HEY! Sorry for the... long wait. I may or may not have forgotten about this story.
Now that I've remembered it, I will TRY to update every week, but I only have two chapters prewritten after this one.
Anyways, hope you enjoy! 3
Lyra was not one to give up, but sometimes, she was tempted. Tempted to beg Dr. Relf to ask the Alethiometer all the questions she was dying to ask.
All the questions it didn't want to give her the answers to.
Thirteen years was a long time, and yet, according to Dr. Relf, she'd progressed so much so quickly. On a good day, she could believe this: she could believe that she was regaining the ability she'd once had. On a bad day, though, she felt like she wasn't getting anywhere.
Today was a bad day.
She'd come to Hannah's office after lunch to study, and they'd been at it for hours, until finally it was four o'clock and Lyra was packing up to leave.
"Lyra, before you go, I'm having dinner with some other Alethiometrists and I was hoping you could come? Six o'clock?"
Lyra smiled and nodded and said "I'll be sure to make it," before leaving.
She would be sure to make it. As said before, Lyra Silvertongue was not one to give up, and she wasn't about to start now. Right now, not giving up meant working hard and studying to learn the alethiometer the right way.
Achieving grace.
And also, building the Republic of Heaven. She still wasn't sure what that meant, although it had been thirteen years since she'd first been told to do so. Thirteen years since-
Oh, she couldn't think about it.
Just yesterday had been Midsummer's Day, when she could think all she wanted and cry all she wanted and know that Will was listening. But right now, she couldn't lose control. She had to try asking the simple question again: Is my mother dead?
She didn't know the answer. Well, of course she didn't know the answer, why else would she be asking? She hadn't heard anything about Mrs. Coulter since her arrival back in her world. She assumed that the woman was dead but she had no proof. It was the question she always asked the alethiometer, but she always got a different answer. She was trying to figure out how to ask it, because she wouldn't get a good answer otherwise.
Today, she was feeling a bit spiteful toward her mother and the question and even the alethiometer itself, so she asked using serpent, madonna, hourglass: Is the evil mother dead?
Its answer was as complicated as normal: Thunderbolt, angel, sword, hourglass, griffin, wild man… why couldn't it just tell her yes or no? Why did it always seem to have a million things to say about such a simple question. When it was done, she asked the question again, the same way: Is the evil mother dead?
This time, she wrote down what it said to decipher later.
Sword, helmet, madonna, angel, sun, hourglass, griffin, wild man, hourglass, serpent, madonna, griffin, wild man, baby, thunderbolt, hourglass.
"If I look only at the Primary meanings, it'd be something like this," she mused, stroking Pan's back and writing it down:
Justice, war, motherhood, messenger, day, time, treasure, wild man, time, evil, motherhood, treasure, wild man, future, inspiration, time.
"But then again, you used hourglass as death and not time," Pan said, nodding towards the alethiometer.
Justice, war, motherhood, messenger, day, death, treasure, wild man, death, evil, motherhood, treasure, wild man, future, inspiration, death.
"And Madonna- I used that to refer to my mother…"
Justice, war, mother, messenger, day, death, treasure, wild man, death, evil, mother, treasure, wild man, future, inspiration, death.
"You used evil mother to refer to Mrs. Coulter," Pan added.
Justice, war, mother, messenger, day, death, treasure, wild man, death, Mrs. Coulter, wild man, future, inspiration, death.
"It doesn't seem to fit!" she exclaimed, putting her head in her hands. "Wild man, death- the Wild Man is dead? But I didn't ask about a wild man, I asked about Mrs. Coulter!"
"Do it one more time, just to be sure you wrote it down correctly," Pan suggested.
Sword, helmet, madonna, angel, sun, hourglass (here it paused), griffin, wild man, hourglass, (another pause), serpent, madonna, griffin, wild man, baby, thunderbolt, hourglass.
"It's the same as before."
Okay. Three phrases. The shortest was griffin, wild man, hourglass, so she decided to work that one out first. Treasure, wild man, death…
She had a couple of her own alethiometry books, one of them being The Complete Known Meanings of the Wild Man. She flipped through the pages, looking for what meaning might work.
By five thirty she hadn't gotten anywhere, and she needed to get ready for dinner, so she set the book and her notes aside for later.
