Stephen was still contemplating Maya's sudden about-turn in attitude the next day, wondering how much was truth and how much was calculated act to trick him into submitting to Kamar-Taj's rules.
She'd been furious with him, that had been clear; but then she'd never been quite that open with him to date. And for the first time, not to mention very unlike the other masters, Maya had still promised him his answers if he just stayed and learnt the way he should.
That was something none of the other masters nor the Ancient One had said aloud, and that verbal promise made him pause like nothing else had managed to. He knew that the masters here, no matter their other faults, were men and women of their word and he knew Maya's promise, however fleeting it had seemed, was one she would honour if he ever called on it.
But when?
That was the frustrating question. He knew he was advancing far quicker than the masters had anticipated: he saw it in their faces, in Master Hamir and Wong's surprise, in Mordo's pleased expressions, and Maya's sometimes grudging and sometimes genuinely proud looks. But he knew from Maya's previous attitude and his talks with her and Mordo that his progress concerned the masters to some degree. If they continued to be scared of what he might become… would they ever think he was ready? And then it also begged the question: what were they so afraid of?
But on the other hand, there was Maya's promise. There was the look that had been in her eyes as she made that promise, a little sad and worried but determined. Then there was the fact that she had finally broken one of her personal rules with him...
It was as he was arguing with himself on his way back to his quarters that Stephen was summoned to the Ancient One's study.
"Once, in this room, you begged me to let you learn." The Ancient One commented as she turned to face Stephen with a shrew look in her blue eyes.
"Now I'm told you question every lesson, prefering to teach yourself."
Stephen raised a brow - had Maya told on him? He kept his suspicions hidden beneath a calm, cool facade that he'd learnt from his time as a doctor, one that rivalled the Ancient One herself, as he answered, "Once, in this room, you told me to open my eye. Now I'm being told to blindly accept rules that make no sense."
"Like the rule against conjuring a gateway in the library?" The Ancient One asked, turning to face him sternly.
"Maya told on me?" Stephen demanded, disbelief and annoyance flashing through him.
"No," the Ancient One answered as she observed him closely. "Master Wong did."
"Wong?" Stephen repeated, his annoyance directed elsewhere… and a tiny spark of relief flooding him. Maya had given him the benefit of the doubt and not reported him - somehow, that meant a lot to Stephen.
The Ancient One continued to observe him closely as she commented, "You're advancing quickly with your sorcery skills. You need a safe space to practice your spells."
She extended her hand into the centre of her study and Stephen watched in surprise as the air shifted and crinkled as though it had suddenly turned to glass. The Ancient One stepped through the mirror-like surface without looking back, clearly indicating for Stephen to follow.
He did so without hesitation, and the cool feeling - as if he'd stepped through a sheet of cold air - passed him as he entered the other side.
"You are now inside the Mirror Dimension." The Ancient One explained to him, her voice echoing strangely in the new dimension. "Ever present but undetected. The real-"
"The real world isn't affected by what happens here." Stephen finished for her absently as he looked around, his eyes still bright but not wondering as they should have been.
The Ancient One voiced her surprise.
"You know of it?" She asked, her tone a little sharper than intended as she realized Stephen's knowledge was beyond even what she had expected.
"Maya showed it to me this morning." Stephen explained, missing the look that flitted across the Ancient One's face as he examined one of the jarred edges of the dimension. "She said it was used to train, surveil, and sometimes contain threats."
"This is all true." The Ancient One said slowly, watching him intently. "It seems Maya trusts you quite a great deal after all."
"What do you mean?" Stephen asked, frowning as he turned back to the Ancient One. "You just said it's true that this dimension is used to contain threats and you have both shown me into it to practice. How is that trusting me?"
"I doubt she was talking about you when she mentioned threats." The Ancient One answered a little dryly, her face smooth now and unreadable.
Stephen pursed his lips unhappily but he knew he was going to get nothing further out of her (to his added frustration) while the Ancient One continued her lesson with him.
