The couple waited over a year and a half before the wedding. They would have preferred to speed things up considerably, but outside forces prevented this. First of all there was Dame Hannah, who insisted Lyra finish her schooling. And then there was Mary and Will's mother. After hearing the news, they insisted on helping arrange a spectacular wedding, which much to Will and Lyra's displeasure, besides flowers and fancy food and guests galore, also including a long planning period.

They quickly decided to have the wedding in Lyra's world. Most of their friends were there, for Will had very few friends he had not met on his adventure, none in fact, besides his mother and Mary. The obviously needed to be in attendance, so Will began right away to teach them his newfound way of traveling. The angel's words certainly appeared to be coming true, because for each day closer the wedding became, the easier it was to travel between worlds. It did seem that the barriers were disintegrating.

Once this was discovered, there was talk of having the wedding in the world of the mulefa, where their love had first began. But this idea was quickly stuck down by none other than Iorek Byrnison. When presented with the idea, the great bear king protested, "I have been forced to do many human things because of you two. I have done many non-bear like things that have caused great repercussions. But a bear is not like a human, and they have no imaginations, no matter how hard they might try to change that. And I will not attempt to develop one to do your type of traveling. I have done enough traveling through worlds all those years ago, and I will have no more of it. Here I am and here I will stay, no matter where you hold your wedding." That put an end to that idea. Lyra certainly would not be married without the presence of one of her most trusted and longtime friends. And besides, there was always the honeymoon.

They decided instead to have the wedding in the Botanical Garden on Midsummer's Day. It seemed only fitting after all they had been through, to affirm their love in the place where it had been so ruthlessly abandoned all those years ago, and then reestablished five long years later. Yes, the garden was the only place that would do.

The engagement seemed to pass ungodly slow for the loving couple. They also seemed to be seeing less of each other than normal. All the months of constant midnight meetings had taken their toll on them both, and they eventually had to agree to only meet a few times a week. It wouldn't do for their health to fail before the wedding, or for them to be negatively affected by the barrier that was at the moment still standing. And now, on those remaining midnight sessions, and the occasional weekend one, Will would come with a bunch of bridal magazines courtesy of Mary and his mother, and the couple would pour over them. Although neither of them really cared about the details as long as the wedding took place, it seemed to be so important to everyone else that they just humored them. And Lyra was secretly enjoying herself most of the time, although she'd never admit that to Will or anyone else. But the wedding was turning into quite an endeavor, especially since it was being planned in one world and hosted into another. This fact managed to cause quite a few difficulties, but all were worked out in a matter of time.

Things also changed considerably for Lyra at school. It did not take long for the news of her engagement to get out. On her first day back, when Kira asked how her trip had gone Lyra simply displayed her hand, causing Kira to squeal with joy, alerting everyone in the general vicinity that something grand had happened. While the two friends discussed the trip, the proposal, and the upcoming wedding, rumors immediately started to fly. All the other girls had gotten used to Kira and Lyra's friendship, and now generally left the two alone. But now that they obviously had a secret, everyone was determined to discover it, so they could distort it and spread it throughout the school.

It didn't take long for someone to catch a glimpse of the ring during one of Lyra's classes. Now all the various rumors that had been flying consolidated into one, that Lyra was getting married. Soon the whole school knew, which didn't bother Lyra in the least. She had been offended when the girls were putting down her friends, but she didn't care who knew she was marrying Will. She wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but unlike in her younger days she no longer had a reason to climb up there.

~*~*~*~

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to all involved, the long anticipated event arrived. That Midsummer's Day dawned bright and clear, with only a few lazy clouds slowly drifting across the bright blue sky. The garden has been transformed, with stunning white roses and red lilies placed all around, and delicate green ivy climbing up ever bench. Despite all the added decorations, the garden itself seemed even larger and more spacious than usual, which was quite fortunate due to the large number of guests. Lyra couldn't help but think that Serafina Pekkala had something to do with that.

Never in the history of all the worlds had there been such a large and strange gathering of creatures in one place, except possibly during Lord Asriel's battle against the Authority. First there was Serafina Pekkala, followed by her entire clan as well as many other witches from clans she had encountered during the war. Iorek Byrnison was there, looking not nearly so old as he had when Will had last seen him, trailed by a few other bears, the smallest being his son and heir. The gyptians had come, included Lord Faa, Farder Coram, Ma and Billy Costa, and many of Lyra's old playmates. The Master of Jordan College was there, very old and barely hanging on to life, but present just the same, as was Dame Hannah, Headmistress Brown, and many other teachers at St. Sophia's School for Girls. Even a handful of students, anxious to see this mysterious boy Lyra was marrying, attended, staying in the back and staring at wonder at all the strange guests. Will's mother and Mary were there, feeling quite proud of themselves at managing to travel to Lyra's world, and earning stares from many, especially those from Lyra's school, because of their apparent lack of visible dæmons. If one looked closely, they might also notice a few tiny Gallivespians; one perched on a blue hawk and two, who looked so similar they must have been related, sitting on a pair of colorful dragonflies. There were many other humans there, including a few old Scholars who remember the little spitfire that had been Lyra in their schooling years, a few young adults, who vaguely remember little Lizzie Brooks and how she had helped them escape a horrible fate years ago, and even a few veteran fighters from her father's war, who remembered her bravery in the face of danger, including the African king Ogunwe. It certainly was a diverse group gathered there, but strangest of them all, alone in a corner, glowing in the summer sun, was the angel Xaphania, silently taking the whole scene in with a serene smile on her face. If she had brought any other angels with her, they were invisible in the bright sunlight.

