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Lyra slept most of the way back to Oxford. She fell asleep when they reached his airship, head resting on Stelmaria as if she were a pillow. Her soft breaths echoed around the ship, soothing and helping him push down the agitation beginning to rise in him.
He always hated going back, grovelling for money he had once had. They must see how important his research was to all. They may consider it heretical but they would fund him if they truly valued scholastic freedom. Once upon a time he did not have to convince anyone that he deserved the funding. It had been far easier than.
Not that he regretted the reason for his lack of money, he thought as he looked over Lyra's sleeping form. Part of it perhaps. But never his daughter.
He concentrated on flying and finalising his notes. The journey flew by too quickly and they arrived in Oxford, Asriel no less tense. But he was more relaxed than normal, with Stel's contentedness keeping him from going over the edge.
"We there?" Lyra mumbled tiredly as he gently shook her awake, eyes straining up at the brightness of the light from the wide open door. He resisted the urge to squeeze her nose as she scrunched it. She looked adorable as she let out a little yawn, blinking and still in the process of waking up.
"We are," he nodded, gently helping her stand now that she was awake. He would have gladly carried her to her room but he had far too many things to sort out and carry himself. He didn't trust other men with half of the equipment he had with him.
"When we talking to the scholars?" she yawned again, eyelids fluttering. Pan draped loosely around her neck with just as little energy as her.
"You, Lyra, are going straight to bed," he chuckled as he led her out of the airship. "I will talk to the master tonight and present to the rest tomorrow."
The sooner he got it over with the better. Normally he would do it as soon as he arrived and leave almost as quickly. But this time he had other things to sort out and people to consider. It would be best if he was fully prepared, anyway, so tomorrow would do. And he did plan to spend at least a full week back in Oxford. He wanted Lyra to get plenty of time with her friend.
She grumbled as he shooed her towards the college, unpacking the airship slowly. A stern glare when she didn't move had her scampering off. He'd seen her continuing to yawn, so he was sure she'd be glad to get to her bed. He'd much rather join her in sleeping rather than dealing with all the logistics of coming back to Oxford.
It took a while to properly unpack everything he needed and he was already drained when done. But he had done far more on far less energy. Talking to the Master was nothing.
"We should take time to rest while we're here."
Asriel gave a hum of agreement to Stelmaria. It would be best to take their time, no rushing off as soon as they had funding. Rest and recuperate.
This was the place Lyra had called home for so long, after all. He was sure she had missed it and he didn't want to drag her away from that too quickly. He'd let her have her time here before they returned, even if it meant waiting to continue his research.
When Lyra woke up the next morning, she felt fresh and ready to face a new day. It had been so long since she'd last been in Oxford. There was so much to do and so many people to catch up with! Of course, her first priority was Roger. He was sure to have missed her!
She quickly got dressed before sitting on her bed, legs swinging excitedly. It was annoying to wear an actual dress, the pinafore she'd preferred when living in Oxford, but she understood it wasn't proper for a girl to wear trousers even if it was fine when in the north. A large grin broke her lips as the door swung open and Roger entered, carrying her breakfast. There was an extra sausage on the plate. Some things never changed.
The smile he gave was half shy as he put down the tray. Lyra moved it out of the way before launching herself at him for a hug.
"I missed you," she said, genuinely, when she pulled back.
"Missed you too," Roger rubbed the back of his neck, grabbing the extra sausage. "It e'nt the same without ya. I'm glad you're back now."
Lyra paused. She'd been so caught up in the excitement of going with her father she hadn't thought of what she was leaving behind. Once Roger had been all she truly had. Now she had Asriel, Stelmaria and Thorold too. But Roger still only had her. And she'd left him behind.
It was a sobering thought.
"You are back properly, right?" Roger was giving her a strange look.
"Yeah!" Lyra lied, feeling uncomfortable with it for the first time. Pan blinked at her from where he was lying across Salcilia and she subtly shook her head. "We'll have plenty of time together."
