The Dwarf Dagger by Dreamflower
GamgeeFest · 26 May 2007 · Chapter 2: Chapter 2
I was afraid it was leading up to this. Poor Pearl! Poor everyone. It was interesting to learn what made Bilbo give up his Tookish ways and settle into his Baggins predictability. The Fell Winter would have that effect on him, as well as everyone else. And someday you'll have to tell the story how Esmeralda ended up not having a 'P' name. ;)
Inkling · 21 May 2007 · Chapter 2: Chapter 2
An excellent tale, Dreamflower…and a very different sort of mystery than mine! I’m left wondering what became of the dagger…I doubt it was ever given to the Thain after what happened. I'll bet you could do a good "Tails of Manhattan" kind of story about it, in which it passes from hand to hand, always bringing bad luck to its new owner... The moment when little Pal put the sheathed dagger in his mouth made me shudder...every mom's worst nightmare! Very well told indeed!
Author's reply
Hmm...interesting concept...I wonder if that dagger would be familiar to Gimli in any way...hmmm... Yes, that's a pretty scary thing; that's why I had the slightly anachronistic touch of the wire "peace tie" holding the dagger into the sheath! I didn't want *two* tragedies! But really, a child that age--anything pretty and shiny goes first straight to the mouth! And if it does not taste as nice as it looks, it will be discarded with disdain.
Agape4Gondor · 16 May 2007 · Chapter 2: Chapter 2
What a sad little tale - but beautifully written and quite believable. Poor little Hobbits... Where does the evil in M-e come from?
Author's reply
From Morgoth, of course. *sigh*
Andrea · 16 May 2007 · Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Wow! Great story and very well written, Dreamflower! I heard about Pearl and her pony accident in Larner's latest story "Second Mum". But I had never expected that it was so tragic! I'm right glad that Paladin never found out what really led to his older sister's death. He is not to blame, of course. He was but a faunt, so how could he have known! I'm also sorry for Ferumbras, who had just begun to realise his true feelings for Pearl. And Lalia? Well, at least she did not celebrate her birthday that year. However, Pearl's accident did not change her - neither her character, nor her life! She's a hopeless case!
Author's reply
No, I would never let Paladin find out what happened, poor baby! And yes, this rather squashed poor Ferumbras' future as well. And any changes in Lalia's attitude were for the worse, not the better! She was hopeless!
SurgicalSteel · 16 May 2007 · Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Oh, that was very well told - Pearl's reaction is entirely understandable, the end regrettable. And it's a very good thing that no one ever realized how the dagger came to be where it was.
Author's reply
Yes, it's a very good thing. I don't think *anyone*, let alone Paladin, ever needs to know what really happened...
PIppinfan1988 · 15 May 2007 · Chapter 2: Chapter 2
I can certainly sympathize with young Pearl being accused of stealing. And that scene of Adalgrim carrying the lifeless body of his daughter was absolutely tearful! And I'm glad that no one ever learned of how the knife got under the cabinet -- especially Paladin. A poignant, but very excellent tale! PF p.s. I'll read my "other" alert tomrrow. :-)
Author's reply
Yes, poor Pearl! And I could not see Adalgrim allowing anyone else to touch his daughter's body, however sad and horrible the task of bringing her back was. No, Paladin, poor baby, will never know what he did. And that's all for the best.
Larner · 15 May 2007 · Chapter 2: Chapter 2
How tragic! Alas, poor young Pearl, to have been so blamed. I remember once getting so angry I set out to walk home from such a family gathering that had also degenerated into chaos--I can see so easily how such a thing could have happened. Yes, I think that this would have badly strained the relationship between Adalgrim's family and Ferumbras and his mother. Selfish, self-centered Lalia--a pain even in those days! Well, well written.
Author's reply
It's just that sort of adolescent reaction a child that age could have under such stress! And it did indeed sour the relations between the Whitwell Tooks and the Great Smials for as long as Lalia lived. She was, indeed, selfish and self-centered. I'm sure that she also was at first appalled and feeling guilty for the results of her actions--but she would not *like* feeling that she was to blame, and would convince herself that it was *Pearl's* fault for over-reacting, and that her conclusions had been perfectly logical under the circumstances. It would not be long before she would be thoroughly resentful of the family she'd wronged.
