So content to sit and wait
So dedicated to your fate
To never move, to never chase
You just stand up there and watch

~"The Sighting" by A Fine Frenzy

Ellen

A mere few hours had passed in the night when Ellen was aroused from her sleep from a startling dream.

She had dreamt of herself in the arms of Mr. Robbins. She was gazing into his eyes, their embrace bringing them closer than she thought humanly possible. He was speaking sweet words to her and had her face cupped in his hands. He leaned in to kiss her when suddenly, something wet and extremely cold drew them apart. They were standing in the first class dining hall, surrounded by exquisite china and velvet chairs, but to her horror, water was rushing into the room. The room began slanting and soon the tables were all crashing into each other, sliding away from them as the room began tilting. She reached out for Mr. Robbins, but found herself now waist deep in water. Gasping, she tried to walk towards the promenade decks but her legs wouldn't move. She could see Mr. Robbins being swept away by a massive wave of water and watched in horror as he was sucked out of the doorway and out of her sight. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out and she began panicking as her legs continued to not work either. She could hear water rushing all around her and felt the water creep up from her waist to her shoulders and suddenly, it was closing around her neck. Just as it was about to immerse her completely underwater, she woke.

She sat straight up in bed, panting and covered in a cold sweat. Her hair had fallen out of its plait and was sticking to her forehead. She couldn't remember where she was, for the cot was rather soft compared to the one she had been sleeping in during the voyage and there was lots of light streaming into the room from behind the closed curtains. Startled, she almost got out of the bed when she saw the long silhouette on the floor next to her cot. The gentle breathing reminded her of where she was and she brought a hand to her chest, calming her racing heart.

Harold looked so peaceful asleep. She could only imagine how tired he must have been after the last few days of the voyage. She could've sworn that the minute her head hit the pillow in his cot that he had fallen straight asleep.

She smiled to herself and shook her head. She couldn't believe the situation she had put herself in by agreeing to stay in his room. She knew that she would be questioned endlessly by Mrs. Endres tomorrow morning but quite frankly, she didn't care. She couldn't bear to go back to that cabin and face Mr. Robbins and Rosalie after what had happened earlier that evening.

She laid back down, mindlessly plaiting her hair once more as she watched Harold from the corner of her eye. He was so thin, but so handsome! His hair had become messy from his sleep and she couldn't help but smile as she thought about his dark, brown eyes. She wondered how old he was and if he thought her a woman or a girl? She shook her head, clearing her thoughts and settling herself back into bed.

The clock Harold kept near the cot read 11:45. He had reminded her that he had rounds in the morning but wouldn't be disturbed during the night. She prayed this to be true as she felt herself dozing off once more.

She must have only laid there for a few minutes when she could hear shouting from the bridge. It was faint, but her eyes shot open as soon as she heard it. The panic in the tone of the voice shouting was what frightened her the most. Something about it told her something was horribly wrong, and she drew the curtains around Harold's cot so if someone were to walk in, she wouldn't be seen. However, after a few moments, the shouting from outside fell silent. She sat quietly in the cot, listening intently for whatever was happening outside to be brought to Harold's attention by a knock on the door, but nothing occurred. She decided to rest and get as much sleep as she could before dawn when she would have to leave to return to her cabin.

She fell asleep once more, blissful in her rest from how tired she can been the entire journey. However, she awoke again to a pair of hands shaking her.

"Ellen, Ellen!"

She woke up staring into a pair of dark brown eyes. Still half asleep, she shielded her eyes from the lights in Harold's room. He was holding both of her arms, sitting her up in the bed. From the way his brow was furrowed, she could tell something wasn't right.

"What's going on?" she asked sleepily. Seeing that she was awake, he walked over to the nearby dresser and began putting on his uniform. Was it dawn already? She yawned and checked the clock, which read 12:20 AM.

"What on earth is happening?" she said, suddenly awake as she realized it was in the middle of the night. Had they been discovered?

Harold finished dressing and for a moment remained gravely silent, which was terribly frightening to her.

"What is it?" she asked, throwing her covers off and standing up. She looked ridiculous in his clothes which were much too big for her and knew she must've looked a sight, but she could tell from the troubled look on his face that it was the least of her concerns right now.

"You need to go to your cabin," he said softly, taking his hat and placing it on his head.

"What's happened?" she asked. She could hear people running around outside, muffled shouts going on. It seemed that the entirety of the ship was awake by now, and what for?

"I was just woken up by another officer," he said, coming close to her and putting his hands on her shoulders. "I want you to listen to me very carefully, do you understand?"

She nodded, eyes wide.

"I need you to go downstairs to your cabin and collect your things," he said quickly. "Titanic has struck an iceberg."

"An iceberg?" she exclaimed, taking a step away from him. "Dear Lord…"

"You must be as quick as you can," he said. "The ship struck half an hour ago, we both slept through it. I'm sure by now the passengers are being herded up to the decks to the lifeboats, but you need to make sure that you get your things and make sure the Astors are aware of what is going on."

