接近午夜时分，乔拉爵士推开壮汉贝沃斯闯入，吓了她一跳。“无垢者抓到一名试图潜入营地的佣兵。”

Near midnight, she got a scare when Ser Jorah bulled his way past Strong Belwas. “The Unsullied caught one of the sellswords trying to sneak into the camp.”

“间谍？”这让她惊怕。抓到一个，还有多少溜走了呢？

“A spy?” That frightened her. If they’d caught one, how many others might have gotten away?

“他宣称带礼物来献给您。是中午接见过的那蓝发黄衣小丑。”

“He claims to come bearing gifts. It’s the yellow fool with the blue hair.”

达里奥·纳哈里斯。“原来他……带进来，我要听听他怎么说。”

Daario Naharis. “That one. I’ll hear him, then.”

被放逐的骑士将他带进来时，她不禁自问为何此两人竟如此迥异：泰洛西人肤色白皙，乔拉爵士却黑黝黝的；泰洛西人身体柔软，骑士则结实强壮；泰洛西人有顺滑的卷发，另一个却是光头；泰洛西人皮肤光洁，莫尔蒙却体毛丛生。她的熊骑士衣着朴素，而这家伙打扮得连孔雀都相形见绌——尽管此次造访时，已在明黄色华服外罩了一件厚厚的黑斗篷。他肩头挎着一个沉重的帆布包裹。

When the exile knight delivered him, she asked herself whether two men had ever been so different. The Tyroshi was fair where Ser Jorah was swarthy; lithe where the knight was brawny; graced with flowing locks where the other was balding, yet smooth-skinned where Mormont was hairy. And her knight dressed plainly while this other made a peacock look drab, though he had thrown a heavy black cloak over his bright yellow finery for this visit. He carried a heavy canvas sack slung over one shoulder.

“卡丽熙，”泰洛西人大喊，“我带来了礼物和好消息。暴鸦团是您的了！”他微笑时，一粒金牙在口中闪耀，“达里奥·纳哈里斯也是您的了！”

“Khaleesi,” he cried, “I bring gifts and glad tidings. The Stormcrows are yours.” A golden tooth gleamed in his mouth when he smiled. “And so is Daario Naharis!”

丹妮半信半疑。若泰洛西人是间谍，这番声明就是为保住脑袋，而想出的孤注一掷的对策。“普兰达·纳·纪森和萨洛怎么说？”

Dany was dubious. If this Tyroshi had come to spy, this declaration might be no more than a desperate plot to save his head. “What do Prendahl na Ghezn and Sallor say of this?”

“不用管他们。”达里奥倒转包裹，光头萨洛和普兰达·纳·纪森的脑袋掉出来，滚到地毯上。“献给真龙女王的礼物。”

“Little.” Daario upended the sack, and the heads of Sallor the Bald and Prendahl na Ghezn spilled out upon her carpets. “My gifts to the dragon queen.”

韦赛利昂嗅嗅从普兰达脖子上渗出来的血，然后吐出一团火焰，正喷在死人脸上，毫无血色的脸颊焦黑起泡，烤肉的味道让卓耿和雷哥蠢蠢欲动。

Viserion sniffed the blood leaking from Prendahl’s neck, and let loose a gout of flame that took the dead man full in the face, blackening and blistering his bloodless cheeks. Drogon and Rhaegal stirred at the smell of roasted meat.

“你干的？”丹妮不自在地问。

“You did this?” Dany asked queasily.

“当然啦。”即使她的龙让达里奥·纳哈里斯不安，他也隐藏得很好，似乎只把他们当成三只逗弄老鼠的小猫。

“None other.” If her dragons discomfited Daario Naharis, he hid it well. For all the mind he paid them, they might have been three kittens playing with a mouse.

“为什么？”

“Why?”