"You should also know that you don't want to be stuck in here without your sling ring."
She manipulated the room, expanding it and making the mirrored extensions bend and curve in on itself in an alarming way. Her blue eyes were steely as she stared him down and Stephen wondered, not for the first time, what exactly the Ancient One was hiding from him - possibly from everyone.
"What other threats exist out there?"
Maya looked up, startled, as Stephen stood before her impatiently.
"Did I not tell you-" She began irritably and Stephen cut through her impatiently, "That it's rude to interrupt people who are meditating unless it's for a good reason. Yes, yes, but this is a good reason. What other threats exist out there?"
"I beg your pardon?" Maya asked, still annoyed and not quite sure what Stephen was talking about.
"You hinted before that the rules exist for a reason." Stephen said impatiently, his eyes boring into hers as he watched her every facial reaction. "I assumed you were talking about how Kaecilius fell into some kind of darkness, how he stole from the Book of Cagliostro and killed the former librarian. But there's more, isn't there? It's not just him that you're afraid of, that exists as a threat to Kamar-Taj."
Maya's face tightened, proving him right.
"You said you would tell me everything." Stephen said and Maya snapped, "I said when you're ready."
"You said when it's appropriate." Stephen corrected, eyes narrowing. "I think it's now appropriate given I am asking you."
"As opposed to you illegally breaking into the library you mean?" Maya asked dryly.
Stephen didn't budge, and she sighed before getting up. Her movement brought her closer to Stephen's face although he was still a good several inches taller than her where he stood tall above her.
"Stephen, you have to understand." She said in a low voice and Stephen was alerted to the fact that she sounded… troubled.
He therefore listened intently as she continued, "When you learn of an infinite multiverse, you need to be prepared to learn of infinite dangers."
"I think I am prepared." Stephen insisted, heading off her argument… or trying to. But Maya shook her head.
"I don't think you are." She replied quietly, her gaze apologetic… and again he saw that strange sadness. "I think that if Mordo and I told you everything we know, if I asked Ama to tell you everything she knows-"
Stephen jerked at this revelation. He couldn't say it completely surprised him that the Ancient One hadn't shared everything even with her own adopted daughter and possibly the most experienced master still alive aside from maybe Master Hamir, but… it did surprise him a little. It was one thing to have suspicions; it was quite another to have them confirmed.
"Stephen."
He looked at Maya again, refocusing as she stared up at him and now he could see her expression was genuinely troubled.
"I think if you learnt everything, you'd run from here in terror. Or worse."
Stephen heard what went unsaid, and he murmured it aloud, "I could end up like Kaecilius."
She nodded once. Stephen swallowed but he accepted his disappointment for once.
"And then you wouldn't be able to kick my ass into the ground like I know you love doing." He joked.
Surprise flitted across her face, and for a brief moment Maya searched his eyes. He just met her gaze evenly and Stephen's heart leapt strangely when a genuine smile flashed across Maya's face for the first time since he'd known her. The smile lit up her amber eyes and made her look years younger; and it did a funny thing to his heart that he wasn't sure he liked as she relaxed her stance, placing one hand on her hip as her lips curved into a smirk next.
"Bevakupha." Maya chuckled.
"I'm not an idiot." Stephen replied, wiping the smirk off Maya's face.
He caught the look of surprise on her face and it was his turn to smirk smugly.
"What you thought I wouldn't look up what it meant?" He asked.
"I don't know." Maya replied, blurting out her thoughts honestly in her surprise. "I didn't think you'd know how to look it up."
"I searched bad words in Nepali on Google Translate." Stephen replied, smiling even more smugly when he saw he'd managed to surprise her again. "Surprisingly, I didn't think of trying to search the word idiot until about the eighth try. I had been pretty certain you had been calling me some variation of asshole."
Maya laughed at him, shaking her head. Stephen joined in the laughter, enjoying the fresh and almost innocent sound that had erupted out of her. Neither of them noticed the shadowy figure with thoughtful blue eyes that watched their interaction from the far corner of the courtyard.
