Elsa nods. The boy with a syndrome’s mum smiles at her.
爱莎点点头。生病男孩的妈妈冲她微笑。
The wurse wakes Elsa up later that night because it needs a pee. She mumbles sleepily that maybe the wurse shouldn’t have drunk so much mulled wine and tries to go back to sleep. But unfortunately the wurse begins to look sort of like wurses do when they’re planning to pee on a Gryffindor scarf, whereupon Elsa snatches the scarf away and reluctantly agrees to take it out.
那天夜里晚些时候，呜嘶叫醒了爱莎，它要出去尿尿。她睡眼惺忪地念叨说，也许呜嘶不该喝那么多香料热红酒的，并打算继续睡。但不幸的是，呜嘶摆出一副准备在格兰芬多围巾上尿尿的模样，于是爱莎立刻抢走了围巾，不情愿地答应带它出去。
When they get out of the wardrobe, Elsa’s mum and the boy with a syndrome’s mum are still up making up the beds.
他们爬出衣橱时，爱莎的妈妈和生病男孩的妈妈还醒着，她们在铺床。
“I understand from Maud that it might have been you that left your grandmother’s letter in our mailbox yesterday.”
“莫德说昨天大概是你把你外祖母的信放进我们信箱的。”
“It needs a pee,” Elsa explains wearily. Mum nods reluctantly but says she has to take Alf with her.
“它要尿尿。”爱莎疲倦地解释。妈妈勉强同意，但要她一定得带上阿尔夫。
Elsa fixes her gaze on her socks.
爱莎盯着她的袜子。
“I was going to ring the bell, but I didn’t want to, you know. Disturb. Sort of thing.”
“我本来要按门铃的，但又住手了，你懂的。怕打扰到你们。”
“She wrote sorry. Your grandmother, I mean. Sorry for not being able to protect us anymore. And she wrote that I should trust you. Always. And then she asked me to try to get you to trust me.”
“她信上写了抱歉。我是说你外祖母。抱歉不能继续保护我们。她说我应该永远信任你。然后她要我试着让你信任我。”
The boy’s mum smiles again.
男孩的妈妈又笑了。
“How can you stand being alive and being afraid all the time? I mean, when you know there’s someone like Sam out there hunting you?”
“你怎么能这样一直生活在恐惧里的？我是说，知道像山姆那样的人在外面追捕你的情况下。”
“I didn’t want to know either until he was born,” says the boy’s mother warmly, “but then I wanted to know everything about him immediately!”
“以前我也不想在出生前知道性别。”男孩的母亲温柔地说，“但真到了那时，我又想立马知道他的一切。”
“Absolutely.”
“当然可以。”
“She nicked that from The Brothers Lionheart,” says Elsa.
“这句话是她从《狮心兄弟》里抄的。”爱莎说。
Mum grins almost guiltily and shakes her head.
妈妈几乎有些内疚地笑了笑，摇头。
“We want to wait until the birth.”
“我们想等到出生时再知道。”
“Darling, Elsa…” whispers Elsa’s mum and smiles apologetically at the boy’s mother, who just waves her hand dismissively to show that it doesn’t matter at all.
“亲爱的，爱莎…”爱莎的妈妈微笑着向男孩的妈妈道歉，而男孩的妈妈则不在意地挥挥手，表示完全没关系。
“Your grandmother used to say that sometimes we have to do things that are dangerous, because otherwise we aren’t really human.”
“你外祖母曾经说过，我们有时不得不做一些危险的事情，不然就不是真正的人。”
“It’s going to be a she/he,” Elsa informs her. Her mum looks embarrassed.
“要称呼为‘她或他’。”爱莎提醒她。妈妈看上去很尴尬。
The boy’s mother turns to Elsa’s mum and looks as if she’d like to change the subject. Maybe more for Elsa’s sake than her own. “Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”
男孩的妈妈转向爱莎的妈妈，似乎想换个话题。也许不是为了她自己，而是为了爱莎。“你知道它是男孩还是女孩吗？”
“Can I ask you something that could be sort of impolite?” ventures Elsa, poking at the palm of her hand.
