Hours had passed and Lenore had felt pity for Stephen, who kept banging at the temple's door, his desperate cries to take him were left disregarded. Every time she went to check on Stephen, he was there, either knocking or pleading, his voice hoarse. She wanted to help but the Ancient One wouldn't permit it. So she had to do something.

She walked to the room where the Ancient One held a meeting for the other Masters of the different sanctum. She met Mordo along the way and the two Masters nodded in acknowledgment of each other's presence.

"It seems that you need something from the Ancient One as well as I do, Master Lenore," Mordo remarked as he shot her a knowing gaze.

"That depends, " she stated back, "What do you need from her?"

"I want to convince her on something.."

Lenore cocked an eyebrow, it seemed to her like Mordo had the same intent as she has.

"What a coincidence. I too want to convince her about something. However, she might not like it though."

"We shall see then." Mordo beamed at the smaller master next to him and she returned the gesture. She bumped her arm gently against his, eliciting a soft chuckle from him. The smiles on their face soon diminished as they neared the room. The Ancient One spun the dial on the pillar in front of her, the three masters of the sanctions around the world bowed to her before they went to their respective doors.

Both Lenore and Mordo entered the room, their hands clasped behind their backs. Lenore chose to stand by the entrance, anxious about telling her about Stephen. But if she was right about Mordo having the same idea, she'd let him speak.

"You think I was wrong to cast him out?" the doubt was evident in her tone but it didn't show on her face. She kept her eyes on the globe above her, rotating slowly as she turned the dial.

"Five hours and he's still at your doorstep," Lenore remarked with a concerned look on her face, remembering the desperate please she heard from the times she went to check upon him. At one time, she was tempted to let him but opted not to.

Lenore met Mordo's eyes across the room, it was as if Mordo was urging her to do what she had planned but she chose to stay quiet, scared that she might anger the Ancient One.

Mordo saw the hesitation in Lenore's eyes and nodded in understanding. Mordo paced around the Ancient One.

"There's a strength to him," Mordo stated.

"Stubbornness, arrogance, admission. I've seen it all before." the Ancient One responded, the distaste was evident in her tone. Lenore's heart sank, knowing who exactly she was referring to. Mordo noticed the change in Lenore's expression.

"He reminds you of Kaecilius," he said, glancing towards Lenore who closed her eyes.

It was a name she chose to forget. Kaecilius was once a man she looked up to. He was a better sorcerer than her despite having trained under the tutelage of the same master. And through those years, the two had grown attached. He was like a father to her. She remembered denying that he was now the man that he is when she heard of him turning his back to the Ancient One.

Lenore blinked away the tears building up in her eyes.

"I cannot lad another gifted student into power, " she glanced towards Lenore, getting a glimpse of the hurt in her eyes, "Only to lose him in the dark."

"You didn't lose me." Mordo had stopped from pacing around the Ancient One, "I wanted the power to defeat my enemies. You gave my power to defeat my demons, and to live within the natural law."

"We never lose our demons, Mordo. We only learn to live above them." she rebutted.

"And you didn't lose me." The Ancient One turned her head to see that Lenore had approached her. She gazed down at her daughter with affection.

"Kaecilius still has the stolen pages, " Mordo reminded them both as he approached the both of them with wide strides. "If he hemisphere them, he will bring ruin upon us all."

The way Mordo had spoken about the pages that Kaecilius had stolen unsettled her. Whatever it contained could be their end if he was able to carry it out. At that, she finally dared to tell her about Strange.

"There may be dark days ahead, " Lenore started, bringing the Ancient One's attention towards her, "perhaps Kamar-Taj could use a man like Strange."

The Ancient One went silent, looking down at the floor to contemplate about it. Both of them had a point, if they were going to stop Kaecilius, they needed all the help they could get.

"Master Lenore."

Lenore's eyebrow raised as the Ancient One called her name.

"Please escort Mister Strange to his room."

A soft smile grew on Lenore's face before nodding. Lenore quickly made her way down to the entrance. Stephen's voice grew louder as she inched closer to the door. His voice was softer, hoarse from yelling for hours without end. Stephen was sitting in front of the door, unknowingly leaning his back against it.

Lenore swung the door open and Stephen fell backwards with a yelp, he landed softly on his back, his head inches away from Lenore's feet. He looked up, meeting Lenore's concerned gaze while she kneeled down.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"I'm so sorry." Lenore apologized frantically,
"Did you head your head? Are you okay?"

Lenore took ahold of Stephen's hand and pulled him back to his feet. Her hand was over the back of his has, checking for any bumps that Stephen may have gotten after his fall. Stephen chuckled softly as he moved his head away from her hand.

"I'm fine." he ensures, looking down at Lenore.

"Are you sure?" she asks again, her eyebrows scrunched up in worry.

"Yes, very sure."

At that, Lenore let out a relieved sigh, her hand flew over her chest.

"That's good to know." Lenore glanced down at his jacket, noticing how dirty it was and she took it upon herself to brush the dust was with her hand. Stephen didn't mind.

"There, " she said with a content smirk, "Good as new."

"Thanks," Stephen replied, smiling awkwardly at the woman.

"You're welcome." she smiled at him and Stephen couldn't help but stare at her until his trance was cut off with the sound of her voice telling him to follow her. Stephen followed her, his eyes never left the woman in front of her. She was beautiful, he admits that.

Lenore and Stephen soon arrived at his quarters, where he will be staying. Lenore opened the doors, allowing Stephen to enter first. He studied the room, fascinated by it. Meanwhile, Lenore walked behind him lighting a candle on the window sill.

"Bathe. Rest. Meditate. If you can." after igniting the candle, Lenore made her way towards the drawers, pulling a robe that was a mix of blue and white, typically worn by beginner students of the temple. She picked what she thought was Stephen's size and turned around. She was surprised to catch Stephen staring at her before looking away, heat rose up from her cheeks as she handed the robe to him.

"The Ancient One will send for you." she couldn't being herself to look up at him, afraid that he might see her blushing. She was about to head out of the room until she realized she had forgotten something. She picked up a piece of paper on the table and turned around, handing it to Stephen.

Stephen looked down at the paper with confusion, "What's this? My mantra?"

Before she could completely walk out of the room, she turned around, glancing down at paper before bringing her gaze towards Stephen.

With an amused smile, she said, "It's the wifi password." she grabbed both doorknobs, "We're not savages."

She began closing the doors, only to be halted by Stephen's large hands getting in between the doors. Lenore let out a soft gasp, surprised at Stephen opening the doors forcefully, bringing her along with it. Thankfully, she had stopped herself in the nick of time, her face was inches away from Stephen's chest.

Lenore quickly stepped back, clearing her throat awkwardly as she averted her gaze.

"I'm sorry, " Stephen chuckled, "If it's alright with you, may I know your name?"

"It-It's Lenore, " she stammered and when she realized it, she cleared her throat and said, "It's Lenore, Mister Strange."

"Please, " Stephen said, "Call me Stephen."

"Very well, Stephen, " she smiled and had the courage to once again to meet his eyes, even in the dark, she saw the color of Stephen's eyes and they were gorgeous.

"Once again, I welcome you to Kamar-Taj."

Lenore walked away, the smile on her face didn't go away.