"Nope." Maya said boredly.
Stephen groaned.
"I thought I had it." He muttered and her lips twitched.
"Well, you thought wrong." She replied coolly. "Now, try again."
Stephen frowned but he fell into thought again before he lit up again.
"Voltor!" He said and a hint of a smile ghosted across Maya's lips.
"Only took you two tries." She jested, knowing Stephen hated not being right the first time although she was rather impressed by his memory. This had been a challenging question from her end given that it would have need him to sort through everything he had read and make four connections to get the right answer - he'd missed the fourth one the first time. Why did people always stop after three? Maya wondered.
Knowing that feeding his ego was the last thing she would want, Maya refrained from expressing the depth of how impressed she was as Stephen grumbled momentarily before he at her. Instantly, she was on guard as she examined the amusement twinkling in his blue-green eyes and the smirk that was making its way up his face.
"What?" She asked suspiciously and Stephen leant back casually in his chair, where he was seated across from her in one of the many study halls.
The room was currently empty as most people were at dinner after training, but after Stephen had finished early they had chosen to sit in the hall where Maya quizzed Stephen on his knowledge of the Mystic Arts. It had gone on longer than expected and she sort of regretted not calling time earlier and going to dinner when she read the mischief in his eyes now.
"It's my turn." Stephen announced and Maya cocked a brow.
"As clever as I have no doubt you are, Strange," she said dryly. "I highly doubt you'll know something I don't."
"In the Mystic Arts, yes, I will give you that." Stephen nodded. "In pop culture, however..."
Maya sat up instantly, her face guarded and Stephen smirked.
"We should get to dinner." She muttered but Stephen asked, "Are you running away from a challenge, Master Garthe?"
Maya glared at him and Stephen knew he had her. Maya was a bright woman in her own right and she hated losing or not knowing anything as much as he did. It was why she disliked when he reminded her just how weak her knowledge of popular culture was - exactly like now.
But backing down from a challenge was something she loathed even more so Maya snapped, "Fine. But if you're challenging me, it had better be something I am capable of knowing."
"Every pop culture reference I threw at you before should have been something you were capable of knowing, Maya." Stephen answered dryly as he thought of all the times he'd made a joke or reference to famous pop culture icons and Maya had been utterly clueless. Not knowing the Beatles? Okay, fine - but who, born in the last fifty years, didn't know Michael Jackson?!
Maya shot him a dark look, probably guessing what he was thinking. Stephen just grinned innocently while he thought for a moment, searching his own vast collection of pop culture knowledge. Recalling how the one and only time Maya had gotten his reference was when he'd quoted Beyonce, he smirked.
"If you can name Beyonce's first solo album, I'll concede for today." Stephen said confidently. "I won't even expect the year, but-"
"'Dangerously in Love', June 2003."
Stephen gaped at Maya's fast response and Maya smirked at him.
"Oh, look at that." She mocked but her amber eyes were dancing and she suddenly looked so much like an excited girl that Stephen had to blink and resist the urge to rub his eyes. "Looks like I've managed to shut up the great Stephen Strange."
She got up and flounced - flounced! Stephen was sure his jaw was on the ground - out with her appropriately light, purple robes and yellow sash flourishing behind her. In the doorway, she turned and threw him one more smirk.
"Maybe that will teach you not to underestimate me, Dr. Strange."
Maya disappeared while Stephen was left, a little stunned. His heart was stuttering, something he was certain had to do with the use of his old title again in… was it already almost two years? Time had flown, especially at Kamar-Taj where he'd been for nine months now. Nine months… yes, that was it, he was just unfamiliar with the use of his title and it had been jarring to remember that old life.
That was it. It had absolutely nothing to do with the way the setting sun had hit her eyes just right to make them seem like they glowed the same shade as the yellow tunic she wore beneath her purple tunic, and which lit up her face with the softest of glows. Yes, it had nothing to do with that. Nothing at all.