“我能问你点儿可能不太礼貌的事吗？”爱莎大胆问道，戳着自己的手掌心。
Guilt wells up in Mum’s face as soon as the last word has escaped her lips. She glances past Elsa towards the wardrobe, where the boy lies sleeping.
最后一个字从爱莎妈妈的嘴里吐出后，她的脸上瞬间充满了内疚。她的视线越过爱莎，落在男孩睡着的衣橱里。
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to –” she manages to say, but the boy’s mum interrupts her at once.
“对不起。我不是故意的…”她设法说，但男孩的妈妈立刻打断了她。
“Yes, exactly, that’s how I feel. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s healthy!”
“是啊，没错，这正是我的感受。我不在乎是男是女，只要健康就好！”
“I like extra everything!” Elsa exclaims happily, but then she also looks ashamed and mumbles: “Except veggie burgers. I always get rid of the tomato.”
“我喜欢额外的东西！”爱莎开心地说，但随即也有点儿羞愧，“除了素汉堡，我总是把番茄挑掉。”
“Oh, don’t say sorry. It’s fine. I know what people say. But he is healthy. He’s just a bit of extra everything, you could say.”
“哦，别说抱歉，没关系的。我知道人们怎么说。但他是健康的，应该说，他只是多了些额外的东西。”
Alf is waiting for her and the wurse on the stairs. She doesn’t know how he knew they were coming. The darkness outside the house is so compact that if you threw a snowball you’d lose sight of it before it left your glove. They sneak under Britt-Marie’s balcony so they don’t give the wurse away. The wurse backs into a bush and looks as though it would have appreciated having a newspaper or something.
阿尔夫在楼梯上等着爱莎和呜嘶。不知道他是怎么知道他们要来的。房子外的夜色深沉，如果你扔个雪球，还没等它离开手套，你就看不见它了。他们从布里特—玛丽的阳台下偷偷溜过，祈祷呜嘶不被发现。呜嘶跑进一丛灌木，看上去还想来张报纸。
And then both the mothers laugh so hard that the flat echoes. And that’s what they both seem to be most in need of. So even though it wasn’t her intention, Elsa decides to take the credit for that.
两个妈妈大笑起来，她们的笑声在墙壁之间回荡。看起来这正是她们都需要的。所以就算不是出自她的本意，爱莎还是决定把功劳算在自己头上。
Elsa and Alf turn away respectfully. Elsa clears her throat.
爱莎和阿尔夫转过身以示尊重。爱莎清了清嗓子。
Elsa doesn’t really know how to answer that. She thinks about Halfie. She’d rather not, so she changes the subject: “Why don’t you have a girlfriend?”
爱莎不知道该怎么回答。她想到了“小半”。她不愿想到她／他，所以岔开话题：“你为什么不交女朋友？”
“I didn’t know that,” she manages to say at last. “Why are you so horrible to each other if you’re brothers?”
“我不知道。”她最终开口说，“如果你们是兄弟，那为什么你们对彼此这么不友好？”
“What? He is an asswipe, isn’t he?”
“为什么？他不是个蠢货吗？”
Alf grunts. Elsa shoves her hands in her jacket pockets.
阿尔夫咕哝了一声。爱莎把手插进口袋。
“Because I’m allowed to get shitty about my little brother. You’re not.”
“因为我可以把我弟弟骂个狗血淋头，你不行。”
“Don’t bloody talk like that.”
“别他妈这么说。”
“Thanks for helping me with Renault.”
“雷诺的事情谢谢你了。”
“You don’t get to choose your siblings,” mutters Alf.
“你没法选择你的兄弟。”阿尔夫小声说。
It takes many different kinds of eternities for Elsa to digest that piece of information.
爱莎花费了许多不同类型的“永恒”时间才理解了这句话的意思。
“What?”
“什么？”
“You call him a bloody idiot, like, all the time!”
“你总叫他‘该死的蠢货’！”
Alf’s leather jacket creaks.
阿尔夫的皮夹克发出摩擦声响。
“Why not?”
