Rose stood in the crowded harbor looking up at Titanic. She didn't think it looked that special. Everyone was talking on and on about how amazing this ship was, but to Rose it looked like any other ship.
She followed her mother and her husband to be onboard the ship. Her stomach clenched as she sat her foot onboard Titanic. The next time she would put her feet on land she would be in America. And soon be married to Nathan Hockley, a man she did not only, not love, but hated with all her soul. In just a few weeks she would no longer be free, she would be a property of Mr. Hockley. Titanic was not the "ship of dreams" as people called it. It was the ship that would take her to the hell that would be the rest of her life.
When they had arrived at their rooms, Rose help the maids put up the paintings she'd bought. She couldn't remember the name of the artist but she loved the paintings. They were unlike anything she had seen, like a picture from a dream.
Art was one of the things that really spoke to her. She wasn't an artist herself but she loved looking and admiring others work. It was like escaping into a whole new world.
She later found herself in one of the upperclass dining rooms along with her mother, Mr. Hockley and other people who thought they were so much better than others. She sat there listening to these important men talking about the Titanic, about how big and great she was. Mr. Hockley ordered her dinner without bothering asking her what she wanted. This was going to be the rest of her life. Living among these people who thought they owned the world just cause they had the money to buy it. Living with a man who would take away the little independence she had. She got up from her chair and got out of there. She needed some air.
She looked over the sea as she felt the wind caressing her cheek. Looking down on lower deck, she noticed a woman looking at her. She thought nothing of it first, but the woman kept staring at her, and soon she caught Rose's attention. They looked at each other. The woman was about her age. You could have almost mistaken her for a man by the way she dressed. But her long blond hair and feminine face convinced Rose this was a woman. They didn't get to look at each other more than a few seconds before Mr. Hockley interrupted and dragged Rose back to the others and she forgot all about the woman.
By evening Rose had had enough. She was doomed to this life forever, Mr. Hockley had destroyed the only hope she had of getting out of it. Doomed to forever sit around these people and listen to their empty talking and bragging, pretending to be one of them. She no longer saw a future in which she could be happy. She left the others and went to her room.
She rushed into the room, wanting to get to get away from everything. She stopped by a mirror and locked at herself. She looked like any other snobby upperclass girl. A beautiful red dress covered her body, her reddish hair put up in a lady like way. She hated that girl. She didn't hate herself, she hated that she would never be anybody else other than that girl in the mirror. Brought into this world with her life already planned out for her. Tears started running down her cheeks. In anger and devastation she let her hair loose, she couldn't take this anymore, she was tired of this life.
She ran. Her crying never ceasing. She ran until she reached the stern of Titanic.
She stared at it, wiping away her tears. It was late and no one was around. All it would take was one jump then all of this would be over.
She climbed over the railing, her heart beating in her chest and her body shaking. She stared at the water for sometime, preparing herself.
"Don't do it" a calm voice said.
Startled Rose turned around. "Stay back" she said.
Rose recognized the person in front of her as the young woman she'd seen earlier that day.
"Come on, let me help you over" The woman said walking towards Rose.
"No! Don't come any closer, I'm gonna jump" Rose yelled back, her voice shaking.
" I don't buy it. You're not going to jump"
"What do you mean? You don't know me, you don't know anything about my life or what I've been through!"
The woman remained calm, as if this was an everyday matter.
"Look, if you really wanted to jump you would have already done it by now"
Rose laughed at the absurd situation. She didn't know what to think or what to say.
"Will you just leave me alone? I don't know you and you don't know me so don't come here telling me what I will and will not do"
The woman shrugged and removed her coat and started to take off her shoes.
Rose looked at her, confused about the whole situation.
"What are you doing?"
"If you're so determined to jump then I'm just gonna have to jump in after you."
"But why would you do that? You will die."
"Well, someone's gotta jump in there to get you, and don't worry I'm a good swimmer."
"But the fall will kill you"
"Oh, the fall will probably hurt but the coldness of the water, that's the challenge."
Rose could not wrap her head around this woman. Who was she and why did she care so much? And she realized she hadn't really given the pain much thought.
"How cold exactly?"
