Birthday fic for PearlTook
Three ficlets--so far, at least--for you, Pearl! Written for the Tolkien Weekly "Seven Deadly Sins" challenge. Beta by RiverOtter.
Lalia the Great
Lalia the Great-that was what they called her. Or at least that was what they called her to her face. But if they would call her that, that was what she would be. She would be the matriarch of the family whose name she’d borne ever since she married Fortinbras Took. And she would not allow herself to recognize that the name had been given her out of malice and jealousy. She would take the slight on her girth and apply it to her whole person. That was what she wished to be remembered for, her commanding personality.
Greed for Recognition
She held tightly to the pursestrings within the Great Smial, and insisted that the Tooks apply to her for remedies for their slightest wants. Yet there were never any economies applied to the purchasing of food. Starved as Lalia Clayhanger Took had been so much of her life for recognition and simple friendship, she refused to stint herself in the one commodity that had always brought her comfort-food.
Themselves deprived of broad ability to express their talents, the ladies under Lalia’s domination responded by cooking, and the Great Smial became renowned for the quality of the table set.
Envy
With a disapproving eye, Lalia watched the attention that Bilbo and young Frodo received as they moved through the dining hall. Foolish Hobbit had gone off on an adventure, and then acted as if it were something to be proud of! It wouldn’t surprise her in the least if his young cousin were to follow suit one day, in spite of his quieter, more thoughtful demeanor. She could see it in his eye-Frodo felt that the Hobbits of the Shire were far too set in their ways for his liking.
But to be free to wander freely again….
Lalia the Great
Lalia the Great-that was what they called her. Or at least that was what they called her to her face. But if they would call her that, that was what she would be. She would be the matriarch of the family whose name she’d borne ever since she married Fortinbras Took. And she would not allow herself to recognize that the name had been given her out of malice and jealousy. She would take the slight on her girth and apply it to her whole person. That was what she wished to be remembered for, her commanding personality.
Greed for Recognition
She held tightly to the pursestrings within the Great Smial, and insisted that the Tooks apply to her for remedies for their slightest wants. Yet there were never any economies applied to the purchasing of food. Starved as Lalia Clayhanger Took had been so much of her life for recognition and simple friendship, she refused to stint herself in the one commodity that had always brought her comfort-food.
Themselves deprived of broad ability to express their talents, the ladies under Lalia’s domination responded by cooking, and the Great Smial became renowned for the quality of the table set.
Envy
With a disapproving eye, Lalia watched the attention that Bilbo and young Frodo received as they moved through the dining hall. Foolish Hobbit had gone off on an adventure, and then acted as if it were something to be proud of! It wouldn’t surprise her in the least if his young cousin were to follow suit one day, in spite of his quieter, more thoughtful demeanor. She could see it in his eye-Frodo felt that the Hobbits of the Shire were far too set in their ways for his liking.
But to be free to wander freely again….