The Maiden's Dragon

Vivienne

Vivienne knocked lightly on the office door, peeking in at the woman behind the desk.  She could see heels kicked off under the desk and the woman's fingers tapped lightly across her keyboard.  Blonde hair was coiled behind her head, porcelain skin an almost unhealthy pale, despite the understated makeup and light colors to disguise it.  The woman looked up at the knock, smiling in question.

"Hello.  Dr. Moon?  I'm sorry to interrupt.  I don't have an appointment, and your secretary is..."

The woman leaned back in her chair.  "Theo went to lunch.  Call me Katty.  And you must be Vivienne.  Come in, have a seat.  I must say, I wasn't expecting you quite so soon."

Vivienne slowly slipped into the office.  There was something strange about this woman, though her kind eyes and open smile made her personable enough.  "You were expecting me?"

Katty nodded.  "Harry called me.  Gave me a basic run down of the situation.  From what I understand, he told you some things you aren't quite sure how to deal with?"

Vivienne nodded, sinking down to sit on the edge of one of the chairs situated in front of Katty's desk.  "That's putting it mildly."

Smiling, Katty settled back in her seat, fingers lacing together across her stomach.  "So what can I do for you?"

Vivienne frowned.  "You mean Red didn't-  I thought you said he told you what he-"  She stopped, irritated and lost and wanting answers.

"He told me what he told you, yes.  And I have no problem explaining that, if you wish.  But I don't think you misunderstood what Harry told you.  I think you've got questions about things that are...adjacent...to whatever Harry told you about."

Vivienne blew out a breath, half a smile tugging at her mouth.  "You're good."

Katty grinned.  "Thank you."

Settling back a bit in her seat, Vivienne pressed her fingers to her temples, massaging a couple times.  "When he started talking about soulmates, it was...  I guess it resonated?  ...is the right word?  I mean, the concept isn't foreign to me of course.  But I never put much stock in it.  It was something for fairytales and fanfics, right?"

Katty chuckled, nodding in understanding.

"But when he explained it, it all made sense.  I can believe in it.  I really like Red, have since I first met him, and he hasn't done anything to change my mind for the worse.  Even after all the weird talk.  The reincarnation bit is what really got to me."

"Why's that?"

"Because I've been having strange dreams.  Long before I met Red.  As a kid I had nightmares about my house burning down and my entire family dying in the blaze.  The fire nightmares finally ended with a really terrifying one where I was being burned at the stake.  But I didn't stop having weird dreams.  About Dragons and big black wolves.  Knights and soldiers.  Witches and strange spells and people trying to kidnap me.  And the longer Red talked the more images kept popping into my head.  Memories that weren't mine."

Katty quietly regarded Vivienne for a moment.  "That scared you because they weren't yours?  Or because they are yours and you can't explain how?"

Vivienne grit her teeth, shaking her head helplessly as she sat fully back in her chair, slouching with her wrists draped across the rests.  "I don't know.  You think these dreams are really old memories?"

Katty sighed, lifting her laced fingers up to her mouth and pressing against her lips as she thought.  She swiveled her chair a little, back and forth in an easy sway.  When she seemed to come to a decision, she dropped her hands back into her lap and faced her chair towards Vivienne.  "Reincarnated souls aren't really my specialty.  They're rare, for one thing.  And hard to be sure of unless the soul's new incarnation finds their way back to an immortal who can tell for sure.  This is, of course, assuming they knew an immortal in their past life.  Not that many left that are as old as Harry."