Cannonball by the Sweeplings

Elizabeth and the professor walked together towards a different part of campus, where most science and engineering buildings were. Never the one to look into science, Elizabeth had no idea where he was taking her, just trying to memorize her way back to the pub, so she could go to her rooms. She was nervous, not only for the obvious interest that this man was focusing on her but also about the small interrogation that he made her.

She had to put a stop to this. Elizabeth stopped following the professor and removed her arm from his grasp. "Maybe I should just head back to my rooms, sir. I am sure that I will forget all about this tomorrow." Elizabeth hoped that this man would hear her and just leave her alone, but that didn't seem to be the case.

He stopped walking and turned to her. Professor Clairmont took a second to look at this young girl closely, and he realized that she was completely clueless and naive to her surroundings. Elizabeth Winston had no scope of her capabilities and was ignorant of her identity. Professor Clairmont's features softened and tried to approach the matter with more delicacy and understand for the young girl in front of him.

"I am very sorry for scaring you Ms. Winston, but I need you to understand that what you might see as abnormal, might be your average self all along." Professor Clairmont tried to approach this in the most logical sense, and as he stared into the eyes of this young, scared teenager, he knew then that he hit the right spot.

With hesitation and curiosity, Elizabeth walked towards him once again and followed the professor. Could he possibly know the reason behind all these occurrences that would happen to her? Would she finally get an answer and some sense of control? It was all up to the man next to her to see if she would finally get the guidance she needed, lacked, and was scared of.

Both of them walked into a building and down a single narrow staircase that led to a set of offices in the basement. As they continued to walk, Elizabeth took notice of inside the offices, or more aptly called, laboratories.

There were all types of science equipment, along with vials of blood and other fluids in test trays. She realized that this Professor's focus was in biology and possibly genetics, based on the large number of samples that Elizabeth could take notice of just passing by. Once they reached the last office in the back, Professor Clairmont entered a passcode into the keypad and then placed his thumbprint onto the scanner, which then unlocked the door. He opened it and held it open for Elizabeth to walk through. With hesitancy, she took a couple of steps inside and froze when she saw a young woman and man inside the laboratory.

The young woman had a very slim figure with caramel-colored skin. Her attire is what one would find at an indie concert or for a casual night out, meanwhile, the gentleman was dressed more formally, with slacks and a cream-colored button-down. Although the gentleman looked familiar, Elizabeth didn't place too much thought, since his pale complexion made him seem like any other Englishman in the area.

As Professor Clairmont walked in, he quickly started with introductions. "Marcus, I am sure that you remember Ms. Winston. Ms. Winston, these are my colleagues, Miriam Shepherd and Marcus Whitmore, whom you might possibly recall."

It was then that Elizabeth's eyes were filled with realization, "Marcus Whitmore... By any chance are you the same man that was with Professor Clairmont weeks ago?"

Marcus answered with a smirk and a shake of his head. "That was me! Although, I do have to tell that was horrible on your behalf for disregarding your health completely."

Despite knowing that he said it with lightheartedness, Elizabeth felt a small pang of anger from Marcus' statement. She knew that she was the only person who had regards to her own health, with no one even bothering to call and see how she was doing.

As they all gathered around a desk in the laboratory, Professor Clairmont signaled Elizabeth to sit on one of the chairs, while he took another and sat in front of her, leaning his forearms on his knees. Both Miriam Shepherd and Marcus Whitmore stood behind him, eyeing both the professor and student with mere curiosity. The professor took a deep breath before he started this necessary conversation with the young woman who was about to have her world turn upside down.

"Ms. Winston, before I start..." the professor started, but before he could continue, she jumped in.

"Please, call me Elizabeth. I believe the conversation that we will have should warrant that we address ourselves by our first names, don't you?"

"Alright then. Elizabeth, before I start, I need for you to have an open mind. Without that, it will be very hard and redundant to provide you with all the knowledge that you should have been given long ago." His eyes stared straight into hers, her breath missing a beat with the intensity that the man's gaze was giving. Elizabeth gave a slight nod, the anticipation building inside her.

It was this phrase that caught the attention of his two colleagues. Miriam arched her eyebrow at the last statement and looked at the back of his head, "What do you mean with 'knowledge that should have been given'?"

Professor Clairmont took a deep breath and tersely moved his head to the left to address Miriam, "If I can get through this conversation without your input, I would very much appreciate it, Miriam. Elizabeth will need the information all at once, not in bits and pieces."

Miriam glared in response but did not say a word. With that, the older man regarded Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth, we've established that you have faced many obstacles throughout the year, but, for you, it was without meaning. In reality, all of this is very natural for someone with your background. You come from a lineage of witches, Elizabeth, that's why you do unexplainable things."