Mrs. Coulter

For the rest of the day Mia was focused to go under more tests before she was finally allowed to leave and go to her dorm. She sat on her bed with Aster sat next down to her lap. He leaped into her arms; she hugged him tight.

"I'm so afraid Aster,"

"I am too. But we must be strong for your father,"

"I wish we could find a way to release that poor bear. It could be our escape goat,"

"But we don't even know how to get in,"

"There's a way to...somehow,"

"Look!" a girl named Annie screamed. Mia stopped hugging Aster and saw a group of girls running to the upper windows.

"She's here!"

"Who's here?" she asked.

"The woman with the golden monkey. The one who abducted us!" another screamed.

"She's very scary," another said.

Mia gulped. Was this Mrs. Coulter, Lyra's mother that they were talking about?

"I know what she's doing," she said out loud.

The kids all turned their faces to me.

"What are you talking about?" Annie questioned, closing in on me.

"She's severing kids from their daemons,"

"What?"

"No. That can't be true!" another screamed.

"How could you know that?" another protested.

"I've seen it! I saw Billy Costa! His daemon was cut from him! And he died,"

The girls were shocked.

"There is help coming. But we need to find a way to break out,"

"This place is guarded by Tartars. And out there, there's nothing but layouts of ice!"

"Would you rather stay here and have your daemon separated from you?" she challenged.

Annie looked uncertain.

"She's coming!" a girl screamed from the door.

"Positions!" Annie ordered.

Quickly we all lined up in front of our beds just as the door opened. She entered.

Lyra's mother was a cruel built woman with a strong build. Her golden monkey looked beautiful but behind his snarling Mia sensed such savagery.

"How lovely to see your bright shining faces smiling at me," she spoke out arrogantly. "You know I do care for you very much," She cupped one girl's chin.

The girl was nervous.

Mrs. Coulter noticed me flinching. She swerved in front of Mia. "Mmm. You're new. What's your name?"

"Milly Surrey," she lied.

She gave me a strong glance that made me feel giddy. "Where did you get this?" she gripped the pendent of her necklace and held it up, but she made no force to rip it off.

"This was my mother's," she said.

"Such a lovely winged creature,"

She gave Mia another glance that made her gulp. She let go.

"How did you end up here?"

"I…was found. I was lost in the snow, separated from my family,"

"You're lucky to be found. Well, you girls could do with a lovely sleep tonight. It will make your smiles enlighten even more and that will make me all the happier," she walked out through the door.

Everyone shared glances at one another, sharing shocked expressions. Mia was so scared right now for everyone. Eventually dinner came and soon we were all sent to bed.

The Gyptians were forced to stop that night and rest. Lee was not happy at all. He had constantly argued with John Faa for hours to keep going but already it was midnight. Everyone was hungry and parched and tired.

After Lyra managed to swallow down her food through Ma's imploring, she decided to go and check on Lee, knowing full well that he wouldn't have eaten his food.

Lee had barely eaten a mouthful of food. Hester kept imploring him to eat but he was more hungry for a reunion than food.

"Lee, you must eat," Hester kept going at him.

"Is food really all you're worried about?"

"You have to trust Lyra when she tells you that Mia is alright,"

"But anything could have happened by now,"

"You can't keep asking Lyra to check on her Alethiometer. She's already worried about Mia as well,"

She sighed. She was right. He had already constantly asked Lyra time and time again to check on her, but as always, she said that Mia wasn't in any particular danger. All it said that she was secretly planning a breakout with Roger. Lee hoped that she wouldn't do anything very reckless.

"You have to be brave Lee,"

"I am literally terrified all the time for her safety. I am constantly worried that something bad is happening to her. I'm scared that there'll always be a time when she's in trouble, and I'm not there to help her,"

"Mia can't always rely on you to be there for her. Sometimes she has to rely on herself and others. Like how you let her go with Lyra and Iorek knowing full well that she would be alright,"

"But that was different,"

"How was that any different?"

Lee couldn't answer. Instead he just pressed his fingers into his eyes. He sniffled as he began crying. He felt Hester's nose nuzzle his forehead.

"I'm scared too," Lyra's voice rung in his ears from behind. He twisted his head and saw her consoling face. She circled round and sat in front of him.

"I know you're frightened Lee. But you have to be strong,"

"You are one very brave kid Lyra, I'll give you that. How do it?"

"Do what?"

"How do you stay strong for someone? When you're so scared?"

"I just find a reason to. When Roger was captured, I was totally terrified. Even when I vowed to find him I was so scared that I wouldn't make it in time to him before something awful happened. But I realised I had to be strong for him so I would find him. You need to be strong for Mia. You mustn't let fear hold you back. And you can count on Roger to keep her safe. And she can handle herself as well,"

"How do you know?"

"Because I see it in her. And I know you can too...if you let her show you,"

Lee absorbed Lyra's words in again. It seemed I've been too busy being protective of her that I didn't realise how capable she was. "I guess I've just been so busy keeping her safe,"

"It's okay. That's what dads do. Unlike my one,"

Lee looked at her with sympathy. Was her father Lord Asriel like mine? he thought

"Do you really want to risk your life helping a man who left you at a College?" He asked.

"Yes. The truth is I want him to tell me why he lied to me. And if I didn't do something to free him from the bears, it would make me no different than him,'

"Has he ever done anything good for you?"

