yīng)該沒錯。

?? To a boy, Winterfell was a grey stone labyrinth of walls and towers and courtyards and tunnels spreading out in all directions. In the older parts of the castle, the halls slanted up and down so that you couldn’t even be sure what floor you were on. The place had grown over the centuries like some monstrous stone tree, Maester Luwin told him once, and its branches were gnarled and thick and twisted, its roots sunk deep into the earth.

對一個小男孩而言布轿，臨冬城的城墻高塔哮笆、庭院甬道就像是座灰石砌成的廣袤迷宮。在城堡比較老舊的部分汰扭，無數(shù)廳堂四處傾斜稠肘，容易讓人產(chǎn)生不知置身何處之感。魯溫學(xué)士曾說萝毛，幾千年來项阴，城堡就像一棵不斷蔓生的怪物般的石頭巨樹，枝干扭曲笆包，盤根錯節(jié)环揽。

?? When he got out from under it and scrambled up near the sky, Bran could see all of Winterfell in a glance. He liked the way it looked, spread out beneath him, only birds wheeling over his head while all the life of the castle went on below. Bran could perch for hours among the shapeless, rain-worn gargoyles that brooded over the First Keep, watching it all: the men drilling with wood and steel in the yard, the cooks tending their vegetables in the glass garden, restless dogs running back and forth in the kennels, the silence of the godswood, the girls gossiping beside the washing well. It made him feel like he was lord of the castle, in a way even Robb would never know.

當(dāng)布蘭穿過錯綜復(fù)雜的傾頹古城，爬到接近天空的地方庵佣，全城的景致終于一覽無遺歉胶。他很喜歡臨冬城在他面前展開的遼闊樣貌，城堡里的一切熙來攘往巴粪、人聲喧嘩都在他腳下通今，惟有天際飛鳥在頭上盤旋。布蘭往往就這樣趴在首堡之上肛根，置身在形狀早已不復(fù)辨識辫塌、被風(fēng)霜雨雪摧殘殆盡的石像鬼間，俯瞰下方的城間百態(tài)派哲×猓看著廣場上拖運木材和鋼鐵的長工，看著玻璃花園里采集菜蔬的廚師狮辽，看著犬舍里來回奔跑、局促不安的獵狗巢寡，看著靜默無語的神木林喉脖，看著深井邊交頭接耳的女侍，仿佛他才是城堡真正的主人抑月，即使羅柏也無法體會這種境界树叽。

?? It taught him Winterfell’s secrets too. The builders had not even leveled the earth; there were hills and valleys behind the walls of Winterfell. There was a covered bridge that went from the fourth floor of the bell tower across to the second floor of the rookery. Bran knew about that. And he knew you could get inside the inner wall by the south gate, climb three floors and run all the way around Winterfell through a narrow tunnel in the stone, and then come out on ground level at the north gate, with a hundred feet of wall looming over you. Even Maester Luwin didn’t know that, Bran was convinced.

他也因此挖掘出臨冬城許多不為人知的秘密，比如當(dāng)初建筑工人并沒有把城堡附近的地勢鏟平谦絮，所以城墻外面不但有起伏丘陵题诵，還有溪澗峽谷洁仗。布蘭知道一座密閉的橋道，可以從鐘塔的四樓直接通鴉巢的二層性锭。他還知道如何從南門進(jìn)入內(nèi)城墻里邊赠潦，順著門梯爬三層，便能找到一條狹窄的石砌甬道草冈，它可以繞行臨冬城，最后抵達(dá)位于百尺高墻陰影下的北門底層。布蘭相信就連魯溫師傅也不知道這條捷徑功咒。

?? His mother was terrified that one day Bran would slip off a wall and kill himself. He told her that he wouldn’t, but she never believed him. Once she made him promise that he would stay on the ground. He had managed to keep that promise for almost a fortnight, miserable every day, until one night he had gone out the window of his bedroom when his brothers were fast asleep.

