那帮亲戚里有个女人，一个矮矮胖胖的小寡妇，乳房大得像南瓜，她的丈夫和父亲都在风息堡的围城战中送了命。“她爹对我不错，”劳勃告诉瑟曦，“我和她小时候也常常一起玩耍。”果不其然，他很快又继续跟她“玩耍”起来。只要瑟曦睁一只眼闭一只眼，他立马会溜出去安慰她。某天晚上，瑟曦忍不住让詹姆暗中尾随，以证实自己的怀疑。弟弟很快便回来了，怒冲冲地询问她是否要劳勃去死。“不，”她回答，“我要让他后悔。”她一直认定乔佛里是那天晚上的产物。

There had been a female cousin too, a chunky little widow with breasts as big as melons whose husband and father had both died at Storm’s End during the siege. “Her father was good to me,” Robert told her, “and she and I would play together when the two of us were small.” It did not take him long to start playing with her again. As soon as Cersei closed her eyes, the king would steal off to console the poor lonely creature. One night she had Jaime follow him, to confirm her suspicions. When her brother returned he asked her if she wanted Robert dead. “No,” she had replied, “I want him horned.” She liked to think that was the night when Joffrey was conceived.

“埃尔顿·伊斯蒙找了个比自己年轻五十岁的老婆，”她对科本说，“这跟我有何关系？”

“Eldon Estermont has taken a wife fifty years his junior,” she said to Qyburn. “Why should that concern me?”

对方耸耸肩。“我不知道……然而我清楚的是，戴蒙·沙德爵士与这位桑塔加家的女子都是道朗亲王的女儿亚莲恩的心腹——至少我们在多恩的线民这么说。或许其中没有关联，但我想陛下还是知道比较好。”

He shrugged. “I do not say it should … but Daemon Sand and this Santagar girl were both close to Prince Doran’s own daughter, Arianne, or so the Dornishmen would have us believe. Perhaps it means little or less, but I thought Your Grace should know.”

“现在我知道了，”她快失去耐心了，“还有事吗？”

“Now I do.” She was losing patience. “Do you have more?”

“最后一件事。一件小事。”他露出抱歉的微笑，讲述了城市平民中最近流行的一幕愧儡戏：一群骄傲的狮子如何统治动物王国。“真是大逆不道，戏中的狮子变得越来越贪婪，越来越自负，接着开始吞食自己的子民。高贵的雄鹿起来反抗，狮子二话不讲把它也吃了，还夸口说自己生来就该是百兽之王。”

“One more thing. A trifling matter.” He gave her an apologetic smile and told her of a puppet show that had recently become popular amongst the city’s smallfolk; a puppet show wherein the kingdom of the beasts was ruled by a pride of haughty lions. “The puppet lions grow greedy and arrogant as this treasonous tale proceeds, until they begin to devour their own subjects. When the noble stag makes objection, the lions devour him as well, and roar that it is their right as the mightiest of beasts.”

“难道有错吗？”瑟曦笑问，事物都有两面性，就她看来，这幕生动的戏剧正好是给叛徒们的教训。

“And is that the end of it?” Cersei asked, amused. Looked at in the right light, it could be seen as a salutary lesson.

“可是，陛下，愧儡戏的末尾，一只龙从蛋里孵出来，吞噬了所有狮子。”

“No, Your Grace. At the end a dragon hatches from an egg and devours all of the lions.”

好啊！原来这不是傲慢，直接反了！　“没脑子的白痴，居然把希望寄托在木头龙身上。”她考虑片刻，“叫你的线民去看戏，把参加者统统记下。若其中有什么重要人物，首先报告给我。”

The ending took the puppet show from simple insolence to treason. “Witless fools. Only cretins would hazard their heads upon a wooden dragon.” She considered a moment. “Send some of your whisperers to these shows and make note of who attends. If any of them should be men of note, I would know their names.”

“我能否冒昧地请教陛下，您打算怎么处理这些人呢？”

“What will be done with them, if I may be so bold?”

“重罚。一半财产充公。这样既能点醒他们，又对国库有益，还给了他们改过自新的机会。没钱的人挖一只眼珠，作为观看叛逆行为而不上报的惩罚。至于戏子们嘛，砍头示众。”

“Any men of substance shall be fined. Half their worth should be sufficient to teach them a sharp lesson and refill our coffers, without quite ruining them. Those too poor to pay can lose an eye, for watching treason. For the puppeteers, the axe.”

“都城中有四位戏子，如果陛下同意，我能否要两个人呢……最好是女人……”

“There are four. Perhaps Your Grace might allow me two of them for mine own purposes. A woman would be especially …”

“我已经给了你塞蕾娜。”太后尖刻地说。

“I gave you Senelle,” the queen said sharply.

“是的。可那个可怜的女孩……不堪使用了……”

“Alas. The poor girl is quite … exhausted.”

瑟曦不愿再想起她。这女孩完全没料到自己的遭遇，以为是来为太后服务的，即便科本用铁链把她锁住，她还是没闹明白。回忆让太后恶心。下面的地牢又黑又冷，连火炬也会颤抖。那黑暗中尖叫的肮脏东西……“算了，你可以带走一个女孩，两个也行。但首先，把名字报上来。”

Cersei did not like to think about that. The girl had come with her unsuspecting, thinking she was along to serve and pour. Even when Qyburn clapped the chain around her wrist, she had not seemed to understand. The memory still made the queen queasy. The cells were bitter cold. Even the torches shivered. And that foul thing screaming in the darkness … “Yes, you may take a woman. Two, if it please you. But first I will have names.”

“遵命。”科本立时离开。

“As you command.” Qyburn withdrew.