Roger grinned, hugging her. "I really did miss you. I e'nt got anyone without you. I were worried you were gone for good but I'm glad you e'nt."
"Don't worry I e'nt gonna abandon you," Lyra covered her unease with a laugh, forcing herself to eat most of her breakfast. She let Roger have half and then hopped up, looking at him expectantly. "Well, I e'nt been on the roofs in ages! Let's go!"
"Father, I did something terrible!" Lyra barged into her Father's quarters, startling both occupants. Stelmaria let out a slight growl and light batted Pan as he approached, whimpering.
Asriel just raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "Good evening to you too, Lyra."
She waved her hand and flopped down on the spare chair in front of the fire. Pan didn't sit still, pacing in front of her as she shook her legs up and down. He switched forms every few seconds with each more agitated than the next.
He hadn't seen Lyra all day, due to him being busy and her back to clambering across the rooftops. He had left her under the assumption she wanted time with her friend. If he was honest he hadn't expected to see her till the next morning. He certainly hadn't predicted such a dramatic entrance.
Lyra looked practically forlorn now, slouched in her chair even as her legs couldn't keep still. He felt his heart twinge.
"What's wrong?" he asked evenly, after observing her. Stelmaria stalked over to Pan and all but pinned him down into a semblance of a hug, beginning to softly lick through his fur. Both relaxed slightly at this.
"I told Roger I e'nt leaving again! I lied to him cause I didn't want to hurt him! He missed me so badly and I missed him but it e'nt the same. He were my only friend but now I have you. But he e'nt got anyone else. And I left him behind. Then I told him I e'nt doing it again... But I am!" She was practically wailing by the end of it, shooting off the chair to reach for Pan. Stelmaria stepped back to let them cling to each other before curling around them both. There were tears shining in her eyes.
"Do you want to stay here?"
The wild look in her eyes when her gaze shot to him told him he'd said the wrong thing. "No! Never!"
Stelmaria curled further around Lyra and glared at him for his slip up. He frowned at her and ran a hand through his hair. He was trying, he really was, but he was still new to actually trying to be a father. Sentiments and emotions had never been his strong point. Helping her through nightmares, something he was used to, was one thing. Problems with friends? Not so much. He would never have been in this situation in the first place.
"Well," Asriel continued, forcing himself to think properly about the situation. "You need to talk to him. I know it's difficult but it's not good to lie to a friend and give him false hopes." He could feel Stelmaria's annoyance radiating at him. He shook his head slightly, he wasn't done. "Ask him to come with you."
Lyra blinked away tears, momentarily at a loss for words. Pan flickered through a few shapes before Stelmaria nudged him to calm down and he settled as a snow leopard. "Really? You e'nt joking?"
"I'm not," Asriel nodded firmly. "But, you are not to force it upon him. He might want to stay here in Jordan College with everything he knows. Also if he does come, he will have to earn his keep by helping Thorold."
Honestly Thorold could do with it, he was getting old and struggling more now that there were two people to clean up after.
"I shan't force him, don't worry!" Lyra's eyes twinkled through the tears, so quickly swapping from gloomy to excited. "I'll ask! He'll be plenty of help cause he works here anyway he knows how to cook and clean I bet! He won't be any bother."
"I'll hold you to that," Asriel chuckled. "Though I doubt he could be any more troublesome than you."
Lyra pouted at that, squawking indignantly even as she couldn't really deny it. Pan huffed with her, squawking as a crow even as Stelmaria gently batted him with a paw.
"Why don't you wipe that sullen look off your face and help me organise my research?"
That brightened her right up, having her jump up and practically run over to him. She was simple to please.
He was glad, for it made it easier to distract her when she was feeling down.
Lyra still felt terrible about lying to Roger, but speaking with her father had helped. It had given her the confidence to talk to him the next morning.
She waited till he brought up her breakfast, glad to see he'd once again stolen extra for himself. That meant he'd stick around for a while before going back to work.
