20 The Triumph of the Treacherous

20. THE TRIUMPH OF THE TREACHEROUS 'Dear, oh dear, oh dear,' whispered the Wodensfang, talking to himself. 'Well, that didn't take long, did it? The Crown has fallen into the wrong hands even quicker than last time…' The Wodensfang didn't seem as downcast as he should have been. 'But Hiccup IS the Heir, I know that now, there is no doubt about it…' The sky was very dark now, deep with thunderclouds so close above their heads it felt like you could reach out and touch them. Everyone felt in a bewildered way that the world had turned upside-down. They had just banished Stoick the Vast, who most people agreed was a thoroughly nice chap, an old burglar of course, but generally thought to be a good Viking and one of them. And now the Chief of the Outcasts was about to be made their King. What was going on? They had been tricked but they couldn't quite

20.。“天哪，哦，天哪，哦，天哪。” “嗯，那没花多长时间，是不是？” 王位比上次更迅速地落入坏人之手……”沃登斯方似乎并没有像他应该表现的那样沮丧。 “但是小嗝嗝是继承人，我现在知道了，这是毫无疑问的……”这时天空很黑，乌云密布，离他们的头顶很近，感觉你可以伸手去摸它们。 每个人都莫名其妙地感到世界颠倒了。 他们刚刚驱逐了巨人斯托伊克，大多数人都认为他是个十足的好人，当然是一个老飞贼，但一般人都认为他是一个好海盗，也是海盗中的一员。 现在，被驱逐者的首领即将成为他们的国王。 发生了什么事？他们被骗了，但他们不能

put their hairy fingers on HOW it had happened. The dragons were tense, their cats' eyes gleaming in the darkness, down on their haunches, muscles poised for flight. Only minutes ago they were in touching distance of freedom. But a minute can be a long time. A new lord for the Vikings meant a new lord for themselves, too. What would it mean? Who was this Treacherous human, and what did he stand for? Alvin threw back his cloak and strode to the centre of the Battle Arena, swelling with triumph. He had been a handsome man once, and you could still see that in the ruins of his face, scarred like a fallen angel. You could still see that in the grace and elegance of the ironic bow he made to Hiccup. 'I am only sorry,' he smiled, as charming as if he were at an evening feast, 'that we did not meet in battle one last time, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. But I am sure you are not a poor loser.' His voice turned to iron. 'Hand over the Stormblade, and the King's Things.' One by one Hiccup handed them over. The Stormblade. The Roman shield. The ticking-thing. The key-that-opens-all-locks. The

用他们毛茸茸的手指弄清楚事情是怎么发生的。 龙们都很紧张，猫的眼睛在黑暗中闪闪发光，蹲下腰，肌肉准备逃跑。 就在几分钟前，他们距离自由还近在咫尺。 但一分钟可能很长。 维京人的新领主也意味着他们自己的新领主。 这意味着什么？这个奸诈的人类是谁？他代表什么？ 阿尔文掀开斗篷，大步走向竞技场中央，得意洋洋。 他曾经是一个英俊的男人，你仍然可以看到他的脸的废墟，伤痕累累，像一个堕落的天使。 你仍然可以从他对小嗝嗝的优雅和讽刺的鞠躬中看到这一点。 “我只是很遗憾，”他微笑着，就像在宴会上一样迷人，“我们没有在战斗中最后一次相遇，嗝嗝·可怕的黑线鳕三世。 但我相信你不是一个输不起的人。”他的声音变得生硬起来。 “把暴风之剑和国王的遗物交上来。”小嗝嗝把它们一个个递了过来。 Stormblade。罗马盾牌。 ticking-thing。key-that-opens-all-locks。 的

arrow-from-the-land-that-does-not-exist. The bracelet with the ruby heart's stone. The Crown. And last of all… 'The sword, Hiccup. Hand over the sword.' The Dragon Jewel was hers, she knew it, for the sword would point the way. 'Oh yes, it is the triumph of the Treacherous at last, for you, Alvin, you are King,' and with that the witch went down upon her knees and knelt before her son, the new King. Graciously, Alvin allowed her to kiss his hand. You see how sometimes it is not clear what story we are telling from the outset? For the story we have been a part of, it turns out, has not just been about the making of a Hero, but also the making of a villain. The Alvin that we first met, many books and years ago, was not the same terrible man who was now about to be crowned upon the castle that once was Flashburn's. When first we met him, he was a charming, sneaking, elegant sort of fellow, barely able to hold his own in a swordfight. Since then, dreadful things have happened to Alvin, all his own fault of course, but he has suffered

