Author'sNote:

Heya! Let's go for chapter 2, shall we?

Oh, and here's my forgotten disclaimer: I own nothing but this story! All characters belong to ABC's Once Upon a Time, Lightstorm Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, and of course to the wonderful James Cameron!

Parlor Suite B51-53-55:

She sighed, knowing it was no use to try and convince him to let it slide.

"I was with Rose… she heard what Mr. Hockley said, and she didn't know what to do, so I helped her out, comforted her, told her she'd be alright. Then of course I delivered her back to her room, to make sure she got there safely. Then I came straight here, I didn't mean to worry anyone…and I'm truly sorry if I did."

He smiled a sugary sweet smile, "Oh Honeybee, it's alright. I'm glad Ms. DeWitt Bukater and soon-to-be Hockley is safely back into her rooms. But do keep in mind to let anyone know next time, if I'm not there, then your mother, and hers, so that we know where you are…"

She smiled in return, all the while knowing she wouldn't be able to make an excuse tonight. "Of course…I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

He smirked deviously, and of course she already knew the answer.

She'd just hoped for some luck, but no, it wasn't in the cards for her.

"Of course there is, Honeybee. You know that…"

She nodded, and thought, 'alright time to take a piece of your own advice, Regina… it'll only get easier as time progresses…'

"Oh, of course." She then walked past him and he put an arm around her, as he directed her toward their bedroom. Closing the doors behind them.

3rd Class:

Later that night Robin and Jack laid on top of their bunks.

"Whoa, that were some pretty ladies weren't there?" Robin stated, while hovering above Jack.

"Well, yes, but Emma's right. There's no way we'll ever get next to the likes of them. And they may be pretty, but knowing first-class people, they'd do anything to let us steerage lads know where we stand. Which is, far below them. And then, even if we would get them, which is highly unlikely, they might just go running back to the dear first-class businessmen, because we'd have nothing to offer them…"

"That's for sure, yes. They're too far out of reach, but that doesn't mean that we can't admire them, from afar, right?" Jack chuckled, "Good point. Admiring from afar it is, then."

On the morning of April 11th, they met up for breakfast with Emma, and her son Henry. He turned out to be quite a curious lad, which Emma scolded him for, but Robin and Jack didn't mind. Later that morning, they'd take him outside to play.

The 3rd class cook, Granny Lucas, was an old but nice lady.

Sometimes, as she walked around with the Swedish bread, she'd stop and talk for a few minutes. As she did today. However, their conversation was interrupted when a tall brunette, richly clothed, no doubt one of the first-class ladies, came walking into the room. Everyone looked up from their plate, and Emma eyed the brunette suspiciously. Whispering to Robin and Jack, "I've no idea what she's doing here, but clearly she wants to show how much power she holds. She could just go eat with the rest of her stuck-up type people…"

Granny walked over to the brunette. "Ruby darling, what are you doing all the way down here? You're a first-class passenger…" Emma frowned, "Why's Granny calling her darling?" The boys just shrugged, having no idea either.

"Oh Granny… I can't stand it up there, those people are so stuck-up, I just don't fit in…"

then the brunette walked over to where Robin, Jack, Emma and Henry were seated. "Can I sit with you guys instead?"

The boys shrugged, "Sure…". And so 'Ruby' sat down next to Jack.

"Hey, I've seen ya fellows before, you're those two boys that were staring at my two friends yesterday from the poop deck."

The boys blushed, and Henry spoke up, ever the curious lad. "Will you tell us what first class is like?" Ruby chuckled, "It's luxurious, but full of arrogant people…" Emma interrupted her, "and you aren't?". Ruby sighed, "No, I'm not. I used to be as poor as you guys, until I found out my father left me loads of money after his death. I don't really fit in with the rest of 'em." Emma nodded, "oh…".

Ruby nodded, "Anyway, there's only two or three people that actually aren't as stuck-up as the rest of 'em." Henry nodded, "will you tell us about them?" And Ruby chuckled, "Sure, what would you like to know?" Henry smiled brightly, "Everything. I want to know everything."

Parlor Suite B52-54-56:

Rose awoke with a start, and found it quite a bit heavy to get up.

