Well guys, it seems like we're getting to the halfway point of Forever This Way. Pretty cool, right? I just want to thank those who have been reading and supporting this story since the beginning- it means a lot to me and I think you guys are just awesome for it;)
Title: Forever This Way
Author: xxxLovely Insanityxxx
Fandom: Thor
Rating: PG-13- for disaster related peril, violence, brief language, and sensuality
Summary: In 1985, the wreck of the Titanic was discovered. There was rejoice and celebration. But in that same year, it resurfaces Loki's memories of that ill-fated voyage. Of when he came to Midgard and became an unwilling passenger, and of the young woman that changed his life forever.
Characters: Loki, Elizabeth, some Asgardian people, Titanic people, etc...
Pairings: Loki/Elizabeth
Theme: My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. As well as Never Let Me Go by Florence + the Machine
Disclaimer: You know the drill. I do not own Thor the movie or its comics, and never will. It all belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel
Over&Out!
At the bridge the alarm bell was clattering mindlessly, mostly reflecting the state of shock that the officers and some of the passengers were in after what they had just witnessed, officer Murdoch stared to the floor unable to get a grip on what just happened, blaming himself, in his mind he repeated over and over that he just ran the biggest ship in history into an iceberg on its maiden voyage.
Completely stiff he spoke to the officer that was standing next to him, "Note the time. Enter it in the log."
With that order given, Murdoch turned to his left side and saw Captain Smith rushing out of his cabin and coming into the bridge, tucking in his shirt.
"What was that, Mr. Murdoch?" The Captain inquired.
"An iceberg, sir. I put her hard a' starboard and run the engines full astern, but it was too close. I tried to port around it, but she hi... and I—" The low rank officers around the bridge stood still. For Murdoch, it seemed as if time had stopped, his sweaty forehead giving away his nervous state. Smith glanced around the bridge and continued to give orders, no use to be standing still while your first officer had a panic attack.
"Close the emergency doors." Murdoch seemed to regain a little bit of his lost confidence nodded.
"The doors are closed, sir."
After that Smith and Murdoch rushed out onto the starboard wing. Murdoch pointed down and Smith looked into the darkness aft, then wheeled around to one of the passing officers. "
Find the Carpenter and get him to check the ship for damage of any kind." He ordered.
At the G-deck, Quentin came out into the hall and tried to see what was going on. Suddenly, he saw dozens of rats that were running toward him in the corridor, fleeing from the flooding bow. Quentin jumped aside as the rats ran by.
"What the heck!" Quentin exclaimed still looking appalled. Tommy who was still in his bunk stirred awake. Jumping down from his top bunk in the dark and when he dropped down to the floor he felt the sudden cold from the freezing water that was coming into the ship.
"What the fuck is happening?"
After he turned on the light, he noticed that the floor was covered with almost three inches of icy water, and more was coming in. Tommy pulled the door open and stepped out into the corridor which was flooded. Quentin ran towards him, yelling something too quick for anyone else but Quentin himself to understand it.
"Do you know what the heck is going on?" Quentin asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
"I have no idea but we have ta move it bucko, if there's water comin' in then nothing good is happening for sure."
After, that both men started pounding on doors, getting everybody up and out, the sudden alarm spreading in several languages along the corridors.
In the first class corridors, people were coming out from their rooms wearing robes and slippers. A steward hurried along the well decorated corridors reassuring them that everything was fine. A young woman who in appearance was no more than twenty five years old, wearing a white robe and her blond curly hair tied in a bun, stopped the steward.
"Why have the engines stopped? I felt a shudder?"
Smiling, the man spoke in a calm accent, "I wouldn't worry ma'am. We've likely thrown a propeller blade, that's the shudder you felt. May I bring you anything?"
Behind them Thomas Andrews rushed past them, walking fast and carrying an armload of rolled up ship's plans.
Loki and Elizabeth were still outside leaning over the starboard rail, looking at the hull of the ship.
"It looks okay. I don't see anything.," Loki said while he leaned down a little too much.
"Do you think it could have damaged the ship?" Elizabeth inquired.
"It didn't seem like much of a bump," Loki replied, looking at Elizabeth in the eyes. I'm sure we're alright." Behind them, a couple of steerage guys were kicking some of the ice that fell from the berg around the deck, laughing.
