Changing Hearts

Chapter 4

It was late in the day when raining finished for half of the students in Kamar-Taj. Flinging a towel over her neck, Remi said goodbye to three students she was talking to and made her way towards the building, but not before she stopped to take in the sounds of grunting and panting. Turning her head to the side, she saw Stephen Strange training with Karl Mordo, who was instructing him to perfect his movements on how to form a perfect Eldritch Whip, and from the look of frustration crossing his face, she could tell he was having a lot of trouble. She stopped and stared at the duo for a minute or two. To her own surprise, a small smile spread across her lips. She honestly felt a little bad for the cocky neurosurgeon as he was not entirely getting the magic as quick as he wanted himself to, but like all good sorcerers and sorceresses, she reminded him and herself, good things come in time.

"This isn't working!" Stephen complained to Mordo.

"Because you are not letting yourself surrender to its power! You mustn't let yourself get frustrated easily, Doctor Strange. You have to release the negative energy and let nature take its course!"

"That's easy to say coming from someone who has been here longer than I have!" Stephen snapped. Sighing in frustration, he decided it was best to end the day of training. When questioned by Mordo on where he was heading off to, Stephen told him he needed a break from today to clear his head that was filled with stress. Remi watched as he walked passed him towards the doors, unknowingly passing her presence as he was too angry to acknowledge her. Glancing at Mordo, who happened to notice her standing there, she nodded her head and turned towards where Stephen was walking.

"It sounds like you are having trouble getting a simple Eldritch Whip down," Remi spooked Stephen, causing him to stop and turned towards her.

"Oh, it's just you," the doctor sounded unsurprised. "What happened to the whole "we are nothing but strangers" talk?"

"As I told you, when we are training, we may acknowledge one another. Mordo is right, Stephen. You cannot force magic to bend to your will, you must surrender to it."

"I don't have time for this," Stephen snapped as he started to walk away from her. However, Remi jogged towards him and kept up with his pace. "Ignore me all you want, but you know I am right! Even if you are too stubborn to realize it, you need to let your ego go for once and listen."

Stephen just kept on walking but waved a dismissive hand above his head as he disappeared into the large red doors. Remi stood there and shook her head as Mordo joined her mere moments later. They looked at each other with disappointed looks and headed into Kamar-Taj together. Even if the arrogant doctor did not understand, sooner or later, he would need to let himself go and surrender to the Ancient One's teaching or else, he would never be able to heal his hands.

Remi let out a loud yawn and stretched her arms above her head, untying the usual high bun she tied her hair in and let it flow over her shoulders. She stripped down and dug through her drawers until she found a comfortable pair of pants and a shirt, dressing herself in the brown and white garments. Sliding her slippers off her feet, she walked over to her bead and swung her legs across the mattress, pulling the covers over herself until she was comfortably settled in for the night. She took a random book that was to her left on the desk where the picture of her grandmother was and opened it halfway through.

As a young child, Remi had a deep love for books. Her grandmother would always get annoyed with her constant reading and would usher her outside on a beautiful sunny day, but even with the skies a magnificent blue and the sun shining brightly, her eyes were always indulged in a book. Soon her grandmother flung her hands up in surrender and let the young girl read to her hearts content, something she could live with for the rest of her life. Her eyes never drifting away from the pages, Remi continued to read.

Remi laughed as she kicked her legs back and forth against the couch, both hands clutching the hard-covered novel she held onto. She read each sentence aloud and her giggles echoed through the house as she read each word detail by detail and letter for letter. However, her laughter did not go unnoticed. A young woman, in her late twenties to early thirties, strode into the living room where Remi was reading. She was a beautiful thing, long black hair flowing down her back in curls, soft colored amber eyes never darting away from her daughter. A smile graced her lips as she wiped a dish she was drying from the sink.

"My dear," the woman made Remi look up from her book for only a second. "You are laughing really loud. What are you reading that is so funny?"

"Mamá," Remi smiled eagerly and showed her the book she was reading, "I found this in one of abuelita's old storage bins! She told me I could have it. It's got a bunch of funny words in it, such as the uh, Val-ting Boots of Vall-tor and Ell-rich magic!" Remi had to sound out the two words but laughed at their pronunciation.

However, Remi's mother's soft amber eyes suddenly turned angry and dark. The dish she had in her hands slipped from her fingers, the white ceramic crashing to the ground, sending sharp jagged pieces scattering across the living room floor. Remi gasped and stopped laughing, looking up from the book and staring at her mother's sudden angry gaze. Balling her hand into a fist, Remi's mother marched towards her and grabbed the book from her daughter's hands, causing Remi to protest. Remi's mother grabbed her daughter by the arm and dug her fingers into her forearm, causing the frightened little girl to cry out in pain. The woman held the book in front of her face and shoved it against her nose.

"I told that woman not to give you these books!" she snapped as she shook Remi with a hard hand. "How many more did she give you?! ANSWER ME, DAMMIT!"

"Mommy, you're scaring me!" Remi cried, tears starting to form in her light golden amber eyes.