“因为您太美啦。”他那双有力的大手、冷酷的蓝眼睛和大鹰钩鼻让她隐隐约约联想起某种凶狠威武的猛禽。“事实上，普兰达说了很多，有用的却没一句。”细细看来，他服饰虽豪华，却历经磨损，靴子上有片片盐渍，指甲涂的釉彩斑驳掉落，蕾丝被汗水污染，而且她看出他斗篷下摆有磨痕。“萨洛只会抠鼻子，好像他的鼻涕是黄金。”他站在那里，双腕交叉，手掌搭在剑柄上：左边一把弯曲的多斯拉克亚拉克弯刀，右边一柄密尔细剑，它们的柄是一对相配的黄金女人像，赤身裸体，神态放荡。

“Because you are so beautiful.” His hands were large and strong, and there was something in his hard blue eyes and great curving nose that suggested the fierceness of some splendid bird of prey. “Prendahl talked too much and said too little.” His garb, rich as it was, had seen hard wear; salt stains patterned his boots, the enamel of his nails was chipped, his lace was soiled by sweat, and she could see where the end of his cloak was fraying. “And Sallor picked his nose as if his snot was gold.” He stood with his hands crossed at the wrists, his palms resting on the pommels of his blades; a curving Dothraki arakh on his left hip, a Myrish stiletto on his right. Their hilts were a matched pair of golden women, naked and wanton.

“好漂亮的一对剑，这是你的拿手武器？”丹妮问他。

“Are you skilled in the use of those handsome blades?” Dany asked him.

“倘若死人可以说话，普兰达和萨洛会亲口告诉您我的能量。没有爱过一个女人，没有杀死一名对手，没有吃上一顿精美的大餐，我便不算是活过一天……而我活过的天数若群星一样数不胜数。杀戮在我手中变成华丽的艺术，世上许许多多的杂耍艺人和火舞者向诸神哭泣，但求有我一半的敏捷和四分之一的优雅。我乐意向您背诵死于我刀下之人的名单，但不等我说完，您的龙就会长得如城堡般巨大，渊凯的墙垒则会崩裂成黄色尘土，冬季来了又去，去而复返。”

“Prendahl and Sallor would tell you so, if dead men could talk. I count no day as lived unless I have loved a woman, slain a foeman, and eaten a fine meal … and the days that I have lived are as numberless as the stars in the sky. I make of slaughter a thing of beauty, and many a tumbler and fire dancer has wept to the gods that they might be half so quick, a quarter so graceful. I would tell you the names of all the men I have slain, but before I could finish your dragons would grow large as castles, the walls of Yunkai would crumble into yellow dust, and winter would come and go and come again.”

丹妮哈哈大笑，她喜欢这个达里奥·纳哈里斯的夸夸其谈。“那么，请拔出你的剑，宣誓为我效劳。”

Dany laughed. She liked the swagger she saw in this Daario Naharis. “Draw your sword and swear it to my service.”

眨眼工夫，达里奥的亚拉克弯刀已然出鞘，其降顺礼节同样夸张，他猛扑而下，脸贴她的脚趾。“我的宝剑是您的。我的生命是您的。我的爱情是您的。我的血液、我的身躯和我的歌谣，统统都是您的。无论生死，我都愿遵从您的命令，美丽的女王。”

In a blink, Daario’s arakh was free of its sheath. His submission was as outrageous as the rest of him, a great swoop that brought his face down to her toes. “My sword is yours. My life is yours. My love is yours. My blood, my body, my songs, you own them all. I live and die at your command, fair queen.”

“好好活下去，”丹妮说，“今晚为我而战。”

“Then live,” Dany said, “and fight for me tonight.”

“这不明智，女王陛下。”乔拉爵士冰冷严苛地瞪着达里奥，“战斗胜利之前，该把这家伙紧紧看守住。”

“That would not be wise, my queen.” Ser Jorah gave Daario a cold, hard stare. “Keep this one here under guard until the battle’s fought and won.”

她考虑了一会儿，摇摇头。“若他可以带给我们暴鸦团，定能让敌军大吃一惊。”

She considered a moment, then shook her head. “If he can give us the Stormcrows, surprise is certain.”

“若他背叛您，吃惊的就是我们！”

“And if he betrays you, surprise is lost.”

丹妮再次低头看那佣兵。他给她一个微笑——是那种让她涨红了脸，扭过头去的微笑。“他不会的。”

Dany looked down at the sellsword again. He gave her such a smile that she flushed and turned away. “He won’t.”