母親一直很害怕布蘭哪天會不小心滑下來拥诡，失足摔死。任他再三保證拳恋，她卻怎么也不肯相信凡资。有次她強(qiáng)迫他發(fā)誓不再往高處爬，結(jié)果這個諾言只勉強(qiáng)維持了兩個星期谬运，他每天都痛苦無比隙赁，最后有一天夜里，趁他兄弟熟睡的時候吩谦，他還是爬出了臥房窗戶鸳谜。

?? He confessed his crime the next day in a fit of guilt. Lord Eddard ordered him to the godswood to cleanse himself. Guards were posted to see that Bran remained there alone all night to reflect on his disobedience. The next morning Bran was nowhere to be seen. They finally found him fast asleep in the upper branches of the tallest sentinel in the grove.

翌日他滿懷罪惡感地自行招認(rèn)，艾德公爵叫他獨自去神木林懺悔式廷，還派了守衛(wèi)監(jiān)視咐扭，以確保他整晚都在林子里反省他不聽話的行為。沒想到第二天清晨滑废，布蘭卻不見蹤影蝗肪，最后眾人是在林間最高的一棵哨兵樹的上層枝干找到睡得正香甜的他。

?? As angry as he was, his father could not help but laugh. “You’re not my son,” he told Bran when they fetched him down, “you’re a squirrel. So be it. If you must climb, then climb, but try not to let your mother see you.”

盡管父親氣得半死蠕趁，終于還是忍不住笑道：“你一定不是我兒子薛闪，”當(dāng)其他人把布蘭抱下來時，他對兒子說俺陋，“你根本是只松鼠豁延。算了，我認(rèn)了腊状，如果你真的非爬不可诱咏，那就去爬吧，盡量別讓你母親瞧見就是缴挖〈”

?? Bran did his best, although he did not think he ever really fooled her. Since his father would not forbid it, she turned to others. Old Nan told him a story about a bad little boy who climbed too high and was struck down by lightning, and how afterward the crows came to peck out his eyes. Bran was not impressed. There were crows’ nests atop the broken tower, where no one ever went but him, and sometimes he filled his pockets with corn before he climbed up there and the crows ate it right out of his hand. None of them had ever shown the slightest bit of interest in pecking out his eyes.

布蘭很努力，雖然他認(rèn)為母親對他的舉動其實一清二楚。既然父親不愿阻止他四處攀爬苟鸯，她便轉(zhuǎn)而采取迂回策略同蜻。首先來的是老奶媽，她跟他講了一個故事早处，說從前有個不聽話的壞小孩湾蔓，越爬越高，最后被雷活活劈死陕赃，死后烏鴉還來啄他眼睛卵蛉。布蘭聽了不為所動，因為殘塔上多的是烏鴉窠巢么库，那里除了他沒人會去傻丝，所以有時他會在口袋里裝滿玉米。一上塔頂诉儒，烏鴉便都開開心心地聚攏來從他手心啄食葡缰，怎么也不像會啄他眼睛的模樣。

?? Later, Maester Luwin built a little pottery boy and dressed him in Bran’s clothes and flung him off the wall into the yard below, to demonstrate what would happen to Bran if he fell. That had been fun, but afterward Bran just looked at the maester and said, “I’m not made of clay. And anyhow, I never fall.”

眼看這招無效忱反，魯溫師傅便用陶土捏了個小男孩泛释，為它穿上布蘭的衣服，然后從城墻上丟下去温算，好讓布蘭了解他若是摔下怜校，會有多么凄慘的結(jié)果。那是個有趣的實驗注竿，但事后布蘭卻只盯著魯溫師傅茄茁，面無表情地說：“我不是泥做的，而且我絕對不會摔下去巩割∪雇纾”

?? Then for a while the guards would chase him whenever they saw him on the roofs, and try to haul him down. That was the best time of all. It was like playing a game with his brothers, except that Bran always won. None of the guards could climb half so well as Bran, not even Jory. Most of the time they never saw him anyway. People never looked up. That was another thing he liked about climbing; it was almost like being invisible.