"You know I did not your grandmother reading you these kinds of books! I did not want her teaching you those spells, but she follows her own agenda as always! Why for once, Remi, CAN YOU NOT LISTEN TO YOUR OWN DAMN MOTHER!"

"Mommy, stop it!" Remi begged now fully sobbing. Remi's mother growled and shoved her daughter aside, causing her to crash against the coffee table with a hard thud! The angry woman flipped through the pages, seeing various words that were related to random relics, certain spells, and magic manipulation. Her temper flaring, she started to rip the pages out in a fit of rage, sending them scattering across the living room until almost nothing remained but the cover of the book. Dropping it to the floor, she crushed it with one foot and repeated the same motion until it was nothing but a broken shell that was once filled with words of such wisdom. Remi watched in horror as her mother got to the ground and started to rip the now torn out pages until pieces of paper covered the living room floor. Rising to her feet, her mother looked around the living room then shot her daughter a killer glare.

"If I ever see you reading these books again," she warned. "I will personally think of something much worse than a mere punishment for you, way, way worse! Now clean up this godforsaken mess before I just act on my word!"

With that, a quivering Remi watched as her mother exited the living room and back into the kitchen. She swung the refrigerator door open until she pulled out a random can of beer and slammed it shut. She muttered something that she needed a nap and headed upstairs. Remi watched until her mother disappeared, hearing the loud slamming of her bedroom door followed by silence. Looking around, the frightened young girl saw the mess her mother had made. Broken ceramic, torn pages, and a hard-crumpled book cover scattered the floor. Sniffling, Remi got to her feet and picked up one of the pages her mother did not rip to shreds and flipped it over. She saw it was the pages she read aloud, the words "Vaulting Boots of Valtorr and Eldritch Magic" still intact.

"Why does she have to be so mean?" Remi asked herself and hugged the page close to her chest, scared and sorrowful sobs shaking her entire body.

Remi gasped loudly and threw her book to the side. She began to pant and ran a hand across her forehead, feeling the heavy sweat that was pouring down her face. She threw the covers off her and got off the bed and walked towards the window, staring outside as the sun just started to stoop down behind the mountains, the early light of dusk just now coming to view. Remi sighed and placed a hand over her heart, feeling it beating rapidly and she could feel it palpitating against her chest. Ever since she was little, for some reasons, her mother had despised the idea of magic and had rejected the idea of it ever since her grandmother left Kamar-Taj to raise her own children.

Remi could never forget her mother's angry face. It was the face of the devil, and a usually composed hardworking woman such as herself was easily thrown off by her angry eyes. If her mother caught her looking through her grandmother's old magic books or even her grandmother herself showing her various spells, she would always drag her away and snap at her for not listening to her rules about magic being forbidden. Sometimes her anger reached a point to where she would physically slap Remi across the face or she would be pinned to the ground being forced to listen to her mother's shrill screams. Remi would have to cover her ears because her mother's voice was loud and terrifying.

"It feels like it happened just yesterday," she told herself. "She would be so proud of me, she just might kill me!"

Remi walked towards her bed and stared down at the book she had been reading. Picking it up, she flipped it over to the front cover and read the title. "The Book of The Rising Sun," something Wong had recommended to her she could practice the spells from and even read it in her free time as it was recommended by various students for being very informative as well as entertaining. Sighing, she placed the book back on her dresser and sat cross-legged on her bed. She put one hand to her face and pinched the bridge of the nose, her breaths becoming longer until she felt herself grow heavy with emotion. Tears started to form in her eyes and she began to cry until she had to hug herself to try and provide some sort of comfort to calm her down, but nothing came.

"I wish you were here, grandmother." Remi said tearfully. She continued to cry until she felt herself become sleepy, groggily throwing the covers over herself and her heavy eyes slid shut.

Isadora's eyes shot open with a gasp when she could her a female voice echo through her head. "I wish you were here, grandmother." There was no denying it was her beloved granddaughter, she could make it out any day! The metal restraints around her wrists rattled as she rose her hands outward, uncurling her fingers until they lay flat in front of her face. Her long dirty fingernails clinched at the air, realizing it was indeed the voice of Remi. Isadora felt her heart grow heavy as she stretched out her legs and put her hands on her knees. It was as if her granddaughter was trying to reach for her, but deep down, she knew that in her heart, Remi believed her to have passed away. Why was Kaecilius torturing her old soul? If Remi thought of her dead, then she did not want him to continue to give her false hope.

"If only he had killed me when he had gotten the chance," Isadora lamented to herself, completely unaware of the footsteps coming from down the hall. "Then the love of my world would not have to suffer this terrible pain."

Kaecilius stopped once again in front of her cell. He watched Isadora fold her hands together and began to pray. "Please do not let him give my Remi false hope! If I am to die, then I accept whatever path you have chosen for me."

"Consider it done," Kaecilius's voice startled the old woman from her thoughts. "If you want me to kill you, then your prayers will be answered."

