I forget nothing, Jon boasted. The wine was making him bold. 我什么都没忘，琼恩吹嘘，酒精让他胆子也大了起来。

He tried to sit very straight, to make himself seem taller. I want to serve in the Night's Watch, Uncle. 他试着坐直身子，好让自己看起来更高大，叔叔，我想进入守夜人部队服役。

He had thought on it long and hard, lying abed at night while his brothers slept around him. 对于这个决定，他早已反复思量，夜里，当他的兄弟们在身边安睡酣眠，他却辗转难安。

Robb would someday inherit Winterfell, would command great armies as the Warden¹ of the North. 罗柏有朝一日会继承临冬城，以北境守护的身份指挥千军万马。

Bran and Rickon would be Robb's bannermen and rule holdfasts in his name. 布兰和瑞肯则将成为他的封臣，拥有各自的庄园，为他管理内政。

His sisters Arya and Sansa would marry the heirs of other great houses and go south as mistress of castles of their own. 妹妹艾莉亚和珊莎会嫁给其他豪族的子嗣，以贵族夫人的身份前往南方属于她们的领地。

But what place could a bastard² hope to earn? 惟有他，区区一个私生子，能指望些什么呢？

You don't know what you're asking, Jon. The Night's Watch is a sworn brotherhood³. 琼恩，你恐怕不知道。守夜人是一个视死如归的团体，

We have no families. None of us will ever father sons. Our wife is duty. Our mistress is honor. 我们没有家庭羁绊，永远也不会生儿育女，我们以责任为妻，以荣誉为妾。

A bastard can have honor too, Jon said. I am ready to swear your oath. 私生子一样有荣誉心，琼恩说，我已经做好宣誓加入的准备了。

You are a boy of fourteen, Benjen said. Not a man, not yet. 你只是个十四岁的孩子，班扬答道，还算不上成人。

Until you have known a woman, you cannot understand what you would be giving up. 在你接触女人之前，恐怕无法想像要付出的代价有多大。

I don't care about that! Jon said hotly. 我才不在乎那个！琼恩火气直往上撞。

You might, if you knew what it meant, Benjen said. 你若是知道，多半就会在乎了。班扬说，

If you knew what the oath would cost you, you might be less eager to pay the price, son. 孩子啊，倘若你知道发了这誓，会有什么样的后果，你就不会这么急着要加入了。

Jon felt anger rise inside him. I'm not your son! 琼恩听了更觉气恼：我才不是你的孩子！

Benjen Stark⁴ stood up. More's the pity. He put a hand on Jon's shoulder. 班扬·史塔克站起身，我就可惜你不是我孩子。他拍拍琼恩肩膀，

Come back to me after you've fathered a few bastards⁵ of your own, and we'll see how you feel. 等你在外面生了两三个私生子，再来找我，到时候看看自己会有什么想法。