Author's note: I want to start a good His Dark Materials story, since my
other ones are horrible. The only one that even came close to being good
was Forever, so I decided to merge my idea for a new story with Forever a
bit. Review and tell me if you like it. Also, his is probably my second
best story, and this one will be very long.
Disclaimer: I don't own Philip Pullman's characters, and I am not making any money from this fan fiction. You really can't sue me for not putting in a disclaimer, since you know nothing about me. The only thing I get form this is happiness.
Rating: Pg-13, for slight violence, and some material that might not really be appropriate for children under 13.
Chapter One
Alius Mundus was being spied on. She had known it form the moment she had first met the suspiciously man her mother was planning on marrying. He scared her. Everyone around them, particularly the servants who were frightened of him because of the rumors of what he did to the little girl servants, also knew there was something not right about him.
Alius also knew that her father had gone on a mysterious voyage to the north near Lapland five years ago. She knew that Sylvester was a Russkan spy, just by looking at him. But it also didn't take an idiot to figure out the were being spied on when their mother's fiancée came into their room at night and sorted through their things. Alius was also getting tired of being pumped for information about her father.
One night, on the night Alius' mother, Rachela Mundus, would announced her engagement, Alius was sitting on an unfamiliar, uncomfortable chair in what had used to be her father's study. Before he disappeared. Sylvester was pumping her for information again.
"…And you have no idea where he went? None at all?"
"No," she answered, trying to stay calm, while gritting her teeth so that she didn't lash out at him. That would get her in bigger trouble. She knew what he might do to her. Everyone in the house did. Especially those young servant girls. Her daemon was in a mouse shape, raising his hackles slightly. He was ready to leap up and fight Sylvester's ugly toad daemon. Alius put a hand on his back; it was not polite to let your daemon turn into a shape larger than that of the adult you were addressing.
The ugly, tall man paced across the room, and Alius desperately wished that she could be downstairs, with the rest of the party. Special occasions were the only times when no one watched how much the young girl drank, and no one cared anyhow. Once she and her friends had gotten drunk, and woke up on the Oxford docks somehow, though none of them could remember how.
"He never said anything?"
"No, Sir," she whispered, because he would hear the anger in her voice if she raised it. "Nothing. Not a word."
He turned and studied her face for a moment. Alius knew that if he chose to attack her, she would be at his mercy, because she had seen him close and lock the door, and the servants wouldn't help her. They had never helped the little servant girls.
Sylvester walked over towards her and slid his finger along her cheek. She recoiled, and her daemon turned into a wildcat, leaping to the floor and hissing loudly. The toad daemon hopped to the top of a high cabinet, where the daemon of Alius couldn't reach it. Alius guessed that that was how Sylvester got away with all of it; the girl's dog daemons could not get on top of a high cabinet.
The man put his face close to Alius' and she prepared to spit at him.
"Now, Alius. Don't be so silly," he hissed, right in her ear. She shoved him back and ran over to the door, with her daemon, Shinzui at her feet. The doors were locked, and she stood there as the man cornered her. "Don't be afraid of me," he whispered. "You don't believe those rumors." He seemed to be telling her what to think. "Right?"
She shook her head rapidly, trying to think of a way to escape. N-no, sir."
"Good. And are you a big girl, or a little girl?"
Alius was terrified. Her daemon was now in the form of a wolf, with his hackles raised. Sylvester ignored him; daemons would not touch another human purposely unless they were in love, or about to die. Alius had no idea what to say. She stayed quiet and still. Anything she said could be used against her.
"Ahh… Seeing as we are both adults, you may call me papa, and I will call you Ms. Mundus."
Her daemon thought to her, ~What do we do?~
**I don't know! Is he going to do something to us?**
~He might. He's mad. Look at him.~
He was leaning in to kiss her. She leapt out of the way just in time; he hadn't grabbed her arms, and he ended up falling into the wall.
She backed off slowly, thinking that he would be furious. Instead, he laughed. "You naughty girl! Get back here!"
Alius shook her head fiercely, and her daemon turned into a tiger and leapt in front of her. He might not be able to touch the man attacking his human, but he could still protect her.
"It's any father's right!" he said. "You can't grow up unless you let me."
Alius didn't know about that, but she knew she would never let him. "What about those servant girls? You aren't their father, and you sure as hell aren't mine!"
The window across the room was wide open. Alius glanced around that room once more, then raced towards it. She leapt out easily; she was small for her age. Shinzui turned into a crow and soared out after her. She knew she wouldn't die, the fall was only two stories. However, her ankle was sprained and twisted, and her arm came out of its socket when she fell. Shinzui was fine.
He turned into a horse, and bent down to allow her to mount him, and together they rode off into the Oxford night.