“你怎知道？”

“How can you know that?”

她指指那团焦黑的血肉，她的龙正一口接一口地吞食。“我认为这是证据，足以证明他的诚意。达里奥·纳哈里斯，让你的风暴乌鸦们作好准备，我军发动进攻之后，立刻掩袭渊凯人后方。你能安全返回吗？”

She pointed to the lumps of blackened flesh the dragons were consuming, bite by bloody bite. “I would call that proof of his sincerity. Daario Naharis, have your Stormcrows ready to strike the Yunkish rear when my attack begins. Can you get back safely?”

“若被逮住，我就说是去探察情报的，并且没发现什么。”泰洛西人站起身来，鞠了一躬，然后迅速离开。

“If they stop me, I will say I have been scouting, and saw nothing.” The Tyroshi rose to his feet, bowed, and swept out.

乔拉·莫尔蒙爵士没走。“陛下，”他直截了当地说，“这是个错误。我们对此人一无所知——”

Ser Jorah Mormont lingered. “Your Grace,” he said, too bluntly, “that was a mistake. We know nothing of this man—”

“我们知道他是个厉害的战士。”

“We know that he is a great fighter.”

“厉害的空谈家。”

“A great talker, you mean.”

“他给我们带来了暴鸦团。”噢，他的蓝眼睛……

“He brings us the Stormcrows.” And he has blue eyes.

“五百名忠诚堪虞的佣兵。”

“Five hundred sellswords of uncertain loyalty.”

“如今是非常时期，不能苛求绝对忠诚，”丹妮提醒他。况且我还要经历两次背叛，一次为财，一次为爱。

“All loyalties are uncertain in such times as these,” Dany reminded him. And I shall be betrayed twice more, once for gold and once for love.

“丹妮莉丝，我年纪是你的三倍，”乔拉爵士续道，“见识过虚伪的人心，值得信赖的人少之又少，反正达里奥·纳哈里斯绝不会是其中之一。你瞧，他连胡子都染了假色。”

“Daenerys, I am thrice your age,” Ser Jorah said. “I have seen how false men are. Very few are worthy of trust, and Daario Naharis is not one of them. Even his beard wears false colors.”

这话惹恼了她。“而你的胡子是真的，想说这个吗？只有你才是我唯一应该信赖的人？”

That angered her. “Whilst you have an honest beard, is that what you are telling me? You are the only man I should ever trust?”

他僵硬起来。“我没这么说。”

He stiffened. “I did not say that.”

“你每天都在说。俳雅·菩厉是个骗子，札罗是个阴谋家，贝沃斯自吹自擂，阿斯坦包藏祸心……你当我还是黄花闺女，听不出你话里有话？”

“You say it every day. Pyat Pree’s a liar, Xaro’s a schemer, Belwas a braggart, Arstan an assassin … do you think I’m still some virgin girl, that I cannot hear the words behind the words?”

“陛下——”

“Your Grace—”

她从他面前闯过去。“你是我最好的朋友，比韦赛里斯更好的兄长。你是我的首席女王铁卫，我军队的总司令，我最有价值的顾问，我的左右手。我尊敬你，珍惜你——但对你没有向往，乔拉·莫尔蒙，我厌倦了你试图将世上所有男人从我身边赶开的举动，好让我必须并且只能依靠你一人。这没用，不会让我更爱你，”

She bulled over him. “You have been a better friend to me than any I have known, a better brother than Viserys ever was. You are the first of my Queensguard, the commander of my army, my most valued counselor, my good right hand. I honor and respect and cherish you—but I do not desire you, Jorah Mormont, and I am weary of your trying to push every other man in the world away from me, so I must needs rely on you and you alone. It will not serve, and it will not make me love you any better.”

她刚开口时，莫尔蒙涨红了脸，但等丹妮说完，他的面色再度转为苍白。被放逐的骑士像石头般一动不动地站着。“我无条件服从女王陛下的命令。”他简短而冷淡地说。

Mormont had flushed red when she first began, but by the time Dany was done his face was pale again. He stood still as stone. “If my queen commands,” he said, curt and cold.