夕阳西垂，多卡莎为她打了洗澡水。正当太后欣慰地沉浸在温水中，盘算着如何应对晚宴客人时，詹姆破门而入，轰走了乔斯琳和多卡莎。弟弟气势汹汹，浑身马臭味，他把托曼也带来了。“亲爱的老姐，”他开门见山地说，“国王要你给个答复。”

Outside, the sun was setting. Dorcas had prepared a bath for her. The queen was soaking pleasantly in the warm water and contemplating what she would say to her supper guests when Jaime came bursting through the door and ordered Jocelyn and Dorcas from the room. Her brother looked rather less than immaculate and had a smell of horse about him. He had Tommen with him too. “Sweet sister,” he said, “the king requires a word.”

瑟曦满头的金发漂浮在水中，屋内蒸气腾腾，一滴汗珠流下脸颊。“托曼，”她用满含恶毒的轻柔语调反问，“出什么事了？”

Cersei’s golden tresses floated in the bathwater. The room was steamy. A drop of sweat trickled down her cheek. “Tommen?” she said, in a dangerously soft voice. “What is it now?”

男孩很清楚母亲的语调，因此缩了回去。

The boy knew that tone. He shrank back.

“陛下明天早上要骑他的白马，”詹姆道，“参加长枪训练。”

“His Grace wants his white courser on the morrow,” Jaime said. “For his jousting lesson.”

太后坐起来，“不，他不会。”

She sat up in the tub. “There will be no jousting.”

“我要去，我要参加，”托曼咬着下嘴唇，“我每天都想参加！”

“Yes, there will.” Tommen puffed out his lower lip. “I have to ride every day.”

“你可以参加训练，”太后宣布，“等我找到了合适的教头之后。”

“And you shall,” the queen declared, “once we have a proper master-at-arms to supervise your training.”

“我不要什么合适的教头，我要洛拉斯爵士。”

“I don’t want a proper master-at-arms. I want Ser Loras.”

“太孩子气了。我知道，你的小不点儿老婆尽给你吹嘘那个蠢蛋骑士，可奥斯蒙·凯特布莱克比他强三倍。”

“You make too much of that boy. Your little wife has filled your head with foolish notions of his prowess, I know, but Osmund Kettleblack is thrice the knight that Loras is.”

詹姆哈哈大笑：“肯定不是我认识的这位奥斯蒙·凯特布莱克。”

Jaime laughed. “Not the Osmund Kettleblack I know.”

瑟曦想掐死他。或许我该给洛拉斯爵士下令，让他当着国王的面被奥斯蒙爵士击落下马。这样应该可以扫清蒙住托曼眼睛的阴霾了。还能羞辱这自命英雄的小几，瞧他还傲不傲。“我会找个多恩人来训练你，”她说，“多恩人在比武场上的成绩有目共睹。”

She could have throttled him. Perhaps I need to command Ser Loras to allow Ser Osmund to unhorse him. That might chase the stars from Tommen’s eyes. Salt a slug and shame a hero, and they shrink right up. “I am sending for a Dornishman to train you,” she said. “The Dornish are the finest jousters in the realm.”

“才不是呢，”托曼壮着胆子说，“无论如何，我也不要什么笨蛋多恩人，我要洛拉斯爵士，这是国王的命令！”

“They are not,” said Tommen. “Anyway, I don’t want any stupid Dornishman, I want Ser Loras. I command it.”

詹姆捧腹大笑。他真是无可救药，这是件严肃的事情，有什么好笑？太后恼火地一掌拍向洗澡水。“你要我再把佩特找来吗？你无权命令我，我是你母亲。”

Jaime laughed. He is no help at all. Does he think this is amusing? The queen slapped the water angrily. “Must I send for Pate? You do not command me. I am your mother.”

“你是我母亲，可我是国王。玛格丽说任何人都必须服从国王。我明天要骑白马上校场，让洛拉斯爵士教我长枪。我还要养一只小猫咪，而且我不想吃甜菜。”他的小胳膊环抱在胸前。

“Yes, but I’m the king. Margaery says that everyone has to do what the king says. I want my white courser saddled on the morrow so Ser Loras can teach me how to joust. I want a kitten too, and I don’t want to eat beets.” He crossed his arms.

詹姆还在笑，太后决定忽略他。“托曼，过来，”见他警惕地不动身，瑟曦叹口气，“你怕什么？王者无畏。”于是男孩垂下眼睛，缓缓地踱到澡盆前。她伸出手，抚摩他的黄金鬈发。“无论你做没做国王，你毕竟只是个孩子。在你成年以前，王国由我统治。我答应你，你可以学习长枪比武，但不能让洛拉斯教你。御林铁卫的骑士有更要紧的任务，天天陪小孩子玩是很荒唐的。你去问问队长大人，是这样吗，爵士？”

Jaime was still laughing. The queen ignored him. “Tommen, come here.” When he hung back, she sighed. “Are you afraid? A king should not show fear.” The boy approached the tub, his eyes downcast. She reached out and stroked his golden curls. “King or no, you are a little boy. Until you come of age, the rule is mine. You will learn to joust, I promise you. But not from Loras. The knights of the Kingsguard have more important duties than playing with a child. Ask the Lord Commander. Isn’t that so, ser?”

“那可不，我们身肩重责，”詹姆淡淡一笑，“比方说呢，骑马遛城墙等等。”

“Very important duties.” Jaime smiled thinly. “Riding round the city walls, for an instance.”

托曼快哭出来了，“我能养只小猫咪吗？”

Tommen looked close to tears. “Can I still have a kitten?”

“或许吧，”太后松了口，“只要你不再说那些关于长枪比武的孩子话。行吗？”

“Perhaps,” the queen allowed. “So long as I hear no more nonsense about jousting. Can you promise me that?”

他变换着双脚重心，“好。”

He shuffled his feet. “Yes.”

