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Lyra had been waiting for christmas for over a month.
It had been only 4 month's since her and her parent's managed to defeat Metatron and take down the Authority; as well as battle the Magisterium, which in itself was a difficult process..
It really did take Lyra some convicing toward those who'd been placed in charge, including the witches to actually let them stay.
Lyra would never have considered letting her parent's really stay despite the fact they were her biological parents.
However circumstances, especially after the way her mother cared for her in the cave, and the fact they were ready to thow themselves into harm's way for Lyra and the world overall changed her ideologies.
Now here it was almost Christmas morning and Lyra was staying back in her old room she'd orignally been placed when staying with her Mother first time.
Everything was as it was before.
Except, Lord Asriel her father was now staying with them; and they almost deemed as a normal family.
Almost.
"LYRA MARCELLA BELACQUA GET TO BED RIGHT NOW!"
Lyra jumped as she stared out towards the window, and Pantalaimon was curled at the door as he looked up at her and they both panicked.
They must have made too much noise clambering to the window sill and they both sprinted towards the bed before diving into it.
The door opened a crack as the golden monkey approached their bed and hopped on it glaring at the pair of them.
Pan peaked out the cover's and noticed the Monkey's glare.
It wasn't dangerous or violent only annoyed at the evidental fact both Lyra and Pantalaimon were awake.
He walked over to the monkey nuzzling into him, and Ozymandias couldn't help but melt and hold Pan close to him.
It was this time Marisa, Lyra's mother entered the room.
She sighed as she entered seeing Lyra lying awake grinning up toward's her mother, as Marisa's eye's drifted towards their dæmons, as her face drifted into a soft smile.
"You seem to be able to melt my heart within moment's Lyra Belacqua."
Lyra's grin only widened as she shuffled further out of the cover's and more over the side to make room for her mother to sit down.
Her mother rolled her eyes, but nevertheless made her way over to Lyra and crawled in the bed next to her.
"I am your daughter. It is natural to do that." Lyra chirped out moving over to her mother and snuggling happily into her side.
It felt strange still to this day, at the idea of nuzzling into Mrs Coulter's side, yet it was getting more normal to do, with each passing day.
"Yes.. you are my daughter."
She felt her Mother's arms wrap around her, as she looked up to see Ozymandias and Pan moving over to sit next to them embraced quite contently.
"Yet, you really need to sleep Lyra darling," her mother chided her and Lyra huffed looking up to see her eye's glaring down although, softness was clearly still glazed in them.
"But it's christmas tomorrow! Christmas day!" Lyra bounced in her mother's arms as Pan squeaked looking at the monkey happily.
"I am aware of what day it is. Yet you still need to get enough sleep."
"What if it snows? It better snow, I want to attack you and father with snowballs."
Lyra snorted next to her mother and laughed, as she felt Ozymandias squeeze Pantalaimon playfully, but with a warning.
"Lyra Marcella Belacqua, you will certainly not attack me and your father with snowball's it's utterly out of the question."
"But, mother!"
It was at this moment Stelmaria padded into the bedroom, stretching with a yawn, before leaping onto the bed with a heavy grunt.
Ozymandias, still carrying Pan went over to embrace her, as Pan nuzzled her lightly, earning a content sigh from her.
Asriel leaned against the doorway his eyebrows raising at the scene presented in front of him.
From a distance, you'd have no idea this family was; no normal family, and was a rather.. dysfunctional one at that.
"Asriel.." Marisa breathed out happily, and Ozymandias seemed happy himself to see him.
"Father, please tell me you'll let me have a snowball fight with you." Lyra pleaded with him looking at him, with the best eye's she could make.
Stelmaria, looked back at him speaking whatever unspoken word's could be said between them, until he finally leaned off the door and shrugged his shoulders.
"We will see Lyra. For now, you should listen to your mother, before you end up facing the wrath of her." He grunted out before laughing, as Marisa glared at him with more annoyance.
Both Lyra and Asriel, burst out laughing at Marisa's eveident glare as Ozymandias leapt away from Pan, clearly as annoyed as Lyra's mother was.
"Do not encourage her Asriel Belacqua!" She scolded him and was about to move until she looked down and saw Lyra clinging to her like a Koala to a tree.
These past few months, had been an emotional roller coaster.
Lyra was afraid if she slept or closed her eyes for even a second this entire thing would become only a mere fantasy of what she had wished, but never could be.
Marisa glared for a moment more, before scooping Lyra tightly into her arms.
She was aware Lyra wasn't a baby, nor a young child, at least not to most people's eyes, however to Marisa Coulter, she was still her daughter, and they had so much time lost already.
Lyra curled into her Mother yawning and closing her eyes, as she felt her mother's hand running softly through her hair again, and again.