Tommy and Quentin were in a crowd of steerage men that were literally clogging the corridors while heading away from the flooding. Many of them had grabbed suitcases and duffel bags, most of them already soaked with the icy water, running behind the small crowd of rats.
Tommy pointed, "If this is the direction the rats are runnin', it's good enough for me." Quentin smirked and continued along with Tommy, following the small animals.
Bruce Ismay, who was dressed in pajamas under a dark red topcoat, hurried down the corridor heading for the bridge, a steward came along from the other direction after getting the few concerned passengers back into their rooms, "There's no cause for alarm. Please, go back to your rooms." After walking away from the door the steward was stopped by Clayton, Lord Ashford, and Warner.
"Please, sir. There's no emergency—" Clayton looked at the steward, an exasperated expression working itself on his face.
"Yes there is, I have been robbed! Now get the Master at Arms." Clayton said in a mild tone, but after he saw that the steward was not really sure about the procedure, he spoke with a firmer and louder tone.
"Now you moron!" he yelled and the steward scrambled away with a quick pace on his legs.
"Now was that really nessecary?" Lord Ashord asked, annoyed. Clayton glared at the older man.
"My good man, Richard. Sometimes you must take drastic measures to get the job done."
The chart room was in complete silence; Smith was watching as Andrews studied some of the plans, pacing around the place and ultimately turned to his side ending up behind the engineer.
"A five degree list in less than ten minutes," He said, the door was opened all of the sudden causing the occupants of the room to stare at the entrance. There stood the carpenterm completely out of breath and clearly unnerved.
"She's making water fast... in the forepeak tank and the forward holds, in boiler room six." The carpenter exclaimed. In that moment, Ismay made his way onto the chart room as well, his movements quick with anger and frustration; Smith glanced at him with annoyance.
"Why have we stopped?" Ismay asked with an imperative tone. Smith stood solemnly in front of the man and said, "We've struck ice."
Still without getting the true meaning behind the words, Ismay asked, "Well, do you think the ship is seriously damaged?"
Smith glared at the rich man in front of him.
"Excuse me." Smith said as he passed by Ismay on his way out with Andrews and the carpenter in tow.
Inside the boiler rooms, the stokers and firemen were struggling to draw the fires caused by the furnaces working in waist deep water that was churning around as it flowed into the boiler room, ice cold and swirling with grease from the machinery, the chief engineer came partway down the ladder and shouted, "That's it, lads. Get the hell up!" the working men scrambled up toward the escape ladders.
Several people were walking along the corridors and decks, some of them saying that it was nothing too serious and dismissing their fears with a cup of tea or some alcohol, two men at the deck started a conversation while looking around at the calm people, "I guess it's nothing too serious. I'm going back to my cabin to read." A young man who was wearing a topcoat over his pajamas came to stand beside the two men and asked, "Say, did I miss the fun?"
Loki and Elizabeth were coming up the steps from the well deck that were located right next to the three men. The people around them stared as the couple climbed over the locked gate. A moment later, Captain Smmith rounded the corner, followed by Andrews and the carpenter, having they come down from the bridge by the outside stairs; the three men walked solemnly, their faces grim while they rushed right past Loki and Elizabeth. Andrews barely glanced at the young woman who stood still after he noticed the faces they were featuring.
"Can you shore up?" Smith asked to the carpenter.
"Not unless the pumps get ahead." The group headed by the captain continued their march disappearing after they walked down the stairs to the well deck.
Loki looked down at Elizabeth and whispered, "It's bad."
Elizabeth glanced up at the Norse god and agreed. "We have to tell the Ashfords and Clayton."
"Wonderful," Loki sighed, "Now it's worse."
Loki offered his to take hers, which Elizabeth look at dumbly and slowly took it. He gave her a reasurring squeeze but it hurt Loki to see how this has come between them. Leaving the little party, Elizabeth followed Loki through the door inside the ship.
Crossing the foyer and entering the corridor they approached to the Ashford's suite. Warner was waiting for them in the hall standing close by to the young woman's door.
"We've been looking for you miss," Warner followed and, unseen, he moved close behind Loki and smoothly slipped the diamond engagement ring and several hundred dollar bills into the pocket of his overcoat.
