Birth of the Legend

June 7th, 1878

Colne, Lancashire, England

"It's a boy!" Elizabeth said as she looked down at her newborn baby boy. She comfortably cradled in her arms, keeping him warm. He had a white, cotton, blanket wrapped around his tiny naked body.

The gas lamp, hanging on the wall alongside both sides of the bed, continued to burn and emit light. Albion, Elizabeth's husband, sat in a chair next to the bed, admiring the beauty of his newborn son.

He cried and whined. He moved unsteadily around in his blanket. Elizabeth and Albion tried their very best to keep him as calm as possible.

"I have an idea for a name," Albion said.

"And what's that dear?"

"Wallace for his first name. Henry for his middle name, and Hartley for his last."

"I love that name," Elizabeth said as she looked down at him with the biggest smile on her face. She was still breathing heavily, along with sweating a lot as well.

"Welcome to the World, my Wallace Henry Hartley. I can already see you making a big difference in this time and future."

"He's going to grow up to be an icon one day. I can feel it," Albion said.

"That'll be our son one day."

10 Years Later

September 1, 1888

"Wallace?" Albion said as he walked into Wallace's bedroom. He was still asleep.

Albion silently walked over to his bed and took a seat at the end of it. He reached up to the gas lantern hanging on the wall just over his bed. He twisted it to ignite the flame. Light began shining, lighting up everything in the corner of the bedroom.

"Wake up, son," Albion said as he set his hand down on his shoulder and gently shook him. He squirmed around for a moment before opening his eyes.

His rubbed his eyes clean of crust and fluttered them. He looked up at his father.

"Good morning," Albion said. "Ready for your first day of school as a third grader?"

"Yes papa. I will be downstairs in a minute," Wallace said as he threw the covers off of him. He was still wearing his white, cotton, gown his mother had sown for him for his birthday.

Albion walked over to the door. Before he closed the door he smiled at his precious, young man.

"You mustn't be late. We don't want to upset your mother."

"I understand Papa," Wallace responded as Albion shook his head and gently shut the bedroom door. He then walked away down the stairs and went into the kitchen.

Once Wallace was all dressed, he sat down on his bed to put on his shoes. He tied the laces to both shoes as best as he could. He buttoned up his brown vest and put his hat on. After that, he brushed his clothing free of wrinkles and proceeded on to go downstairs.

"Good morning, Wallace," Elizabeth said as she prepared a plate of freshly cooked breakfast for him. He takes a seat at the small, rounded wooden table. He takes his hat off and sets it down on the tabletop.

Albion, Wallace's father took a seat next to him. Elizabeth brought over two full plates of breakfast.

"Eggs, bacon, seasoned potato skins, and toast to finish," Elizabeth said as she set the two plates down in front of Albion and Wallace.

She went back to the counter to grab her plate. Once back at the table, she took a seat. She grabbed her fabric cloth and set it down on her lap neatly.

"Now," she began, "Who would like to say a prayer on this fine morning?"

"I'll do it mama," Wallace said.

Everyone grabbed hands and nealt their heads. They all closed their eyes.

"Good morning, Lord," Wallace began. "The Hartley family would like to thank you for providing this delicious breakfast on this fine morning. We wouldn't have food to fill our stomachs if it were not for you, Lord. And we thank you for that.

"Mama would like to thank you for blessing her with a child. Oh I hope that it is a boy, yes indeed I do. I cannot wait. Even if it is a sister, I wouldn't mind.

"Papa would like to thank you for blessing him each and every day as he travels to and from the chapel. Papa told me that he plans on showing his choir a new song. I am ecstatic to find out what that song is, ain't that right papa?" Wallace asked.

"Yes," Albion said, with his eyes still closed and his head tilted down, with a smile. Elizabeth chuckled.

"Hurry up honey. Food will be cold by the time you're done," Elizabeth said.

"Thank you, my Lord, for everything you do for this family. Amen," Wallace concluded.

Everyone grabbed their forks and began eating their breakfast together. "Milk will be delivered this afternoon sometime. I'll be shopping with the ladies from work. Can you sign for it, honey?" Elizabeth asked politely.

