here’s a last-minute sad millian halloween ficlet because i’m terrible
haven’t proofed and its 1:30am so sorry for any errors
G, 1k, Millian + Jones Brothers + unhappy ghosts :(
Every year on the last night of October, a fog rises and spirits appear on the Jolly Roger. They can’t speak, can’t have conversations or move about freely. They simply hover there, right above the spot they perished aboard the ship, unable to do anything but look through the haze and stare at the living. Some are pirates, some navy men, some comrades or friends, others past enemies who were killed in battle by the very men on board. The Jolly Roger, once a jewel, is host to dozens of ghosts on this one night a year.
For the crew that still lives and breathes and works on the ship, it’s a dark night. They come face to face with those they couldn’t save, those they slaughtered, and those who they watched slowly perish from illness over long journeys. For Killian, it’s the one night a year when he can see Liam. He doesn’t know whether it’s a blessing or curse, but he knows that he will not let his brother down; he will greet him, year after year, until he joins him.
Milah’s first October 31st on the ship, she feels the dark mood of the crewman, strange goings-on that she can’t explain, and she watches as Killian Jones talks to an empty space in the captain’s cabin. “It’s my brother,” he says, and she takes a tentative step back. He shakes his head. “You haven’t been here long enough. You can’t see them yet. But you’ll see. Next year, you’ll see them.”
And she does, one year later. After solidifying her place among the crew, after learning to sail and fence, after working hard and fighting by their sides, she sees them. On deck is a man she killed just weeks before, an officer of a royal ship that tried to take them out. He’s younger than she remembers, not much older than twenty. She stares into his eyes and he stares back and it isn’t guilt she feels, not really –– it’s more pity. Pity for the circumstances that led them to this.
Liam is in the captain’s cabin, which is where Killian stays the whole night. Milah just observes. She doesn’t interrupt or ask to meet him. Killian seems to be in his own world, anyway, and she doesn’t mind. It’s the one time a year he gets to be with him, even if he isn’t really with him. When the sun rises and the spirits disappear, Killian curls up in their cot and Milah wraps herself around him, head to toe, because even the gift of goodbye every year is not enough to appease his hurt.
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