Disclaimer: I do not own the His Dark Materials Series.

A/N: Here is chapter 37! I've really been on a roll with this story. I hope to update it as quickly as I have been, but I apologize in advance if there are some dry spells. Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!

Luxurious Lies

37.

Tipsy Tides

Food. Real food. Lyra gulped down the ham sandwich and potato soup so fast that she almost choked.

"Now, now, Amanda. Where are your manners?"

Lyra and Mrs. Coulter were on a ship headed back to Oxford. As Mrs. Coulter had explained, the best way to help Lord Asriel would be to shift suspicion from the North back to Oxford. If Mrs. Coulter was running back to Brytan, the Magisterium's attention would be on finding and interviewing her there, not on Lord Asriel in the North. And they wouldn't know where Lyra was. She could be with either of them. It'd take them a while to figure it out, at least.

In the meantime, then, Lyra's name was Amanda and Mrs. Coulter's was Mrs. Deb Jennings. Mrs. Coulter had fake identification made for them since before she'd even found Lyra. She had anticipated something like this happening, thankfully. They said they were returning from a visit to Amanda's father, who owned a fur business north of Trollesund. Disguises were in place, too – Mrs. Coulter had dyed her hair black and Lyra kept her unruly hair contained in slicked-down braids. The golden monkey also hid from view most of the time, peeking shyly out at everyone from inside Mrs. Coulter's furs where no one could see his coloring.

"Sorry, Mum." The golden monkey flicked his tail against Pan warningly, and Lyra patted her mouth with her napkin and gave the ship cook a soft smile. "Thank you, sir. Your sandwich is most delicious."

"Good girl, dear." Mrs. Coulter rested her hand on Lyra's shoulder as Lyra finished her sandwich. She took care to eat it slower this time and to scout around her.

The ship was full of different kinds of people. There were crew members, scientists, researchers, regular looking people, and scary looking people who seemed like they were up to something. Mrs. Coulter had wanted to take a plane back to Oxford, but that'd be impossible given the fact that she was under the Magisterium's watch and wasn't ready to report to them yet. She'd do so eventually, but for now they were fugitives, making up stories on the fly in a way that excited Lyra and made her feel as though her adventures in the North hadn't actually ended yet.

"Are you finished?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then let us retire to our cabin for some tea."

Once they were inside, Mrs. Coulter locked the door and turned around to look at Lyra, her face hard. "Can you check the alethiometer? Is Asriel alright?"

They'd been on the ship for about a week now and Lyra had been checking on Lord Asriel's status daily. He and Serafina were on their way to Bolvangar, stopping at every nearby town to gather supplies and work out a plan. There didn't seem to be anyone else joining them, witch or human. For the moment, then, he was safe. At least until something else happened.

What was most interesting, though, was that the Magisterium wasn't angry at Mrs. Coulter. On the contrary, they didn't even know she was gone; they still thought she was with Brother Louis headed to Bolvangar.

"Did he make it back to Trollesund?" Mrs. Coulter was hovering again, her eyes fixed unflinchingly on the golden machine as Lyra bent her head over it to decode its secrets. She did that every time Lyra worked with the alethiometer, and Lyra thought about the Master of Jordan College the entire time. Don't let Mrs. Coulter know you have it. Oh, how adamant he had been! And look at them now!

Brother Louis didn't make it to Trollesund. The alethiometer reported that Brother Louis fell ill from the herbs Mrs. Coulter had given him and froze to death about 20 miles outside of town, his daemon disappearing into thin air as he dropped to the ground.

"That's horrible." Mrs. Coulter lowered her gaze and bowed her head. Lyra could discern a quiet sniff, and the golden monkey's beady black eyes softened in a way Lyra had never seem do.

Does she really mean that? Pan was generally more skeptical of Mrs. Coulter than Lyra was. He still didn't completely trust her, especially not the monkey.

I'm sure she does, Pan. If she wanted him dead she would've just killed him. The alethiometer didn't say anything about her killing anyone, 'member?

But isn't it just perfect that he dies without reporting back to them? Like it's almost too good to be true?

Shut up, Pan. They didn't argue often. For the most part, Lyra and her daemon were perfectly in sync – she understood him and he understood her; she felt one thing and he felt the exact same. But as of late, things were… different. Mrs. Coulter was no doubt a complicated figure in Lyra's life, but Pan didn't seem to be as fond of her as Lyra was. Perhaps that spoke to some of Lyra's more repressed feelings, but at the same time, it directly contradicted what she felt.

"Well, it's getting late," said Mrs. Coulter, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief and getting off the bed. "It's time to wash up and get ready for bed."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"I wish I could read that damn thing myself." Mrs. Coulter was pacing on the deck now, the moonlight beaming down on her as she took off her gloves and shoved them into the pockets of her furs. "I want to know exactly what's happening."

"Do you think she's hiding something?" Her daemon was sitting on the railing. He'd found a dead fish and was slowly ripping it apart. "I know you love her, but I still don't trust her. She grew up in filth and is filth herself."

"Will you stop it?" She didn't have time for his little stabs. This was serious, this was important. Lord Asriel was out there with some love-forsaken witch who wanted her and the Magisterium gone. How could any good come from this? What was her next step supposed to be?

"Who cares? We can still save ourselves, you know." The monkey flicked the fish's fin off the boat. "Turn Lyra into the Magisterium once we get back to Brytan. Explain what happened with Asriel. He'll be arrested. We'll be fine."

"You don't get it." He just didn't get it. After all this time, he didn't understand, didn't see how much she wanted Lyra.

"Oh, I understand it, Marisa." He put the fish down and was staring at her now. Mrs. Coulter turned to meet his gaze. "I'm part of you. Of course I know what you feel. I just don't agree with it."

"Well, it's my life, and we'll do as I please."

"Your life? Last time I checked, my dear, we're the same soul! The same entity!"

His nerve! Pain washed through Mrs. Coulter just then, pain like she'd never experienced before. Just as she wanted to hit her daemon for his audacity and his apathy, to really hurt him, she also felt wounded herself. She tottered back as strong emotion surged through her, knocking the wind out of her.

"Why are you doing this to us?" The golden monkey leaped from the railing into Mrs. Coulter's arms, and she held him tight. "I hate it when we feel this way!"

"I know, darling." She stroked his sleek, silky head, remembering how soothing he was to her and how she'd always pet him like so whenever she had gotten upset as a child. "This entire ordeal has hurt us both so deeply."

"So, what are we gonna do?" That was the question. Indeed it was the question.

Checking once more to make sure no one was around, Mrs. Coulter moved the monkey to her shoulder and then leaned against the railing, taking in a deep breath. "I don't know. We're not going to abandon Lyra. That's certain. But perhaps we don't have to worry about Asriel as much."

"I'm sure he'll be fine." The golden monkey sounded almost like a child pleading with his mother. "He's been in more trouble than this. And he's always gotten out of it. We don't need to do anything."

"We'll just have to wait and see," Mrs. Coulter sighed, raising her hood again and motioning for the golden monkey to go back inside. "We will just have to wait and see what happens once we get to Oxford."