Land of Eternal Youth and Beauty: Chapter One
The welps of parents and children flooded the barely audiable E Deck. Water had already begun to soak the floors of the steerage passengers' rooms, infiltrating into their belongings, the sound of light gushing waking babes from their slumber. Crew rushed through the decks, slamming down doors and ordering the dressing of all passengers, "put on warm clothes and fasten your life belts", they'd call into every room, causing a wave of panic to fall through every family. And then they'd dictate themselves, as every passenger asked if their was any danger, asked if they needed to evacuate, there'd be a shake of the head.
"I will not let them board a lifeboat and leave you behind to drown!" The welps and cries of Mrs O'Byrne could be heard through the wave of chaos. She was a small yet slender woman, clad in only a thin nightgown. The ringlets in her hair fell down her back and onto her visible chest bown, framing the petite and elegant posture of the middle-aged woman.
"Save them, please, save yourselves," cried back her husband, cooing "it'll be okay" every few seconds to their two young sons: Sean, the youngest, wrapped in Patrick's arms as tears streamed down his face.
"Look what you've created now, Olivia. The kids are crying and you've made even more chaos. Let's just get the hell out of here and onto a boat." Michael's voice was exasperated and full with despair. The blue eyes of their children met his gaze as he scanned the cabin.
"Please, Olivia, let them go."
She stood firm and stern-looking at the bunks of her sons.
"We're not leaving if you're not, isn't that right, kids?"
Patrick released his clasp from around his brother and sat up in the bed.
"What's going on, ma? What's happening? Why's there water on the floor?"
Olivia's eyes were not noticeably full with tears. She clutched her son's face in her palms and knelt to his eye line. His red hair fluttered around his face with the icy, Atlantic breeze entering through the open window.
"Are you sure you want to know, sweetheart?"
The little boy nodded his head slowly.
"There's just a wee bit of trouble up on the decks, darling. Nothing to worry around. Why don't you pop off to sleep so we'll reach New York sooner? Sounds like a plan, doesn't it?"
Patrick nodded before beginning to rest his head on the white pillow beneath him. He waited for a few seconds before starting to shuffle around in his bed, adjusting the layers of sheets interwined with his body. Once again, he held his younger brother's hand and closed his eyes. Such a deep sleeper, the only sign he was still living was the puff of breath that left from between his chapped lips every few seconds and the slight flutter of an eyelash.
Olivia and Michael lay silent for the few lingering minutes, before Michael exclaimed, "We're wasting time."
Mrs O'Byrne resumed her stern-faced emotion, before resuming to a more sorrowful expression after a long sigh.
"What's the point, Michael? We're steerage, the lowest their is. They don't care about us, we're the rats of this ship. For all they care, all seven hundred of us could drown in that freezing, black water, with nobody to remember us. Have you seen it out there? It's chaos, Michael, there're riots and crowds of people bundling onto tipping lifeboats, while others leave half full. It's like a war zone."
At almost precisely the right moment, an older woman who happened to share the same cabin as the O'Byrne's entered. Her clothes and hair were ringing wet, the children in her arms crying.
"Can't get nowhere near a boat!", she begun, "Just seen one with only a dozen first class passengers lowered into the water, the lot of them with grim smiles on their faces, refusing to board with anybody from a lower class. They don't even bloody care about the children - the children for God's sake!"
She silenced as she saw both Sean and Patrick sound asleep in bed.
"Aren't you even going to try to get them on a boat?"
"I wanted to but Olivia sa-"
"No. They won't be leaving for the boats, and nor will I. I refuse to leave my husband and try to continue my life as if nothing happened when one of those boats docks at New York city, and my children are forced to grow up asking me where their Daddy is everyday, until I have to tell them he died on a bloomin' ship that was supposedly unsinkable!" She was struggling to string together coherent sentences.
"You've got to try, please, for the kiddies. We're going back on deck in a few more minutes, they're loading another boat from one of the upper decks. I'll take the kids, if you want to stay. I'll take good care of 'em for you."
Olivia refused with the shake of her head.
"Please. Just let me take the kiddies. I'll look after them when we get to New York, I swear. Don't let them die out here."
"I'd rather they died out here than had to live a life without a mother and father. The O'Byrnes will die together, if we have to. I'm not getting on no boat until Michael can board it too."
The older woman stayed silent, frozen only for turning her gaze from one child to the next. She bit a chunk out of her scabbed, chapped lips before grabbing the door handle.
"I wish you all the best," she whispered, before hurrying her children out of the door and adjusting their life belts.
There was another vigorous knock on the door, before an old gentleman entered, the White Star Line logo on his uniform clearly visible.
"Life belts on immediately, if you will."
"We're not going, we're staying here on the ship in our quarters," Mrs Byrne hastily replied.
"Please ma'am, do it for the children. If you'd just put this around them for their safety," he said, attempting to hand her a bundle of life jackets before the quickly brushed them off and refused them.
"I'll leave the belts here, ma'am," the crew man instructed before leaving and bolting the cabin door.
The room was silent apart from an occasional whimper from one of the boys. Outside, the fury of passengers on the decks sounded, only adding to the panic both parents felt. They were on a presumably unsinkable ship. It was sinking. They would lose everything. Did they really want to live with the consequences, or would they rather die knowing they went down graciously, and let another family board a life-saving boat?
These are the types of decisions you have to make quickly when the fastest moving object on Earth has only two hours and forty minutes left afloat.
AN: This chapter was written very quickly, straight after I saw Titanic 3D in cinemas, in fact. One scene is always particularly prominent for me in the whole film, no matter how many times I watch it. It is that of the Irish mother and her children, who are tucked up in bed on the night of the sinking, being told the story of 'Tir Na Nóg' by their mother. I decided to write a small fanfic leading up to that scene, while Titanic is sinking and the family have to make some life-changing decisions for their two children. Not much is mentioned about the family, so much of this is my own work. Thanks for reading. Please R&R!