“为什么？”
“Don’t say that.”
“别这么说。”
“Maybe so. But you don’t damn well call him that in front of me!”
“也许吧。但你别在我面前那么说他。”
Alf’s head turns slowly.
阿尔夫慢慢转过头来。
“Yes. I’m allowed to. You’re not.”
“是。我可以说，你不行。”
“Never you bloody mind.”
“关你屁事。”
“Kent’s an asswipe. Someone should poison him!”
“肯特是个蠢货，应该毒死他！”
“I’m a damned grown-up. It’s bloody obvious I’ve been in love. Everyone’s been in bloody love sometime.”
“我是个成年人，当然恋爱过。每个人总有爱过的时候。”
“How old were you?”
“你那时几岁？”
“Have you ever been in love?”
“你恋爱过吗？”
“The first time?”
“第一次？”
Alf’s leather jacket creaks. He checks his watch and starts heading back to the house.
阿尔夫的皮夹克嘎吱作响。他看了眼表，开始走回房子。
“And the second time?”
“那第二次呢？”
Elsa is about to ask something else. But that’s when they hear it. Or rather, it’s the wurse that hears it. The scream. The wurse leaps out of the bush and hurtles into the darkness like a black spear. Then Elsa hears its bark for the first time. She thought she’d heard it barking before, but she was wrong. All she’s heard before are yelps and whines compared to this. This bark makes the foundations of the house quake. It’s a battle cry.
爱莎还想问点儿别的，但这时他们听见了那个声音，或者说是呜嘶听见了那个声音。尖叫声。呜嘶跳出树丛，冲进夜色，犹如一杆黑色的长矛。爱莎第一次听见它的吠叫。她以为自己之前听过它吠叫，但她错了。这种吠叫让整栋房子的地基都颤抖。这是战斗的号叫。
“There was no second time.”
“没有第二次。”
“Yes.”
“是啊。”
“Ten.”
“十岁。”
Britt-Marie is standing, white-faced, a few yards from the door. There’s a carrier bag of food dropped on the snow. Lollipops and comic books have spilled out of it. A stone’s throw away stands Sam. With a knife in his hand.
布里特—玛丽站在离大门几米处，面色惨白。一个食品袋掉在雪地上，棒棒糖和漫画杂志从里面翻倒出来。山姆站在几步之外的地方，手中握着一把尖刀。
Elsa gets there first. She’s better at running than Alf.
爱莎第一个冲过去。她比阿尔夫擅长跑步。
The wurse stands resolutely between them, its front paws planted like concrete pillars in the snow, its teeth bared. Sam isn’t moving, but Elsa can see that he’s hesitating. He slowly turns around and sees her, and his gaze pulverizes her spine. Her knees want to give way and let her sink into the snow and disappear. The knife glitters in the glow of the streetlights. Sam’s hand hovers in the air, his body rigid with animosity. His eyes eat their way into her, cold and warlike. But the knife isn’t directed at her, she can see that.
呜嘶坚定地站在山姆和食品袋之间，它的前爪牢牢地扎进雪地里，犹如水泥立柱，它露出牙齿。山姆没有动，爱莎看出他在犹豫。他慢慢转过身，看见了她，那视线让她背脊发麻。她的膝盖差点儿跪在雪地上。刀在街灯的照射下泛着光。山姆的手举在空中，身体因恨意而僵直。他的目光像是要吞噬她，冰冷嗜战。但刀没有指向她，她看得出来。
Elsa can hear Britt-Marie sobbing. She doesn’t know where the instinct comes from, or the courage, or maybe it’s just pure stupidity — Granny always used to say that she and Elsa were the sort of people who, deep down, were a bit soft in the head, and it would get them in trouble sooner or later — but Elsa runs. Runs right at Sam. She can see him bring the knife down confidently by a few inches, and that the other hand is raised like a claw to catch her as she leaps.