Inside the suite, Clayton, Lord Ashford, Lady Ashford, and the children were waiting in the sitting room, along with the Master at Arms and two stewards. Silence reigned as Elizabeth and Loki made their entrance. Lady Ashford sighed in relief and stood still when she saw Elizabeth coming into the suite with Loki right behind her.
"Thank god! Elizabeth, where have you been!" she asked in a demanding tone. "We were all so worried about you!" Elizabeth stared at her guardian for a moment before dismissing her question.
"Something serious has happened." Elizabeth said in a worried tone. Standing up, Clayton walked towards the blonde young woman.
"That's right. Two things dear to me have disappeared this evening. Now that one is back..." He looked from Loki to Elizabeth. "... I have a pretty good idea where to find the other." He said while turning to face the Master at Arms, "Search him." He pointed at Loki, who was looking surprised.
The Master at Arms walked toward Loki, "Coat off, mate." He said while Warner pulled Loki's coat and the god was shaking his head in dismay. Shrugging out of it, the Master at Arms staring down at him, Elizabeth was standing close by to a chair and Lady Ashford and the children were behind her, and Clayton stared at the scene with a cold expression and yet a small smirk made its way through, a fine moment indeed. He was going to show to that simpleton that no one messed with Clayton Royce's property and walked out without a scratch.
"This is ridiculous!" Loki exclaimed.
"Clayton, you can't be serious! We're in the middle of an emergency and you—" Elizabeth stopped in the middle of the sentence when she noticed that one of the stewards pulled the engagement ring and money out of the pocket of Loki's coat.
"Is this it?" one of the steward asked. Elizabeth was stunned and needless to say, so was Loki.
"That's it." Clayton said, while staring at Loki.
"Right then, now don't you make a fuss." The Master at Arms said while he started to handcuff Loki.
"Don't you believe it, Elizabeth. Don't!" He pleaded at the young woman while struggling a little. Elizabeth stared at him hurt, but uncertain.
"He couldn't have," She said. Clayton looked at Elizabeth in the eyes, his cold dark eyes not giving away any of what he had been planning so far.
"Of course he could," said Clayton with fake worry. "Easy enough for a professional, he probably memorized the combination when you opened the safe my darling."
"But I was with him the whole time." Elizabeth said.
Clayton moved closer toward his fiancé standing right beside him. He whispered in her ear with a very low and cold tone. "Maybe he did it while you were putting your clothes back on." Elizabeth looked disheveled, refusing to accept what her own eyes were allowing her to witness.
"They put it in his pocket!" Nicholas exclaimed struggling struggling from his mother's grasp and going to stand in front of Elizabeth. "They must have put it in there to frame him. Loki would never do that-"
"Nicholas, that is enough!" Lord Ashford shouted. Nicholas looked at his father, surprised and hurt. His father had never raised his voice that way with him before. Lady Ashford glared spitefully at her husband, and came to stand beside her ward and son with Rosie following her suite. Warner glanced at the young boy and then back at the god, while holding the overcoat.
"It's not even his pocket, lad." He said while reading a small label that the piece of clothing had close to the neck area.
"Property of A. L. Ryerson," Warner showed the coat to the Master at Arms, it was, a small label inside the collar with the real owner's name.
"That was reported stolen today." He said looking at Loki.
"I was going to return it! Elizabeth—" the god called out, trying to defend himself even though all the proofs were against him. If Elizabeth didn't feel worse earlier, she did now. She felt utterly betrayed, hurt and confused. She shrank away from the Norse god, who started to shout to her as Warner and the Master at Arms dragged him out into the hall, feeling her heart continuing to break.
"Elizabeth, don't listen to them... I didn't do this! You know I didn't! You know it!" Loki shouted but his words were not reaching the young woman who was standing in the middle of the suite. Elizabeth felt devastated, looking down and sitting upon the couch while Lady Ashford and Rosie sat next to her. Lady Ashford pulled her ward into a hug, cradling her; and Elizabeth broke down as Lady Ashford tried to soothe her.
"You know he didn't do it!" Nicholas said. "But you let them take him away."
"Nicholas, now is not the time." Lady Ashford chatised.
"It's alright, darling." Clayton walked over and he motioned for everyone to leave, wishing to have some privacy with his fiancees. Elizabeth stood, composing herself. He smacked me across the face, sending me onto the floor, leaving a big and bright bruise on her face.
"How's it feel to be a slut?" He sneered.
