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"I'm just wondering-" said Lasaraleen. "I'm not absolutely sure which way we go from here. I think it's the left. Yes, I'm almost sure it's the left. What fun this is!"
“我只是觉得奇怪...”拉斯阿拉莉恩说道，“我不确定哪条路能让我们从这里出去。我认为是左边的。是的，我几乎确定是左边这条路了。多么有趣啊！”
They took the left hand way and found themselves in a passage that was hardly lighted at all and which soon began going down steps.
她们选择了左手边的那条路，然后发现她们自己置身在一条几乎没有任何光的通道里，通道不久就出现了一级又一级向下延伸的台阶。
"It's all right," said Lasaraleen. "I'm sure we're right now. I remember these steps." But at that moment a moving light appeared ahead.
“这就对了，”拉斯阿拉莉恩说道，“我现在确认我们对了。我记得这些台阶。”但就在这个时候，一个移动的光出现在前方。
A second later there appeared from round a distant corner, the dark shapes of two men walking backwards and carrying tall candles.
不一会，从一个遥远的角落里，出现了两个男人的黑色影子，他们拿着高大的蜡烛，正倒退着行走。
And of course it is only before royalties that people walk backwards.
当然，只有在王室的人面前，人们才会倒退着行走。
Aravis felt Lasaraleen grip her arm-that sort of sudden grip which is almost a pinch and which means that the person who is gripping you is very frightened indeed.
阿拉维斯感觉到拉斯阿拉莉恩抓住了她的手臂，这突然的一抓几乎是拧了她一把，这意味着伸手去抓的人确实十分惊恐。
Aravis thought it odd that Lasaraleen should be so afraid of the Tisroc if he were really such a friend of hers, but there was no time to go on thinking.
阿拉维斯感到很奇怪，拉斯阿拉莉恩竟然会这么害怕太洛帝，如果太洛帝真的是她的一个朋友的话。但阿拉维斯几乎没有时间继续思考。
Lasaraleen was hurrying her back to the top of the steps,on tiptoes, and groping wildly along the wall. "Here's a door," she whispered. "Quick."
拉斯阿拉莉恩正匆忙地赶回台阶的顶端，发疯似的沿着墙壁前进。“这有一个门。”她低声说道，“快点。”
They went in,drew the door very softly behind them, and found themselves in pitch darkness. Aravis could hear by Lasaraleen's breathing that she was terrified.
她们走了进去，轻轻地将身后的门关上，然后发现她们置身于一团漆黑之中。阿拉维斯可以从拉斯阿拉莉恩的呼吸中知道她十分惊恐。
"Tash preserve us!" whispered Lasaraleen. "What shall we do if he comes in here. Can we hide?" There was a soft carpet under their feet.
“塔什神救救我们吧。”拉斯阿拉莉恩低声说道，“如果他们走到这里来，我们能做什么呢？我们能躲起来吗？”她们脚下有一块柔软的地毯。
They groped forward into the room and blundered on to a sofa. "Let's lie down behind it," whimpered Lasaraleen. "Oh, I do wish we hadn't come."
她们摸索着进入房间，结果撞到了一张沙发上。“让我们在沙发后面躺下来，”拉斯阿拉莉恩呜咽地说道，“噢，我真希望我们从来没有来过这里。”
There was just room between the sofa and the curtained wall and the two girls got down. Lasaraleen managed to get the better position and was completely covered.
沙发和幕墙之间恰好有空间仅够两个女孩躺下。拉斯阿拉莉恩试图占据更好的位置，并且几乎完全遮住了自己的身体。
The upper part of Aravis's face stuck out beyond the sofa, so that if anyone came into that room with a light and happened to look in exactly the right place they would see her.
阿拉维斯的上半部分脸从沙发后面露了出来，这样的话，如果有什么人拿着灯走进房间中，碰巧朝着这个地方看过来，就会看到她了。
But of course, because she was wearing a veil, what they saw would not at once look like a forehead and a pair of eyes.
由于她带着面纱，他们一下子看到的也不会像是一个前额和一双眼睛。
Aravis shoved desperately to try to make Lasaraleen give her a little more room. But Lasaraleen, now quite selfish in her panic, fought back and pinched her feet.
