冰与火之歌目前写到哪了（冰与火之歌双语阅读27）

【读你所爱，呵护你的心灵；掌握英语，打开你的第三只眼】

【 “不用，”Ned说道。“Jory，带孩子们回她们的房间去，然后把我的寒冰剑拿来。”这些话从他的喉咙里说出来，苦涩得如胆汁一般，但他还是说了出来。“如果一定要这么做，我会自己来做。”

Cersei Lannister怀疑地打量着他。“你来做，Stark？你不会开玩笑吧？你干嘛要做这样的事？”

所有人的目光都盯着Ned，但最刺痛他的是Sansa的目光。“她是来自北方的狼。她应该得到比一个刽子手更好的礼遇。”】

【 “No,” Ned said. “Jory, take the girls back to their rooms and bring me Ice.” The words tasted of bile in his throat, but he forced them out. “If it must be done, I will do it.”

Cersei Lannister regarded him suspiciously. “You, Stark? Is this some trick? Why would you do such a thing?”

They were all staring at him, but it was Sansa’s look that cut. “She is of the north. She deserves better than a butcher.” 】

【本节导读】：

在这一章中，Eddard 选择了自己亲自动手将女儿Sansa的最爱狼崽子Lady 杀死。为什么？

在前面的章节中，Eddard 曾经这样告诉自己的儿子Bran：

…那时候执行死刑的责任会落在你的身上。当那一天到来时，你不许以做这种事情为乐，但你也不可以把你的目光从死刑犯的脸上移开。如果一个统治者总是躲在背后，靠他雇佣的行刑手来做这件事的话，他很快就会忘记死亡是什么滋味的。”

也许，这句话就是答案。

【刘博士中文译文】

“他们找到她了，大人。”

Ned立刻站了起来，“是我们的人找到的还是Lannister家的人找到的？”

“是Jory找到的，”管家Wayon Poole回答到，“她毫发无损。”

“感谢众神，”Ned说。他的人寻找Ayra已经有四天了，但是王后的手下也一直在搜寻她。“她在哪儿？让Jory赶紧把她带回来。”

“对不起，大人，”Poole告诉他，“大门口的卫兵都是Lannister家的人，Jory带她进来的时候，他们立刻通知了王后。现在她已经被直接带到国王那里……”

“那个该死的女人！”Ned一边说，一边大步向门口走去。“去找Sansa，把她也带到国王会客室去。也许大家也该听听她怎么说。”Ned气急败坏地走下塔楼的台阶。在前三天里，他亲自带人去找她，而且自从Arya失踪以后，他睡觉的时间几乎不到一个小时。今天早上的时候，他是又心痛又疲倦，几乎连站都站不稳，可是现在，他怒火中烧，这让他又有了力气。

他穿过城堡的庭院，人们向他大声打着招呼，但Ned根本没有空理睬他们。他恨不得跑着去见Arya,可是他至少现在还是国王的首相，首相是必须要保持他的尊严的。他感觉到人们的目光在跟随着他，还有人低声谈论着他会怎么办。

他们住的这座城堡是一个不起眼的堡垒，离南边的三江河只有半天的骑行距离。当国王的大队人马在三江河的两岸上上下下地搜寻Arya和屠夫的孩子的时候，他们不请自来地成为了这座城堡的领主Raymun Darry爵士的不速之客。他们在这里并不受待见。虽说Raymun爵士生活在国王的和平统治之下，但是他的家族在三江河一战时却是跟随在Rhaegar王子的龙族麾下的。他的三个哥哥也都战死在这一场战役中，这一事实是Robert和Raymun爵士从来都没有忘记的。当国王的人马、Darry家族的人、Lannister家族的人和Stark家族的人都挤在这座对他们来说实在是太小的城堡里时，这种紧张气氛既浓烈又凝重。

国王征用了Raymun爵士的会客室，Ned就是在这里找到了他们。当他闯进屋里的时候，房间里挤满了人。或许人也太多了一点，他想。如果只是他和Robert两个人的话，他们也许心平气和地就能把这事给解决了。

