This is something I've wanted to do for years, but just never had found the inspiration for it. Until now! :D
This story is heavily based on James Camerons movie "Titanic" from 1997. I will follow some of the plot from the movie, but I will also change some things so that it won't become a repeat of the movie with Skulduggery Pleasant characters in it.
I really hope you will enjoy this story! :)
A large, majestic ship stood in the Southampton harbor. It had a black underbody with white railings, wood colored deck and four large chimneys. The crew were busy preparing for departure and there were thousands of people in the harbor that either was about to board the ship or that was going to wave goodbye to their loved ones. The ship had 2,566 passengers who were to get on board and there were roughly 900 crew members whose task was to ensure that everything would work flawlessly on the ship.
It was April 10, 1912, and within hours the RMS Titanic was set to set sail for the first time on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, USA.
One of the passengers heading aboard was a young woman at the age of 20 who was going to live in first class because her parents were rich, or at least had been until just a few weeks ago. Her father had invested in some businesses that hadn't paid off and now they were almost completely ruined.
This trip would be her last before she was married off to another young man who came from another wealthy family. The only reason she had chosen to do this was to save her parents from having to become part of the third class, because she loved them both more than anything else and didn't want anything bad to happen to them.
The young woman looked up at the Titanic the moment she got out of her horse drawn carriage. She wasn't exactly impressed by the ship, but rather thought it was just a big piece of metal floating on the sea that would take her to her doom. Why would she think it was majestic when all this journey would give her was the illusion of being free?
Behind her, her parents stepped out and they both looked up in great wonder at the ship in front of them. The young woman's mother grabbed her daughter's arm and pulled her close to her own body while wearing a big smile on her face. "Isn't that amazing, Valkyrie? To think we are the first to experience this ship and all it has to offer!"
"Yes, mother, it's absolutely amazing…" Valkyrie said, with a voice that was dripping with irony.
Her mother gave her an accusing look that Valkyrie ignored. Instead, she let her gaze sweep over all the people around her who would either join them on the trip or who would remain in England. She envied all the people who would be left behind. She wished that she too could get back into the carriage and return home to her estate which she had inherited from her uncle Gordon and which she would now only be able to see a few times a year the few times her future husband would allow her to return home to visit her family.
And speaking of the devil… Footsteps could be heard behind Valkyrie and her parents, and it wasn't many seconds before a male voice said "Isn't she amazing? She is said to be unsinkable and who are we to argue against the experts?"
Valkyrie took a very deep breath and somehow managed to plaster a smile onto her lips before turning towards her husband-to-be, Caelan Stephens. He was a 26-year-old man with black hair and dark green eyes. He was tall and well built. He seemed to care about himself and his appearance, which to many women in their circle meant that he was a good catch, but to Valkyrie only supported her realization that the only thing Caelan was, was a self-absorbed piece of shit.
Ever since the first day they had met each other for the first time, she had understood that her marriage to Caelan would not be filled with love like her parents'. Instead, it would be marked by jealousy, suspicion, frustration, anger and violence. She had learned this the hard way, as Caelan could become very domineering, close, and violent when they were alone, especially if Caelan had had something to drink, which he usually did when her and his family got together.
She had also noticed that Caelan had a very short temper and could flare up over the slightest thing. It could be enough that someone looked at him askance or said the "wrong" thing. If you didn't apologize right away, you could end up with Caelan's fist in your face within the next minute.
So far, he hadn't beaten her, but Valkyrie knew that day would come sooner or later. Probably faster than she thought.
Caelan was now smiling at her with a twinkle in his eye that made Valkyrie shudder inside with loathing, disgust and hatred. She had seen Caelan give her that look many times before and she knew what he wanted to say with that look.
Soon Valkyrie you will be mine and then I can do whatever I want with you.
Valkyrie turned away from her fiancé and instead let her gaze wander over the Titanic. She had to admit to herself that now that she had gotten the chance to inspect the ship a second time, the ship was quite beautiful. She wished so deeply that this trip didn't have to be her last in freedom, but it was just to like the cards she had been given and try to make the best of the situation.
"Valkyrie, my dear, you are truly extremely beautiful this morning. That white dress and jacket really frames your body in a very flattering way," Caelan said, resting his hand on the small of Valkyrie's back.
Valkyrie smiled stiffly but didn't meet Caelan's gaze. "Thanks, Caelan."
"Now it's not far until we finally become husband and wife. Aren't you excited about our marriage?" Caelan asked, his grip on Valkyrie tightening slightly.
"I'm in ecstasy," Valkyrie replied as she met Caelan's gaze. Her smile had now disappeared, and she looked at Caelan with an icy gaze.