他俩之间的这种状况让丹妮很不自在。“是的，”她说，“女王陛下‘命令’你立刻前去指挥无垢者，爵士先生，你有场仗需要赢。”

Dany was warm enough for both of them. “She does,” she said. “She commands. Now go see to your Unsullied, ser. You have a battle to fight and win.”

等他走后，丹妮坐倒在枕垫上，靠着她的龙。她不想如此激烈地对待乔拉爵士，但他无止境的猜疑最终唤醒了睡龙之怒。

When he was gone, Dany threw herself down on her pillows beside her dragons. She had not meant to be so sharp with Ser Jorah, but his endless suspicion had finally woken her dragon.

他会原谅我的，她告诉自己，我是他的君主。丹妮发现自己在反思他关于达里奥的看法，突然间感到非常孤独。弥丽·马兹·笃尔保证，她不会再次怀上孩子。坦格利安家族将在我这里终结。这让她感到悲哀。“你们是我的孩子，”她告诉三条龙，“我的三个勇猛的好小子。阿斯坦说龙活得比人长久，因此我死后，你们还将继续活下去。”

He will forgive me, she told herself. I am his liege. Dany found herself wondering whether he was right about Daario. She felt very lonely all of a sudden. Mirri Maz Duur had promised that she would never bear a living child. House Targaryen will end with me. That made her sad. “You must be my children,” she told the dragons, “my three fierce children. Arstan says dragons live longer than men, so you will go on after I am dead.”

卓耿将脖子绕回来，咬嗫她的手。他的牙齿非常锋利，但嬉戏时，从没弄破她的皮肤。丹妮笑着把他推得滚来滚去，直到他咆哮起来，尾巴像鞭子一样甩动。尾巴比以前长了，她注意到，明天还将变得更长。他们现在长得很快，长成后，我就等于有了翅膀。她可以骑在龙上，统领军队进入战场，就像在阿斯塔波时那样威风，但迄今为止他们还太小，无法承载人的体重。

Drogon looped his neck around to nip at her hand. His teeth were very sharp, but he never broke her skin when they played like this. Dany laughed, and rolled him back and forth until he roared, his tail lashing like a whip. It is longer than it was, she saw, and tomorrow it will be longer still. They grow quickly now, and when they are grown I shall have my wings. Mounted on a dragon, she could lead her own men into battle, as she had in Astapor, but as yet they were still too small to bear her weight.

午夜过后，沉寂笼罩着营地。丹妮跟女仆们一起留在大帐，而白胡子阿斯坦和壮汉贝沃斯担任警戒。等待最难熬。属于她的战斗正在进行，她却不能参与其中，反而坐在帐篷里无所事事，这让丹妮再次感觉自己是个半大孩子。

A stillness settled over her camp when midnight came and went. Dany remained in her pavilion with her maids, while Arstan Whitebeard and Strong Belwas kept the guard. The waiting is the hardest part. To sit in her tent with idle hands while her battle was being fought without her made Dany feel half a child again.

时间像乌龟一样缓缓爬行，即使姬琪为她揉肩，舒展绷紧僵硬的筋骨，她仍无法安寝。弥桑黛提出给她唱一首“和平之民”的催眠曲，但丹妮摇摇头。“把阿斯坦找来，”她说。

The hours crept by on turtle feet. Even after Jhiqui rubbed the knots from her shoulders, Dany was too restless for sleep. Missandei offered to sing her a lullaby of the Peaceful People, but Dany shook her head. “Bring me Arstan,” she said.

老人到来时，她在自己的赫拉卡毛皮中蜷成一团，毛皮陈腐的气味令她想起卓戈。“当人们为我而战、为我而死时我睡不着，白胡子，”她说，“可以的话，再告诉我一些关于我哥雷加的事。我很喜欢你在船上讲他如何下决心成为战士的故事。”

When the old man came, she was curled up inside her hrakkar pelt, whose musty smell still reminded her of Drogo. “I cannot sleep when men are dying for me, Whitebeard,” she said. “Tell me more of my brother Rhaegar, if you would. I liked the tale you told me on the ship, of how he decided that he must be a warrior.”

