Following luncheon we promenaded along the enclosed first class deck, only returning to our cabins to change for dinner. A number of passengers had been brought over by tender from Cherbourg, all dressed for dinner. That night's dinner passed in a blur, and before I knew it I was allowing Marie to remove the pins from my hair and turn down my bed. I patiently worked a brush through my hair, reveling in the pins being gone. They allowed for some magnificent hairstyles but I found they pinched roughly as the day wore on.

The brush was taken from my hand, Mother's soft fingers holding the handle. "Thank you Marie, that will be all for tonight." In the mirror's reflection I could see Marie bob and leave. Only once the door shut again did Mother speak again. "What happened with Zachary?"

I looked up to her hazel eyes, the brush still moving softly through my hair. "He came up behind me while Mr. Murdoch was inviting us to lunch. Grabbed my shoulder and asked if we would be late due to the incident."

"Anything else?"

"He called me 'Stasia." I blinked away the memory, shaking my head slightly, "Fortunately Mr. Murdoch stepped forward and escorted me down to the restaurant."

The brush stilled, and she set it down on the vanity. "That childish nickname. You would think the boy would grow up. Your grandmother would have died of shame to hear her name abused in such a way." Her hands settled on my shoulders, fingers brushing against the fabric of my nightgown. "Your father spoke to a steward, he said that your Mr. Murdoch stands watches from ten to two, morning and night. During those times I want you with me or in the ladies areas. The night should prove no problem."

"Oh Mother, don't you remember how I enjoy sneaking out of bed at all hours?" I smiled up at her in the mirror.

She chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Good night, Anastasia. We're having breakfast delivered tomorrow morning. Oh and your Father ran into the Hockley heir in the smoking room. We're invited to dine with their party tomorrow night."

"We've floated enough of his steel to deserve a meal." I smiled at her as she moved back to her cabin, the door sliding smoothly shut behind her. From there all that was left was to go to bed, the sheets silky smooth under my hands. Titanic was a marvel, I could barely feel the rocking of the waves. Only the slight vibration of the ship's engines and the strange feeling of moving forward while laying down. I was thaknful for the smooth sailing, Father had insisted on me accompanying him on short trips when I was younger, and I was seasick the whole trip the first time from the rough seas. It was only on the return trip that I found my 'sea legs' as he put it. Soon every time a ship came in I was down at the docks with him, running around like a hellion with the sailor's children. One time a boy had convinced us to steal a rowboat and row out to meet the ship before she docked.

Father had thought it a lark to see me sitting on the captain's shoulders as the ship was tied up. I held that day in my mind as I laid down to sleep, ignoring how he probably had forgotten all about that day. But I remembered, I remembered the yellow ribbon in my hair, I remembered how he had tossed me up into the air, calling me his little sailor.

Holding that memory tight I fell soundly asleep.

Morning dawned bright, even through the drawn shades. By the time Marie had appeared I had already used the sink to wash and donned what I could of my undergarments. All that was left was for my corset to be tightened and petticoats and skirts fastened. I buttoned a shirtwaist up, pulling on a green jacket with a braided trim over it that matched the skirt. Marie twisted my hair into a bun, fortunately a style that did not involve an inordinate number of pins.

When I stepped though to the other cabin Mother was wrapped in a dressing gown, enjoying a silver dish of scrambled eggs while Father snored in bed. A small plate of fruit had been brought with it, I swiped an apple off of it and swiftly disposed of it. Placing the core down I turned to Mother. "I am going up. We should be arriving in Ireland soon, I want to watch."

"Then gather your officer and watch." She stabbed a piece of egg, "I will be lunching in the cafe if you wish to join me."

"Of course Mother, we shall have to eat in every place before we leave." I picked up a pair of gloves, then set them back down. In the morning it was perfectly acceptable to be without one's gloves. I quickly headed up to the Boat Deck, finding a steel fence across the end of the first class promenade, a sign proclaiming that the deck ahead was the territory of the ship's officers. I leaned over the edge, hoping to catch a glimpse of my escort. It was eight, he should be somewhere around here. An officer, too slightly built to be Will, stepped out. I sang out, "Excuse me, is Mr. Murdoch up there?"

He turned, "Beg your pardon, Miss. Mr. Murdoch is in the mess, back down the promenade, by the third funnel."

"Thank you, Mr. ..." I trailed off, unsure of his name.

"Second Officer Lightoller, miss. Have a pleasant day." He tipped his cap before stepping back into the bridge. I followed his directions, quickly finding myself outside a window looking in on a rather spartan dining room. I could see Will there, along with some other men in uniform. I was too early then, they were still eating. I found myself a deck chair, arranging it so I had my back to a wall, could see both ways down the promenade, and more importantly, would be unable to miss the door to the mess opening. I sat down to wait, watching the sea slip by.