Then, she remembered what had happened last night, and found that she lay indeed with Cal on top of her. And she didn't like that at all. She had suffered through it, and had faced her fears, like Regina had told her. She had still hated it, and Cal both, but it was manageable.

Regina had been right, though. When she had told Rose how it might hurt. She'd had to try very hard not to scream it out from the pain.

She felt the need to cleanse herself. Right now, she felt dirty, and she really wanted that feeling to go away. And so, she went about untangling herself from Cal, and waking Trudy, so she could ask her to draw a bath…

As she went to look for her, she found that Trudy was already wide awake. "Trudy, can you draw me a bath, please?"

Trudy nodded, "Of course, Miss." And Trudy went about drawing a bath. As Trudy was busy drawing a bath for her, she went to take a look at what clothes she'd laid out for Rose for the day. And Rose had to say that it was a pretty impressive choice.

Then, Trudy came back, letting her know that the bathtub was ready for her, and that she should call for her when she was finished.

Rose nodded, and went to take her bath.

While Rose was in the tub, both Cal and Ruth awoke from their slumber. "Good morning, Ruth." He greeted his mother-in-law to-be with a charming smile. "Good morning, Mr. Hockley." She greeted him. "Good morning, Mr. Hockley, Mrs. DeWitt Bukater…" Trudy put in with a smile, but was ignored completely.

Instead, Ruth put in, "Trudy, pick out another outfit for the day. I don't think I'll wear this one today." She pointed at the clothes from last night. Trudy nodded, "Of course, Mrs. DeWitt Bukater." And left for her employer's bedroom. Leaving Ruth and Cal alone in the sitting room.

"Well, Ruth, I must say that your daughter is a true delight. But I don't really like the fact that she keeps trying to resist me. I want her to finally open up, but she seems persistent in doing the exact opposite."

Ruth sighed, "well perhaps you should give it to her tonight."

He nodded, "do you think it'll work?" Now she nodded, "if it doesn't, nothing will." He sighed, "well, alright then, I'll give it to her tonight."

Ruth smiled, "well, let's go get ready for breakfast, shall we? Rose will be out of the tub soon, and we wouldn't want her to know what we've been talking about, or she'll get curious. And it's supposed to be a surprise…"

He nodded. "You're right. Let's go get ready. And tonight, I'll surprise Rose with my gift." Ruth nodded.

Parlor Suite B51-53-55:

She woke from her 'peaceful' slumber, finding herself next to Leopold once again. When they were still in Southampton, she hadn't had to share a bed with Leopold, so it had been fairly easy, but she didn't have that option here, and she wouldn't have it in Philadelphia either. She now felt like a caged bird, wanting to escape.

She didn't exactly like being trapped, but she'd had no choice. Cora, her mother, had been ruthless. She needed a man to take care of her, and nothing less than a rich businessman would do. Only then she could be sure to have everything her heart desired. And that had been the end of the discussion.

But that was just the thing. She didn't want money. She wanted love. But that was a rare thing to find among the rich people. So, she gave up on trying to find it. Now that she had met Rose, however, her fire had been reignited. She was determined to escape from this prison, she just had to find the way out.

She got out of bed, and had Eva help her dress up for the day.

It wasn't long after that both her mother and Leopold awoke as well.

Together, they made their way to breakfast. Regina figured that maybe she could get out of that tour on the ship later this afternoon.

She could feign a headache, and go search for that fellow from third class she had seen staring at her the day before.

In the end, she opted not to go that way. What use would it be? She'd just have to sit through the tour. Perhaps the boys would be outside again, so she could look for them without being caught…

She then got snapped back into reality, all of the sudden. Her mother looked at her, quite expectantly, even. "I'm sorry, Mother. What did you say?"

3rd Class:

Ruby smiled, as she started talking, "so, there's these two girls, one of them is 18, the other 17. They have quite a lot of things in common, I should say. Their mothers, are quite demanding, so demanding that they're forcing the girls into marriage…" Henry piped up, "so they don't actually love the men they're marrying?"

Ruby shook her head, "no, and the men don't love the girls either. Leopold Blanchard, is only hoping for Regina to bear his child. Preferably a son, who would be able to take over the business when he's old enough. Caledon Hockley, on the other hand, just wants to be able to say that he's found himself a pretty girl to marry. So, you could say that the girls are essentially just two birds trapped in a cage."

