Next chapter! I hope you like it, it's not that exciting but the next ones will be, I promise ;)

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!


"No!" Will said loudly. "I can't do that."

Viola had just explained them that there still was a way to get into Lyra's world, but it wouldn't be easy and Will and Kirjava would have to make some sacrifices. Like leaving Mary and Will's mother forever.

"I can't just go and leave them behind. I mean, I'll never see them again!" Kirjava nodded, agreeing and made a complaining sound.

"It is your determination to go." The angel said. She was still smiling, like she already knew what would happen. And it was likely that she did. "And you will be able to see Lyra again. You don't have to live without her anymore."

The mentioning of Lyra's name made Will even more angry. She had no right to make him choose between his mother and Lyra. That was just wrong. They both belonged to his family, in different ways, that was true, but he loved them both. And he just couldn't choose. Will knew that it would kill him.

He felt Kirjava touching his hand with the nose and looked at her. He didn't need any words to understand what his dæmon wanted to tell him. But not being able to see Lyra and Pan is killing us now, too. Being able to be with them again would make you happy and that's all I want

Will gave her a sad smile. He knew that she was right. He loved his mother and he liked Mary a lot, but they weren't able to make him happy. He was just acting around them. During the last three years, everything he could think of was Lyra. Her smile, the sound of her laugh and the smell of her skin. That was all he ever wanted. But he was so sure that he couldn't get it.

And now there was the possibility to have a life with the girl he loved. And all he had to do was to say goodbye to his mother and Mary. Forever.

That was cruel.

"So what do you day?" Viola said into the silence and looked at Will and Kirjava questioningly.

"You make us choose between the two persons we love most in this world." Kirjava said and looked at the angel with narrowed eyes. "This isn't easy, for the choice will determine our whole life and we won't be able to change our mind again."

"You can change your mind, but not the decision you made and the situation you find yourselves in."

"And that's what makes it so difficult. If I choose wrong, I'll regret it my whole life." Will sighed.

"Do you regret going through the window and getting to know Lyra?"

"No, of course not, but that was different. I knew that I would come back to see my mother again."

Viola raised her eyebrows. "Did you?"

After a few moments of silence, Will shook his head and looked to the ground. "No, I didn't. But I had to do something, after all my mother was in danger."

"And now Lyra is in danger. She needs you, or she'll most probably die."

Will shook his head. "I can't make this decision! It's too hard."

Kirjava turned in his lap to attract his attention. Then she looked into his eyes. "But we have to decide. We can't run away from this problem. That would just be a sign of weakness and we are not weak."

Will nodded slowly and looked at Viola. "When do we have to tell you our decision?"

"I'll come back tomorrow. And if you decide to leave, we'll do it right then. We don't have much time left."

What they didn't know was that the decision was already made.


After their conversation, the angel had left the house through the window and Will and his dæmon had remained sitting on the couch silently. Both of them knew that this decision would determine their whole life and deep inside Will and Kirjava already knew what they would do.

Lyra and Pan had a task to do and they wouldn't succeed alone. It would be very dangerous and they needed some more strength in their team. Will couldn't just let them die. He loved Lyra more than anything and he knew that Kirjava loved Pantalaimon, too. It just needed one look into each other's eyes and the boy and his dæmon had made their decision.

Suddenly Will stood up and Kirjava meowed determinedly. Even though they both felt bad at the thought of telling Mary and Will's mother that they would leave forever, they would do it. And nothing could stop them.

They walked into the kitchen, where Mary was sitting at the table. Elaine wasn't there, so she still had to be at the supermarket.

Mary looked at Will and Kirjava interestedly. "What happened? You were very loud sometimes and I even thought about coming in to see if everything's all right." She looked worried.

"The angel, Viola, wanted to tell us something, from which she thought that it was interesting for us." Will began slowly and sat down on a chair. Kirjava jumped onto his lap immediately.

"But why now? I mean, we last saw them three years ago." At the end of the sentence Mary's voice began to get lower. They hadn't talked very much about the events three years ago. Mary knew that Will and his dæmon got very upset when she mentioned Lyra and Pan, and that's why she avoided that topic.

"That's right. And I don't know if it was planned to meet again. Well, most likely not, but that isn't the point now, is it?" Will began to stroke Kirjava's back. "The point is, that something in Lyra's world will happen, in which we'll have to play an important role. If we want to."

Mary's jaw dropped. "What? But you can't travel between the worlds anymore. You broke the knife and the angels closed the windows!"

"There seems to be another way to get into Lyra's world." Kirjava told Mary and Will nodded.

"But then... that... I mean... but that's great! When you can travel between our and Lyra's world, you-"

"It isn't that easy." Will cut in quickly. He didn't want her to get too many hopes.

"What do you mean?"

"There is a way to get into Lyra's world." Will began hesitantly. "It is very difficult, but we can make it. But there'll be no way back into our own one."

Slowly Mary began to realize what Will just said. There was a way to get into Lyra's world, but it was a one way trip. When the boy and his dæmon decided to go, they would never see each other again. Mary and Elaine would have lost Will forever.

Tears began to fall from Mary's eyes and Will realized that he was crying, too.

"And what are you going to do?" The woman asked.

"We'll go." Kirjava answered because Will just couldn't do it. He couldn't break Mary's heart.

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

"Already tomorrow?" Now Mary began to tremble and Will hugged her tightly.

"There is no other way. Lyra's got something to do, and if we don't help her, she'll be in great danger." he whispered sadly.

They sat there for a long time, crying silently and not wanting to accept that they would never see each other again. After some time, Mary stopped crying and looked at Will questioningly. "What do we tell your mother?"

Will shrugged. "I don't know." he admitted. "We can't tell her the truth, that's clear. She wouldn't understand it. It would be too much for her. Maybe I can just say that I've got to go for some time because I have to do something?"

Marry looked as helpless as Will felt. "It's the only thing I can think of. I mean, she shouldn't worry about you, so we can't say that you just disappeared."

"Of course not." Will agreed. The knowledge that his mother was worried about him would make the whole situation even worse. Will was just able to go because he knew that Lyra needed him and Mary and his mother would have a happy and peaceful life together.

"Then I think we should do it just as you said." Mary said after a moment of silence.

Will nodded slowly and began to cry again.