"the devil's got nothing on me, my friend." maggie emerson, heiress to the emerson fortune, passenger on the rms titanic, 1912. currently in search of a rebellious runaway sister.
as he was chastised, jasper’s grin turned into thin-lipped displeasure. “ i’m sorry. honestly, i am, ” jasper would never tire of telling other’s about his sister, or his grandfather. he spoke of them fondly as often as he possibly could. but, he could tell by the tone of the young woman’s voice that she wouldn’t appreciate a long story. not at this very moment, at least. “ i was lost in my thoughts, that’s all. thinking about my family. it won’t happen again, i assure you. ” he replied with a blasé wave of his hand, deciding that a simple explanation was best.
at the mention of family, maggie’s expression softened ever so slightly. a part of her — just the smallest part, mind — wished that her own family had made the journey with her. a slightly larger part of her wished that her sister had never run away and she wouldn’t have had to make the journey in the first place. “very well then,” maggie huffed importantly, “you’d best scurry back to them. i’m sure they’d appreciate your company more than i would.”
Bella waved over one of the staff and gave them a forced smile. “Please take my hat and my gloved up to my room – I have no need for them inside.” She said, handing them her items before her attention turned back to the blonde. “Correct, it’s making me positively sick.” She replied before giving a laugh.
maggie had only been engaged once, and it had ended quickly. secretly, she knew that the whispers exchanged between her female relatives at various weddings or parties or dinners were often questions — why hasn't maggie settled down yet? still, being single was far better than the dread and obligation of an arranged marriage. she didn't envy bella in the slightest on that front. "well, at least you've recieved something for your troubles," she teased lightly.
A smirk appeared on the duchess lips. “And one more line to add to the tempting fate section.” Gabriela spoke, nonchalantly so as her eyes met the vast sea around them, once again. At the stranger’s question, the girl shook her head. “Not quite. Though I have never been on something as grand as this ship. Have you?” Gabriela questioned, looking at the blonde with a polite smile.
maggie chuckled at the remark about tempting fate — let her be a temptress then. her stomach churned at the movement of the boat but she tried to project an image (however conjured it might be) of ease as she responded. "this is my first time on any boat, i'm afraid. other than short escapades on the lake, but a lake is nothing compared to an ocean, is it?" she laughed slightly, hoping that the uneasiness she felt at the unfamiliar movement would go unnoticed.
jasper was looking forward to his time on the ship, hopeful that he would make a friend or two, but as he sat and thought about what was to come once he arrived in america – he was going to watch as his sister married the love of her life, and he was going to explore a corner of the world he had never seen before – he couldn’t stop the grin that quickly spread from ear-to-ear. as he turned to look at the view, he nearly knocked into the person standing next to him. “ i’m so sorry. i didn’t see you there ! “
maggie huffed in annoyance as she was nearly keeled over by the bumbling boy. “well then, next time look,” she scolded, smoothing the skirts that had barely been ruffled. she tried to subtly crane her neck to see what he’d been so immersed in, but could see only the green-blue hue of the ocean. “what was so important that you nearly knocked me over?” she asked, unable to quell her curiosity. there was a bite to the words as they left her mouth.
kit knew she had ruffled the woman’s feathers when her eyes turned to her sharply and tried to hide the triumphant smirk that itched to be seen on her face. kit’s brows drew together when she spoke of the sea air ruining the woman’s precious dresses. she stifled a scoff, the idea preposterous to kit. she had never heard of such a thing and the mere idea could have sent her into a fit of giggles. ❝oh, is that true, now ?❞ she asked
“yes,” maggie said decidedly — though now that the presumed pianist seemed on the verge of laughter, she was beginning to second guess the validity of the fact. "a friend of mine told me so. and i doubt he was misinformed." still, doubt was exactly what was beginning to crawl into her mind.
GOLD — describe what you would call the most perfect meal.
maggie thinks for a moment, before smiling at a wisp of a memory. “ oh, the food back home was always grand, but the best meal was always the luncheons we would throw with relatives or neighbors. auntie addie would always bring little watercress sandwiches that were simply divine. though i do recall shortcake with strawberry jam that was just as scrumptious. ”
As she heard the others compliment, Bella looked down before back at the other and gave a sweet smile. “Yes, new for today! Don’t you just adore it?” She asked, taking a step back and giving her friend a twirl. “It’s an Elsa Schiaparelli made just for me, present from my father – he’s trying to get me to warm up to the idea of an arranged marriage.”
“it's positively gorgeous!" maggie agreed easily, laughing and clapping her hands together at the twirl. her expression sobered somewhat but her voice was still light and took on a mostly-teasing tone when she remarked, "ah. so he's stooped so low as bribery, then?"
In one hand, Arabella held the bottom of her dress up so that it wouldn’t drag along the floor. The other hand held loosely onto the rail as she descended the grand staircase. The ship was beautiful and she felt right at home, the Princess was looking forward to the time that she was going to spend on board the Titanic and began to gush about her feelings aloud, to the nearest person to her. “Oh, I do hope that we get to attend a party here soon – don’t you think it would be just divine?”
"oh, absolutely," maggie agreed, flashing a smile. though she herself wasn't used to sailing, she could very much appreciate the luxury of the vessel. no expense had been saved in it's making, and it was almost like a castle of the sea. a party thrown here would be one of the grandest maggie had ever attended, no doubt — and she had attended many a party. "i simply adore your dress, by the way — is it new?"