She quickly drifted off to sleep and Ozymandias, moved Pantalaimon over next to Lyra.
He stroked him one last time before hopping onto Marisa's shoulder before down onto the floor where Stelmaria had now moved to.
Marisa stood and walked over to Asriel, who grinned at her and she tried to brush past him, but he gently grabbed her wrists spinning her around, laying his lips upon her own.
She was unable to resist herself, and melted into his embrace, finally relieved at being able to have what she'd always never gotten away from.
She finally got love, and had lost the battle to her anger and self-loathing and gotten away from the constant cycle of abuse.
"Let's get to bed." He whispered into her ear, as her golden monkey, and Stelmaria, exited the room, clinging to each other like two lost souls.
"Not that we will be doing much sleeping.." He added in with a low subtle voice implying much within it, as she batted him gently on the shoulder huffing.
Still the corner's of her lips twitched into a playful smirk, as they both headed to their bedroom.
Lyra woke early the next day, roughly as predicited, 5am in the morning.
She lay there for a few moments, contemplating upon whether to look outside her bedroom window, and hoped she wouldn't be disappointed to not see snow.
Lyra yawned, before slipping out of bed and peaked out the curtains.
To her amazment, snow had settled upon the ground and still continued to settle. It was utterly.. magnificent.
Snow danced in the light, a choreographed ballet conducted by the gentle wind.
Lyra watched as her eyes grew that tiny bit wider; and she gawked happily out toward the snow.
She couldn't believe her eyes.
Sure, she'd enough snow to last her a lifetime, especially with so much travelling north, but back here, in London the snow falling upon the ground felt so much different.
The light's of the city and surrounding building's glittered with the snowflake's as it landed softly upon the ground.
Lyra let out a rather loud squeal as pan changed quickly into an artic fox, and they both fled from her bedroom; flinging open her parent's bedroom.
Both lay sleeping contently wrapped around each other, their dæmons lay at the foot of the bed raising their heads gently seeing Lyra standing there with Pan in the form of an Artic Fox.
Lyra smiled softly at the sight, as a gentle form of softness glazed within her eyes.
She let out a few tear's unintentally, and the golden Monkey screeched in concern at this.
Marisa flung up with Asriel quickly, before concern hitting their face's at the sight of their daughter crying in front of them.
"Lyra my darling, what's wrong?" Marisa's voice was coaxed with concern.
She was about to get out of bed before Pantalaimon quickly leapt upon the bed nuzzling into her mother and Lyra laughed at the feeling of her mother being in such a contact to Pan.
"Nothing, sorry just the idea of a family hit me quickly, it's nothin mother."
She watched her mother wince at Lyra's grammar, and Lyra hid her smirk, as she clearly could tell her mother clearly hadn't got over the idea of Lyra's grammar being so incorrect; or non-standard.
"IT'S SNOWING THOUGH! Lyra squeaked out in a rather loud tone, causing both her parent's and their dæmons to wince, especially considering the time of the morning.
"Lyra, it's an inconvient time, considering it's what? Five o'clock in the morning?" Marisa huffed out in annoyance, she'd never been too pleased with being woken up at such ridiculous time's.
"Please mother, come on, come on, come on. COME ON!"
Lyra shook the bed with force causing Marisa to jump and sigh before flopping back down next to her lover.
"Very well Lyra, but for goodness sake, STOP making such a ridiculous racket!"
With that Lyra left the room in quite a hurry with Pan following her swiftly behind.
"I suppose we'll have to get up now, otherwise; she'll never stop making such noise.."
Marisa nodded into Asriel's chest and he kissed the top of her head agreeing.
"Unfortunately, Marisa it would appear you're right, still I'm sure it will be a lovely.. interesting christmas."
With that he slipped out of bed, getting dressed swiftly, before leaving, leaving Marisa questioning what on earth he could have possibly meant by that comment.
Still she quickly followed, getting changed and heading out to join, Asriel and her daughter in the sitting room.
Lyra lay before them under the christmas tree gawking at it with delight.
Her eyes moved from present to present that was placed in a neat pile, presumably by her mother under the glittering tree.
She never recieved any of this at Jordan College, she'd be lucky to get present from her, 'uncle' let alone a stash of them staring at her.
Pan bounced around Stelmaria and Ozymandias causing him to recieve funny looks off the pair of them, but Stelmaria let out a deep low laugh.
She shook her head before lying down next to the fire.
"Which one may I open first?" Lyra glanced back at her parent's whom were curled on the sofa around each other and pointed at different present's.
Lyra opened them with such eagerness she nearly threw up with pure excitment; as to which Marisa got up mid-way to make her a warm cup of tea.