She arrived at Hannah Relf's house at six o'clock sharp, and yet another guest had arrived before her. She wondered if she should've come early, but decided it didn't matter.
"Lyra!" Dr. Relf exclaimed. "I'm so glad you could make it!" She rushed over to take Lyra's coat before turning to the other guest.
"Dr. Evans, this is Lyra Silvertongue, my pupil. Lyra, this is Dr. Alexandra Evans."
They all talked for about two minutes, Lyra mostly standing to the side and observing Dr Evans. At three minutes past six the doorbell rang and Hannah went to go get it.
Lyra and Dr. Evans were sitting alone in the parlor.
"So, you're studying the Alethiometer?" Dr. Evans asked, her finch daemon flying down to converse with Pan.
"Yes, for thirteen years now." Lyra responded.
Dr. Evans looked surprised. "Not to be rude," she said, "but you must have been quite young when you started."
"I was only twelve,"
"May I ask why?"
Lyra pondered what to say for a moment. "I was given my alethiometer when I was just a baby," she told Dr. Evans. "Well, I grew up in Jordan College, and the Master gave it to me for my twelfth birthday. But he was just holding on to it for me after I got it from my father when I was little."
Dr. Evans was once again surprised. She looked the girl up and down. Was she…
"I don't mean to pry, but did you used to go by Lyra Belacqua?"
Now it was Lyra's turn to be surprised. "Yes, but I don't anymore."
"Are you married?"
"No," Lyra said, then laughed. "No, no. Iorek Byrnison, King of the Panserbjørn, gave me the name Silvertongue because I was able to trick Iofur Raknison, the former King of the Bears."
"So you're an explorer?" Dr. Evans inquired.
"Yes. Well, I used to be. Now I'm mostly a scholar, but I do miss exploring."
And she did. She missed the rush, the thrill of being in a new place for the first time. She missed the old days, traveling with the Gyptians and the Witches and Lee Scoresby and Iorek Byrnison. She missed traveling the worlds with Will, just barely escaping her mother and the CCD every time. She missed the feeling of adventure.
"You've been to the north?"
"Oh, yes! Like I said, I befriended one of the Panserbjørn. I've been to Svalbard and-"
"Dr. Evans! Lyra!" Hannah exclaimed. "This is Dr. Oscar Davies and his wife, Dr. Helen Davies. We're expecting one more guest and then-" the doorbell rang "-oh, that must be him! I'll go get that."
Dr. Evans immediately jumped up and introduced herself as her daemon flew back to her shoulder. "Dr. Alexandra Evans, wonderful to meet you." Lyra was right behind her and approached Helen first with an outstretched hand.
"Lyra Silvertongue, pleasure to make your acquaintance." she said, shaking the woman's hand.
She smiled warmly at Lyra and her daemon. "Dr. Helen Davies, and the pleasure is all mine."
Lyra then turned to Dr. Davies. "Lyra Silvertongue, pleasure to meet you,"
"Dr. Oscar Davies, pleasure to meet you too."
At that point, Dr. Relf came back with the final guest. "Dr. Michael Archambeau."
Dr. Archambeau was an old man with white hair and kind eyes. Whereas Dr. Davies looked like he was always watching you (Lyra could swear that even now the man's aye-aye daemon had one eye on her), this man looked like he would buy a cup of chocolatl for a kid he found crying on the street. Helen was closest and introduced herself first, then Dr. Evans, then Dr. Davies, then Lyra.
"Dr. Michael Archambeau," he said with a slight French accent.
"Lyra Silvertongue."
"Enchantée, Mademoiselle Silvertongue."
"Enchantée," she replied, hoping that was right. He smiled at her, so she assumed she hadn't done anything wrong. Well, until she noticed his left hand and let out a little gasp. No one but the two of them and their daemons noticed or cared.
She gaped at his left hand. She couldn't help it. It was- no, it couldn't be- but it was those same two fingers, just like Will and Giacamo Paradisi-
"I lost them in a duel," he explained, noticing what she was looking at. She looked back up at him, not caring that she was probably being rude. She had to know. "The other man, he had a knife that he concealed from me."
"Must have been a very sharp knife," she commented.
"Very sharp," he agreed.
"Otherworldly?" she suggested.
Dr. Archambeau looked at her strangely for a second, and then winked. And that's how she knew. He, at one point, had been the bearer of the Subtle Knife.