在此之后，輪到了城里的守衛(wèi)宣谈，有一段時間愈犹，只要他們發(fā)現(xiàn)他在屋頂上，就會吆喝追趕闻丑，想把他趕下來漩怎。那是最緊張刺激的時刻了，簡直就像和哥哥弟弟們玩游戲嗦嗡，只不過扬卷，這游戲每次都是布蘭獲勝。衛(wèi)兵們誰也沒有布蘭這種本事酸钦，連喬里也拿他沒轍。不過多數(shù)時候他們根本就沒看見他，人是從來不往上看的卑硫。這也是他喜歡爬墻的原因之一徒恋，仿佛可以因此隱身遁形。

?? He liked how it felt too, pulling himself up a wall stone by stone, fingers and toes digging hard into the small crevices between. He always took off his boots and went barefoot when he climbed; it made him feel as if he had four hands instead of two. He liked the deep, sweet ache it left in the muscles afterward. He liked the way the air tasted way up high, sweet and cold as a winter peach. He liked the birds: the crows in the broken tower, the tiny little sparrows that nested in cracks between the stones, the ancient owl that slept in the dusty loft above the old armory. Bran knew them all.

他很喜歡攀爬時那種一石高過一石欢伏，手腳并用入挣，聚精會神的感覺。每次他都先把靴子脫掉硝拧，然后光著腳丫爬墻径筏，如此一來讓他覺得自己多出兩只手。他喜歡每次事后渾身肌肉那種疲累卻甜絲絲的酸疼障陶；喜歡高處清冽的空氣滋恬，冰冷甘美宛如冬雪甜桃；喜歡各式各樣的鳥類抱究，包括群聚殘塔上的大烏鴉恢氯，筑巢亂石間的小麻雀和棲息在舊武器庫積滿灰塵閣樓里的老夜梟。布蘭對這些事物通通了如指掌鼓寺。

?? Most of all, he liked going places that no one else could go, and seeing the grey sprawl of Winterfell in a way that no one else ever saw it. It made the whole castle Bran’s secret place.

不過他最喜歡的還是登上人跡罕至的地方勋拟，看著城堡以一種不曾為他人展示的樣貌，在眼前灰蒙蒙地呈現(xiàn)出來妈候。整座臨冬城似乎都因此成了布蘭的秘密基地敢靡。

?? His favorite haunt was the broken tower. Once it had been a watchtower, the tallest in Winterfell. A long time ago, a hundred years before even his father had been born, a lightning strike had set it afire. The top third of the structure had collapsed inward, and the tower had never been rebuilt. Sometimes his father sent ratters into the base of the tower, to clean out the nests they always found among the jumble of fallen stones and charred and rotten beams. But no one ever got up to the jagged top of the structure now except for Bran and the crows.

他對曾是臨冬城最高瞭望臺的殘塔情有獨鐘。很久很久以前苦银，在他父親出生前約一百年啸胧，高塔遭暴雷擊中，起火燃燒墓毒，頂端三分之一的建筑朝塔內(nèi)崩塌吓揪，自此以后始終沒有重建。父親偶爾會派人進(jìn)到殘塔底層清理斷垣殘壁間的老鼠窩所计，然而除了布蘭和烏鴉柠辞，從來沒有人登上過塔頂廢墟。

?? He knew two ways to get there. You could climb straight up the side of the tower itself, but the stones were loose, the mortar that held them together long gone to ash, and Bran never liked to put his full weight on them.

