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𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘:       𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦

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CASSANDRA ENTERED THE library through its familiar large doors and the antique scent of old books immediately prickled her nose. Her eyes scanned the hexagonal bookcases, grouped into sections and filled with various books. Kamar-Taj's library was indeed home to countless ancient books, tomes that unlock the secrets of the universe.

Taste of fresh air came from a window at the back of the library, making her smile. During the day, those windows provided most of the lighting, making the whole room very pleasing in the eyes.

Not wasting a minute, she unchained the books she needed, having memorized the aisles. "... Astronomia Nova, Codex Imperium, Book of the Invisible Sun." mumbled the young sorceress. "What else? Ah! There we go!"

Touching the smooth bindings of ancient and new books gave the woman a very warm and calming sensation. She glided her hand across the rough cover before placing them to the table near her.

"Good morning, Cassie."

The young woman grinned upon recognizing who it was. A bright smile spread all over her features when she saw her good friend, Wong, Kamar-Taj's new bookkeeper, at the end of the other aisle. "Wong! Hello!"

Wong and Cassandra had been friends for years. He arrived a bit earlier than Mordo with a noble desire of using magic to serve the greater good. He trained alongside with her for years, learning everything about the mystic arts. He even learned about her future responsibility. The Ancient One trusted him enough to know that the Eye of Agamotto housed the Time Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones, capable of manipulating time.

Now, Wong was serious and unflinching when it came to performing his duties, both as an instructor and later, a librarian of Kamar-Taj. This was exactly why he was appointed as the Temple's librarian after Kaecilius mercilessly beheaded the past keeper of the ancient books to serve as a warning and a declaration of his betrayal. But, don't be fooled. Wong is actually cordial and very kind if surrounded with the people close to him. He and Cassandra often bonded over contemporary pop culture especially music. He just liked pretending to be not aware of it around others.

Cassandra was very protective of Wong, just like with Mordo. When Kaecilius insulted her friend once, she immediately challenged him to a duel only to be stopped by the other Sanctum Masters. The Ancient One reprimanded her of this, but soon let it go when she reasoned out that she was only defending her friend.

"You're a bit too early." remarked Wong, clasping his hands behind his back. "And those books you're holding are for the novices. Borrowing for someone?"

Cassandra sighed. "Yes. His name's Stephen Strange."

"Ah, the new recruit Mordo brought in yesterday."

"Yep! Mordo the recruiter brought in another potential. He's really the Temple's talent acquisition specialist." remarked she, making Wong chuckle in delight.

"I heard he is egoistic and selfish."

"Nothing we haven't seen before from past students."

"If he turns out to be another Kaecilius -- "

"He won't. He never will be." interrupted Cassandra, feeling the need to defend Stephen. She didn't really know why, but perhaps it was because she already knew he was the next mystical protector of Earth that she became protective of him.

"You sound very certain."

"I just know it." She beamed and then released a breath. "Alright, so the Ancient One asked me to retrieve these books for Strange so put them all under his name, okay?"

Wong observed her for a moment before nodding. "Noted."

The woman stacked her books and carried them in her arms. "Thank you so much, Wong! I'll see you later at the grounds!" She cheerily waved her hand to bid him goodbye, but then remembered something. "Oh! Have you already listened to Michael Jackson's songs? They're masterpieces, I swear! His songs always uplift my mood. Also, Stayin' Alive by Bee Gees!"

Wong raised his eyes to the ceiling, lips smiling in amusement. "I have listened to Michael Jackson's songs. They have a nice beat. I will now listen to that last song you have just recommended."

"You should. It's really great." She winked before spinning around to leave the library. "See you later, Wong!"

Cassandra then hastily returned to the Ancient One's room, placing the books gently on the table. "Good morning, Ancient One, Mr. Strange." She bowed her head slightly before standing aside to watch her mentor perform a spell she herself has mastered very well.

"The language of the mystic arts is as old as civilization. The sorcerers of antiquity called the use of this language spells." started the Ancient One. "But if that word offends your modern sensibilities, you can call it a program. The source code that shapes reality." Her eyes flickered to Cassandra, smirking. "Master Mason here once humored us all by asking if it was similar with the energy field she watched from a movie."

Cassandra elicited a chuckle, remembering the time she compared the two energies during her first lesson. "Yeah, I thought it was the same with the Force from Star Wars." she shrugged. "But, no, instead of harnessing that energy field present in all lifeforms..."

