Her Precious Lad - by Larner

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Challenge: 2009 Cue 8: Contrast of beauty and ugliness.
Format: drabble
Genre: general
Rating: PG
Warnings: n/a
Characters: Sméagol, the grandmother
Pairings: n/a
Summary: How did her precious little lad become the monster she saw before her now?



Her Precious Lad

He’d been her precious lad when he was a child, sweet, curious, endearing. How she’d coddled him after his father was taken by goblins, and more after his mother and his baby sister died after a difficult childbirth. How beautiful he’d been in her eyes!

But things had changed with Sméagol on the day his cousin Déagol went missing. His curiosity was darker; and his sly behavior, sticky fingers, and cruelty had driven away any love his kinsmen had ever held for him.

Ugly is as ugly does, she thought.

She shook her head. “You are banished, Sméagol. Now, begone!”

Comments

[zdenka]

An unusual perspective, and an interesting one!

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

I suspect that Smeagol was loved once, at least, and wanted to play with his grandmother's response when he changed and she was forced to banish him. Poor lady!

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

Wow! That was unexpected - and "precious" lad, indeed! What a perfect title!!

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Once the Ring had him, the truly precious lad was swiftly corrupted into something quite different, I think. Thanks!

[shirebound]

I never thought of this from her POV before!

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

It was interesting to visit her POV in this. I've played with it in "Stirring Rings," but wanted to distill it a bit for this challenge.

[hhimring]

You are right--I suppose they must have been close once! His memories of her in the Hobbit do suggest that. I'd forgotten that, because in the Lord of the Rings she sounds a bit more remote, somehow.
How sad for her.

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

I agree, she does seem more remote, more removed in LOTR. But I do believe that until Deagol disappeared Smeagol had been loved by his own.

[elwenlj.livejournal.com]

Those must have been the hardest words she ever said in her life.

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Oh, I so agree. How difficult to realize that one you've loved so is now a danger to one's home and the rest of the family.

[mysterious-jedi.livejournal.com]

Sad story!

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

I agree--one of the saddest in all of Tolkien's world, I find.

[ysilme]

This is great, and so very fitting for somebody who knew Sméagol well. My heart aches for his grandmother, to have yet another loss to bear. It seems as if the ring already influenced his live before he even found him.

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Well, he'd been under the influence of the Ring since the day Deagol found it and Smeagol slew his cousin in order to get it for himself. I suspect that it took a fairly long while for their grandmother to bring herself to accept that for the sake of the rest of the family Smeagol needed to leave and stay away.

[ysilme]

I was referring (without mentioning it, of course ;o) ) to the theory that Déagol did not find the ring and Sméagol did not get it by chance, but that the ring intended be found by them, and, inconsequence of this, insinuating that the ring might also have been responsible for the family's mistfortune before it had been found. But likely that's also just me and my warped thining. ;o)

[nialoke]

That's a perspective I've never considered before, and a very interesting one! What a sad story - This family truly seems cursed.

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Well, by taking the Ring as he did, Smeagol definitely cursed himself. I always felt rather sad for Deagol.

[independence1776]

I like this!