Ch. 4 - A Strange Necessity to Evil
She did not realize the amount of time she had spent nervously biting the skin around her fingernails. She needed to demand a meeting with the Masters and the Ancient One. Though, if the plan is to destroy the sanctums and Nightmare stating that their organization is left weak after Kaecilius, then she did not know if there were insider threats already in place. She rubbed her head and sighed in frustration. The Ancient One must already have suspected something as she had not made her presence all morning. She must have stayed up all night as she was still in the clothes she had on last night. Shuddering as she could still smell the remnants of last night. She had to tell her. But first, a shower is needed.
"Where have you been?" Mordo questioned her but soon his eyes shifted to a worry as he saw her paled expression, "What's wrong?"
"I need to see the Ancient One."
"She had just went into a meeting with Master Hamir, could you tell me about it?"
She shook her head, "No, I request a private audience with her."
"It may take a while, are these matters urgent?" Mordo asked trying to figure out how to help her case without the Ancient One.
"Stop pressing." She sneered at him through her teeth getting really annoyed with him. Knowing that she was going to have to wait she walked away from him.
"Elise!" Mordo called for her, "You used to come to me for anything!"
"I don't want to talk to you or anyone else!" She turned to shout at him, "Don't take it too personal!" as she turned back to her direction of travel, she had ran into Stephen who had books in his hands but were now scattered around them.
"Oh, Stephen, I am so sorry." She apologized still jumpy from being restless and having a paranoid state of mind.
He waved his hand before she reached down to help him pick up his things, "Don't worry about it at all." He told her, "Are you alright?" He asked implying that he heard the last bit between herself and Mordo as he eyed his departing figure.
She reached over to pick up his last book and he smiled a thank you at her, "Yea, I am fine." She answered him.
"Rough night?" He asked as he stood up.
"One could say that." She kept her answer short, and he knew she was dodging.
"I did not see you this morning." His tone sounded a bit disappointed.
She kept her mouth at a thin line and nodded, "Yes, as you stated I had a rough night."
Knowing that he was not going to get anything else out of her, he decided to cheer her up, "You missed the part where I was left stranded on Mount Everest."
"WHAT?"
He jumped at the sudden shout that came from her and flashed her a grin, "I did what you taught me." He placed his books down and waved his hands on the side of her for demonstration, "Manifested a portal back to here."
"Is that so?" Her tone was now even as she stared at his new achievement. He stopped portraying his eldritch magic and lowered his hands, "Yup." His lips popped at the sound of the p, "It was hard at first but I remembered to let go."
Her eyes gazed up at his as her lips formed slowly into a genuine smile, "That's… Incredible." She breathed feeling the sense of pride in her chest, "I am proud of you." She really was. He was honestly her first student that stuck around her from day one and she was glad to be a part of someone's development. And he felt her pride. Seeing her smile will always bring a smile on his face. Knowing that he was the cause of her smile on the other hand made him feel something he hadn't felt in a while. Not since the first time he had interacted with Christine. His smile faltered ever so slightly as he remembered his former love.
"You cut your hair." She suddenly pulled him away from his thoughts.
Bashfully, he combed his fingers through his hair, "Tried to."
"And combed your beard."
"It is still a little shaggy."
She chuckled, "Well at least you don't look like a homeless Gandalf!"
He rolled his eyes at her, and she playfully nudged him, "Stephen the Grey!"
"Yeah, keep the names coming."
"Or Strange the Grey!"
"How about Stephen the annoyed!" His finger poked her side with a spark that convulsed her ab muscles and she bounced away from him, "Whoa easy there, Parkinson's!"
"Hey now!" His voice raised and she knew she pushed his buttons, "Okay that was out of hand." She continuously snickered, "Pun fully intended."
He could not be angry at her playful sense of humor, but he kept his scowl on his face and responded, "You're about to catch these hands, Elise."
"And this is where I leave." With a flick of her wrist, she raised her own portal and disappeared within a blink of an eye.
She appeared before the Ancient One who was still talking to Master Hamir and Master Rama. Her playful attitude had dissipated, and her face bore a serious expression.
"Master Berg." The Ancient One acknowledged.
She bowed her head, "My apologies, master, I request a private audience with you." She tilted her head back up, "I hope I am not interrupting anything as I have rather a pressing issue to discuss with you."
"No, we were just about done." The Ancient One responded as she thanked the other two for their time as they dismissed themselves. The Ancient One had walked over to her coffee table to refill her cup with more tea and she had asked her if Elise wanted some.
Elise shook her head and she went ahead and sat down in front her master before telling her everything, "The Zealots mean to summon Dormammu into this realm."
The wise one did not seem faze by this information as she sipped on her cup, "And how did you acquire this information?"
"Last night, the Kaecilius had a gathering with his followers at Nightmare's base of operations." She explained with earned her judgmental eyes from her Master at the sound of Nightmare.