She pushed back the nerves that clawed at her stomach. She was Lyra Belacqua, and she didn't get anxious! She could face anything - even an armoured bear if she had to. She couldn't disappoint her father by wimping out!
"So, Roger," she began, pulling on her hair with a forced smile. "I been meaning to talk to you about something."
"What trouble do you want to get me into?" Roger narrowed his eyes as he gobbled down his sausage, clearly noting the anxious way she talked compared to her normal confidence.
"It e'nt trouble," Lyra pouted at him. "I just... Well I'm going back north with my father."
"Oh." the disappointment on Roger's face was enough to break her heart.
"I'm sorry," Lyra ran a hand through her hair before forcing herself to continue. "but this e'nt meant tobbe bad news! I asked my dad and he said thay you can come too. You could work for us, since Thorold is getting old. How d'you like the sound of that."
"I dunno lyra," it was Roger's turb to wring his hands. "I en't like you. I ent got no intetest in adventuring. This is my home and i dunno if I'm okay with leaving it."
"That's ok," Lyra forced a smile even as she felt tears prickle her eyes. Pan scurried back from Sacilia and into her lap. "I e'nt forcing you."
"I know," Roger smiled slightly. "It e'nt a no! I jsut need to think about it, is all."
Before Lyra could say anything else Roger leaned in to hug her.
"I'll let you know tomorrow."
There was a grin on Lyra's lips as she walked through town, hands stuffed in the pockets of her blue pinafore dress. She'd made up with Roger and finally had time to play. The college kids were on good terms with the townies right now, so she'd ignored Roger's protests that he couldn't go with her to go into town and find them. How she'd missed war!
A grin crossed her lips as she spotted the small group of kids, in the same hangout spot they'd always congregated in. Seems like things hadn't changed much since then. She wondered if they'd missed her. After all, she was the one that came up with most of the plans and really gave them the victorious edge.
"I'm back," she announced with a confident grin and dramatic sweep of her arms as she got close enough to the group for them to hear her.
Instead of crowding around her like she expected, with excited eyes and questions about her trip, the group recoiled from her. Whispers feel from their lips, inaudible to Lyra as they leant over to each other. It was one of the boys that she'd clashed with most that eventually stepped forward.
"You e'nt part of the group no more."
"Huh, what d'you mean?"
"Exactly what i said. Go away, no one wants you here."
"Why," Lyra growled, eyes flashing and Pan turning into a hissing leopard beside her. "i know we're on the same side just now, so why e'nt i welcome? Is it cause i went away? I'll tell you all about my travels."
The lead boy scowled at her, his own daemon shifting into a wolf beside him as all the other kids crowded around him defensively - daemons all hissing. Lyra didn't feel scared, she never felt intimidated by the other kids, but she didn't understand what was going on. She'd been the leader of them all before she left!
"You just e'nt welcome."
"My ma says i e'nt to talk to you," a girl piped up from behind him, nose scrunched up in disgust. "She says you're dirty."
"Yeah, cause you're a bastard," another kid piped up.
"I e'nt," Lyra growled, fists clenched at her side and hot tears in her eyes even as she didn't entirely know what the word meant. But she knew it was an offence, and it was something to do with her parents. Pan flickered between shapes as he snarled beside her.
"Yeah you are. You're parents e'nt married and that's wrong. My ma says you wasn't supposed to happen and that we gotta stay away."
"My pa says it's your fault Lord Asriel is like he is now. He used to be great, he said, till you was born! Pa said I e'nt to be near you or you'll infect me."
"Your ma didn't even want you cause you was a bastard."
"I heard you ruined your parents life. Ma said you shouldn't have been born."
Lyra looked around the other children with stormy, tear filled eyes and quickly realised she wouldn't win if she started a fight. Pan growled softly and leapt up into her arms, warmth comforting her against the biting words. "I don't want to play with you anyway, you e'nt good enough for me anymore!"
Before they could say anything more, she turned and fled through the narrow streets of Jericho.