As Alius sat there, trying not to cry; since she hadn't cried since she was an infant, she remembered a conversation she had had one day with one of the older servant girls with a settled daemon.
"Alius," the older girl said. Alius remembered her name as Sam, but she wasn't sure that was it. "Listen to me."
Alius had always been a good listener, and so had Shinzui. Even so, it was hard for Sam to get her to pay attention. An eight year old girl didn't want to listen to some boring lecture. In the end, Sm only got her to listen by telling her that they would go by the market, and maybe she would by a choclatal.
"What, Sam?" It was just after Sylvester had arrived, three months after her father had disapered.
"Don't ever go near Mr. Ronvolkin when he is intoxicated. And don't ever go near his room at night!"
At that time, Alius had wondered why she needed to know that. She wouldn't go near that mean old man who was taking her mummy away.
"I won't."
Sam was crying then. "You have to promise!" she sobbed. "Alimooooooooonddddd!"
The eight-year-old girl was frightenedby Sam. "I promise!" she declared. "But why?"
"I was near his study…N-never mind."
"No!" cried Alius. "You tell me now!"
Even then, Alius had hated to be told to never mind. It made her feel as if she was missing out on some grand secret.
Sam shook her head regretfully. "I can't!"
"It's not Mr. Ronvolkin's study!" she exclaimed, suddenly realizing what Sam had just said. "It's my father's, and someday it will be mine!"
Alius jumped up and raced away form Sam, and up to her room. A week later, Sam was gone, and Alius never saw her again.
Alius opened her weary eyes and saw that she was in the poorer area of Oxford. It was still night; nothing about the sky told her any time had passed. She knew she must have fallen asleep, though, because Shinzui was trudging along doggedly, making an effort to saty awake. If he fell asleep, something could happen to his human.
"Oh, good," he yawned, dumping the girl off his back and changing into a white stoat. She set him on her shoulder. "now I can rest."
Alius smiled slightly, then looked around, slightly alarmed. "Why are we here? This is where the poor folk live."
"You act like they're a different species, Alius!" her daemon laughed.
"No, it's only the way Mother tried to teach me. What I meant was, there are a lot of things what could 'appen here," Alius replied. "So turn into something big and guard me!"
"Guard yourself," the daemon growled, but turned into a coyote anyway.
"I don't recognize this place. Where are we?"
"Somewhere near Jordan. The Botanical Gardens are just around the corner," replied Shinzui.
"Then we'll stop there for the night. And tomorrow we have to move before Mr. Ronvolkin catches us."
They headed toward the garden.
Shinzui said, "We should go home soon. Mayhap no one but Mr. Ronvolkin knows we're gone."
Alius scowled, and narrowed her eyes at some beggars who seemed to be sizing her up. Suddenly she wished she hadn't worn her new ermine fur coat. They were most likely thinking about how much money they could get for it. Alius was glad they didn't know how much she had in her purse, which she wore around her waist.
"We are never going back there!" she exclaimed. "I don't suppose you need me to explain to you what he would have done?"
"He had too much alcohol. He wouldn't do it if he knew what he was doing."
"Stop it!" she shouted. "Do you want to go back? Are you insane?"
A few people who were walking by noticed that she and her daemon were arguing, and though they wanted to see why such a little girl dressed the way she was would be in this part of the town in the middle of the night, they couldn't. It would be considered as interfering, and it was custom for other people to ignore the quarrels of a human and their daemon. They just walked away, pretending they hadn't seen it.
"I'm sorry," he said sadly, hanging his head. "We won't go back. I don't know why I said that." As and afterthought, he added, "This isn't just about Mr. Ronvolkin, is it?"
She tilted her head towards him, as they entered the beautiful garden. "What do you mean?" she pursed her lips. "I suppose I want to find Father before Mother can get married. Think of how happy she'll be!"
"Oh, Ali," the daemon said, using the nickname Alius hated. "There is almost no chance of that. One in a billion!"
"Then there's still that one billionth. We'll find him, or never go back!"
And the daemon knew there was no way he could persuade his human to do otherwise. He looked up at the stars, thinking that something else was happening, and soon it would influence them. It was a feeling impossible to shake off, and he got a chill. Turning into a rattlesnake, he wrapped himself around Alius' arm as she settled down on a bench for the night.
"Do you remember Sam?"
Shinzui was surprised. "Of course! She warned us about… Oh."
They sat in silence for a while.
"We never listen, Shin. Why is that?"
"I don't know," her daemon replied truthfully. "But form now on we will!"
And together they fell asleep on the bench, not knowing that by that time the next day, they would be on a grand adventure they would never forget.