他知道兩種登上塔頂?shù)耐緩街麟剩皇侵苯訌臍埶鈬郎先グ仁祝怯捎诋?dāng)年刷的泥漿早已干燥風(fēng)化，磚石容易松落踪栋，因此布蘭爬的時候不太敢把重心放在上面焙格。

?? The best way was to start from the godswood, shinny up the tall sentinel, and cross over the armory and the guards hall, leaping roof to roof, barefoot so the guards wouldn’t hear you overhead. That brought you up to the blind side of the First Keep, the oldest part of the castle, a squat round fortress that was taller than it looked. Only rats and spiders lived there now but the old stones still made for good climbing. You could go straight up to where the gargoyles leaned out blindly over empty space, and swing from gargoyle to gargoyle, hand over hand, around to the north side. From there, if you really stretched, you could reach out and pull yourself over to the broken tower where it leaned close. The last part was the scramble up the blackened stones to the eyrie, no more than ten feet, and then the crows would come round to see if you’d brought any corn.

最好的方法還是從神木林出發(fā)，爬上高高的哨兵樹夷都，從武器庫的屋頂跳到守衛(wèi)室的屋頂眷唉，其間光著腳以免守衛(wèi)聽見，如此便可順利抵達(dá)城中最古老的首堡后方。那是座低矮的圓形堡壘冬阳，其實它比乍看上去要高得多蛤虐。如今堡內(nèi)雖只有老鼠和蜘蛛，但當(dāng)年建筑的古老石塊仍舊提供了攀爬的最佳場所肝陪。你甚至可以直接爬到眼神空洞的石像鬼雕像駐守的空曠高臺驳庭，兩手勾緊，從這個石像鬼懸蕩到那個石像鬼氯窍，隨后抵達(dá)城樓北端饲常。接著，只要全力伸展狼讨，便可夠到傾斜的殘塔贝淤。最后的部分只是翻越焦黑的亂石堆登上養(yǎng)鷹樓，爬不到十尺熊楼，烏鴉群便會競相迎接霹娄，看你有沒有帶玉米粒給它們了。

?? Bran was moving from gargoyle to gargoyle with the ease of long practice when he heard the voices. He was so startled he almost lost his grip. The First Keep had been empty all his life.

這天布蘭一如往常鲫骗，駕輕就熟地在石像鬼雕像間蕩來蕩去犬耻，不料卻聽到說話的聲音。他嚇得差點松手执泰，首堡向來是個人跡罕至的地方呀枕磁！

?? “I do not like it,” a woman was saying. There was a row of windows beneath him, and the voice was drifting out of the last window on this side. “You should be the Hand.”

“我不喜歡這樣，”有個女人的聲音說术吝。布蘭下方有一排窗戶计济，聲音是從最后一扇窗里傳出來的，“當(dāng)首相的該是你才對排苍÷偌牛”

?? “Gods forbid,” a man’s voice replied lazily. “It’s not an honor I’d want. There’s far too much work involved.”

“饒了我罷，”一個男人的聲音慵懶地回答淘衙，“這種苦差我可不想攬传藏，想做的事多著呢⊥兀”

?? Bran hung, listening, suddenly afraid to go on. They might glimpse his feet if he tried to swing by.

布蘭懸在半空毯侦，靜靜地聽著，突然心生恐懼具垫，不敢再往前蕩侈离，生怕經(jīng)過時自己的雙腳會被他們發(fā)現(xiàn)。

?? “Don’t you see the danger this puts us in?” the woman said. “Robert loves the man like a brother.”

“你難道看不出背后隱藏的危險筝蚕？”女人接著說卦碾，“勞勃把那家伙當(dāng)親兄弟一樣铺坞。”

?? “Robert can barely stomach his brothers. Not that I blame him. Stannis would be enough to give anyone indigestion.”

“勞勃最受不了他兩個弟弟蔗坯。我也不怪他康震，有史坦尼斯那樣的老弟，任誰都要反胃宾濒。”

?? “Don’t play the fool. Stannis and Renly are one thing, and Eddard Stark is quite another. Robert will listen to Stark. Damn them both. I should have insisted that he name you, but I was certain Stark would refuse him.”

