Chapter one
09-04-1912
Enzo was standing by the window. From a distance he could see the young girl walking alongside her brother in the huge estate that belonged to his father and one day would be his. That is if he would go through with it. Marrying the girl was something he never desired. When they first were introduced a few months ago he thought of her nothing more than a vain and spoiled girl. Getting to know her these past few months didn't change that. But it did allow him to see that there were other qualities to her as well. Rebekah was extremely loyal, especially towards her brothers and in her own way kind to the people she considered her friends. Those qualities compensated the lesser ones in her character, but for him it wasn't enough. Not enough to love her. He always knew that he could never marry for love. That with his family status, the duty befell on him to marry a girl with a good family name. Or in this case with a big wallet.
His father was the proud owner of a large estate. An estate that would be his one day alongside all of the responsibilities coming with it. But unfortunately over the years his father made a lot of bad investments witch brought him a lot of debts. Without the money to pay of his debts losing the estate would be inevitable. There was only one way for his family to get out of this mess now and that was for Lorenzo or Enzo, as his mother always called him, to marry a wealthy girl so the debts could be paid. Before this news came to Enzo he always declined his father's suggestions for suitable wives, but now he couldn't anymore. It's not that he desired to run his families estate one day. But he couldn't bear the consequences the situation would have for his mother.
A few weeks after Enzo's father broke down the news about their unfortunate situation the wedding between Lorenzo St. John and Rebekah Mikaelson was already arranged. Her family was in the complete opposite situation. The Mikaelson's where what was called new money. Mikael Mikaelson gathered himself a fortune from scratch. After he died the eldest still living son Elijah took over the family business. And if there was one thing Elijah desired more than anything it was a high reputation and status for his family. This was something money couldn't buy, but only to be achieved by marrying into a family with a well-respected name. In other words the St. John family had the name, while the Mikaelson family had the money. And thus was a marriage between Enzo and Rebekah the only suitable solution.
But for him it was a nightmare. Although he came to respect Rebekah more over time he knew that she couldn't make him happy. Her character didn't fit his. Witch was something he knew Rebekah didn't agree with. He knew she was quite eager to marry him. She was a girl who loved so easily. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her because he was sure in the long run he couldn't make her happy.
His mother unlike his father was a kind and loving woman. As she approached Enzo she took his hand. No words where needed because she felt the struggle of his son. She couldn't take away his suffering. She hated what was happening and so the only reasonable thing for Enzo to do was to make sure she knew he had made peace with the situation. And that is exactly what he said to her even though it was the only lie he ever told her. She didn't needed to know the truth, especially the fact that she was the only reason for him to go through with the marriage.
He was enjoying the moment alone he had with his mother. Tomorrow he would seek passage to America alongside his fiancé and her two brothers Klaus and Elijah. The Mikaelson's had their respective businesses in London and New York. The late Mikael Mikaelson had set his main headquarters in New York and most of the money he owned was tied up in businesses over there. To get the money for Rebekah's dowry they had to go to New York. When Enzo's father found out Rebekah was to accompany her two brothers and thus he arranged for Enzo to go as well. He told Enzo that he wanted for him to accompany them so that he could make sure the Mikaelson's would held up there end of the deal. But Enzo knew that his father wanted for him to spend time with Rebekah. He feared his son wouldn't go through with the Marriage. And he wasn't entirely unjustified.
09-04-2012
It was still early in the morning when Bonnie woke up. Her back was sore because of the thin mattress she was forced to sleep on every single night. She gathered her clothes and put them on as quickly as she could. She ran towards the kitchen and grabbed a small pies of old bread. She knew she was late for work. It was 4:40 in the morning and work started at five. She would eat while she ran down the streets toward the factory. By 5:05 am she arrived and another hard day of labor awaited her. She envied her best friend Caroline who lived in the same neighborhood as Bonnie and her mother. It was a neighborhood in one of the poorest streets of Liverpool, witch someone rarely escaped from. But Caroline Forbes was one of the lucky few. She got herself a job as a maid at the White star line company and she was already going away tomorrow. April tenth was the day the largest steam ship ever build, the Titanic, would go on her maiden voyage. And it was the day Caroline would say farewell to her old live working in a factory in horrible circumstances.
Bonnie wasn't that fortunate. She dreamed about going with Caroline together, but instead she was stuck. And she was unaware that her day would get a lot worse. At 10:15 she was summoned in her boss's office. As she was standing there waiting for him to speak she became more frightened of the outcome by the minute. She knew from experience that being summoned wasn't a good thing. And she was right. Apparently it came to his ears that she was five minutes late this morning. And there was one thing he couldn't tolerate. Workers who didn't respect his rules. "Your wages for this week are being cut" he scolded. "But sir" Bonnie cried "if I don't get payed this week we cannot pay the rent". Bonnie looked at her boss but it was useless. She was told to get back to her work if she didn't want to lose her job. That was all she could do. The rest of the day she fought back her tears and when it was finally time to go home she couldn't.
She couldn't face her mother with this news so she went into the pub and bought herself a meal with the last bit of money she had. After it was finished she began to walk the streets. Finally stopping when she somehow found herself in the harbor. There she saw it for the first time in her live, the Titanic. It was massive and very imposing. The most beautiful ship she ever saw. As she was admiring the wonder that was called the Titanic she was approached by someone. "Bonnie" a gentle voice full of excitement yelled. When Bonnie turned around she saw Caroline approaching her. "Bonnie have you heard the news" Caroline screamed. Bonnie looked at Caroline but she couldn't bring herself to ask what her best friend meant. "Another maid has gotten ill this morning and now they are desperately looking for a replacement". Bonnie knew where Caroline was going with this so she shut her down immediately. She couldn't go and leave her mother behind.
Caroline wasn't impressed with Bonnie declining her. "Don't you worry about that. I already made arrangements with my mother. She's gonna let your mother live with her so you can go with me". The next thing she knew Caroline grabbed her arm and dragged her away. They went straight towards the office of the man responsible for hiring the staff of the White star line company. And they couldn't have come at a better timing. He had no luck in hiring a replacement yet and Caroline was wonderful in pitching why Bonnie was the best to hire for the post.
He looked at Bonnie realizing the girl had a poor background and probably zero experience working as a maid. And this caused quite the dilemma for him. He couldn't hire anybody who just came waltzing in here begging for a job, but the Titanic was set to go on her journey towards America tomorrow. And thus he caved. "She is your responsibility" he said to Caroline. "You will teach her everything she needs to know and if she makes one mistake I hold you responsible". Caroline agreed to the terms at once and was still thanking him as they left his office.
Caroline went on and on as the where walking towards the Titanic about how great it was that Bonnie was going with her. The only downside according to Caroline was that Bonnie was forced to work second class while she was working first class. But Bonnie was already overjoyed by the fact that she too had escaped the hell of working in the factory. And when she finally set foot on the Titanic she was overwhelmed by all of the beauty she saw. It hit her all at once that her life would change for the better.
Caroline took Bonnie by the hand guiding her trough the huge maze inside the ship. Finally they reached a small closet where the outfits for the employees where stored and Caroline handed her her new uniform. She helped Bonnie put it on and she couldn't stop talking about all the things Bonnie needed to know. After that was done Caroline continued with how blessed she was to work in first class. Amongst others she was assigned to clean the suites of the Mikaelson Family. And that of the fiancé of Rebekah Mikaelson, Lorenzo St John. "They must be one of the richest people on this ship" Caroline claimed. Although Bonnie was happy for Caroline being this excited about cleaning those particularly suites, she couldn't see what she would gain from it. She would never be more than a maid to those people.