I came up with the idea for this when one of my new friends showed me the end of the Titanic. I've never watched it before, mostly because it's obvious how it ends (i.e., people dieing). However, I was inspired to write, and so I did.
Readers of my other stories, I will still put all my effort into the Quiet series, no need to worry about that. I won't abandon it halfway through. But I also wanted to experiment with other aspects, such as writing a serious story and trying to create different relationships between characters.
I don't promise perfect relationships since the voyage of the Titanic was to take only a week, and so doesn't give me the ability to take over a hundred chapters to hone the relationship between individuals. Though this story is NOT set on the Titanic. I didn't feel like researching it to make it perfect, so it's a different ship that meets the same fate.
I hope people enjoy it and that I'm able to do the idea I have in my mind justice.
RER!
…
It was a different time then, a period where ladies were always accompanied by gentlemen when they made long trips, a time before planes could make transatlantic flights.
It was a time when death seemed so far away.
It was a dreary, rainy day in London as a tall man walked towards the inn. Raindrops mingled in the streets, creating puddles that began to look more like lakes as they flooded the cobblestones. Everywhere, people were scurrying about like mice, trying to avoid the soggy wetness from both above and below. The man gave a sigh of relief when he finally reached the place where he would be staying, grateful that his shoes had not been soaked through by the torrential downpour. He took one last look at the stormy sky before he entered the door, drawing attention with his immense size - and his luxurious trappings.
He was rich Russian aristocrat - normally one would expect him to be staying in the finest hotel - but Ivan Branginski had always found that he preferred the company of the common folk to his peers. And he would see something there tonight that he wouldn't have seen had he decided to emulate the stereotype of his social class.
At the risk of sounding cliché, one could say that it was a life-changing moment.
…
Toris shepherded his younger brothers into the inn, a suitcase held over his head to attempt to block the pouring rain. The bag felt disturbingly light, but they were lucky that the debt collectors had left a little for the orphans to live off of.
He momentarily gazed at the large ships in the harbor, his eyes falling on the largest ship of all, Подсолнечник. In a few weeks, it would be heading off to America, and the Lithuanian wished that he could afford for his small family to board her, to head off for a new life.
But dreams were for those who could afford such things.
He would have to try to keep his morale up, no use letting his younger brothers get their spirits down.
…
Toris kept a fake smile on his face as he surveyed where they'd be staying.
'Cramped' was a good way of describing it, possibly the nicest way he could think of. Despairingly he thought of their old home, where each of them had a room of their own, with wide windows that let in the sunlight, even when they couldn't afford candles. Of course, there wasn't much sunlight here to make much difference, even if there were more windows, or even if the only one was larger, but it was another tally against the room in the Lithuanian's mind.
"Well, settle in, boys," he spoke as cheerfully as he could so the other two wouldn't be alarmed, "This'll be our home for the next few weeks."
He plopped his bag down on a cot and tried not to cough at the dust, which was much more than he had expected. He knew that this was the best he could afford, but the grime made him wonder how long it had been since someone had last used this room. The stench smelt like something had died in it, perhaps a rat, its surroundings too poisonous even for the vermin. But nothing good would come of complaining; in fact, that was the absolute worst thing he could do, possibly earning them a boot out onto the streets. At least here they had a roof over their heads, sheltering them from the rain that was commonplace in London.
Besides, it's not like he really expected it to be anything better.
At times, he couldn't really tell whether or not Eduard really believed his cheerfulness was real, but he appreciated the boy at least pretending to, if only for the sake of Raivis. The middle child, like himself, had grown up a bit too quickly, but they both did their best to keep the same from happening to the youngest one. Smiling gently at the tired child, he lifted him up onto the piece of furniture.
As he placed Raivis on the bed, Toris accidentally knocked their bag over, but it barely caused a thump as it landed on the floor, though it did kick up another large cloud of dust.
It was depressing how little they had. The Lithuanian knew he had to get a job, had to get one soon, or else they'd still end up on the streets. Not for the first time, he cursed his thin frame. Most of the work for his class was hard labor, and he didn't have the education for the better jobs, having dropped out in order to take care of his siblings while his parents each juggled multiple jobs in order to keep their beautiful home and their children fed.
He sighed inaudibly before turning back to his brothers and giving them a wide cheerful grin. "Well, let's go see if we can get some grub then, shall we?"
…
Natalya looked longingly at the calendar, reaching up and gently touching the date she would be due to travel.
Only a few more weeks before she'd be united with her wonderful brother.
Some people looked at her love for him with disgust, but it's not like they were actual blood relatives. Their last names showed that. And they were moving to America, where no one would even know about how their parents had married.
Yekaterina would come join them a while later, but the Belarusian didn't mind. It was just her brother that she minded being apart from.
She sighed, pressing her cheek into her hand.
Why couldn't they understand?
Why couldn't he understand?
They said love was blind, but didn't that usually mean the ones who were in love? That wasn't it.
What was it about their (her) love that made people blind to the fact that they weren't real siblings, poisoning her brother's mind against her?
Only a few more weeks, and no one would separate them again.
But in the meantime, she could plan their wedding.
...
Well, there's the first chapter.
I apologize if the characters are OOC, I'm not used to this fandom, nor to writing these types of characters.
I will do my best to remain as true to them as I can.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you will continue when I post the next chapters.
10/2/2011 - Thanks to The Fairy Cake for giving me critiques as to how to make this chapter better.