“別傻了屏箍，史坦尼斯和藍(lán)禮是一回事绘梦，艾德·史塔克又是另一回事。勞勃對史塔克會言聽計從赴魁。這兩人都該下地獄卸奉，早知道我就堅持要他選你當(dāng)首相。我一直以為史塔克會拒絕他颖御￠茫”

?? “We ought to count ourselves fortunate,” the man said. “The king might as easily have named one of his brothers, or even Littlefinger, gods help us. Give me honorable enemies rather than ambitious ones, and I’ll sleep more easily by night.”

　　“我們這樣已經(jīng)算走運啦，”男人道潘拱，“諸神在上疹鳄，誰知道國王會不會叫他弟弟或那個小指頭來當(dāng)首相。比起野心勃勃的對手芦岂，讓我面對講究榮譽的敵人瘪弓，可能還會睡得安穩(wěn)些∏葑睿”

?? They were talking about Father, Bran realized. He wanted to hear more. A few more feet?.?.?.?but they would see him if he swung out in front of the window.

布蘭這才會意腺怯，他們談?wù)摰恼歉赣H！他想多聽一些川无，再靠近幾尺……可他如果蕩過那扇窗戶呛占，他們一定會看到他的腳。

?? “We will have to watch him carefully,” the woman said.

“我們得好好監(jiān)視他才行懦趋×缆牵”女人說。

?? “I would sooner watch you,” the man said. He sounded bored. “Come back here.”

“我寧愿好好看看你愕够，”男人說走贪，他的語氣聽起來很無趣，“過來吧惑芭∽菇疲”

?? “Lord Eddard has never taken any interest in anything that happened south of the Neck,” the woman said. “Never. I tell you, he means to move against us. Why else would he leave the seat of his power?”

“艾德公爵從沒插手過南方的事務(wù)，”女人道遂跟，“從來沒有逃沿。我告訴你婴渡，他明明就是要對付我們，不然何必離開他的勢力中心凯亮？”

?? “A hundred reasons. Duty. Honor. He yearns to write his name large across the book of history, to get away from his wife, or both. Perhaps he just wants to be warm for once in his life.”

“理由多的是边臼，責(zé)任心、榮譽感都有可能假消，或者他想名垂青史柠并，或者他們夫妻不和，甚至兩者皆有富拗，也或許他只想找個溫暖的地方住住而已臼予。”

?? “His wife is Lady Arryn’s sister. It’s a wonder Lysa was not here to greet us with her accusations.”

“他太太是艾林夫人的姐姐啃沪，萊莎竟然沒有跑到這里粘拾，用她的指控歡迎我們，已經(jīng)很難得了创千＄止停”

?? Bran looked down. There was a narrow ledge beneath the window, only a few inches wide. He tried to lower himself toward it. Too far. He would never reach.

布蘭往下看去，窗子下方只有個幾寸寬的窗欞追驴，他試著放低身子械哟，但是距離太遠(yuǎn)，夠不到氯檐。

?? “You fret too much. Lysa Arryn is a frightened cow.”

“你想太多啦戒良，艾林夫人不過是頭嚇壞的母牛嘛」谏悖”

?? “That frightened cow shared Jon Arryn’s bed.”

“這頭母排雌椋可是和瓊恩·艾林同床共枕的『佑荆”

?? “If she knew anything, she would have gone to Robert before she fled King’s Landing.”

“假如她知道沃呢，早在離開君臨之前就去找勞勃告狀了〔鸹樱”

?? “When he had already agreed to foster that weakling son of hers at Casterly Rock? I think not. She knew the boy’s life would be hostage to her silence. She may grow bolder now that he’s safe atop the Eyrie.”

“在他剛剛決定要把她那沒用的兒子送去凱巖城作養(yǎng)子的時候薄霜？我想不會。她自己也明白如此一來她兒子會成為人質(zhì)纸兔，威脅她不準(zhǔn)說出實情《韫希現(xiàn)在回到了鷹巢城，只怕她膽子會大起來汉矿∑榉唬”

?? “Mothers.” The man made the word sound like a curse. “I think birthing does something to your minds. You are all mad.” He laughed. It was a bitter sound. “Let Lady Arryn grow as bold as she likes. Whatever she knows, whatever she thinks she knows, she has no proof.” He paused a moment. “Or does she?”

