Welcome to this episode of Marcelle Adds Sad Things To the Fandom: Titanic Edition!
Who even knew it was possible? But think about it: the movie and the musical have some similar elements, such as a poor boy named Jack who has a serious artistic talent and falls for a girl of a much higher social class. And once I realized this, it was impossible to avoid writing it. I'm hoping to combine some movie and musical elements in a way that doesn't totally copy the movie; in fact, this is the only part where I'm planning on taking dialogue from the movie (which doesn't belong to me in any way), and even then, I changed it up a little bit. I don't have an entirely clear direction for this yet, this is just kind of a trial run to see if it's worth persuing.
Enjoy!
-Marcelle
It's startling, seeing her own face on the television. Her eyes, although drawn of charcoal, stare into her, as though trying to see past her now withered exterior to the woman she had once been. The woman that the picture has immortalized. The woman that they are now searching for.
Katherine Randell cannot take her eyes off of the screen for quite a few moments, her mind racing backwards to a collection of memories that she wants to hold close and let go of all at the same time. She had never expected to see that drawing again. The boy who had created it had taken such great care in his art, had somehow managed the capture the essence of what they had been in a single stroke of a pencil across paper. He had been a genius. No wonder the heavens wanted him back.
The reporter rambles on about the drawing, about where they had found it, about how they retrieved it. Katherine does not hear most of the newscast, but then, she does not need to. She had been there, she knows more about it than anyone else could possibly hope to. Katherine is the only one left who remembers him, and she is not sure if that is a blessing or a curse. It is most likely both.
Soon, the reporter is speaking to another man, the "treasure hunter" who has apparently found this missing piece of history and is doing everything he can to justify it's retrieval.
"...A piece of paper that's been underwater for eighty-four years…"
Eighty-four years. Is that really how long it's been? Katherine can still remember the color of his eyes.
"Should this have remained unseen at the bottom of the ocean for eternity, when we can see it and enjoy it now?"
No, Katherine decides in an instant. No, his work should be seen. He may have only drawn it for her, only intended it to be seen by her eyes, but he had not known then of the magnitude it now holds. This drawing of Katherine now is known to the world as a lost artifact, recovered and preserved as a reminder of a tragedy. And as if this does not hold enough meaning to the world as it is, it means even more to Katherine. It is the last piece of him she has left.
But soon, she will be gone, her bones have begun to warn her that it is almost time to join him. And when she is gone, he will fade into non-existence. He will join the ranks of the nameless. Is that what she wants?
Or does she want Jack Kelly to live on?
It doesn't take long to find the man in charge, really. His information is given at the end of the broadcast, and Olivia is able to find everything else through means that Katherine in her old age cannot even begin to comprehend. She really could not survive without her granddaughter, that much is clear.
Soon, Katherine presses the phone against her ear and waits through the several trills that mean a connection has been established, her heart fluttering faster than normal. This will be the first time in what feels like forever that she will openly speak about Jack, and to a complete stranger at that. But he is her only chance at keeping her love's memory alive, and that will only happen if she speaks of the diamond. That will grab the treasure hunter's attention for sure.
"This is Adam Finch, what can I do for you, Miss…?" his voice cuts into her thoughts, startling her by the poorly concealed impatience that he speaks with. "Miss Katherine Randell?"
"Well, Mr. Finch, I was just wondering if you'd had any luck finding the Heart of Santa Fe yet," Katherine can almost feel her journalistic instincts crawling back to her after all of these years, but she fights back the impulse. The time to weave her own tale is close enough.
The man is silent for a moment, and Katherine lets a satisfied smile spread across her face. The mention of the diamond seems to have stunned him, just as she has known it would. Men like him are easy to captivate, she's found, as long as there's something for them to gain.
"Alright, Katherine, I'm willing to listen. But answer me one thing-do you know who the woman in the picture is?" Mr. Finch inquires, and Katherine's smile widens. He will like her answer very much.
"Oh, yes," she exclaims quietly. "You're speaking to her."
Or, Katherine thinks, you're speaking to the woman she has become. They are not the same people anymore.
Jack Kelly-and the Titanic itself-has changed her long ago.
And thus begins the crossover! Don't forget to review!