The Aeronaut's Daughter

The Plan with Teamwork

(Third Person Point of View) 

For the next hour, the two pairs exchanged stories of their adventures, sharing everything that had happened in the twenty-four hours they had been apart. Will and (Y/N) were flabbergasted to learn that someone had been spying on them and their families for years. And Lyra and (M/C) felt like they were suffering from a heart attack when they shared the story of a crazy kid trying to kill them and slicing off Will's hands. Lyra became very nervous for (Y/N) who became paler every minute as she noticed more of her hair was turning as silver as stars. She and Will had yet to tell (M/C) the truth of how he came to be in; he needed to know. 

"Giacomo said that you were brought here to be protected from a powerful force that only this knife can destroy," Will explained. "And he told us that it was our duty to protect you and return you to where you belong,"

(M/C) was befuddled. He was pale. "All this time...I thought I was abandoned. Does this mean...I have a family?"

"Of course, you do," Lyra comforted him. "Did Giacamo tell you guys which world he's from?"

"No. All he said was to find 'the man with the scar across his face'," (Y/N) answered. "That's all he said. He said he'd guide us to that world,"

"If we're gonna find him and your father Will...we've got to get the Alethiometer back," said Lyra. "Without it, we're screwed,"

"This is all my fault," lamented (M/C).

"No. This is my fault. I ignored the Alethiometer's warnings," said Lyra. She looked at the other two, particularly (Y/C) apologetically. "It's my fault, you guys were forced to go to that tower and get that knife," 

"It doesn't matter what happened. What matters is what we do now," said (Y/N). "As long as we've got each other, there's nothing we can't do. We'll get the Alethiometer back together," 

"First we need to look at your hand," said (M/C). He tried to reach for Will's hand but he pulled it back.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"If we don't do something soon, it could get infected,"

Will reluctantly allowed him to hold his hand and undo his bandages. He cringed seeing his chopped fingers. (Y/N) held his hand to comfort him. 

"What you need is a warm bath. There are some shops around town where I can get ointments,"

"I can do it if you want," offered Lyra. She could tell he was still rather pale from the revelation. 

"No. I want to do it. Just to get my mind off things. You girls draw Will a bath. And remember Will, don't whatever you do put your hand in the water. I'll be back soon," he left the shop silently. The three knew he needed some time alone. It had been hard for the knife-bearer to tell him the truth but he deserved to know. 

Lyra pulled out an old bathtub from the storage rooms and (Y/N) collected buckets of hot water before adding the soap in. Soon after Will was out of his clothes and he was bathing in the lovely water, the two girls sat together making some dinner for everyone. Lyra noticed (Y/N) looked rather upset. "You okay?"

"Not really," she lamented. 

Pan purred seeing Aster looking so upset too. 

"We'll figure out what's wrong with you," Lyra promised.

"I feel like a freak. When I looked at the knife's blade, I found myself back in that awful cage..." (Y/N)'s hand went to her chest; she was pale as a ghost as she remembered that awful night. 

Lyra pursed her lips remembering her horrible mother who had done that to her. "Come here," she pulled (Y/N) into her arms, rubbing her back. "It's okay. I'm here,"