“好孩子。去吧。我的客人马上就要来了。”

“Good. Now run along. My guests will be here shortly.”

托曼乖乖离开，但出门之前他突然回头道：“等正式坐上王座，我会废除甜菜的！”

Tommen ran along, but before he left he turned back to say, “When I’m king in my own right, I’m going to outlaw beets.”

弟弟用断肢关上门，“陛下，”两人独处后他叹道，“我奇怪的是，你究竟是今天喝多了，还是天生就那么傻？”

Her brother shoved the door shut with his stump. “Your Grace,” he said, when he and Cersei were alone, “I was wondering. Are you drunk, or merely stupid?”

瑟曦狠狠一掌朝洗澡水拍去，飞起漫天水花，溅到他脚边。“管好你的嘴巴，否则——”

She slapped the water once again, sending up another splash to wash across his feet. “Guard your tongue, or—”

“一否则什么？否则派我再沿城墙巡逻一圈？”他盘腿坐下。“你那该死的城墙好端端的，我一步一步地仔细检查，去了所有七座城门。好啊，我作报告好了：启禀陛下，钢铁门的绞链生锈了，国王门和烂泥门被史坦尼斯的攻城锤破坏，需要更换，至于城墙本身，仍然坚固牢靠……不过呢，陛下似乎忘了来自高庭的朋友们住在城墙里面哪？”

“—or what? Will you send me to inspect the city walls again?” He sat and crossed his legs. “Your bloody walls are fine. I’ve crawled over every inch of them and had a look at all seven of the gates. The hinges on the Iron Gate are rusted, and the King’s Gate and Mud Gate need to be replaced after the pounding Stannis gave them with his rams. The walls are as strong as they have ever been … but perchance Your Grace has forgotten that our friends of Highgarden are inside the walls?”

“我什么也没忘！”她朝他嚷道，一边想起了那枚金币——一面是手，一面是早已被遗忘的国王。下贱的狱卒怎么可能私藏财产？罗根如何得到高庭的古金币？

“I forget nothing,” she told him, thinking of a certain gold coin, with a hand on one face and the head of a forgotten king on the other. How did some miserable wretch of a gaoler come to have such a coin hidden beneath his chamber pot? How does a man like Rugen come to have old gold from Highgarden?

“关于教头的事，今天我还是头一遭听说。我建议你认真考虑洛拉斯·提利尔，毕竟，洛拉斯爵士——”

“This is the first I have heard of a new master-at-arms. You’ll need to look long and hard to find a better jouster than Loras Tyrell. Ser Loras is—”

“我明白他的德行，不会让他接近我儿子。你给我提醒他，叫他留意自己的职责。”洗澡水开始变凉了。

“I know what he is. I won’t have him near my son. You had best remind him of his duties.” Her bath was growing cool.

“他很清楚自己的职责。而君临城中没有谁的长枪——”

“He knows his duties, and there’s no better lance—”

“你就比他使得好——至少在你失去右手之前。巴利斯坦爵士年轻时也比他厉害，亚瑟·戴恩和雷加王子更不用说。少给我吹嘘玫瑰有多英勇。他黄口小儿一个。”她已经厌烦了詹姆天天跟她唱对台戏。没人敢跟父亲唱对台戏。当泰温·兰尼斯特开口时，大家只有服从的份；而我呢，当我开口时，所有人都自以为是地提出什么谏言，违背我的意思，甚至拒绝我！哼，不过因为我是女人。不过因为我没法用剑战胜他们。他们尊重劳勃远远多于尊重我，而劳勃只是个白痴酒鬼。她不能再忍受了，尤其不想再忍受詹姆的轻谩。我要尽快摆脱他。她曾梦想跟他并肩统治七大王国，现而今，詹姆变了，他成了个讨厌鬼。

“You were better, before you lost your hand. Ser Barristan, when he was young. Arthur Dayne was better, and Prince Rhaegar was a match for even him. Do not prate at me about how fierce the Flower is. He’s just a boy.” She was tired of Jaime balking her. No one had ever balked her lord father. When Tywin Lannister spoke, men obeyed. When Cersei spoke, they felt free to counsel her, to contradict her, even refuse her. It is all because I am a woman. Because I cannot fight them with a sword. They gave Robert more respect than they give me, and Robert was a witless sot. She would not suffer it, especially not from Jaime. I need to rid myself of him, and soon. Once upon a time she had dreamt that the two of them might rule the Seven Kingdoms side by side, but Jaime had become more of a hindrance than a help.

瑟曦从澡盆中爬出来，洗澡水“哗啦啦”地从她的头发和大腿上流淌而下。“需要你开口时，我自会问你。出去，爵士，我要更衣。”

Cersei rose from the bath. Water ran down her legs and trickled from her hair. “When I want your counsel I will ask for it. Leave me, ser. I must needs dress.”

“哦，更衣，招待客人。这回又准备对付谁呢？抱歉，你的敌人太多，我跟不上节奏。”他放低视线，望向她两腿之间不住滴水的毛发。

“Your supper guests, I know. What plot is this, now? There are so many I lose track.” His glance fell to the water beading in the golden hair between her legs.

他还想要我。“你自己放掉的东西现在又舍不得了，弟弟？”

He still wants me. “Pining for what you’ve lost, brother?”

詹姆抬起眼睛，“我爱你，亲爱的老姐。然而你是个傻瓜，金光灿灿、美艳无双的大傻瓜。”

Jaime raised his eyes. “I love you too, sweet sister. But you’re a fool. A beautiful golden fool.”

这句话刺得她难受。在绿石城的时候，你可不是这样称呼我的，在那个诞生小乔的晚上，瑟曦心中隐隐作痛。“滚。”她背转身，倾听他离开的声音，倾听他用断肢摸索着关门。

The words stung. You called me kinder words at Greenstone, the night you planted Joff inside me, Cersei thought. “Get out.” She turned her back to him and listened to him leave, fumbling at the door with his stump.

