The Flames of Amarra - DR STRANGE x OC - COMPLETE

ONE LAST DAY

Nora fought the urge to clap when Mordo threw Strange to the ground for the tenth time in a row. She let out a muffled laugh and smiled, not even hiding when she gave Mordo a thumbs up.  

“Your turn ?” he asked, showing her the spot where Strange was standing just a minute ago. 

Nora shook her head. “I’m not a fighter. You’ll kick my ass before I could even throw a punch at you.”

Strange stood up and got ready for another round. “Just set him on fire.”

Nora stared at him with wide eyes. “So now you want me to murder him to defend your honor ? You’re aware of that ‘fire danger’ thing, right ? I could beat you without it, though,” she quickly added. 

She wasn’t so sure of it, but she looked confident enough for him not to challenge her. She watched them train for a while, until the Ancient One joined another group. They exchanged a brief look and nodded at each other. 

Nora decided to keep her opinion to herself when Strange asked about the Ancient One. Clearly, he seemed to be intrigued by her as well. For a second, she hoped that Mordo would know a little more about her, but just like the others, he only had nice things to say. 

As soon as their conversation turned to Kaecilius, Nora took it as her signal to leave them. Probably because of that weird wave of guilt that ran through her. She took the book next to her and left her seat. 

Before leaving them, she took a look at Mordo. “He’s only looking for something no one would give him.” He immediately stopped and motioned Strange to do the same, frowning at Nora. “I can understand that,” she added, looking at the ground. “Being alone, with no one who wants to help you.”

“What he’s after makes him dangerous,” Mordo argued. “Sometimes there’s nothing to be done.”

She gave him a sad smile and walked away. Either he didn’t understand, or he didn’t want to. He surely was one of those who were lucky enough to be helped.  

Before leaving for good, she had one last place to go to. She pushed the doors of the library and grabbed the books waiting to be put back on the shelves. As she was walking through the room, Wong followed her and watched her for a few minutes before finally saying something. 

“You’ve been acting differently. Did something happen ?”

“Define ‘differently’,” Nora replied with a small smile. 

“You stopped reading the books I’m giving you,” Wong started. “You’re leaving for longer each time you ask for a portal.” He paused and winced at Nora. “You’re talking to students. Willingly.”

She laughed. “Only one. Because you told him I read half the books in the library.” He kept looking at her but she brushed it off. “I’m just tired. Not in a ‘I need to take a nap’ way, but… yeah, I’m just tired,” she simply said. She took the book Wong was handing her and tried to smile.

He handed her another book and she raised a questioning brow at him. “Twenty years is a long time. You can't choose when the Flames will kill you, but you can choose how you want to spend your life.”

“What about my niece ? What when I die and she has to wear it ? Why do we have to be punished for what a crazy woman did centuries ago ?”

He nodded and gave her another book. “That’s why I don’t have an opinion.”

She silently finished placing all the books back and left after thanking Wong for the good reads. She didn’t really say goodbye to anyone, but she had some kind of closure. When she entered her room for the last time, she sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes.