"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 Eight
177 AG
As Jinora slowly reentered consciousness, she became aware of the pain in her head, as if a cacophony of sledgehammers were banging on the inside of her skull. She curled up into the fetal position underneath her covers, feeling absolutely horrible. Why had she decided to drink that much last night in third class, on top of the two glasses of wine she'd consumed at dinner? Scrunching her eyes shut to block out the sun streaming in through the window, she made a promise to herself that she'd never drink another drop of beer for as long as she'd live.
Forcing herself to open her eyes again, she noticed Penga kneeling next to her, and it took everything she had not to scream and fall off her bed. "What is it?" she snapped, not in the mood for pleasantries. Her hangover had taken away every bit of forced kindness she could think of uttering.
Penga did not look taken aback—she merely sighed. After all, she'd known Jinora since she was three: nothing probably surprised her anymore. "Morning, ma'am," she said, her voice hindered by her Earth Kingdom accent. "Your fiancé wants to have breakfast with you on the private promenade."
"Tell him no," Jinora instantly replied, turning away from her maid. Out of everyone she did not want to see right now, LingShi topped the list—followed closely by her mother. She shuddered to think of how they'd take her current state: her mother might actually keel over at the thought of her perfect, obedient daughter having a hangover.
Penga walked around the side of the bed and knelt next to Jinora again, who noticed that she was holding the laundry basket between one arm and her waist. Her beer-stained dress topped the pile, and Jinora prayed to Raava and Vaatu that her maid would not put the pieces together or tell anybody. "Ma'am, he isn't—he won't take no for an answer. I already told him you were sleepin', but he made me wake you up. You don't even have to change, just meet him there."
Jinora forced herself to sit up, rubbing her eyes as she tossed the covers off her legs. Luckily it was warm in her room, so she didn't feel any colder. Her headache didn't dissipate, though. It was probably her punishment for everything wrong she'd ever done in her life. "Why does he want to talk with me now? I couldn't have possibly done anything to upset him, I've been asleep!"
"I know, ma'am, but he seems real angry," Penga said, standing up and hurriedly leaving the room.
After debating the merits of ignoring LingShi and going back to bed, Jinora realized that the pros outweighed the cons and threw on her red lace nightgown, abandoning the undershirt she'd slept in last night. She stormed down the hallway and pushed past a few stewards on her way to the promenade, where a table had been set up with the necessary utensils and trappings needed for breakfast.
LingShi sat in a chair facing her, sipping a cup of tea while staring at her with a curled lip and the demeanor of a predator eying its prey. "Good morning," he told her, his voice so falsely sweet that it nearly gave her a zit. "Won't you have a seat?"
"Good morning." Jinora, albeit all of her instincts were screaming for her to tell him to screw off, grudgingly sat down. She felt absolutely ridiculous, eating breakfast half-dressed with a hangover and a fiancé that looked ready to spill blood. "Why am I here, LingShi?"
"Because I asked you to be," was his simple response. "You're my fiancée and you are supposed to do as I say."
The room was silent, and as LingShi poured her a cup of tea and shoved it toward her, Jinora's mind raced to calculate the cause of her fiancé's anger. Obviously he was upset, but why? More importantly, was it about her? Did he know about her excursions below deck with Kai after dinner? What if—
Kai.
"What would you wish for?"
"Something I couldn't have."
Her heart sank, thinking about what she'd said to the young man who'd truly taken over her life in the last two days that they'd known each other. He was open, and kind, and unlike anyone she'd ever met before—but they could only be friends. They had to remain friends, for both his safety and hers.
But still, a part of her longed for her to have completed the distance between them on the deck last night. A part of her wished for them to have kissed, and she found herself imagining having breakfast with Kai, telling jokes and stories and sketching pictures of the cutlery. Perhaps afterward they would take a stroll on the deck, or lounge around.
It was, without a doubt, a better situation than the one she was in now.
She took a sip of her tea and frowned at the lack of cream and sugar. "You seem upset this morning," she remarked, trying with all her might to remain as blasé as possible.
"That's an overwhelming understatement," LingShi said, his voice nearly buckling from repressed anger. Jinora's teacup shook in her hand, and she set it down. "You're correct, Jinora. I am upset. I'm upset with you."