乔斯琳布置餐桌，多卡莎则为太后换装。这件裙服由亮绿色绸缎与豪奢的黑天鹅绒互相交织，胸前有繁复的黑色密尔蕾丝——它昂贵，却符合太后的威仪与美丽，再说，城堡里白痴的洗衣妇近来笨手笨脚，把她其他很多衣服都洗缩水了，穿不进去。她本该鞭打他们，只是坦妮娅为他们求情。“您的子民更喜欢一位仁慈的太后哦。”她这么说，所以瑟曦只下令将裙服的费用从仆人的工资中扣除，这样温和多了。

Whilst Jocelyn was making certain that all was in readiness for the supper, Dorcas helped the queen into her new gown. It had stripes of shiny green satin alternating with stripes of plush black velvet, and intricate black Myrish lace above the bodice. Myrish lace was costly, but it was necessary for a queen to look her best at all times, and her wretched washerwomen had shrunk several of her old gowns so they no longer fit. She would have whipped them for their carelessness, but Taena had urged her to be merciful. “The smallfolk will love you more if you are kind,” she had said, so Cersei had ordered the value of the gowns deducted from the women’s wages, a much more elegant solution.

多卡莎将一面银镜放到她手里。真美，她边瞧边露出微笑。脱下丧服感觉就是美妙。黑色让我看起来太苍白。今天的客人要是玛瑞魏斯夫人就好了，太后懊恼地想。疲劳的工作之后，坦妮娅的机智让她心情舒畅。自梅拉雅·赫斯班之后，瑟曦再没有朋友了，而梅拉雅不过是个不知天高地厚，贪婪的小阴谋家。哎，她早已经被淹死了，还是别说死者的坏话吧，而且，是她教会我除了詹姆之外谁也不能信任。

Dorcas put a silver looking glass into her hand. Very good, the queen thought, smiling at her reflection. It was pleasant to be out of mourning. Black made her look too pale. A pity I am not supping with Lady Merryweather, the queen reflected. It had been a long day, and Taena’s wit always cheered her. Cersei had not had a friend she so enjoyed since Melara Hetherspoon, and Melara had turned out to be a greedy little schemer with ideas above her station. I should not think ill of her. She’s dead and drowned, and she taught me never to trust anyone but Jaime.

等她来到书房，客人们已喝上了甜酒。法丽丝夫人平时并不像鱼，喝酒时却像极了，瑟曦看着半空的酒壶，心里想。“亲爱的法丽丝，”她欢快地招呼道，吻了对方的脸颊，“英勇的巴尔曼爵士。当我接获你们母亲的消息时，担心得快发狂了，快跟我说说，我们亲切高贵的坦妲伯爵夫人现下好些了么？”

By the time she joined them in the solar, her guests had made a good start on the hippocras. Lady Falyse not only looks like a fish, she drinks like one, she reflected, when she made note of the half-empty flagon. “Sweet Falyse,” she exclaimed, kissing the woman’s cheek, “and brave Ser Balman. I was so distraught when I heard about your dear, dear mother. How fares our Lady Tanda?”

法丽丝夫人快哭出来了，“陛下真好心。法兰肯学士说，我母亲的骨盆碎了，他尽了一切努力。现在只有祈祷，可……”

Lady Falyse looked as if she were about to cry. “Your Grace is good to ask. Mother’s hip was shattered by the fall, Maester Frenken says. He did what he could. Now we pray, but …”

祈祷？无论怎么祈祷，半月之内她还是会死。坦妲·史铎克渥斯那样的老女人不可能熬过骨盆破碎的重伤。“我也会加入祷告，”瑟曦承诺，“科本大人说，坦妲夫人是被马甩下来的？”

Pray all you like, she will still be dead before the moon turns. Women as old as Tanda Stokeworth did not survive a broken hip. “I shall add my prayers to your own,” said Cersei. “Lord Qyburn tells me that Tanda was thrown from her horse.”

“她骑着骑着，鞍带忽然断裂。”巴尔曼·拜奇爵士解释，“马房小弟居然没及时更换带子，我们为此惩罚了他。”

“Her saddle girth burst whilst she was riding,” said Ser Balman Byrch. “The stableboy should have seen the strap was worn. He has been chastised.”

“应该狠狠地惩罚他。”太后落座，并示意客人们也坐下。“再来一杯甜酒如何，法丽丝？记得你喜欢甜酒。”

“Severely, I hope.” The queen seated herself and indicated that her guests should sit as well. “Will you have another cup of hippocras, Falyse? You were always fond of it, I seem to recall.”

“很荣幸您还记得我的习惯，陛下。”

“It is so good of you to remember, Your Grace.”

我怎能忘呢，瑟曦心想，詹姆说应该加封你为宫廷酒桶，因为你尿的尿多半也是酒。“一路可顺利？”

How could I have forgotten? Cersei thought. Jaime said it was a wonder you did not piss the stuff. “How was your journey?”

“不顺利，”法丽丝抱怨，“基本上都在下雨。我们本打算在罗斯比过夜，结果盖尔斯大人年轻的养子拒绝开门，”她吸了吸鼻子，”陛下，您瞧好了，盖尔斯死后，这个可恶的家伙便会霸占罗斯比家的家产，甚至会要求继承封地和领主头衔——然而照权利，他们家的东西不是该传给我们吗？我母亲大人是他第二任老婆的姑妈，他第三任老婆是我舅妈。”

“Uncomfortable,” complained Falyse. “It rained most of the day. We thought to spend the night at Rosby, but that young ward of Lord Gyles refused us hospitality.” She sniffed. “Mark my word, when Gyles dies that ill-born wretch will make off with his gold. He may even try and claim the lands and lordship, though by rights Rosby should come to us when Gyles passes. My lady mother was aunt to his second wife, third cousin to Gyles himself.”

