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It was a rare clear day in London. The wind was brisk and refreshing. Lyra had the day off and so decided to treat herself to an outing at the zoo. She had not had such opportunities in her earlier life and now that she was away from Jordan College she took advantage of her greater freedom. After buying the ticket she went round to all the exhibits to look at the various animals. The experience was not as pleasant as she had hoped.
While the London zoo was one of the best in the world, it still had fairly cramped exhibits and she felt sorry for the residents there. These animals were meant to be free, yet they were also, albeit unwillingly, ambassadors of their species to humanity. If you never met a tiger, how could you relate to their problems?
Continuing on her rounds, Lyra became increasingly depressed. While she had finally discovered what Alice's strange daemon was when she visited the Australian exhibit, and was glad to have finally cleared that up, she found herself loosing appreciation for the zoo. She had thought this outing would be enjoyable, but animals were not daemons, and she could not speak to them the way she had spoken to Iorek.
Her great friend, King of the Armored Bears, it had been so long since she had seen him last. Perhaps it was for similar reasons why neither Dorothy nor Susan went to the zoo now that Lyra thought about it. She looked on the map and saw where the bear exhibit was and decided to leave, she didn't want to see a creature that she had such fondness for be brought so low, she remembered her first meeting with Iorek and thought that there was nothing so tragic as fallen nobility.
She was walking towards the gate when she heard a loud roar.
“Friend!”
Lyra stopped, her mouth open. That was a bear. And it was talking! Not in a language that anyone here would be able to understand, and there was a different nuance to it than Iorek's speech, but that was the bear word for 'friend'.
There was at least one animal here that she could talk to!
Lyra ran towards the bear enclosure, recklessly plowing through the crowds in her excitement and nearly running into a small child. She arrived at the enclosure breathless and exhilarated and saw something wonderful.
A man, probably in his early forties, had jumped into the enclosure and was wrestling a brown bear. Both combatants where laughing and saying how much they had missed each other. After several minutes of this the man pulled out two bottles of whiskey and handed one to the bear. One of the keepers was there, but made no move to stop this.
“Excuse me, who is that bear?” Asked Lyra.
The keeper turned to her and smiled.
“You haven't heard? That bear is Corporal Voyteck of the Polish 22nd Transport Company. We have him on loan from Edinbourgh for a few months. The man in there with him is one of his old mates from the war. Voyteck is a regular war hero, he served at a number of battles, captured a spy, his unit even made him their official symbol not too long ago. Look at his plaque if you want to know more.”
Lyra thanked the man and read the plaque, all the while listening to the two soldiers drink and talk. The man couldn't comprehend the bear's voice, but they did understand each other. Lyra sat there the whole time, listening to them talk. The solider gave his friend a final hug and got out of the enclosure.
“Thank you for your service.”
The soldier turned to her.
“You were listening to all of that?”
“Yes, you have a good friend there.”
“That I do.” The soldier's Polish accent was thick and Lyra asked why he was in London. He had come to visit family and a few of his comrades. They were trying to put things in order for V E day, a month and a half from now. They were petitioning the officials to allow Voytek to march but there were troubles in accomplishing this. Lyra commiserated with him briefly, then he said his goodbyes and left. Lyra went up the the enclosure and got as close as she could to Voytek without attracting much attention.
“Hello Corporal.”
The bear's ears pricked up and he jogged over to Lyra quickly.
“You speak 'bear'?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Lyra told Voyteck of her adventures and of the great armored bears of her world. Of Iorek's fight to reclaim Svalbard and their race across the snows. It had happened seven years ago but the memories were still vivid. Voytek told her of his time in the military and what he had been doing since. They were all fascinating tales, and the people at the zoo gave them looks from time to time but neither of them paid any attention. The young woman wondered why she was able to speak with Voytek and none of the other bears. She suspected it was because of her time with the armored bears and his time in the service, making both of them unusual, but she was uncertain. Voytek was smaller than Iorek, and did not have the armored bear's thumbs. Iorek could also speak human languages whereas Voytek could not, still, Voytek was every bit an armored bear and it was a travesty that he not be recognized as such.
“I want to march with my comrades. It is my right.”
Lyra had the inklings of a plan growing in her mind. It would take some of her sliver tongued skill, but she thought it was possible. Oh yes, this plan would come.
“Voytek, not only will you march, you will have a uniform.”
******
“It was so lovely of you to invite me to your court Red Queen, but why are we going to the menagerie?”
“I have a friend there, Alice, he would be delighted to meet you.”
“Oh how wonderful, what is he like?”
“You'll see for yourself soon enough.”
Lyra, good to her word, had brought Alice along for this adventure. Jail breaking Voytek would not be as exciting as their time in the church court yard, but perhaps the chaotic girl would be of use. Alice was always good for an alibi, or a scapegoat, and besides, it was a public service to direct Alice's chaotic tendencies towards constructive ends in the service of a veteran. Clearly any court would see it that way, and Alice did so love to bake.
