THE SHIP OF DREAMS
Chapter One

Mac Dawson sighed sadly as she stood in the bedroom she shared with Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, the four daughters of the Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Mac found it hard to believe that her time of living in luxury would end within a few hours. Mac was the daughter of a poor man named Jack, who was an artist, but her mother had died right after she was born, and Jack had brought Mac to Russia, her mother’s birthplace, and for a while they had lived in the peasant village of St. Petersburg.

Mac gazed out the window, watching as the Tsar was directing one of the imperial family’s personal horses and carriages through the gate, and a grin spread across her face as she remembered how she and her father came to live here. One particularly dull and rainy afternoon three years back, Mac had been romping around the streets of the capitol with two of her friends when they came across the main gate of the Alexander Palace. As a dare, the boys had told her to slip through the bars, run up, and touch the front steps, so she had. Unfortunately, Olga and Tatiana, the two eldest of the Grand Duchesses, had been playing tennis in the front yard and had spotted her. After an almost-kidnapping, Mac had been brought to Nicholas, who had asked her quite a few questions, and in turn allowed Mac to ask him any questions she wished to have answered.

What she found out would be the key that would change her life forever. She found out about Alexei, Nicholas’ son and the heir to the throne, and the Tsar had been looking for an extra guard to protect him. Mac told the Tsar about her father, telling him that he was wonderful with children and would make a perfect candidate, so Nicholas sent Jack a scroll asking him to come to the palace for an interview. From that moment on, Jack and Mac were considered family, and spent three glorious years living at the palace.

"Mac, what are you doing just standing there? Do you have all of your things packed?" Olga came to the doorway of their bedroom, her arms folded, and was tapping her foot on the rug. Mac blinked and turned, frowning a bit, for she had not realized that she strayed into her daydream mode, and felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Yes. All of my things are packed. Why? Are we leaving?" She felt her heart sink, remembering why she and her father were leaving, and which mode of transportation they were taking.

*****

About three months ago, Jack had fallen seriously ill with pneumonia. After he’d recovered, the Tsar had eventually had to dismiss him from his duties as Alexei’s guard, for he was too weak to take on anything that was too strenuous. "You are from America, are you not?" the Tsar had asked after he had pulled Jack at the beginning of the week.

"Yes, sir. I am," Jack had replied softly.

"Jack, the White Star Line has just announced that their new liner, the Titanic, is taking its maiden voyage on the tenth of April, and I have managed to book three third class tickets. The first and second class passes were gone. I am sorry."

"Three?" Jack cocked his head.

Nicholas leaned forward with a smile. "Anastasia desperately wishes to go with you," he whispered. "She is very attached to Mac. I have allowed her a six month visit to the United States, if you would not mind having her."

Jack grinned. "That would not be a problem at all, your highness. Mac would like that very much."

"Good. Here are the passes," the Tsar announced, reaching into his desk and pulling out three medium-sized yellow sheets of paper. "I will keep them safe until it is time for your departure. For now, just rest as much as you can. I do not want you to overwork yourself."

"Thank you."

"You are welcome. You may go now, and I do believe you will want to break the news to your daughter."

Jack nodded, before leaving the room.

*****

"Mac! Come on!" Anastasia rushed into the room, passing Olga on the way, and grabbed Mac’s arm. "Our bags have been put into the carriage, and we are getting ready to leave. Your father is outside saying good-bye to everyone, and I am sure you will want to do that properly as well."

Mac nodded, feeling very sad as she took one last look at the large bedroom before following her friend out into the long corridor. They hurried towards the Grand Staircase and descended to the main ballroom, and charged through the main double doors and outside.

"There they are." Jack laughed as he lifted Mac into his arms when she approached him. "Are you ready, sweetheart?" He nuzzled her and she giggled.

"Yes, Papa. I am ready."

Alexandra came up to her and knelt down so that she was eye-level with the child. "You have brought me such joy in all of your years here," she told Mac quietly. "I am going to miss you so very much."

Mac choked on tears and embraced the empress in a tight hug. "I am going to miss you, too," she sobbed. The Tsar himself knelt down beside his wife, and also pulled Mac into a tight hug.

"Take care of your father, Mac. And take care of yourself. Perhaps one day we will meet again." He smiled and cuffed her cheek gently, and she laughed.

"I hope so," she agreed. Then, it was time to say good-bye to the other grand duchesses, which was a very teary occasion, but it was worst when she got to Alexei, who rested his forehead against hers.