She found her feet taking her along familiar paths and soon enough she was standing near the canal, hesitant as she watched the Gyptians going about their daily business. She raised a hand to wipe away the tears that she refused to let fall. She wasn't weak. Her father wasn't beaten by words so she wouldn't be either (but had she really ruined his life?). Pan whimpered in her arms, stretching up to rub his face against hers and licking away her remaining tears. His sorrow pierced through her even as she tried to ignore her own.
"It's fine, Pan, we don't need them to have fun."
That wasn't the problem, she could sense Pan telling her. She rubbed her face in his fur to comfort herself. It was fine. The closeness calmed them both down, if only a little.
"Let's go talk to the Costas," Pan suggested tentatively. "They'll want to hear about where we've been."
Lyra nodded. The Costas had never been cruel to her, even when she'd stolen Ma Costa's boat a year ago and caused all sorts of chaos. She'd gotten her ear pulled by Ma Costa and a beating back at the college, but any scathing words weren't really that hurtful. It was just the normal trouble she got into.
"I bet Billy will be excited to hear all our adventures! The Gyptians e'nt the judging type anyway, they won't say anything... Will they?"
Pan didn't reply, just shifting into a wildcat in her arms. Something better for fighting other kids daemons if they taunted them too.
They shouldnt, cause they'd always been nice people, but Lyra wasn't so sure anymore. Everything was different from when she left.
"Billy!" She waved at the slightly younger boy as she spotted him, sitting on the front of his family's boat where it was tied against the edge of the canal. She pushed away her worries and grinned as if nothing had happened. "Did you miss me?"
"Lyra?" Billy jumped up with wide, shocked eyes. There was a nervousness to the way he looked at her... But Billy was always nervous. "When did you get back?"
"Yesterday," Lyra laughed, leaping over onto the boat with ease as if she'd never left. "We got what we was looking for and came back-"
"Lyra Belacqua, you better not be thinking about stealing my boat again!"
Lyra froze at the shout, spinning around to see Ma Costa standing on land with her arms folded and an expression that promised a beating if Lyra pulled anything. She almost found herself crying out of relief, it was so... Normal. Like nothing had changed. At least somewhere was the same.
"I en't! I'm just here to play, cause it's been so long."
"That right?" Ma Costa raised an eyebrow as she boarded the boat, ruffling Lyra's hair in a way she found comforting. "Why don't you come inside then, Tony's just making our lunch. Bet you're hungry after running about all morning."
"I didn't run about that much," Lyra muttered, still choosing to follow Ma Costa and Billy into the boat. She waved to Tony where he was sizzling fish, mouth watering smells filling the small boat. She quickly found somewhere to sit in the cramped space. "The townie kids wouldn't play with me."
"That's probably cause you tried to boss 'em about," Tony commented, handing her a small plate. "Bet they all got sick of that."
"They don't play with me either," Billy offered softly from beside her.
"That's cause you're enemies," Lyra pointed out. It was an entirely different situation, not everyone could get on with the Gyptians like she could. They rarely allied with others. "I e'nt... They just said I weren't welcome."
Ma Costa narrowed her eyes at that, enquiring gaze falling on Lyra. Lyra smiled as if there hadn't been anything else said. "Well you're always welcome here, Lyra. We know the truth here, we don't listen to them rumours that those on land do."
Rumours? Lyra didn't know about any rumours... Was that why all the kids had talked to her like that? Whatever it was, it didn't make it hurt less. She curled her fingers into Pan's fur while digging into the bacon to distract herself.
"Tis much funner here anyway," Lyra nodded, as if that was the main reason she'd ended up here. She found it easy to hide how she felt anyway, after spending most years alone with Pan until just recently. "Teach me how to navigate the canals!"
Ma Costa laughed. "I'll see what I can do later. You and Billy play first, then maybe I'll have time to show you."
Lyra grinned, trying to focus on this normal rather than the harsh changes she'd experienced earlier.
It was Stelmaria that first noticed something was wrong.