阿拉维斯绝望地试图让拉斯阿拉莉恩给自己更多的空间。但是现在的拉斯阿拉莉恩，已经陷入恐慌之中。她十分自私，又把阿拉维斯挤了回去，并且拧她的脚。
They gave it up and lay still, panting a little. Their own breath semed dreadfully noisy,but there was no other noise. "Is it safe?" said Aravis at last in the tiniest possible whisper.
她们最终放弃了，只能挤在一起躺着，有一点点气喘。她们自己的呼吸似乎吵得可怕，但是那里没有任何其他声音。“这里安全吗？”阿拉维斯最后用尽可能小的声音低声问道。
"I-I-think so," began Lasaraleen. "But my poor nerves-" and then came the most terrible noise they could have heard at that moment: the noise of the door opening. And then came light.
“我...我...我认为是这样的。”拉斯阿拉莉恩开始说，“但我可怜的神经...”此刻传来了她们能够听到的最可怕的声音：开门的声音。然后灯光照了进来。
And because Aravis couldn't get her head any further in behind the sofa, she saw everything.
而且因为阿拉维斯不能让她的头更多地藏在沙发后面，她可以看到一切。
First came the two slaves (deaf and dumb, as Aravis rightly guessed, and therefore used at the most secret councils) walking backwards and carrying the candles.
首先进来的是两个奴隶（又聋又哑，就像阿拉维斯猜测的那样，这里方便用于最秘密的会议），手执蜡烛，倒退着走了进来。
They took up their stand one at each end of the sofa. This was a good thing, for of course it was now harder for anyone to see Aravis once a slave was in front of her and she was looking between his heels.
他们站在了沙发的两边。这是一件好事，因为一旦阿拉维斯面前站了一个奴隶，任何人就很难看到她了，而且她可以通过两个奴隶的脚跟之间向外看。
Then came an old man, very fat, wearing a curious pointed cap by which she immediately knew that he was the Tisroc.
然后走进来一个老人，很胖，戴着一顶奇怪的帽子，凭借这个帽子，她立即就知道这个人就是太洛帝。
The least of the jewels with which he was covered was worth more than all the clothes and weapons of the Narnian lords put together:
他浑身上下都是珠宝首饰，加起来超过纳尼亚王王爷们所有的衣服和武器加在一起的总价值。
but he was so fat and such a mass of frills and pleats and bobbles and buttons and tassels and talismans that Aravis couldn't help thinking the Narnian fashions (at any rate for men) looked nicer.
但是他太胖了，况且那么一大堆首饰、皱裙、羊毛球、纽扣、流苏、辟邪物，使得阿拉维斯禁不住想到纳尼亚的时装（无论如何那是给人穿的）看起来更漂亮一些。
After him came a tall young man with a feathered and jewelled turban on his head and an ivory-sheathed scimitar at his side.
在他进来之后，一个高高的年轻人走了进来，年轻人头上戴着羽毛和珠宝装饰的头巾，身旁佩戴者一把象牙刀鞘的弯刀。
He seemed very excited and his eyes and teeth flashed fiercely in the candlelight.
他看起来十分兴奋，他的眼睛和牙齿在烛光里凶狠地闪烁。
Last of all came a little hump-backed, wizened old man in whom she recognized with a shudder the new Grand Vizier and her own betrothed husband,Ahoshta Tarkaan himself.
最后，进来了一个驼背、枯槁的老人，让她感到惊恐，因为她认出这个老头正是新的首相大臣，她新订婚的丈夫，泰坎阿霍什塔本人。
As soon as all three had entered the room and the door was shut, the Tisroc seated himself on the divan with a sigh of contentment, the young man took his place, standing before him, and the Grand Vizier got down on his knees and elbows and laid his face flat on the carpet.
三个人一进入到房间，门就被关上了。太洛帝在沙发上落座，发出惬意的声音。年轻的男人也站到他的位置上，就在太洛帝的面前，首相大臣则双膝跪了下来，他双肘撑地，脸则埋入到地毯之上。
