"A. . .a child?" Will stammered, gaping at Lyra. She sent him a confused look, and shrugged. The boy turned his head to Aurora, who was now openly smiling, and both her daemons were looking calmly at them.
There was silence, as the idea took root in Will's unsure mind.
"We should have. . .a kid?" He repeated, still looking at Aurora, with a disbelieving expression.
The woman turned her head to him and raised an eyebrow, as if she was expecting an answer. Lyra also looked over at her, with a difficult side-ways glance.
"Aurora. . .is. . .is this the solution?" The boy asked, wondering if this was some kind of joke.
But the woman got up, and walked up to them calmly, taking her time. She stopped a few feet from the pair, and looked at them with a serious, yet amused expression.
"It is the solution, Will. I could not tell it to you, because you would not have believed me. Now, however, you must make a choice. Which ever you chose, I don't care, for it is not my business. Just let me assure you that, if you chose to have the child, Lyra will not suffer at birth, or with the pregnancy. Her body has developed to the stage where it can carry a child without any problems, and during the pregnancy, Dame Hannah will surely take care of her.
'You have all night; I leave you to it." Without another word, she turned around, under the amazed gaze of both teens, and walked over to her daemons.
Equinox immediately morphed into a black stallion, standing proudly near his mate, which had taken on the form of a unicorn. Pan and Kirjava seemed to want to stay, but by the look the woman gave them, they understood this was a choice they could not influence.
Aurora got onto her daemon's back, and he carried her away, the unicorn, pine marten and cat following her into the dense forest.
Will and Lyra stared after them for a few minutes, until they got over the initial shock and stole a glance at each other. With a blush, both looked away.
"There's a thing I don't understand, though.' Will mumbled, 'If we have a kid, and you give birth to it, how is that going to unite us?"
Lyra glanced at him again. "I. . .It's because. . .our Dust will be in the child. It will be a living part of us, and through the fabric of the worlds, it will be our key to each other. I. . .I'm not sure how I know that, but I feel that it's the reason why we should have a child. . ."
She stopped and looked at the grass, which swayed gently in the dying day. Dusk was falling slowly, letting the stream sparkle beautifully.
Will nodded.
"Are. . .I mean. . .do you want. . to?" He looked at her, hesitating. But when she looked at him with those dark eyes, and smiled that beautiful smile, he knew the answer to his question.
They moved in closer one to another, their lips joining softly. After a few blissful seconds, he pulled away.
"Are you sure? I mean, it could be. . .weird. . .for you. . .and I'd hate to leave you like this, without any money or care for our child. . . and. . .aren't you too young?" He bit his lip softly, but her soft smile cleared his mind of doubt yet again.
"Hush, Will.' She whispered. 'Don't worry. I know what I want, and this is it. As for money and care, Jordan College is my home, and it will also be our child's. I'm sure we'll be alright.
Plus, I'm almost sixteen, and I think I'm old enough to decide." She said quietly.
And they kissed, Will gently pushing his tongue into her mouth.
He held her gently, and she ran her fingers through his dark hair, all thoughts gone from her head. Both let the passion of it overwhelm their minds, and drive them, doing something they had been dreaming about for a long time.
(0)
(Note: Sorry guys, but I suck at love scenes, so I'll just let your imagination take on its wild side and throw whatever pictures it wants into your head. If I suddenly discover a hidden talent at doing this kind of stuff, I'll post the scene up in a rebuffing of the story.)
Will opened his eyes and found himself on the ground-based bed he and Lyra had slept on after making love.
It was morning, meaning they had slept for the whole night, and right into next day. The day of their parting! The boy shut his eyes, wishing the time would never come.
But a noise forced him to open his eyes again. It sounded like fire. He turned around a bit, trying not to move too much and not wake Lyra up, as she slept next to him, cuddled to his chest. The young man saw Aurora kneeling near the fire, slowly turning a bit wooden spoon in a pot over the flames.
It smelled good, and looked like soup from where he was lying. The woman turned her head and saw he was awake.
Greeting him with a soft smile, she returned to her cooking. He had also smiled, but rather in a strained and awkward way, feeling it was strange to talk to someone who knew that he and Lyra had sex the night before.
But the woman didn't seem bothered, so he tried to shrug it off as well. Carefully, he shifted, and moved his love so she would keep sleeping on the lumpy pillow, and he could get up.
Will realized he didn't have any clothes on, and quickly searched the grass, only to find everything neatly folded and stacked near the bed.
He put his jeans and shirt on, before turning to Aurora, who was humming near the fire. The young man walked up to her determinedly.
"Hey." He said bluntly.
"Hello." She answered, barely looking up at him. Will could now see she was brewing a warm soup with meat and a few vegetables in it. It looked good.