“作母親的都一個樣，”男人把“母親”一詞說得仿佛是個詛咒洲拇，“我總認(rèn)為生產(chǎn)會燒壞腦子奈揍，你們?nèi)集偭饲！彼酀匦πδ泻玻安还芩烤怪朗裁戳砘迹蜃砸詾橹蓝嗌伲凑龥]有證據(jù)蛾绎±セ”他停了一會兒，“她有么租冠？”

?? “Do you think the king will require proof?” the woman said. “I tell you, he loves me not.”

“告訴我为严，你覺得國王會需要什么證據(jù)？”女人回答肺稀，“他根本就不愛我！”

?? “And whose fault is that, sweet sister?”

“好姐姐应民，這是誰的錯盎霸？”

?? Bran studied the ledge. He could drop down. It was too narrow to land on, but if he could catch hold as he fell past, pull himself up?.?.?.?except that might make a noise, draw them to the window. He was not sure what he was hearing, but he knew it was not meant for his ears.

布蘭仔細(xì)看看窗欞诲锹，他應(yīng)該可以跳下去繁仁，雖然窗欞太窄，沒法站穩(wěn)归园，但他可以在墜落的時候鉤住黄虱，然后再攀上去……怕只怕會弄出聲音，引來他們的注意庸诱。他不太了解所聽到的事情捻浦，只是很確定這些話不是說給他聽的。

?? “You are as blind as Robert,” the woman was saying.

“你和勞勃一樣都瞎了眼桥爽≈觳樱”女人說。

?? “If you mean I see the same thing, yes,” the man said. “I see a man who would sooner die than betray his king.”

“如果你的意思是我和他看法一致钠四，沒有錯盗扒，”男人答道，“我眼中的艾德·史塔克是個寧死也不愿背叛國王的人缀去÷略睿”

?? “He betrayed one already, or have you forgotten?” the woman said. “Oh, I don’t deny he’s loyal to Robert, that’s obvious. What happens when Robert dies and Joff takes the throne? And the sooner that comes to pass, the safer we’ll all be. My husband grows more restless every day. Having Stark beside him will only make him worse. He’s still in love with the sister, the insipid little dead sixteen-year-old. How long till he decides to put me aside for some new Lyanna?”

“他已經(jīng)背叛過一個國王，你難道忘了嗎缕碎？”女人道褥影，“噢，我不否認(rèn)他對勞勃忠心耿耿阎曹，這毋庸置疑伪阶，但要是勞勃死了煞檩，小喬繼承王位呢？而勞勃越早死栅贴，我們便越安全斟湃。我丈夫近來愈加焦躁不安，讓史塔克隨侍他身旁只會讓情況惡化檐薯。他到現(xiàn)在還愛著那個死了的十六歲小妹凝赛，誰知道哪天他會為了新的萊安娜，把我丟到一邊坛缕？”

?? Bran was suddenly very frightened. He wanted nothing so much as to go back the way he had come, to find his brothers. Only what would he tell them? He had to get closer, Bran realized. He had to see who was talking.

布蘭突然覺得害怕極了墓猎，此時的他只想趕快循原路回去，去找他的兄弟尋求協(xié)助赚楚。然而他要告訴他們些什么呢毙沾？布蘭明白自己非再靠近一點不可，他得看看說話的人是誰宠页。

?? The man sighed. “You should think less about the future and more about the pleasures at hand.”

男人嘆道：“你別老擔(dān)心未來的事左胞，多想想眼前的幸福罷【倩В”

?? “Stop that!” the woman said. Bran heard the sudden slap of flesh on flesh, then the man’s laughter.