"Of course."

"Thank you."

"So Wallace," Elizabeth said as she redirected her sight at Wallace. She smiled. "We both have something we'd like to ask you."

"What is mama and papa?" He asked curiously as he stuffed the fork into his mouth and ate some seasoned potato skins.

"We overheard your music teacher talking about your sudden interest in playing an instrument? Is that true?"

Wallace froze. He was shocked that they found out about that. He was planning on asking them for a violin soon, but now was not the right time. He nods.

"Yes mama," he responded as he swallowed the potato skins. "I want to try that instrument with the boe and strings."

"The cello?"

"No. It's smaller."

"The violin?"

"That's the one."

"And who would teach you?" Elizabeth asked.

"Myself."

"Very optimistic. I love that about you, son," Albion said. "Tell ya what?"

He leaned in closer as did Wallace. "When your mama goes to take a nap, we'll go look at instruments? How's that sound?"

"Sounds amazing. I can't wait."

Albion leaned back in his chair and glanced at Elizabeth. She smiled.

"Like I said when he was born, he's going to be an icon one day. And this is just the beginning of it," Elizabeth mentioned.

Albion and Wallace both smiled. "And like I said, that will be our boy. I can already see him being the best there is. And maybe, just maybe, he'll be so good, The Cunard Line will ask him to perform on their vessels one day?"

"Oh how that'd be so wondrous!" Elizabeth said as her cheeks got super red.

April 8, 1912

R.M.S Titanic

2 Days Until Maiden Voyage

"Ahh, good morning Mr. Hartley. What a fine day, is it not?" Joseph Bruce Ismay, the head of White Star Line, said as he held his hand out to shake Wallace's hand.

Wallace and Mr. Ismay were meeting for the first time in the grandest part of the new luxury liner, the Grand Staircase in First Class. Accompanying Mr. Ismay was Thomas Andrews. He was Titanic's designer. The man who birthed the Titanic's design and concept.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Hartley said in a pleasant and uplifting tone. He was carrying his brown leather violin case in his left hand.

Wallace gently set the case down on the white, tiled floor next to him. He shook both gentlemen's hands.

"What a fine day indeed, Mr. Ismay," Wallace said as he briefly shook Joseph's hand.

Thomas smiled. He pulled his left arm out from behind his back to shake Wallace's hand.

Thomas Andrews and Joseph Ismay were wearing elegant and proper tuxedos. White, button up shirts with a black bow tie at the collar area, black pants, and shoes. Thomas was wearing a gray coat. Ismay was wearing a black coat. The two gentlemen fancied extremely pricy leather black shoes. They were shiny, almost as if they had purchased them just hours ago.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Andrews. I'm Wallace Henry Hartley. I'll be your Bandmaster for the Maiden Voyage of this fine vessel."

"We're glad you could make history with us," Thomas said delightfully as he switched subjects suddenly. "To compete with the Cunard Line, Mr. Ismay here came to me one evening with an idea," Thomas said as he glanced over at Joseph.

"Indeed I did. While I was out dining with Mr. Pierre, of the Harland and Wolff Shipbuilding yard in Belfast, a bright and absurd idea came to me. I told Mr. Pierre that we should build three massive liners to compete with Cunard."

Wallace stood there with his hands behind his back, politely listening to the story that Joseph was telling about his outrageous and vigorous plan.

"And I didn't want to compete for speed, no. I wanted to compete with luxury. And so, that night I drew up a concept on a napkin. I kept it in my pocket until I met with Thomas."

"When he told me the idea of building such mass and exotic liners, I felt a bit nervous about bringing something that enormous to life. But here we are today. It took two years to build her. I cannot wait to see what our incoming guests will say once they board," Thomas said.

"I'm excited to be a part of her Maiden Voyage. I would personally like to thank Mr. Ismay for booking us on this ship. I look forward to playing for everyone," Wallace said happily.

Joseph nodded his head and smiled. "Glad to hear that. No person, not related to building or designing Titanic has ever stepped foot on here. You're the first person besides Captain Smith, the crew, me, and Mr. Andrews," Ismay said, "now would you care for a tour of the ship?"