爱莎听见布里特—玛丽的啜泣声。她不知道自己的本能——或是勇气，又或者是单纯的愚蠢——从何而来。外婆以前总说，她和爱莎的内心深处，都有一点儿心软，这迟早会让她们陷入麻烦。爱莎跑了起来，直直地跑向山姆。她看见他自信地将刀放低了几英寸，另一只手抬起来，像只爪子，想要抓住突然飞奔过来的她。
But she doesn’t have time to get there. She collides with something dry and black. Feels the smell of dry leather. Hears the creaking of Alf’s jacket.
但她并没有时间跑到那里。她撞上了一个干燥的黑色东西，闻上去一股皮革的气味。阿尔夫皮夹克的嘎吱声传入耳中。
Elsa doesn’t know how long they stand there. For how many eternities of fairy tales. It feels like all of them. It feels as if she has time to die. As if the terror is cracking her heart.
爱莎不知道他们对峙了多久，多少个“童话故事永恒”，感觉像是永远，久得她都要死了。恐惧折磨着她的心脏。
“The police are on their way,” Alf finally utters in a low voice. He sounds as if he thinks it’s a pity. That they can’t just finish this here and now.
“警察已经在来的路上了。”阿尔夫最终用低沉的声音说。听上去似乎有点儿遗憾，遗憾他们不能此时此刻就了结一切。
And then Alf is standing in front of Sam, with the same ominous body language. Elsa sees the hammer sliding into his palm from the coat-arm. Alf swings it calmly from side to side. Sam’s knife doesn’t move. They do not take their eyes off each other.
阿尔夫站在山姆面前，摆出准备战斗的架势。爱莎看见他的袖管里滑出一把榔头。阿尔夫平静地左右挥舞着榔头。山姆的刀没有动。他们紧盯着彼此。
Sam’s eyes wander calmly from Alf to the wurse. The wurse’s hackles are raised. It growls like rolling thunder from its lungs. A faint smile steals across Sam’s lips for an unbearable length of time. Then he takes a single step back and the darkness engulfs him.
山姆镇静地从阿尔夫看向呜嘶。呜嘶脖子上的毛竖立着，低吼的声音就像是肺里轰鸣的惊雷。山姆的嘴角露出了一丝软弱的微笑，持续了一段让人难以承受的时间。然后他朝笼罩着自己的黑暗中后退了一步。
The police car skids into the street, but Sam is long gone by then. Elsa collapses into the snow as if her clothes have been emptied of whatever was in there. She feels Alf catching her and hears him hissing at the wurse to run up the stairs before the police catch sight of it. She hears Britt-Marie panting and the police crunching through the snow. But her consciousness is already fading, far away. She’s ashamed of it, ashamed of being so afraid that she just closes her eyes and escapes into her mind. No knight of Miamas was ever so paralyzed with fear. A real knight would have stayed in position, straight-backed, not taken refuge in sleep. But she can’t help it. It’s too much reality for an almost-eight-year-old.
警车呼啸着开进了这条街，但山姆早已经跑了。爱莎瘫倒在雪地里，好像她衣服中填充的东西突然消失了。她感觉阿尔夫接住了自己，听见他命令呜嘶在警察看到它前跑上楼。她听见布里特—玛丽的喘气和警察跑过雪地的声音，但意识已经模糊了。她很惭愧，为自己如此害怕而惭愧。她闭上眼睛，逃进了自己的意识中。没有一个密阿玛斯的骑士会被恐惧吓瘫，一位真正的骑士应该挺直脊背，严守岗位，而不是在沉睡中避难。但她控制不住自己。对一个即将八岁的孩子来说，这一切太过于真实了。
The wurse looks as if maybe it deserves a cookie. Elsa slips out of the sweaty sheets, onto the floor. Through the doorway she sees Mum standing in the front hall, her face gray. She’s shouting furiously at Alf, so angry she’s crying. Alf stands there in silence, taking it. Elsa runs through into Mum’s arms.
呜嘶觉得应该获得饼干的奖励。爱莎滑下汗水濡湿的床单。透过大门，她看见妈妈站在门厅，脸色灰暗。她愤怒地冲阿尔夫大喊，气得眼泪都出来了。阿尔夫站在那里默默承受。爱莎冲进妈妈的怀里。
“It wasn’t their fault, they were only trying to protect me!” Elsa sobs.