Lyra had been unusually quiet throughout dinner, but with her heavy eyelids and slightly mud stained face Asriel had assumed it was from a long and play filled day.
Normally Pan would join Stelmaria when she stretched out in front of the fire, content after a long day and full from the food her human had eaten. It had become a habit while Lyra and Asriel lounge in comfortable chairs drinking warm drinks and talking or reading, their daemons would curl up together. But not tonight. Tonight Pan stayed wrapped around Lyra's neck as an ermine while she nursed a mug of hot chocolatl, nuzzling in her neck and hiding in her hair. It was strange. Something wasn't quite right, and Asriel could feel her concern.
"How was your day, Lyra?" He asked the question he hadn't during dinner, because Lyra had seemed tired and like she was using all her energy to just eat. But now he wasn't sure that was all there was to it and he couldn't just ignore Stelmaria's worry. "I hope you didn't get up to too much mischief."
"I didn't," Lyra said quietly, not meeting his eyes and instead looking at her own legs. "My day was good."
That wasn't like Lyra at all. Normally it was impossible to get her to shut up, she'd just go on and on about her day or pester him about what he'd done. She couldn't sit still until she completely tired herself out. This wasn't normal at all.
"Did you manage to see all your friends?"
A pause. "Yeah."
"I bet that was nice. You didn't make up too much when telling them what you'd been up to, did you?"
"I didn't."
There was silence again, an awkward kind that he wasn't sure how to fill. Normally Lord Asriel enjoyed the rare quiet moments. But not this time. Instead he was just concerned, trying to figure out what was wrong with his daughter. Was she ill perhaps? No, that didn't seem right.
Him and Stelmaria shared a look, silent words flittering between them. Stelmaria wanted to question Pan but couldn't get to him where he was curled against Lyra's chest, and Asriel wasn't sure what to do. He was still new to this parenting thing, even though he was trying. How did he coax it out of her? He'd never been one for coaxing.
Nor was Stelmaria... Both equally confused on how to proceed as the silence continued.
"Father, was it bad that I was born? Cause I'm a bastard."
"What- Where did you hear that?" Lord Asriel's head snapped around as her sudden words pierced the quiet room. His gaze darkened as Lyra looked away, eyes downcast. Stelmaria bared her teeth beside him. Was this why she had been so quiet... He clenched his fingers around the arms of the chair when Lyra hesitated. "Lyra, tell me where."
It wasn't a question anymore, but a command. He needed to know who had said this filth around his daughter and filled her mind with ideas that she wasn't worthy merely because of the circumstances of her birth. Then he would make sure they paid for it.
"The other kids," Lyra mumbled, looking down at her feet. Pan pressed against her chest as a mouse, silent. "When we went to play."
"They told you that?"
"They said I was dirty... That my mother didn't want me when I was born cause I was a bastard. And- and they said it were all my fault that you're struggling. I shouldn't have been born is what they said."
Children just echoed their parents words, this wasn't something that they could've thought of themselves. They'd barely understand it. Someone else was the source of the rumours that had made their way to Lyra in such a cruel way. Asriel would find out, and then...
"Is it true?" Her voice trembled, tears pooling in her eyes. Pan was a mouse in her arms, shaking uncontrollably. Asriel felt his heart clench. "That's why you didn't want me for so long... I made your life worse. If I just weren't born you'd be happier. I'm why you struggle, why we don't have money. I ruined your life."
"Lyra..." Words were caught in Asriel's throat. Stelmaria's growl pulled him out of his stupor and he stood, approaching Lyra in a few short strides. He scooped her up and into her arms, sitting back down with her in his lap and holding her tight. She curled into his arms and leaned against him, knees bent up against her chest. "Of course not, Lyra. You didn't do anything wrong."
Lyra trembled in his arms, looking so weak and fragile. Sometimes he forgot she was just a little girl... So innocent to the ways of the world, even if she was so stubborn and smart. He hadn't protected her well enough.
"But," her voice shook, tears spilling out of her eyes where she'd tried to hold them. "They said..."