“陛下您太客气了。”

“Your Grace is kind to say so.”

“韦赛里斯说我们的哥哥曾赢得许多比武的胜利。”

“Viserys said that our brother won many tourneys.”

阿斯坦恭谦地低下白发苍苍的脑袋，“我没资格质疑陛下的话……”

Arstan bowed his white head respectfully. “It is not meet for me to deny His Grace’s words …”

“难道不是吗？”丹妮尖刻地反问，“告诉我真相。这是命令。”

“But?” said Dany sharply. “Tell me. I command it.”

“雷加王子的英勇无可置疑，却很少参加比武竞技。他不若劳勃或詹姆·兰尼斯特这般喜欢金铁之声，只在必要时才动刀剑，并把那当成世界所赋予的任务。他武艺出众，因为做每样事都出众，那是他的天性，但未能从打斗中获得喜乐。人们说他钟爱竖琴远甚于长枪。”

“Prince Rhaegar’s prowess was unquestioned, but he seldom entered the lists. He never loved the song of swords the way that Robert did, or Jaime Lannister. It was something he had to do, a task the world had set him. He did it well, for he did everything well. That was his nature. But he took no joy in it. Men said that he loved his harp much better than his lance.”

“他一定赢得过某些比武的胜利。”丹妮失望地道。

“He won some tourneys, surely,” said Dany, disappointed.

“王太子陛下年轻时，曾有一回堂皇地出现在风息堡的比武会上，依次击败了史蒂芬·拜拉席恩大人，杰森·梅利斯特大人，多恩的红毒蛇和后来被证明是御林中臭名昭著的土匪头目西蒙·托因的神秘骑士。那天，他在与亚瑟·戴恩的比赛中折断了十二支长枪。”

“When he was young, His Grace rode brilliantly in a tourney at Storm’s End, defeating Lord Steffon Baratheon, Lord Jason Mallister, the Red Viper of Dorne, and a mystery knight who proved to be the infamous Simon Toyne, chief of the kingswood outlaws. He broke twelve lances against Ser Arthur Dayne that day.”

“那他是不是冠军？”

“Was he the champion, then?”

“不是，陛下。这一荣誉归于一名御林铁卫的骑士，他在决赛中将雷加王子掀下马来。”

“No, Your Grace. That honor went to another knight of the Kingsguard, who unhorsed Prince Rhaegar in the final tilt.”

丹妮不想听雷加是如何被掀下马的。“我哥究竟赢过哪些比武的胜利？”

Dany did not want to hear about Rhaegar being unhorsed. “But what tourneys did my brother win?”

“陛下。”老人犹豫地道，“他赢得了最最盛大的一次竞赛。”

“Your Grace.” The old man hesitated. “He won the greatest tourney of them all.”

“那是哪一次？”丹妮催问。

“Which was that?” Dany demanded.

“河安大人于神眼湖畔的赫伦堡举办的比武大会，就在错误的春天那一年。那次盛会举世瞩目。除马上长枪比武，还有按古老风俗举行的七方团体比武，以及弓箭与掷斧比赛、赛马和歌手的竞技，傀儡戏演出，外加许多宴会和娱乐。河安大人家财万贯，更兼出手大方，他宣布的丰厚奖金吸引了数百名挑战者。连您尊贵的父亲也亲临赫伦堡，而他之前已有多年未曾离开红堡。七大王国里最伟大的领主和最优秀的战士们齐聚一堂，驰骋沙场，却被龙石岛亲王抢尽了风头。”

“The tourney Lord Whent staged at Harrenhal beside the Gods Eye, in the year of the false spring. A notable event. Besides the jousting, there was a mêlée in the old style fought between seven teams of knights, as well as archery and axe-throwing, a horse race, a tournament of singers, a mummer show, and many feasts and frolics. Lord Whent was as open handed as he was rich. The lavish purses he proclaimed drew hundreds of challengers. Even your royal father came to Harrenhal, when he had not left the Red Keep for long years. The greatest lords and mightiest champions of the Seven Kingdoms rode in that tourney, and the Prince of Dragonstone bested them all.”