"Me?" Jinora knew deep down that that had to be the case, but she had no idea what she'd done. Lest he'd sent Ransik to find her—no, that couldn't be. She would've spotted him last night. "Unless you now have a problem with the hours that I sleep, then I see no reason for you to be upset with me!"
"You seem to have forgotten that I asked you to meet me in my quarters after dinner," LingShi hissed, and Jinora's breath caught in her lungs as she recalled everything. Even with Kai taking her to a real party, she'd had no intention of meeting LingShi in his room. She was young, but she knew that her soon-to-be husband had wanted to take her virginity since they'd been introduced.
Sweet Spirits, now she was screwed.
"I won't stand for you disobeying me, Jinora," LingShi was saying, and now he stood next to her—how had he moved so fast? Before she could blink, he'd grabbed her face in between both hands and gripped it tightly, probably leaving bruises. "Do you understand me?"
"I'm not some worker in a factory that you can command, LingShi," Jinora snapped, trying to move away from him but failing to dislodge his grip. "I'm your fiancée!"
LingShi's eyes darkened, and in one fluid movement he released her face, only to sweep the breakfast china off the table with a resounding crash before grabbing the sides of her chair, trapping her effectively. "Yes, you are! And you're also my wife in practice, if not yet by law. I will not be made into a fool whose wife traipses around with uncultured scum at a drinking party in steerage! You are required to honor me, Jinora, the way that a wife is supposed to honor her spouse, and if you don't do that then I'll take what I deserve by force. What part of that hasn't gotten through your goddamn skull?"
Nearly crying from fear and pain, Jinora shrank into her chair, only to see Penga standing frozen in the doorway holding two jugs of orange juice. LingShi turned to see what she was staring at, and straightened up. "Excuse me," he growled, stalking past the maid to enter the stateroom.
"Oh, Raava," Jinora murmured, wiping her eyes with a napkin as she forced her heart rate to slow down. She locked eyes with Penga, who'd abandoned the orange juice on the floor to clean up the rest of the mess. "I'm sorry, Penga…we—we had a little…accident."
"S'alright, ma'am," the maid muttered, sopping up the spilled tea with several napkins. "I'm sorry, too."
Jinora opened her mouth to ask what Penga had to be sorry for, and then closed it, understanding. She nodded at the maid, who nodded back, and then she swept out of the room to go and change for the day.
Kai walked with determination up the steps to the B-Deck, Skoochy and Tahno a few steps behind them. It might have still been early, but Kai had enough experience with hangovers to know that the rest of third class that'd drunk more than they had wouldn't be up and about until they felt the need for food, water, or the restroom. He'd forced himself out of bed because he needed to rectify whatever had happened between him and Jinora last night.
He knew the chances were high that he'd never see her again, but he needed to understand why they'd departed on such bad terms. They'd almost kissed—he knew that he hadn't imagined that.
"Kai, you sure you wanna do this?" Tahno asked, putting his hands on his hips. Skoochy looked about as nervous as Kai felt, and he twisted his pageboy cap around and around in his hands. Jaya was absent from her usual place by his side—she had opted to stay in Skoochy's bed.
Kai leaned against the gate separating third from second class and straightened the collar of his shirt. "I'm positive," he replied, trying to sound as confident as he felt.
"You're not being logical about this," Tahno warned. "Skooch, tell him that he ain't being logical about this."
"Love's not logical," Skoochy reprimanded, sighing slightly and his eyes seemed to glaze over as he tilted his head to the side. "At least that's what my Ma told me. And Jaya says the same."
"Like you can understand anything that comes out of her mouth anyways," Tahno retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.
The younger boy flipped Tahno off. "Look, bud, there's no denying that Jinora's like a goddess amongst mortal men," Skoochy said eloquently, and Kai was reminded yet again of Jinora coming down the stairs into the dining hall. Skoochy was right; Jinora was like a spirit among mortals. Was this like how Wan had felt with Raava in the legends? "But she's in a whole 'nother world from you, Kai. I'd say to forget her. She's closed the door on you. Just forget her!"