“少說這種話烤宙！”女人斥道。布蘭聽到突如其來的皮肉拍打俭嘁，接著又聽見男人的笑聲躺枕。

?? Bran pulled himself up, climbed over the gargoyle, crawled out onto the roof. This was the easy way. He moved across the roof to the next gargoyle, right above the window of the room where they were talking.

布蘭決定往上攀，翻過石像鬼供填，爬到屋頂上拐云。這是比較容易的路徑，他跑到下一只石像鬼雕像旁捕虽，恰好在傳出說話聲的房間正上方慨丐。

?? “All this talk is getting very tiresome, sister,” the man said. “Come here and be quiet.”

“好姐姐，盡說些這種事泄私，說得我都累了房揭。”男人說晌端，“閉上嘴巴過來吧捅暴。”

?? Bran sat astride the gargoyle, tightened his legs around it, and swung himself around, upside down. He hung by his legs and slowly stretched his head down toward the window. The world looked strange upside down. A courtyard swam dizzily below him, its stones still wet with melted snow.

布蘭跨坐在石像鬼雕像上咧纠，兩腿夾緊蓬痒，然后整個人頭朝下倒轉(zhuǎn)過去。他兩腳緊勾住石像漆羔，緩緩地把頭靠近窗邊梧奢。上下顛倒的世界感覺非常怪異狱掂，庭院在他下方天旋地轉(zhuǎn)地晃動，磚石上還留有未化的殘雪亲轨。

?? Bran looked in the window.

布蘭從窗外向里看去趋惨。

?? Inside the room, a man and a woman were wrestling. They were both naked. Bran could not tell who they were. The man’s back was to him, and his body screened the woman from view as he pushed her up against a wall.

房間內(nèi)一男一女正扭成一團(tuán)，兩人都沒穿衣服惦蚊。布蘭認(rèn)不出他們是誰器虾，男人背對著他，不斷地將女人往墻邊推擠蹦锋，他的身體恰好擋住了女人的臉兆沙。

?? There were soft, wet sounds. Bran realized they were kissing. He watched, wide-eyed and frightened, his breath tight in his throat. The man had a hand down between her legs, and he must have been hurting her there, because the woman started to moan, low in her throat. “Stop it,” she said, “stop it, stop it. Oh, please?.?.?.?” But her voice was low and weak, and she did not push him away. Her hands buried themselves in his hair, his tangled golden hair, and pulled his face down to her breast.

屋內(nèi)有種細(xì)小而濡濕的聲音，布蘭發(fā)覺他們正在親嘴莉掂。他張大眼睛葛圃，呼吸急促，驚恐地看著房里發(fā)生的這一切憎妙。男人伸手到女人兩腿間装悲，他一定弄痛了她，因為女人開始低聲呻吟：“別……別這樣尚氛，”她說，“住手洞渤，住手阅嘶，噢，求求你……”可她的聲音細(xì)小微弱载迄，又始終沒有把他推開讯柔。她反而把雙手埋進(jìn)他凌亂的亮金色頭發(fā)里，把他的臉往自己胸前拉护昧。

?? Bran saw her face. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was open, moaning. Her golden hair swung from side to side as her head moved back and forth, but still he recognized the queen.

布蘭這才見著她的臉魂迄。雖然她緊閉雙眼，張嘴呻吟惋耙，金發(fā)隨著頭部動作而劇烈晃動捣炬，他仍然認(rèn)出她是王后。

?? He must have made a noise. Suddenly her eyes opened, and she was staring right at him. She screamed.

此時他一定是不小心發(fā)出了什么聲音绽榛，只見她突然睜開眼睛湿酸，視線直直地盯著他，然后驚聲尖叫起來灭美。

?? Everything happened at once then. ‘ The woman pushed the man away wildly, shouting and pointing. Bran tried to pull himself up, bending double as he reached for the gargoyle. He was in too much of a hurry. His hand scraped uselessly across smooth stone, and in his panic his legs slipped, and suddenly he was failing. There was an instant of vertigo, a sickening lurch as the window flashed past. He shot out a hand, grabbed for the ledge, lost it, caught it again with his other hand. He swung against the building, hard. The impact took the breath out of him. Bran dangled, one-handed, panting.