A few exited before I spotted Will leaving. "You've kept me waiting Mr. Murdoch," I said as I stood, "Here I thought you had better manners."

He froze, turning around on his heel. "Miss Dalian, I take it you are an early riser?"

"Always have been." I stepped closer, holding out a hand, "Care to be my escort this morning?"

He gripped it lightly in his, "If you have need of me, gladly." Letting my hand go, we slowly began to walk towards the stern. The day was warm, with a brisk wind. I smiled up into the sun, reveling in the light. Will's voice drew me from my thoughts, "Was there anything particular you would like to do?"

I pursed my lips, listening to the click of my boots on the wood. "A tour, I would like a tour."

He stopped for a moment, fishing out a pocket watch. "It will have to be quick, I am due on watch in ninety minutes."

"Then we had best hurry." I said, taking his arm again. Fortunately the public areas of the ship were rather vacant this early. A few early risers tipped their hats as we walked by, but we were relatively alone.

Will stopped outside a bank of windows. "This here is the gymnasium, would you care to go in?"

I nodded and stepped through. It was empty, of people at least. Instead it was filled with various machines, including what looked to be some kind of large mount. I ran my hand down the top of it. "What in the world is this?"

"Ah, the electric camel." Will smiled, reaching down to flick a switch. The machine rumbled to life, slowly lurching from side to side. "Quite elegant, isn't it?"

"I have never seen its equal." I laughed, "Who would want to ride this on a ship?"

He shrugged. "Some men seem to find it enjoyable. In rough seas, I can only imagine the sickness one would endure on it."

I felt a small smile break out as a rather devious thought entered my mind. "Speaking of men, do you think you could show me the men's areas?"

Will, there was no better word for it, blushed at that. "I-I would not presume to take you into those areas."

"Please Will, at least the smoking room. It's closed right now, just a quick peek?" I begged, stepping forward and grasping the buttery leather of his gloves. "Please?"

"It would have to be fast, and you can't tell anyone." He looked at me, his blue eyes dancing. "Your mother would have me thrown overboard if she knew." I nodded, letting him grasp my hand and pull me behind him. Instead of taking the main staircase he went behind the main entrance, instead coming into a small anteroom. I looked around, having expected to see some magnificent male enclave, only finding a rather rugged version of the lounge. It was heavily impregnated with the smell of tobacco though, and I wrinkled my nose. And this after only a few days of use.

"I was expecting something more grand." I said, picking my way through some tables. "You always hear of such momentous business being done in the smoking room."

"Well there is another part, through here." Will said, stepping toward a revolving door. I followed him into a section, standing close as we slowly shuffled with the door. It was a small space, and we were practically on top of each other. I could see his face clearly, down to his eyelashes. His breathing had slowed, but his hand found my waist, holding me close and guiding me out when our section opened. I can only imagine that we were in the revolving door for a few seconds, but it felt like minutes. The weight of his hand on my waist suddenly vanished as he pulled back. "Forgive me Miss Dalian, that was not well done of me."

I blinked, trying to find my voice. My breath had sped up in the door, and my heart was racing. "It was quite alright Will, just think of it as a dance."

He refused to meet my eyes. "I still should not have done it." He tugged his jacket down, moving off and examining something on a side table. I looked around the room, admiring the paintings that had been done on the windows. The way the light came through made it seem as if the paintings were moving, or at least changing slightly as the light moved. The stink of tobacco was still stifling, and I coughed lightly trying to clear my throat.

"Will, would you mind if we moved on?" I asked, "This is a bit much for me."

He checked his watch, "Yes, I will be needed up at the bridge. We will be arriving in Queenstown shortly." Will walked over, holding something in his hand, "Here, you'll probably be the only woman with one of these."

I took it from his hand, my fingers grazing against his gloves. It was a small matchbook, with the White Star banner printed on it above a declaration that these were the safest matches available. I flipped it around, feeling the rough back. "Thank you, this will be quite the souvenir."

"I would like to apologize again for my actions earlier."

"It was fine." I stated firmly, stepping towards him. "Men have held me closer at parties, truly it was quite alright."

"That is dancing though, much different."

I looked down, studying the carpet. "It was not always dancing."

His shoes, black and shining stepped into my view. "Anastasia, are you saying that some man forced himself, or-or tried to. And I, I just put my hands-"

"I would rather not discuss it, it was not a pleasant time." I cut him off. "Can we please leave here?" Will nodded, taking the normal route out of the room and back up the staircase. He did not offer me his arm though, merely walking beside me. I found that I missed it, quite a bit. Shortly we were back at the officer's promenade. The wind had picked up, but the day was clear so I could see the indistinct mass of land growing closer. Ireland.

