My Heart Will Go On
Chapter 1: Departure
The sun shone down on Southampton Harbor, as thousands of people bustled on the streets, in this famous shipbuilding city. Since the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic, there had been another beautiful ship built to honor her. This one wasn't as beautiful, or large but it still carried the grace the ship before her had. The 15,000 men that had built her had been ordered to make her hull out of steel, instead of iron, a more flexible material. There had also been an order to increase the number of lifeboats aboard. Because the deck space was smaller on this ship, there were now 24 lifeboats, instead of 16. The men that had constructed the plans to build this leviathan had thought this would be enough. There were thousands of people waiting to board the ship, Arcetannia, but there were also thousands of people who were there to watch the launching of this royal ship. People of all ages, crowded around the massive docks, to watch it finally take wing. Every person on the ground wanted some how a last minute chance to board this dream ship and they were willing to do anything for it.
Among these people were two boys, who had been through everything in life. Dark Niwa, and Daisuke Niwa, were both from Munich, Germany. They had come here to witness the great ship pull off from the ports. Both wished they could be aboard,
"Brother? What time does it leave?" Daisuke asked his brother, Dark, who was now 18,
"Ahh, I think at noon. It's 11:14 right now. Leaves in about 40 minutes." Dark explained. Their dress composed of normal clothing any boy who lived in this town would wear: a pair of dress slacks, and a tan vest, with a white collar under shirt. Brown shoes with black laces covered his feet. The same went for Daisuke. They stood among the thousands of people; unaware of the journey they were about to commence.
On the opposite side of the crowd, there were many fancy horse drawn carriages, and royal 1900 cars that carried wealthy first class passengers to their destinations. In a black Foed, a chauffer got out of the drivers seat, to escort a young lady of 16 out of the vehicle. She had a large, white hat that shielded her head, and delicate black hair from the harmful rays of the sun. A large red bow was wrapped around the hat, following that, a small cluster of yellow flowers. Her skin was fair, and her eyes, the prettiest feature on her body. They were blue, and kind. They also looked like they belonged to a girl who had seen a great deal of pain in her past. Her attire consisted of a black suit top, with a white collar. The pocket was also outlined with white lace, the bottom the same. She held a parasol, lace tracing around the edges. She looked up from the brim of her hat, her critical eyes looking over every aspect of the ship that she would soon board.
"I don't see what the big deal is. The Titanic was the splendor, not this." She said, as she scorned at her fiancée, Krad Hiwatari.
"Why do you always have to be so critical, darling? You know this is what they made to honor the disaster. The least you could do is acknowledge it." Krad told her, nodding and smiling at her mother, Ellen. She was an aged lady, about 50. This would be her last journey across the ocean. After 20 years of going back and forth, she would stay in America for good this time.
"Oh, mother, why must you always agree with him?" The young lady asked, looking over at her mother
"Mind Krad, dear, he is smart, and has a good future in store for you." Ellen said a slight grin on her face. The young ladies name was Rin, and she was about to embark on a journey, that would change her life, both for the good, and bad of things.
On the other side of port, Dark and Daisuke were standing outside a cigar shop. There were young boys inside the shop yelling and screaming about something, obviously very important.
"Come on Sid! You can do better than that!" One boy shouted, slamming his fist against the table.
"Come on, Dai" Dark said, and brought his younger brother into the shop. It reeked of beer, and cigar, but Dark didn't care. He had to find out what all of the commotion was about.
Inside, there was a mahogany table, with two chairs on each side. They were currently being filled with two young boys, both with fire in their eyes, and sweat on their brow. In the middle, was a collection of money, and two pieces of paper. Both of them said: 'R.M.S. Arcetannia. The bearer of this ticket is allowed admission into the ship before 12 noon on September 18, 1927.' Darks' eyes grew wide.
Both boys took each other's hand from the opposite side of the table, and threw glares.
"Come on! You can do it!" Boys from around the table cheered. It was over, before it had begun. The first boy's hand slammed to the table.
"Ahh, so it's a contest of strength, huh? I'm going in." Dark grinned, his eyes filled with determination.
"Brother?" Daisuke asked, questioning Dark.
"I'll win, I have this automail, and no one's been able to beat it." Dark grinned, and went up to the table, and sat down. One more win for this other boy, and he would get the tickets. He had been playing all morning. If Dark won, he would get the tickets. He glared at his opponent.
"1…" A boy said in the middle, somewhat like a referee.
"2…" Dark tensed, "three!" The boy shouted and his fist on the table.
"Come on brother! Go!" Daisuke shouted as his brother grabbed the other boys' hand in attempt to bring it down on the table. At first Dark was shocked at how strong the young boy had been. He had won nine wins that morning. If Dark won this one, he would be on his way to America. Dark had his gloves on so no one could tell if he was using automail. He wasn't cheating, automail was just built to withstand more. He would just take longer to tire.
For a moment, the two boys were at a tie. Daisuke shouted, and slammed the table,
"Come on, Dark!"
The boy across from Dark, in whom he was going against, began to sweat.
"You'll never win…" He said, trying to grin. He was losing.
"Maybe not…but I'll sure a hell try!" Dark said, and as he did, he threw a menacing grin. He slammed the boys' fist down onto the wooden table. Daisuke hadn't known what had been at stake. Dark looked at Daisuke, in shock, and the boy across the table. He rose, and began to yell.
"Dai…" Dark said, a smile forming on his face, almost unbelieving. He grabbed the two tickets on the table, grinning wildly.
"We just won two tickets to America!" Dark shouted; his voice filled with excitement.