“可那次比武中，他给莱安娜·史塔克戴上了爱与美的皇后的桂冠！”丹妮道，“妻子伊莉亚公主也在场，我哥却将桂冠给了史塔克家的女孩，稍后还将她从未婚夫那儿拐走。他怎能那样做？多恩女子对他不好么？”

“But that was the tourney when he crowned Lyanna Stark as queen of love and beauty!” said Dany. “Princess Elia was there, his wife, and yet my brother gave the crown to the Stark girl, and later stole her away from her betrothed. How could he do that? Did the Dornish woman treat him so ill?”

“我这样的人无法评述您兄长心中所思，陛下。伊莉亚公主是位贤淑高贵的女士，然而身体一向脆弱。”

“It is not for such as me to say what might have been in your brother’s heart, Your Grace. The Princess Elia was a good and gracious lady, though her health was ever delicate.”

丹妮紧了紧肩头的狮皮。“韦赛里斯曾说都是我的错，因为我出生太晚啰。”她记得自己激烈地否认，甚至于告诉韦赛里斯，应该是他的错才对，因为他生下来不是女孩。为这侮辱，他狠揍了她一顿。“他说，如果我生得早些，雷加便可娶我，而不是伊莉亚，结果便完全不同。若雷加能从妻子那儿得到快乐，就无需追求史塔克家的女孩了。”

Dany pulled the lion pelt tighter about her shoulders. “Viserys said once that it was my fault, for being born too late.” She had denied it hotly, she remembered, going so far as to tell Viserys that it was his fault for not being born a girl. He beat her cruelly for that insolence. “If I had been born more timely, he said, Rhaegar would have married me instead of Elia, and it would all have come out different. If Rhaegar had been happy in his wife, he would not have needed the Stark girl.”

“也许吧，陛下，”白胡子稍稍停顿片刻，“其实我不知雷加王子生来是否具有快乐的天性。”

“Perhaps so, Your Grace.” Whitebeard paused a moment. “But I am not certain it was in Rhaegar to be happy.”

“你把他描绘得好凄惨。”丹妮抗议。

“You make him sound so sour,” Dany protested.

“不是凄惨，不是，但……雷加王子有一种忧郁，一种……”老人再度踌躇。

“Not sour, no, but … there was a melancholy to Prince Rhaegar, a sense …” The old man hesitated again.

“说，”她催促，“一种……？”

“Say it,” she urged. “A sense …?”

“……一种毁灭的感觉。他生于悲哀之中，女王陛下，一生都有阴影笼罩。”

“… of doom. He was born in grief, my queen, and that shadow hung over him all his days.”

关于雷加的出生，韦赛里斯只提过一次，也许那故事让他太过伤感。“盛夏厅的阴影始终纠缠着他，对吗？”

Viserys had spoken of Rhaegar’s birth only once. Perhaps the tale saddened him too much. “It was the shadow of Summerhall that haunted him, was it not?”

“是的。然而盛夏厅也是王子最爱的地方，他会时而带着竖琴回到那里，不要御林铁卫的骑士跟随。他喜欢于星月之下睡在荒废的大厅，每次回来，都会写一首新歌。当你听他弹奏那把银弦古竖琴，感叹黎明、眼泪和逝去的君王时，不禁会觉得他是在歌唱自己以及自己所爱的人。”

“Yes. And yet Summerhall was the place the prince loved best. He would go there from time to time, with only his harp for company. Even the knights of the Kingsguard did not attend him there. He liked to sleep in the ruined hall, beneath the moon and stars, and whenever he came back he would bring a song. When you heard him play his high harp with the silver strings and sing of twilights and tears and the death of kings, you could not but feel that he was singing of himself and those he loved.”

“那篡夺者呢？他也会唱伤感的歌吗？”

“What of the Usurper? Did he play sad songs as well?”