Will stopped at the gate. "I must go back on watch, and give the orders for coming into port." He turned back. "You will be alright?"

I nodded, "I actually intend to watch the ship come in. I can imagine it is much different than our ships."

"Yes, well Titanic cannot even fit in the harbor. We will take in passengers and cargo from tenders." He stepped through the gate, shutting it behind him. "Anastasia."

"Will." I watched him step into the rooms behind the bridge, trying to focus on how the ship was slowing and coming to a stop just outside the Queenstown harbor. A massive rattle of chains followed by a splash told me the anchors had been dropped. I could see the tenders waiting to approach, they looked so odd with their old fashioned paddlewheels. A bellow of the Titanic's whistle gave them permission to approach, and their paddles slowly spun as their engines chugged along.

They tied up alongside, doors on the sides of our ships being opened to admit passengers. A rather ungainly way of getting onboard, with the tenders slightly pitching up and down with the swell. There was a fluttering of white sails as another group of boats approached, I could see people holding up items, cases and bits of lace fluttering in the wind. Irish lace and linen were some of the finest in the world, no doubt they were hoping to make some money off of first class passengers while we were taking on passengers.

I tracked one down the promenade, admiring the fine linen handkerchief a woman was holding up. I called down, "Please, how much for that?"

Her voice was faint, mostly blown away by the wind but I could still hear her. "Come down love, I can't hear you!" I nodded, big swings of my head so she could see it. I hurriedly found a steward, asking him to bring me down to a door where I could speak to the vendors. It was rather unnerving to be standing at a door with nothing outside it but open water, I tried to distract myself by playing with the small bits of change in my skirt pocket. My fingers fumbled around the matchbook too, waiting for the boat to pull up.

It didn't take too long for the boat to pull up, the sail stricken and oars being used to get close. I could see that the boat was smaller than I had thought, what I assumed to be the woman's family with her. Her husband on the tiller, her son on the oars and her daughter working on another handkerchief, rolling the edges. The woman, I could see her brown hair knotted back firmly against the wind, stepped up to the edge. "Ain't you a vision, I can promise you ma'am, my girl does fine work on these."

"I am sure she does," I wrapped my hand around the edge of the door, holding tight. "Would you take a dollar for one? I'm afraid I don't have any pounds or shillings."

The handkerchief was thrust out towards me instantly. "Of course ma'am, no problem here." I took it from her, tucking it into my sleeve and handing her a dollar coin. I could hear some people coming up behind me, more than likely coming down to buy. I nodded my thanks, rushing up the stairs to the cafe. It was directly across from the smoking room, but in my opinion, much better furnished. White cane chairs, white tables and wide windows to admit a large amount of light which was needed for the crawling vines that were along the walls. Potted palms were placed in such a way that it seemed to create a garden inside.

Mother was sat a table with another woman, older and quite loud. In fact the woman called out to me. "That must be your girl, come here honey. Your mother's been talking all about you."

"Oh I hardly doubt that," I demurred, taking a seat at their table.

"It's been constant, if you'd believe it." The woman held out a hand. "Margaret Brown, pleasure to meet you Anastasia."

"I met Mrs. Brown on my way in. She has interests out west." Mother took up her tea cup. "But she is travelling to New York for a short trip before she returns."

"Turns out we know some of the same people out there." Mrs. Brown was enthusiastic as she began to talk about families in Colorado and California, some of whom I did remember. Dalian Shipping operated on both coasts and I knew we had transported something for the families she mentioned. The routes to China and Japan were some of our most profitable, taking out raw materials and returning with various luxuries.

I found I enjoyed Mrs. Brown, she was a breath of fresh air compared to the other women in the cafe. Such large hats, such high lace collars, it made me glad to see Mother not indulge in these styles, usually. She was more likely to wear a plain dress at home, well made but plain. Here though she did indulge, although her hat was smaller and her collar was set low, showing off the pearls she had received at her marriage to Father.

I could hear a muffled whistle through the window. "Oh, we must be leaving port."

"Were you able to see the ship come into port?" Mother asked as she rose.

I followed her, "Yes, it was quite exciting. I could not imagine getting out of one of those tenders and onto the ship."

"And there was no incident?"

I remembered standing close to Will, his hand on my waist. The press of his hand against mine, the sudden way my heart had raced. I ducked my head to hide my blush. "No, everything was fine."

AN: Well, I seem to be setting a pretty fast pace in terms of getting these out. Can't say if it will keep up though, I'm travelling on Friday and over the weekend. But it does give me plenty of time to continue my research to present an accurate version of the events surrounding the voyage and sinking of the Titanic, not to mention the inquiries after. If you all would like to learn more about it please let me know, I have no problem providing a bit of a bibliography. Also, please review and let me know what you think. Bit worried I lost my touch over the last 11 years, but hopefully I haven't.