"We harness energy drawn from other dimensions of the Multiverse," the Ancient One spoke, spreading her hands, moving them to create a detailed pattern. Fiery, amber sparks appeared before them, following the gestures their mystical teacher did. "to cast spells, conjure shields and weapons, to make magic."

The Ancient One snapped her fingers, finally completing the spell and making it light up the whole room for a moment. The sparks soon fizzled out within seconds, reminding her of incandescent particles that effuse from welding. Cassandra observed in amusement as Stephen was filled with astonishment by the brief exhibition of magic.

Stephen's eyes flashed with interest and confusion. "But... even if my fingers could do that, my hands would just be waving in the air. I mean, how do I get from here to there?" He pointed to himself and the Ancient One.

"Master Mason, how did you become a master of the mystic arts?"

"I studied and practiced everything I learned. Patiently memorized every spell, incantation, and ritual that there is."

The Ancient One smiled, looking proud. "What about you, Stephen? How did you get to reattach severed nerves, and put a human spine back together bone by bone?"

"Study and practice. Years of it."

The Ancient One tipped her head as a response and turned to Cassandra who immediately took this as a sign to come forward. The brunette carried the books she picked up from the library and gingerly handed them to Stephen. "You will join the others in training when you have finished reading these books. If you have any additional questions or require further clarification, approach Master Mason. Good day, Strange."

With that finality, their mystical mentor left the room. Silence soon followed after her departure, but Cassandra remained standing beside the still kneeling Stephen who looked very baffled when he skimmed the words written on one of the books.

"Oh, uh..." Stephen opened his lips, but Cassandra already knew his concern. Wordlessly, she slipped on her sling ring and turned to her left. She traced her right hand in an anticlockwise circular pattern, focusing on a destination beyond the space directly in front of her. A second later, she produced a small circle of sparks and the other side of the portal showed the third shelf of her bookcase.

In her peripheral vision, she saw her companion's eyes grow wide with wonder. She inserted her hand inside the portal and pulled out some notebooks and dictionaries, handing them to Stephen with a small smile. "These are my personal notes about those books and these," She paused, her eye catching his scarred hands tremble. "are my Sanskrit and Tibetan to English dictionaries. I am very certain they will greatly help you in your studying."

Stephen sighed, relief covering his features. "Thank you so much."

Cassandra nodded then cleared her throat. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a class to teach in a few minutes. I will be at the training grounds if you ever need me."

FIVE DAYS PASSED and Cassandra leisurely swung by the library to return a book she borrowed. The young woman hadn't seen Stephen the whole day since she had been busy with her job and her classes. Stark Industries' charity night was drawing closer and she needed to supervise the whole preparation.

But, the two spent the last four days together. Stephen occasionally asked her about the summaries and personal notes she jotted down as she showed him around Kamar-Taj. A few hours after their little field trip, he came back to her, saying he finished reading two of the four hefty books the Ancient One told him to read.

Skeptical about this, she quizzed him about the texts and was left impressed when he correctly answered every difficult question she threw at him. What took her weeks to read and understand only took him days. Stephen reasoned out it was her notes and his photographic memory that sped up his learning process.

As the two continued to spend more time together, Cassandra found herself starting to get comfortable around him. The embarrassment she felt when she met him again slowly wore off and she quickly learnt to set aside their past. As long as no one around them knew about it, they were fine.

"Mr. Strange." were the first words Cassandra heard when she stepped inside the library, causing her to arch an eyebrow.

"Stephen, please. And you are?"

"Wong."

"Wong." repeated Stephen, nodding. "Just Wong? Like Adele?" He chuckled at his own joke, but the librarian only stared at him with a deadpan expression. The former neurosurgeon's laugh slowly died upon this. "Or... Aristotle. Drake. Bono. Eminem." He clicked his tongue in an attempt to save himself from the awkward situation.

Cassandra felt embarrassed for him and slapped her forehead. "Oh, gods."

This, however, caught the men's attention and they turned their heads towards her. "Cassandra," greeted Wong, a smile tugging up one side of his mouth.

"Hey, Wong." the sorceress uttered, laying the book she borrowed at his table. "I came to return this."

Nodding, he spun on his heel and disappeared within the library. Cassandra took this as a sign to leave as well, but Stephen gently grabbed her arm, halting her movement.

"Can you stay?" he requested, his ocean eyes pleading, desperate.

"Why?"

"Please?"

Cassandra narrowed her eyes before surrendering. "Okay, fine."

"Thank you."

