Under your spell 🔞

Eighteen

A week later, both Thea and Strange begin training in one of the courtyards, with the other students, trying to prove that they have control over the energy around them. Thea was surprised that she could do it.

Looking over to Strange next to her, she could see he was frustrated. She wanted to speak, but with Mordo and the other masters walking around, she knew she had to focus. After training, she takes his arm, and pulls him along to a smaller courtyard, where it was quiet.

'Ok, so let's try again, without the pressure of everyone..'.. She moved to stand a few feet in front of him... 'Remember everything we've learned, and what we've been told. You can do this Strange..'

'I feel like a failure. You're doing it, but I'm not..'.. He looked down at his hands, and she stepped forward, taking them in hers, and began to move them in motion.

'Its nothing to do with your hands..'...She let go, and walked around him in circles... 'Its in your mind. Stop blocking yourself. You're the best neurosurgeon in the world. Wasn't it you who completed Olfactory groove meningioma surgery? Oh, and a Arteriovenous malformation?..'

'They were easy..'... He scoffed a smile, as he kept trying.

'No, they were not. Don't down play what you did Strange. There was no one else that could ever perform those surgeries, as perfectly as you..'.. She stops a few feet in front of him again, smiling... 'You did the impossible. If you can do that so 'easily' as you put it, you can do this. You know you can..'

His smile grew, and a few sparks appeared in front of them... 'See? Nothing is too much of a challenge for you..'

Stephen chuckled, shaking his head at her and then took a breath, focusing. They kept at it for another hour, but all he did was make a few sparks. It was a small progress, but he would get there.

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The two collected their sling rings, ready for another training session... 'Mastery of the sling ring is essential to the mystic arts. They allow us to travel throughout the multiverse. All you need to do is focus. Visualize. See the destination in your mind. Look beyond the world in front of you. Imagine every detail..'.. Mordo tells them.

Thea wanted to see her family, but didn't want to spook them or let them know what it was she was doing exactly. So, she focused, picturing another place she wanted to go, her home, her penthouse.

'The clearer the picture, the quicker and easier the gateway will come..'.. She saw the beginning of a portal, but glanced to her right, as Mordo stopped next to Strange, and she lost it... 'And stop..'

Thea sees the ancient one come to join them and she sighs. She could've had it, she almost did. 'I would like a moment alone with Mr Strange and Miss Stark..'

'Of course..'.. Mordo dismisses the other students, and Thea moved to Stranges side as he walks over to the ancient one.

'My hands..'.. He sighed.

'Its not about your hands. Miss Stark has already told you..'.. She smiles at Thea, before looking back to Strange.

'How is this not about my hands?..'... Strange asks, and the ancient one beckons Master Hamir over, who shows his left arm. Thea sees that he is missing his hand, and she raised an eyebrow at Strange.

'At least you can clap..'.. She says with a shrug as Hamir creates a sigil in front of them both.

'Thank you, Master Hamir..'.. The ancient one dismisses him, and turns back to the other two... 'You cannot beat a river into submission. You have to surrender to its current and use its power as your own..'

'We control it, by surrendering control? That doesn't make any sense..'.. Strange shakes his head.

'Yes it does..'... He turns to Thea, seeing her stare off... 'I understand it..'.. She looks at him, with a small smile... 'Not everything has to make sense to you, but it makes sense to me..'

'Your intellect has taken you far in life, but it will take you no further. Surrender Stephen. Silence your ego, and your power will rise..'.. The ancient one creates a portal behind them, and they turn... 'Come with me, both of you..'.. She walks through the portal, Thea and Strange following her.

'Holy shit its cold..'... Thea feels the icy cold air whip around her, seeing that they were on a snowy mountain... 'Its beautiful, but cold. Are we on Everest?..'

'Yes. It is quite beautiful. At this temperature, a person can last for 30 minutes before suffering permanent loss of function. But you'll likely go into shock within the first two..'.. The ancient one says, moving back to the portal. As she passes Thea, she slips the sling ring off her hand.

'Wait, what?..'.. Thea could barely move from the temperature.

'Surrender Stephen, or she dies..'... The ancient one steps through and the portal closes straight after, leaving the two of them on top of the mountain.

'Bitch took m-my ring..'... Thea stutters out, rubbing her arms, before helping Strange up after he fell... 'Now would be a good time to get a portal open..'

Thea watches him try, over and over, knowing he was struggling....'I can't. I can't do it..'

She shuffles over to him, grabbing his cold hands in hers, making him look at her... 'You can do this. I don't believe you can, I KNOW it. I know you Strange, you will do it. You just have to give into it, know that you can do this..'

Stephen closes his eyes, taking a deep breath, as he felt her let his hands go. Focusing again, he did it, he opened a portal, and she put an arm around him, helping him through, the two of them falling to the ground, feeling the warm air brush across their cold skin.

Thea looks up, seeing both Mordo and the ancient one smile at them. She growls in frustration and gets up, stumbling forward. She didn't care who they were, they could've killed her and Strange over a stupid test... 'What the fuck was that for?..'.. She practically shouted at them... 'Were you just going to leave us there to die? Is that what you do to your students?..'

'We're you going to keep holding yourself back? You deliberately stop yourself from progressing, and allowing Stephen to catch up with you. Why? Why are you always defending him?..'.. The ancient one smiles at her, before turning and leaving with Mordo.

Thea huffed out a growl, turing to help Strange up, and take him back to his room. Setting him down on his bed, she turns to his little wardrobe, and pulls out fresh clothes for him.

'Do you really hold back, because of me?..'.. Stephen watched her as she moved about the small room, and then she grabs his blanket, wrapping it around him, before moving to make him tea.

'We came here for you, not me. I hold myself back because I don't need to know any of this. I just do it so they don't kick you out..'.. She said, moving the small kettle to the little flame she had lit.

'You're clearly good at this, you shouldn't hold back..'... He wanted to ask a few other things, but he had a feeling she would avoid answering.

'You did good. You got us back, though I'd like to smack her for taking my sling ring, and for basically leaving us to die..'.. She sighed, keeping her back to him... 'Can you hurry up and get changed? Feel like I'm talking to the wall in front of me here..'

Stephen smiled, hearing her tone again. He did as she said, and got changed, while she poured them both some tea. He wondered if perhaps there was more to it, about her being here. He would have to ask Wong and Mordo another time.

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