Tessa had a restless night, full of tossing and turning as the dull drumming in her head carried on well into the early hours of the morning. She threw the covers off her as her body continued to warm to a more-than-tolerable heat as she clutched her head, burying her face into her pillow.

"Jesus, please, give me a break..." She breathed to herself weakly.

Let me out.

The young sorceress' eyes shot open at the sound of the voice and she sat bolt upright in bed, looking around her room for the source of the unnerving whisper. But no one was lurking in the dark of her room. Peeking out of the curtains just above her bed, she saw no one outside either – unsurprisingly when she was two floors off the ground. Her head throbbed again, and she winced, running her hand through her hair and tugging on it as though that would help to relieve some pressure but, just like the painkillers, this did nothing to ease the pain either. Tessa glanced at her clock and saw that it was already three o'clock in the morning. Groaning quietly, she gently lowered herself back down onto her pillow.

She prayed and silently begged for the migraine to be gone by morning.

* * * * * *

"Tessa? You up?" Came the shout of her Uncle Marcus as he gently knocked on her room door.

The sorceress cracked an eyelid open and removed the duvet from off her head, looking at the door with dread. While the pain had eased, it still hadn't gone fully much to her dismay.

"Yeah! One moment." She called back to him as loudly as she could manage, throwing the duvet off her legs again.

Tessa put on her forest green tunic as swiftly as humanely possible before traipsing over to the door and opening it, offering a tired smile to her Uncle as she let him into the room. Silence flooded the room as she made herself and her Uncle a cup of tea. She knew what her Uncle would say but she had felt far too cooped up in her room this year and, while uncomfortable, Tessa still wanted to train. Again, no one would stop fighting you just because you had a headache coming on, would they? Therefore, the best thing for her to do would be to fight through the pain – with the pain – which should help her build some sort of resilience to it. If she was going to continually have these migraines for the rest of her life, then she had to learn how to live with it rather than yield to it. Mastering one's pain would be a strength in and of itself and surely an invaluable skill in combat.

"Headache's gone if you're wondering." Tessa said as she turned to give Marcus his cup of tea.

"Thank you." Her Uncle watched her carefully as she leant against her chest of drawers, "How sure are you?"

"Very."

Marcus approached her curtains, "So you won't mind if I – "

As he had let a blinding shard of sunlight into the room, Tessa squeezed her eyes shut, "God, Uncle, shut that please!"

Marcus let the material go from his fingers, staring at her, unimpressed, "The one thing I ask of you is that you don't lie to me about your migraines."

"They're just migraines." Tessa shook her head, "It's not like it's going to kill anyone."

"But you're clearly in agony."

"And? Some people have to live with pain on a daily basis and they still continue with their lives. And what do I do? Bow to it every time."

"We're not training when you're unwell."

"I'm fine – "

"What was the pain like yesterday?"

"A solid eight."

Marcus raised his eyebrow.

"Fine, fine. A solid nine."

"And this morning?"

"Zero." She answered with a tight-lipped smile.

"Tessa – "

"It's a five. But I can work with a five."

"With sorcery there is a mental strain. I'm not going to make you train when it could make your migraine unnecessarily worse."

"Well, you're not making me do anything. I am saying that I am willing to train today."

Marcus took a sip of his tea and shook his head. One thing he remembered the Ancient One telling him was to never let her train with a migraine. Why? He didn't know but he trusted the Ancient One's judgement and he didn't want to find out what happened if they went against that. He just wanted to look after her. Elijah's comment of telling Tessa the truth intruded on his thoughts. While it might help to get Tessa to understand the seriousness of the situation, he still couldn't bring himself to say it – especially not when he looked at her and saw that heartbroken six-year-old every single time.

"What did the Ancient One used to say to you when you were like this?"

Tessa paused, a look of woe crossing her face, "She told me to take it easy."

Marcus nodded, "Well, there you go then."

Tessa stared at her Uncle for a second then shook her head. She was sick of this, sick of being told what to do when she knew she was a perfectly capable adult. The sorceress was not a wounded animal, constantly in need of care, but a human being who was in control of their own actions.

"No. I've had enough of taking it easy."

