Work Text:
Madi listened to John Silver’s uneven gait on the wooden floor of Madi’s home as he reluctantly left. Madi remained tense and frozen, leaning over her kitchen table as tears streamed down her face. Numerous, conflicted feelings swirled in her stomach and in her chest. Anger, sadness, sorrow. With the love she feels for John simmering underneath it all. She was pulled from drowning in the depths of those emotions by a soft knock on her doorway.
“Are you alright, my daughter?” Madi twirled around to face her mother.
“He betrayed us, mother! Betrayed me!” Madi exclaimed, sliding down to sit on the floor against the table. Her mother quietly came to sit beside her, her presence reassuring. “He lied, and schemed. We were supposed to be partners.”
“Madi, Daughter. What are you more upset about? That our partnership with the pirates didn’t turn out the way you wanted or that Silver didn’t include you?” Her mother asked gently. That caused Madi to pause in thought. She mulled it over in her mind for several moments before finally answering.
“I…am not sure. Possibly both.” The Queen laid a comforting hand upon Madi's own.
“You, my dear, were raised for leadership. To make the hard decisions and sacrifices. John Silver was not. He was thrust into his position without much choice of his own. But he is still doing all he can to protect his men, and even our own people.”
“I know,” Madi sighed heavily, wiping the drying tears from her face.
“Talk to him,” her mother told her firmly. “ But more importantly, listen.”
John Silver stood out on the cliffs, staring out at the waves of the deep blue ocean. The cliffs, which surprisingly held so many happy memories. Today was not a happy memory, however. Today, John’s gut roiled with guilt and despair. He only looked away from the blue horizon upon feeling a presence pressing into his back. Turning, there stood Madi.
“Madi,” he breathed.
“I have come to talk,” she stated. “ And listen.” John closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh as he slumped down onto a rock.
“Thank you,” he quietly said as she walked steadily over and sat down beside him. They sat together in silence for several long minutes, just watching the horizon.
“I didn’t set out to be a pirate, ya know?” John spoke suddenly, glancing quickly at Madi before turning his gaze back to the sea. “I wasn’t a particularly good sailor. Or a fighter. Or a cook. My sense of direction is shit. I’m not particularly fond of the sea. And I definitely did not set out to become a Pirate King in some grand war.
“I…I hold no stake in that war. You want to help your people, create a better life for them. Flint…he was on this vendetta against England and anyone who did him wrong. Me? I played my role because it was important to you and Flint. But ultimately, I had no personal stake in this war.”
“Then why do it?” John sent Madi a wry smile.
“My whole purpose throughout this entire affair was to make sure that the people I care about made it out alive. My men, Flint, you.” John paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and maybe his courage. “Flint had become like a brother to me, no one knew him better than I, but I knew early on, it would probably come down to a one on one between us. It didn't turn out so well for his previous quartermasters, see, and I was keen to avoid that outcome. So I made the purpose for his fight, moot.”
“Which was?” Madi asked. She had to admit, her interest was piqued. Silver was an appropriate name for John, he had a silver tongue, skilled in its usage in multiple ways, including storytelling.
“His hatred and rage for England stemmed from his relationship with Thomas Hamilton being outed and his supposed subsequent death. England turned him into the monster he became. With a little digging, I found out Hamilton was still alive.” John shrugged one shoulder. “Thought if they could be reunited, the monster could be tamed. Turns out I was right.
“Without Flint stoking the fire of resistance, we could hopefully arrive at a more amicable, peaceful solution.”
“The treatises,” Madi replied, her ire starting to rise again.
“The treatises,” John nodded, turning to look at her.
“Those treatises were not for you to decide,” Madi told him fiercely.
“Agreed,” he nodded again. “Those treatises affected too many people, present and future, for the decision to be shouldered by one man. Even the self labeled Pirate King. Which is why I proposed it to the pirate crews and maroons. So they may decide their own fate.” They sat in silence for several moments, Madi thinking over John’s words. She reluctantly admitted that it was a logical, rational decision, given that explanation. One fit for a king.
“I suppose, that even if I am not happy with the outcome, I should thank you for considering my people,” Madi gave John a soft smile as she reached over and laced her fingers through John’s.
“Doesn’t matter what the outcome would be, it is impossible to make everyone happy. I’m just sorry you had to be one of the unhappy ones.” John absentmindedly rubbed his thumb over Madi’s smooth, dark knuckles. “The treatises aren’t set in stone. We can work on making it better.”
“Oh, ‘We’, now, is it?” Madi smirked at him slightly, even as expression faltered a bit.
“I mean, if you’ll have me?” John gave her an innocent, hopeful smile.
“On one condition.”
“You name it, anything.”
“No more lying. No more scheming. We’re equal partners,” Madi ordered him sternly.
“Of course. Without a doubt.” John pulled her in for a deep kiss, drinking in the scent of her and the feel of her soft, smooth skin. Once parted, he wrapped an arm around her and they sat back to watch the sun set below the crashing blue waves.