天哪，你们家的羔羊纹章是不是搞错了？应该换成贪婪的猴子才对吧。“从我认识盖尔斯大人开始，他就一副随时要断气的样子，但直到今天还获得好端端的，也许还会活上很多年，”她和蔼地微笑，“也许咳到我们大家进坟墓为止。”

Is your sigil a lamb, my lady, or some sort of grasping monkey? Cersei thought. “Lord Gyles has been threatening to die for as long as I have known him, but he is still with us, and will be for many years, I do hope.” She smiled pleasantly. “No doubt he will cough the whole lot of us into our graves.”

“或许吧，”巴尔曼爵士表示赞同，“但我们遇到的麻烦不只是罗斯比的养子。陛下，成群匪徒在路上游荡，肮脏的、粗鲁的蛮子，拿着皮盾和斧头。有人夹克上绣了七芒星，神圣的七芒星！可瞧瞧他们，怎样的一帮贱狗！”

“Like as not,” Ser Balman agreed. “Rosby’s ward was not the only one to vex us, Your Grace. We encountered ruffians on the road as well. Filthy, unkempt creatures, with leather shields and axes. Some had stars sewn on their jerkins, sacred stars of seven points, but they had an evil look about them all the same.”

“对，他们是寄生虫。”法丽丝应和。

“They were lice-ridden, I am certain,” added Falyse.

“他们自称为‘麻雀’。”瑟曦说，“然而麻雀也是一种灾害。一旦仪式办完，我就要咱们的新任总主教好好管管，如果他做不到，我便亲自动手。”

“They call themselves sparrows,” said Cersei. “A plague upon the land. Our new High Septon will need to deal with them, once he is crowned. If not, I shall deal with them myself.”

“新任总主教大人选出来了？”法丽丝问。

“Has His High Holiness been chosen yet?” asked Falyse.

“还没有，”太后不得不承认，“本来奥利多修士形势很好，结果某天一群麻雀跟踪他进了妓院，还把他赤条条地拖到街上。现在卢琛修士票数领先，据我们在山上的朋友说，他只差几票便能当选了。”

“No,” the queen had to confess. “Septon Ollidor was on the verge of being chosen, until some of these sparrows followed him to a brothel and dragged him naked out into the street. Luceon seems the likely choice now, though our friends on the other hill say that he is still a few votes short of the required number.”

“愿老妪用她智慧的金灯指引我们。”法丽丝虔诚地说。

“May the Crone guide the deliberations with her golden lamp of wisdom,” said Lady Falyse, most piously.

巴尔曼爵士则在座位上挪了挪身子，“陛下，我们还有一件事要说明，虽然有些尴尬……请您相信，我们对您绝对忠诚，给那个杂种命名……不是我太太，不是我岳母，也不是我们家任何人的主意。洛丽丝是个愧儡，玩笑是他丈夫开的。当我要他挑个更合适的名字时，他朝我哈哈大笑。”

Ser Balman shifted in his seat. “Your Grace, an awkward matter, but … lest bad feeling fester between us, you should know that neither my good wife nor her mother had any hand in the naming of this bastard child. Lollys is a simple creature, and her husband is given to black humors. I told him to choose a more fitting name for the boy. He laughed.”

太后一边小口吮酒一边审视对方。巴尔曼爵士年轻时曾在很多比武会上建立威名，也堪称七国上下最帅气的骑士之一——现在嘛，现在他的胡子还比较帅气，．除此以外，已然老态龙钟。波浪般的金发褪去，肚子挺起，连厚厚的外套都遮掩不住。他是个没多大价值的棋子，她决定，用完之后就可以抛弃了。“龙王们来到前，提利昂曾是国王的姓名。虽然侏儒玷污了它，但这个孩子或许能恢复它的荣誉呢。”如果这杂种活得成的话。“我知道一切并非你的过失。一直以来，我都把坦妲夫人当成我所没有的亲姐姐那样看待，把你……”她忽然失声，“请原谅，我天天生活在恐惧之中。”

The queen sipped her wine and studied him. Ser Balman had been a noted jouster once, and one of the handsomest knights in the Seven Kingdoms. He could still boast a handsome mustache; elsewise, he had not aged well. His wavy blond hair had retreated, whilst his belly advanced inexorably against his doublet. As a catspaw he leaves much to be desired, she reflected. Still, he should serve. “Tyrion was a king’s name before the dragons came. The Imp has despoiled it, but perhaps this child can restore the name to honor.” If the bastard lives so long. “I know you are not to blame. Lady Tanda is the sister that I never had, and you …” Her voice broke. “Forgive me. I live in fear.”

法丽丝的嘴巴张开又合上，真像一条蠢笨之极的鱼。“天天……生活在恐惧之中，陛下？”

Falyse opened and closed her mouth, which made her look like some especially stupid fish. “In … in fear, Your Grace?”

“乔佛里死后，我连一晚安心觉都没睡过，”瑟曦给自己杯子里倒满甜酒，“朋友们……你们是我的朋友，对吧？也是托曼国王的朋友？”

“I have not slept a whole night through since Joffrey died.” Cersei filled the goblets with hippocras. “My friends … you are my friends, I hope? And King Tommen’s?”

“您那个可爱的孩子，”巴尔曼爵士宣布，“是的，我们是他的忠臣，您别忘了，史铎克渥斯家的族语——‘忠诚是我的骄傲’。”

“That sweet lad,” Ser Balman declared. “Your Grace, the very words of House Stokeworth are Proud to Be Faithful.”