Robert瘫坐在房间最里头原本是Raymun爵士的主人座上，他的眼睛闭着，一脸的不开心。Cersei Lannister和她的儿子站在他身边。王后把一只手搭在Joffrey的肩膀上。她的儿子的胳膊上缠着厚厚的丝质绷带。

Arya孤零零地站在屋子中间，身旁只有Jorry Cassel一个人。房间里所有人的目光都落在她的身上。“Arya，”Ned大声地叫她。他大步走到Arya身边，他的靴子落在石头地板上的声音嗡嗡作响。当Ayra看见爸爸的时候，她叫了出来，接着开始抽泣起来。

Ned用一只腿跪在地上，他把Arya抱在怀里。Arya全身都在发抖。“对不起，”Arya抽泣着说，“对不起，对不起。”

“我知道，”Ned说。他感觉Arya在他的怀里显得是那样的小，只不过是一个瘦不溜秋的小孩子罢了。你很难相信她怎么会惹出这么多麻烦来。“有没有伤着？”

“没有。”她的脸蛋脏兮兮的，泪水在她的脸颊上留下一道道粉色的印记。“饿了好几次。我吃了一些野浆果，不过其他什么也没有吃。”

“过一会儿我们一定让你吃个饱，”Ned向她保证。他站起身来面对着国王。“这是怎么回事？”他的目光环视着屋子，想找到一些友好的面孔。但即便是他自己的手下，这里也看不见几个。Raymun Darry爵士小心翼翼地不露声色。Renly大人脸上半带着微笑，你无法知道他在想什么，而老Barristan爵士则神情严肃；剩下的人全都是Lannister家的人，满是敌意。幸好Jaime Lannister和Sandor Clegane两人都不见踪影，他们还带着人在三江河北岸搜寻着。“为什么没有人告诉我找到我的女儿了？”Ned质问道，他的声音响亮。“为什么不把她立刻带到我这里来？”

他在对Robert说话，但是回答他的人却是Cersei Lannister,“你怎么敢这样跟你的国王说话！”

这个时候，国王动了动身子。“安静，女人，”他突然说道。他在椅子上直起了身子。“不好意思，Ned。我根本没想吓唬这个孩子的。不过，看来最好的办法就是把她带到这儿来，把事情赶紧给解决了。”

“那又是什么事情呢？”Ned的声音里像是加了冰一样。

王后向前走了一步，“你知道得很清楚，Stark。你的女儿袭击了我的儿子。她，还有她那个屠夫的孩子。她的那只动物差点儿把他的胳膊给扯下来。”

“那不是真的，”Arya大声说道，“她只是咬了他一小口。因为他想伤害Mycah。”

“Joff给我们说了事情的经过，”王后说，“说你和那个屠夫的孩子用棍子打他，你还把狼放出来去咬他。”

“不是这么一回事，”Arya说道，她的眼泪又要流出来了。Ned把一只手搭在她的肩膀上。

“就是这样的！”Joffrey王子坚持道，“他们都攻击我，她还把我的狮子牙剑给扔到河里去了！”Ned注意到，Joffrey在说话的时候，甚至连看都没有看Arya一眼。

“你骗人！”Ayra叫喊道。

“闭嘴！”王子也叫喊着回应道。

“够了！”国王吼叫着，他从椅子上站了起来，他的声音里满是不耐烦。屋子里一片寂静。他那双眼睛透过一脸的胡须瞪着Ayra，“现在听着，孩子，你给我说一遍事情的经过。完整地说一遍，而且要说实话。向国王撒谎可是一项大罪。”然后，Robert转向他的儿子。“等她说完了，才轮到你说。在此之前，闭上你的嘴。”

Arya开始讲述起整个事情来，Ned听见身后门打开的声音。他回头看了一眼，看见Vayon Poole和Sansa走了进来。Arya在说话的时候，他们就一言不发地站在会客厅人群的最后面。当Arya说到她把Joffrey的剑扔进了三江河里的时候，Renly Baratheon开始大笑起来。国王大为恼怒。“Barristan爵士，把我弟弟带出去，免得他被呛着。”