"Good God," she said, completely shocked. Harold quickly went to his dresser and handed her the dress she had been wearing earlier in the evening. He also slipped a hand underneath his cot and revealed a lifejacket.

"Put this on," he said. "I need to go to the bridge and do what I can to help with boarding the lifeboats."

"Is it that serious?" she inquired, slipping her dress messily over Harold's night clothes. She knew it was dreadfully cold out and she didn't have a jacket, so she was going to need as many layers as possible. She nervously began trying to lace the lifejacket to herself but her fingers kept fumbling. Harold stepped forward to help and his gentle touch helped soothe her.

"I'm not sure," he said. "We have compartments in the bottom of the ship that are supposed to keep the ship afloat despite being filled with water, but the ship's architect, Mr. Andrews, has informed us that these compartments will be filled plus more. It's looking like this ship will sink."

Ellen could barely take in all that he was saying to her. She was still tired and his words seemed to be a haze. "Will I be able to find you again?" she asked very quietly. As he tied the last knot on her lifejacket, he brought her close and hugged her tightly.

"Get to the decks as quickly as possible," he said. "Ask any officer where I'll be. I won't leave the ship until I know you're on a lifeboat."

He quickly went to the door and opened it. "I don't know if the ship will sink, but I'm not going to pretend that everything's okay. I need to find out more information myself."

They both slipped into the abandoned hallway and out onto the decks. It was absolute chaos outside. There were masses of seamen wandering about the decks, shouting orders every which way. Masses of finely dressed men and women were either milling about on the decks or just inside the rooms next to the promenade decks. It looked as if none of the lifeboats had been launched and nobody looked panicked, which helped settle her stomach. Harold and Ellen turned to each other and shook hands, taking a moment longer to stare at each other before parting ways.

For a moment, she debated whether or not to head to the Astors' room, but she knew that if the ship really was in danger that they were to be some of the first to be alerted. Steerage was far lower in the ship and would be some of the first rooms to be flooded if Titanic was truly doomed to sink. As much as she dreaded seeing Rosalie and Mr. Robbins, she wasn't going to doom Mrs. Endres just because of uncomfortable feelings.

She pushed her way through the crowd of people, remembering that Harold had told her over and over to be quick. As soon as she reached the second class decks, she broke into a sprint and made her way down to the steerage decks. People were giving her odd looks as she raced past them, but she didn't care how ridiculous she looked. All she could think of was the disturbed look in Harold's eyes when he told her what to do.

In the ship, the hallways were abandoned. It was eerily quiet and she could feel herself beginning to panic as she realized that what Harold had told her was mostly likely true. However, as she raced down flights of stairs to reach G deck, she could hear voices coming from the hallway her cabin was in. When she rounded the corner, a terrifying sight was before her.

At the very end of the hallway, she could see small amount of water collecting. People were milling about, panicked, and there was a line of people nearby all shouting. Behind her, she turned around and saw that steward had shut a thin, black gate in front of the stairwell she had just come down and locked it. Her eyes widened and she glanced around, frantically trying to find a way out.

"What's going on?" she asked to a woman when she reached the crowd. There was a large amount of people standing around a gate similar to the one she had just seen shut, shouting at the steward standing behind it.

"These bastards won't let us go to the decks!" the woman exclaimed, rocking the crying toddler in her arm. "The floor of my cabin is filled with water and I can't find me husband!"

"Why won't they let you up?" Ellen asked, being pushed around by the many people moving around her.

"They said they're waiting to load first and second class onto the boats, and then it'll be our turn," the woman said with a scowl. "And they're damn well taking their time, we'll all be underwater if they don't hurry up!"

Ellen wondered, the first and second class rooms were in the upper decks of the ship. They probably didn't realize the severity of the situation because water wasn't leaking into their cabins!

"Ellen!"

She spun around, nearly colliding noses with Mrs. Endres. She was still in her nightclothes with a lifebelt messily tied around her. Her hair which was normally either neatly braided or tucked in a bun was completely down and in disarray and panic was in her eyes.

"I'm so glad I found you!" she cried, throwing herself in Ellen's arms. Ellen was shocked; Mrs. Endres had never been one to show affection, especially with lots of people around. "I woke up to people yelling outside with Mr. Robbins and Rosalie nowhere to be found! Our cabin floor was covered in water, do you know what's happening?"

"The ship is sinking," she answered in a low voice. "We need to get to the upper decks as quickly as possible, but the stewards have shut the gates leading upstairs."

Mrs. Endres exclaimed something in Russian and turned towards the crowd of people, pushing forward herself. Ellen kept close behind until they were near the gate, able to see the terrified steward on the other side. He was calmly trying to talk to the passengers screaming at him from the other side, but she could see his knees shaking and his face was flushed red. She could literally feel the panic in the air around her and could feel herself growing dizzy from all the excitement. The sound of water creeping up the hallway was frightening her to the core, and she looked on at Mrs. Endres who was staring at her, waiting for instructions on what to do next. But Ellen had no answer, which was what frightened her the most.

We're at the sinking! Thankfully we all know Harold survives the sinking, but what is to become of the rest of the characters from the Astor household?

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