A/N: written for prompt 18 of the Sappho Fragments prompt challenge at femslashficlets.
"Shh, child, everything will be okay." The governess stroked Irene's hair, allowed her tears to soak her cotton dress as she rocked Irene gently. Her British accent was soft, a comforting reminder that in two months, her parents would return on a ship and life too would return to normal. "It was just a dream. Your mind is playing tricks on you."
She sniffed, lifting one hand and wiping her eyes with the back of it. "Then why did it feel so real?"
She'd fallen to her knees, begged her not to leave, pleaded for the redheaded woman to come back. She didn't understand the why or how, just that 'something happened' and the woman with hair like fire was walking away. If it was 'just a dream' then why was she so shaken? Nightmares disturbed her with burning skies and automatons, yet pleasant dreams seemed to make her wary. The cruelties of the world had not escaped her notice.
"Dreams always do."
She blinked, lifting her head and meeting the governess's gaze. She was here to teach her to be a proper lady, and that was all. It was Bess's job to question things and remind her of her place in society, Irene told herself. She did what she was paid to do. "But what if it's not a dream?"
"Nonsense. The things you see when asleep are dreams."
A dream didn't explain the ache in her chest, or the phantom sensations she felt when putting her hand on the doorknob; nor why she saw the woman's reflection in the mirror every time she checked her own. Nothing could explain why the woman in her dreams had blue skin, or why she was naked every time they were brought together. That was the true mystery waiting to be solved.
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