Renly大人抑制住他的笑声，“多谢我哥哥的好意。我自己能找着门的。”他向Joffrey欠了欠身。“也许，晚点儿你可以给我讲一讲，一个水老鼠大小的九岁女孩是怎样用一根扫帚柄就把你给制服了，还把你的剑给扔进河里的。”当Renly走出屋子，房门在他身后关上时，Ned又听见他说，“狮子牙”，然后又大笑起来的声音。

当Joffrey王子开始讲述起他那完全不同的事情经过时，他的脸色苍白。等儿子说完了，国王从他的椅子上费劲地站了起来，他看上去似乎只想从这个地方逃得远远的。“这见鬼的让我该怎么区分？他说的是一回事，她说的又是另一回事。”

“当时在场的并不只是他们俩个人，”Ned说话了。“Sansa，到这儿来。”Arya失踪的那天晚上，Ned也曾听过Sansa的故事版本。Ned是知道真相的。“告诉我们，究竟是怎么一回事。”

他的大女儿迟疑地走了过来。她穿着一件蓝色的天鹅绒外套，外套四周镶着白边，她的脖子上戴着一条银色的项链。她那浓密的棕红色的头发梳得闪闪发亮。她看了妹妹一眼，然后又转向了年轻的王子。“我不知道，”她眼泪汪汪地说道，似乎她只想拔腿就跑。“我不记得了。事情发生得太突然了，我没看到……”

“你这个混蛋！”Arya尖叫着，她像箭一般朝她的姐姐扑了过来，把Sansa撞倒在地，使劲地捶着她。“骗子，骗子，骗子，骗子。”

“Arya，住手！”Ned叫道。Jory把Arya从她姐姐身上拉开，她还是踢个不停。Ned把Sansa扶着站起来，Sansa脸色苍白，浑身发抖。“你有没有伤着？”他问道，但是Sansa只是盯着Ayra，似乎什么也没有听见。

“这个女孩就像她那只肮脏的动物一样野蛮，” Cersei Lannister插话了，“Robert，我希望她能受到惩罚。”

“见鬼去吧，”Robert骂了起来，“Cersei，你好好看看她。她就是一个孩子。你想要我怎么做，把她当众鞭打一遍？该死的，小孩子打架而已。算了吧。也没造成什么太大的伤害。”

王后愤怒不已，“Joffrey会一辈子带着这些伤疤的。”

Robert Baratheon看着他的大儿子。“那就让他带着吧。也许伤疤会给他一个教训。Ned，你要好好管教一下你的女儿。我也会管教我的儿子的。”

“乐意之至，陛下，”Ned说道，他终于松了一口气。

Robert正准备离开，但王后却依旧没完，“那只巨狼怎么办？”她在国王身后叫道。“那只伤害你儿子的畜牲怎么办？”

国王停了下来，他转过身，皱着眉头，“我都忘了那只该死的狼了。”

Ned可以看见Arya在Jory的怀中紧张起来。Jory立刻说道。“我们没有发现那只巨狼的下落，陛下。”

Robert似乎也并没有不高兴。“没发现？那就这么着吧。”

女王提高了嗓门。“谁要是能把那只狼的狼皮带回来，赏他一百金龙币！”

“好贵的一件狼皮，”Robert嘟囔道，“这事可跟我无关，女人。你还是用你们Lannister家的金子来买你的狼皮吧。”

王后冷冷地打量着他。“我没想到你会这么抠门。我还以为我嫁的那个国王会在日落之前就把狼皮铺在我的床上呢。”

Robert气得脸色发青。“要是没有狼也能变出一张狼皮的话，那才是水平呢。”

“我们现在是有一只狼的，”Cersei Lannister说道。她的声音异常平静，但她那绿色的眼睛里闪烁着得胜的光芒。

大家都愣了半天才听懂她话里的意思，可是听懂以后，国王很不爽地耸了耸肩。“随你的便。让Ilyn爵士去办这事吧。”

“Robert，你不会是真的吧，”Ned抗议道。

国王现在没有心情再争论下去了。“够了，Ned，我什么都不想再听了。巨狼就是一只野蛮的畜牲。迟早它也会对你的女儿下手的，就像另一只狼伤害我儿子一样。给她弄条狗，她会更高兴的。”

