"The Ship of Dreams, they called it. And it was. It really was…" Over five days, the lives of Kai Wen and Jinora Gyatso became irreversibly entwined. But their adventure was not the typical love story, for the ship they met on was the RMS Titanic. From the moment the ship set sail from the Earth Kingdom in 177 AG, it was destined for disaster. [Kai/Jinora] Titanic!AU.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra, or any of its trademarked characters. I also do not own the plot of the movie Titanic: that belongs to James Cameron and his associates. I only own the story that you see written, and hope that you enjoy my spin on things.

Those in Peril on the Sea by boasamishipper

Chapter One

177 AG

The crowd at the docks was gargantuan, although it was mostly populated by immigrants. It seemed as though entire extended families had come out to see history be made as the Titanic set off on her maiden voyage from the Earth Kingdom to Republic City. Children squealed and hollered in excitement, ignoring the irritated and weary commands of their parents. Some young women rocked screaming babies in their arms. Men bellowed at the stewards on the docks, demanding to be let through. The entire area smelled of a putrid mixture of alcohol and gasoline, and Jinora rolled up the window to avoid it.

Jinora couldn't help but wonder how Ikki, Rohan, and Meelo would feel in this crowd. No doubt they'd be running around and shrieking along with the other immigrant children on the docks if they were given permission to. Her mother, Pema, would probably die of embarrassment on the spot to see her children conversing with commoners. After all, the Gyatso family's wealth could be stretched back to the time of the third Fire Lord—Father had never let them forget that. Neither had Mother. They shouldn't soil their name by mingling with those that were beneath them.

Perhaps that had been why her siblings had gone ahead on another ship to Republic City last week. Her Aunt Kya and Uncle Bumi had accompanied them—Jinora felt bad for them. Even when they were attempting to be docile, Ikki, Meelo and Rohan were not easy to handle.

If push came to shove, Jinora would've rather been with her siblings on the Titanic than with her fiancé.

She leaned her elbow upon the door of the car and commenced staring out the window at the world around her. Who knew when she would next see this small town in the Earth Kingdom, if ever? LingShi's company (the Zhang Corporation, where they made ammunition) had its headquarters in the inner Republic City, and Jinora knew that she'd be required to live there after her wedding.

She'd thought it was ridiculous, getting married at only seventeen. Especially to a man that she knew no better than the servants that lived on her family's estate. Especially to a man that was almost thirty years old, no less. Two of the six months that they'd known each other had been passed awkwardly courting, and the remaining four had been spent discussing trivial things, like the flowers and bridesmaids Jinora wanted for their wedding. Not that her opinion mattered—LingShi just wanted it for her sake, in order to make her feel valued.

It never worked.

"I can see the docks," Mother commented offhandedly, and Jinora squinted through the throng of people, just being able to make out the helm of the ship before it was blocked by an immigrant family. "That is the ship, isn't it?" she asked of the driver, Ju.

"I believe so, ma'am," Ju replied. Mother gave him a quiet, noncommittal grunt in return.

The Satomobile stopped (finally, Jinora thought in relief, more than ready to get out of the car) and the driver scurried to open the door for her. "After you, Miss Gyatso," Ju said with a small bow, moving aside to let her exit the car. "Enjoy your trip and your wedding."

Jinora gave him a quick (albeit not entirely genuine) smile and stepped out, holding her skirt up to avoid tripping on the uneven ground. She looked up at the ship, taking it in with cool appraisal. "It doesn't look as big as they've made it out to be," she said, just to be contrary to the thousands of praises that had already been heaped on the vessel. "Isn't the Mauretania bigger than this?"

"Nonsense, dear," LingShi said, coming out of the car and shielded his eyes from the brightness of the sun. "It's over a hundred feet longer than the Mauretania. Why, it's far more luxurious: the china alone was brought in directly from the Earth Kingdom, and the beds have never been slept in—-less of a risk for ratroaches. The Spirits themselves couldn't sink this ship."

"Yes, that's what I've heard." Her mother appeared uninterested, although Jinora knew better. By the time the ship docked in Republic City, Mother would've documented every inch of their trip—if anything inane or important went wrong, the White Star Line could most definitely expect a strongly worded letter in their mailbox. "We'd better hurry," Mother said. "We wouldn't want to have to enter with the third class." She said the words 'the third class' the way that one would've said 'the black plague'.

With a nod, LingShi gestured the way toward the first class gangway, and they moved into the crowd. Penga, Jinora's maid, and Ransik, LingShi's valet, hustled behind them, laden with packages and bags of items that Mother had deemed too delicate for the baggage handlers.

LingShi meandered between Satomobiles and handcarts, trying to find an easily accessible path around hurrying second class and steerage passengers and well-wishers. It was easy to tell first class from the other classes—most of the first class passengers avoided the smelly press of the dockside crowd by using an elevated boarding bridge, twenty feet above.