"…I can't." Not wanting to hear this from his best friend, Kai hopped the gate and began to move furtively toward the wall below the A-Deck promenade aft. He heard rather than saw Skoochy and Tahno's disgruntled sighs before they followed him. "I have to fix things," he told them. "We—I at least have to tell her goodbye." He glanced around the deck once he was sure that there was no one coming or going. "Are you going to give me a boost or not?"
Skoochy shook his head resignedly and put his hands together, crouching down. With Tahno spotting him, Kai stepped into his best friend's hands and got boosted up to the next deck, where he scrambled nimbly over the railing and into first class for the second time in less than a day.
Pema swept into the room just as Jinora opened her closet, selected a yellow and red dress and thrust it towards her. "You'll wear this with no complaining," she snapped, and Penga, who'd been standing at the ready to help Jinora get dressed, scurried out of the room to avoid Pema's backlash. Even Jinora's father (when he'd still been alive) hadn't messed with her mother when she was angry.
Jinora, however, had to say something when she got a closer look at the dress. "It must be seventy-five degrees outside today, Mother; I'm going to stifle wearing this!"
Pema ignored her and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't care if you stifle; you're still going to wear it. Think of it as a punishment for your actions—which, by the way, I was kind enough to hear of from your extremely cross fiancé! What the hell were you thinking, Jinora? Have you no sense of self-preservation?"
"Mother," Jinora said, pulling the dress on over her head, "in less than a week I'm going to practically be sold into a loveless marriage—I think I deserve the right to do as I please for as long as I'm able." She crossed her arms over her chest, knowing that she was being stubborn and decided to answer her mother's question. "I went into third class with Mr. Wen, yes, just the same as he went into first class with me. I don't see how any harm was done."
Pema, who'd brought her a corset, dropped the article of clothing on the rug, crossed to the door and locked it with a resounding clack. "This is not a game, Jinora!" she snapped, looking ready to throttle someone as she wheeled around and thrust the corset at her. "You know perfectly well how precarious our situation is. The money's been gone since Rohan was born and you know it!"
"Yes," Jinora said, for lack of anything better to say. "I know. You've been reminding me since you sold me to LingShi last year."
Pema's eyes suddenly narrowed. "Don't take that tone with me, Jinora. It's a fine match with the Zhang family, and it'll insure our survival."
"How can you put this on my shoulders?" Jinora asked, hurt and lost. What had happened to her kind and caring mother, who put the needs of her children over her own. "Don't you care about me at all?"
"What kind of a mother do you take me for? Do you think I wasn't tormented by having to match my eldest daughter to someone nearly double her age?" Pema retorted, and in her eyes was a sort of naked fear that Jinora had never seen before. "The Ayre Corporation's been failing for years, it cannot be rescued without outside help, Jinora. Do you want to see me and Ikki working as seamstresses? Or Meelo and Rohan forced to beg in the streets for scraps of food? Do you want to see our name be mocked at cotillions for the rest of our lives? Our memories will be scattered to the wind if you don't chin up."
"It's not right, Mother," Jinora breathed, knowing that she couldn't argue this any further. "It's all so unfair."
"We're women, of course it's unfair," Pema said, sighing as she pulled the back of Jinora's corset tighter. "Our choices are nonexistent."
Jinora locked eyes with her mother in the mirror, and for the first time in ages she saw Pema as her mother rather than some formidable figure. She saw her mother as a hardened, corset-wearing survivor—as someone who'd also once been promised to a man more than double her age, a man that she'd sired four children for. She was looking at an aging, desperate woman, and now knew it was as much a sacrifice for her mother as it was for her. They understood each other.
"Please, Jinora," Pema whispered. "For the sake of this family, please don't see that boy again. Will you promise?"
Jinora thought about her family, put herself in her mother's shoes again and nodded. "I promise."
It didn't mean she had to be happy about it, though.
A little while later, Sir Varrick had invited them to take a tour of the ship. Jinora had agreed, eager to break the monotony. She was quickly followed by LingShi, her mother, Lin, and some others. On their tour (which now had lasted for half an hour) so far they'd seen an exercise room with a rowing machine and electric camel-horses, along with the chart room, met the captain, and now were taking a stroll on the promenade deck.