这个时候，Sansa似乎才终于明白过来。她的目光转向了爸爸，眼中满是恐惧，“他不会是在说Lady吧，是吗？”她从父亲的脸上看出了真相。“不，”她说。“不，不要伤害Lady，Lady没有咬过任何人，她是好……”

“Lady当时根本不在场，”Arya愤怒地叫喊着。“你们放过她！”

“别让他们这么做，”Sansa恳求父亲道，“别让他们这么做，求你了，求你了，那不是Lady干的，是Nymeria干的，是Arya干的，你们不能这么做，那不是Lady的错，别让他们伤害Lady，我会让她乖乖的，我保证，我保证……”她哭了起来。

Ned 所能做的只是将她抱在自己的怀里，让她在自己的怀里哭泣。他看着屋子另一头的Robert,他的老朋友，比任何兄弟都要亲密的朋友。“求你了，Robert，看在你对我的兄弟情分上，看在你对我妹妹的情分上。求你了。”

国王看着他们看了好久，然后他把目光转向了他的妻子。“去你的，Cersei，”他憎恨地说道。

Ned站起身来，他轻轻地从Sansa 抓着他的手中挣脱出来。过去四天的所有疲倦又重新回到了他的身上。“那你就亲自动手吧，Robert，”他的声音冰冷而坚硬，像一把剑一般。“至少你要有勇气自己亲自动手。”

Robert用毫无表情的目光死死地看了Ned一眼，然后就一言不发地走了出去，他的脚步沉重得像铅一样。屋子里一片寂静。

“那只巨狼现在在哪儿？”Cersei Lannister 等她丈夫走了以后问道。Joffrey王子在她的身边得意地笑着。

“陛下，那只畜牲被拴在门房外面了，”Barristan Selmy爵士很不情愿地回答道。

“去把Ilyn Payne找来。”

“不用，”Ned说道，“Jory，带孩子们回她们的房间去，然后把我的寒冰剑拿来。”这些话从他的喉咙里说出来时，苦涩得如胆汁一般，但他还是说了出来。“如果一定要这么做，我会自己来做。”

Cersei Lannister怀疑地打量着他。“你来做，Stark？你不会开玩笑吧？你干嘛要做这样的事？”

所有人的目光都盯着Ned，但最刺伤他的是Sansa的目光。“她是来自北方的狼。她应该得到比一个刽子手更好的礼遇。”

当Ned离开屋子的时候，他的眼睛火辣辣的，女儿的痛哭声在他的耳边回响。他来到了那只狼崽子被链子拴着的地方。Ned在狼崽子的身边坐了一会儿。“Lady，”他一边说，一边体会着这个名字。他以前从来没有在意过孩子们给他们取的名字，但现在，当他看着这只巨浪，他知道Sansa选了一个好名字。这只巨狼是那一窝狼崽子中最小的一个，也是最漂亮的，最温柔的，最让人信任的一个。巨狼用她那双明亮的金色眼睛看着他，他用手抚摸着她那厚实的灰毛。

很快，Jory拿来了他的那把寒冰剑。

当这一切结束以后，Ned说：“挑上四个人，让他们把尸体带回北方去。把她葬在Winterfell。”

“一路带回北方？”Jory惊讶地说道。

“一路带回北方，”Ned肯定地说，“那个Lannister家的女人永远别想得到她的狼皮。”

当Ned正走回塔楼，准备去好好睡上一觉的时候，Sandor Clegane和他的骑手们策马从城堡大门口跑了进来，他们一直在搜寻Arya，现在刚刚回来。

在Clegane骑着的战马后背上驮着什么东西，那个东西被包裹在一件血淋淋的披风中，看起来很重的样子。“没找到你的女儿，首相。”猎犬那嘶哑的声音说道，“不过这一天并没算是完全白费。我们抓到了她的小宠物。”Clegane把手伸向身后，把驮着的东西从马背上推了下去，那东西砰的一声落在了Ned的面前。