Wong soon returned from the sea of bookcases. The small smile that adorned his lips turned into a straight line when his gaze returned to Stephen. He tilted his head to the side, then raised an eyebrow to draw an explanation out from Cassandra. She shrugged. "I'm accompanying him."

The librarian tipped his head, lifting the books one by one to read the title carved on the spine. "The Book of the Invisible Sun, Astronomia Nova, Codex Imperium, Key of Solomon. You finished all of this?"

"Yup."

"Come with me."

Stephen glanced at Cassandra once before they both followed Wong who led them deeper into the library. The brunette clasped her hands behind her back, looking around the rows of chained books. She let her nimble fingers graze their front cover, feeling the texture. "This section is for Masters only. But at my discretion, others may use it. We should start with Maxim's Primer." Wong spoke, unchaining one of the books from one of the bookcases. "How is your Sanskrit?"

"I'm kind of fluent in it now. All thanks to Cassie." Stephen smiled, winking at Cassandra's direction.

This moment was then interrupted by Wong shoving two books against his chest. A grunt escaped his lips as he caught the tomes in his hands. "Read it. Classical Sanskrit."

Moving around, Wong collected more books for Stephen to read. Knowing what was next in the list, the woman decided to help gather the remaining publications. She unchained a book near her, briefly scanning its pages.

"What are those?"

Cassandra's head perked up and she left the section to check what Stephen was asking about. "That is the Ancient One's private collection."

"So, they're forbidden?"

Wong tsked. "No knowledge in Kamar-Taj is forbidden. Only certain practices. Those books are far too advanced for anyone other than the Sorcerer Supreme."

The sorceress couldn't help but smirk at the last part of her friend's words. Oh, how little did he know that he was already facing the successor of the title he just mentioned. She watched as Stephen removed the chains of one of the books, swiftly recognizing it as The Book of Cagliostro. It was quite known that the tome he was now holding had the most complex text. Not everyone understood it. Only the most talented and capable masters and practitioners of the mystic arts could fully decipher the rituals and spells written in the book. Cassandra wondered if Stephen could understand the written text for it would prove that he was indeed destined to be the next mystical protector of Earth.

Opening the book, Stephen furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed something odd about it. "This one's got pages missing." He showed Cassandra the ripped papers in the middle.

"That's The Book of Cagliostro. The study of time." supplied Cassandra, looking up at him. He was six inches taller than him and oftentimes, she had to crane her neck upwards to establish eye contact. "One of the rituals was stolen by a former Master. A zealot named Kaecilius."

"Just after he strung up the former librarian and relieved him of his head." Wong unhooked another book and slid the bookcase to his right, glaring at Stephen. "I'm now the guardian of these books. So if a volume from this collection should be stolen again, I'd know it. And you'd be dead before you ever left the compound." he warned, stepping a bit too close to him.

Cassandra grimaced at the new student's reaction, taking a step backwards. At that moment, she thought she saw his life flash before his eyes. It was evident he feared the librarian. Wong then snatched the book from Stephen's grasp and snapped it shut in front of his face, causing him to blink.

"What if it's just overdue? You know? Any... late fees I should know about?" Stephen tried to humor Wong to no avail. "Maybe, perhaps, uhm..." Stephen stammered before releasing a breath. "Uh, you know, people used to think that I was funny.

"Did they work for you?" Wong shot back.

"Ooh," Cassandra coughed. "you should get some ice on that."

A deafening silence befell on them and the young woman only pursed her lips. The novice besid her sighed again before gathering the stack of books laid on the table, moving towards the exit. "Alright. Well, it's been lovely talking to you, thank you for the books and for the horrifying story and for the threat upon my life."

Once Cassandra made sure that Stephen was out of earshot, she lightly elbowed her longtime friend. "You scared him."

Wong smirked. "Good. That was my intention."

The sorceress sighed.

THE SUN ROSE on the horizon, lighting the sky with beautiful hues of pink, yellow and orange. The sky was slowly becoming light blue and with a few clouds. As Cassandra observed the firmament, she smiled when she felt the cool breeze lightly brush against her warm cheek. She was heading to the training grounds to spend her early hours with her sword and her fists when the young woman felt a soft tap on her arm. She turned her head around to see who it was and there stood Mordo, greeting her with a cocky smile.

"Isn't it a beautiful day for an early sparring in the grounds, Cass?" he teased, mischief twinkling in his eyes.

The woman smirked. "You're on."

