A/N: I'm writing at an amazingly fast rate for myself. Which is sad, because this is not very fast at all. I write a chapter each time I sit down and write! Albeit a short chapter, but a chapter all the same. Yay for me! You have no idea how long I spent thinking about the Republic of Heaven.


The next night Lyra sat in her bed once again, staring at the alethiometer as she had less than 24 hours ago. The question that had weighted heavily on her mind for four years would now be answered....That is, if the alethiometer would cooperate. Lyra's hands trembled slightly as she moved the needles. She concentrated hard on the question, praying fervently that she would get an answer.

How must I build the Republic of Heaven? She watched the needles spin back around rapidly, but unlike the previous day, she easily understood the meaning. It was quite effortless, and the alethiometer seemed to be patiently telling her of what she had to do.

The needle spun to arrows, then to an olive branch. Government. What was something that worked with government? Choice. Free will. At least in a Republic. So what was Heaven? She and Will had basically rocked the basis of the Jewish and Christian worlds four years ago. How was there to be a Heaven? The needle spun again and indicated to a lump of gold Lyra knew to represent Dust. Oh! The world of the dead!

Wait. There was more. Lips. Then people. A large group. This part she didn't understand. But she had at least gotten part of the message. She now understood what the Republic of Heaven was. Perhaps tomorrow she would understand the second part of the answer. Mulling it over in the garden, knowing that Will was there too in another world would certainly help.

Curling herself into a ball and making sure the window was still open for Pan, who was gone again, Lyra fell into a dreamless sleep.


Will heaved a sigh of relief as he began walking down the street, a large suitcase in his left hand and a backpack on his back. Having sold the house and almost all of his possessions, he now had a great deal of cash in his bank, not that it made any difference to him. The most relieving part of his mother's death, morbid as he knew it would sound, was that he no longer had to worry about anyone other than himself. And of course, the currently absent Kirjava. And Mary. But he knew they could take care of themselves.

Will now had no possessions other than what he carried—a suitcase full of clothing that he cared little about, and his backpack. Inside held a myriad of treasures such as one photo album, his mother's beloved pearl-decorated fountain pen that had been given to her by her husband, a checkbook, toiletries, a pad of paper, a small blanket, locks of hair from his loved ones....His two most treasured possessions, however, hung on a long chain around his neck. One ring had been his father's, a solid gold band with an emerald in the center. The other was a fine gold ring with a diamond in the center, surrounded by tiny emeralds. The two were obviously a set and matched perfectly with one another. They had been his parents'. For some reason, he wanted them around his neck until he could put it either on the fingers of himself and his loved one.

Will took a deep breath as he walked towards Mary's house, where he would be living until he could find another place to live. When he got there, he was relieved to find Kirjava waiting patiently for him. He lay down his large suitcase, readjusted his backpack, and together the two of them set out for the garden where they would "meet" Lyra.


It was almost time to meet Will. Or at least, that's what Lyra considered it as. Will would never forget; she was sure of that. She wouldn't either.

Lyra had a little time...about twenty minutes. Everyone was already asleep, so there was no one to talk to except for Pan, who seemed to be preoccupied with grooming himself. She had made a feeble attempt to converse with him earlier, only to be given a few polite but uninterested responses. She would ask him what was wrong tomorrow. Tonight she was just anxious to meet Will.

"Come, Pan. Let's go."

"Why so early?"

"I don't know. Do you mind?"

"No. Let's go." Lyra picked up her cloak, and the two started out the window. They quickly arrived at the garden, where Lyra pulled her cloak tightly around the shoulders and sat on the bench. It was quite chilly that night, and the wind was stronger than it usually was.

"Pan? What's wrong?" Lyra asked concernedly. Pan was shivering like a leaf; something he never did, even in the dead of winter. His beautiful coat had always kept him warm. Not this time.

"It's...nothing. Don't worry." Pan looked faint in the moonlight.

"Are you sure? You've been so distant lately, I don't know what to think..." Lyra said concernedly.

"Yes. It's nothing, Lyra. Trust me. Nothing at all." Pan said decidedly. "Now, concentrate. It is almost midnight."

The bell tower began to sound ominously once, twice, three times....As the bells tolled sonorously, Lyra closed her eyes, imagining as she did every year what it would feel like if Will were beside her.


Meanwhile, in Will's world the bells too began to chime, telling all that it was midnight. Like Lyra, Will closed his eyes. If only she could be beside him, just this once, telling him she loved him as much as she ever had, comforting him, soothing his wounds. He felt deserted by all of his loved ones but Mary, and if only she could come back to him, even just for a little bit...

Will's eyes opened as the twelfth toll sounded. He suddenly heard soft breathing next to him, and at once his senses were peaked, and he was alert. He started when he recognized who sat beside him.

"Lyra?" Could it be?

"Will?"


A/N: Left you with a cliffhanger there, sorry. As a note/warning, posts may get slower as time goes on. School starts very soon, so...

FeltonLover101

Thank you!

fuzzifox

I'm glad you like this story! I usually am a bad person and don't stick with stories, especially when the writer is as slow as myself and writes such short chapters. I admire you for this. In the next chapter, you'll find out why Pan and Kirjava have been away from Lyra and Will for so much of the time.

JohnandSlation

I don't quite understand what you mean by "I was wondering if it would be fair to the story to read something that kinda takes the story into its own hands", but whatever it was, thank you for your support! I have read Lyra's Oxford, and frankly, was quite disappointed by it. It was about fifty pages long and basically had no relevance to the trilogy, or at least none that I was subtle enough to understand. I don't remember much of it, even though I only read it a couple months ago, which is quite sad. Reading it actually made me a little sad, because it seemed as if Philip Pullman had created an epic trilogy, and now was just tagging a fifty-page essay onto the back of it, likely making thousands off of the essay, which would never have been published if it hadn't had a predecessor...or three. I'm not sure if that made any sense, but the point is, I didn't like it, and it made me sad. Tell me what you think. I like to have different perspectives on things, especially if you have a different point of view or could enlighten me as to what the purpose of Lyra's Oxford was.