They dodged anyone who would thwart their public service efforts as they came up to the zoo. Alice fed the lock some of her fruitcake and the bolt slid away. There had always been very good reasons to avoid Alice's baking, but her fruitcake was notorious. The insane woman claimed she had gotten the recipe from a dodo, and had perfected it with Gryphon. Lyra was curious what Sherlock had done with this recipe, but decided that she did not want to know so much that she could be brought to testify. People had a right to their secrets after all.
The two girls went straight to the bear enclosure and Alice lit up like a candle when she saw Voytek.
“Oh I'm so happy for you, your majesty! You found your knight! I was wondering why you hadn't mentioned him before.”
“You knew he was here?”
“Well I've seen him in other places, but I figured you were having a quarrel. Did he run off with one of your bishops?”
“Lyra, who is this woman?”
Lyra explained Alice as best she could, to the old soldier. Apparently Alice had been to the zoo many times and spoke with most of it's residents. Voytek said that while the animals could understand Alice, their comprehension of her was limited. They always seemed to have similar, yet very different conversations. Rather much the same way most people communicated with Alice. After they got that sorted out, Lyra explained the plan.
“Wonderful, we're going to have a tea party with the White Rabbit, and the Tortoise!”
“You're bringing me to your home and getting me armor?”
“Yes.” Lyra thought Alice had followed the plan's outline. She was certain she could get Dorothy to help, Susan on the other hand.... Well, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. Honestly Susan could be such a trial, she never wanted to do anything fun. Not that Lyra blamed her, all things considered, but it did put a damper on her plans. And the older woman never listened to Lyra's reasoning! At least Wendy was working late so Lyra would not have to deal with her tonight.
Alice applied more of her fruitcake to the new lock which this time seemed to turn inside out for a moment before reasserting itself and sliding away. Voytek stepped out.
Lyra handed Alice a red and white cane.
“Voytek, are you alright in letting Alice hold on to your shoulder?”
The bear gave a wary assent, and Alice gripped his shoulder. Lyra had not come up with any good ideas on how to march a bear from the zoo back to her flat, but she wasn't going to subject him to a leash. That stated it was somewhat believable that Alice could have use of a seeing eye bear, at least until they could get a cab. Lyra could probably pass off Voytek as an unusual dog and Alice's madness would hopefully take care of the rest. They walked out of the zoo and hailed a cab.
It was a sight to behold, Alice, unkempt as always, with one hand on Voytek and the other on her cane marching along with Lyra, out of the zoo. All the animals crying to the world of the indignity of their not being able to do the same. A cab did come and Lyra paid the man extra for the old soldier.
“Never seen a dog like that miss.”
“The Red Knight is not a dog! He's-”
“A Russian Bear Dog, I'm certain you can see where the breed gets the name. My dear sister, apart from being blind, also has such wild fantasies. She thinks of him as her loyal knight.”
“You're not my sister, she lives out in the country! And I don't have a knight he's your-”
“Very confused, strange, fantasies.”
“What's with his tail then?”
“Well they dock the tails of course. Otherwise they would be smashing them in to everything.”
“What's with all that noise behind you?”
“Well the monkeys are wanting to go out for tea, the elephants have got someone they would like to pay a visit to, and the hedgehogs have a croquet game to -”
“Wouldn't know, perhaps they smelled Red Knight.”
The driver did not look convinced, but for the fee he was getting he was willing to take them to their flat. All the way there Lyra had to translate Alice's chatter into something that would not blow their cover. She was glad to have brought her friend along but it did present it's own challenges. The cabbie drove off in the direction of a pub after dropping them off and they were able to enter the flat without incident.
And that was when Susan met them.
“You brought a bear into the flat?!”
“His name is Voytek and he's a serviceman!”
“He's a bear!”
“He served in the war and wants to march in the parade with his comrades! I was hoping Dorothy could help me get him some armor!”
“What does that have to do with anything?! He's going to destroy the flat!”
“He will not! Voytek is much better behaved than that and he gave me his word! You've had bears at your castle before!”
“Those were Narnian bears that could talk!”
“So can Voytek you just can't understand him!”
The red frustration on Susan's face turned to white anger and the shouting match went quiet as a grave. Lyra had spoken out of turn and she knew it.
“Susan I-”
The older girl shot her a glare and Lyra snapped her jaw shut. High Queen Susan looked Voytek, weighing the situation.
“Please.” Voytek said.
Susan could not quite understand him. Narnian 'bear' was different. She could tell that there was a speech there, not mindless growling, but it was as coherent to her as Chinese.
She took a deep breath.
“What do you want Lyra?”
The younger girl looked relieved.
“Some of Voytek's old comrades will be marching in the parade. Voytek would like to join them, without a leash. I want to see that he gets his wish and have him fitted with armor like the panserbjorne.”
“And I suppose you were hoping I would make sure that he is properly cleared to march?”
“Yes.”
“Why would I do that for you?”
“Because you're not doing it for me, you're doing it for him.
Susan kept her face a mask.
"I'll call Mycroft.”
