Crystal Key

Chapter 1

Wednesday April 10th, 1912

            I stare up at the ship in excitement.  I probably won’t be able to do much, my parents don’t give me any freedom, but this is the biggest ship ever built.  Father got tickets for the Titanic for us to go back to America.  We’ve been living in London for a year with Grandmother, and it has been even more unbearable than my usual, boring life.  This boring life has men coming for tea nearly everyday and giggling girls who are apparently going to make me more polite, which is also known as boring. 

            My brothers are chasing each other around, hiding behind annoyed passengers.  My little sister is attempting to play with them, but Richard, my younger, annoying brother, isn’t allowing her to.  She still runs around, giggling as my big brother, Thomas, picks her up and places her on his shoulders.  I stare longingly at them, trying to remember a time I was allowed to run about.  No, it seems like it has always been like this.  The boys running about laughing as I stand straight as a board with my parents as they chat to me about some apparently beautiful piece of literature I’ve been forced to read. 

            “None of your foolishness on this boat, Cara,” Mother reminds me.  “We have a reputation to maintain, and your Father is trying to get well known.  It won’t help if you babble about mythical creatures and such while he’s with clients.”

            “Yes, Mother,” I say, rolling my eyes.

            “I expect you to be behaved.  You should meet some boys of our class who live near us.  You frightened Pierre away.” Pierre is the boy who took interest in me in London.  I’ve been told he was wishing to propose to me, when I fell over my own feet and spilt tea all over Grandmother’s parlor.  This is the reason I’m coming back.  I was going to live with Grandmother until I found a proper gentleman, but she banned me from her house.  Luckily, Father already had the tickets for the rest of the family, and it wasn’t hard to get another one for me.

            “I didn’t mean it.”

            “Of course, Cara,” Father says curtly as he readjusts the suitcases in his hand.  He and I look quite similar.  We both have curls, though mine are expressed in ringlets, and deep amber hair.  My skin is pale, for that is the way a proper lady should have it, and I haven’t the slightest idea what color it would be if I got any sunlight.  I have Father’s straight nose as well.  The only thing I have of Mother’s is her eyes.  They are a curious, bright blue that gives me an adventurous stare that often gets me in trouble.  I haven’t the slightest idea where I get my height.  Mother is an average height, and Father is sort of tall, but I am taller than any woman I’ve ever met, and most boys. 

            “I swear that I didn’t!”

            I’m sure he would retort, but Alice falls down and begins to cry.  “Carolina, go help your sister!”

            I rush over to her, glad to move my legs.  She only has a tiny scrape on her knee, but I know for a little girl she might as well have glass in her foot.  I pick her up and straighten out her dress, as she makes a fuss about how Richard pushed her down.  “Don’t worry, I’ll get him back,” I whisper to her when we’re near my parents.  She flashes me a tiny smile, and I give her a kiss on the forehead.  “Are you okay?”

            She nods and wraps one of my ringlets around her finger like she always does.  “Pretty, Cara.” Richard couldn’t say Carolina when he was younger, so he called me Cara, and it stuck.  I like it more than Carolina anyways. 

            “We’re boarding! Richard, Thomas,Carolina!” Mother called.

            The boys ran over to meet us and took some of the baggage.  A man came already and loaded the rest of the baggage into the boat.  Alice squeals and jerks her hand from my hair, trying to get away and run onto the boat.  “No, Alice.  I’ll put you down when we get to the room.” 

            “Cara!” she shrieks at me, kicking to be put down. 

            “Alice, be quiet and polite, or there shall be no desert for you,” Mother snaps. 

            “Yes, Alice, you mustn’t have desert anyways.” I poke at her stomach, making her giggle.  “You don’t want to be big as Molly Granger, do you?”

            “No, miss.”

            I am pushed in the back by Thomas, and I lurch forwards, almost knocking into Mother.  He snorts unattractively, and I know he did it on purpose.  I think that I shall yell at the both of them when we are back at the room (of course when Mother isn’t watching). 

            A man in a fancy suit greets us with a smile, looking at our tickets.  He smiles at me and says, “Welcome aboard the Titanic.  I hope you have a wonderful stay.”

            I beam at him, for the anticipation on stepping onto the gigantic boat is rising.  I place my foot delicately onto the boat, as if it is a canoe rather than a passenger ship, and I am on the largest ship of all time. 

            There are stairs going this way and that, down and up, doors leading off into many different hallways.  The lights are amazing, obviously expensive, and there are flowers everywhere.  I am overwhelmed by it all, and I don’t notice until Mother is scolding me that I put Alice down.  I run after her, she has grabbed a rose and she is holding it up to her nose, sniffing it.  “You mustn’t touch,Alice.”

            “But­—”

            I lean down and whisper, “Later we’ll come to take one, I swear on it.” She giggles and throws the rose back in the vase, dancing off towards the family, who are waiting by one of the many staircases for us.  

            “Now that you are done with your foolishness, we shall be off to our rooms,” Father says as if he is the king of the world, rather than just the ruler of my world.

            I follow them quick at their heels, dragging Alice along with me.  We have three rooms next to each other.  They are all identical, and we all have to share beds for our voyage, and I’m lucky to have the little one.  I’ll have more room, though she’ll likely wake me before dawn.  My room is first, and Father opens the door for me.  I run in before he can, and Alice is right behind me.  It is rather small, but the bed looks fancy, along with the rest of the interior.  Alice immediately climbs onto the bed, giving it a few testing bounces.  Father runs and grabs her, spanking her, “I told you to behave!”

            “Yes, Father,” she says obediently.  I know she just wishes to have desert tonight.  He lets her down and she runs to my side, hugging onto my dress.  I run my fingers through her soft, golden hair. 

            Finally, they leave us alone and our tomfoolery begins.  I allow Alice to jump on the beds as I unpack her clothing, for she would be no help anyways.  It only takes a few minutes to put away the clothes, and soon after that I hear and knock on the door.  I run to the bed, scoop up Alice and open the door with a cheerful smile. 

            “Are you ready to go?” Father asks.

            I nod and follow the rest of the family out to the deck.  The boat is departing, and though we have nobody to wave goodbye to (Grandmother left as soon as she dropped us off), we stand with the other families.  The boat is smoother than many other boats I’ve been on, and I barely notice the movement until there is a large gap of water between us and the shore.  I am exuberant, for we have just set sail on the largest boat ever built.