"It doesn't matter what they said. You think I didn't want you to be born? Of course I did. I've always been watching over you, even if it didn't seem like it. You haven't ruined my life, only made it better."
"B-b-but," Lyra choked on her sobs. Water freely fell down her cheeks in a cascade. It was like everything she'd held in for the whole day was coming out now. She'd finally let go in his arms, face contorted with anguish as ugly sobs were ripped from her lips. "Daddy..."
"It's okay, I'm here," he held her even closer, rubbing circles in her back. Stelmaria stretched up so her front paws were on his legs, nuzzling in at the shaking Pan who would cry too if he could. "I'm not going anywhere."
It broke his heart to see her like this. Once he wouldn't allow himself to care, but now he was too far gone. He loved his daughter more than anything else and he would get rid of anything that threatened to hurt her. He would give her everything the world didn't want her to have.
"Shh, I'm here, I'm here." Asriel tightened his arms around her, cradling her as close as he could and allowed her to cry herself out against his chest. It didn't matter that her tears stained one of his favourite wool sweaters, or that her hands stretched it where they gripped tight against his chest. He stroked her hair as she cried, whispering comforting words and pressing gentle kisses to the crown of her head. Stelmaria licked Pan's stuck up fur, heading rubbing against Lyra's arms. "It's okay now."
He held her until the sobbing subsided, Lyra still pressed up against him and Pan trembling against her neck. She looked up at him with red rimmed eyes, still uncertain but no longer breaking down over it.
"Do you mean it?" She mumbled, voice hoarse from all the crying. She sounded so tired, so small nestled in his arms. He felt a pain in his chest again.
"Mean what?" He gently rubbed her back, soothing circles through the thin material of her dress, and looked down at her with soft eyes.
"That I didn't ruin your life. That you're glad I was born."
"I did. I don't say words I don't mean, Lyra, you know that. I wouldn't want a life without you in it, my dear child. You are my everything."
And it was true, now. He meant every word. One day he would have to tell her everything, about the mother who had truly abandoned her and the trial that had taken everything from him. But he would make it clear that she wasn't at fault and never had been. He'd do it all again without a second thought. It had been him that had pulled the trigger that night long ago to protect her and he had never regretted it.
Lyra smiled, weak after all the tears but genuine. She believed him. Pan mewled softly in her arms, becoming a smaller snow leopard and nuzzling against Stelmaria. As the two daemons curled up together Lyra threw her arms around his shoulders, nuzzling her face into his neck.
"I love you, father."
"Mm," he gently kissed his brow, before continuing quietly. "Me too."
Lord Asriel held Lyra until she fell asleep, exhausted from all that had happened that night. Then he carried her to bed, carefully tucking her in and pushing her hair out of her eyes. With one last look he left her to sleep, leaving the door slightly ajar so he could hear if she needed him during the night.
Lyra woke up the next day feeling lighter, even if she couldn't just get over the words she'd heard so easily. Her father had reassured her that most of it was not the case... But it was the truth she had been born out of wedlock. A bastard. So not all the words were lies.
She didn't want to stay here much longer. Father would protect her, but there just wasn't anything for her here anymore... Except Roger.
"He said he'd give us an answer today," Pan murmured in her ear, nuzzled up against her on the pillow. She wasn't quite ready to get out of bed and face the day. Her father would be busy, she was sure, so she'd have to spend it alone again. It was much less appealing than it had been yesterday. Maybe she'd just laze around today or sit up on the roofs by herself.
A knock on the door, three excited taps, interrupted her thoughts. The knocker didn't even wait for her to answer before barging in.
"I brought your breakfast!" Roger jumped on her bed with a tray of cooked food, more than one extra sausage this time. She found herself smiling. "I weren't supposed to today, had other more important jobs, but Lord Asriel insisted. You alright, Lyra? You e'nt ill are you? You look pale."