Ned弯下腰，他一边把披风拉开，一边害怕着自己又该对Arya说些什么，但那根本就不是Nymeria。那是屠夫的儿子Micah，他身上覆盖着的血早已干透。他从肩膀到腰的地方被从上到下的重重一击几乎给劈成了两半。

“你骑在马上从后面把他给杀死的，”Ned说。

猎犬的眼睛透过他那顶丑陋的狗头头盔的缝隙似乎在闪着光。“他想跑，”他看着Ned的脸笑着，“可惜他跑得不够快。”

【英语文本】

Chapter 16 Eddard

They’ve found her, my lord.”

Ned rose quickly. “Our men or Lannister’s?”

“It was Jory,” his steward Vayon Poole replied. “She’s not been harmed.”

“Thank the gods,” Ned said. His men had been searching for Arya for four days now, but the queen’s men had been out hunting as well. “Where is she? Tell Jory to bring her here at once.”

“I am sorry, my lord,” Poole told him. “The guards on the gate were Lannister men, and they informed the queen when Jory brought her in. She’s being taken directly before the king . . .”

“Damn that woman!” Ned said, striding to the door. “Find Sansa and bring her to the audience chamber. Her voice may be needed.” He descended the tower steps in a red rage. He had led searches himself for the first three days, and had scarcely slept an hour since Arya had disappeared. This morning he had been so heartsick and weary he could scarcely stand, but now his fury was on him, filling him with strength.

Men called out to him as he crossed the castle yard, but Ned ignored them in his haste. He would have run, but he was still the King’s Hand, and a Hand must keep his dignity. He was aware of the eyes that followed him, of the muttered voices wondering what he would do.

The castle was a modest holding a half day’s ride south of the Trident. The royal party had made themselves the uninvited guests of its lord, Ser Raymun Darry, while the hunt for Arya and the butcher’s boy was conducted on both sides of the river. They were not welcome visitors. Ser Raymun lived under the king’s peace, but his family had fought beneath Rhaegar’s dragon banners at the Trident, and his three older brothers had died there, a truth neither Robert nor Ser Raymun had forgotten. With king’s men, Darry men, Lannister men, and Stark men all crammed into a castle far too small for them, tensions burned hot and heavy.

The king had appropriated Ser Raymun’s audience chamber, and that was where Ned found them. The room was crowded when he burst in. Too crowded, he thought; left alone, he and Robert might have been able to settle the matter amicably.

Robert was slumped in Darry’s high seat at the far end of the room, his face closed and sullen. Cersei Lannister and her son stood beside him. The queen had her hand on Joffrey’s shoulder. Thick silken bandages still covered the boy’s arm.

Arya stood in the center of the room, alone but for Jory Cassel, every eye upon her. “Arya,” Ned called loudly. He went to her, his boots ringing on the stone floor. When she saw him, she cried out and began to sob.

Ned went to one knee and took her in his arms. She was shaking. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“I know,” he said. She felt so tiny in his arms, nothing but a scrawny little girl. It was hard to see how she had caused so much trouble. “Are you hurt?”

“No.” Her face was dirty, and her tears left pink tracks down her cheeks. “Hungry some. I ate some berries, but there was nothing else.”

“We’ll feed you soon enough,” Ned promised. He rose to face the king. “What is the meaning of this?” His eyes swept the room, searching for friendly faces. But for his own men, they were few enough. Ser Raymun Darry guarded his look well. Lord Renly wore a half smile that might mean anything, and old Ser Barristan was grave; the rest were Lannister men, and hostile. Their only good fortune was that both Jaime Lannister and Sandor Clegane were missing, leading searches north of the Trident. “Why was I not told that my daughter had been found?” Ned demanded, his voice ringing. “Why was she not brought to me at once?”

He spoke to Robert, but it was Cersei Lannister who answered. “How dare you speak to your king in that manner!”

At that, the king stirred. “Quiet, woman,” he snapped. He straightened in his seat. “I am sorry, Ned. I never meant to frighten the girl. It seemed best to bring her here and get the business done with quickly.”

