"ALRIGHT EMILIA, I know you think I sound crazy, but let me show you the method to my madness." Strange claps his hands together. I'm back at the sanctum for our first 'lesson'  about the 'mystic arts'. I have high hopes.

    "You're gonna show me how you make balloon animals?" I raise my eyebrow at him. "I want a purple dog."

    "No- Just listen." He rubs his temples. "I am going to teach you to harness energy drawn from other dimensions to cast spells and conjure shields and weapons."

    Honestly, I thought that this guy was a nutjob. He has an odd sense of fashion and he's trying to teach me magic.

    How did he go from being a super successful surgeon to this?

    "Right... And how is this going to fix my hands?" I cross my hands over my chest.

    "Once you are successful at using magic, you can then use that magic to stabilize your hands. Mind over matter." He pauses. "Though I must warn you, it is difficult to get into the right mindset to practice the mystic arts. It takes a lot of practice."

    "Okay," I scoff, not believing him at all. "Show me what you got, wizard."

    He held something shiny up in his hand. "This is a sling ring." He handed the ring to me and I put it on my pointer and middle fingers. "This is your tool to open a portal to.. Anywhere really. A different city or town, or even another dimension."

    I narrowed my eyes on the ring. It felt so unnatural sitting on my left hand.

    Strange started making a swirling motion with his hands and a golden circle started appearing. A portal.  A snowy mountain scene was on the other side. He gestured to me to follow him and I stepped inside, immediately feeling the wind hit my face.

    "Mt. Everest." He yelled over the wind. If it wasn't unbearably freezing cold I would have enjoyed the view much more. "Below freezing. It takes about 30 minutes for hypothermia to set in. And I bet it'll take just two minutes for you to go into shock."

    I could hear my teeth chattering.

    "You wouldn't want to be stuck out here without your sling ring." He says from behind me. I look back over my shoulder, but he's not there anymore. That damn wizard.

    Panicking, I try to remember how he made the portal to send us out here. What hand was it? I flail my hands around frantically but all that appears is golden sparks in the air, no portal.

    "Damn you, Strange!"

    I try again but to no avail. I'm going to die. I pace around and let out a yell. Okay, I just need to focus.

    It was extremely hard to focus when the wind was ripping at my skin.

    Think of the sanctum.

    I take a deep breath and start again. I picture the sanctum and Strange's annoying face clearly in my mind. I close my eyes and start moving my right hand in a circle, willing a portal to open.

    Sounds of... magic? Fill the air. I opened one eye and to my surprise, I actually opened a portal.

    I quickly stepped inside into the warmth of the sanctum.

    "1 minute and 12 seconds. I'm impressed." Strange stood with a satisfied smirk as I shuddered.

    "What the HELL was that for?!"

    "Tough love." He turned and started walking away. "Come on kid, you have a lot to learn."

.•¤۞¤•.

    REST ASSURED, my mindset was changed after that. He wasn't a kids birthday party magician, he was a full blown wizard. The whole 'Sorcerer Supreme, protecting the universe' bit didn't sound so ridiculous now.

    I totally abused my teleporting abilities once I mastered them. No license? No problem, I can teleport! I left something in the other room? I can just stick my hand in a portal and grab it!

    It really ticked my mom off.

    "Focus up, Emilia." Strange said before dropping a ton of big books on the table in front of me.

    "You don't expect me to read all those, do you?" I ask with an incredulous expression on my face.

    "You're pretty solid with making portals. It's time to move onto harder things, like learning spells."

    "And that requires reading 400 page books?" I eye him but he just stares back at me blankly.

    "The Book of the Invisible Sun, Key of Solomon." He started going through the books.

    "I don't like reading."

    He ignored my comment. "Astronomia Nova, Codex Imperium."

    "These all sound like they're a different language." I groan.

    "Oh, they are. How's your Sanskrit?" Strange asked with a blank expression.

    "My what?"

    Strange handed me sheets of paper with unfamiliar letters on it. Some sort of translator? "I'd like for you to have read through these by the end of the week so we can practice."

    "Today's Wednesday. You just gave me four, 800 page books." I deadpan. He cannot be serious.

    "Correct."

    "You are incredibly optimistic, Strange."

    "And you have a terrible attitude." He starts walking away, leaving me alone with these ancient books. "Happy reading."

.•¤۞¤•.

    THIS CONTINUED OVER THE NEXT 2 YEARS. Every day after school I would go to "physical therapy" aka the sanctum and be greeted by a lesson, challenge, or an ancient book. And always, a grumpy wizard.

    I learned a lot in my time with Strange. I even picked up some of his fashion style. What I once thought was insanely ridiculous, was now very possible and incredible to say the least. I can now tap into my mind to do almost anything. Portals, force fields, and spells were now my new normal.

    My hands had gotten a lot better. The tremors were still there but they were very manageable. I learned how to use my magic to almost constantly stabilize my hands.

    I practiced non-stop. In the mirror dimension by myself or with Strange coaching me. Sometimes we would take a field trip to my mom's old stomping grounds, Kamar-Taj, so I could spar with other students.

    I think it's safe to say that I've impressed Strange with how fast I've learned and perfected everything. He's kept me around for a long time and we are past the point of learning new things. He sometimes even confides in me about his duties from being Sorcerer Supreme.

    My favorite days are when Wong is at the sanctum. When we first met, he was very confused why I was there but he's accepted the fact that a teenager is as good with magic as he is. Wong sometimes secretly brings me books from Kamar-Taj that Strange disapproves of. We have a one sided relationship but I would definitely say that we are the best of friends.

    Living my normal life as a sorcerer is very weird. No one besides my family knows that I'm a professional magician, and I'm planning on keeping it that way. I've been careful keeping it a secret. Although one time Lucía stole my sling ring to try and open a portal to 7/11. She was unsuccessful.

    So that's where I'm at now. Walking down the bustling streets of New York on a beautiful, sunny day. I'm heading to the sanctum, eager to show Strange a new spell I just learned.

I stop for a second to take in the beautiful weather. I felt unstoppable and I knew in my bones that today was going to be a great day.

heyy guys!! you get to really see emmie's personality in this chapter! i'm so obsessed with her, she's my favorite character i've written so far

i hope you are enjoying, thank you all for the support!

<3 cj