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Arya nodded.
艾莉亞點點頭。
“Tickling, they called it.
“是的，我認得記事本，
Polliver and Raff and all.”
還有波利佛、拉夫他們。”
She told them about the village by the Gods Eye where she and Gendry had been caught, and the questions that the Tickler had asked.
她把神眼湖畔那間倉庫的事說了出來——她和詹德利就是在那兒被抓的——還講述了記事本提的問題。
“Is there gold hidden in the village?” he would always begin.
“村里藏有金子嗎？”他總如此開頭，
“Silver, gems? Is there food?
“銀子和珠寶呢？存糧呢？
Where is Lord Beric?
貝里·唐德利恩伯爵在哪兒？
Which of you village folk helped him?
有哪位村民幫助過他？
Where did he go?
他離開后去了哪兒？
How many men did he have with him?
他身邊有多少人？
How many knights? How many bowmen?
其中有多少騎士，多少弓手，
How many were horsed? How are they armed?
有多少人騎馬？他們裝備如何？
How many wounded? Where did they go, did you say?”
有多少人受傷？他們?nèi)チ四膬?，你說不說？”
Just thinking of it, she could hear the shrieks again, and smell the stench of blood and shit and burning flesh.
想到這里，她仿佛再次聽到那些慘叫，再次聞到鮮血、糞便和焦肉的臭味。
“He always asked the same questions,”
“他總是問同樣的問題，”
she told the outlaws solemnly,
她認真地告訴土匪們，
“but he changed the tickling every day.”
“但每天問的方式都不一樣?！?/p>
“No child should be made to suffer that,” Harwin said when she was done.
“小孩子不該有如此遭遇，”哈爾溫耐心等她說完，然后評論道，
“The Mountain lost half his men at the Stone Mill, we hear.
“我們聽說魔山在石磨坊損失了一半部下，
Might be this Tickler’s floating down the Red Fork even now, with fish biting at his face.
沒準這個‘記事本’此刻正沿著紅叉河漂浮，被魚兒咬掉臉龐咧；
If not, well, it’s one more crime they’ll answer for.
如果不是，那他們又多一項罪狀需要償還。
I’ve heard his lordship say this war began when the Hand sent him out to bring the king’s justice to Gregor Clegane,
大人說了，事情的起因是首相派他去懲罰格雷果·克里岡，
and that’s how he means for it to end.”
他也一定會完成這項任務。”
He gave her shoulder a reassuring pat.
他拍拍艾莉亞的肩膀，以示寬心。
“You best mount up, milady.
“快上馬吧，小姐，
It’s a long day’s ride to Acorn Hall, but at the end of it we’ll have a roof above our heads and a hot supper in our bellies.”
去橡果廳要騎一整天，好在到達之后我們就能住進房間，吃上熱騰騰的晚飯?！?/p>
It was a long day’s ride, but as dusk was settling they forded a brook and came up on Acorn Hall,
他們果然騎了整整一天，夜幕降臨時，才渡過一條小溪，抵達橡果廳。
with its stone curtain walls and great oaken keep.
這座巨大的橡木堡壘有石圍墻環(huán)繞，
Its master was away fighting in the retinue of his master, Lord Vance, the castle gates closed and barred in his absence.
城主隨封君凡斯伯爵外出打仗，因此大門緊閉，并上了閂。
But his lady wife was an old friend of Tom Sevenstrings, and Anguy said they’d once been lovers.
城主夫人是七弦湯姆的舊識，安蓋說他們曾是戀人。
Anguy often rode beside her; he was closer to her in age than any of them but Gendry, and he told her droll tales of the Dornish Marches.
這名弓箭手通常和她騎在一起，隊里除詹德利之外，就數(shù)他的年齡和她最接近，他也常給她講多恩領的風情，
He never fooled her, though.
卻從不亂開玩笑。
He’s not my friend.
他不是我朋友，
He’s only staying close to watch me and make sure I don’t ride off again.
只是來監(jiān)視我的，確保我不會再逃走。
Well, Arya could watch as well.
艾莉亞懂得如何洞察真相，
Syrio Forel had taught her how.
多虧西利歐·佛瑞爾的教誨。
Lady Smallwood welcomed the outlaws kindly enough, though she gave them a tongue lashing for dragging a young girl through the war.
斯莫伍德夫人待土匪們相當友善，但她譴責他們將小女孩拖進戰(zhàn)爭的行為。
She became even more wroth when Lem let slip that Arya was highborn.
檸檬無意中透露艾莉亞是貴族之后，她顯得更為憤怒。
“Who dressed the poor child in those Bolton rags?”
“誰給這可憐的孩子穿上波頓家的破衣服？”
she demanded of them.
她質問，
“That badge … there’s many a man who would hang her in half a heartbeat for wearing a flayed man on her breast.”
“這紋章……看到胸口的剝皮人，許多人會立刻吊死她?！?/p>
Arya promptly found herself marched upstairs, forced into a tub, and doused with scalding hot water.
于是艾莉亞被不由分說推上樓梯，按進浴盆里，用滾燙的熱水清洗。
Lady Smallwood’s maidservants scrubbed her so hard it felt like they were flaying her themselves.
斯莫伍德夫人的女仆們搓得用勁，仿佛真要剝她皮似的，
They even dumped in some stinky-sweet stuff that smelled like flowers.
水里面有東西很香，聞起來是花的味道。
And afterward, they insisted she dress herself in girl’s things,
洗完后，她們堅持要她換上女裝：
brown woolen stockings and a light linen shift,
棕色羊毛長襪和輕薄的亞麻布襯衣，
and over that a light green gown with acorns embroidered all over the bodice in brown thread, and more acorns bordering the hem.
外罩淡綠裙服，裙服上身用棕色絲線繡滿了橡果，褶邊里也有。
“My great-aunt is a septa at a motherhouse in Oldtown,”
“我姨祖母是舊鎮(zhèn)圣堂的修女，”
Lady Smallwood said as the women laced the gown up Arya’s back.
斯莫伍德夫人監(jiān)督女仆們替艾莉亞系上裙服背后的縛帶，
“I sent my daughter there when the war began.
“戰(zhàn)爭開始時，我把女兒送去那邊，
She’ll have outgrown these things by the time she returns, no doubt.
等她回來肯定穿不下這些衣服了。
Are you fond of dancing, child?
你喜歡跳舞嗎，孩子？
My Carellen’s a lovely dancer.
我的凱瑞琳跳得很可愛，
She sings beautifully as well.
她的歌聲也很美。
What do you like to do?”
你呢，你喜歡做什么？”
She scuffed a toe amongst the rushes.
她在草席上蹭蹭腳趾頭，
“Needlework.”
“……針線活?！?/p>
“Very restful, isn’t it?”
“哦，看不出來，你是個好靜的孩子呀？”
“Well,” said Arya, “not the way I do it.”
“呃，”艾莉亞道，“我做的方式和別人不一樣?！?/p>
“No? I have always found it so.
“不一樣？我總覺得針線活兒特別需要寧靜細心。
The gods give each of us our little gifts and talents, and it is meant for us to use them, my aunt always says.
你瞧，諸神賜給我們每人不同的天賦和才能，我們就該把它用好。我姨母常說，
Any act can be a prayer, if done as well as we are able.
無論做什么，只要做到認真二字，發(fā)揮出自己的潛力，就等于是一次祈禱。