Baggins Babe · 15 May 2007 · Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Oh this was so sad! I knew from your other stories that something terrible was going to happen but it was still very moving when it happened. Lalia is beyond belief! I just pity her family - and poor Begonia of course! Little Paladin is sweet - even if he was the unwitting agent behind the dagger's mysterious disappearance!
Author's reply
Yes, most readers were, I think, braced for the tragic event (though I did surprise a couple of people). But most folks that are familiar with "my" Shire probably knew Pearl was a goner. Lalia is something else--and she's quasi-canon, after all, so that's not even my fault--JRRT painted her as a greedy and grasping sort. Wasn't he sweet? And of course, he'll never know, poor baby, what he did.
Frodo Baggins · 15 May 2007 · Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Hullo, Dreamflower! That was really sad! Well written and interesting. It's funny reading a story about that generation as children. Paladin was really cute! *hugs him* Hantayel! Yours, Frodo
Author's reply
I like to show the earlier generation as children sometimes--after all, they were all young once too!! And Paladin *was* kind of cute, wasn't he?
elanor winterflowers · 15 May 2007 · Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Oh! I was so shocked when Pearl died! I didn't expect it at all! This was a really fascinating look at what is, in my writing sphere, a vanished generation--so far back only a name or two survive to remind me of them. I was quite enthralled, getting to know them all. Lalia must have been quite an embarrassment to the rest of the Tooks during her later reign of terror. A neat portrait of Pippin's immediate forebears--I liked them!
Author's reply
Oh dear! And after the warning and everything! I forget that some people are not familiar with all my stories. I've mentioned in several of them Paladin's older sister Pearl, after whom his daughter was named, who died tragically young in a fall from a pony. I'd never intended to actually write her story, until the prompt made me think of it. I like to write of those earlier branches of the family tree: all of them, Bilbo and Adalgrim and Rorimac--even the Old Took Gerontius--all of them were young once, and must have had their own adventures of one sort or another! I am glad that you like them!
Baggins Babe · 14 May 2007 · Chapter 1: Chapter 1
I am always in awe of the wealth of detail you manage to include, Dreamflower. I love your stories of our favourite hobbit families and the amount of history you give them. I'm looking forward to more - with a great deal of trepidation too, I must say.
Author's reply
I've had a lot of stories to "flesh out" my Shire, so to speak. I'm glad you like all the little details (or, to be less charitable--trivia) that I include. I am sorry about the angst, but it was really already decided before I ever planned this story...
Lindelea · 14 May 2007 · Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Ooo, OC character death and angst. (Speculating in the midst of local chaos) Little Paladin is so cute! I love Isumbras' testy response to Lalia's suggestion. The magic shirt-studs! I'd nearly forgotten about them! Looking forward to more.
Author's reply
Well, you know my universe pretty well, so any speculation you make is probably spot on! Isn't he? I just love wee!hobbits. By the time that Faramir Took comes along, that particular room *is* kept locked. I am thinking that this episode was probably the beginning of it. But, yes, to most hobbits, locking things up is what they do only in Buckland. I've written of them a couple of times. I've another little bunny in mind with them as well.
PIppinfan1988 · 14 May 2007 · Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Second time around and my heart *still* goes out to young Pearl; I still needed kleenex. You always do a fantastic job with painting life in the Shire -- or the Great Smials in this case. :-) PF
Author's reply
Awwww...thanks for R&R-ing twice! That's so sweet of you!
Larner · 14 May 2007 · Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Oh, dear--so this is what happened to Paladin's sister Pearl, is it? And children and shiny, pointed things do NOT go well together.
Author's reply
Yes, this is the backstory for Paladin's oldest sister. *sigh* No, they don't. I had no desire to let little Paladin come to harm, after all, so I put a "peace tie" on it. It's probably a complete anachronism--it's what the SCA does with real swords or knives when doing demos at public schools or parks--but I thought there might be a Dwarvish equivalent.