Chapter 2

Clea lay awake in her bed, unable to sleep. Her breathing was thin, constricted, causing a sheen of sweat to build up due to the strain. Her mother was dead. The one person who she was certain would always be there- the only one that might have been able to help her- was now gone. Her chest constricted in mounting panic and before it could become too much, she violently kicked off her sheets and stood up. Once her bare feet hit the stone floor, she began walking.

Clea headed straight out her bedroom door and moved silently through the halls towards her destination, the main pavilion. The light of the moon had cast white, cold, beams through the stone walkways of Kamar-Taj. Entering the pavilion, she felt an aura of reverence wash over her. The beautiful carved wood ceiling and intricate stone pillars made a dignified home for the relics stored there. They could find no better place under the Sorcerer Supreme's protection. However, the Sorcerer Supreme was gone, her ashes becoming another one of the many sacred items found under this roof.

Clea approached the urn containing her mother's ashes. It was displayed in a place of honor at the back of the pavilion. She stood before it for a moment before heading to the wall to the left of the urn's pedestal.

Kneeling down, she carefully felt around in the dim firelight for what she was looking for. Once her fingers grazed the right place, she pulled a loose block of stone from the wall revealing a hidden compartment. Within were simple treasures she had collected as a child, things she stored away for safe keeping.

Gathering them up, she headed back to the urn and carefully placed them on the pedestal one at a time- a pressed lotus blossom, a wooden tiger, an amber prayer bead, a hand-carved puzzle box. These were all things imbued with simple magics her mother gave her to practice with in the days before her apprenticeship. Once she was done, she knelt before her mother's ashes and shut her eyes.

"Please... by the power of the Vishanti..." Clea breathed, pressing her pointer fingers and pinkies together creating a diamond with her hands. "Help me."

Clea went into a deep meditation to try and reach out to her mother's spirit. Her soul stretched out through the darkness desperately searching for any sign of her presence. The longer she strained herself, the quicker and more ragged Clea's breaths grew. Sweat beaded at her brow as she fiercely searched the multiverse. Finally, her eyes snapped open as she gasped out in fear and despair- gripped by choking anxiety. Her concentration was broken and her spirit had rooted itself in her body once more.

Clea sat there in the dimness, shaking. The mandala tattoo on her arm tightened, wringing out even more pain- as if to add salt to her wounds. There was no revelation, no spiritual connection from beyond the veil, just silence and loneliness echoing through the multiverse. Her mother was truly gone and could no longer help her. Clea slumped over, buried her head in her hands, and began to weep. She never felt more alone.

When Clea woke up the next day, she found herself on the stone floor in the pavilion. The sun had not yet risen, but the sky was dimly glowing in anticipation of daybreak. She pulled her white-blonde hair back and wiped the makeup from under her eyes.

She walked through the halls of Kamar-Taj once again, carefully and quietly, wishing to avoid as many eyes as possible. There were certain people who would greet her with open arms and others who would look at her in judgment. This was how it always was, but in light of recent events, she was sure those feelings had been magnified. If she was being honest with herself, she really didn't feel ready to face anyone at the moment.

Slinking through the kitchen, she grabbed a few pieces of fruit and headed out to eat in the courtyard. The sun was almost up and the training area was empty save for one lone meditator.

Stephen Strange sat in a lotus pose at the edge of the hillside on a flat stone dais, the Cloak of Levitation floating gracefully beside him. His back was towards her and Clea froze on the stairs, hoping he hadn't heard her coming. She thought of turning back but just as she moved to do so, Stephen spoke.

"Don't leave on my account."

His sonorous voice sent a warm shiver down her spine. Clea let out the breath she was holding and descended the stairs. Steven turned around to see who was up so early and found Clea looking back at him. He could see the red ringing her eyes indicating that she'd probably spent the whole night crying. Again, he felt a stab of guilt for how rude he was the day before.

Clea bowed to him in a polite greeting, "Good morning, Master Strange."

Stephen stood up and bowed back to her before swiftly crossing the training ground to meet her. The Cloak followed after him, wrapping around his shoulders.

"Master Clea, I wanted to apologize for yesterday," he told her. "I had no idea who you were. I should have been more tactful."

Clea saw earnestness in his blue eyes and felt her trepidation ease up.

"You couldn't have known," she said.

Stephen realized she was letting him off the hook, but he felt that an apology just wasn't enough.

"I still feel terrible. Your mother was very important to me. Is there anything I can do?"

Clea thought on his offer a moment. She had searched his name on Google the night before and what she read seemed to contrast greatly with the man she was talking to now.

It was tricky to judge, but there were too many questions that begged answers. She could not afford to move forward blindly, or alone. It seemed that her mother trusted Stephen Strange enough to train him- even the great Vishanti and the power of Agamotto answered his calls. Perhaps she could trust him. She would take him to her sacred place and see how forthcoming he'd be.

"There is one thing you can do," she told him. "Meet me at the front gate tomorrow at 5 am. Be dressed to run."

"You want me to go running with you?" He asked, somewhat skeptical.

"Yeah," she nodded, offering him a small grin. Right then, he saw a flash of the Ancient One in her. "There's something I want to show you."

Stephen thought it was odd, but agreed to it anyway. It was a small price to pay in order to smooth things over with her and he figured there must be a reason why she was asking him to do this.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he said, bowing.

Clea did the same, before leaving him to finish his meditation.

AN: Woohoo! Another chapter down. Hope you liked it. We're just getting a glimpse of why Clea returned to Kamar-Taj.