Chapter 1

The RMS Titanic, the most luxurious, massive incredible moving object to ever be made, it was said that God himself couldn't sink the ship. It was all the Sarah gabbed about as they sat in the back of the automobile taking them there. Lord could that woman talk, Jack thought to himself starring out the windows. The streets were lined with thousands of people waiting to see the ship set sail. The Second, third and steerage were being put through numerous inspections while first class just waltzed onto the ship. How typical, he thought.

The car came to a smooth halt after rudely beeping their way through the crowd. The door opened for us as Jack took Sarah's hand and stepped out. Holding softly onto her velvet glove his first glance at the ship was nothing but apathy.

"Oh Jack isn't it wonderful!" Sarah's calm quiet voice cheered as she eyed the ship with glamour.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about," Jack said flatly, "it doesn't look any bigger that the . Mauretania"

"Yea can be daft about something Jack but not about Titanic!" Nathan Hockley, Sarah's father's voice came up from behind me, "It's over a hundred feet longer than Mauretania, and far more luxurious."

Nathan turned away to help Jack's mother Ruth out of her car, "your son is far too difficult to impress Mrs. Dawson."

Ruth chuckled nervously; Jack recognized that chuckle well, "so this is the ship they say is unsinkable."

"It's true; God himself could not sink this ship!" Nathan replied as a crew member approached him asking about his bags.

Jack watched the scene between the obscenely rich Nathan and the kind crew member. Nathan, irritated and flustered simply handed him bills and barked orders to make him go away. How rude, Jack thought to himself. How could his mother Ruth expect Jack to bond over his father-in-law to be. Ruth always said he was the ideal man and that Jack should look up to him. What Ruth really wanted was for Jack and Nathan to be close, for Jack to forget all about his other father, his real father. Sarah once again attached to Jack's arm.

"Oh Jack won't this be grand," Sarah said whimsically watching luggage and various other objects being loaded onto the ship, "nothing but open sea out ahead of us and grand parties and dinners every night. This will be a perfect place to plan our wedding."

"Yeah," Jack muttered mustering up a smile, "it'll all be just swell."

"I've always wanted to go on a ship," Sarah said with her strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes glowing in the sunlight, "Haven't you?"

"No, I suppose not," Jack said watching his feet as the climbed up the steps to enter into the higher decks of first class.

This was a lie. Jack remembered the days with his father Fredrick, back what seemed not to long ago when he was standing on this very peer bouncing with excitement with his father by his side watching the Mauretania set sail. How excited he was in his youth at the prospect of setting off on a ship. The romantic idea of seeing the ocean on such a ship, back then Jack fancied the idea of going away on a cruise. His father promised him one day that they, as a family would set off together on such an adventure. Jack supposed that that wasn't the only promise that Fredrick had broken.

Now here Jack was a grown man of eight-teen years, stepping onto a ship that superseded the Mauretania, with adventure at his fingertips and yet he felt as if he were being taken away on a slave ship in chains.

The young maiden named Rose sat on the edge of her seat, watching the men play cards anxiously. Her eyes kept glancing at the clock as the minutes ticked away. The knots in her stomach and the beating of her heart seemed louder than the loud horns that blew on the grand ship just a hundred yards away, floating in the bay. The bar was smoky and filled with curious eyes watching the dreaded card game. Rose was silently cursing her dear friends Tommy and Fabrizio.

Together the three of them pooled together what little money they had left and placed at bet upon this card game with three other men in the bar. The maiden was never feeling very worried with all her money on the card game she had no more means to travel let alone feed herself. Where would she go, what would she eat that night? However the prize, should Tommy or Fabrizio win would be incredible. Or so that was how they sought it.

The card game went on; the clock's echo rounded the bar in anticipation. As the men traded cards around the table, the unfamiliar men talked in an unfamiliar language obviously upset. Rose couldn't blame them; Tommy had talked all three of them into betting the highly priced and desired third class tickets for the Titanic sailing to America. Everyone talked of so much promise in America, plenty of jobs, plenty of opportunities and yet as each tick of the clock echoed off the walls of the bar Rose lost more hope.

"Olaf?" Tommy asked of one of the men.

He disgracefully put his cards onto the table, nothing.