The idea was that they would get married when they arrived at their final destination of New York, USA, at one of Caelan's relatives' estates. Valkyrie knew that Caelan was very expectant as she is a young, beautiful and respected young woman with a good reputation in their circles. Having Valkyrie by his side would make him look good and give him more respect among the men, which in turn would make it easier for him to carry out his business. He also believed that Valkyrie should be able to give him many healthy, strong children considering her young age and because she was a virgin.
"A virgin means that she is completely pure which also increases the chance that she will be able to get pregnant more easily," Valkyrie had heard Caelan say to one of his friends a few days after their engagement had become a fact and those words had made her loathe for him to increase even more.
He just sees me as an object that he can do whatever he wants with, Valkyrie had thought to herself, making a promise to herself that she would do everything she could to make sure she couldn't grant Caelan his wish.
Before Caelan could say anything, a whistle sounded from above the ship, causing them both to turn their faces up towards it. Valkyrie could both hear and feel her parents approach them. "I think it's time to get on board now," said Desmond Cain, Valkyrie's father.
"It was really about time! I thought we'd have to stand here long enough to start growing stuck to the ground," Melissa Cain, Valkyrie's mother, replied before starting to follow the rest of the first-class passengers up a ramp that led up to the ship's deck.
Valkyrie followed her parents up the ramp and when they had come up to the deck she turned around and looked out at the enormous crowd below her. She once again felt that sting of jealousy over not having to go through with this trip, but now there was no longer any way for her to return.
Caelan stood next to her and put his arm around her shoulders as he watched the people below them. "Poor bastards who cannot afford this trip. They don't know what they're missing out on." He fell silent for a moment before continuing "Though at the same time, maybe it's just as well. After all, most of the people down there are third-class and the fewer of them we have on board this boat, the better."
Valkyrie recoiled at Caelan's words and glared at her fiancé with disgust and anger. If it weren't for the fact that she was a nice lady with a reputation to uphold, she would have beaten him so hard that he would have fallen over on his pathetic little ass on the ship's deck.
She turned on her heel and followed the stream of passengers heading to their cabins. She could hear Caelan calling her name behind her, but she ignored him. She entered through a pair of large oak doors and found herself in the first-class dining room. She stopped and couldn't help but admire the room. It was beautifully set with white tablecloths and silver cutlery on the tables. There were flowers on every table and a chandelier hung from the ceiling that Valkyrie knew would give the passengers light in the evenings after the sun went down. In one corner was a smoking table for the men where they could sit and smoke and drink whiskey while discussing important business, their wives and possible love affairs.
She walked through the dining room, letting her hands slowly caress the tablecloths on the tables as she passed. So, this is where she would spend her mornings, lunches and dinners during this trip? Seated among all other first-class passengers. This is where she would sit and look pretty while being silent unless she was allowed to speak. This is where she would sit day in and day out next to her loathsome fiancé and play the role of happy fiancée who couldn't wait to be married off.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away. She wasn't going to show anyone what she really felt inside, because all this frustration, anxiety, anger and despair she would have a chance to vent off later. She would have plenty of time to cry when she was home alone in her new home in New York while Caelan was away on all his business trips and the only people who could hear her despair would be their servants.
Valkyrie emerged into a long corridor that consisted of doors on either side, and she suspected she had arrived at the first-class cabins. She walked up to a door and saw that it had a name tag that said "Johnson". Since it wasn't her cabin, she continued down the corridor. Each door she passed she checked the name tag but none of the doors had her name on them. It wasn't until she turned the corner and was halfway through the next corridor that she found a door with the name "Cain" on it.
She put her hand on the doorknob and opened the door. The first thing she was greeted with was a large hall that was adorned with a red and yellow carpet with some intricate embroidery that was probably supposed to be beautiful, but that Valkyrie just thought looked like someone had smeared a bunch of paint on it and called it "art". To the right was the bedroom, which consisted of a double bed and a single bed and associated toilet. To the left was a large wardrobe and straight ahead was the living room. At the end of the living room was another door, which Valkyrie suspected led to Caelan and his valet's cabin, since he and her parents had insisted on having their cabins side by side.
The thought of having Caelan so close to her even when she slept made her stomach knot in disgust. What was it that said he couldn't sneak up to their cabin in the middle of the night and watch her while she slept?
She was interrupted in her thoughts by the boat whistle blaring and the sound of the engines starting to move somewhere below her. She could feel the Titanic moving and she knew that now there really was no turning back. Now her journey to hell had begun and from now on her life as a free woman would be over.
The tears that Valkyrie'd been trying to hold back were now flowing freely down her cheeks and that's how her parents found her a few minutes later when they came to inspect the cabin.