"One might say your name is otherworldly," he said. "Where are you from?"
"I'm from lots of places," she said. "I'm from Oxford, from Jordan College. If you mean my parents, they don't matter much. I was given the name Silvertongue when I tricked the Bear King Iofur Raknison."
"You tricked a bear?" He asked, surprised. "I thought that was impossible."
She smiled slyly. "I've been doing the impossible since I was just a baby."
He laughed and moved to sit down on one of the sofas. She sat next to him and turned herself so they were facing each other.
"Dinner will be served in five minutes," Dr. Relf announced.
"So," he said. "What other impossible things have you done, Miss Silvertongue?"
"Well, for one, I was given Scholastic Sanctuary when I was just eight months old."
"Scholastic Sanctuary? But you couldn't have been a scholar when you were that young."
"My father was a scholar, though, and he was able to give me scholastic sanctuary. He gave me my Alethiometer as well." she told him.
"Your father was a scholar? Did he study the Alethiometer?"
"No," she said. "I don't know where he got the Alethiometer from. He was more of an explorer than a scholar, actually."
"Really? Who was he, then?"
"Asriel Belacqua."
Dr. Archambeau's eyes widened. Then he leaned in close. "The one who made the gate?" he whispered, his accent thickening. She nodded.
"The one who made the gate."
"Let's all sit down to dinner, shall we?" Dr. Relf said cheerily. They all followed her to the dining room and sat down to eat. The dinner itself was delicious but uneventful. Then dessert was served and they got down to business.
"So," Dr. Relf said, "we're all gathered here today to talk about the Alethiometer. As we all know, there are only five that we know the location of, one of them being in Paris and another being here in Oxford. But what you may not know is that Lyra Silvertongue is also in the possession of an Alethiometer."
All eyes turned to her.
"Miss Silvertongue," Dr. Davies said, "the Alethiometer is a very important instrument that should be shared amongst academic communities, not privately owned by-"
"Doctor Davies," Hannah interrupted. "Lyra will not be giving up her Alethiometer. It is rightfully hers. You may examine or use it if she allows you to, but otherwise, it is hers to use for her studies and whatever else she wants. I could explain to you exactly why, but that is a very personal story that I'm not sure she would like me to share."
There was silence. Lyra guessed she was grateful that Dr. Relf had cut in, but was also put off by what Dr. Davies had said.
"If you'd like to see it," Lyra said, "I have it in my bag. I wouldn't like for you to touch it, but I'd gladly show it to you."
"That would be lovely, Miss Silvertongue," Helen said.
Lyra still had the little purse next to her - she never let it out of her sight. Not after Mrs. Coulter and Lord Boreal. She pulled the alethiometer out of its velvet pouch and held it out for everyone to see.
"The pictures aren't colored like on the Bodleian Alethiometer," Dr. Evans noted.
"No, they're just ink drawings, I believe."
"Is it a family heirloom?" Helen asked, staring at the instrument.
"Well, I wouldn't call it an heirloom, but it was given to me by my father."
"And where did he get it from?" Dr. Davies asked, somewhat accusingly.
"I don't know," Lyra said, looking him in the eye. "But it's lucky he gave it to me before he disappeared. That would have been one fewer Alethiometer."
"Hmph."
Before Lyra left, she decided to ask Helen Davies, who had seemed very knowledgeable, about the Wild Man symbol.
"Dr. Davies?" She asked.
"Yes, Miss Silvertongue?"
"I didn't want to mention it to anyone else, but I was having trouble, earlier, figuring out a meaning of the Wild Man symbol…"
"Well, the Wild Man has many symbols. It could be meant literally, as in a Wild Man, or it could mean another man. What was the question?"
Lyra blushed. "I was asking if my mother is still alive," she admitted.
Helen pondered this for a moment. "Well, if you were asking about your mother, maybe it's talking about your father," she said.
Lyra smiled and nodded. "Thank you, that was such a big help."
Dr. Davies smiled and handed over her card. "Anytime. Have a good evening."
Lyra was then approached by Dr. Archambeau, who smiled and handed over a small piece of paper. "Write me. I'd like to talk to you about… your father," he said.
She nodded. "Good evening."
"Good evening."
I'll update with Chapter Five on Saturday!
- Ivy 3