Disclaimer: I don't own TMI, nor do I own the movie Titanic, which this is loosely based on.

A/N at bottom.

A Thousand Little Bluebirds

Chapter 1

'Do you want to know a secret, Sera?' I ask, kneeling before my little sister. Her white blonde curls peek out from beneath her blue hat as she turns her head up towards me. Her green eyes seem so sharp, like they can cut through glass.

She nods her head, and uses her handkerchief to wipe away any stray tears. 'Yes.' Her voice is barely a whisper.

'I don't want to go either,' I say. I know the only way to keep Seraphina from following me up the makeshift staircase is to make it sound like a chore. 'That ship may look very grand, Sera, but I don't think it's going to stay afloat,' I say, pointing to the enormous ship docked at the harbor.

I sense it's the wrong thing to say as Sera dissolves into another puddle of tears. 'But then won't you be gone if it sinks, Clary?' she asks with a thick voice through her tears. Sera is too young to understand death.

I wrap my arms around her as she sobs uncontrollably. I pluck her hat off of her head, and run my fingers through her curls. The action always seems to calm her down. 'Please don't go,' she says, her voice muffled because she speaks into my skirts.

'I have to,' I say, kissing her hair one last time. 'You'll have mother and father! And you'll have Jeremy.'

She pulls back, and I see an adorable blush color her cheeks. It always does, when I talk about her friend. She gives me a tiny smile, and looks upwards towards to sky. The sky is a beautiful blue, like the color of a thousand little bluebirds scattered across the sky, their color blending with the soft white of the clouds.

'Why are you going, Clary?' she asks, her eyes still trained on the shifting patterns of the clouds.

I can't tell her why I'm going. What am I supposed to tell her, that my childhood and only friend died, that I'm depressed and that mother and father are sending me to live with my aunt and uncle as a change of scenery? If my parents wanted a change in scenery, they'd have sent me to the countryside, not across the sea to another continent. And it isn't as if the First-class tickets are cheap. They've actually spent money on sending me away.

No, they want me to go away. Maybe it is because I've been moping, or because they've gotten so sick of me over the years. They aren't even my real parents. They've adopted me because my real parents named my adoptive mother my Godmother. And Seraphina is my adoptive sister.

Sera turns away as Valentine and Jocelyn wave her over.

I sneak one last look at Sera, and then turn away. I know that if I look at her tear-streaked face any longer, I'll stay. And I can't.

I turn my gaze towards the supposedly largest ship in the world. The RMS Titanic.

I lean over the railing, and I try to spot Sera's white head in the crowd of people bidding their loved ones goodbye. Beside me, people wave frantically and blow kisses. I roll my eyes inwardly. They're acting like they're never going to see them again. How overly sentimental; it makes me want to gag.

I hear a distinct, shrill voice yell out my name before it is drowned out as the loud sound of the ship's horns sound. I turn towards the voice, and I see Sera waving at me frantically.

I give a small smile and an equally small wave. I prop up my chin on my hand, leaning my elbow on the railing. I watch Sera play with the ribbon on her dress as Valentine and Jocelyn engage in small talk with couples near them, waiting for the ship to leave the dock.

I suddenly feel a sharp jerk and almost fall on my back, and look down at my arm where a man's hand clasps it. I am ready to hurl insults that might make me sound like a pirate at whoever made me almost lose my balance, but then as my eyes fall on him, all anger dissipates.

My eyes have locked on liquid gold ones, so gold they look like the sun in the afternoon, absolutely scorching and…gold. His hair is a shade darker than his eyes, tousled by the wind. He blinks a little, and I see his eyes are glassy.

Great, he's already drunk. I haul him up, and he tries to balance but fails and I let him lean on me as I start to move us away from the railing of the edge because I do not need a wasted nobody to jump into the freezing sea yelling 'Geronimo!'

I drag him over to a chair under an awning and he stumbles a little before he sits down, his head lolling. 'You're such a Samaritan,' he slurs, pointing a slightly limp finger towards me.

I ignore him. 'Do you have any family here?' I ask, looking back impatiently. The final horn is going to sound anytime now, and I want to see Seraphina one last time, but I can't just leave him here. I look around for any bell boys, but there are none, or they are assisting others.

He shakes his head, or just moves his head from one side to another—which looks like it's taking a lot of effort. 'Yes, but I don't want to go back to them.'

I scoff. 'You're not five, you're a grown man,' I say, irritated. I glance over my shoulder again. A horn, louder than most, sounds twice, and I know it's undocking. Sera's probably looking for my face among others.

The man smiles toothily. 'Yes, I am a man,' he says. 'I know it. But if you doubt me…' he trails off suggestively, running a finger up my arm. I push him away.

'No. Now, tell me if you have a family because I need to go and check into my room,' I say, giving up hope of seeing Sera again. Stewards and stewardesses bustle about, showing the First and Second class passengers to their rooms.

He looks at me through hooded gold eyes, and raises his eyebrow. Damn him. Why is it that everyone can do that except me? 'They're already in their rooms,' he says.

I cross my arms. 'Do you need me to take you back?'

He seems to consider the question before he tips his head back and closes his eyes. 'No, not now.'

I feel someone tap my shoulder and I spin around. I meet a pair of warm, brown eyes. A woman, around my age with pin straight black hair falling till her waist smiles at me and has a coat hanging on her arm. A red hat with a plume of feathers is perched atop her head and she wears a simple red gown, which she manages to seem elegant in.

'Thank you for handling him. I'm Isabelle Lightwood. His sister,' she says, nodding towards the blond and extending her hand for me to shake. I take it and raise both eyebrows.

'I'm Clary Morgenstern,' I tell her, adopting the name Sera has taken to calling me because isn't it what Valentine and Jocelyn want, for me to have a new life? And because Clarissa sounds way too formal.

Isabelle nods and then walks over to her brother. I assume she's going to shake him awake or that she's going to support him and walk him over to their room but no. What she does is somewhat different and something I should've done.

She slaps him across the face. Hard.

The man blinks, and then registers the pain. 'Isabelle. Go find someone else to torture, you bitch,' he says groggily as he shuts his eyes again.

I just stand there with awkwardness radiating off of me as I watch them. I attempt to discretely walk away but as I am about to do so, Isabelle's hand wraps around my forearm and she looks at me with piercing eyes. 'Can you help me take him back?' she asks hopefully.

I look around the now-almost-empty deck. 'I don't want to sound rude, but I need to get someone to show me to my room where they've already had my luggage stowed,' I say truthfully, pointing to my boarding pass which has my cabin number printed in a blank and a check mark next to the First-class box.

'Well, that room is right next to ours,' she says, smiling triumphantly, leaning over to peek at my pass.

I groan inwardly. There are no stewards around and I don't have it in me to refuse her. 'Sure,' I say as we both grab an arm of his and haul him up, supporting him.

'Lead the way,' I say.

A/N: -.- I should stop doing this, uploading another story...but I won't because I'm too stubborn for my own good.

So, this was an idea in my head for a while, and thank you, xXxNtKxXx for beta'ing/proof reading this and telling me it was good enough to upload. It's going to be a pretty short story because the Titanic lasted for only a few days, right? And I don't want to drag this out to be something I'm going to regret later on. So, I'm going to keep it short and sweet. Maybe not sweet. IDK.

Let me know what you think by reviewing!

-∆relia