A/n: So how do you like it? This story developed in my head for a long time, and I'm glad I finally decided to post it. If you have any questions, please put them in reviews. Thanks.
Disclaimer: I don't own Philip Pullman's characters, and I am not making any money from this fan fiction. You really can't sue me for not putting in a disclaimer, since you know nothing about me. The only thing I get form this is happiness.
Rating: Pg-13, for slight violence, and some material that might not really be appropriate for children under 13.
Chapter One
Alius Mundus was being spied on. She had known it form the moment she had first met the suspiciously man her mother was planning on marrying. He scared her. Everyone around them, particularly the servants who were frightened of him because of the rumors of what he did to the little girl servants, also knew there was something not right about him.
Alius also knew that her father had gone on a mysterious voyage to the north near Lapland five years ago. She knew that Sylvester was a Russkan spy, just by looking at him. But it also didn't take an idiot to figure out the were being spied on when their mother's fiancée came into their room at night and sorted through their things. Alius was also getting tired of being pumped for information about her father.
One night, on the night Alius' mother, Rachela Mundus, would announced her engagement, Alius was sitting on an unfamiliar, uncomfortable chair in what had used to be her father's study. Before he disappeared. Sylvester was pumping her for information again.
"…And you have no idea where he went? None at all?"
"No," she answered, trying to stay calm, while gritting her teeth so that she didn't lash out at him. That would get her in bigger trouble. She knew what he might do to her. Everyone in the house did. Especially those young servant girls. Her daemon was in a mouse shape, raising his hackles slightly. He was ready to leap up and fight Sylvester's ugly toad daemon. Alius put a hand on his back; it was not polite to let your daemon turn into a shape larger than that of the adult you were addressing.
The ugly, tall man paced across the room, and Alius desperately wished that she could be downstairs, with the rest of the party. Special occasions were the only times when no one watched how much the young girl drank, and no one cared anyhow. Once she and her friends had gotten drunk, and woke up on the Oxford docks somehow, though none of them could remember how.
"He never said anything?"
"No, Sir," she whispered, because he would hear the anger in her voice if she raised it. "Nothing. Not a word."
He turned and studied her face for a moment. Alius knew that if he chose to attack her, she would be at his mercy, because she had seen him close and lock the door, and the servants wouldn't help her. They had never helped the little servant girls.
Sylvester walked over towards her and slid his finger along her cheek. She recoiled, and her daemon turned into a wildcat, leaping to the floor and hissing loudly. The toad daemon hopped to the top of a high cabinet, where the daemon of Alius couldn't reach it. Alius guessed that that was how Sylvester got away with all of it; the girl's dog daemons could not get on top of a high cabinet.
The man put his face close to Alius' and she prepared to spit at him.
"Now, Alius. Don't be so silly," he hissed, right in her ear. She shoved him back and ran over to the door, with her daemon, Shinzui at her feet. The doors were locked, and she stood there as the man cornered her. "Don't be afraid of me," he whispered. "You don't believe those rumors." He seemed to be telling her what to think. "Right?"
She shook her head rapidly, trying to think of a way to escape. N-no, sir."
"Good. And are you a big girl, or a little girl?"
Alius was terrified. Her daemon was now in the form of a wolf, with his hackles raised. Sylvester ignored him; daemons would not touch another human purposely unless they were in love, or about to die. Alius had no idea what to say. She stayed quiet and still. Anything she said could be used against her.
"Ahh… Seeing as we are both adults, you may call me papa, and I will call you Ms. Mundus."
Her daemon thought to her, ~What do we do?~
**I don't know! Is he going to do something to us?**
~He might. He's mad. Look at him.~
He was leaning in to kiss her. She leapt out of the way just in time; he hadn't grabbed her arms, and he ended up falling into the wall.
She backed off slowly, thinking that he would be furious. Instead, he laughed. "You naughty girl! Get back here!"
Alius shook her head fiercely, and her daemon turned into a tiger and leapt in front of her. He might not be able to touch the man attacking his human, but he could still protect her.
"It's any father's right!" he said. "You can't grow up unless you let me."
Alius didn't know about that, but she knew she would never let him. "What about those servant girls? You aren't their father, and you sure as hell aren't mine!"
The window across the room was wide open. Alius glanced around that room once more, then raced towards it. She leapt out easily; she was small for her age. Shinzui turned into a crow and soared out after her. She knew she wouldn't die, the fall was only two stories. However, her ankle was sprained and twisted, and her arm came out of its socket when she fell. Shinzui was fine.
He turned into a horse, and bent down to allow her to mount him, and together they rode off into the Oxford night.
As Alius sat there, trying not to cry; since she hadn't cried since she was an infant, she remembered a conversation she had had one day with one of the older servant girls with a settled daemon.
