Chapter Eight - Top Student

I arrived at the sanctuary, my mind was made up. But when my eyes caught sight of Daniel, I began to fear what was to come. I remembered the scene where Ancestral left Stephen on Everest, she wouldn't do the same to a girl? Or would she? I swallowed and followed the sorcerer until he left me next to Ancestral.

I looked all over the place, I assumed we were going to Kamar-Taj, was that where they trained? Maybe not... I only remembered seeing the courtyard where they taught them, but where was that, was it only Ancestral that accepted students, did they let the other sorcerers teach the mystic arts, would there be Wi-Fi in this day and age?

With all the thoughts on her mind, she just followed Ancestral and didn't notice where she was walking. The only thing she noticed was that she had reached a room and Ancestral was looking her in the eyes.

- "Tell me, Elizabeth, what do you think your first lesson will be?" - She asked.

- "History of Magic?" - I answered thinking about Harry Potter, that wasn't the first thing they taught at Hogwarts, but it was the first thing that came to her mind. Besides the magical creatures.

- "No" - Why is everyone looking at me with a smile on their faces, do I look like a clown?

Ancestral taught me the basics, I spent a week learning that. The routine was the same that week. School - biscuit hunting - selling - sanctuary - orphanage. Nothing had changed until the day came when I was supposed to "meet" the rest of the "students" of the mystic arts.

I arrived thinking about who would be there, it was 2005, 10 years before Kaecilius and the fanatics stole the "book of Cagliostro". Maybe Kaecilius was there, and the fanatics too? Maybe they were still students of Ancestral.

It could be that he still wasn't disappointed in Ancestral, still didn't realize that the sorceress drew her immortality from the Dark Dimension, and the fanatics still weren't his followers.

Should she approach them? Should she make Kaecilius understand that the death of his wife Adria and his son couldn't change? That he should learn to live with the pain? That the pain would never really go away? That he should remember the people, his loved ones?

No, clearly not. He wouldn't listen to a six-year-old, please, what does a six-year-old know? She thought to herself, Kaecilius was for 20 years a student under Ancestral's command. If she stayed to learn with the sorceress from this year, it would mean she only entered 5 years after the soon-to-be follower of Dormammu.

If she stayed, she couldn't help the others, could she? Did the sorcerer live in the sanctuaries? For Elizabeth, coming to the sanctuary was like going to school... an intensive school after regular classes. I didn't need regular classes, I already knew everything. What if I ran away from the orphanage and came to live here? What if I found a sorcerer to adopt me?

Adopted daughter of Ancestral.

Adopted daughter of Daniel Drumm.

Adopted daughter of... Wong? ...where would Wong be? It would be great to talk to him.

Wong seemed like the best option, he wouldn't die. At least not the year the other two died, what if she could get Stephen to adopt her? She had been a doctor in her past life, maybe that would give her a chance to sympathize with the neurosurgeon, and he would adopt her. Strange with children?

A mental image came to her, of course, she imagined a Benedict with children. After all, she had three? But Stephen with children. In the comics, he sort of "raised" the mini Avengers... but it wasn't the same story, was it? And it wasn't like he had them as babies and helped them with their daily chores, it was more like them being his students? Or being a protégé? Like Spider-Man was Iron Man's Spider-Man?

I was older than Peter Parker!!! I can't sing, I like older.

As I was going through my thoughts, I bumped into someone and fell. A big bump on the floor. It hurt a lot. It's a good thing I didn't hit my head, I would lose all my brain cells because of how hard I fell.

- "Shit" - I blurted out without thinking 'Badly done Eli, the cap would be very disappointed by your language'.

- "Excuse me, who are you?" - He questioned with his eyes - "What's a girl doing here? How did you get in? Are you lost?"

- "No, I came here to get to Narnia" - I rolled my eyes as I stood up, apparently he wasn't going to help me stand up - "but it's not so easy to find Aslan" - I shook the dirt off my clothes - "I'm not lost, I know perfectly well where I am" - I looked around, I can't find Ancestral Maybe... I was lost.