"Darling?" LingShi put a hand on Jinora's shoulder. She stiffened. "Would you like your coat? It'll be cold tonight, and I think we should take a stroll around the deck." The 'I think' was irrelevant, in Jinora's opinion. She knew perfectly well that if LingShi wanted to take a stroll around the deck, they would.

"Thank you," she replied coolly, taking her jacket from him and turning away, not willing to face LingShi at the moment.

His hand moved, hidden by the fabric of her long red and yellow dress, and pinched her butt. Jinora flinched involuntarily, thoroughly humiliated by the rising flush in her cheeks. Luckily, her mother didn't notice.

"Jinora," he sneered, his amicable mask fading away like a stain on someone's carpet, "you know what's expected of you now, don't you, darling? Just a quick kiss."

Although she would've rather jumped into the ocean below, Jinora did what was expected of her and she turned around, let him pull her in and kiss her, then followed him back over to where her mother, Ransik and Penga were impatiently waiting for them.

They moved past a line of steerage passengers in their coarse wool and tweed outfits, queued up inside movable barriers like cattle in a chute. Jinora caught a glimpse of a health examiner peering at the third class passengers' heads one by one, obviously checking their scalps and eyelashes for lice.

"Name?" asked one of the officers, peering at a clipboard, pen poised to take their names.

"Pema Gyatso," Mother stated, tilting her chin up snobbishly, as if on instinct. "My daughter, Jinora Gyatso, and her fiancé, LingShi Zhang." She placed a particular emphasis on LingShi's title, as if she were afraid that the ticket-man would try and make a move on Jinora if he thought that she was single.

"Your last name is Zhang?" inquired the officer. "Like the ammunition company?"

"One and the same, my good man," answered LingShi, his amicable mask firmly back in place, although his slightly condescending tone didn't change. He slapped a five yuan note into the man's hand, and the officer's eyes dilated. Jinora resisted the urge to roll her eyes. LingShi was accustomed to throwing around his money like he had a bottomless supply. I was like that too, once. I know better now—even bottomless supplies can run out. He gestured for Ransik and Penga to put down Jinora and her mother's bags, which the servants did, looking quite happy to do so. "Take these up to our staterooms, would you please?"

"Yes, sir. Of course, sir," said the officer. Jinora knew that there was a bigger chance of him selling mochi and soft cream in hell than turning down LingShi's tip. He made a quick gesture. "Carry on, everyone."

"Honestly," Mother complained as she was nearly jostled aside by two yelling steerage boys who shove past her. LingShi gripped Jinora's hand and the two of them moved closer. "LingShi, we could've been here hours earlier and could be relaxing now instead of having to mingle with the steerage class. What took you so long?"

"Jinora held us up, Pema," LingShi replied breezily. "Wanted to leave the estate wearing all black, of all things. Almost forgot to put on her coat."

Jinora's mouth set into a thin line. "I felt like wearing black," she muttered. It's definitely reflecting of my mood right now.

As if he'd heard her thoughts, LingShi sent her a dark look, and gripped her arm possessively as he practically frog marched her up the rest of the gangway and into the corridor of the Titanic.


Some people called it the Ship of Dreams. To me, it was the ship of nightmares. I didn't care one bit about the china or the patterns on the bed sheets or how the Titanic was the biggest ship ever to set sail. All I cared about was how the ship was taking me to be married in chains. I felt like someone's slave.

I wanted to scream, to throw things around like a toddler having a temper tantrum. I had to fight the urge to run away several times into a pub, where I'd hide out and stay until morning, and then run back to our estate on Air Temple Island. But I knew that I couldn't do it, not without getting caught. It was from that realization that my hate blossomed, encompassing my mother, my siblings, LingShi, practically the entire world. It could have consumed me, you know.

But it didn't, thank the Spirits. It didn't because he didn't allow it to.


Kai Wen wasn't sure how a simple, laid-back game of poker had developed into a life-or-death situation, but stranger things had happened to him in his life, and besides, he wasn't stupid enough to question bad luck. After all, two third-class tickets for the Titanic sat on the table, amidst a gold pocket watch, and currency from every major city in the Four Nations. This could be his only chance to change things.

He snuck a look over at Skoochy, whose eyes roamed around the room. Perhaps he was trying to act nonchalant, like he hadn't a care in the world, but Kai knew better. His friend had virtually no poker face—if he had a good hand, it was obvious. If not, even more so. Depending on the outcomes of the two men across from both him and Skoochy (Ming and Shaozu were their names), whose cards probably weren't the best either, it was all up to Kai.

A king each of clubs, hearts and diamonds, a ten of diamonds, and a three of spades. Not a bad hand, and it certainly had the potential to become a good one. But it was winner takes all—and if his hand turned out to be a bad hand, both he and Skoochy would be screwed six ways to Sunday. That, of course, could not happen. Kai had a feeling that the outcome of this game would be in their favor. It had to be.

The odds had never particularly been in his favor his entire life. His father had died when he was young, and his mother had died when he'd been even younger. Kai had lived a life where the most excitement he'd faced was getting shunted to another foster home, where the odds of a happy adoption were even less likely. The one constant had been that he'd run away every single time.