“And what business is that?” Ned put ice in his voice.

The queen stepped forward. “You know full well, Stark. This girl of yours attacked my son. Her and her butcher’s boy. That animal of hers tried to tear his arm off.”

“That’s not true,” Arya said loudly. “She just bit him a little. He was hurting Mycah.”

“Joff told us what happened,” the queen said. “You and the butcher boy beat him with clubs while you set your wolf on him.”

“That’s not how it was,” Arya said, close to tears again. Ned put a hand on her shoulder.

“Yes it is!” Prince Joffrey insisted. “They all attacked me, and she threw Lion’s Tooth in the river!” Ned noticed that he did not so much as glance at Arya as he spoke.

“Liar!” Arya yelled.

“Shut up!” the prince yelled back.

“Enough!” the king roared, rising from his seat, his voice thick with irritation. Silence fell. He glowered at Arya through his thick beard. “Now, child, you will tell me what happened. Tell it all, and tell it true. It is a great crime to lie to a king.” Then he looked over at his son. “When she is done, you will have your turn. Until then, hold your tongue.”

As Arya began her story, Ned heard the door open behind him. He glanced back and saw Vayon Poole enter with Sansa. They stood quietly at the back of the hall as Arya spoke. When she got to the part where she threw Joffrey’s sword into the middle of the Trident, Renly Baratheon began to laugh. The king bristled. “Ser Barristan, escort my brother from the hall before he chokes.”

Lord Renly stifled his laughter. “My brother is too kind. I can find the door myself.” He bowed to Joffrey. “Perchance later you’ll tell me how a nine-year-old girl the size of a wet rat managed to disarm you with a broom handle and throw your sword in the river.” As the door swung shut behind him, Ned heard him say, “Lion’s Tooth,” and guffaw once more.

Prince Joffrey was pale as he began his very different version of events. When his son was done talking, the king rose heavily from his seat, looking like a man who wanted to be anywhere but here. “What in all the seven hells am I supposed to make of this? He says one thing, she says another.”

“They were not the only ones present,” Ned said. “Sansa, come here.” Ned had heard her version of the story the night Arya had vanished. He knew the truth. “Tell us what happened.”

His eldest daughter stepped forward hesitantly. She was dressed in blue velvets trimmed with white, a silver chain around her neck. Her thick auburn hair had been brushed until it shone. She blinked at her sister, then at the young prince. “I don’t know,” she said tearfully, looking as though she wanted to bolt. “I don’t remember. Everything happened so fast, I didn’t see . . .”

“You rotten!” Arya shrieked. She flew at her sister like an arrow, knocking Sansa down to the ground, pummeling her. “Liar, liar, liar, liar.”

“Arya, stop it!” Ned shouted. Jory pulled her off her sister, kicking. Sansa was pale and shaking as Ned lifted her back to her feet. “Are you hurt?” he asked, but she was staring at Arya, and she did not seem to hear.

“The girl is as wild as that filthy animal of hers,” Cersei Lannister said. “Robert, I want her punished.”

“Seven hells,” Robert swore. “Cersei, look at her. She’s a child. What would you have me do, whip her through the streets? Damn it, children fight. It’s over. No lasting harm was done.”

The queen was furious. “Joff will carry those scars for the rest of his life.”

Robert Baratheon looked at his eldest son. “So he will. Perhaps they will teach him a lesson. Ned, see that your daughter is disciplined. I will do the same with my son.”

“Gladly, Your Grace,” Ned said with vast relief.

Robert started to walk away, but the queen was not done. “And what of the direwolf?” she called after him. “What of the beast that savaged your son?”

The king stopped, turned back, frowned. “I’d forgotten about the damned wolf.”

Ned could see Arya tense in Jory’s arms. Jory spoke up quickly. “We found no trace of the direwolf, Your Grace.”

Robert did not look unhappy. “No? So be it.”

The queen raised her voice. “A hundred golden dragons to the man who brings me its skin!”

“A costly pelt,” Robert grumbled. “I want no part of this, woman. You can damn well buy your furs with Lannister gold.”

