Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne. I only own three characters I made up—Anna, Elizabeth and John.
Chapter 1: All Aboard!
April 10, 1912
It was known as the ship of dreams. When Hitomi Kanzaki first heard that about the ship she laughed and said that people who call it that have never seen a ship.
Now, standing here and seeing the ship for itself, she realized that what the people said was a considerable understatement and she was very wrong.
At 882 feet in length and 92 feet in breadth the RMS Titanic stood a giant compared to the people and their small boats in the harbor.
Hitomi stared in awe at the magnificent ship and its beauty. She wondered how long it took to build such a gigantic structure. Probably years, she thought.
"Hitomi! You can't stare at the boat all day. It's leaving in 15 minutes. You gotta get on it some time!", said an exasperated Yukari, who was her best friend. They had met when they were both 11 years old and practically on the streets. Now, 5 years later they're leaving Britain to go to America, where dreams come true.
Running with Yukari towards Mamoru, Hitomi's older brother, and Amano, Yukari's fiancé, Hitomi cried with joy, "I'm so excited! Can you imagine what it's like inside? It must be the most luxurious boat in the world! I hear it's unsinkable! And we're traveling on it! Ahh… somebody pinch me… ow! That hurt!" she exclaimed when Yukari followed her command.
Yukari simply giggled as a response.
Amano said, "Where'd you hear it's unsinkable? No ship on earth is unsinkable they're just trying to make money".
"It's true! Everyone says so! Do you really think that a ship like this could actually sink? I highly doubt it!" she retorted.
Mamoru decided to cut in. He turned his head and grinned. "Tomi I hope you're not like this the whole trip or you'll give me a headache".
"Aww, my poor older and much wiser brother. Don't worry, I think the novelty will wear off", she responded.
"I hope so. You're always excited about something", he said with a sigh.
They reached the ramps with rails that went across the water and lead to the different decks of the ship. Of course theirs didn't go up because everyone knew that the lower classes were on lower decks. The ramps that lead to higher classes went up.
"There's nothing wrong with a little excitement in one's life."
Mamoru chose to reply with a snort.
Hitomi ignored that when she realized that they were at the entrance to their deck.
"Tickets please", a steward said with no hint of emotion in his voice.
"There ya go. That's four 3rd class tickets right there." Amano handed him the tickets.
"Alright, come on then. Your rooms are both on E Deck. Your room numbers are on these papers here." He handed one sheet of paper to Mamoru and another to Yukari. "Enjoy your trip." Once they were out of sight of the steward they all raced up to the promenade deck.
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"This is terribly exhausting. Making us walk all the way up this ramp just to reach our deck. Our room better be worth all this walking", Anna Clavari said in an annoyed tone.
Van Fanel chuckled. "If you're going to be complaining this entire trip we might as well drop you off at the harbor".
She flushed. "Of course not! Merle, Dryden, aren't you going to contribute a comment to this conversation?"
Dryden kept silent. However, Merle chose to respond by saying "It's true but don't worry, we wouldn't make you walk down this ramp again… we'll simply chuck you into the water", she snickered.
Anna snorted. "Ha…ha…ha, very funny! In case you haven't noticed we're at the entrance. Dryden, you have the tickets alors (therefore in French) give them to this young man here", she gestured to the steward waiting patiently at the door.
"Of course milady". Dryden bowed and handed the man the tickets. The steward went to the side to allow them by.
"Welcome aboard the RMS Titanic. We hope you enjoy your stay in one of the most luxurious suites of first class". The steward explained where their rooms were.
Once he was finished Dryden smiled and said, "Thank you my good man!". Once they began walking along the corridors he said, I'll see you all soon, I'm going to join Allen and Millerna at our suite while you three go to your own". When he was finished he left in the opposite direction.
"Well! This place is like a maze! Who knows when we'll find our room", Merle sighed.
It took them very little time to find their room considering Merle's remark.
Their room was a perfect example of what the Titanic represented. Luxury was the exact word. Once they entered the suite they came upon a large living room with a beautiful decorative marble fireplace and oak paneling along the room. There were three bedrooms each with their own private baths with marble sinks, a trunk room, a private parlor, a dining room, a study and a private promenade deck. Each room was well lit and designed in a variety of historical styles. In many of the rooms there were gimbal lamps made with silver plated copper alloy.
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There was a knock at the door. "Come-" Merle shouted and stopped when the door flew open. Millerna Aston entered followed by Allen Schezar and Dryden.
"Oooh! This is positively lovely! Isn't it darling?", Millerna said.
"Yes they certainly know what luxury is", Allen responded to his fiancée.
Merle cleared her throat to let her presence be known.