“不是他们的错，他们只是想保护我。”爱莎啜泣道。
“No, it was obviously my fault! My fault, it was. Everything was obviously my fault, Ulrika.”
“不，这明显是我的错！是我的错！所有一切显然都是我的错，乌尔莉卡。”
She wakes up on the bed in Granny’s bedroom. It’s warm. She feels the wurse’s nose against her shoulder and pats its head.
她在外婆卧室的床上醒来，很温暖。她感觉呜嘶的鼻子抵着她的肩膀，于是摸了摸它的脑袋。
“You’re so brave,” she whispers.
“你好勇敢。”她轻声说。
Britt-Marie’s voice interrupts her.
布里特—玛丽的声音打断了她。
“He was standing outside the door, hiding, but I caught the smell of those cigarettes, I did. So I told him that in this leaseholders’ association we don’t smoke! And then he got out that…”
“他站在门外，偷偷摸摸，但我闻到了香烟味。所以我跟他说，这里的租户协会规定了不能抽烟！然后他就拿出了那把…”
Elsa turns to Britt-Marie, realizing as she does so that Maud and Lennart and the boy with a syndrome’s mum are also in the hall. Everyone looks at Britt-Marie. She clasps her hands together over her stomach.
爱莎转向布里特—玛丽，这才意识到莫德、莱纳特和生病男孩的妈妈也在。每个人都看着布里特—玛丽。她的双手交叠在腹部。
“He’s at a business meeting!” Britt-Marie snaps.
“他在开会！”布里特—玛丽咆哮道。
She straightens out a wrinkle in her skirt. A real wrinkle, this time. The bag of lollipops and comics is by her feet. Maud tries to put a tender hand on Britt-Marie’s arm, but Britt-Marie removes it. Maud smiles wistfully.
她抚平裙子上的一道皱褶。这次是一道真实的皱褶。她的脚边放着装有棒棒糖和漫画书的袋子。莫德温柔地想搭上布里特—玛丽的手臂，但布里特—玛丽甩开了她的手。莫德惆怅地笑了笑。
“You all know who he is, of course! But obviously none of you thought to warn me about it, oh no. Even though I’m the information officer in this residents’ association!”
“你们当然都知道他是谁！但没有一个人想到提醒我，哦，没有。即使我是租户协会的信息负责人！”
“What were you doing out so late?” Mum says.
“你这么晚在外面干吗？”
Britt-Marie can’t bring herself to say “knife” without her voice breaking again. She looks offended, as you do when you’re the last to learn a secret.
布里特—玛丽的声音颤抖着，说不出“刀”这个字。她看上去很不满，因为她是唯一不知道这个秘密的人。
“Where is Kent?” she asks softly.
“肯特在哪儿？”她轻声问。
“Sorry, Britt-Marie. We just didn’t know what to say. Look, why don’t you just stay here tonight, at least? It may be safer if we’re all together?”
“对不起，布里特—玛丽。我们只是不知道该说什么。你看，要不你今晚待在这儿？我们大家在一起的话，可能更安全。”
Alf looks at her, then at the bag from the supermarket, and then at her again.
阿尔夫看着她，然后看了看超市袋子，又看向她。
Britt-Marie surveys them over the tip of her nose.
布里特—玛丽高傲地扫视了他们一圈。
“Kent’s children get lollipops and comics when they come for Christmas! Always! I was at the shop!”
“肯特的孩子们来过圣诞节，他们喜欢棒棒糖和漫画！一直是这样！我之前去商店了！”
“I’m sleeping at home. Kent is coming home tonight. I’m always home when Kent arrives.”
“我要回家睡觉。肯特今晚回家。他到家的时候，我总是在家的。”
“It’s about time you turned up!” Britt-Marie says. The green-eyed officer doesn’t say anything. Another officer is standing behind her, and Elsa can see that he’s flummoxed by just having caught sight of Elsa and Mum. He seems to remember escorting them to the hospital only to be given the slip once they got there.
