Chapter 1: Take her to Sea
The majesty of the Titanic was impossible to deny. The large, awe-struck group of people who had gathered at the Southampton docks was a testament to that, since not everyone standing on the docks were people with tickets. Many had come simply to see the grandeur of the ship, and wave her farewell. The fastest ship in the world. The largest ship in the world. The most luxurious ship in the world. The unsinkable ship. Everyone wanted to be a passenger on her maiden voyage. For the wealthy passengers, all dressed up in their finest clothes for boarding, it was a symbol of status. They had tickets onto the most desirable ship, when others did not.
And that was exactly what the Titanic was to the party pulling up in nothing short of a small caravan of cars. With practically a mountain of trunks piled up on each car, It was a surprise to none that the people who stepped out of the cars were all finely dressed. The two men dressed in perfectly tailored suits, and the three women dripping in silk and other rich fabrics, hats like artwork topping their outfits. The youngest woman gasped in surprise at the sight of the ship as she stepped out onto the street, clapping her hands delightedly, just bordering on giving an undignified jump of excitement.
"Oh, isn't it just the prettiest thing?" She asked, turning to her companions to see if they shared her enthusiastic sentiments.
"Katherine!" One of the older two women looked practically scandalized by her younger sister's behavior. "Contain yourself." Elizabeth Macdelevoy prided herself on her class, and all the trappings that went with it, and her often-enthusiastic teenage sister was often a source of embarrassment to Elizabeth. She and the third woman, Lady Mary leFleur Martel, started towards the ship ahead of the rest, Mary extending a hand backwards, expecting her husband to come and take her arm.
"It's the finest ship in the world, Kitty, you're right." Mary's husband Edward assured the youngest member of their party, who looked a bit crestfallen at having been chastised by her sister. Kitty knew she was lucky that their parents had insisted that Elizabeth bring Kitty along with her on the Titanic, rather than leave Kitty to follow along behind in a few weeks with their parents. Although Kitty was not Elizabeth's made of honor in the young woman's upcoming wedding—that honor had been bestowed on Mary, Elizabeth's best friend from childhood—Kitty was still, as the sister of the bride, and integral part in the planning of the wedding, and when Elizabeth had insisted upon tickets on the Titanic for herself, and her best friend's family as an engagement gift, she had been instructed to bring Kitty.
Edward's good-natured reassurance sparked a comforted smile from the teenager, and she looked considerably happier as Edward moved a few quick strides forward to take his wife's arm.
The last remaining member of the group, Lord William leFleur, the elder brother of Lady Mary, held out his arm towards Kitty. "Sisters are quite dreary, wouldn't you agree, Miss Kitty?" He asked, often preferring innocently optimistic Kitty to the two elder women. Kitty giggled a little and took his arm with a nod. William gave a few quick instructions to a manservant about the baggage, and followed the rest of the party onto the ship.
Meanwhile, further down the dock, third class passengers boarded with much less pomp and circumstance. Put through a health inspection, and most people with only what they could carry on their backs as opposed to mountains of luggage, one family waited until it seemed like everyone else had boarded. Headed by a young woman who couldn't have been older than twenty, the other three members of the family followed her as she seemed to be searching the open gateways for something.
"Can't you just pick one, Meg?" A boy the same age as the young woman asked, looking a bit overloaded with a four-year-old girl on his back, and a bag full of belongings in his hands.
Meg shook her head, glancing over her shoulder at her twin brother Joe, "I heard that it's closer to the rooms down this way…" She lied smoothly, rearranging the pack that she had slung over her shoulder. A young teenage boy walked beside her, her hand firmly grasping his, having to tug him along occasionally because of the distraction the mighty ship was causing. "Hurry up, Oliver." Meg chided gently, giving his hand another tug when he stopped, looking so far up that his free hand had to grab hold of his hat before it fell from his head.
Seeming to find what she was looking for, Meg turned abruptly, leading the little group towards one of the open entrances to the ship, manned by a pair of White Star Line employees who seemed to recognize Meg, and let the family of four on board, only very briefly glancing at the three boarding passes in Joe's hand. Once on board, the little group made their way up to the deck with many of the other passengers, to see the ship depart from the dock. Little Dot wriggled her way down from her brother's back, clamoring partway up one of the ship's railings to get a better look, carefully held in place by her two eldest siblings to ensure her safety. Oliver and Dot waved good-bye enthusiastically, despite not knowing anyone on the docks, but more just waving like everyone else for the sheer enjoyment of doing so. The gigantic ship pulled away from the docks, and the journey began…