Emma took a sip of her tea, "serves them right. Stuck-up bitches from first class." Henry shot his mother a glare, "you're stereotyping, mom. Perhaps they aren't so bad. If we could just…" and then he got an idea, "Ruby! I know what we need to do."

Ruby leaned over to him, and said, "and what's that, Henry?"

Henry grinned, childishly, "if we could get them to come down here, then perhaps they'll be able to make some more friends… and then we can help them escape from their cage…"

Ruby's eyes lighted up, "now that's a real good idea, but they're constantly being watched by their mothers and 'fiancés'. So, tell me, how does this work?" Henry just grinned. "Oh, I'll think of something, first, we'll need to think of a name for this operation…" Emma just sighed, "Henry…"

He glared at her, "no, mom, we have to at least try to help them…"

Ruby's eyes glimmered, "I think I know the perfect name for this operation…" Henry smiled, "really?"

Ruby nodded. "Regina, the name of one of my friends, means Queen in Latin. Henry, how about we call this one operation Queen?"

That afternoon:

They had left Queenstown, a few hours earlier and were now on the open ocean. Ruby had joined the group that consisted of Leopold, Cora, Regina, the Captain, and Thomas Andrews, the ship's architect. They were walking along the Boat Deck, and Regina couldn't help but notice that there were very few lifeboats. Or at least not enough for everyone on board. She shared her concern with Ruby, not daring to talk to Mr. Andrews about it. She was sure he had had his reasons.

Ruby, however frowned. She didn't buy into the whole 'unsinkable' thing. Every ship could sink, she just knew that with Titanic, the chance of that happening was very small. The watertight bulkheads, and doors would prevent the other compartments from walking over with water.

When they were just about to reach the Bridge, a little boy showed up, tapping Regina on the shoulder. When she turned around, she saw that the boy was poorly dressed. How did he get up here? Clearly he's from steerage, she wondered.

The boy smiled up at her, as the group walked on.

"What are you doing up here, young man?" He had a mischievous glint in his eyes, "are you Regina?" She frowned, how did this boy know her name? "Uh, yes, but who are you? And how do you know my name?" The boy shrugged, "Ruby told me. And my name's Henry, Henry Swan. And I want you to come with me."

She frowned, "come with you where? You're not even supposed to be up here…?" He sighed, rolling his eyes, "to steerage. Ruby told me everything, she'll keep them busy for you."

She thought about it for a moment, "okay, say I come with you, what do I get out of it?" He grinned mischievously, "a few hours of freedom… and fun… perhaps you'll even meet your soulmate…"

She frowned, "I doubt that, but sure. I'll come with you. If that's what you want…" He took her hand, "Great. Let's get going then."

3rd Class Common room:

Everyone in the 3rd class common room looked up when they saw a first-class lady come walking in for the second time that day. The boy lead her to a bench where a blonde woman was seated with two young men, the same as yesterday, she saw. She totally didn't fit in here, with the way she looked. Far too rich, these people were probably all poor… oh, she'd get a firm scolding from her mother if she'd ever find out where and with whom her daughter was hanging out…

The blonde, she saw, looked her up and down suspiciously.

She didn't see fear in her green eyes, unlike with most of the other people, but the woman didn't trust her. No, not at all. And honestly, she couldn't blame the blonde. If she were in her place, she probably wouldn't trust herself either. The blonde finally spoke up, "so you're the Evil Queen my son so desperately wanted to save from her perfect little rich life…"

Regina just laughed, haughtily, "wherever did you come up with that nickname?" The blonde snorted, making Regina cringe, "well, it's easy. I heard from your 'Ruby' friend that your name means 'Queen' and since you first-class girls are all the same kind of stuck-up bitches, I just decided that evil would fit you well."

Now, it was Regina's turn to snort, even though she quickly covered it up with a cough. "I'm sorry to disappoint, but evil isn't exactly my kind of thing. Not unless you want it to be. And you know nothing about my life. It isn't all what it looks like. It's mostly just a façade. You have no idea what happens behind the screens, where no one cares to look, because everyone is just so superficial. You have no idea how men look at women up there. So don't pretend that you do. Who are you even?"