"Brother, are you serious?" Daisuke exclaimed, him to now grinning with excitement
"We're goin to America!" Dark shouted, almost ecstatic,
"You better hurry, boys, Arcetannia leaves in five minutes!" The clerk said, as he warned the boys, while polishing a wine glass. Daisuke and Dark both looked at each other in panic.
"Come on!" Dark grabbed the shirtsleeve of his brother, and pulled him out of the tiny shop,
"Coming!" Daisuke exclaimed
They ran towards the crowds, which were now less full than before; most of the people had already boarded the ship. They ran towards the third class gangway, and up the rail. On the way, a crewman stopped them,
"Cutting it kind of close, aren't we?" The man asked, and smiled.
"Yeah I know!" Dark said, wanting to hurry up onto the great ship. The crewman smiled and took the tickets, inspected them, and let them through,
"Welcome aboard, Arcetannia." The man said, a smile on his face, his voice full of pride. They walked up to the gangway, and onto the main deck, where he could see the whole crowd.
Meanwhile, Rin was walking up the first class gangway. She looked to her side, to see the now hundreds of people waving to them. She waved to a little girl who had been smiling and waving at her. She then walked into the first class boarding room, where a crewman took her bags.
"Thank you," She said, a clam tone to her voice. She did not smile.
Dark and Daisuke rushed up to the fence of the ship, and began waving wildly, smiling to everyone down below.
"Brother, you know someone down there?" Daisuke questioned.
"Nope! But I'm just waving! Everyone else is doing it!" Dark exclaimed
"Alright then," Dai said, and began to wave. Dark looked at his watch: 12:00 Departure time.
The people below them waved, ladies waving their handkerchiefs, and men waving their bowler hats.
Down below, engineers shouted,
"Full speed ahead!" The great engines, each as long as a one and half story house, solid steel, and each weighing 1,000 tons, roared and began to come to life, as they rotated back and forth, building momentum. Soon they chugged like the pistons of a locomotive. The Arcetannia was coming to life. She pulled out of the dock, men and women waving to her as she departed, leaving hundreds of men and women on the grounds of Southampton.
"Brother…this is so awesome…"Dai said, as he leaned over the railing, to look at the ground they were covering. And it truly was amazing. No being ever felt as powerful, as to be on the decks of one of the White Star Line's magnificent ships.
Below decks, a crewman had escorted Rin along with her mother and Krad, to her first class suite. The room was adorned with royalty, the curtains lace, and the furniture crush velvet, with oak frames. The walls were mahogany colored, and had small engravings on them. Only the finest had constructed this ship.
Crewman unpacked her luggage, and personal items that would decorate her stateroom. Elegant paintings by famous artists were hung on the wall by trusting crewman.
"Please sir, by careful of that one. It was my father's." Rin warned one of them.
"To be assured miss, you objects will receive only the finest care here in our hands." The man assured her, and smiled.
"I told her that they would serve no purpose, but she insisted on bringing them." Elizabeth told the crewman, smiling a bit in mockery.
"Yes, she always has been a bit stubborn that way." Krad commented. Rin shot a glare at him. For a first class girl of 16, she was nothing short of proper, for that was the way she had been brought up, but there was something else inside her. Something that wanted to break free, and see the world.
Krad was a businessman, who cared very much about the value of money. Rin sometimes felt that he cared more about that than her.
On the decks, Dark and Daisuke had begun to go down to their stateroom. It would be far from a suite. They had won the tickets, which were third class, which wasn't royalty, but it was far from bad. It was very good accommodations for a third class residence.
"Okay…it says we have room A-23. Let's go." Dark said, as he motioned for his brother to follow him down the portside stairs.
Down below, there were dozens of people scurrying, trying to find their rooms. Soon, they found their room. They opened the door, and to their surprise, it was quite nice. There were bunk beds with pure white sheets. There were also another three people who were staying in the room, a woman with her two children. She looked up as they came in, and smiled
"Hello, are you two the boys who were assigned to this stateroom with us?" The lady asked. Dark smiled. The women had a kind face, but you could tell she had been poor. The clothes her two children wore were old, and tattered.
"Yes, I believe we are!" Daisuke said, politely. He was happy to know the two people he would be staying with on this trip besides his brother, were friendly.
"Well you seem nice. I'm Sarah, and these are my two children, Nichole and Gabriel." She said, introducing her daughter and son. Daisuke smiled, and squatted down in front of the two children, who were up to his waist. They smiled, and looked a bit shy.
"Nice to meet you guys, you both excited?" He asked,
"Yeah, we are!" The little girl, Nichole exclaimed, a little more brave than her brother, Gabriel smiled, and nodded. Dark then bent down. He reached into his pocket, and felt around until he felt some loose change. He brought out two dimes, and held one in each hand, to the two children. Their faces brightened up with glee, as they watched him hold the money,
"Here you guys go. Now, don't spend them till you get off of the ship." Dark said, as he smiled, and handed them a nickel each. They politely took the money, and as soon as it was in their grasp, they held it up towards the light, as if to signify in some was that it was really real. This was most likely the most money they had ever received. Dark patted the little girls head, and Daisuke patted the boys' head, and then stood up.
"Oh, thank you so much, I don't know what to say…I…" Sarah said, smiling, her voice rang with gratefulness.
"You're welcome, it was no problem." Daisuke said, Dark following suit.
"Children, what do you say?" Sarah looked at them expectantly. They looked up at the brothers.
"Thank you very much!" They said, glee in their voice. Daisuke and Dark smiled to each other, Dark holding a thumb up. Although they had won two tickets to board one of the finest ships in the world, this they knew, had the potential to change both of their lives, forever. And it did.