“如果我身边再多些像你这样的大忠臣为我分忧就好了，好爵士，我不妨直言相告，对黑水河的波隆爵士，我放心不下。”

“Would that there were more like you, good ser. I tell you truly, I have grave doubts about Ser Bronn of the Blackwater.”

史铎克渥斯堡的夫妻俩交换了一个眼神。“这人傲慢粗鲁，陛下，”法丽丝抢先揭发，“口无遮拦。”

Husband and wife exchanged a look. “The man is insolent, Your Grace,” Falyse said. “Uncouth and foul-mouthed.”

“他不是真正的骑士。”巴尔曼爵士说。

“He is no true knight,” Ser Balman said.

“他当然不是，”瑟曦朝两人微笑，“你才是真正的骑士。记得从前在……在哪次比武会上你战斗得如此英勇，如此完美……那是哪次呢，好爵士，给我留下了深刻印象？”

“No.” Cersei smiled, all for him. “And you are a man who would know true knighthood. I remember watching you joust in … which tourney was it where you fought so brilliantly, ser?”

他谦虚地笑了，“陛下您指的是六年前的暮谷城比武会？不，当时您不在那儿，否则您一定会戴上爱与美的后冠。是平定葛雷乔伊叛乱后在兰尼斯港举办的比武会？那次盛会上我将许多优秀的骑士打下马来，比如……”

He smiled modestly. “That affair at Duskendale six years ago? No, you were not there, else you would surely have been crowned the queen of love and beauty. Was it the tourney at Lannisport after Greyjoy’s Rebellion? I unhorsed many a good knight in that one …”

“正是那天，”有完没完呢？她拉长了脸，“我父亲去世当晚，侏儒也自黑牢里不翼而飞，两位诚实的狱卒莫名其妙地倒在血泊中。有人说他逃往狭海对岸，但我不信。侏儒很狡猾，他也许正潜藏在附近，酝酿着什么阴谋。也许他的同党将他藏了起来。”

“That was the one.” Her face grew somber. “The Imp vanished the night my father died, leaving two honest gaolers behind in pools of blood. Some claim he fled across the narrow sea, but I wonder. The dwarf is cunning. Perhaps he still lurks near, planning more murders. Perhaps some friend is hiding him.”

“波隆？”巴尔曼爵士摸向自己浓密的胡须。

“Bronn?” Ser Balman stroked his bushy mustache.

“他是侏儒带来的人。陌客才知道他受提利昂的指使送了多少人下地狱。”

“He was ever the Imp’s creature. Only the Stranger knows how many men he’s sent to hell at Tyrion’s behest.”

“陛下，如果侏儒藏在我家领地，我应该能注意到。”巴尔曼爵士提醒她。

“Your Grace, I think I should have noticed a dwarf skulking about our lands,” said Ser Balman.

“我弟弟个头小，向来鬼鬼崇祟，”瑟曦容许自己的手微微发抖，“给小孩子起名字不算什么……怕只怕不掐灭叛乱的苗头，会引发严重后果。科本大人告诉我……这个波隆正为侏儒招募佣兵。”

“My brother is small. He was made for skulking.” Cersei let her hand shake. “A child’s name is a small thing … but insolence unpunished breeds rebellion. And this man Bronn has been gathering sellswords to him, Qyburn has told me.”

“他养了四个骑士。”法丽丝道。

“He has taken four knights into his household,” said Falyse.

巴尔曼爵士嗤之以鼻，“我的好夫人言重了，他们算什么骑士？跟他一路货色，一朝得道的佣兵而已，跳梁小丑，浑身上下没有一丁点儿骑士精神。”

Ser Balman snorted. “My good wife flatters them, to call them knights. They’re upjumped sellswords, with not a thimble of chivalry to be found amongst the four of them.”

“唉，正如我忧心的那样，波隆为侏儒招兵买马。但愿七神保佑我儿子平安，我敢打赌，侏儒杀他就跟杀他哥哥一样连眼睛都不会眨。”瑟曦呜咽起来，“朋友们，我已经顾不得自己的荣誉……但太后的荣誉和母亲的恐惧相比，又有什么值得可惜的呢，你们说对不对？”

“As I feared. Bronn is gathering swords for the dwarf. May the Seven save my little son. The Imp will kill him as he killed his brother.” She sobbed. “My friends, I put my honor in your hands … but what is a queen’s honor against a mother’s fears?”

“您把话说清楚，陛下，”巴尔曼爵士安慰她，“让我们为您分忧。请您放心，这里的谈话一定不会传出去。”

“Say on, Your Grace,” Ser Balman assured her. “Your words shall ne’er leave this room.”

瑟曦把手伸到桌子对面，轻轻挤了挤骑士的手。“我……如果波隆爵士有个……有个事故发生……我想我能睡得安稳些……如果他打猎的时候……”

Cersei reached across the table and gave his hand a squeeze. “I … I would sleep more easily of a night if I were to hear that Ser Bronn had suffered a … a mishap … whilst hunting, perhaps.”

巴尔曼爵士考虑了一会儿，“严重事故？”

Ser Balman considered a moment. “A mortal mishap?”

妈的，要踩他的脚指头我用得着你吗？太后咬紧嘴唇，我的敌人无处不在，而我的朋友净是些白痴。“我恳求你，爵士先生，”她低声说，“不要逼我说出口……”

No, I desire you to break his little toe. She had to bite her lip. My enemies are everywhere and my friends are fools. “I beg you, ser,” she whispered, “do not make me say it …”

“我懂了。”巴尔曼爵士举起一根指头，压住嘴唇。

“I understand.” Ser Balman raised a finger.