"Tess, please, just rest." Marcus pleaded.

"No. By all means, if you don't want to train, you feel free to go and do whatever, but I am going to train." She announced as she turned to grab her water bottle.

Marcus knew he couldn't stop her. Briefly, he considered cursing her door shut but he couldn't hold her against her against her will. He would just have to hope and pray that, whatever the Ancient One thought would happen, wouldn't happen. But all he felt was his stomach knot as Tessa left the room. She came back, merely to say the last thing he wanted to hear:

"And actually, I think I might like to train alone today."

And with that, Tessa left, head still pounding lightly as she took a sip of water before continuing on to the training rooms.

* * * * *

"Eli!" Marcus called as he entered the dining room where the other Master was having his morning meal with two others, "Eli, we need to talk."

Master Emeka glared at Master Kent as he approached him, shaking his head, "I said I don't want to tal – "

"It's about Tessa. It's important."

Master Emeka wasn't cold-hearted in the slightest. Last night, he was frustrated and willing to absolve himself from any responsibility over what happened to Tessa but seeing the worry in the sorcerer's eyes alarmed him. All he could think was, whatever Marcus had to say, had better be worth his time. Elijah stood from the table, bidding his fellow sorcerers a good morning before following Marcus out of the dining room.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Why did the Ancient One tell her never to train with a migraine?"

"What?" Eli looked at him with a vexed bewilderment, "I told you not to – "

"Eli," Marcus took him by the shoulders, "Why did she say not to?"

"Marcus – "

But a large crashing from upstairs interrupted Eli, the event shaking the building right down to its very foundations as the two masters stumbled and fell against the wall. Both looked at each other and then to upstairs before racing off towards the commotion together.

* * * * *

"Perhaps you could teach some of the sorcery classes?"

Stephen scoffed at this idea as he looked over at Wong who was sat at the main desk in the library. Wong looked serious about the suggestion though. The sorcerer looked away and back at the books he was browsing through. So many choices and yet a painful limit of being permitted to take only one book out of the library at a time - this limit was enacted on him only. One book a week, Wong had said, one book a week so you have time to study it and take in what it has to offer. In other words, take it slow. When one had a photographic memory, one found it hard to take things slow when one knew they could easily learn a dozen things at once.

But Stephen was getting bored. Often, he used his astral form to read through the night which meant that his days weren't filled with...much at all. But teaching? He couldn't teach. But he did need something more practical to do in the day or else he would be perfecting spells he had already perfected on repeat and that...was not appealing to someone who craved more knowledge at all. The sorcerer approached Wong by his desk, shaking his head.

"I don't think teaching is for me."

Wong sighed, watching as Stephen flicked through the books on his desk in search of one he hadn't yet read. The librarian saw great potential in Stephen as a teacher but if he couldn't see it himself, how could he persuade him to try it out?

"Teaching is the best way to learn."

"I can teach...oh, myself. I'm still learning that way." Stephen smiled.

The ex-neurosurgeon saw the unimpressed look upon Wong's face and Stephen sighed with a shrug and a shake of his head. The doctor, himself, just couldn't see it happening. Wong's gaze searched the library once again as though searching for another idea that could possibly spur Stephen's interest in the direction of teaching. Silence fell over them for a couple of moments as the sorcerer opened an unfamiliar looking book, only to slam it shut again out of frustration when he realised that it was just another version of a book he had already read.

"Can't I read one from the private - "

"No." Came Wong's immediate, strict response.

"Come on - "

"No."

"But Wong - "

"No, Stephen. I promised the Ancient One that I would keep them safe and would guard them with my life. When I think you are ready, I will let you have them. For now, all you need to know is in all the books that are free for everyone to use." Came the librarian's reply as though he were scolding a young schoolboy.

Stephen looked at Wong for a moment, "Not even one page?"

"No."

The ex-doctor sighed. Perhaps later he would use the portals to grab one. It worked before so surely it would work again. He just needed to find a new music artist to distract Wong with other than Beyoncé...perhaps Madonna would suffice?

"The books will be charmed as of tonight." He warned the sorcerer, his eyes narrowing.