“你们也该出现了！”布里特—玛丽说。绿眼睛警察不发一言。另一位警官站在她身后，他看见爱莎和妈妈后，似乎有些慌张，大概是想起了护送她们去医院，结果被放鸽子的事情。
The policewoman with the green eyes comes up the stairs behind her. Britt-Marie spins around. The green eyes stay on her, watchfully.
绿眼睛的女警走上楼梯，来到她身后。布里特—玛丽转过身。绿眼睛警惕地盯着她。
“We’re going to find him,” she says, her gaze still riveted to Britt-Marie. “Also, the dog that Kent called about yesterday, Britt-Marie? He said you’d found dog hairs on the stairs. Did you see it tonight?”
“我们会找到他的。”她依旧注视着布里特—玛丽，“另外，肯特昨天报案说的那条狗是什么情况，布里特—玛丽？他说你在楼梯上发现狗毛了。你今晚看见它了吗？”
Lennart tries to invite them both in for coffee, and the summer-intern policeman looks like this would be preferable to searching the area with dogs, but after a stern glance from his superior he shakes his head at the floor. The green-eyed policewoman talks with the sort of voice that effortlessly fills a room.
莱纳特邀请他们俩都进来喝咖啡，“暑期工”警察看上去更想带警犬去巡逻，但他的上级瞥了他一眼后，只能摇着脑袋低下了头。绿眼睛女警的嗓门很大，轻易就充斥了整个房间。
Elsa stops breathing. So much that she forgets to wonder about why Green-eyes is referring to Kent and Britt-Marie by their first names. Britt-Marie peers around the room, at Elsa and Mum and Maud and Lennart and the boy with a syndrome’s mum. Last of all at Alf. His face is devoid of expression. The green eyes sweep over the front hall. There’s sweat all over Elsa’s palms when she opens and closes her hands to make them stop shaking. She knows that the wurse is sleeping just a few yards behind her, in Granny’s bedroom. She knows that everything is lost, and she doesn’t know what to do to stop it. She’ll never be able to escape with the wurse through all the police she can hear at the bottom of the stairs, not even a wurse could pull that off. They’ll shoot it. Kill it. She wonders if that was what the shadow had been planning all along. Because it didn’t dare fight the wurse. Without the wurse, and without Wolfheart, the castle is defenseless.
爱莎屏住呼吸，紧张得都没有对绿眼睛直呼肯特和布里特—玛丽的名字感到奇怪。布里特—玛丽环顾了一下房间，看了看爱莎、妈妈、莫德、莱纳特和生病男孩的妈妈，最后看着阿尔夫。他面无表情。绿眼睛扫视了一下门厅。爱莎的手心里都是汗，她捏了捏手掌，让它们不再颤抖。她知道呜嘶就在身后几米的地方睡觉，在外婆的房间里。她知道一切都完了，而她不知道该怎么挽救。她没法带着呜嘶从楼下这么多警察的眼皮底下逃跑，就连呜嘶都办不到。他们会开枪打它，杀了它。她不知道这是不是暗影一开始就计划好的，因为他不敢与呜嘶战斗。没有了呜嘶，没有了狼心，城堡毫无防御。
Britt-Marie purses her lips when she sees Elsa staring at her. Changes her hands around on her stomach and snorts, with a sudden, newly acquired self-confidence, at Green-eyes.
布里特—玛丽见爱莎盯着她，抿了抿嘴唇，交换了一下放在腹部的手，冲绿眼睛哼了一声，突然表现得特别自信。
“Please, Britt-Marie,” Maud tries to say, but Britt-Marie shakes her head, picks up her bag, and stamps out the door. Well-meaningly.
“拜托，布里特—玛丽。”莫德试着劝说，但布里特—玛丽摇着头，拎起她的袋子，跺着脚走出了门。没有恶意。
“Obviously you find it amusing to have secrets from me. It’s amusing to make me look like an idiot, that’s what you think!”
“显然，你们觉得把我蒙在鼓里很好笑，觉得把我当傻瓜很好笑！”
The green eyes glance quickly at Elsa. Then the policewoman nods briskly, as if the matter is over and done with, and assures them they’ll keep the house under surveillance for the night. Before anyone has time to say anything else, the two officers are already on their way down the stairs. Elsa’s mum is breathing heavily. She holds out her hand to Britt-Marie, but Britt-Marie moves away.
绿眼睛快速扫了爱莎一眼，然后轻快地点点头，似乎这一页就这么揭过去了。然后她保证，晚上会有警察盯着这栋房子。大家还来不及说什么，两位警官就已经朝楼下走去。爱莎的妈妈重重地喘着气。她向布里特—玛丽伸出手，但布里特—玛丽避开了。
But Elsa sees the way Alf looks at her when she leaves. The wurse is standing in the bedroom doorway with the same expression. And now Elsa knows who Britt-Marie is.
但爱莎看见了她离开时阿尔夫看她的眼神。呜嘶站在卧室门口，露出相同的表情。现在，爱莎知道布里特—玛丽是谁了。
“Maybe we misjudged it, Kent and I. Maybe they weren’t dog hairs, it may have been some other nuisance. It wouldn’t be so strange, with so many odd people running about on these stairs these days,” she says, half-apologetically and half-accusingly, and adjusts the brooch on the floral-print jacket.
“也许我们误会了，肯特和我。也许那不是狗毛，可能是别的什么讨厌玩意儿。如果不是这么多怪人这些天在我们的楼道里进进出出，事情就不会变得这么奇怪了。”她的语气半是道歉半是指责，调整着自己印花外套上的胸针。
Elsa looks at Mum, and she can see that she’s still angry. Then she peers at the hammer that Alf has set down in a corner of the balcony floor.
爱莎的视线转向妈妈，看得出她还在生气。然后她盯着阿尔夫放在阳台角落的榔头。
“Knew, at least. They were best friends when they were your age.”
“不仅仅是认识，她们在你这个年纪是最好的朋友。”
“Do they know each other?” Elsa asks, surprised. Alf nods.
“她们认识？”爱莎惊讶地问。阿尔夫点点头。
Alf’s eyes are apologetic but honest. “No.”
阿尔夫的眼睛里露出歉意，但他还是坦然地说：“不。”
Alf goes onto the balcony and Elsa goes after him. Stands hesitantly behind him for a long time before joining him and peering over the railing. Green-eyes is standing in the snow, talking to Elsa’s mum. She smiles the way she smiled at Granny that time in the police station.
阿尔夫走去阳台，爱莎跟着他，迟疑地站在他身后好一会儿才加入他，跟他一起从栏杆往下看。绿眼睛站在雪地里，正和爱莎的妈妈讲话。她微笑的样子和她在警局朝外婆微笑的模样一样。
“Why was Mum so angry at you, then?”
“那为什么妈妈冲你发火？”
Mum also goes down the stairs, Elsa doesn’t know why. Lennart puts on some coffee. George gets out some eggs and makes more mulled wine. Maud distributes cookies. The boy with a syndrome’s mother crawls into the wardrobe to find her son, and Elsa hears him laughing. That’s one good superpower he’s got there.
妈妈也下楼了，爱莎不知道为什么。莱纳特端出几杯咖啡，乔治端出煎蛋，还有更多的热红酒。莫德分发着饼干。生病男孩的妈妈爬进衣橱找她的儿子，爱莎听见他的笑声。
Alf’s leather jacket heaves slightly.
阿尔夫的皮夹克轻微地起伏着。
“She was angry because she wasn’t there holding the hammer.”
“她生气是因为当时她没在那儿拿着榔头。”
“Were you going to kill Sam?”
“你那时会杀了山姆吗？”
Elsa’s shoulders sink; she wraps her arms around herself against the cold. Alf hangs his leather jacket over her. Elsa hunches up inside it.
爱莎的肩膀沉了下去，她蜷缩起身体来抵御寒冷。阿尔夫把自己的皮夹克披在她身上。
“I mean… sort of kill, anyway. I know one shouldn’t think people deserve to die. But sometimes I’m not sure people like him deserve to live…”
“我是说…差不多杀死什么的。我知道认为别人该死是不对的，但有时候我不确定他那样的人是否应该活着…”
Alf leans against the balcony railing.