arrow-from-the-land-that-does-not-exist。 镶着红宝石心形宝石的手镯。 皇冠。最后……“剑，嗝嗝。” 把剑给我。”龙珠是她的，她知道，因为这把剑会指引方向。 “哦，是的，这是叛徒的胜利，因为你，阿尔文，你是国王。”说完，女巫跪在她的儿子——新国王面前。 阿尔文彬彬有礼地让她吻了吻他的手。 你看，有时候我们从一开始就不清楚我们在讲什么故事？ 因为事实证明，我们所参与的这个故事，不仅是关于英雄的塑造，也是关于恶棍的塑造。 我们在许多书和许多年前第一次见到的阿尔文，已经不是那个可怕的人了，现在他即将在曾经属于弗拉什本的城堡里加冕。 当我们第一次见到他的时候，他是一个迷人的、鬼鬼祟祟的、优雅的家伙，在剑术上几乎站不住脚。 从那以后，可怕的事情发生在阿尔文身上，当然都是他自己的错，但他受苦了

nonetheless. Suffering can, of course, make a man a better person– but with Alvin it went the other way, and it had made him far, far worse. With every ghastly experience he lost a little more of his humanity along with his hair, his leg, his nose, his eye… And now he stands, muscled, hardened, brutal and merciless, a truly awful man indeed to wield the power he would hold from now on. Alvin took the Crown, put it on his head and turned to face the still-silent crowd. The witch gave a sigh of the purest satisfaction. 'And now,' Alvin said silkily, and almost casually gesturing to Hiccup, 'put this slave-boy and his father into chains, and throw them to the Uglithug Slavelands, never to return. Put the Mark upon the father too, as a sign of how he betrayed his own people. 'Friends, Barbarians and Vikings!' he yelled. He thrust the Endeavour in the air.

尽管如此。当然，苦难可以使一个人变得更好——但对阿尔文来说，情况却恰恰相反，苦难使他变得更糟。 随着每一次可怕的经历，他失去了一点点人性，失去了头发、腿、鼻子、眼睛……而现在，他站起来，肌肉发达，冷酷无情，残忍无情，一个真正可怕的人，确实可以行使他从现在开始掌握的权力。 阿尔文接过皇冠，戴在头上，转身面对仍然沉默的人群。 女巫发出一声满意的叹息。 “现在，”阿尔文顺滑地说，几乎是随随便便地向小嗝嗝做了个手势，“把这个奴隶男孩和他父亲铐起来，扔到Uglithug奴隶地去，永远不要回来。 把标记也放在他父亲的身上，作为他背叛自己人民的标志。 “朋友们，野蛮人和维京人！”他喊道。 他把奋进号抛向空中。

'Let me tell you what kind of King I am going to be… I have not come to set your dragons FREE,' sneered Alvin the Treacherous. 'Are we to just sit back and let them destroy our world? I say no, and again no! From now on I declare WAR of the most dreadful and bloody kind on all wild dragons.

“让我来告诉你，我将成为一个什么样的国王……我不是来解救你们的龙的。” “难道我们要坐视不管，让他们摧毁我们的世界吗？” 我说不，又说不！从现在起，我向所有的野龙宣战，这是一场最可怕、最血腥的战争。

All wild dragons must be killed on sight, with our Northbows and our axes, and the most fanciful instruments of human ingenuity. We shall seek out their nests, set fire to their habitats, destroy their eggs and their hibernating young…' Alvin was drunk on power now. 'And as for the domestic dragons,' he purred gloatingly (Alvin had never liked dragons of any kind, and here was his chance for revenge), 'dangerous times call for drastic measures. All domestic dragons shall be CHAINED at all times, unless they are doing a job for a human. They shall spend their nights in cages. Any hint of rebellion, and they will be killed on the spot.' There was a silence as these words sank in. This was too much even for the meaner Tribes, the Murderous and the Visithugs. One person clapped. The witch. 'HE cannot rule over us!' cried Camicazi. 'Oh, I'm sorry,' purred the witch. 'Don't you remember? A promise is a promise if it is made in blood…' 'No!' shouted Hiccup. 'No! You mustn't do this! You'll anger our dragons into joining the Rebellion…

所有的野龙必须一见到就杀掉，用我们的北弓和斧子，以及人类最精巧的工具。 我们要找到它们的巢穴，放火烧它们的栖息地，毁掉它们的蛋和正在冬眠的幼崽……” “至于家养的龙，”他幸灾乐祸地咕噜着（阿尔文从来不喜欢任何种类的龙，现在正是他复仇的机会），“危险时刻需要采取极端措施。 所有家养的龙在任何时候都应该被锁住，除非它们在为人类工作。 他们将在笼子里过夜。 只要有任何反抗的迹象，他们就会被当场杀死。”听到这些话，一阵沉默。 这对凶残的部落和维西格人来说都是难以承受的。 一个人鼓掌。女巫。 “他不能统治我们！”卡米卡齐喊道。 “哦，对不起。”女巫咕噜着。 “你不记得了吗？”用鲜血许下的承诺才是真正的承诺……”嗝嗝喊道。 “不!你不能这样做！你会激怒我们的龙，让它们加入反抗军……