Wallace kneeled down to pick his violin case up to carry it once more. "Of course. Thank you."

He began following close behind Joseph Ismay and Thomas Andrews. The first place to show Wallace was the Grand Staircase.

The stained maplewood architecture on the walls, the white tiled flooring with hints of gold and black, the maplewood railings, and the clock at the top of the first flight of stairs. It was telling the time, as it should be.

The dome above caught the attention of Wallace. He walked over to the railing and looked up. The glass dome was so beautiful, Wallace became frozen, admiring the beauty of the entire Grand Staircase.

"Truly beautiful decorations and architecture, Mr. Andrews," Wallace mentioned, complementing Thomas' work on design and layouts.

"Thank you, Wallace," Thomas responded, accepting the pleasant complement. They continued walking around, showing Wallace where everything was. They didn't want him getting lost on his first day aboard, especially with all of the immigrating and rich passengers. It would be too crowded and bewildering.

"Done here, we have the Ala Cartè Cafè, and the Starboard Promenade Deck. On your left is the Port Promenade Deck, and Chapel for Sunday Worshipping," Ismay said as he continued pointing everything out and where it was situated on the ship.

"When I arrived here and looked up at the ship, Titanic looked almost as if it were a floating city. Truly magnificent if I say so myself."

"That's what she's intended to be, of course," Ismay stated. "And the best of all—she's unsinkable. Nothing can sink this here fine vessel. Not even God could sink the Titanic."

Thomas intruded on the conversation Joseph and Wallace were having. "Mr. Ismay. This ship isn't unsinkable. In fact nothing is unsinkable. I designed Titanic to withstand significant damage to the first four watertight bulkheads. Any more damage than that, she wouldn't stay afloat much longer.

"But I assure you Wallace that you are on one of the safest vessels in the world. Proper safety precautions were taken to ensure that every passenger has the feeling of being safe at sea," Thomas concluded.

Joseph sighed. "Well we won't have to worry about that, will we?"

"Well," Thomas Andrews said. "It is still considered spring. And because of that, icebergs will be a major factor in crossing the Atlantic safely."

"Like I said, unsinkable. Until I see that a ship of this mass sinks, I won't believe it."

"Everyone here has different opinions of things," Thomas said to Wallace as he glanced at him. "Just let him have his moment to shine. Yes I was the one who designed her, but Ismay is the owner. He's over-ecstatic about the entire voyage. We'll definitely catch some press when we dock in New York on April 17."

They were now walking down a long, narrow but brightly lit hallway. Doors lined the Starboard and Portside walls. It seemed as if this ship would never end.

The hallway was decorated with red carpet with gold lining, the walls were made of white, oak wood architecture and paneling. Lamps mounted on the walls every other cabin door, shined bright.

"This is First Class cabins," Ismay mentioned. "Some of the wealthiest men will board this ship in four days and reside here for the voyage to New York."

"If you don't mind my asking Sir, how much does a First Class ticket cost?"

"Anywhere from £150 pounds, to £4,350 pounds for a Parlour Suite."

"That's really high up there Mr. Ismay," Wallace said.

"Half of the cost would go towards servicing Titanic. Operating a vessel of this size is very costly, you know."

"I understand. Especially with the high coal prices these days."

"White Star has transferred all of their remaining coal reserves from other ships in the fleet to Titanic to power her for her Maiden Voyage," Thomas Andrews explained.

"That's amazing. Must take large quantities to power her?"

"Indeed. 852 tons of coal needs to be burned a day to generate steam. She's the Queen on water," Thomas said.

"Queen on Water," Wallace repeatedly said to himself mentally. "I like the sound of that."

"Down this way gentlemen," Ismay said as he turned right to go down another hallway. This hallway had Second Class cabins situated on each side of the hallway.

"This is where you'll be located on departure day," Thomas mentioned. "That goes for your band as well. They'll all be residing in Second Class."

As they continued walking, the hallway came to an end, splitting off to the right and left. The right, obviously, went back towards the Grand Staircase. The left would take them deeper astern to explore more amenities Titanic had to offer.

