Nithiel: a strange apprentice

Part 3: the game plan

Nithiel headed down the stairs. She saw that everyone was standing around the lobby. "Strange said you are all welcome to stay here until the spell is done," she said. "What about our ship?" Rocket asked. "My ship," Peter cleared his throat. "Strange has hid them. Don't worry, they won't be even noticed," she assured him. "Thank you, Nithiel. Druig told me you are willing to help us," Thena said. "We can discuss the plans tomorrow morning. We have all had a long day, get rest," she said. She ushered them to follow her up the stairs. "Your rooms are along these halls. Bathroom last door. Try not to wander around here, you might end up in another dimension," she joked. They all began to head to their rooms. As Nithiel started to walk off, she heard her name. Rocket had stayed behind. He immediately ran to her and hugged her. "Thank you," he said. Nithiel gave him a quick hug, then headed back towards her own room.

It was nearly 4 am. Nithiel laid in her bed. It felt like it was just midnight, how could it be morning now? She felt exhausted due to her lack of sleep. Her thoughts were swarming in her. She figured she could get another two hours of sleep if she could just relax. But the cold air mixed with uneasiness caused her to just get up. She figured that there was no way she was going to go back to sleep. She headed to the downstairs kitchen. There she made herself a hot cup of coffee. As she opened the fridge, a noise startled her.

"Druig," she said, startled trying to brush her hair in a neat way. "Sorry, I know it's early," he said as he brushed stray hair from his own eyes. "How long have you been there?" Nithiel asked. Druig shrugged. "Are you okay? What are you doing up?" She asked. "Yes, I'm okay. It's just I couldn't sleep I guess," he faded off. "You and me both. You want a coffee?" Nithiel asked as she got another cup from the cupboard. "That would be nice," he said sitting down.

She handed him the cup. He then started to swirl it around. "Yes?" Nithiel asked. "Are we okay?" Druig asked not looking at her. "What do you mean?" Nithiel could tell something was clearly bothering him. "Just yesterday, you darted off pretty quickly," he said still swirling his cup. "Oh that. That wasn't your fault. It's completely on Strange," she assured him. He still didn't look up. "Did you, um, did you feel weird?" Druig asked burning red. "Weird? What do you mean?" Nithiel asked. "It's okay. Nevermind. Forget it," he tried to laugh it off. He still felt a bit embarrassed by it. "Hey," she said grabbing his hand, "we are okay. It didn't feel weird at all. In all honesty, I felt I could trust you. I know you are only wanting to help your family,".

Druig gave a small smile. "Now that I am officially awake, I might as well just stay up," she sighed. "Again, I'm so sorry," Druig apologized. "You worry way too much," she replied. "But I'm glad you are up," he said. "Why's that?" Nithiel asked. "I like being with you," he smiled looking down. "You do?" Nithiel asked, hiding her blushing face. "Yeah, I do. I love talking to you," he looked up. They both stared at each other for awhile. Her hand had never left his. In fact, it just inter twined with each other. Before Nithiel could say anything, she heard someone open the kitchen door. "Good morning," a voice said.

It was Dr. Strange. "Morning," Nithiel cleared her throat and pulled her hand away. "Have a good night?" He asked. "Not the best," Nithiel said back. "Up early again?" Strange asked as he got himself a coffee. "Just couldn't sleep. Just a lot of stress. Why are you up," she asked. "Well I figured you would need a coffee this morning, I wanted to join you. But It seems you have company already," he said looking towards Druig. "Yes, nice company," she smiled at him. This caused Druig to smile big. He tried to hide it, but failed. "Well, I'll leave you to it," he said, walking out with his cup. Nithiel let out a sigh. She felt bad for him but she wasn't getting clear signs from him.

____________________________________________

"Here's the game plan, I will start the spell. Eventually you and Nithiel will take over," Strange began to explain. "And what will we do?" Thena asked. "Nothing," he shrugged. 'We don't have to do anything,' Makkari sighed. "No, this will be between them. However, I would be prepared for anything," he said. 'We will,' Makkari smiled. "What do we do?" Druig asked. "Once I find Arimhem, you can enter his mind. Nithiel will do the rest," Strange continued. "Sounds easy enough," Druig shrugged. "Would seem so, but it will take a lot out of both of you. However, it will do the trick," he explained. "What's the bad news? With every spell, there's something," Nithiel asked. Strange sighed. "Whoever is doing the spell can never leave the range of it. You'll both be stuck on earth. If you leave, it will break," he frowned. "If that is what it takes," Nithiel sighed. "Are you sure?" Druig asked. "Yes, are you?" Nithiel asked him. Druig looked at his family, "for them, yes,". "Good, I can create a protection spell in enchanted bracelets. This will enable you guys to move and live life. The spell will continue to hold strong, even with you both miles apart from each other," Strange added. "How long will this take?" Thena asked. "Unfortunately the spell will take a few days to construct; however, we need Nithiel at her strongest to change a celestial's memory," Strange said. "When is that?" Druig asked. "During a full moon," Rocket said. "When's the next full moon?" Thena asked. "In two weeks," Nithiel sighed. 'Will that be too late,' Makkari asked. "No, but if you want to talk to your friends, we can try to contact them," Strange said. "What? How?" Thena asked. "A spell Nithiel can do, she can connect you to them," Strange said. "I can, but it might take a day or two to find them," Nithiel added. "Once I locate them that is," Strange said. "That would be amazing," Thena smiled.