Fandom Imagines and Preferences II

Dani Clayton- Weakness (c)

The Haunting of Bly Manor One Shot

Since Dani had come to work at Bly Manor, you had become rather fond of her. It was clear to you that she was running from something, but it wasn't your place to ask questions and you would wait until she was ready to tell you, if that ever happened. Even if you didn't know much about her, beyond what she was willing to tell you, you were just glad to have her in your life and would do what you could to make her feel welcome in Bly.

You had joined her in her room, whilst the kids were helping Owen bake a cake, giving her a break from her duties as their au pair. Work was a constant at the manor, so it was a nice treat when your daily duties were relieved for a moment.

"I can drive us to town," you offered. "There's not much there but I can give you a tour."

Dani turned back to you with a gentle smile. "Let me finish getting ready and then I would love that."

She turned her attention back to the vanity in her room. She rummaged through the top drawer to find the earrings she wished to wear. Once she found them, she looked up into the mirror to help her put them in, but she paused. At first you didn't notice but when she dropped the earrings as she dug her nails into the wood of the vanity, you couldn't ignore what was going on.

"You alright?" You asked.

Her breathing hastened as she stumbled back from the mirror, tripping over the leg of the chair that was pushed up to the vanity and falling to the ground. You jumped up to assist her.

You crouched down beside her, asking her if she was okay again but she didn't respond, only silently crying, her eyes darting around the room as though she was trying to find something. You weren't sure what you were meant to do, so just wrapped your arms around her until the shaking and erratic breathing settled enough for you to ask her questions.

"What's going on?" You asked softly, having never seen her react in such a manner in the short time that you had known her.

"I- I keep seeing things... things that aren't there," she croaked.

"What do you mean?"

She hesitated. "Every time I look in the mirror, I see him... I see Edmund just before he died. I see his face with the headlights distorting him. I... I don't know what to do... I don't know how to stop feeling this fucking weak."

You had no idea who Edmund was or what had happened to him but now was not the time to ask, you just had to focus on what she had been comfortable enough to tell you and work with that.

"It's okay, Dani," you reassured her. "It's going to be okay. We are going to get through this, but you need to see that you aren't weak. You are so incredibly brave to tell me this and see that you want to change things. It will be okay."

She didn't say anymore, leaning her forehead against your shoulder, letting you embrace her until she felt safe once more.

~*~

Written by Charlotte.

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