所有的事情都發(fā)生得好快推溃。女人狂亂地推開男人，一邊指指點點届腐，一邊大聲叫嚷铁坎。布蘭想把自己翻上去蜂奸，使盡腰力鉤住石像鬼雕像，然而他使力太急硬萍，雙手只是擦過平滑的石像表面扩所，隨后他心里一怕，雙腿松開襟铭，立刻就往下掉碌奉。他感到一陣暈眩，窗欞從他身邊疾速閃失寒砖，一種不舒服的惡心感由胃里升起赐劣。他慌忙伸出一只手想抓住窗欞，卻立刻滑開哩都，趕緊又用另一只手牢牢抓緊魁兼。他狠狠地撞上了墻壁，猛烈的沖擊力道痛得他幾乎無法呼吸漠嵌。布蘭單手抓住窗欞咐汞，在半空中懸晃，喘不過氣來儒鹿。

?? Faces appeared in the window above him.

兩個人的臉同時出現(xiàn)在他上方的窗邊化撕。

?? The queen. And now Bran recognized the man beside her. They looked as much alike as reflections in a mirror.

的確是王后。這時布蘭也認(rèn)出了她旁邊的男人约炎，他們相貌神似植阴，站在一起宛如鏡子里的倒影。

?? “He saw us,” the woman said shrilly.

“他瞧見我們了圾浅÷邮郑”女人尖聲道。

?? “So he did,” the man said.

“他是瞧見我們了狸捕∨绺耄”男人說。

?? Bran’s fingers started to slip. He grabbed the ledge with his other hand. Fingernails dug into unyielding stone. The man reached down. “Take my hand,” he said. “Before you fall.”

布蘭的手指開始松脫灸拍，他換用另一只手勾窗欞做祝，指甲深深地陷進(jìn)堅硬的巖壁。男人向下伸手鸡岗∑实恚“來，”他說纤房，“快抓住我纵隔，別要掉下去。”

?? Bran seized his arm and held on tight with all his strength. The man yanked him up to the ledge. “What are you doing?” the woman demanded.

布蘭使出渾身力氣抓住他的手捌刮，男人把他拉上窗臺碰煌。“你想做什么绅作？”女人質(zhì)問芦圾。

?? The man ignored her. He was very strong. He stood Bran up on the sill. “How old are you, boy?”

男人沒有理會她，他用健壯有力的手俄认，把布蘭扶到窗臺上站穩(wěn)个少。“小鬼眯杏，你幾歲啦夜焦？”

?? “Seven,” Bran said, shaking with relief. His fingers had dug deep gouges in the man’s forearm. He let go sheepishly.

“七歲∑穹罚”布蘭聽了如釋重負(fù)茫经，但仍舊不免發(fā)抖。他的指頭深深摳進(jìn)男人的手臂萎津，這時連忙慚愧地放開卸伞。

?? The man looked over at the woman. “The things I do for love,” he said with loathing. He gave Bran a shove.

男人轉(zhuǎn)頭去看著女人★鼻“好好想一想荤傲，我為愛情做了些什么【痹ǎ”他極不情愿地說弃酌，接著便用力把布蘭朝外一推。

?? Screaming, Bran went backward out the window into empty air. There was nothing to grab on to. The courtyard rushed up to meet him.

布蘭尖叫著飛出窗外儡炼，落進(jìn)半空。這次沒有任何東西可以讓他抓握查蓉，庭院以瘋狂的速度朝他襲來乌询。

?? Somewhere off in the distance, a wolf was howling. Crows circled the broken tower, waiting for corn.

邈遠(yuǎn)處，孤狼長吼豌研；殘塔上妹田，烏鴉盤旋，猶然等待玉米之賜鹃共。