Susan had mixed feelings about calling Mycroft. While she certainly didn't mind bringing a measure of chaos into his life, especially since he had saddled her with Alice, she wasn't certain that having Voytek march was a good idea, especially without a leash. But she could tell that the bear was intelligent, and it was important to Lyra. She rang Myroft's personal number.
“Good evening.”
“Hello Mycroft.”
“Susan? Why are you calling so late?”
“I have a request.”
“Oh?”
“You're not going to like it.”
“Oh dear.”
“It's not from Alice.”
Susan heard a breath of relief.
“It's from Lyra.”
There was something like a wince of pain over the line.
“That isn't much better.”
“She has a friend who served in the war who would like to march in the parade in a few weeks.”
“And what is the complication with that? Did he serve the Axis powers?”
“No, he was Allied forces.”
“So what is so unusual that you need to ask me for help in clearing this man to-” Mycroft paused. The man's mind was working at it's usual lighting speed.
“He's not a man is he? And if this were just any animal you wouldn't bother me about it, so that means... we're talking about the bear.”
“Yes. Lyra says that his comrades would be quite grateful if he were allowed to march without a leash.”
Mycroft's mind spun. Surely there was no problem with the animal marching, it had certainly been done before, but without a leash? He was bear! There was no way to trust or control the animal! The chaos that would happen! The violence! The-. And then Mycroft stopped.
“Would an escort be acceptable?”
There was a pause and he heard some talk that was away from the phone, and what sounded like a growl, before Susan answered in the affirmative.
“Very good Susan. The bear will march in the parade with an escort, but without a leash.”
“Mycroft, who are you-?”
“Don't worry about such trifles. It won't be you.”
“I- thank you Mycroft. And Lyra gives her thanks as well.”
“Goodnight Susan.
“Goodnight Mycroft.”
Mycroft smiled a crocodile smile. It was ever so good to have a subordinate in need of some humility. The poor bastard wouldn't know what hit him.
**********
Lyra was relieved. Getting Susan to help was the biggest hurdle she had in her plan and with that surmounted the next task seemed much simpler. Susan was keeping Alice from cooking as Dorothy opened the door.
“Oh my!”
The reporter's eyes widened to nearly the size of soup bowls when she saw the Voytek. He sniffed at her and Lyra made the introductions.
“Dorothy Gale, this is Corpral Voytek of the Polish Army. I was wondering if you could help him.”
After blinking several times, Dorothy exhaled.
“Cowardly Lion, Hungry Tiger, and Soldier Bear. Oh my.”
Quickly remembering what Dorothy had told her about Oz, Lyra figured out the reference and continued.
“Voytek would very much like to march in the V-E day parade and I was hoping you would help us go to my world so that I can ask Iorek to help him craft some armor.”
“So, you want to borrow my slippers?”
“If you wouldn't mind.”
“We'll it's nice of you to ask for a change.” Dorothy paused, considering. “I won't let you borrow my slippers, but I will take you myself, if the two of you do something for me.”
“What?”
Dorothy smiled mischievously at the bear.
“My publisher wants stories from soldiers before V-E. I have already interviewed Wendy's John, but having the tale from your friend's mouth would be a treat.”
“You want to interview Voyteck.”
“With you translating, yes.”
Lyra translated for Voytek who quickly agreed.
“Wonderful, let me get my slippers and I'll take you now,” and Dorothy dashed into her room.
*****
Lyra hugged Iorek as soon as she saw the king of the Armored Bears
“Silver Tongue, I thought you had left for good with that blade of yours!”
“Oh Iorek, I did, but my friend has another way of traveling, so I can see you again!”
“And what of that boy of yours, weren't you following him back to his world?”
Lyra blushed, something Dorothy had never seen the younger woman do.
“He left before I did and I've been trying to find him for some time now.”
“I see.”
“Iorek, I have a favor to ask.”
“Name it, and if I can fulfill it I shall.”
Lyra beckoned Voytek forward, Iorek eyed him.
“Iorek, there are no Panserbjorne in the world I've been in, but this one may be a good start.”
Voytek told Iorek about his exploits. How he had been raised by soldiers, captured a spy, schlepped munitions, and served at the Battle of Monte Cassino. Iorek eyed the veteran once more.
“You are smaller than any of my Panserbjorne, and you cannot forge your own armor, yet you have the heart of a warrior if ever I saw one, and I will accept your request for armor.”
Voytek bowed, speaking as he did.
“Lord Iorek, I know that this unusual, but I have brought my own iron.
**********
Some hours later Lyra and Dorothy got back to their flat. Iorek had measured Voytek and wanted him back to be fitted in two weeks. The girls had dropped the solider off at his pen and then Dorothy clicked her heels and had them back at the door to their flat. Dorothy had questioned Voytek while Iorek had been inspecting the metal they had brought along. All in all it looked to be a very memorable V-E Day parade in a few weeks. Lyra slept well that night, exhausted but content, and happy that the Panserbjorne would have a need warrior in their ranks.