"Down here, you'll have Turkish Baths, a Smoking Lounge, and a Library. Conveniently located nearby is the Hospital. If you or your band mates were to fall ill, that would be the place to go for treatment."

"I'm not going to want to leave this ship. After the voyage I will want to stay on it, if that's okay? Just for the voyage home?" Wallace asked.

"You're book through your employer for her voyage to and from New York City," Ismay stated. "You will be located in Second Class for both voyages."

About another forty minutes went by. Thomas and Joseph have both shown Wallace around so he, again, wouldn't get lost.

By now they've made their way up to the Bridge. Thomas has told Wallace that the Captain would like to meet him and introduce himself. Wallace accepted and followed the two gentlemen onto the Bridge.

First Officer William Murdoch, Second Officer Lightoller, and the Captain himself are all on the Bridge discussing detours in case of ice.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Joseph said pleasingly.

William, Captain Smith, and Lightoller all glanced up from the map. "Mr. Ismay? Mr. Andrews? We weren't expecting you for another twenty minutes," Captain Smith stated.

"I apologize, Edward, but Mr. Wallace Hartley here arrived a little earlier than expected. The tour was not as long as I thought it would have been," Thomas explained.

"Ahh, I see," Captain Smith said as he approached Wallace, Thomas, and Joseph. He reached out to shake Wallace's hand with a smile included.

"It's nice to meet you, Sir," Captain Smith said as they finished shaking hands. "I'm Edward John Smith, Captain of the R.M.S Titanic."

In return Wallace smiled brightly. He gently set his violin case down on the hardwood deck flooring. First Officer William Murdoch and Second Officer Lightoller walked over to, also, introduce themselves to Wallace.

"Nice to meet you, lad," First Officer Murdoch greeted. "I'm William."

"I'm Charles. Nice to meet you, Son," Second Officer Lightoller introduced.

Outside, the skies were a murky gray; overcast if you'd consider that term it. There was almost no breeze. The waters of the Harbour were calm with no disturbance. Only would it be disturbed when a boat comes sailing by. But today the Harbor was quiet and abnormally calm for Southampton.

Dock workers were operating stories high and monumental cranes over Titanic. They were slowly loading Titanic with edible goods, wine, and mail bound for the United States of America. It was a slow and rigorous process.

"Thank you for attending the Maiden Voyage with us Mr. Hartley. If you ever have any questions of any regard, or need to talk, you will know where I will be. Right here," Captain Smith said. "I must get back to work now. I'll be seeing you again soon."

"Good day gentlemen," First Officer Murdoch said as he and Lightoller both walked away, following behind the Captain.

"I apologize about that," Mr. Ismay apologizes. "We are working on a tight schedule."

"I understand the pressure and rampage, Mr. Ismay," Wallace mentioned, "I have worked on many liners before joining Titanic."

Thomas, Joseph and Wallace all walked off the Bridge and back out onto the Portside Poop Deck. Lining the edge of the ship, were wooden lifeboats. They were stationed on their Davits. And in the case of an emergency, or the need to evacuate the ship, these lifeboats would be quickly prepared, loaded with passengers, and then launched.

But Titanic was the safest liner afloat, is she not? In two days time, she would set sail for Cherbourg and Queenstown to pick up more passengers. From there, she will sail to New York City. Her arrival date in New York is April 17, 1912.

"Thank you for meeting us, Wallace," Thomas said as he reached out to again shake hands with Wallace. Joseph did the same.

"Good day, gentlemen. I'll be seeing you again shortly," Wallace said as he walked down the ramp, and onto the Pier.

There was a vehicle waiting stationary. A driver was occupying the driver's seat, and Wallace's fiancè Maria was sitting in the backseat.

When the driver noticed Wallace approaching the vehicle, he got out of his seat and opened the door for him, closing it behind Wallace once he was inside the vehicle.

"I still cannot believe you're going to be playing on that ship. It's monumental and seemingly endless," Maria stated.

Wallace glanced out of the window as the vehicle's engine ignited. He was looking up at the towering Titanic.

"That she is," he said, "that she is."