- "Seriously" - He looked me in the eyes - "Where are you?"

- "On planet Earth, clearly" - I had no idea where I was, my sense of direction was horrible, and getting lost among the sanctuaries was a bit common, wasn't it?

- Oh, really?

- "Miss Elizabeth, are you having fun?"

- "What?" - What did she mean? I looked around me. Everyone was looking at me, did I bump into someone while they were in some sort of 'meeting', while they were in 'learn to use your powers' mode, or while they were teaching a class?

- "I guess you've met them all," - Said Ancestral.

- "If meeting everyone means making a fool of yourself, yes," - I whispered.

- "I'll leave you here, you can continue learning like everyone else."

Will you leave me? No, please don't. 'Please Tommy, Please'. Ancestral, don't leave me, don't leave me with a bunch of strangers. With people who will look at me weirdly and judge me. I can't make an angry face yet, it comes out too cute. It doesn't work. 'Don't go, mum, don't walk away from me.'

- "I don't think that's a good option" - I look pleading - "You won't leave me, will you?" - Puss in boots face comes to the front.

- "I'll watch you train"

And that was the end of the conversation, I couldn't say anything more. I just stood next to some strangers and continued listening to the talk and the instructions of what was to be done next, they passed me the rings or something like that.

'At least they're nicer than the green lantern one.... and they'd be good for giving someone a combo' I sighed.

The class ended, and the only thing I managed to do was make sparks, like Strange's first time. They would throw me in the snow and I would freeze to death, would they have mercy on a little girl?

As Ancestral approached me, I saw the time on a clock in the distance, 7.55 p.m. Damn! My eyes were like plates, I had to leave as fast as possible. I ran up to the sorceress and looked at her pleadingly. How many times had I looked at her like that during the day? Who knows.

- "The time... please"

- "Well"

In a wink, I was in the same alley where I was hiding my backpack and the cart was behind me, on top of the cart was my beautiful rabbit. I ran to the door of the orphanage. I thank you, all-seeing God, you saved me from being trapped and dying of hypothermia.

Tomorrow would be Saturday, they're not supposed to let us go out anywhere on that day... not even for biscuits. Ironic, isn't it? On the weekend, we should go out and sell more, because we would have the whole day to do it. But apparently, the manager's entrepreneurial mentality wasn't working very well, which was a pity.

I hated Saturdays and Sundays with all my heart, all I could do was stay in my room with my teddy bear and do nothing because whatever I wanted to do would be seen by the other girls. There were loud voices all over the house because no girl had anything to do these days. A lot of them would get together and play. But I was left alone. Who would I hang out with? I didn't know any girls, after all.

I got up early, and after I was ready I went downstairs for breakfast, there weren't many people. But my eyes fell on Clary. When she saw me, she raised her hand and smiled at me. That would have been a great scene in the big dining room. But we were just a bunch of 4 and 6 girls, in a long month that could fall apart at any moment. I shook my shoulders.

I sat next to Clary, as she talked about what she did for the week. A lot of things a 4-year-old would normally say, some slurred words that gave her a tender touch. I just listened until she told me a story.

- "So, Bambi's mother dies - That movie came out in '42, did Bucky see it? - "Do you think something like that happened to us?"

- "Well" - How do you tell a 4-year-old that you saw both your parents die? - "I don't think they hunted our parents" - I smiled at her... but in a manner of speaking, they did hunt mine.

- "I think it's better that my parents died than that they abandoned me because they didn't love me" - How does a 4-year-old girl have that thought? - "I think it's for the best... How old were you when you came here?"

- "At 3... but before that, I had been in an orphanage in England" - I told her, my grandmother went to look for me there and brought me to this city, how I missed Lucy.

- "Oh... poor you" - She looked at me with sorrow. - "You lost your family twice, that's worse than losing them once."

I just stared at her, she was right after all. Although maybe I had lost my family three times, did my other life count? Maybe it didn't count, you could say they lost me, not the other way around.

Clary looked at me, she seemed to be slapping herself for what she said, surely she thought I would be angry. But why would I be mad, after all, it was the truth. She looked at me thoughtfully, deciding to change the subject.