"I. . .I need to ask you. . .' He sighed. 'Was it really a good idea?"
Aurora looked up at him from her crouch on the ground, and all he got was a dull stare.
"Will, it wasn't my choice. . ." She started, but he cut her off.
"I don't care!' Will suddenly exclaimed, and Lyra's eyes opened, although she didn't show anyone she had just woken up. 'What I want to know, is what YOU think about this."
Aurora smiled.
"I think it was a very good idea. Lyra will have no problems with the baby, and at last, somewhere, you will be united."
There was a moment of intense silence, and the woman took the soup off the fire, pouring some into three metal cups.
"How can you be so sure that it's actually worked? I mean, for all we know, the baby might not even have. . .you know. . .happened. . ." The boy pointed out. To his surprise, Aurora smirked and looked at him with mischief in her eyes.
"And my magic in all of this? Do you honestly think I'd let it fail?"
And the raven-haired woman walked over to Lyra, handing her the cup. Will gaped at both of them, amazed.
(0)
After eating the soup, all three of them, along with their daemons, walked back towards Oxford slowly, talking joyfully.
But neither younger kids felt happy.
Will held Lyra's hand, as if afraid she might suddenly vanish, and the girl kept sending him loving looks, wishing the time to part would never come.
But before they knew it, they were are the edge of the forest, at the place they had chosen to get separated at, and go back to where they belonged.
While Pan and Kirjava licked each other lovingly, and Aurora seemed very interested in making sure both her daemons were ready for the trip, both teens looked at each other painfully, wondering who was going to be the first to talk.
"So. . .see you next. . .next Summer's day, in the Botanical Gardens?" Will asked softly, blinking back the tears that threatened to stream down from his eyes. Lyra let out a soft sob, crying openly, and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.
Finally, she pulled away.
"I'll be there." She murmured, and watched him turn away, walking towards Solstice in determined, yet trembling steps.
As he climbed onto the daemon, he looked over at the girl.
"See you soon, then." He blew a quickly kiss at her.
Lyra smiled, and caught his kiss, winking.
Then, Kirjava playfully bit Pan's ear, and ran towards her human, leaping onto his lap, just as Solstice, in her hippogriff form, opened her wings, bent her knees, and went sailing into the air with one huge leap.
Lyra, waving from below, quickly disappeared from his sight as they caught up with Aurora, who was a but ahead. She had already said her goodbyes to Lyra, and allowed both of them to part, alone.
"So. . .it's the road to home now, isn't it?" Will choked on his sadness, glancing at the woman. She gave him a compassionate look and nodded.
During the rest of the trip, nothing was said.
(0)
Mary Malone paced around the kitchen nervously, glancing from time to time at her watch. She knew he was going to come, because she had learned the whole story about Will's disappearance a few days ago from Dust, and yesterday, it had told her he would coming back the next morning, at noon.
So the woman was walking around the kitchen, under Mrs. Parry's calm stare, muttering to herself.
"Calm down. If the machine said he was going to come, he'll be on time." Mrs. Parry said softly. Mary looked at her, nodded, but continued pacing.
Just then, a loud bang announced to them that someone had shut the front door brutally, and seconds later, two sets of steps came rushing up the stairs.
Into the kitchen burst Will and Kirjava, followed by a young woman with long black hair and two grayish rats on her shoulder. The odd pair stopped, and in a tangle of happy shouts and reaching arms, Will found himself being hugged by Mary and his mom.
When both women pulled away from the boy, they could focus more on the raven-haired woman that had come with their son.
"Hello, Aurora." Mary greeted with a smile.
"I see you've already learned the truth, Mrs. Malone. If Will wishes to speak to you of the things Dust did not tell you, he will. As for I, I believe it is time I leave." The woman inclined her head. The young man sent her an incredulous look.
"You're leaving already?" He questioned, almost insulted. Aurora grinned, in a sorry type of way.
"I'm sorry Will, but I think it is time I return to Cittagaze. My job here is done. It has been something unique and amazing to spend this time with you, and travel the worlds at your side, and have your help in defeating my brother. But I must leave. Home calls for me, and I cannot wait to answer its call.
And I promise I will watch over Lyra, whenever I can spare an eye. Goodbye Will, goodbye all of you."
The woman squeezed Will's shoulder gently, smiled at the two other women, who grinned back, thanking her mentally for watching over the boy, and she turned around, leaving.
Both her daemons morphed suddenly into strange, small birds with lovely human faces and began to sing a wonderful, wordless song. It was like a final goodbye, and it brought tears to Will's eyes.
With a final glance, Aurora left the trio behind and ran out the front door, the two birds leaving her shoulder, and flying overhead.