“God himself could not sink this ship.” Gabriela spoke, mostly to herself, repeating words that had been said to her wealthy peers as they began the voyage. With only a railing separating her from the vast ocean, the duchess of Cambridge looked at the immensity of it with a thirst for adventure lurking beneath her skin. “Hopefully God doesn’t take those words as a challenge.” The noble woman mused, unaware of anyone was there to listen.
" god's too busy to bother sinking ships, " maggie reassured the stranger, though she was also partially trying to reassure herself. she came up to the railing and followed the woman's gaze out to sea. somewhere, in that vast horizon, was mary. that alone would make the journey worth it. " is this your first time on a boat? " maggie asked, hoping for some sort of distraction from the movement of the vessel beneath her feet.
kit knew better than to continue the banter, but the woman’s tone and the words that uttered out of her mouth ignited a fire in kit’s stomach and awakened the infamous irish anger that resided in her heart. ❝must be fairly cheap then.❞ she commented lightly. of course her wage was more than she would be getting busking on the streets, but it was no fortune.
maggie — whose eyes had begun to once more wander the room — looked over at the girl sharply. who did she think she was, making such comments to margaret emerson ? " i do have more pricy dresses, " maggie agreed, trying to keep her voice cool. " but i decided not to waste my best gowns on a cruise ship. they could be ruined by the sea air. " she remembered spotting a few string instruments around the ship and wondered if the wood would be warped by the tang of salt in the air. not that she cared or anything.
kit watched from the nearby door frame as the person before her traipsed around the shining grand piano. she didn’t blame them as she did the same when she first came onto the boat. it was unlike anything she had ever seen. no longer did she have to practice on a beaten and battered upright she had bought from some character on main street. she stood there silent but once the figure ran their hand across the lid of the piano, kit called out. ❝hey ! don’t get your fingerprints on it… it’s expensive.❞ she chided. she suddenly regretted her decision, forgetting her place was not one to scold.
the piano, though she would never admit it out loud, was a beautiful thing. it might have been even better than the one they had back home — the one back home was dusty though, rarely used. this one looked to be well taken care of. “ darling, ” maggie mused, glancing up at the girl’s cry. she swiped her fingers across the lid once more, inspecting it for dust and coming up with nothing. she lifted her hand. “ the dress i’m wearing is worth more than you get paid in a month. you don’t have to lecture me about ‘ expensive. ‘ ”
hey, hi, hello everyone !! my name is emma ( a tiny hufflepuff ) and this is maggie ( a snark-filled slytherin ) !! i wish i had something more clever to say to introduce myself but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. more about maggie (beyond her bio) under the cut !!
is that ( NATALIE DORMER ) ? good grief, no… that’s just ( MARGARET “MAGGIE” EMERSON ) the ( THIRTY ) year old ( HEIRESS ) from ( FIRST CLASS ). i’ve heard the stewards gossiping and they say she is ( HAUGHTY ) & ( BOASTFUL ) but thankfully also ( PRISTINE ) & ( POISED ). i also heard she is on board because ( SHE IS FETCHING HER REBELLIOUS SISTER FROM THE STATES ). she is played by ( EMMA, 17, SHE/HER, PST ).
— the name margaret means ❝ pearl ❞ ; though she prefers to go by the nickname maggie. ( partially because her baby sister, mary, called her ❝ maggie ❞ as a toddler since she couldn’t pronounce ❝ margaret ❞ and it ended up sticking. )
— she’s the heiress to a large fortune and still lives with her father. maggie’s grandmother lives with them as well, always has. maggie is very close to both of them.
— her mother died shortly after giving birth to mary, meaning maggie, mary, their father and their grandmother plus a group of servants were the sole occupants of the large estate.
— the sisters are five and a half years apart in age. they were always very close, though they didn’t tell each other everything... which was something maggie would come to regret.
— a few months prior to the titanic’ s journey, mary ran off to america in the middle of the night. she left behind a note saying that she hadn’t gone alone, and that she wished to be a movie star in new york. the note also said not to go looking for her.
— naturally, the rest of the family immediately devised a plan to go looking for her. their grandmother was too old, their father too busy, and the servants ( in maggie’s mind at least ) too untrustworthy. which left maggie herself.
— she brought the note and a photograph of mary with her on her journey ( as well as many, many outfits because maggie loves fashion and kinda flaunting her wealth ). secretly though, she’s afraid that once she gets to the states, she’ll be unable to find her sister.
— although she can get kinda snappy or sassy quickly, maggie honestly has good intentions ok. she’s just doin’ what she thinks is for the best.
— oh and she also kinda felt like a mother to mary in a way? since they never really had one? so she feels responsible for mary running away on that front ; she thinks she should have seen what was going to happen. she has a lot of insecurities regarding both this and other stuff and she's not as tough as she pretends to be tbh
— i can’t think of anything else to add at the moment, but if i do i’ll either add to this or post a separate lil’ thing about it !! thanks for reading this far, hehe.
— as for connection ideas, maybe someone who is/was friends with her sister? or like secretly knows about where mary is/what she’s doing. also maybe an enemy/animosity kind of relatonship? like ex-friends or maybe someone she meets and they just do not get along at all lol. ( because drama ) idk but i’m down for pretty much anything honestly !!