"Alius," the older girl said. Alius remembered her name as Sam, but she wasn't sure that was it. "Listen to me."
Alius had always been a good listener, and so had Shinzui. Even so, it was hard for Sam to get her to pay attention. An eight year old girl didn't want to listen to some boring lecture. In the end, Sm only got her to listen by telling her that they would go by the market, and maybe she would by a choclatal.
"What, Sam?" It was just after Sylvester had arrived, three months after her father had disapered.
"Don't ever go near Mr. Ronvolkin when he is intoxicated. And don't ever go near his room at night!"
At that time, Alius had wondered why she needed to know that. She wouldn't go near that mean old man who was taking her mummy away.
"I won't."
Sam was crying then. "You have to promise!" she sobbed. "Alimooooooooonddddd!"
The eight-year-old girl was frightenedby Sam. "I promise!" she declared. "But why?"
"I was near his study…N-never mind."
"No!" cried Alius. "You tell me now!"
Even then, Alius had hated to be told to never mind. It made her feel as if she was missing out on some grand secret.
Sam shook her head regretfully. "I can't!"
"It's not Mr. Ronvolkin's study!" she exclaimed, suddenly realizing what Sam had just said. "It's my father's, and someday it will be mine!"
Alius jumped up and raced away form Sam, and up to her room. A week later, Sam was gone, and Alius never saw her again.
Alius opened her weary eyes and saw that she was in the poorer area of Oxford. It was still night; nothing about the sky told her any time had passed. She knew she must have fallen asleep, though, because Shinzui was trudging along doggedly, making an effort to saty awake. If he fell asleep, something could happen to his human.
"Oh, good," he yawned, dumping the girl off his back and changing into a white stoat. She set him on her shoulder. "now I can rest."
Alius smiled slightly, then looked around, slightly alarmed. "Why are we here? This is where the poor folk live."
"You act like they're a different species, Alius!" her daemon laughed.
"No, it's only the way Mother tried to teach me. What I meant was, there are a lot of things what could 'appen here," Alius replied. "So turn into something big and guard me!"
"Guard yourself," the daemon growled, but turned into a coyote anyway.
"I don't recognize this place. Where are we?"
"Somewhere near Jordan. The Botanical Gardens are just around the corner," replied Shinzui.
"Then we'll stop there for the night. And tomorrow we have to move before Mr. Ronvolkin catches us."
They headed toward the garden.
Shinzui said, "We should go home soon. Mayhap no one but Mr. Ronvolkin knows we're gone."
Alius scowled, and narrowed her eyes at some beggars who seemed to be sizing her up. Suddenly she wished she hadn't worn her new ermine fur coat. They were most likely thinking about how much money they could get for it. Alius was glad they didn't know how much she had in her purse, which she wore around her waist.
"We are never going back there!" she exclaimed. "I don't suppose you need me to explain to you what he would have done?"
"He had too much alcohol. He wouldn't do it if he knew what he was doing."
"Stop it!" she shouted. "Do you want to go back? Are you insane?"
A few people who were walking by noticed that she and her daemon were arguing, and though they wanted to see why such a little girl dressed the way she was would be in this part of the town in the middle of the night, they couldn't. It would be considered as interfering, and it was custom for other people to ignore the quarrels of a human and their daemon. They just walked away, pretending they hadn't seen it.
"I'm sorry," he said sadly, hanging his head. "We won't go back. I don't know why I said that." As and afterthought, he added, "This isn't just about Mr. Ronvolkin, is it?"
She tilted her head towards him, as they entered the beautiful garden. "What do you mean?" she pursed her lips. "I suppose I want to find Father before Mother can get married. Think of how happy she'll be!"
"Oh, Ali," the daemon said, using the nickname Alius hated. "There is almost no chance of that. One in a billion!"
"Then there's still that one billionth. We'll find him, or never go back!"
And the daemon knew there was no way he could persuade his human to do otherwise. He looked up at the stars, thinking that something else was happening, and soon it would influence them. It was a feeling impossible to shake off, and he got a chill. Turning into a rattlesnake, he wrapped himself around Alius' arm as she settled down on a bench for the night.
"Do you remember Sam?"
Shinzui was surprised. "Of course! She warned us about… Oh."
They sat in silence for a while.
"We never listen, Shin. Why is that?"
"I don't know," her daemon replied truthfully. "But form now on we will!"
And together they fell asleep on the bench, not knowing that by that time the next day, they would be on a grand adventure they would never forget.
A/n: So how do you like it? This story developed in my head for a long time, and I'm glad I finally decided to post it. If you have any questions, please put them in reviews. Thanks.