"I do wish you did not have to go," he whispered. "You are the--the best friend I have ever had."

Mac nodded. "I know, Alexei. And I do promise to write to you."

"Do not forget me," Alexei whispered.

"I never will," Mac promised before turning back to her father, who was hugging Olga, Tatiana, and Marie. Eventually, Jack turned to shake hands with Nagorny, who told him, "A pleasure working with you, Jack. Keep well."

Jack nodded. "I’ll do my best," he admitted.

Anastasia’s lower lip was trembling as she hugged her parents and her siblings, who were telling her to have a wonderful trip and to be extremely careful about keeping her identity a secret on the ship and in the country.

"I will, Mama. I promise," Anastasia replied, when her mother begged her to write as soon as they reached New York.

"And do not lose your camera," Nicholas added with a wink. "All right. We must not miss the train. It is time to go." He climbed into the carriage and nodded to his passengers, who, with final waves and kisses, climbed in after him. Anastasia and Mac continued to wave out the rear window of the carriage until the palace disappeared from sight, and then they turned back around, each looking at each other sadly.

"This will be so exciting!" Anastasia whispered. "I get to go to America!"

"And I get to go home," Mac added.

Jack smiled softly to himself, but he hated the idea of leaving this amazing lifestyle behind. He had gotten used to staying with the imperial family, attending balls and enormous feasts, fancy clothes, and it had taken him nearly a month to find his way around the palace. He glanced at the Tsar, who was busy steering the horses down the muddy path, still slippery from the previous night’s rain.

"Jack?"

Jack looked over his shoulder and realized that the youngest grand duchess had spoken to him, and was grinning from ear to ear, her eyes twinkling. "Yes, Anastasia?" he replied.

"Have you been to New York before?"

He laughed. "Once or twice when I was a child."

"Is it as big as St. Petersburg?" she asked.

"It is."

"Are there palaces?"

"No, I am afraid not." He laughed.

"You’ll get to see it soon enough, Ana," Mac promised. "Trust me." She winked, and her friend giggled.

The ride to the train station took a good hour and a half, and soon Jack, Mac, and Anastasia said their final good-byes to Nicholas, who remained in the carriage before boarding. They sat down after placing their suitcases in the overhead compartments. Mac and Anastasia sat side by side, and Jack sat across from them.

"Girls, this is going to be a very long ride, so I hope you brought things to keep you occupied," he warned. "I am still not feeling very well, so I am going to try and rest a bit."

Mac cocked her head. "You’re not feeling well, Papa?"

Anastasia pulled War and Peace out of her knapsack and opened it to the front page, starting to read from the beginning, even though she had read the book several times already.

"Would you like to use my sketchpad and paper, love?" he asked, reaching into his own knapsack and pulling out the thick, leather folder filled with paper and a box of charcoal pencils.

"Okay," Mac agreed, and he handed everything to her.

"Use both sides of the paper, honey," he warned, before leaning back against his seat, and watching as she flipped through his old drawings of the imperial family and other people he had met through his life. Anastasia looked over and grinned when she saw what Mac was doing, and asked if she could have a piece of paper, too.

"Sure," Mac agreed, and handed her a few sheets and a charcoal pencil as well.

"Thank you, Mac." Anastasia nodded respectfully, and both girls began drawing. Then, she leaned over to Mac. "The queen of the ocean," she whispered. Mac nodded. "The grandest ship in the world…" Anastasia continued dreamily. "Even bigger than the Standart!"

"That's right," Mac said, starting into one of her big lectures. "They say she's unsinkable. She's the biggest ocean liner ever built. She can hold up to three thousand people in her. She is also the most expensive and luxurious ship ever made. I heard that John Jacob Astor himself would be on it."

"Who's he?" Anastasia asked curiously.

"He's the richest man in America," Mac replied matter-of-factly.

"This is going to be the best trip I ever went on," Anastasia said, her eyes gleaming.

"Really?" asked Mac. "More fun than that African safari?"

"Yep!"

"More fun than Moscow?"

"You bet!"

"More fun than seeing the Russian ballet with your Grandmama?"

"Well..." Anastasia dragged. "I don't know about that." Mac smiled a grin that would taunt anyone. "But maybe just as fun," Anastasia put in. Jack laughed from the his seat. He was finally going home. Back to America, and not only that, but he would be making his grand entrance on the Titanic.

Chapter Two
Stories