So Aurora Borealis was gone, and the few who saw her afterwards thought her to be a dark angel, or an unnatural being, but few got the chance: she lived away from all humans, enjoying her long, eternal life, learning things, and was rarely seen.
"So, what really did happen?" Mary asked a few minutes after the strange woman was gone.
Will sighed.
"Give me some time, and I'll talk when I'm ready." He finally said, wearily turning from the two women and walking up the stairs to his bedroom, there he locked himself up and cried all his soul, thinking about Lyra, and everything that had happened.
Before two o'clock he stopped grieving and feel into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile Mary and his mom let their imaginations run wild, wondering about everything they did not know.
(0)
Almost a year later, in an Oxford not so different from our own, a young woman around the age of seventeen walked up the stone steps of the Botanical Gardens, carrying a baby in her arms.
The child's daemon had taken the form of a small puppy, and was pouncing along after his human, yapping happily. The woman's daemon, a pretty pine marten, sent the puppy a reprimanding look, and it calmed down slightly.
Lyra walked through the gardens, all the way to a little bench between two tall trees. There she sat, looking at the old pendulum clock nearby.
"Come on. Be noon." She whispered urgently, watching the seconds tick by.
Pantalaimon urged Isil, the baby's daemon, onto the bench and began to lick his ear patiently.
And suddenly, noon struck on the first day of Summer, and a very warm, friendly feeling filled Lyra Silvertongue, making her smile and close her eyes.
After a few seconds, she raised the baby in front of her and looked its her dark eyes. She had Will's eyes, but her mom's blond hair. This made the new mother grin.
"Will, this is Selene, our daughter, and her daemon, Isil. I hope you're all right, however this year has been to you. I just want to tell you that everything is all right here. We live in Jordan, and Dame Hannah is still teaching me about the alethiometer. I'm getting better and better at it. The pregnancy wasn't so bad, and I don't regret our choice one bit. Aurora was right; this is the solution, because we are united inside Selene, even though she is not with you. I hope you're not too lonely. . . I love you Will, and even though you can't hear me say it, I want you to know it. . ." But Lyra paused, because it seemed she could hear something, like a whisper into her ear.
"I love you too, Lyra. Take care of Selene for me." Will whispered on his own bench, in his own Oxford, and the strength of his love carried his words through the fabric of the world's and right to Lyra's ears.
The blonde smiled, closing her eyes, and after a few seconds, she got up, and determinedly walked out, keeping her head high and clutching her baby girl, while both their daemons followed.
Will, meanwhile, kept sitting on the bench, Kirjava at his side, and simply relaxed, lost in his thoughts, until the hours slowly died away and dusk came around. Only then did he sigh, knowing that Lyra was finally too far away to hear the twinge of regret he felt, as he wished he could have her.
Then he got up, his heart calling for his daughter and his love, and walked out, feeling terribly lonely. Little did he know that his call was heard by none other than Selene herself, in her deep, baby sleep, and soon, she would answer to it.
(0)
What a terrible ending. Honestly, I was so not inspired when I wrote it. . .
But anyway, thanks you all who read this thing to the end, you guys are what kept me going, and I owe it all to you.
Lobsstaceyters: Hope you like this. I don't know how it went; I was tiered when I wrote the chappy, and I tried to make it as good as possible. Sorry if it sucked. Thanks for being there, and reviewing and stuff. I'll see you in the sequel.
Zaphdae: Thanks. As you see the fact that Lyra only had one baby kinda leads to a sequel. It'll be posted soon. I haven't decided if Aurora will be back in the next story. . .we'll see. . .
Lyraratemispotter: Will do. I didn't want Lyra to have twins, because then, there would have been a load of trouble to go through to get the other one to Will, and the twins would have to live apart. It would be sad. Besides, that allows me to do a sequel. Thanks for the review.
Unnamed: Yeah, I know the last one needed more action. And Solstice is good because she's kinda the opposite of Aurore, like Pan is cautious while Lyra is reckless and Aurora is kind while Equinox is violent.
FoxofRoses: Yeah, I know they're too young for kids, but hell, I had not better idea.
Quizgirl: Yeah, that's exactly it. The whole point of the sequel well be about Will missing both Lyra and his daughter. Read below the reviews for sequel info.
Kaiame: AH! Yes, here's the new chapter, and it's all for you! Please don't. . .hurt me. . .lol.
SEQUEL INFO!
Name: Their Child. (or something like that. Send in ideas if you have any)
Summary: Sequel to Lyra's Dust. Fourteen years have passed, and Selene starts having strange dreams about her father. In a desperate attempt to find him, she unleashes a great power and tears a huge window in the fabric of the worlds. Now the universes are dying and the girl needs to find a way to save everyone. But in all the chaos, will she get the chance to see her dad, or will all her efforts be in vain?