The queen regarded him coolly. “I had not thought you so niggardly. The king I’d thought to wed would have laid a wolfskin across my bed before the sun went down.”

Robert’s face darkened with anger. “That would be a fine trick, without a wolf.”

“We have a wolf,” Cersei Lannister said. Her voice was very quiet, but her green eyes shone with triumph.

It took them all a moment to comprehend her words, but when they did, the king shrugged irritably. “As you will. Have Ser Ilyn see to it.”

“Robert, you cannot mean this,” Ned protested.

The king was in no mood for more argument. “Enough, Ned, I will hear no more. A direwolf is a savage beast. Sooner or later it would have turned on your girl the same way the other did on my son. Get her a dog, she’ll be happier for it.”

That was when Sansa finally seemed to comprehend. Her eyes were frightened as they went to her father. “He doesn’t mean Lady, does he?” She saw the truth on his face. “No,” she said. “No, not Lady, Lady didn’t bite anybody, she’s good . . .”

“Lady wasn’t there,” Arya shouted angrily. “You leave her alone!”

“Stop them,” Sansa pleaded, “don’t let them do it, please, please, it wasn’t Lady, it was Nymeria, Arya did it, you can’t, it wasn’t Lady, don’t let them hurt Lady, I’ll make her be good, I promise, I promise . . .” She started to cry.

All Ned could do was take her in his arms and hold her while she wept. He looked across the room at Robert. His old friend, closer than any brother. “Please, Robert. For the love you bear me. For the love you bore my sister. Please.”

The king looked at them for a long moment, then turned his eyes on his wife. “Damn you, Cersei,” he said with loathing.

Ned stood, gently disengaging himself from Sansa’s grasp. All the weariness of the past four days had returned to him. “Do it yourself then, Robert,” he said in a voice cold and sharp as steel. “At least have the courage to do it yourself.”

Robert looked at Ned with flat, dead eyes and left without a word, his footsteps heavy as lead. Silence filled the hall.

“Where is the direwolf?” Cersei Lannister asked when her husband was gone. Beside her, Prince Joffrey was smiling.

“The beast is chained up outside the gatehouse, Your Grace,” Ser Barristan Selmy answered reluctantly.

“Send for Ilyn Payne.”

“No,” Ned said. “Jory, take the girls back to their rooms and bring me Ice.” The words tasted of bile in his throat, but he forced them out. “If it must be done, I will do it.”

Cersei Lannister regarded him suspiciously. “You, Stark? Is this some trick? Why would you do such a thing?”

They were all staring at him, but it was Sansa’s look that cut. “She is of the north. She deserves better than a butcher.”

He left the room with his eyes burning and his daughter’s wails echoing in his ears, and found the direwolf pup where they chained her. Ned sat beside her for a while. “Lady,” he said, tasting the name. He had never paid much attention to the names the children had picked, but looking at her now, he knew that Sansa had chosen well. She was the smallest of the litter, the prettiest, the most gentle and trusting. She looked at him with bright golden eyes, and he ruffled her thick grey fur.

Shortly, Jory brought him Ice.

When it was over, he said, “Choose four men and have them take the body north. Bury her at Winterfell.”

“All that way?” Jory said, astonished.

“All that way,” Ned affirmed. “The Lannister woman shall never have this skin.”

He was walking back to the tower to give himself up to sleep at last when Sandor Clegane and his riders came pounding through the castle gate, back from their hunt.

There was something slung over the back of his destrier, a heavy shape wrapped in a bloody cloak. “No sign of your daughter, Hand,” the Hound rasped down, “but the day was not wholly wasted. We got her little pet.” He reached back and shoved the burden off, and it fell with a thump in front of Ned.

Bending, Ned pulled back the cloak, dreading the words he would have to find for Arya, but it was not Nymeria after all. It was the butcher’s boy, Mycah, his body covered in dried blood. He had been cut almost in half from shoulder to waist by some terrible blow struck from above.

“You rode him down,” Ned said.

The Hound’s eyes seemed to glitter through the steel of that hideous dog’s-head helm. “He ran.” He looked at Ned’s face and laughed. “But not very fast.”

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