阿斯坦咯咯笑道，“劳勃？劳勃喜欢那些让他快乐发笑的歌，越低俗越好，而且只在喝醉时才唱，诸如‘一桶麦酒’、‘四十四只酒桶’或‘狗熊与美少女’之类。劳勃很——”

Arstan chuckled. “Robert? Robert liked songs that made him laugh, the bawdier the better. He only sang when he was drunk, and then it was like to be ‘A Cask of Ale’ or ‘Fifty-Four Tuns’ or ‘The Bear and the Maiden Fair.’ Robert was much—”

她的龙一齐抬头咆哮。

As one, her dragons lifted their heads and roared.

“有人！”丹妮一下跳将起来，紧抓着狮皮。她听见壮汉贝沃斯在外面吼了些什么，接着是其他人的嗓音，还有许多马匹的嘶鸣。“伊丽，去看看谁……”

“Horses!” Dany leapt to her feet, clutching the lion pelt. Outside, she heard Strong Belwas bellow something, and then other voices, and the sounds of many horses. “Irri, go see who …”

帐门突然掀开，乔拉·莫尔蒙爵士走进来，满身尘土，血迹斑斑，但除此之外并无大碍。被放逐的骑士单膝跪倒在丹妮面前，“陛下，我为您带来了胜利的消息。正如您所料，暴鸦团倒戈，奴兵溃散，次子团则喝得酩酊大醉，无法作战。我们杀了两百敌兵，大多是渊凯贵族，他们的奴隶扔下长矛逃逸，佣兵则纷纷投降。总计抓到数千名俘虏。”

The tent flap pushed open, and Ser Jorah Mormont entered. He was dusty, and spattered with blood, but otherwise none the worse for battle. The exile knight went to one knee before Dany and said, “Your Grace, I bring you victory. The Stormcrows turned their cloaks, the slaves broke, and the Second Sons were too drunk to fight, just as you said. Two hundred dead, Yunkai’i for the most part. Their slaves threw down their spears and ran, and their sellswords yielded. We have several thousand captives.”

“损失呢？”

“Our own losses?”

“十来个吧……可能还不到。”

“A dozen. If that many.”

她这才允许自己微笑。“起来，我英雄出色的大熊。抓住格拉兹旦了吗？抓住泰坦私生子了吗？”

Only then did she allow herself to smile. “Rise, my good brave bear. Was Grazdan taken? Or the Titan’s Bastard?”

“格拉兹旦回渊凯传达您的条件去了。”乔拉爵士起身，“而梅罗发觉暴鸦团倒戈后就逃了。我已派人去追，擒他应该没问题。”

“Grazdan went to Yunkai to deliver your terms.” Ser Jorah got to his feet. “Mero fled, once he realized the Stormcrows had turned. I have men hunting him. He shouldn’t escape us long.”

“很好，”丹妮说，“不管佣兵还是奴隶，欢迎加入我方。若次子团有足够多的人愿意加入，就保持其编制完整。”

“Very well,” Dany said. “Sellsword or slave, spare all those who will pledge me their faith. If enough of the Second Sons will join us, keep the company intact.”

第二天，他们走完通往渊凯的最后三里格路。这座城市由黄砖筑成，而非红色，但其余景象跟阿斯塔波并无二致：同样剥落碎裂的城墙，阶梯形的金字塔，巨型鹰身女妖像坐落在城门上。城墙和塔楼上挤满十字弓兵和掷石手。乔拉爵士和灰虫子布置好军队，伊丽和姬琪则撑起大帐，丹妮坐下来等待。

The next day they marched the last three leagues to Yunkai. The city was built of yellow bricks instead of red; elsewise it was Astapor all over again, with the same crumbling walls and high stepped pyramids, and a great harpy mounted above its gates. The wall and towers swarmed with crossbowmen and slingers. Ser Jorah and Grey Worm deployed her men, Irri and Jhiqui raised her pavilion, and Dany sat down to wait.

第三天早上，城门开了，一列奴隶缓缓走出。丹妮骑上银马前去迎候。他们经过时，小弥桑黛告诉他们，应该把自由归功于“风暴降生”丹妮莉丝，不焚者，维斯特洛七大王国的女王，龙之母。

On the morning of the third day, the city gates swung open and a line of slaves began to emerge. Dany mounted her silver to greet them. As they passed, little Missandei told them that they owed their freedom to Daenerys Stormborn, the Unburnt, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and Mother of Dragons.