Alright boy," Tommy said calmly, "moment of truth, someone's life is about to change."

"Sven?" Tommy asked eyeing.

The man Sven calmly put his cards down in front of him for Tommy to observed and so did everyone else.

Rose peered over the men's shoulders to catch a glimpse of his cards.

"Uh oh," Tommy said his voice dropping, "Rose, Fabrizio…I'm sorry."

Rose could feel her knotting stomach falling.

"You're sorry?" Fabrizio said outraged beginning some Italian rant but Rose's Italian still needed work.

Tommy cut him off and pulled Rose over to the table, "Rose I'm sorry that you have to quit your job at Kerrigan's and that you won't see your ma for a long time Fabrizio."

The bar was filled with tension and shock as Tommy happily screamed out "Full house boys! We're going to America!"

Tommy's whoops and hollers filled the bar. Even Rose cried out for a momentary joy, but really deep down she thought that it was just from seeing her friends' happiness. The three men who lost the card games began arguing and punching one another in the foreign language.

"I go to America!" Fabrizio cried out happily as he picked up the three tickets handing one to each Rose and Tommy.

"No Titanic go to America!" the bar tender said cleaning the beer glasses, "In five minutes."

"Oh shit!" Tommy said now picking up Rose's and his own duffel bags.

Rose grabbed for the winning money on the table and slid it into her small coin purse and she, Tommy and Fabrizio Joyfully made their way to the ship of Dreams.

"You'll see young Rose," Tommy promised knowing her disposition, "this will be the change of a new life for you I promise!"

In first class the floor were shiny, the chandelier and sparkly and glittery and all of the furbishing was divine. Divinely dull, as Jack thought. He stood in a cluster of the first class all ordering their servants to carry all of their things into their suits. Among them was a woman named Molly Brown. Her husband had struck gold out somewhere out west. She was what Ruth called new money. Jack had seen her a time or two at various parties he was dragged to. He liked her. She was very blunt and honest with herself and everyone around her. Jack wished the others would be more like her.

Trudy, one of Jack's servants was struggling with a large box that she carried. Jack recognized what was in it and intended to keep one of its contents hidden.

"Oh here," Jack said going to Trudy taking the large parcel out of her hand, "let me help you with that."

"Why thank you Mr. Dawson," Trudy blushed with a small smile.

"Jack," Ruth said giving him her glare.

"Mother," Jack said carrying it with ease, "it's far too much for any lady, I can do it."

Ruth rolled her eyes while Trudy avoided her painful gaze. Together, he, Nathan, Sarah, Ruth and the servants all made their way to the suits. One suit was for Nathan and Sarah, separated by a sitting room and on the other side was Ruth and Jack's. Their suits all also included a private deck out looking the ocean through the large windows. It was a nice airy room.

"Would you unpack these please?" Jack inquired to Trudy whilst in the sitting room. He was always the only one to say please to the servants. He knew they appreciated it.

"Yes sir," Trudy said formally grabbing the canvases out of the long tall box. They were paintings that Jack had used his share of the money to collect, "is this the one you want?

"No," Jack said knowing what he was looking for, "it had a lot of faces on it.

Trudy pulled out another large canvas and handed it to Jack, "This is the one"

"Would you like all of them out?" Trudy asked politely digging through the box.

"Yes," Jack said looking at the blur of colors and faced on the canvas before him and placed it on the sofa nearby, "we need a little color in this room."

"Put it in there in the wardrobe," Mr. Lovejoy, Nathan's austere assistant demanded as the other servants carrying a large green safe into his suite.

"Oh not those finger painting's again," Nathan said sipping a glass of champagne while Sarah went to the mirror above the fire place to ensure that not a hair was out of place, "those certainly were a waste of money."

"The difference in Mr. Hockley's taste in art and mine is that I have some," Jack said observing them, "they're fascinating, it's like being inside a dream or something. There's truth but no logic."

"What's the artist name?" Trudy asked curiously.

Jack stood staring intently at the landscape setting as the color all blurred together creating a wonderful lily pond setting, "Monet, look at his use of color here. Isn't he great?"

"Those artists wont amount to a thing," Nathan said coolly, "He won't trust me. At least they were cheap."