芜菁都比你反应快。“你是位真正的骑士，爵士先生，你是天上诸神派来的使者，以回应一位恐惧中的母亲的祷告。”瑟曦吻了他，“动作要快。波隆现在亲信还不多，但假以时日，他的势力便会膨胀起来。”她接着吻了法丽丝，“我不会忘记你们的，我的朋友，我真正的、史铎克渥斯家的朋友。‘忠诚是我的骄傲’，说得多好啊，我郑重承诺，事成之后，会给洛丽丝找个更好的丈夫。”凯特布莱克？“请记住，兰尼斯特有债必还。”

A turnip would have grasped it quicker. “You are a true knight indeed, ser. The answer to a frightened mother’s prayers.” Cersei kissed him. “Do it quickly, if you would. Bronn has only a few men about him now, but if we do not act, he will surely gather more.” She kissed Falyse. “I shall never forget this, my friends. My true friends of Stokeworth. Proud to Be Faithful. You have my word, we shall find Lollys a better husband when this is done.” A Kettleblack, perhaps. “We Lannisters pay our debts.”

晚宴剩下的就是甜酒、黄油甜菜、新烤的面包、药草烤梭子鱼与野猪肋骨一劳勃死后，瑟曦对野猪格外欣赏。心情愉快的她甚至原谅了法丽丝喋喋不休的奉承和巴尔曼的夸夸其谈。直到午夜，她才终于摆脱他们。巴尔曼爵士唯一干得漂亮的就是建议再来一壶酒，而太后欣然应允。我花在香料甜酒上一半的钱便足以雇无面者去杀波隆了，她迷迷糊糊地想。

The rest was hippocras and buttered beets, hot-baked bread, herb-crusted pike, and ribs of wild boar. Cersei had become very fond of boar since Robert’s death. She did not even mind the company, though Falyse simpered and Balman preened from soup to sweet. It was past midnight before she could rid herself of them. Ser Balman proved a great one for suggesting yet another flagon, and the queen did not think it prudent to refuse. I could have hired a Faceless Man to kill Bronn for half of what I’ve spent on hippocras, she reflected when they were gone at last.

夜深了，儿子应当睡得香甜，瑟曦决定先去探望他再回房休息，结果吃惊地发现儿子正搂着三只黑猫睡觉。“它们打哪儿来的？”她质问在国王寝室门外守卫的马林·特兰爵士。

At that hour, her son was fast asleep, but Cersei looked in upon him before seeking her own bed. She was surprised to find three black kittens cuddled up beside him. “Where did those come from?” she asked Ser Meryn Trant, outside the royal bedchamber.

“小王后给他的。其实她只想给他一只，但他无法决定自己最喜欢哪只，便把三只都要走了。”

“The little queen gave them to him. She only meant to give him one, but he couldn’t decide which one he liked the best.”

他至少这点比小乔出息，没捅什么解剖母猫的娄子，然而玛格丽幼稚的阴谋让她忍俊不禁，托曼太小，无法用亲吻勾引，便搜罗几只猫来讨好他？得了吧。不是黑猫就好了，在这座城堡里，黑猫代表着坏运气，雷加的小女儿便深受其祸。若非疯王用那疯狂的嘲弄得罪了我父亲，那本该是我的女儿。拒绝泰温公爵的女儿夺走泰温公爵的儿子，是伊里斯一生中最大的失误，最终，他为王太子迎娶了一位体弱多病、黑眼睛、平胸脯的多恩公主。

Better than cutting them out of their mother with a dagger, I suppose. Margaery’s clumsy attempts at seduction were so obvious as to be laughable. Tommen is too young for kisses, so she gives him kittens. Cersei rather wished they were not black, though. Black cats brought ill luck, as Rhaegar’s little girl had discovered in this very castle. She would have been my daughter, if the Mad King had not played his cruel jape on Father. It had to have been the madness that led Aerys to refuse Lord Tywin’s daughter and take his son instead, whilst marrying his own son to a feeble Dornish princess with black eyes and a flat chest.

过了这么多年，被拒绝的回忆依然是她的伤口。许多个夜晚，她梦见雷加王子坐在大厅里，用修长精致的手指演奏他的银弦古竖琴。世上还有他那么俊美的人儿吗？他不是凡人。他有古瓦雷利亚的血统，巨龙与诸神的血统。小时候，父亲许诺一定会让她嫁给雷加王子，当时她才六岁？七岁？“千万别说出口哦，孩子，”父亲谆谆叮嘱，脸上挂着瑟曦只见过那么一次的秘密微笑，“等陛下同意婚约后再庆祝。从现在开始，这是我俩之间的小秘密。”她把这话藏在心底，直到某天忍不住画了一幅画，画中的她骑在飞龙上，坐在雷加王子身后，双手紧紧环住他的胸膛。当詹姆追问时，她骗他说这是亚莉珊王后与杰赫里斯国王。

The memory of the rejection still rankled, even after all these years. Many a night she had watched Prince Rhaegar in the hall, playing his silver-stringed harp with those long, elegant fingers of his. Had any man ever been so beautiful? He was more than a man, though. His blood was the blood of old Valyria, the blood of dragons and gods. When she was just a little girl, her father had promised her that she would marry Rhaegar. She could not have been more than six or seven. “Never speak of it, child,” he had told her, smiling his secret smile that only Cersei ever saw. “Not until His Grace agrees to the betrothal. It must remain our secret for now.” And so it had, though once she had drawn a picture of herself flying behind Rhaegar on a dragon, her arms wrapped tight about his chest. When Jaime had discovered it she told him it was Queen Alysanne and King Jaehaerys.

