Title: Disarm
Summary: "Oh, the years burn." My take on Maggie's human life.
Warnings: Some deviations from canon; violence; language.
Translations: Daidi = Daddy
Athair = Father
Author's Notes: Okay, I'll admit it: I love Maggie. I have been obsessed with her character for several years. Irish, pretty, can tell when you're lying... The Official Guide gave me a creative spark. It only says Maggie was an outcast, but never what happened to make her such. How did people find out? How did her parents find out she could tell lies from the truth? And then I listened to Smashing Pumpkin's "Disarm". Thus, the creative spark was ignited. Enjoy and review.
June, 1836
"Mother," the small girl whispers, "You are lying to me."
Anna McGuire doesn't know how to reply to such a statement. Maggie has said this several times before; mostly about small things, such as whether Father will be home soon or whether they can go to the marketplace later on in the afternoon. She likes to think her daughter is just being particularly humorous; that she is joking, and somehow picked it up from her siblings' hushed conversations.
But if this is a coincidence, it is fairly eerie. This lie isn't a small one.
How can Anna explain it to such a small girl? The child didn't make it; nine months of thinking up names (Seamus for a boy, Siobhan for a girl), nine months of prepping Maggie up to be the older siblings, nine months of eating meticulously and sleeping on her back and clutching her hand to her stomach, thinking, 'You are mine and I will love you no matter what'. This was all for nothing.
So, Anna sees it best to simply say, "He was sent away." If pressed for details, she'd planned to make up a lost relative; she has several in Cork and Dublin, and Maggie would never meet them, therefore she could simply use one of their names. She'd say it'd be best for Maggie's sibling to grow up in a more stable household, and thus sent him away.
But, of course, Maggie knows otherwise. Anna doesn't want to know how her child is so peculiar to be able to distinguish lies from the truth. Anna herself isn't like that, and neither is her husband, Arden.
Deciding to swallow the array of questions boiling within her stomach, Anna replies in a cool, collected voice, "Why do you say such a thing, Maggie?"
"Lies. You are telling me lies. Tell truth. Now, please." Being four years old, Maggie is bright for her age, but hardly speaks in sentences longer than six words. She is quiet, like Anna's own mother, and it will benefit her in the long run. When Maggie is married and has children, she will not question her role in society aloud, will not be seen as the boyish, rowdy woman who really has no right to question the world.
The older woman turns around to face her daughter. Maggie is a pinpoint of light in the house they live in. Whenever Anna took in the depressing sight of the broken door, she'd glance over to find Maggie trying to tame her orange curls. When the roof leaked from copious amounts of rain, Maggie would be trying to catch it all in her hands, earning a chuckle from her mother. She has strange quirks, but Maggie is still Anna's daughter, and she is her pride and joy.
Anna takes a moment to collect herself. "Well, Maggie, I am right, in a sense," she begins, not really knowing how to explain the concept of death to a toddler. "Your sibling - a boy, he was a boy - isn't here anymore. He was sent away... to live... in God's garden."
Blue eyes widen at the prospect of a sibling being with God. "Really?"
Anna nods. "Really, mo iníon. He is with God and the Angels now. Do not be jealous of him, for you will one day find Him and your brother, as well."
Maggie is smart. Maggie should be able to handle this. Anna watches her tiny, chubby hands fiddle with each other as she digests what her mother said. "And you and Daidi?"
"Yes. We will go before you will, but rest assured, we all will be together in Heaven." Anna has faith in God and His ways. She doesn't know why He took her child before he had a chance to live, but God is mysterious in that sense. She will not question why He took Seamus.
With that, Anna grabs one of Maggie's hands. "Now, go do your chores before Athair gets home. You know he doesn't like unfinished duties."
Arden is not due home for several hours. Not until the sun sets, then he will come home. He will be a mess, sweat dousing his clothes and pooling in droplets in his dark hair. A crooked grin will be spread across pale, freckled skin, and Anna will fall in love with him for the millionth time.
"Yes, Mam," Maggie says dutifully, then wanders off to the backyard to pull out the weeds from the garden.
Anna loves Maggie's obedience. She loves her ability to accept things easily (as long as they are the truth, Anna notes with a twinge of bitterness). She hopes it will last into adulthood.
She also hopes her 'coincidences' soon stop.