- "Today they're letting us watch movies all day" - Marvel marathon? Lord of the Rings marathon? Let's see, Lilo and Stitch movies, Snow White, Pinocchio, Bambi, and many more - "Do you want to come?"

I'm sure that was only for the younger girls. How did you know? The manager didn't usually know what to do with the girls, so she either kept them doing "crafts" or kept them with their eyes on the screen. But I didn't care. What else could I do? Sleeping all day seemed like a great plan... but the eyes of the girl next to me were begging me, begging me to say yes.

- "OK" - I answered - "I'll go"

- "Excellent" - The girl stood up and hugged me.

How long had it been since I'd had a hug? It had been a long time.

My only companion at the breakfast table ran out, saying she was going to get ready to go see the movie. I assumed that would be putting on clothes since she was in her pajamas.

I didn't give it another thought and continued with my milk. When I finished I picked up what we had taken and left it in the kitchen, I didn't know whose turn it was to do the dishes, I just knew it wasn't mine. So I just put it down and went to sit down again, but I couldn't. I just couldn't.

Clary came running up and took me by the hand and led me to where they would watch the movies. I was with girls 4 and under all day. I just looked at all of them, it reminded me of the time when I was a pediatrician, and it reminded me of the children who were in the war. 

And Clary, she reminded me of my sister Kelsey. She looked just like the videos I had of her when I was little, videos of her doing puzzles, and dancing on the table. The school dances, the performances, the presents she gave me, her drawings. She was even older, screaming because she loved the couple Callie and Arizona with all her heart. Crying because she wanted to go to a Camila Cabello concert. Out of breath and screaming at the TV that Lauren should marry her. Her obsession with watching a Barbie marathon. The angry face and the urge to punch homophobic people. When she yelled at our brothers that they were otakus who should take a bath, that they were rat boys. And she yelled at them after that to help her in the game, or they would kill her. Her nights singing Glee songs, not letting me sleep.

The memories went by so fast that I didn't realize that a tear had escaped my eye, I missed the 4 donkeys that I had as brothers. I missed the senseless fights, the times when we would blame each other when something happened. The games of "rock, paper, scissors" to divide up the chores around the house. The laughs we shared, the movie marathons in the living room. I missed EVERYTHING. I finished the day and watched all the movies with the girls. We only went out at lunchtime, we were there for hours. But it didn't matter, that day had been the only good day I had ever had in that place. Even though I was aching all over from not changing my position and my legs were asleep, I wouldn't do anything to change what had happened. Sunday passed quickly, I talked a bit with Clary and the day passed normally. 

There was nothing new, I did almost nothing, and the plan I had had for Saturday made its presence felt on Sunday. Plan "sleep all day" fulfilled to perfection.

On Monday I arrived at school like every day, but something strange happened... there were no exams to answer, had I already passed all the subjects at school? Would I have university tests? I doubt it. My two teachers told me that I would have today off, so I just went to my "office under the stairs", before I left I heard them asking themselves "Is there nothing left at school?" "We have no more tests left, she will be bored from now on".

You may wonder what little Elizabeth Charlotte did all day at school, the answer is easy. She tried to learn what she had left unfinished in the sanctuary. The bell had saved her on Friday, but that would not happen today. If she didn't learn, she would disappoint the sorceress supreme. Well she didn't know that, she didn't know much about Ancestral after all. But the thought that she trusted her to make it all right made her feel better, and ready to face the world.

She did it, she was able to learn everything she was taught. It was pretty fast apparently, she even thought that maybe she could get ahead in the mystic arts classes, could she? She doubted it, but the thought was fun. She was good at this, maybe she should put Doctor Strange out of a job. "Elizabeth Charlotte the new sorceress supreme", no of course not, she wanted to change the story that was for sure, but she couldn't make such a big change. She just wanted to help in some details, not make half of the Avengers disappear.