"You can go to hell!" Elizabeth snarled up at him as she clutched at the rug.
This made Clayton even more pissed, and grabbed her up and by the shoulders roughly shaking the woman violently, "Look at me, you little—" Before Clayton was able to finish that sentence and probably hit Elizabeth once more, there was a loud knock on the door and an urgent voice coming from the other side of the fine wooden door. After getting no response from inside, the door opened and a steward was suddenly putting his head inside the suite.
"Sir, I've been told to ask you to please put on your lifebelt, and come up to the boat deck-"
"Get out! We're busy!" Clayton hissed but the steward was persistent, coming in to get the lifebelts down from the top of a dresser.
"I'm sorry about the inconvenience, Mr. Royce, but it's Captain's orders. Please dress warmly, it's quite cold tonight." He said while he handed a lifebelt to Elizabeth.
"Not to worry, Miss Bradshaw, I'm sure it's just a precaution." He said smiling reassuringly at the young woman.
"This is ridiculous!" Clayton exclaimed, while glancing at Elizabeth who was once more sitting down on the couch, her eyes were glossy and he seemed to be lost in thought, the lifebelt lying on her lap and she was clenching to it, her hands turning white.
Captain Smith and Andrews walked down the steps to the Mail Sorting Room and found the clerks scrambling to pull mail from the racks, furiously hauling wet sacks of mail up from the hold below, Andrews climbed partway down the stairs to the hold, which was almost full, the sacks of mail floated everywhere, and the lights were still on below the surface, casting an eerie glow, Andrews looked down as the water covered his shoe and scrambled back up the stairs.
After walking outside followed once more by Smith, Andrews found himself unrolling a big drawing of the ship across the chartroom table. It was a side elevation, showing all the watertight bulkheads, his hands were shaking, knowing that from that moment forward after the truth was told most of the men in the room would begin to fuss all over and ask questions. Murdoch and Ismay were hovering behind Andrews and the Captain. "
When can we get underway, do you think?" The Captain glared at Ismay and turned his attention to Andrews' drawing, the builder pointed to it for emphasis as he spoke."Water fourteen feet above the keel in ten minutes... in the forepeak... in all three holds... and in boiler room six." The Captain nodded.
"Five compartments." He said somberly.
"She can stay afloat with the first four compartments breached," Andrews made a pause and glanced at the men that had gathered around him, "But not five." He stared down at the table; the color suddenly left Ismay's face,."Not five. As she goes down by the head the water will spill over the tops of the bulkheads...at E Deck... from one to the next... back and back. There's no stopping it."
"The pumps—" The Captain was stopped in mid sentence by Andrews.
"The pumps buy you time... but minutes only. From this moment, no matter what we do, Titanic will founder." Ismay stared at the builder.
"But this ship can't sink!" he exclaimed incredulously.
"She is made of iron, sir. I assure you, she can. And she will. It is a mathematical certainty." Andrews said with a 'matter of fact' tone. The captain was looking as if he had been punched in the gut; the color had left his face completely.
"How much time?" he asked.
"An hour, and two at most." Andrews replied with a hopeless tone in his voice; Ismay moved his head as his dream turned into his worst nightmare.
"How many aboard, Mr. Murdoch?" Smith inquired.
'Two thousand and two hundred souls aboard, sir." Smith lowered his head and then turned to face his employer.
"I believe you may get your headlines, Mr. Ismay."
At the boat deck ,Andrews was striding along the long wooden floored deck as seamen and officers scurried to uncover the boats. Steam was venting from pipes overhead and the noise they made was horrendous, speech was difficult adding to the crew's level of disorganization. Andrews saw some men fumbling with the mechanism of one of the crane davits like mechanisms and yelled to them over the roar of steam.
"Turn to the right! Pull the falls taut before you unhook. Have you never had a boat drill?" one of the seamen looked at him,.
"No sir! Not with these new davits, sir." Andrews looked around confused and enraged as the crew fumbled with the davits; a few passengers were coming out on deck, hesitantly in the noise and bitter cold.
In the first class corridors, the stewards were being painfully polite and obsequious; they were conveying no sense of danger whatsoever. However, it was another story in the steerage area in which the stewards would practically bang the door and then throw it open snapping on the lights on and yelling, "Everybody up. Let's go. Put your lifebelts on." In every corridor was the same scene; a steward going from door to door along the hall, pouncing and yelling, "Lifebelts on. Lifebelts on. Everybody up, come on. Lifebelts on..."