"Wong, I just don't want to teach. The sanctums already have many, many good masters and barons and teachers - why should I become a teacher?" Stephen now argued to the librarian as he walked over to the table where Wong was stood.

Wong looked at him in all seriousness, "Do you not remember what the Ancient One told you? It is not all about you - "

Stephen interrupted, exasperated, "I'm not saying that it is - I just want to read the books!"

A glare practically crept across Wong's face which quickly silenced the sorcerer, "As a sorcerer of such high calibre, you should consider it your mystic duty to teach an elite class of sorcerers to protect the sanctums." He paused, making sure that Stephen was still listening, "And it would give you something better to do instead of bother me in the library all the time."

That was when Stephen noticed a book on the desk that he definitely didn't recognise the cover of and reached out to take it when Wong smacked his hand away and grabbed the book himself with a frown. Stephen looked shocked at his friend's actions and looked at him with his mouth a tiny bit agape in surprise. Protectively, Wong clutched the book in his hand and stared down the sorcerer:

"If you want to read this book, take some of the students and teach them – call it a trial run."

"Wong - "

"Do you want to read the book?"

Stephen opened his mouth to talk but then, wisely, closed it again and grumbled under his breath, "Fine, but don't ex - "

Before he could finish, there was a resounding crash from the upper floor that sent shuddering shockwaves throughout the structure. Stephen steadied himself by grabbing the side of the desk, but his gaze met with Wong's in worry.

"You go check what happened, I'll check on the others." Wong instructed Stephen.

Both men hurried out of the library, each going a separate way.

* * * * *

Tessa stood in the training room, legs shoulder-width-the-part, eyes closed as she had the morning before. The only differences this time were the fact that she was training alone for the first time in forever and that she was training while enduring a migraine for the first time. She sighed, trying to relax and ease her body into a state of calm.

Breathe in, breathe out, repeat.

The sorceress continued this breathing exercise for a moment before she felt confident enough to start using her sorcery. Peace radiated from the room but the ache in her head continued. The faster she could focus, she thought, the faster she could move on to distracting herself and working through the pain.

She formed a triangle with her hands, forcing her hands out in front of her before drawing them upward. Yelping, she faltered as a bolt of agony hit her head.

Free me.

Eyes widening at the whispery voice of again, she spun, looking around her but seeing no one. Tessa breathed out a shaky breath and shook her head – she wasn't going to give into this, not like before. She could work through this, she knew she could. Fighting not to grasp and cradle her head with her hands, she returned to her spot in the centre of the room, starting all over again.

Breathe in, breathe out, repeat.

Let me out.

Ignoring the voice, she continued forming the pattern in the air with her hands until she saw those glorious golden sparks hanging suspended in front of her. A smirk reached her lips. She knew she could do it; she just had to focus and ignore the distraction. The charm on the wooden walls meant that the room was sound proofed, so the whispers had to be a trick of the mind – too much time spent alone this year, she thought to herself. She had to get out more but first, she would train. No, she wouldn't give up easily. She would persevere and prove her Uncle wrong.

Free. Me.

The golden sparks, to her curious horror, were consumed by a shadow like appearance. She paused her motions, flummoxed by what had just happened and analytically took in the newer sorcery in front of her.

"What the hell?" She breathed.

Raising her hand, she reached out to touch the fluctuating smoke-like magic. As her hand neared it, the magic seemed to slink its way around her arm. Tessa touched it, fascinated, but it felt like nothing, well, not nothing. It felt...powerful to wield but light to hold. She touched it again, amazed by how it truly acted like smoke yet returned to its stringy form, but as she moved her finger away the second time, the smoke swiftly seeped into her skin, causing a shriek to erupt from her lungs and the pain in her head to become far greater than what she had experienced before.

In shock, she stumbled around, holding her head as an expression of pure agony plastered itself to her face. She doubled over, her own body unsure of what to do in such a situation but as she threw her head back up, eyes squeezed shut, mouth still releasing a scream, she threw her arms out to her sides too, where she felt a tingling sensation emanate from her fingertips. Her knees buckled and she found herself doubled over on the floor, sobs wracking her body as she tugged at her hair, pleading for relief from the pressure inside her head.

Let me be free.

"Tessa!"