Since she learned so quickly, she did what Strange had done, annoying the librarian and stealing his books. Sadly, it wasn't as much fun since that place wasn't yet occupied by Wong. After reading most of the books she got bored, she wasn't going to read them all, the Ancient One collection would stay there. Maybe in the future, she would read them, but not for now. She felt that should stay with Ancestral, besides, what would the other sorcerers say? She couldn't just take them.

The week was over, and the teachers still hadn't found anything for Eli to "have fun" with at the Establishment, so she had just been reading Banner's studies, a bit about Stark's technology. Besides that, she used the computer to play video games... because yes, she got bored.

It was only 4 days before the end of the school year, everyone was in their final exams, what did I do? Easy, listen to music. A week ago I had met Wong and I found nothing better than to bother him, "Why? Why not" plus he didn't do anything to make me stop, maybe it was my girlish appearance... but I was sure I had seen him smile a little. So I just went on with the same thing, annoying.

Today I was doing something very important, I was playing music on an MP3 player. Who would I give it to? Well, to Wong. What music did it have? Too much, but mostly Rihanna's. Why? I thought it was funny when Strange asked him if he never laughed and mentioned Rihanna if he knew her. Well, it was obvious that he did. Could she be present in that scene? Yes, of course, she could... but she'd probably start laughing and ruin the whole thing.

She managed to get through all the music before school let out, the big question was how to give it to Wong. I was mentally thankful I ended up in the MCU if I had ended up in a Marvel land, but based on the comics or one of the many comic book lands, all with different facts. I wouldn't know what to do, in the comics they were a bit "darker" or heavier so to speak.

She walked slowly, going along the same path as every day. She was with the other students of the mystic arts for a little while. She annoyed whoever she could, but after a while, she decided to leave. Where to? To get food, clearly she got lost. Why didn't the movies show where the kitchen was, or the bathroom was? She snorted, went to her backpack, took out a piece of fruit, and started to walk while looking at the "treasures" in the sanctuary of New York.

She slowly walked past them all, until she came to the cape that Strange had chosen. How does the cape work, like Aladin's carpet? It was a great question. She just stood there looking at it, and after a few minutes she spoke to it, why was she talking to a cape? Who knows, she said hello and raised her hand. What did the cape do? It raised one of its edges in greeting mode, she thought it was funny. She spoke to the cape, clearly, she wasn't going to receive an answer from him, she imagined herself as Potter speaking to the snake in captivity. In the end, she would say thank you to the sorcerer and the cloak wouldn't say that.

The cape floated and moved a little, Elizabeth could only think of all the drawings and memes the fans made. After a while, she heard a voice.

- "It's weird that you're talking to a relic, don't you think?"

- "No" - Maybe Ancestral is older, how old is she?

- "Come" - For the first time Eli saw who was speaking to her, it was Kaecilius, she had already been very lucky, she hadn't met him the whole time she was here. But clearly, luck is not always on your side, she sighed and just followed him.

- "Hello" - It was Ancestral.

- "Hello," - She replied, as she looked doubtfully at the one who had led her to the sorceress.

- "You may go" - She said to the sorcerer, I thanked God mentally, I didn't know what to do in front of him. He just looked at me and left me alone with Ancestral. The two of us alone, and if I ask her to marry me? No, that would be weird.

- "Why did you call me?" - I asked, I hadn't done anything wrong... apart from being a nuisance and skipping "class".

- "I know you know what will happen to some of the students who are here right now" - If you mean everyone who will die and by whose hand, then yes.

- "I know" - I answered confidently - "Why do you ask?"

- "I still don't understand why I can't see anything to do with you" - She looked at me - "or how you know some of the things that are going to happen."

- "Do you want... I mean, should I tell you?" - I asked curiously.

- "I don't think so... it must not be the right thing to do" - She looked at me - "but I wanted to ask you something" - The great Ancient One will ask something of me.

- "What?"

- "I'll tell you tomorrow" - Why tomorrow? Does she want me to kill out of curiosity?

- "Well" - I looked at the time, it was 6 o'clock, it was still too early. But I wasn't going to piss off the person in front of me - "Shall I go?" - I was waiting for an answer, but Drumm came to me.

- "I'll walk you out."