“弥莎！”一个棕色皮肤的男人朝她呼喊。他肩上举着个孩子，一个小女孩，她也用尖细的嗓音高呼着同一个词。“弥莎！弥莎！”

“Mhysa!” a brown-skinned man shouted out at her. He had a child on his shoulder, a little girl, and she screamed the same word in her thin voice. “Mhysa! Mhysa!”

丹妮看看弥桑黛。“他们喊什么？”

Dany looked at Missandei. “What are they shouting?”

“这是吉斯卡利语，古老而纯正。意思是‘母亲’。”

“It is Ghiscari, the old pure tongue. It means ‘Mother.’ ”

丹妮胸中一荡。我永远不会再怀上孩子，她记起巫魔女的话。于是她颤抖地高举双手。也许她微笑了。她一定是微笑了。因为那男人也露齿而笑，再次呼喊，其他人也跟着应和。“弥莎！”他们叫道，“弥莎！弥莎！”他们全体向她微笑，向她伸手，向她跪拜。有人喊“梅拉”，有人喊“伊勒亚”，或“魁瑟”，或“塔托”，但不管何种语言，都是同样的意思。母亲。他们叫我母亲。

Dany felt a lightness in her chest. I will never bear a living child, she remembered. Her hand trembled as she raised it. Perhaps she smiled. She must have, because the man grinned and shouted again, and others took up the cry. “Mhysa!” they called. “Mhysa! MHYSA!” They were all smiling at her, reaching for her, kneeling before her. “Maela,” some called her, while others cried “Aelalla” or “Qathei” or “Tato,” but whatever the tongue it all meant the same thing. Mother. They are calling me Mother.

诵喝声渐渐增强，渐渐蔓延，渐渐膨胀。响亮的合声惊吓了她的坐骑，那匹母马往后退去，摇晃着脑袋，甩动着银灰色的尾巴；响亮的合声震撼了渊凯的黄色城墙，每一刻都有更多奴隶从城门里鱼贯而出，走过来跟着一起欢呼。此时此刻，他们都朝她奔跑，推推搡搡，磕磕绊绊，想要触碰她的手，抚摸银马的鬃毛，亲吻她的腿脚。她可怜的血盟卫无法把他们全部挡住，连壮汉贝沃斯也沮丧地嘀嘀咕咕发牢骚。

The chant grew, spread, swelled. It swelled so loud that it frightened her horse, and the mare backed and shook her head and lashed her silver-grey tail. It swelled until it seemed to shake the yellow walls of Yunkai. More slaves were streaming from the gates every moment, and as they came they took up the call. They were running toward her now, pushing, stumbling, wanting to touch her hand, to stroke her horse’s mane, to kiss her feet. Her poor bloodriders could not keep them all away, and even Strong Belwas grunted and growled in dismay.

乔拉爵士催她快走，但丹妮记起不朽之殿里的景象。“他们不会伤害我，”她告诉他，“他们是我的孩子，乔拉。”她纵声大笑，后跟夹马，朝人群骑了过去，头发里铃铛叮当作响，象征甜美的胜利。她先是疾走，然后小跑，接着如风一般飞驰，任由辫子在身后飘荡。获得自由的奴隶们在她面前分开。“母亲！”百人、千人，万人一起高呼。“母亲！”他们齐齐颂唱，随她奔过，手指扫过她的腿，“母亲，母亲，母亲！”

Ser Jorah urged her to go, but Dany remembered a dream she had dreamed in the House of the Undying. “They will not hurt me,” she told him. “They are my children, Jorah.” She laughed, put her heels into her horse, and rode to them, the bells in her hair ringing sweet victory. She trotted, then cantered, then broke into a gallop, her braid streaming behind. The freed slaves parted before her. “Mother,” they called from a hundred throats, a thousand, ten thousand. “Mother,” they sang, their fingers brushing her legs as she flew by. “Mother, Mother, Mother!”