Ice & Iron (Titanic)

Prologue

Tuesday, 9th April 1912

Sitting on the floor of my bedroom were two leather suitcases, sort of tattered looking from previous travels. Tomorrow my mother and I would begin the journey of a lifetime. Our home was in Southampton, a port town in England's south coast.We would be leaving home here in England for a while, but we would be back soon.

I have never left England before, so it's an exciting new venture to explore the unknown world. I've always wanted to travel to new countries, that have only been a small spot on a map. This is the first time I will be leaving England and heading across the ocean. A perfect start to my new travelling life. I've looked forward to this day for so long since there had already been a delay. Now it would finally be happening. The final destination was New York in America, and I would have a chance to explore a new country. I'd heard about New York several times, from reading news articles about the city and through my stepfather travelling there several times with his work.

The bags with my clothes, coats, hats and shoes for the trip were packed. But my personal bag was still yet to be packed. That was one thing the housekeeper couldn't pack. I wanted to do it myself. My mother, Ada, walked to the doorway of my room.

"Stacey, are you packed for the voyage?" she asked.

"All done, except for my personal belongings," I replied. "I wanted to do those myself."

"Make sure when you're finished, you bring all your bags out to the sitting room," Mother said. "Mary will load them into the car for the drive to the docks tomorrow morning."

Mary was our housekeeper and had been working with us for nearly five years. She was a shorter woman and always kept her brown hair kept in a tight bun.

"I've only got a few things I want to bring with me," I said. "I don't want to bring everything I own."

"Good thinking," said Mother. "After all, you never know what could happen. You don't want anything to get lost or stolen."

After she left the room, I pulled out the cotton tote bag that to pack my personal belongings into. The bag was made out of some spare fabric that our housekeeper had sewn together for me. It was a pattern of black and white with black handles. It ranged from the small to medium size, so whatever I could fit into it was all that I was bringing with me. I walked over to my dark brown silky oak chest of drawers where all my clothes were neatly folded into. The top row had two smaller drawers compared to the other three rows of just one long drawer. I pulled on the handle of the left drawer and it slid towards me. Inside, were all my personal possessions, the things I valued most.

I lifted out a stack of black and white photographs and leafed through the pile, setting aside the ones I wanted to bring. There was only three of them. The next item I lifted out was a locket on a gold chain. I opened the locket and smiled. The photo was of my stepfather and I the day he and my mother married almost five years ago here in Southampton. Mother had been born New Zealand, although I was born in England. My stepfather was born and lived in Scotland, but with his work, he travelled worldwide. My family all come from different nationalities. Tomorrow would be the first time in a couple weeks since I would see him as he had been on board the ship prepping for this journey near the end of March. He had hopped aboard at Belfast, Ireland, where the ship had gone through sea trials before sailing to the port in Southampton, ready for the oncoming voyage.

Once I had finished packing the few belongings I held dear to my heart, I picked up a couple books from the bookshelf outside my room, for if I had time to read. Once they were in my tote bag, I carried the two suitcases and tote out to the sitting room in our single storey house for our housekeeper to put into the back of our family car. I was excited and apprehensive about this journey. I didn't know what was going to happen and I liked the sense of mystery and adventure. After all, tomorrow awaited the start of something exciting yet unfamiliar.  

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Author's Note:

Hope you guys liked the prologue of Ice & Iron! Vote for this chapter and tell me below in the comments what you think. Also you can ask me any questions regarding anything also in the comments or shoot me a message and I will answer! 

Chapter 1 Preview: Stacey boards the RMS Titanic 

Question of the Day: What are your expecations for this story? 

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