I wake from another dream of him. Of the young man I have loved and lost. I roll over on my side to look at the morning of the new day. My roommate, Kathleen Fitzgerald sits on her bed watching me.

"Good morning, Gemma," she says cheerfully. I sit up and swing my feet to the ground.

"Good morning," I reply back as I stand. I silently gather my clothes, soap, and shampoo. I unlock the door and head for the baths. Ever since I came to one of the lady's universities in New York about a month ago, my dreams of Kartik have become more and more frequent. There were mornings when I awoke with tears on my face, but the tears eventually stopped. Still, the ache is there. I lift myself from the tub and rub the wet from my body with a towel. The university I have chosen is actually quite liberal, but the headmistress firmly enforces that we start each day with a bath. I bundle my long, red gold curls up into the towel to give them a chance to dry while I dress. Even though I have stopped wearing my corset, I still wear skirts. Perhaps I cannot part with them as easily as my friend Felicity did. The headmistress allows us to dress as we like, say the things we want, and do what we please, provided that our choices do not interfere too much with our abilities to learn. I let down my hair and pull a comfortable, cotton blue dress over my head. I fasten the buttons and set to work on brushing out my tangled, damp curls. They eventually settle down and I put part of my hair back with the tortoiseshell comb Felicity gave me for Christmas. I still wear my mother's amulet even though it is battered. I slide my feet into shoes and carry my things back to my room. Kathleen has opened the curtains and sunlight streams in through the windows. I put my bathroom things away and start making my bed.

"You kept saying a name over and over in your sleep for a while last night," Kathleen says to me.

"I did?"

"Yes, you kept saying the name Kartik. Who's Karitk?"

I shake my head, but she does not press me. That is one of the things I like about Kathleen. She doesn't force me to talk about myself. I in return, do not force anything from her, though I highly doubt that Kathleen has secrets to match my own. She is very quiet, but sweet. She is also quite lovely with naturally black, wavy hair and large dark blue eyes. I finish making my bed and turn to her.

"Shall we go to breakfast?" I ask. Kathleen nods and smiles at me. I find that I am able to return her smile. We pin our straw hats on. The university has quite a few buildings. There is the building that all the girls live in, the place where we eat our meals, and then there are the academic buildings. I lock the door and Kathleen and I walk through the silent hallway. She is looking at my necklace. I catch her eye and she grins.

"Your necklace is lovely, Gemma. A bit battered, but still lovely," she says.

"Thank you," I say. We are silent for the rest of the walk to the dining hall. The warm breeze and sun dry my hair. I unpin my hat to let the rest of it catch the warmth. It is like a kiss and I grin like an idiot when I think about the kisses Kartik and I have shared. When we arrive at the dining hall, my hair is a bit blowsy, but it is not bad. Kathleen and I sit down and start putting food on our plates.

"Goodness Gemma. Your hair looks like a lion's mane," Doris Eddington says to me. Her acolytes laugh cruelly. Doris would be lovely if it wasn't for her unfortunately large nose.

"Doris, your nose is so large that I can't see your eyes," I return sweetly. Doris glares at me with her cold gray eyes and then she turns her sandy brown head to whisper something to another girl. Even though I will soon be seventeen and a young woman, I still find myself in petty quarrels with her. She reminds me of Cecily, Elizabeth, and Martha all rolled into one person. But I shan't let her bother me. I have found a friend in Kathleen and another girl named Marie Gardinier. However, I do not share my knowledge of the realms with them nor do I take them there. That place only belongs to me, Ann, and Felicity. I have kept a correspondence with them through letters. Felicity writes of her life among the bohemians while Ann tells me all about her life of the stage. I write them about the university and all of my doings there. I do not know what will become of my education here. Perhaps I will be a writer or a painter. But one thing is for certain. I will always be part of the realms. And tonight, I plan to meet my friends there again.

A/n: I know that I don't have much dialogue in this first chapter, but there will be plenty in the second chapter. I also don't own anything. If I did, I would have kept Kartik. Please review! Kirsten