Hello readers, I would like to let you know that I Do not own Titanic or any of the characters. You probably know that, but I have to say it anyway. This is a sequel to my book Titanic, or epilogue, whichever you prefer. It's a stand-alone book, but it will make more sense if you read the other story first. Thank you for reading, and if you like it, please continue to read my stories or comment below.
Prologue:
The stars were like diamonds against the dark blue sky, and the moon made the freshly fallen snow on the ground even brighter. The air was quiet and still. The only noise, it seemed, was the dull "thump" that the horses' hoofs made as it galloped across the snow. Rose laughed. She had never ridden a horse like this before- with one leg on each side, but she enjoyed it immensely. Riding side-saddle had never allowed her to ride this fast, and she quietly vowed to herself never to ride that way again. If she did, she would miss this wonderful illusion of riding on the wind. She would miss the cool air that breathed life on her face and sent her red locks flying behind her.
"You catch on fast!" Jack yelled from ahead, smiling atop his horse. "If I didn't know any better, I'd have said you'd done this before."
Rose chuckled as she slowed her horse to a trot, and came up beside Jack.
"I wish. . . the look on my riding instructors face would've been priceless. I wonder what the girls at finishing school would say if they could see me now. . ."
Jack smiled, and suddenly the horses were gone. They were now walking hand-in-hand through the peaceful winter wonderland.
The snow was soft and feathery , the trees glittered in the pale moonlight, and pristine icicles hung everywhere.
The two of them didn't talk. . . they didn't have to. . . It was beautiful. The world was beautiful. There wasn't a care they had; there was only contentedness. Only the ice-covered Lake Wisota in the clearing. Rose sighed happily at the tranquility, when she saw something in the snow. . .
It was a man, and he was dead.
Glassy eyes halfway shut. Blue lips puckered around a cold steel whistle. Skin pearly white. Dark uniform dusted in snow. . .
He was so stiff. . . so cold looking. . .
Horrified, Rose turned away, only to see that the woods and clearing were now full of people like him. . .
Men, women, children. . .
All dead. All looking at her with soulless eyes.
"Jack!" She cried, but he was not there anymore. "Jack!"
She looked towards the lake- someone was standing in the center of it.
"Jack!" She called, running to him, ice cracking under her feet and anguished moans playing over and over in her ears. "Jack!"
She reached the center, but the lake now had a whole in it, and Jack was floating helplessly in the icy, black water. He was holding to the edge of the ice when she reached him, but he couldn't climb on top. . .
"Jack!"
His hair was frozen, his eyebrows were frozen. There was ice under his nose and on the back of his neck. Skin clammy. Eyes shut. Face expressionless. . .
Tears rolled down her face. "Jack! Jack! No!"
He slipped under the water and was lost in the darkness. Lost to life. Lost to her. Lost forever. . .
Rose's eyes jerked open, and she lifted her head from where it was resting on the train window.
The terror of the dream had vanished, but the grief in her heart remained, and caused an ache in her soul that made her feel weak. . .
It was just a dream. She told herself.
But it wasn't, and she knew it.