Isadora watched as Kaecilius walked towards the opposite end of the row of cells, grabbing a set of keys hanging from the wall. She could only stare as he put the very first key into the lock, the heavy metal door sliding open with him stepping inside. Isadora still sat, unmoving though eyes wide, as he came striding towards her. He bent down to his knees so he was on the same level, eyes never leaving the old woman's.

"No more suffering," Kaecilius told her. Isadora's breath hitched in her throat as Kaecilius rose to his feet, folding his hands in an outward motion. A huge Space Shard formed in front of her face and Kaecilius rose it above his head gripping it with both hands.

"Close your eyes. It will be over soon, Isadora." She did as she was told. Kaecilius's face tightened with emotion. Just as he was about to deliver the killing blow to the old woman, a sudden voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Master?!" it was Lucian. Kaecilius shot his head towards the bars, the shocked zealot staring at him with wide, confused eyes. "Master Kaecilius, what is the meaning of this?!"

"This is none of your concern, Lucian," Kaecilius tried to usher him away, but Lucian opened the cell door and walked inside, staring at Isadora. The old woman stared back but with no emotion at all. Lucian looked back at Kaecilius, who closed his eyes and the Time Shard disappeared from his grasp.

"Why is she here, master? What is an old woman doing in a cathedral?!" a horrified Lucian demanded.

"I am going to meet God." Isadora's hoarse voice caught him off guard. Kaecilius looked back from her to his apprentice and turned his back towards Isadora.

"Lucian, I will not tell you again," Kaecilius looked at him dangerously. "Leave immediately and do not mention anything that you have seen down here."

"My lord!" Lucian darted away from him and towards Isadora, snatching her left arm in his hand. She yelped as she was forcibly yanked to her feet, the metal chains echoing loudly through the cell. "How are you going to explain this to the others?! How are you going to get them to follow you now? You have gone too far!"

"Lucian-" Kaecilius's voice was cut off.

"I have devoted my life to you! How could you of all this? You told us we do not bother with mere sorcerers, but you…you were going to kill an innocent old woman!" Lucian eyed Isadora and his face contorted into one with horrified eyes. His lips quivered as he released Isadora from his grip, her slinking back to the ground as if she were nothing but a thin weight in his grasp. Lucian started to seethe and he balled his hands into two fists.

"You-you have lost me. I will follow this path no longer!" Lucian snarled. As he turned on his heels to leave, he was met with a blade to his neck. Isadora gasped as she saw another Space Shard had formed in Kaecilius's hands, his eyes widened and narrowed, his mouth tightly shut. He grasped the shard with both hands, aiming it right at Lucian's throat. He looked at Kaecilius with a look of confusion, but realized immediately what he was about to do.

In one swift motion, Kaecilius rose the blade in the air and swung. A squelching sound echoed through the cell and Isadora looked towards her left with horrified widened eyes. Lucian's head quickly rolled off his shoulders across the floor until it came right at her feet. Isadora gasped and shot her head up, but when she met Kaecilius's eyes there was nothing but an emotionless gaze. Kaecilius walked over to Lucian's body and picked up his severed head, staring at the man's agape mouth and rolled back eyes.

"What a shame. You were so devoted, Lucian, but weakness was your downfall." Kaecilius declared, dropping the dead man's head onto the ground. He kicked some dirt on his body and made to leave, but not before taking another glance at Isadora. "Until then, my dear."

The elderly lady watched as he closed the door behind him and locked it, setting the keys back on their holster before walking back down the hall. The torches blew out as he closed the cell door behind him, leaving the single torch in Isadora's cell as the only source of light. Isadora looked down and saw Lucian's severed head. She curled her feet inward and yelped, shrinking back into the corner as she could not believe what Kaecilius had just done. It started to sink in she was being held by a man worse than Dormammu, and to her horror, she had almost allowed the same man to end her life mere moments before.

Closing her eyes tightly, Isadora sucked in a deep breath. She now had come to realize this was not the way she wanted to die, and if her life was going to end soon, she did not want it to be by Kaecilius's hand. Her hands curled into fists as she knew what she had to do. She needed to find a way to escape before she ended up like Lucian, a headless body left to rot in a prison cell.

To Be Continued

Wow…that was something. I'm even surprised at myself! Anywho, I know you all probably are confused as to why I wrote Lucian the way I did. Yes he does die by Stephen's hand in the movies, but I wanted to change things around because it was important for the story. The truth is we really do not know much about him, and I didn't bother to read the comics! But I kind of pictured him as a sort of sympathetic character. I know this is a huge twist, but I felt it was necessary.

And to all who are still wondering about the romance choice of genre, do not worry, my compadres. Remi and Stephen will get together eventually, and I know it is mostly about Remi, but I am planning on making Stephen's role bigger. He will be a source of comfort for her going through this hard time, but you'll just have to wait and see what I have in store for our two heroes. ;)

DO NOT FORGET TO REVIEW! Reviews drive me to improve my writing. If you liked it, didn't like it, thought it was amazing or plain terrible, let me know! I take your words to heart, flames and all.

Ok, enough of my talk! See ya next chapter :)