Once reaching the open area, Mordo extended his relic into a whip, the Staff of the Living Tribunal, in an attempt to intimidate her. Rolling her eyes, she unsheathed her dagger, smirking. Swiping it in the air, the dagger transformed into a sword, its steel faintly glowing orange before completely igniting. The flames danced wildly, burning deep red and amber, almost livid purple as Cassandra wielded it. It soon vanished, but the woman felt the sword's warmth even when it was far from her face. Slowly, she got into a fighting stance, like an arched bow, ready to fire.

The Flaming Sword of Acala was assigned to the young sorceress when she became an apprentice. Actually, she wasn't supposed to have any relic until she was a Master, but it flew to her hands when she once reached out to it. She didn't understand why she was so drawn to it when she first saw it in the Chamber of Relics when she started her training, but later understood it was meant to be her weapon.

Cassandra spun around, the bottom of her green Cloak of Concealment pooling near her ankles. The soft fabric graced her body and as she moved, the cloak flowed around her, give the impression that she was gliding weightlessly across the ground.

The Cloak of Concealment or as she often called it, the Invisibility Cloak had the ability to render the wearer invisible, hidden from detection based on optical sight. It was known that it would not fade with age and would provide everlasting protection to her.

Her rival lunged first and she instantly bent backwards to dodge the incoming staff towards her. Coming back up, they both assumed a high guard, and threw an overhand cut. Cassandra parried quickly, reflexively. Mordo cut from the other side, and Cassandra again parried. They moved smoothly across the training ground, back and forth. Rivulets of sweat cascaded down the woman's back and she began to notice the novices gathering around, watching them in awe including Stephen. A small feeling of pride rose in her chest upon knowing that he was currently watching her.

Mordo turned to her swiftly, swinging his weapon close to her abdomen. Cassandra struck it and kneed him on his abdomen, pushing him steps away from her. That's when she started to think, to act instead of react.

With the next cut, the brunette threw her hands up, and parried high, with her point towards Mordo's face. Her opponent, surprised, leapt backwards, slapping her blade aside. Cassandra did not fight the blow, but instead turned the deflection into her advantage and cut at his head.

Mordo parried, and cut against her. Finally using his second relic, the Vaulting Boots of Valtorr, he skipped through the air and came down to punch her, but Cassandra dodged to the side and rendered herself invisible.

Wasting no time and using Mordo's confused state, the woman pressed on his back, keeping her blade against him to close the line, and pressed the point of her blade against his throat. Making herself visible again in everyone's eyes, she smirked when her opponent said the required words. "I yield."

Grinning, she bowed her head and Mordo returned the gesture. Her friend then chortled, reverting his staff to its original form. "One day, I'll beat you." He uttered out.

"Please," the sorceress snorted, waving her sword in the air. It transformed back into a dagger and she sheathed it. "Our duels usually end up with me dropping your ass to the ground. I was just... holding back." The girl grinned, turning to the flock of students surrounding them.

"Show off." mumbled Mordo under his breath.

"Good morning, everyone!" acknowledged Cassandra, swiping her cloak aside. "I hope you all enjoyed that small sparring match Master Mordo and I had."

"Today, we will be teaching you all a basic spell that will prove that you are worthy to gain your sling rings." announced Mordo, clasping his hands behind his back.

Cassandra's eyes then flickered to Stephen, smirking. She then said, "This practice session will last for a week. I hope you all will too."

At this, her companion ordered everyone to form four lines. The brunette took this time to step beside the new student who looked like a lost puppy. "Hello, Strange."

Stephen's eyes lit up and he genuinely smiled. "Master Mason. You were amazing out there. I didn't know you could fight like that."

"There are many things you don't know about me, Strange, but we'll get acquainted as the days go by."

"I look forward to knowing more about you." expressed Stephen, his smile reaching up to his eyes. "You know, I'm still finding it hard to believe that you're one of the instructors."

"Why is that?"

"They're all kind of... blunt and strict and you're... not."

Cassandra snorted, slightly pushing him by his shoulder to put him in the line. "Oh, please. You will soon find that I am not as pleasant as you think I am."

"You're not one of those teachers who scolds the quiet kid when everyone in the class is talking, right?"

"Gods, no." She barked a laugh, crossing her arms. "I am not that strict. I just require my students to give me their full and utmost attention. Failure to do so will be dealt accordingly."

Stephen nodded, swallowing. "Okay, so is there a switch I can press if I want the Cassandra I know back with me?"

Cassandra arched an eyebrow. "No."

And with that, she left him to stand in front of the novices. Mordo and Wong, who had recently arrived, stood beside her. Giving each other a glance, they raised their hands in front of them.

"Let us all begin."