"Not really. The only good thing he did was save my life as a baby,"

"If he's not father material...then he's not your father. You have plenty of people who look out for you Lyra,"

"Thanks Mr. Scoresby. Try and eat. It'll make you feel better,"

Deciding to heed her words and have faith, Lee managed to gulp down his food in a slow manner. As much as he wanted to cry out his fear, he had to hold it back and be brave. He allowed Lyra to sleep in his tent after that. He didn't know why she was so special, but she had a way of changing people's lives and giving them hope. Just like she for Mia. Somehow meeting her has made her braver and stronger. And him too. He was beginning to have something he never thought he would have for Mia or himself.

Hope.

He wondered what else she could for Mia that he couldn't.

Already it was midnight. And Mia still couldn't sleep. As soon as everyone was deeply asleep, she picked herself quietly off the bed.

"Mia, what are you doing?" Aster whispered.

"I'm going to find out who that bear was and why Mrs Coulter is keeping one here,"

"You can't do that. They'll punish if they catch you out here,"

"If my dad can pickpocket people without anyone noticing, I can sneak around this place,"

"But what about the guards?"

"We'll find a way past them,"

She tiptoed out to the door and looked through the window. There was no one out there. Carefully she opened the door and stepped out, closing it carefully.

Carefully she and Aster sneaked around corners back towards that room where Roger had heard a growl emitting from behind. She stood right behind it, pressing her ear against the door. She heard high-pitched breathing and growling. It was indeed a bear!

"What could Bolvanger possibly want with a bear?" she asked. "There's got to be a way in,"

"It's run on an electric circuit this door with a code," Aster pointed at a code.

"There's got to be a power room round here somewhere,"

Aster got into an argument about causing a blackout which would attract attention when we heard voices. Abruptly she ducked behind a corner as she heard footsteps.

Keeping well out of sight, she peered around and she saw Mrs. Coulter and Mr. Sysselman from Trollesund approached the door. Mrs. Coulter pressed the number buttons until a light above the. door glowed green.

Mia wasn't close enough to see the actual numbers she pressed. Once they entered, the door closed. She tiptoed back towards the door and tried to hear their voices. But it was muffled.

Mia ordered her daemon to turn into a fly to squeeze through the tight gaps and eavesdrop on that horrible woman and that equally horrible man. He refused. But after being given the look, he turned into one and squeezed as hard as he could through the gaps. He found himself in a giant room. In the centre of the room was a poor polar bear inside a massive cage with manacles around its paws and its mouth was muzzled.

Poor thing.

Mr. Sysselman looked pleased at seeing a bear. "See you managed to capture a bear from Svalbard," he said approvingly to the cruel woman with the cruel daemon.

"On the contrary, this bear was actually wondering past Bolvanger...my Tarters captured him," she boasted arrogantly.

"How did you get here all the way from Bolvanger?!" Mr. Sysselman mocked.

The bear growled. "Don't pry into my life!" it was female.

Mrs. Coulter clicked her fingers. A soldier inside tasered the bear with a stick causing it to shriek out in pain.

"So..." Mr. Sysselman kneeled up to meet Mrs. Coulter's face. "You said you wanted a price and in return you give me this bear,"

"That is correct,"

"Well I could do with a new bear to manage the forges back in Trollesund. Not since that wretched aeronaut and his kid and some other girl took him out of my custody,"

"That is exactly what I came here to talk about,"

There was a pause. Mr. Sysselman stared at her.

"I heard rumours that Gyptians travelled from East Anglia to Trollesund. And a spy-fly told me that there was a girl who was with them?"

"You used a spy fly?! You fully well that they are forbidden,"

"I care not for what's forbidden. Now...tell me, what did this other girl look like?" Mrs. Coulter asked.

"Well she..."

"Speak!"

"She had short brown hair, quite a slim posture,"

He's speaking about Lyra. Aster gulped.

"Do you know what her name was?"

"No. I didn't get one,"

"Well...do you have any names or whereabouts on this aeronaut and his kid?"

"No. But I got a name. Lee Scoresby. His daughter's name was Mia,"

"Well...it seems once I'm finished, I will have to track down this aeronaut and his daughter and extract what information I can. And if he knows and he refuses to give in, I will have to torture his daughter to get the job down,"

"Such an exceptional decision. That kid is a pain in my back,"

Unable to eavesdrop anymore Aster flew back under the door and into Mia's arms in the form of a weasel.

"Mia…did you hear that?"

"I heard Mr. Sysselman was talk about us and dad,"

"Yes. And Mrs. Coulter. She's after her. She's giving that poor bear to Mr. Sysselman in exchange for any sightings on Lyra,"

Curses. We should have let Iorek kill him.

"What do we do?"

"We'll have to make that Lyra doesn't get caught when they break in. And in the meantime we need to find the power room,"

"You mean that one," he pointed towards a large steel door with a lightning bolt symbol inside a triangle.

"That's it. Aster, you're a genius," Mia gave him a hard kiss on the head which he did not like. He complained about her kisses. "Tomorrow we're goanna break into that power room and shut down the power to that room where they're keeping the bear. With the alarm is ringing, everyone will be scurrying out. And once we break her out, we can use as an escape goat to get everyone to safety,"

"That's a big risk. The last thing I want is for us to be under the cruelty of that awful woman and that terrifying monkey. Or Mr. Sysselman. If he sees us and recognises us, we'll be in trouble,"

"I know you're scared Aster. But we have to do this. For the sake of all these children,"

Aster didn't say anything else after that. He nuzzled her cheek and she hugged him close to her chest. Quickly they scurried back to the dorm and into their bed, falling asleep instantly. Tomorrow she would be back in her dad's arms and Roger in Lyra's.

Another chapter done. What did you all think of that? What did you all think of the bear idea and Mr. Sysselman appearing? Please let me know what you all thought and feel free to send over some more ideas.