A New Beginning

Prologue: They Call Her Titanic

A loud horn breaks the silence of the night like a lone voice calling on its people.

Emma Carson sits up in bed at the sound and stretched out. She makes her way to the window and pulls back the curtain. Her eyes behold a beautiful ship ablaze with lights from bow to stern contrasting the inky black night that covered the Southampton port. She can't help but smile with pride, knowing exactly what ship it was. It was going to be a bittersweet trip home, after laying her parents to rest in Ireland. There was enough money from the funeral to cover their trip home on a marvellous ship the world had ever seen.

Emma feels a deep sadness whenever the thought of her parents came up. She was now the sole guardian of her baby sister, Sybil, forcing her to grow up quickly. It also saddened her that her sister would not grow up and know her parents as she did. Eighteen beautiful years with the love and support of her mother and father that could never be replaced. Nevertheless, Emma vowed to love and care for Sybil and give her as close to normal life as she could offer her sister.

She was off to a good start. She was engaged to the most handsome young man life had to offer. Peter Whitman had proposed to her six months ago and she accepted without hesitation. She truly loved him and wanted to be his wife. Their plans for a wedding had taken a backseat to care for her father and then the death of both her parents. Her mother died shortly after Sybil was born due to complications and her father followed soon after. Despite the setbacks, the couple agreed to marry as soon as possible so that Sybil would have a loving 'real' family to watch over her as she grew. The couple planned to have children of their own someday, but after Sybil had grown a bit.

The future of her father's company weighs heavily on her mind these days and was one of the reasons that the ship's horn had woken her from a stressed and restless sleep. She was now the sole heir and owner of the company, meaning every decision was crucial to the fate of her family's future. She must be sure to honour her father's wishes and protect what he had built for his children.

The horn blows out again bringing Emma back to the present. As she gazes out from their little hotel window, she can't help but be amazed and excited for the journey ahead and a single glance at the ship fills her with hope. For the brief few moments of gazing at the ship, she feels relief and like a child again, staring at something that was so magical and magnificent.

She turns once to see Peter sleeping in their bed, quiet and solemn as if simply pondering what his dream might mean to him.

She steps away from the curtain and checks on her baby sister in the cradle adjacent to the window.

Her baby sister's angelic face seems to glow in the warmth of the bed and begs for Emma to pick her up and never put her down again. She had to protect Sybil at all costs and give her the life she deserved to have. It was a vow she made after her mother passed on and she'd said it again when her father did too. Family vows were sacred, and she always kept them no matter what.

Emma leans down and whispered in her sister's ear

"I promise to love and care for you forever and always"

Sybil rolls over once in her sleep and coos ever so softly.

Feeling a bit better, Emma climbs into bed next to Peter and snuggles close to him.

The glowing ship seems to be ingrained in her memory and gave her a sense of hope and peace. She hears the horn blowout once more before darkness took her consciousness and allowed her to rest with slight ease.

The words fell on her lips as she falls asleep

Titanic

Disclaimer 1: Any and all characters, locations and situations mentioned in every chapter and the entire story belong to their prospective owners. Any characters that I create are my own.

Disclaimer 2: I do not own the Titanic movie or any of the related characters, locations or scenes/situations. The movie is created by James Cameron and owned by James Cameron. This story is intended for entertainment purposes only. I am not making any profit from this story. This is also in memory of all those lives that were lost over 100 years ago and whose story and legend will live on forever.