"Excuse me, Sir Varrick," Jinora said, siding up to the eccentric ship-builder and his assistant as the others went on ahead. "I…I did the sum in my head and it appears that with the number of lifeboats on deck, there aren't nearly enough for everyone on board."
Varrick smirked at her as if she'd told an amusing anecdote. "I didn't expect anyone to make that connection." He sighed and crossed his arms. "To be honest, that wasn't my decision, and it wasn't Zhu Li's either. No, according to the captain, the extra lifeboats clutter up the deck space and it looks bad, therefore gaining the White Star Line bad publicity. At least, that's what I got from the whole thing."
"I don't know about the captain," Jinora replied, "but I'd much rather be safe with a cluttered deck of lifeboats than none at all. The White Star Line's publicity shouldn't be of a higher priority than the safety of the Titanic's passengers."
Zhu Li smiled, showing off perfect teeth as she adjusted her glasses. "You're the only one that seems to think so, Miss Gyatso," she remarked.
"Absolutely right," Varrick added. "But we've built you a great ship. It's strong and true, and I promise you that it'll be the only lifeboat you'll ever need."
The corner of Jinora's mouth quirked up into a half smile. "I'll take you up on that, Sir Varrick," she joked. "Please, go on ahead. I just want to take a look over here."
As Zhu Li and Varrick rejoined the group and passed Boat 7, Jinora approached the railing and stared out over the sea, which was a pale blue color in the afternoon light. I've only been here for two days, she realized. So much has changed since then.
Suddenly, someone tapped Jinora on the arm and she whirled around, gasping once she realized that it was Kai: he'd disguised himself in a gray top hat and the same suit jacket he'd worn last night. But how could it be? She—she wasn't supposed to see him again. And how had he gotten here?
"C'mon." He motioned toward the empty gymnasium and with a quick glance at the others she cut away from the group toward a door which Kai held open for her.
Spirits, my mother's going to kill me.
Kai closed the door behind his companion, and as she walked to the middle of the room he glanced out through the window to see if there was anyone who could see them. The gym instructor was chatting up the women riding the spin bikes in a separate room. They were alone, like he'd wanted, but now he was more nervous than ever.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
"This is impossible, Kai, I can't see you," Jinora sighed, starting toward the door. "I…I have to go."
"No, Jin, please, look, just hear me out, okay?" Was it his imagination or was he stammering now? He hoped he didn't sound deranged. "Please, I need to talk to you."
To his luck, she stayed where she was, although her gaze kept shifting toward the door.
"Look, Jinora." He took her by the shoulders. "You're…when we met I thought you were some spoiled little brat, but now I know how wrong I was. You have a strong heart and you're the most astounding and amazing girl I've ever known and—"
"Kai, I—"
"No, please, let me finish." He sighed, inhaling and exhaling as he tried to figure out the best way to continue. "You're ama—I'm not an idiot, I know how the world works. I've got two yuans in my pocket and I've got nothing to offer you. I understand if you don't…if you don't feel the same way, but I'm too involved now. Remember, if you jump, I jump? I can't turn away without knowing that you'll be alright."
Jinora's eyes were wet. "You're…" She swallowed. "You're making this too hard on me. I'll be fine, I promise."
"Really?" Kai shook his head in disbelief. "I don't think so. They've got you trapped in this world, Jin, like—like a bumblefly in a jar, and you're gonna die if you don't break free. Maybe not right away, because you're strong. But sooner or later the fire in you is going to go out."
Jinora placed her hand on his face, almost caressing it before she retracted it again. "It's not up to you to save me," she murmured, looking ready to cry.
"You're right, Jinora," Kai whispered, his entire body feeling numb. He bit his lip, trying not to cry too. "Only you can do that."
"I have to get back; they're going to miss me on the tour." Jinora brushed past him and walked to the door, turning around once she'd opened it. "Please, Kai, for both of our sakes," she said softly, "please leave me alone."
The door clanged shut behind her with a sort of finality, and despite the somber situation Kai had a feeling that this wasn't over yet, not by a long shot.
Thanks for all of your support, you guys, and I'm really sorry for the hiatus. Like Kai said, it's not over yet, so I hope you liked this chapter enough to leave me a favorite, a follow or a review. :)
Yours in Fanfiction,
-Boa :)