Millerna walked up to Merle and gave her a modest hug and said, "It's wonderful to see you again Merle. Oh, how are you? How is Van? Where is he?" she asked.
"Right here", a voice answered. Van entered the room soon followed by Anna.
Van walked up to Millerna and kissed her hand. Once he released it, he walked up to Allen and shook his. "It's been a long time. How are you two doing?" Van asked.
"Well as most of you know Allen and I are engaged and…" Van tuned out to what she was saying once he heard the first phrase. Yes, but why are you two engaged? He wanted to ask. Everyone knew that Millerna didn't love Allen because another man claimed her heart. This other man happens to be Dryden Fassa, standing only a few feet away from the soon-to-be married couple. Looking at Dryden, Van couldn't tell what he was thinking but you didn't have to look at him to figure it out. Dryden, you better be careful about this. It's not a gamy anymore and Allen is here now. Dryden and Millerna were currently having an affair and have been for almost a year now. The only person Van could think of who didn't know about it was Allen himself.
Why don't you two run away? He thought. Then he realized that they couldn't because Millerna would get no money from her parents and the two would be shunned by high society. Millerna was obviously in an arranged marriage because she wasn't the type to marry someone she didn't love.
When Van finally tuned in to what Millerna was saying she had finished speaking.
Van decided to end the silence and walked over to Anna and introduced her to Allen and Millerna.
"We met in Paris. It turns out that her parents are in New York and she's going to live with them…" Van continued talking about Anna so he wouldn't have to think about his arrival in America and how his parents would react.
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"Goodbye! We'll miss you!" Hitomi waved to the crowd below. Hitomi was a bit forlorn to be leaving Britain. She had lived there for the past ten years. Now she was going to America, a place she knew very little about. It was scary yet exciting. There was a sort of unexplainable rush of going into the unknown.
Suddenly she could feel the ship's motion and it started to turn.
Before Hitomi knew it, the ship was out of the harbor and Yukari was dragging Hitomi with a vice-like grip on her wrist.
"C'mon Hitomi! I want to find our room at some point. You can't stare at the ocean forever!"
Hitomi sighed and said, "Yukari, don't you ever just want to take in what surrounds you for hours?"
Yukari laughed and said, "Hmmm… no".
Hitomi grinned and walked beside her best friend along the corridor.
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"Okay, Hitomi, you and Yukari head in that direction and you should be able to find your room. Just follow the numbers and letters. Amano and I are going this way." Mamoru gestured to the right. "We'll meet you up on deck at the bow. See you soon". Once they left Hitomi and Yukari went in the direction of their room.
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After following Mamoru's directions they found their room and came upon two bunk beds and a bath against the wall with a mirror above it. There were two girls sitting on the left lower bunk with a boy who looked about five years old sitting on one of the girls' laps.
The girl with the little boy had dark brown curly hair that reached just past her shoulders and hazel eyes. She smiled when she saw Hitomi and Yukari. "Hello there, I imagine you're our room mates so I'll introduce myself. I'm Elizabeth. Elizabeth Jarrné. This little chap here is John. Say hello John."
John turned and muffled a hello. He doesn't seem too happy to be here, Hitomi thought.
Elizabeth continued, "This here beside me is Celena Albatou." She pointed towards a girl who looked about 18 with pale blonde curly shoulder-length hair. It was almost white. Celena gave a weak smile.
Yukari spoke up. "Hello I'm Yukari and this is Hitomi."
"Nice to meet you", Hitomi said.
"Likewise", Celena answered.
"Well, we're going to meet some friends of ours. Would you like to join us?" Yukari asked the two girls.
"Oh that's alright. I have to take care of John". Elizabeth sighed.
"And I have to meet my twin brother", Celena said. "I'll see you three later or should I say four. Sorry I forgot about you John. Goodbye." She left.
"Goodbye Elizabeth. Goodbye John", Hitomi and Yukari said together.
Once they closed the door they headed in the direction of the bow.
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They met Mamoru and Amano at the very front of the ship.
"Look at the view!" Hitomi shrieked. "C'mon you guys!" Hitomi was dragging them towards the rail.
They all put their arms around each other and leaned against the rail looking at the ocean. There were immense smiles of content on everyone's faces. Their new journey was about to start.
This is it, Hitomi thought. I'm leaving everything behind and I'm here with my friends and my brother. Nothing can go wrong, she thought. Nothing.
And so the adventure begins…
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To make things clear I'm gonna tell the ages of everyone.
Hitomi- 16
Van- 18
Merle- 19
Mamoru- 20
Yukari- 16
Amano- 18
Anna- 17
Dilandau- 18
Allen- 20
Millerna- 17
Dryden- 21
Celena- 18
Elizabeth- 19
John- 5