"It's so cold it feels like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body. You can't talk, you can't breathe you can't think, at least not about anything other than the pain." The woman said, now standing right beside Rose.
"It's not gonna be pleasant, but I can't let you die. So please would you help me out of my misery and let me help you get back over?"
This woman was clearly out of her mind, Rose thought. But her description of the pain did not sound very pleasant. Maybe she had overreacted a bit, did she really want to do this?
Rose took the woman's hand, deciding to let her help her. The woman's face lit up and Rose started to climb up the railing.
Suddenly Rose slipped and fell hanging only in the young woman's hands. Rose heart beat painfully hard in her chest and for the first time that night Rose could see fear and panic in the woman's eyes. Rose screamed. she screamed for help, as if screaming would get her back on the boat.
"Look at me, focus on me, I've got you okay? Now come on and grab the railing, you can do this"
Rose did as she was told. With panic still rising inside her she reached and grabbed the railing with her free hand and pulled herself up with the woman's help. The whole time she was looking into the womans eyes. Even in her panic and in the dark light, she noticed her eyes were a beautiful sparkly blue.
The woman pulled Rose over the railing and she fell on top of Rose on the floor.
Both of them breathed heavily.
"I'm Jane by the way, Jane Dawson" The woman said between breaths.
"Rose DeWitt Bukater"
"Rose deWhat?" Jane said laughing.
Rose didn't get to answer before crew members showed up from nowhere pulling Jane off of her and putting her in handcuffs. There was so much happening all at once, Rose didn't have time to process it all. In the chaos of it all Rose was given a blanket and soon Mr. Hockley and the others showed up at the scene. It dawned on her what the others must be thinking. Hearing her screaming for help and then finding her with a woman in men's clothing getting to second base with her. She was glad no one had to find out about her suicide attempt, but she felt bad for Jane being arrested when she was the one who saved her. She had to say something.
"Stop! It was an accident."
All eyes turned to her, demanding a further explanation.
"You see I was leaning over to see the.. uh.. propellers..and I slipped! But luckily Ms. Dawson was here and pulled me over the railing."
The men around her didn't seem super convinced, but they seemed to accept her explanation any way.
"And you agree this is what happened?" One of the crew members asked Jane.
Rose looked at Jane, praying she would go along with her story.
Jane turned to the man who asked.
"Yeah, that's pretty much what happened"
Jane was freed of the handcuffs and the case seemed to be closed. quickly began leading Rose away from there, but one of the men in the company stopped him.
"Perhaps a reward or such is in place for the young lady?"
Hockley huffed and told his right-hand man, Spicer Lovejoy, to give her a twenty.
"Is that's the price for saving the life of your wife to be?" Rose asked.
"Hm, Rose is not pleased, well then." Mr. Hockley said walking over to Jane.
"Perhaps you would like to join us for dinner tomorrow? You can entertain our group with this heroic tale."
Janes facial expression remained neutral.
"Sure. I'll be there."
"See you tomorrow then" Mr. Hockley said before leading Rose back to their room.
Before he also turned and left, Jane asked Mr. Lovejoy for a cigarette. He accepted her request.
"You know, it's interesting, if Miss DeWitt fell so suddenly, how come you have removed both you coat and your shoes?" Mr. Lovejoy asked with a stern look on his face.
Jane didn't know what to say.
"Don't think I don't know what kind of woman you are Ms. Dawson. You're disgusting." Lovejoy said, then he turned and walked away.
Later that night Mr. Hockley walked into Rose's room as she was brushing her hair before bed.
"I've noticed you've been feeling down lately and I have no idea why, but I think this might cheer you up" Mr. Hockley said walking to her with a box in his hand.
"I intended to save this, as an engagement gift, but I figured why not give you it tonight?"
He opened the box. Inside was a beautiful silver necklace with a huge blue diamond in the shape of a heart. He put it around her neck.
"It was worn by Louie XVI, It was called La coeur de la mere, or The heart of the ocean"
"There is nothing I wouldn't buy you Rose. Nothing I would deny you, if you stopped denying me. Why won't you open your heart to me Rose?"
Rose looked at herself in the mirror, at the neckless.. She had an answer for her fiance, several actually, but none she could ever tell him.