Emma sighed, "the name's Emma Swan." Regina flashed a smile, as she spoke with her rich accent, "I'm Regina. Regina Mills. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Swan. Now, let's agree to keep it civil, alright?"

Emma half smiled, "sure. But then you'll have to start calling me Emma. As is my name." Regina chuckled, "I think I can do that… Emma."

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the ship…

"Captain, people think the ship is unsinkable, even her designer seems to think so. Do you agree with that?" Captain Killian Jones shook his head. "No, I don't think she's unsinkable. Each and every ship can sink. Of course, Titanic is a special case, as she's built from the strongest of steels, but if hit at the right place, she could sink. But I doubt she will. She's strong, and tough. She won't sink. No need to be worried, First Officer. If I thought there was even the slightest chance of this ship sinking on her maiden voyage, I wouldn't have signed up to be her captain. I assure you, she won't sink. Not on my watch."

The First Officer nodded, and went back to work.

Not knowing what would await them, all of them, just a few days later.

Later, in the B-Deck corridor:

Rose was walking through the B-Deck corridor, when she heard a strange sound coming from room B53. She frowned, for as far as she knew, that was the room Regina shared with her mother and Leopold Blanchard. Perhaps something was wrong with Regina? But no, this didn't sound like someone was being attacked, or like something was wrong with her friend. In fact, it didn't sound like Regina at all. But she couldn't place who it was that the voice belonged to. All she knew, was that she heard Leopold, and whomever else the girl was that she heard…

And then, all of the sudden, everything clicked into place. It was no screaming or yelling from pain, it was from pleasure… Leopold was cheating on her friend?! How unfair… She had to find Regina. Now.

First-Class Promenade:

Ruby Lucas had made herself comfortable in one of the deckchairs of the first-class promenade, when suddenly she saw Rose come her way.

And she frowned, "Rose, darling, what's wrong?"

Rose sighed, "I have to find Regina. Now. It's very important… do you know where she is?" Ruby's frown deepened, "as a matter of fact, I do, but why are you looking for her? Is it her mother? Or Leopold? Are they looking for her?"

Rose shook her head. "No, it's worse. I have to find her. Please, tell me where she is…?" Ruby sighed, "alright then, this morning, I went to visit my grandma in Steerage, she's the cook there, and I met this kid, his name is Henry. And he wanted to know everything about first-class life. You see, I used to be a poor girl, like them, and suddenly my father died, and left me a shitload of money. As you can see, I don't really fit in with the crowd here. He and I, concocted up a plan, a plan to give her a few hours of freedom. I would keep her mother and Leopold distracted, and he'd take her to Steerage, so she could have a bit of freedom… if all is well, she should still be there now."

Rose nodded. "Okay, thank you, Ms. Lucas. I'll go see if she's there, then. Thank you for the help." Ruby made a dismissive gesture, "it's fine. Now go find her. And please, just call me Ruby, there's no need for formalities." Rose then nodded, and took off.

Determined to find her friend, she strode her way into the third-class saloon, and saw that everyone looked up at her. Of course, she didn't actually belong here, that much was clear. Then she went looking for her friend.

She then spotted her sitting with a small group. Amongst who, a boy, no older than ten, two young men, and a blonde woman. She strode over to the group. "Hi… would you mind if I borrowed my friend for a moment?" The blonde looked her up and down suspiciously, "you must be Rose, then." and Rose nodded, "Yes I am."

Regina frowned as she saw Rose walk up to her, but didn't say anything. Perhaps her mother and Leopold were looking for her? Did Rose come to warn her? Then Rose asked Emma if she could talk to Regina for a moment, and Regina's frown just deepened, but she walked away with Rose anyway. To a small corner, where no one would be able to overhear them.

Regina sighed, "okay, you're clearly here for a reason. What is it? My mother? Leopold? Are they looking for me?" Rose shook her head, "No… it's worse… I was walking through the B-deck corridor, past your rooms, and I heard a strange sound. I thought maybe something was wrong with you, or something. So, I stopped, and listened closer, and then I realized that it wasn't you that I heard, and it weren't screams from agony either. No, it sounded like Leopold and whatever woman were having quite some fun. Gina, honey, you're being cheated on."