"You went to see Nightmare?"
Elise rolled her eyes and stood, "No, no, no!" she exclaimed, "Not in that sense, I did not know he owned that nightclub and also it was not just him informing me of this information there are…" She paused to keep her voice down, "Others here who still follow Kaecilius and they are waiting for the signal to overrun the Sanctums."
"I am aware of the blind followers in our ranks." The Ancient One stated, "I am more concerned about your obsession on the matter with Kaecilius and the dark dimension."
"There is no obsession, master." Elise pleaded, "The concern is that we are in danger!"
"A danger that we, the protectors, will remain ever vigilant." The Ancient One finished for her, "The other pressing matter is that you were once attached to your former teacher and that you seek answers to the path your mother was previously on, rest her soul," Elise froze at the accusation, "Is that not why you returned?"
She continuously blinked. Was her master implying that she could possibly be a Zealot?
"I have been sensing a darkness to you, Elise, that is what's concerning."
"A darkness?" Elise spat the word out as if it were poison still hurt at the accusation. Nonetheless the Ancient One continued, "You left Kamar-Taj when we needed you the most. You turned down guard duties so that you spend your time sneaking off in the quiet hours. Not to mention going on this wild pursuit for Kaecilius and his followers without ever coming to myself or any of the Masters about it." The Ancient One lectured, "The same way and the same patterns as your old Master did when he went rogue."
"Or maybe I am just tired of the hierarchy that is of the Sorcerer Supreme!"
The Ancient One laid her cup on the table and her whole body was facing Elise. The younger apprentice could feel herself growing smaller from under the wise one's gaze and the whole room thickened of her emitting magic. Elise tried to swallow as she averted her eyes.
"I will not tolerate you going behind my back on matters that concern of Kaecilius and you will drop your pursuit on furthering your knowledge on the dark dimension."
"Master," Elise muttered, "Even if you do not believe me, you would be a fool if you choose not to act."
"This is me acting, Elise." The Ancient One stated in her authoritative tone, "Do not test me and return to your normal duties as a teacher."
After her words, Elise blinked and suddenly she was now alone in her room staring out of her window in bewilderment.
She sat at the edge of the bed and laid her hands on her lap.
Silence.
Nothing but the rain that pitter, pattered on her windowsill.
The next morning, despite her broody behavior, she kept herself going and distracted herself with the lessons. If anything, she was more aware of others. The Ancient One told her not to pursue anything dealing with Kaecilius and the Dark Dimension but never mentioned anything about keeping an eye out on the potential followers.
She was more scared of feeding them knowledge they should not be aware of. She felt herself falling into some mystical version of McCarthyism. Letting out a sigh, there really isn't much she should do. The Ancient One accepts all risk. Hell, she was accepted despite her mother following the other direction. Elise almost felt like a hypocrite. What makes her self-righteous? She almost sounded like Master Mordo.
"The Ancient One has given you a brief introduction on meditation and how the mind works." Elise spoke to the students before her as they sat cross-legged and watched her with curious eyes. A pair in particular that caught her eyes, were Stephen's.
"Here I will go further about the functionalities of the brain and the mind in order for you to be fully engaged when you are meditating." She began as she introduced herself, "Almost all of you are meeting me for the first time, so I'll be quick, I am Master Berg. I have been studying and practicing the mystic arts for over four years. Prior to that I was studying to be a registered nurse in New York, then dropped out to travel around the world and now I am here."
Stephen tilted his head as she explained herself. Something new that he learned today about her but not enough to learn how she got caught up here in Kathmandu. He wondered the many possibilities of ever encountering her. He suppose it didn't matter since they are here now. He was more curious on what made her pursue the mystic arts.
"Some of you in this room come from all backgrounds." She stated, "Some of you are psychiatrists, fire fighters, neurosurgeons," She paused as she grinned at Stephen, "school teachers, or taxi drivers."
"Don't feel so bad if you don't get it right the first time." She posted up on her spot and crossed her legs, "I'll break this down as simple as possible and there is no test at the end of this session."
This caused small chuckles from across the room, and she was glad to put them at ease. The Ancient One had made them all nervous at first glance and it was her job to let them settle in, "Today, I am going to go over neuroplasticity and brain waves during meditation."
As she went on, Stephen, had gotten lost in her lecture. There wasn't anything he did not know about the human brain. It was more of how she was interacting with them. He adored the way she spoke. He felt like a teenager in school crushing on his teacher. He knew she was relating a lot of the anatomy of the brain in relevance to the mystic arts just for him. She knew his ego wouldn't let him get behind all the pseudoscience. He wondered if she had to pick up her old college textbook just to get her to speak in his language. He would love nothing more. There was something else that was bothering him. The usual passion behind her teachings hardly reached her eyes. The impeccable glow he was used to seeing when a person accomplishes a task. What frustrated him more is that this was the last class he would ever see her in.