People came out of the doors behind the stewards confused and some of them still sleepy. Inside the wireless communication room, Smith was writing down a message that he then handed down to one of the men that worked in there.
"CQD, sir?" The young man asked.
"That's right. The distress call. CQD. Tell whoever responds that we are going down by the head and need immediate assistance." Taking the paper the young man started to work as quickly as his hands allowed him to.
Thomas Andrews looked around in amazement; the whole boat deck was empty except for the crewmen who were fumbling with the davits, when he saw the officer Murdoch he called the man to ask some questions.
"Where are all the passengers?" he asked irritated. It seemed to him that no one was really noticing or simply caring that they were sinking in the middle of the Atlantic.
"They've all gone back inside. Too damn cold and noisy for them." The officer said. Andrews felt like he was in some sort of a very a bad dream. Putting a hand in his coat pocke,t he pulled out a small golden a pocket-watch and after looking down at it, he glanced around and headed to the foyer entrance.
Inside the foyer a large number of first class passengers had gathered near the staircase, they were getting irritated about the whole situation, most of them were in a complete state of confusion and wondering why they were asked to put on the lifebelts, they knew the ship had stopped but no one really knew the reason. Molly Brown stopped a passing steward who was rushing about.
"What's doing, sonny?" She asked. "You've got us all trussed up and now we're cooling our heels."
The young steward backed away, actually stumbling on the stairs.
"Sorry, ma'am. Let me go and find out." The steward said resuming his mad run.
The jumpy piano music that was coming out of the first class lounge a few yards away was the only background noise that was also getting lost in the buzz of the people's constant talking. Clayton and Lord Ashford came walking to the A-deck foyer carrying the lifebelts, almost as if it was an afterthought. Behind them, the other Ashfords came along with Elizabeth who looked as if she was sleepwalking.
"It's just the God damned English doing everything by the book!" Clayton exclaimed. Lord Ashford, who was walking beside Clayton, glanced at the young man.
"I'd watch what you say, Clayton." He grumbled while putting on the coat that one of the maids handed him.
"Go back and turn the heater on in my room, so it won't be too cold when we get back." He ordered to the servant. Elizabeth watched what was going on around her, too oblivious in her own world, that she didn't feel the tugging on her coat. She looked down to see Nicholas glaring up at her.
"Nicholas, now is not the time!" She sighed.
"But he's innocent, Elizabeth!" The boy claimed. "Why would he steal from us? Clayton must've had Warner put it in his pocket to frame him!"
"Nicholas please!"
"Loki would never do that to us, I know it! And you know that too! He didn't do anything! And I'm going to prove it."
Elizabeth looked away from the young boy, not wanting to hear anymore. Looking around the magnificent room, Andrews walked around, looking preoccupied, knowing that the ship was doomed and that there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop what was starting. Elizabeth stood near the door that Andrews came in and she saw the heartbroken expression of the engineer. She walked over to him and Clayton and went after the young woman.
"I saw the iceberg, Mr. Andrews," said Elizabeth. "And I see it in your eyes. Please tell me the truth."
Andrews looked into Elizabeth's eyes and saw that the young woman was worried as well, and knowing that it was useless to keep the truth from the passengers any longer, he decided to tell to her the despicable truth.
"The ship will sink." He said staring down at the wooden floor.
"You're certain?" Elizabeth inquired.
"Yes." The builder nodded, "In an hour or so... all this... will be at the bottom of the Atlantic."
"My God." Clayton exclaimed. it was his turn to look stunned. The Titanic, the biggest ship in the world, the ship deemed 'The Unsinkable', was going to sink? That was something so unbelievable that had left Clayton Royce speechless.
"Please tell only who you must, I don't want to be responsible for a panic." Andrews said putting up his hands. "And get to a boat quickly. Don't wait. You remember what I told you about the boats?" Andrews had his hands on Elizabeth's shoulders.
"Yes, I understand. Thank you." The young woman said nodding. After that, Andrews went off moving among the passengers and urging them to put on their lifebelts and get to the boats. When Clayton and Elizabeth went back to their group to tell them what was happening, all five didn't notice Nicholas slipping away and leaving the foyer.
To Be Continued…..
