Blood of the Bullroarer

A/N: This story will develop an idea that I have mentioned in several of my other stories. It’s probably going to be fairly angsty, but not until later chapters, and I will post a warning with them. I doubt that any of the “main” hobbits” make appearances, but I hope that will not discourage anyone from reading! This will be the first story that I’ve had properly beta-ed from the first chapter, so I wonder if anyone will notice a difference. Thanks, powerwriter for looking through it for me!

In studying-up for this story, I think I may have discovered a little error that JRRT made. The position of Bandobras “Bullroarer” Took in the Took Family Tree does not match with the references in the text of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In “An Unexpected Party (The Hobbit), it names Bandobras as “Old Took’s great-grand-uncle”, while from the Family Tree, he is only the Old Took’s grand-uncle. Similarly, in “Concerning Hobbits” (Prologue of The Lord of the Rings), he is said to be “the son of Isengrim the Second”, but his father is Isumbras III from the Family Tree, and Isengrim is his grandfather. I have used the Family Tree as my reference, despite these two discrepancies.

And just so everyone is aware, the names of Diamond’s family (of Long Cleeve) were resurrected or derived from The History of Middle-Earth (i.e. Vigo Took, Diamond's brother, does not have anything to do with Viggo Mortensan!)

1: Chief of the Shire

S.R. 1419 

Lotho Sackville-Baggins looked at his mother lovingly as she slept. She had taken one of the finest rooms in Bag-End as her bedroom when they had first moved there, and now Lotho found it impossible to imagine the room without her.

He shut the door of her room, and made his way to the study. As he did, his thoughts turned to the discussion he had had with Lobelia earlier that day. She had asked him whether he planned on settling down, as he was well passed the general marrying age.

“I’m sure there are plenty of lasses just dying to be your wife,” she said, as they sipped tea in the sitting room.

“Mother, I’d never be able to find anyone as wonderful as you,” he replied.

“I won’t be here forever, you know. You will need someone to take care of you while I am gone, and to make sure that the family line lives on.”

With his father dead and cousin Frodo presumed so, Lotho was the head of both the Sackville family and the Baggins family. Though this was not at all common in the Shire, Lotho was immensely pleased by it.

“Head of two rich and respectable families, and the Chief of the Shire,” he mused. “What more could I want?” Lotho settled into his chair, and the answer came to him. An heir. It was because Frodo Baggins had remained unmarried and sonless that he himself was sitting in Bag-End. If Lotho followed Frodo’s example, some upstart son of his cousin, Miss Angelica Baggins would replace him as head of the Baggins family, and most likely, Chief of the Shire.

Lotho slammed his fist onto the table. He would not let that happen. He would find a suitable bride, and with her, he would have an heir worthy of the title of Chief.

“But who?” Lotho asked aloud. “Is there a lass in the Shire worthy of being Mrs. Lotho Sackville-Baggins?”

Lobelia had always been Lotho’s strength, so he knew that his own bride would have to match her. Perhaps he could ask her for guidance in choosing a potential wife. Lotho scowled, as he remembered that when he had been much younger, Lobelia had tried to set him up with Miranda Bracegirdle, one of her own cousins. Miranda was a silly lass, with great designs on herself. On top of that, Lobelia’s own choice when it came to marriage left much to be desired. Lotho despised his deceased father, considering him to be weak and spineless. He had blemished the family name, and Lotho was only just reversing the damage.

“No, no. For this, I cannot rely on my mother. I will need someone with a much stronger will. A much bolder lass, like one of those Tooks.” Lotho spat the name out like it was foul tasting or poison. How he hated the Tooks. Thain Paladin was the only hobbit who still defied him.

Suddenly, a sinister thought occurred to Lotho. Paladin had three daughters. Lotho thought back to some of the parties his cousins had held at Bag-End. Pearl, Pimpernel and Pervinca – all were fair, or so Lotho remembered. Pearl and Pimpernel were married already, but the youngest (as far as the Chief knew) was not yet.

Lotho laughed. What better way to strike back at the Thain than to steal away one of his beloved daughters and make her Mrs. Lotho Sackville-Baggins. And with Pervinca’s Tookish blood, Lotho would have heirs that he could be proud of; heirs that were not weak and pathetic like the rest of the Shire-folk.

It took Lotho a moment to realise the fatal flaw in his brilliant plan, and when he did, he wanted to kick himself. There was no possible way he could marry Pervinca! She was neatly trapped in Tookland.

When Paladin had shot three “ruffians”, Lotho had retaliated by increasing his watch on Tookland. Men patrolled the borders of the land, with orders to drag away any that tried to escape to the Lockholes. Paladin had then set up his own watch, and Took archers shot at any of Lotho’s workers who trespassed into Tookland.

As a combined result of his own rage and stubbornness, and that of Paladin’s, Pervinca was out of his reach. Lotho scowled. He really had hoped to infuriate Paladin in that way. Pearl and Pimpernel were also out of the question. Aside from the fact they were both married – and though there were many things Lotho would do, stealing away a married lass was not one of those – he had heard rumours that they, too, had been in Tookland when the siege began.

“No other lass would be worthy of carrying my children,” Lotho grumbled, as he lit his pipe. “I must have a Took, but I cannot get to them.”

Something was stirring in the back of his mind. A memory was trying to work its way into being. Lotho placed his pipe down and made his way to his bookcase. Unless they were filled with numbers and financial figures, Lotho usually hated books, and kept very few. However, Frodo had left behind several books when he had moved to Crickhollow. It was one of these books that Lotho pulled from the case.

Like most families, the Tooks were immensely interested in their family history, so had many books dedicated to the subject. The names and deeds of some of their greatest ancestors were kept in this book. How Frodo Baggins had come to have it, Lotho was not sure, but he seemed to recall that Bilbo’s mother had been a Took, and no doubt, it had belonged to her.

Lotho flicked through the pages until he found what he was looking for:

Bandobras Took, or Bullroarer as he was more commonly known, was the tallest hobbit in Shire-record. Standing at four foot and five inches, he was tall enough to ride a horse. Bullroarer Took was the hero of the Battle of the Green Fields. He knocked off the head of the King Goblin with a club, and sent it sailing into a rabbit hole, winning the battle and inventing the game of Golf at the same time. After the battle, Bandobras removed to the North Farthing, and established the town of Long Cleeve. His descendants are still known to live there, and many of them have inherited the Bullroarer’s grand height.

The cruel smile returned to Lotho’s lips. This was turning out much to his liking. Not only would he be able to find a bride with Tookish blood, he would be able to wed a descendant of the legendary Bullroarer Took.

Lotho continued to flick through the book in the hopes of finding something that would give him a hint as to whom may be the lucky lass. He was not to be disappointed. It seemed that Bilbo or Frodo had been keeping record of the North-tooks as well as the Tooks of the Great Smials.

As he searched the family trees, Lotho found that only one name stood out when it came to a potential bride. He shut the book and left the room. It was a long way to Long Cleeve, and he wanted to get there as soon as he could.

When Lobelia woke the next morning, Lotho had gone. He had left a note simply saying:

Mother,

Have some business to attend to in the north. I believe I may return with something that will please you immensely.

Your loving son,

Lotho

Lobelia was left to ponder at whatever he could have meant by that.

* * * * * *

 A/N: I must apologize for how short this chapter is, but I couldn’t run it into the next chapter. Please let me know what you thin of this.