"Woah, she's beautiful. A ship fit for a captain." Hook is reveling in the beauty of the grand ship, positively beaming. He's marveling at her size, imagining himself captaining such a magnificent vessel.
Emma's eyes are wide, flashing across the giant letters in front of them. Henry's face is pale, his eyes growing fearful. "No— oh my god— no" is all Regina can breathe. At Regina's words, Hook looks at his three companions, confusion setting in.
"What?" he asks, not understanding why they all look panicked and down right terrified.
"This is the Titanic," Emma says slowly, eyes still locked on the big white letters.
"I can see that, love" Hook furrows his brow, unable to catch the significance. "Why are you all looking like that?" He's now growing concerned by the horror he sees on their faces.
Henry finally finds his words and speaks in a hushed voice so as to not let anyone else around them hear his words. "This is the Titanic, the grandest ship of all time. The most glorious disaster and tragedy"— he pauses for a moment shaking his head in awe and disbelief — "this ship hits an iceberg in the middle of the North Atlantic on its way to New York. It sinks. Over 2/3rds of the passengers die." Henry's voice falls silent and Hook looks around at Regina and Emma to confirm the boy's story. They're both scanning the ship with fear.
"Oh." Hook can't really find any words, but he's realizing they should stick to their mission and find Robin Hood. Looking around at the people around them, he decides they should blend in, as to not draw attention to themselves. "We need to find clothes to change into, blend in. Then we need to find Robin, love."
Emma nods at this, his voice luring her out of her trance. She places a hand on Regina's arm, attempting to bring her back to earth. At the contact, Regina shakes her head and speaks in a shaky voice, "Robin must have sailed on the Titanic. He never told me."
"Well we know he survives," Emma responds trying to comfort her friend. "Come on, we need to be more inconspicuous, and then we can find Robin." She's grabs Henry's hand and wraps her other around Regina, pulling her away from the ship toward the shops that line the port. Hook follows directly behind them.
As they mill through the crowd of people they catch bits and pieces of conversations, along with several bewildered looks by those they pass.
"When can we get on the ship, Daddy?" a little girl in a pink frilly dress asks the man she's clutching tightly in her hand.
"Tomorrow, sweet pea. Tomorrow we'll be sailing to America," he smiles down at his daughter. She jumps up and down excitedly at this.
"It must be April 9th." Henry put the pieces together. He's quite familiar with the tragic story of Titanic after all. It's always been one of his favorite topics to study in History.
When they reach the shops, they enter a less busy store that sells first class clothing. Across the shop they see two red-head women, one much younger than the other. "We have to look the part, Rose," the older woman was saying in a bitter tone.
"Oh, mother, this is ridiculous. I'm already marrying Cal for you, don't make me go through this charade anymore," Rose sassed back.
"Don't use that tone with me, young lady!" the older woman scorned, grabbing Rose's arm tightly. Rose winced. The four could see she was unhappy, miserable even.
"Wait, thats Rose! From the story!" Henry whispered to them. Emma smiled recognizing his connection. Regina seemed distraught for a moment. Witnessing this girl's interaction with her mother reminded her of the relationship she had with her own mother so many years ago, when she had been forced to marry Leopold. She shivers at the memory, shakes her head, and then proceeds to look for clothes.
They spend a few minutes collecting together several outfits and purchase them. Being that they're over 100 years in the past, they can buy more than they expect, making them appear far more wealthy than they would be in modern times.
"We should buy tickets, Mom" Henry addresses Emma this time.
"We don't even know if Robin was on Titanic yet. He could've just been in Southampton." Emma replies, yet she has a nagging feeling that he probably did sail on Titanic.
They find a place to change into their new clothes. Regina and Emma help each other into their corsets, gloves and stiff, starchy dresses. They meet Henry and Hook outside the shop. Regina is wearing a long navy dress with white lining around the edges, long sleeves, and a scoop neckline encrusted with small black beads. Her hair is drawn back and a wide rimmed matching hat is placed on her head. Emma is dressed in a cream colored gown with a black sash around the waist, a black overcoat that is buttoned snuggly overtop the dress. A white hat with a single feather is perched on the top of her head, a few loose curls framing her face. Henry and Hook have dressed in classic black suits and hats befitting the time period.
"You cut quite a figure in that dress, Swan" Hook says when he sees her.
"Well it sure as hell ain't comfortable," Emma replies, a hint of a smile etched on her face from his compliment, despite the unhappy tone of her voice.
"Come on, lets go find Robin." Regina looks determined now. "He's gotta be here somewhere."
"How the bloody hell are we gonna find one man in this crowd of people?" Hook asks doubtfully. Emma nudges him to be quiet and speaks up before Regina can fire back with an angry response.
"Finding people is what I'm best at. We'll find him. I know it, Regina." Regina nods, a glimmer of hope is evident in her eyes.
They wander through the crowd of people at the port, eyes peeled, ears listening intently for any sign of Robin. Emma suggests they stop by every shop, restaurant, and pub along the way. Each one they enter, looking around, but no sign of Robin. As they pass the ticketing area they hear a familiar voice. Regina swivels around immediately. Then they see him. Robin is standing at the counter, one hand passing money to the man on the other side of the glass, the other holding onto a little boy's. Roland, his precious dimple faced boy. Robin's back is to them, but they can see that he and his boy are no younger than they had been when they first met them in the Enchanted Forest, some 100years in the future. Obviously they had ended up someplace where they hadn't aged, Regina thought to herself, as she did everything in her power to resist the urge to run to him. Emma seems to fear that Regina would run to Robin, so she grabs her arm tightly. They all stand there for a moment, watching Robin buy two tickets for himself and Roland.
"Well, there's your answer then." Hook breaks their silence. "Looks like we'll be setting sail on the Titanic after all."
Emma audibly gulps. "I'll get the tickets. You stay here." She rushes over and steps in line, getting strange looks from those around her. They're confused why a 1st class woman such as herself isn't being escorted by a man. But she shrugs it off, not letting their looks distract her from her task. After a few minutes she has purchased 4 first class tickets and returns to Henry, Hook, and Regina. Regina hasn't taken her eyes off of Robin and Roland, who are now sitting on a bench nearby. Robin is talking to Roland, pointing up at the ship before them, Roland is visibly excited as he smiles widely and hugs his father.
It's starting to get late, the sun is setting. The crowd has dispersed significantly. Robin and Roland stand and walk toward a hotel down the street.
"So what now?" Henry asks as they're standing, awkwardly watching the two walk away.
"We wait until morning. We get on the ship and then Regina will meet Robin," Emma says confidently. She's already started devising a plan in her head.
They make their way to the hotel down the street, following Robin and Roland, making sure they stay far enough behind as to not draw attention to themselves. They get two rooms for the night and retire to bed. Regina can't sleep. She lays awake for what seems like hours. Knowing that Robin is here has comforted her. But she's impatient. Wants to see him, talk to him, touch him, kiss him. But she knows she has to do this right, or else things could turn out worse. Reluctantly she lets he eyes fall shut, letting the images of Robin and Roland together on the bench sooth her to sleep.