阿尔夫靠着阳台栏杆。
Elsa hunches up even more inside the jacket. Tries to feel brave.
爱莎又朝夹克里缩了缩，想鼓起勇气。
“It’s human not to be sure.”
“不，人总是不确定。”
They sneak out with the wurse when everyone has gone to sleep, but Elsa knows that her mum sees them go. She’s certain that Green-eyes also sees them. That she’s also keeping watch over them, somewhere in the dark, like Wolfheart would have done, if he were there. And Elsa tries not to feel reproachful toward Wolfheart, for not being there, for letting her down after he promised to always protect her. It doesn’t go very well.
等所有人都入睡后，他们带着呜嘶偷偷溜了出去，但爱莎知道妈妈看见了。她确信绿眼睛也看见了。女警一直在暗处看顾着她们，就像狼心一样，如果他在这里的话。爱莎不想在心里责备狼心，但不怎么成功。他不在这里。在发誓要保护她之后，他却让她失望。
“Is it human to want people to die?”
“希望别人死？”
“Me too,” says Alf.
“我也是。”阿尔夫说。
“Sometimes I think I’d like someone to kill Sam.”
“有时候，我觉得我希望某人能杀死山姆。”
“It’s human.”
“人就是这样。”
Alf doesn’t answer. Elsa looks at the hammer.
阿尔夫没有回答。爱莎看着榔头。
“I’m scared,” she whispers.
“我很害怕。”她低声说。
And they don’t say anything else about it.
然后他们就没有再聊这件事。
Alf shakes his head calmly.
阿尔夫平静地摇了摇头。
As they’re making their way back up the stairs, Alf stops briefly outside Britt-Marie’s front door. Elsa sees the way he looks at it. Looks at it, as one does when there was once a first time, but never a second, and never anything more. Elsa looks at the Christmas decorations, which, for the first time ever, don’t smell of pizza.
他们回到楼上时，阿尔夫在布里特—玛丽的门前稍稍停了一下。他看那扇门的眼神，既像是第一次相见，也像再也没有机会见到一样。爱莎看着圣诞装饰，它们第一次没染上披萨的气味。
She doesn’t talk to Alf. He doesn’t say anything either. It’s the night before Christmas Eve, but everything just feels odd.
她没跟阿尔夫说话，他也没开口。今天是平安夜，却不太平安。
“They’re grown-ups,” says Alf bitterly.
“他们都成年了。”阿尔夫简短地回答。
“How old are Kent’s children?” she asks.
“肯特的孩子多大了？”她问。
“So why did Britt-Marie say they want comics and lollipops, then?”
“那为什么布里特—玛丽说他们要漫画和棒棒糖呢？”
“Britt-Marie invites them over for dinner every Christmas. They never come. The last time they came they were still children. They liked lollipops and comics then,” Alf answers emptily.
“布里特—玛丽每年圣诞都邀请肯特的孩子来吃晚餐，但他们从没来过。最后一次来的时候，他们还是孩子，喜欢棒棒糖和漫画。”阿尔夫的声音空洞。
When he moves off up the stairs with his dragging footsteps and Elsa follows, the wurse stays where it is. Considering how smart she is, it takes Elsa an unaccountably long time before she realizes why.
他拖着脚步上楼，爱莎也跟在他身后，然而呜嘶却留在了原地。即使爱莎这么聪明，还是花了挺长时间才明白为什么。
And the wurse is guarding the gates of her castle. Because that’s what wurses do.
呜嘶守护着她的城堡大门，因为那就是呜嘶的职责。
The Princess of Miploris was so beloved of the two princes that they fought for her love, until they hated one another. The Princess of Miploris once had a treasure stolen by a witch, and now she lives in the kingdom of sorrow.
两位王子都深爱着密普洛瑞斯的公主，他们为了她的爱而战，直到彼此怨恨。密普洛瑞斯的公主曾经被女巫偷走了一件宝物，她如今住在悲伤的国度。
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