A/N : Hey guys! This is a one shot that came to my mind after I completed His Dark Materials. And as much as I would love to, I don't own His Dark Materials. If I did, you would see Will and Lyra together. *sobs*
Song recommendation : All of Me by John Legend, because honestly, that song reminds me of Will and Lyra. So, on with the story...
Dust's Last Gift
Lyra was sitting in her chamber, her alethiometer on her lap. She had re-learned the art of using alethiometer devotedly. And she had finally understood what the angel Xaphania had said all those years ago about the grace that was learned with much effort was bound to be worth the effort. It had taken her sixty years of living to understand that. And she had cherished the sweet joy of understanding ten years since.
Presently, she was in the trance-like state of consciousness that was required while consulting an alethiometer. She asked it, the questions that had been troubling her mind for quite some time now. And from the contended smile that adorned her face, it was to be inferred that she was quite satisfied with the answers she had received.
That night, for the first time in about seventy years, Lyra went to sleep completely contended. She held Pan close to her heart as they slept peacefully. For, she knew that this would probably be the last time in her life when she would be able to hold Pan, to feel him.
The next morning found Lyra in her bed, cold and unfeeling. She had passed on. She was now, one of the dead.
Will woke up to find himself in a place he had been to years ago. A place he had been hoping to see for a long time. For this was where he could meet his beloved Lyra again. He was in the underworld. The place that had once been full of loneliness and sorrow and oblivion, now seemed to be full of hope. And he had been longing for this moment for quite some time now.
He quickly entered the land of dead. He was ferried over to where the dead resided by the old boatman who had ferried them all those years ago. A part of Will was aching, for he had just lost his daemon, but the rest of him was anxious with anticipation. Impatiently, he asked the old man, "Has Lyra been here, yet?" The ferryman smiled patiently and replied, "She has, of course, and so have you, all those years ago. When you set this world free." Will looked at the old man and understood that he was not to know until he was on the other shore. He just hoped that he could get a glimpse of Lyra before they faded into eternity.
Upon reaching the shore, Will climbed out of the boat and entered the city of the dead. He was in search for Lyra. But he did not have to wait for long.
As he was looking everywhere impatiently, he felt an arm on his shoulder. He turned around to a sight that his atoms cherished for as long as they existed. There was his sweet and fierce Lyra, now old and ghostly, but still beautiful as ever, her eyes still alight with life. She smiled at him and he was finally healed. He had got back the part of his heart that he had lost all those years ago. He took her in his arms and held her close, her head buried in his chest. He lifted her chin gently and brought down his lips on hers, which were as soft and warm as they had been all those years ago. He was finally whole, and ready to be a part of winds and sunshine and rivers and brooks with Lyra by his side.
As for Lyra, she was dying of the bliss (pardon the double entendre). She felt as if she had been formed anew. Her heart, which had always belonged to Will and ached for him, was now soothed. Enveloped in his arms, she was utterly at peace now. Her Will was in her arms and that was all that she cared for at the moment. She knew that she was going to be the part of rains and sunshine and starlight and the universe itself, with Will by her side, every moment of it.
So enraptured were they in their ecstasy of finding each other again, that they did not notice the quiet gasps emitted by the ghosts of the other deceased. It was a loud gasp of surprise from the harpy, Gracious Wings, that brought them back to the world that surrounded them. Gracious Wings was looking at them with surprise and wonder and delight on her face. Will and Lyra finally let go of each other. And as they looked upon each other, they finally saw the cause of amazement of all the ghosts and harpies. They were seemingly enshrouded by a golden light, but if you saw closely, you could see that the light was the result of millions and millions of particles that were emitting it. At once, Lyra and Will knew that it was the Dust. That was when they realised that they were ghosts. They shouldn't have been able to touch one another, much less embrace. And their face glowed with brilliant smiles of understanding, for they knew that this was a gift to them from the Dust. A thank-you token, if you will.
"I love you", they said simultaneously. And hand in hand, they began walking towards the opening that had been opened by Will all those years ago. Along the way, they mesmerised the harpy, Gracious Wings, with the stories of their lives. And like all those years ago, she was filled with wonder and guided them to the opening.
At the opening, they embraced and stepped out together. They could feel whatever remained of them dissolving in the air. They felt the oceans, the rivers, the winds, the mountains, the sunshine, the starlight, the universe. They could feel that they were nothing but a realisation, that was known to humans as atoms. And as they had promised each other all those years ago in the land of Mulefas, their atoms were entwined together for eternity. Their atoms radiated such love that no one ever wished to separate them.
And that was how the world and the Dust remembered the two souls who were known as Will and Lyra in life. Who had set free the land of dead, offering them the salvation that the Authority had denied. Who had saved the Dust. Who had loved each other every day of their lives as much as the very first day they had been in love with each other. And who were finally free of all bonds save the one that they cherished and longed for the most, the bond of their love…..