"I'm fine now," Lyra laughed lightly, genuinely feeling it as she grabbed one of the many sausages on the plate and stuffed it into her mouth. If the townies knew about her birth, Roger must have heard too. Maybe that was why he was so upset when she went off without her. He didn't seem to judge her for it. "Father's just making a fuss."
"But you cried so much-"
"Shut up, Pan!" Lyra glared at her Daemon before he gave anymore away. "I didn't."
"You crying?" Roger teased, stealing another sausage and a slice of bacon. "Wish I were there to see it."
"I didn't, it's just that when you come back from the North you can't adjust easily you see. So the water in my body was still a bit frozen and it finally melted and looked like tears."
Roger laughed at that, definitely not believing her sorry excuse for a lie. But he didn't push it and instead the conversation moved away as they ate, towards how the war was going and how they'd fallen out with the townies again. They were allies with the gyptians now, Roger said, which rarely happened.
"Shame we won't be here to participate, though," Roger commented as he began to tidy away the utensils. "I seen many things during war but not the gyptians allying."
"You won't be here to see it?" Lyra tilted her head, sharing a look with Pan that was filled with excitement. Pan ran up to Salcilia, ermine and ferret staring at each other as they waited for their humans to talk. Lyra wanted it to be what she thought it was, she really did. "How come?"
"Well I thought about it," Roger wrung his hands, even as he smiled at Lyra. "I may have grown up 'ere, but it e'nt Oxford that's my home. It's wherever you are that is. I e'nt getting left behind again."
"You mean, you're coming with us?" Lyra leapt forward, pulling Roger into a fierce hug. "Oh, Roger, you won't regret it!"
"I en't planning to," Roger grinned, hugging her back. Their daemons pressed against each other playfully. "I e'nt like you, Lyra, but I want to be with you."
"You'll love it there, really! I promise."
-
Basically lord Asriel quickly sorts stuff with Roger then Lyra begs for them to leave as soon as possible so they just sort stuff out and get ready.
After Roger went to work, Lyra found her father and told him right away that Roger was going to come with them. Lord Asriel smiled and ruffled her hair, clearly happy that she was happy. He'd get it all sorted, he said.
She hoped it would be sorted soon. She told her father as much, because she didn't want to stay here much longer. There really wasn't anything left for her here... And it seemed her father understood that too.
So two days later they were packing up again, funding obtained and Roger allowed to start working for Lord Asriel rather than the college. The two children watched in awe as crates after crates were loaded into the airship. Lyra had tried to help at first but was shooed away by Stelmaria, who was stalking around the outside of the airship.
"I've never been in one of these before," Roger said, mouth agape as he watched the process. "Never left Oxford."
"I hadn't either, but it's really fun," Lyra nodded. "You see so much! Everyone looks so small from up there."
She was going to stay more but she caught sight of her father in the corner of her eye, striding towards them. His hand came to rest on her shoulder and he gave Roger a gruff nod. "Are you children ready?"
"Yes sir."
"Of course!" Lyra squealed, leaning against her father's side. "Are we going now?"
"We are. Get on in, quickly, now, we don't have much time left."
"It'll be a long journey, so be prepared," Stelmaria commented.
"That's okay!" Lyra grabbed Roger's hand and practically pulled him into the airship, daemons flying behind them as matching birds. "It's all an adventure."
She could hear Asriel and Stelmaria's twin laughter behind her, quickly drowned out by the sound of the airship preparing to take off. The two children were hurried inside and her father stood at the door, signalling to those on the ground.
Then they were lifting into the air, the door to the outside closed.
Immediately Lyra took her place at the window, her favourite spot to watch as they moved further and further away from the ground. The people who had been helping were tiny specks on the ground now and the buildings the size of toys. Roger looked from beside her, gasping at the new sights. Lyra felt a sense of pride. She'd been like that too when she'd left at first, but now she was more used to it. She wasn't a tiny bit nervous, comforted by the sounds of Asriel making sure everything was in place behind her and the feeling of Pan warm on her shoulder.
Eventually Lyra turned around from the window, looking between her Father and her best friend with a wide grin.
"Let's go home."