Soon all the guests had arrived and it was time for the ceremony to begin. Will stood at the altar with the minister and Kirjava, all dressed up in a black tuxedo. He was accompanied by his best man, or rather best bear, Iorek Byrnison. Next came Lyra's bridesmaids, Serafina and Mary, and her maid of honor Kira, all dressed in spectacular sparkling blue gowns. Finally, as they all took their places, the wedding march began, and Lyra stepped into view.

She looked absolutely dazzling in her strapless, flowing white wedding dress. It was simple yet elegant, and showed off her figure beautifully. She wore no veil, but instead a crown of crimson red flowers, similar to the lilies that graced the garden, but unmistakably different. Serafina had brought the crown from her homeland, and insisted Lyra wear it, as it was an important Wiccan wedding tradition, and Lyra was a witch, even if she was not born one. She also explained the significance of those particular flowers. They were very rare, and could only be found in a certain valley. It was in this valley that the first witch tore off her first piece of cloud pine and took flight, and as her first spell she created these flowers to thank the valley. Ever since then witches wore them at their wedding to thank the spirit that had created them and ask it to strengthen the couple's love and grant them a successful marriage. Lyra had loved the story, and agreed to wear the flowers immediately, and they looked beautiful against her hair, which was left lose and curled, lying beautifully just past her shoulders. Around her neck was an elegant silver necklace, with a few sparkling diamonds in the center, that Iorek had given her only hours before as a wedding present. Pan stood beside her, his fur shining and a smile on his face. On her other side, one arm linked with hers, was the Master of Jordan College, prepared to give her away. He was the closest thing to a father she had left, and he knew walking her down the isle would be his last great accomplishment.

Will was absolutely amazed at her beauty as she slowly, ever so slowly it seemed, walked towards him, and finally ended up at his side. He gently caught up her hand, and gazed deeply into her eyes, as the minister began to speak.

"We are here today to join in the bonds of holy matrimony Lyra Belacqua Silvertongue and William Parry." The minister continued, while his raccoon dæmon whispered things to Kirjava and Pantalaimon. Then it was time for the vows, which Will and Lyra had written themselves.

"Someone once told me that being in love was like going to China," began Lyra, glancing pointedly at Dr. Malone before continuing. "And right as she said it I knew exactly what she meant, even though I swear if she would have told me that fifteen minutes earlier I would have had no idea what she was talking about. But as soon as she said that, I realized that I had been to China, I was in China right then. As soon as she said it I realized that I was in love with you Will, and I've known it ever since, and never let go of it for a second. We've been through some rough times, and when I said goodbye to you all those years ago I thought I'd never see you again, and yet I still loved you. And now we have our entire lives together, and I promise that I will love you forever. Until the day we die, and even once we're gone, I will always love you, and we shall be together for all eternity, just as we promised all those years ago."

Will was so caught up in her words of love and the look in her eyes, that he found it almost impossible to tear himself away from her gaze long enough to gather his thought for his vows. Quietly clearing his throat, he began. "Many would say it was destiny that brought us together and caused us to fall in love, and it was definitely fate that tore us apart. But it was love, and only love, that caused us to find each other again. And now that we have found each other, I will never let you go. You are everything to me Lyra, my only friend, my entire life, and my reason for living. Since I first met you I knew I felt something special about you, although I didn't realize it was love until later. When we were parted I felt my world crumble around me, for I was no longer complete without you. Now that I have you back I want nothing more than to live the rest of my life making you happy, and I promise that I will love you forever."

As the two stared at each other with such looks of love, the crowd was silent, thinking about the heartfelt vows they had just heard, and all these two had been through to reach this point. Despite all the hardships, true love had won out in the end.

The minister, seeing how anxious the couple was, continued. "Do you Lyra, take Will as you lawfully wedded husband, though sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, as long as you both shall live?"

Her voice thick with emotion but strong and full of conviction, she replied, "I do."

"And do you Will, take Lyra as you lawfully wedded wife, though sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

Will and Lyra didn't take their eyes off each other as the rings were exchanged, and the minister knew it was time to finish the ceremony. With a wide grin he concluded, "Then by the power invested in me I do pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

As Will swept Lyra into a passionate kiss, the barriers between worlds shattered with a crash like thousands of broken china plates, but only the angel Xaphania could see it.



A/N: I hope you liked this! I certainly enjoyed writing this chapter. ( Now there is only one chapter remaining, an epilogue of sorts. I'll try my best to get it out soon. Thanks for reading this and all your wonderful reviews, I love you guys! Without your support I doubt I'd ever have kept writing this. I dedicate this chapter to my faithful reader Ax, who has given me so much support through the writing process, and has often come on AIM and urged me to continue writing. Her constant questions gave me the motivation I needed to get back to writing this, and if not for her I may never have gotten around to finishing these last few chapters. Thanks again, I really truly appreciate it!