And then, when a family had actually been talking about adoption, Kai couldn't stand it. Not a family like that, where beating and starving was a common practice. So he'd stuffed the family's belongings in a gunnysack and ran. The sheriff and his deputies were probably still looking for him.

But then, in a pub in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se, he ran into Skoochy Nakamura, an acquaintance of his from his first foster home. Skoochy had run away too and was giving the drifter lifestyle a try. His brown hair was still unruly, his wit was still drier than the Si Wong Desert, and he still wore that stupid pageboy cap—but he looked skinny and malnourished, something that wasn't too uncommon for a street kid.

But they were friends, at least somewhat. So he and Skoochy had stuck together after that. Two weeks ago, they'd hopped onto the back of a paddleboat, hoping that it would take them somewhere better than where they were. It'd brought them here, to the harbor where the Titanic, supposedly the largest ship ever built, was going to depart on its maiden voyage.

"Alright," Kai announced, loud enough to catch the attention of nearly everyone in the pub. "Moment of truth." He raised an eyebrow at Skoochy, then at the other two men. "Two of our lives are about to change. Skooch, what do you have?"

"Nothin', bub," replied Skoochy, setting down five low-ranking cards that amounted to absolutely nothing. A bead of sweat formed above his upper lip and he dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. Kai sighed, shaking his head. Poor guy needs to grow a pair or get some optimism, for the love of Tue and La.

Ming reluctantly set down his cards. Nothing as well.

Then Shaozu looked at his cards and set them down, revealing two eights and two sixes. He glared at Kai, as if he dared Kai to get a better pair than him. And in that moment, a mixture of nerves, anxiety, and euphoria mixed in his stomach, creating a combination that made him want to vomit or shout in glee. But Kai couldn't show anything. Not yet.

"Sorry, Skooch," Kai began, rubbing the back of his neck. "May as well say goodbye now."

"Son of a bitch!" Skoochy slammed his hands down on the table, both angry and thoroughly humiliated. The tips of his ears were bright red. "Kai, I swear, man, if you lost my money, I'm going to—"

"Hey, now, look here, all I'm saying is that you're not gonna see your girls again for quite a while, brother," Kai continued, finally slapping a full house down on the table. "Know why? Because we're going to Republic City, baby! Full house!"

Skoochy leapt out of his seat, grabbing the tickets from the top of the card pile and holding them like they were worth more than the jewels on the Earth Queen's crown. "Hot damn, Kai! We're going to—"

"Yeah, baby, we're going to Republic City!" hooted Kai, snapping the gold watch on his wrist while Skoochy shoveled the yuans into his knapsack. Ming leapt on top of Shaozu, pummeling him and shouting something in an indecipherable accent about idiots and tickets.

Sweet Spirits, it was really happening. They were going to Republic City. The capital of the free world, the land of the free and the home of the brave. He could start a new life, make a family. He could start over again in Republic City.

"Nah, man! Titanic leaves for the big city in five minutes, if you want to catch it."

Kai whipped around to stare at the bartender. Then, he declared, "Shit."

And then Skoochy and Kai sprang into action, swinging their bags onto their backs and sprinting out of the pub and down the pier, jostling well-wishers out of the way and knocking piles of luggage onto the ground. Kai came to a dead halt, staring up at the ship's hull that towered seven stories up into the air. It was bigger than anything he'd ever seen, and then Skoochy grabbed his arm and nearly dragged him the rest of the way onto the bottom of the third class gangway just as it started to retract.

"Hey!" Kai shouted, grabbing the tickets and frantically waving them in the air. "Hey, we're passengers, let us on! You have to let us on!"

One of the officers looked at him strangely—Kai supposed he and Skoochy were quite the sight to see, passengers with rumpled clothes and five o'clock shadows and no care towards punctuality. "Have you been through the inspection queue?"

Before Skoochy, with his abysmal bluffing skills, could intervene, Kai quickly said, "Yes, of course. We're from Republic City, perfectly hygienic and everything. Not a problem with us, I can assure you."

"Right, right, get on board." The officer gestured them past, either not caring in the least or just not wanting to be the one who would delay the Titanic's maiden voyage. Kai assumed it was the latter as he hopped the gap between the gangway and the ship, Skoochy on his heels. They ran up onto the A-deck in time to hear the roar of the ship's whistle as the ship set off from its port.

"Goodbye!" he yelled, blowing a kiss to a group of girls dressed in second-class finery on the docks. "Goodbye, we'll miss you! I'll write to you when we land!"

Skoochy, after sending him a questioning look, seemed to understand what Kai was doing and began blowing kisses as well, yelling to a family of seven on the docks that he'd never forget them. "We're the luckiest sons of bitches in the world, ain't we, Kai?" he asked, leaning against the railing and taking out a cigarette. He passed Kai one, who stuck it behind his ear for safekeeping.

"Skoochy," Kai said happily, slinging an arm around his friend, "trust me. We passed that barrier years ago."

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! The next chapter will be up soon, I promise. :)