14. Stone Under Hill
She met Otho after the funeral. She'd gone for a riverside walk, and there he'd been, and willing. She'd acted. By next summer, Lobelia quit Hardbottle as Mrs. Sackville-Baggins.
Then came Lotho; she'd thought that between Southfarthing and son, she couldn't want, that the stones would settle.
They hadn't.
They'd ground on, grown heavier: her boy, she'd thought, shouldn't want as she had. She'd do anything to spare him, and Southfarthing... it grew weedy in her eyes.
Then she'd seen Bag End – a chance sight put flesh on Otho's coveting, and she'd felt the longing weigh her down again...
Notes:
1. Day 12: Card: The Wheel of Fortune
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