直到十岁那年，她才亲眼见到她的王子，那是在父亲大人为欢迎伊里斯王西巡而特意举办的比武大会上。看台在兰尼斯港的城墙下搭起，平民们的欢呼一直传到凯岩城，声如雷霆。他们给我父亲的欢呼比给国王的响亮两倍，太后忆起，但给雷加王子的却又是我父亲大人的两倍。

She was ten when she finally saw her prince in the flesh, at the tourney her lord father had thrown to welcome King Aerys to the west. Viewing stands had been raised beneath the walls of Lannisport, and the cheers of the smallfolk had echoed off Casterly Rock like rolling thunder. They cheered Father twice as loudly as they cheered the king, the queen recalled, but only half as loudly as they cheered Prince Rhaegar.

雷加·坦格利安年方十七，新晋当上骑士，参加长枪比武时，他在黄金锁甲外罩黑板甲，头盔上红、金与橙色的绸缎，犹如熊熊火焰。她的两位叔叔倒在他枪下，外加她父亲手下十几位最强的武士，全西境的精华，统统不敌。到了晚上，王子放下武器，拿起竖琴，他的歌谣让她热泪盈眶。当终于被引见给他时，瑟曦立刻为那双忧郁的紫眼淹没了。他受过伤，她心想，但结婚之后，我会好好待他，为他弥补心中的痛。在雷加身边，连她美丽的詹姆看起来也像个放牛娃。王子是我的丈夫啦，她幸福得头晕目眩，老国王去世后，我还会当上王后。比武会结束前，姑妈特意跑来祝贺她。“你要打扮得漂漂亮亮哟，”吉娜夫人一边为她整理裙服，一边嘱咐，“你和雷加王子的婚约将在最后的宴会上宣布。”

Seventeen and new to knighthood, Rhaegar Targaryen had worn black plate over golden ringmail when he cantered onto the lists. Long streamers of red and gold and orange silk had floated behind his helm, like flames. Two of her uncles fell before his lance, along with a dozen of her father’s finest jousters, the flower of the west. By night the prince played his silver harp and made her weep. When she had been presented to him, Cersei had almost drowned in the depths of his sad purple eyes. He has been wounded, she recalled thinking, but I will mend his hurt when we are wed. Next to Rhaegar, even her beautiful Jaime had seemed no more than a callow boy. The prince is going to be my husband, she had thought, giddy with excitement, and when the old king dies I’ll be the queen. Her aunt had confided that truth to her before the tourney. “You must be especially beautiful,” Lady Genna told her, fussing with her dress, “for at the final feast it shall be announced that you and Prince Rhaegar are betrothed.”

那是瑟曦一生中最快乐的一天，否则她也不会壮着胆子造访“蛤蟆”巫姬的帐篷。她这么做，其实只为了证明给简妮与梅拉雅看，母狮子什么都不怕。我是未来的王后，怕什么丑老太婆呢？然而那个预言却伴随了她一生。简妮在恐惧中尖叫着逃走，梅拉雅和我留了下来。我们让她尝到鲜血，然后嘲笑她愚蠢的话。那些无稽之谈。不管那老太婆怎么说，我明天就会成为雷加王子的妻子。父亲答应过我。泰温·兰尼斯特言出如金，决无反悔。

Cersei had been so happy that day. Elsewise she would never have dared visit the tent of Maggy the Frog. She had only done it to show Jeyne and Melara that the lioness fears nothing. I was going to be a queen. Why should a queen be afraid of some hideous old woman? The memory of that foretelling still made her flesh crawl a lifetime later. Jeyne ran shrieking from the tent in fear, the queen remembered, but Melara stayed and so did I. We let her taste our blood, and laughed at her stupid prophecies. None of them made the least bit of sense. She was going to be Prince Rhaegar’s wife, no matter what the woman said. Her father had promised it, and Tywin Lannister’s word was gold.

然而等到比武大会结束的那一刻，她的笑容消失了。没有宴会，没有庆祝。只有冷冰冰的沉默，只有国王和首相之间恶狠狠的瞪视。后来，当伊里斯和他的儿子以及所有英勇的骑士都离开之后，小女孩泪眼汪汪地跑去找姑妈。“你父亲确实提出了婚约，”吉娜夫人告诉她，“但伊里斯断然拒绝。‘你是我最得力的仆人，泰温，’国王说，‘然而仆人和主子的继承人之间没道理结合。’擦干眼泪，亲爱的，你见过哭泣的狮子吗？你父亲会给你找个好男人，一个比雷加好得多的男人。”

Her laughter died at tourney’s end. There had been no final feast, no toasts to celebrate her betrothal to Prince Rhaegar. Only cold silences and chilly looks between the king and her father. Later, when Aerys and his son and all his gallant knights had departed for King’s Landing, the girl had gone to her aunt in tears, not understanding. “Your father proposed the match,” Lady Genna told her, “but Aerys refused to hear of it. ‘You are my most able servant, Tywin,’ the king said, ‘but a man does not marry his heir to his servant’s daughter.’ Dry those tears, little one. Have you ever seen a lion weep? Your father will find another man for you, a better man than Rhaegar.”

姑妈撒了谎，正如父亲让她失望，正如今天的詹姆也让她失望。父亲没找到好男人，他把劳勃塞给我，是他让巫姬的诅咒犹如毒花生根发芽。若遂诸神所愿，她嫁的是雷加王子，他决不会看那个小狼女第二眼的。雷加会成为国王，我会成为王后，我们的子孙将世代繁衍下去。

Her aunt had lied, though, and her father had failed her, just as Jaime was failing her now. Father found no better man. Instead he gave me Robert, and Maggy’s curse bloomed like some poisonous flower. If she had only married Rhaegar as the gods intended, he would never have looked twice at the wolf girl. Rhaegar would be our king today and I would be his queen, the mother of his sons.

她永远也不能宽恕劳勃杀了他。

She had never forgiven Robert for killing him.

狮子是不宽恕敌人的，黑水河的波隆爵士很快就会明白了。

But then, lions were not good at forgiving. As Ser Bronn of the Blackwater would shortly learn.