A/N: Hey all you HDM fans! It's time for the third installment, and I
don't quite know where it's going yet. I guess I'll find out. Enjoy!
–StarFig
Will
woke on the day of the gyptians' departure with light flowing into his
eyes. Sitting up, he saw on his watch
that he had slept in, and it was nearly ten-o-clock. This wasn't rare lately, for Will found it hard to sleep because
he was worrying about Lyra. He
remembered himself on the Midsummer's eve when he was sixteen, when Lyra came
late. He could just sense it. And until Lyra arrived, he had been horribly
worried. Will wondered what he would
have done if Lyra had never come at all, as Will hadn't a few days ago.
Will
climbed out of bed and walked up onto the main deck and found it in a bustle of
people, preparing the boat to sail. He
saw Ma Costa, a friend of Lyra's, who was now one of the oldest gyptians there,
packing up the last of their trade with the residents of the town. Wandering over, Will offered to help.
"Bless you boy, yes, you can help wrap
this meat," Ma Costa said, waving
towards a huge pile of meat that looked like seal.
An hour or two later, Will found himself sailing
over icy clear water south. With the
breeze whizzing past him, he felt a calm sensation come over him. With every second, he was getting closer to
Lyra.
**two weeks later**
Lyra slowly brushed her long dirty
blonde hair. Since that fateful day
when she said goodbye to Will, her life had changed in many ways. She had attended Sophia's for about eight
years and then had begun to work with a select team researching Dust. She had dated throughout her teenage years,
and even rejected a few proposals, but she always took her dating life
lightly. In her travels, she had
visited Iorek Byrnison's tribe in the Antarctic, and kept in touch with the
gyptians.
Meanwhile, Lyra was still learning
how to use the alethiomometer. She
could understand simpler answers, but when it came to long detailed reasonings
she became lost. Every night, though,
Lyra would sit down with the alethiomometer and the huge book to study. Because of this, her busy life made her
quite tired, and she felt much older than twenty-seven.
Most importantly, in a trip to the North
(that was still her favorite destination) she had adopted two young siblings, a
boy and a girl, whom she named Serafina and Will. Now, Will was nine and Serafina five, and kept Lyra on her feet
constantly.
"Mom!" Lyra heard Serafina cry,
"Will's teasing me!" Sighing, Lyra put
down the brush and walked into the main room of her flat in Oxford. There, she found Serafina on the couch
glaring at Will, who stood nearby.
"Will, don't tease your sister,"
Lyra sighed.
"Sorry mom," Will said, eyes
glinting mischievously. Just like
Will Parry used to, Lyra thought, but quickly she blocked that out of her
mind. Ever since last Midsummer's eve,
Lyra had firmly decided to get on with her life, and not obsess over Will so
much. Still she wondered why he wasn't
in his world's botanical garden that afternoon.
"Mom," Will interrupted, noticing
Lyra's dreamy look, "Tell us again about when you first went to Citagazze,"
"Another time, Will," Lyra said, clearly in a daydream.
Thoughts raced through Will's
head. He had just arrived in Oxford,
and stopped at Lyra's door to her flat (the gyptians had given him the
address.) What will Lyra do? Will she look the same? Will she have changed? Will wondered. Stroking Kirjava nervously, Will lifted a
trembling hand to the knocker. Mustering his courage, he firmly knocked twice. Part of him wanted Lyra to be gone, but he
had to see her again.
The door opened. Will's heart skipped a beat. There, before him, stood a young woman. Her hair was dirty brown, long, and her skin tired but still
bright. She still was a few inches
shorter than him, and her green eyes were as bright and beautiful as when her
first saw them, almost sixteen years ago. The two stood in silence, both taking each other in.
"Lyra?" Will finally whispered, almost shaking.
"Oh my god… you—you're… Will…" Lyra
gasped.
A/N:
Yes, a cliffie. I know you hate them,
but I couldn't resist. Anyway, the
faster you review the quicker I'll post chapter four. Have a nice day, and THANK YOU people for reading this, you just
make my day!