She returned to see Lyra opening her last two present's one, was her own the other she wasn't quite familar with.
However she glanced sideways when sitting down next to Asriel, to see a grin forming upon his face.
"Mother.. it's beautiful. It's a lovely coat; does this mean we can travel north again?" Lyra looked back to see her mother nodding at her.
She knew her daughter, wasn't much for fancy clothes, however a nice warm fancy coat and Lyra was content.
Lyra leapt over to her mother to wrap her in a tight and loving embrace; Pan doing the same to Ozymandias.
Lyra felt her mother return the embrace with a loving gesture, before letting Lyra return to her final present.
Lyra examined it with surprised eyes and looked back to her father.
"It's from you?" Her eye's glazed up with happiness and surprise as Marisa looked over to him; and her dæmon looking confused toward's Stelmaria.
He nodded gently and watched her open it to reveal a new invention; a snowball shooter.
It appeared to gather snow and shoot it at whatever target or thing you aimed it at.
Lyra squeaked with joy and Asriel laughed, however her mother wasn't so keen.
She scolded Asriel for buying her such an impractical present, and looked at Lyra complaining upon how improper it was, yet Lyra couldn't bring herself to care.
On that note, it was time for their morning brunch; as to which they had at the dining table.
This was due to the patio being far to cold and covered in snow to dine on.
Christmas day had been a blast for the family, and it was drawing to a close. Lyra however, hadn't quite finished with her fun.
All day she'd been dying to try out her new piece of equipment brought by her father, and now was finally her chance.
She noted her parents were huddled upon the sofa; her mother reading a new book she'd brought and her father reading up on some extra note's he needed for the north.
Lyra crept out of her room with precaution; the snow ball invention, filled to the brim with snow she'd found outside her window.
She quietly stood behind her parent's and their dæmons quickly noticed the sight.
However, before they had chance to even remotely warn the pair upon Lyra's mischief she shot the snow right at them as it landed all in their hair and over their note's and books.
Marisa let out the most annoyed screech along with her dæmon; Asriel and Stelmaria grunted but Lyra, well she just laughed.
She didn't just laugh, she snorted with hysterics.
Pan rolled on the floor next to her; Asriel himself was struggling to refrain a smirk, however it was all over his note's containing the north.
"LYRA. MARCELLA. BELACQUA. HOW DARE YOU?" Marisa screeched out at her before flinging herself off the sofa.
She was absolutely covered head to toe in snow and was clearly unimpressed.
Her anger raditated her face, and she stormed over to her daughter, her dæmon stomping over to Pan and picking him up with no care in the world.
Marisa grabbed Lyra forcefully by the arm dragging her to bedroom.
All the time Lyra was still unbothered dying with hysterics of laughter, as she noticed Asriel grinning shaking his head, clearly amused himself by the way she'd used his gift.
"You will stay here for the remainder of the evening!" Marisa slammed Lyra's door shut and Lyra finally stopped laughing before flopping onto the bed.
Pan grunted at the door before looking back at Lyra.
"I don't think we should have done that."
"Perhaps not.. but worth it innit?" Lyra chimed back at him, before he laughed quietly.
"Oh yes. It was.."
She heard her mother and father later, clearly arguing over the idea of the present, Marisa not being at all impressed with it, and Asriel complaining it was only a bit of fun.
Lyra waited a few moment's before nodding at pan as they left their room and quietly sneaked out and stood in the door way.
Stelmaria grunted as Ozymandias let out a small but not as angry as before screech, causing both Asriel and Marisa to turn around.
Her mother still looked annoyed at her; and raised her eyebrows at Lyra being out of her room, when specifically told not to.
"I thought I made it very clear Lyra Belacqua, you were not to leave your room for the rest of the evening?"
She scolded her and before the golden monkey had time to take Pan in his grasp, pan changed into a small bird floating up out of his reach.
She heard her mother let out an auidable grunt and looked at Lyra with what was a rather unreadable expression.
"I just.. wanted to apologize for what I did earlier. Although it was.. somewhat funny.."
Lyra couldn't help but let out a small grin and looked at her father who laughed in agreement.
Her mother waited a moment before her eyes softened and she leaned down to meet Lyra's height.
"It may have been amusing to.. some, but some of my clothes and books, cost quite a lot of money young lady."
Lyra nodded and looked up at her mother; questioning upon whether to add the next comment in but, decided she would in the end.
"You know.. you didn't have to buy me any present's, because in the end all I wanted for christmas I already have. A family."
Lyra added in quickly hugging her mother before retreating back to her room.
Marisa let out a gasp and let a tear trail softly down her cheek.
Lyra indeed was her daughter, and in the end they'd all gotten what they never even noticed.
A normal.. dysfunctional family christmas.