Fun Facts about the Copper Pimpernel AU
I have two different stories in mind for how Maedhros and Pimpernel meet; one is an original idea, and the other is based on a fanfic I read on AO3. Here’s a few things they’ll have in common:
Pimpernel’s family and friends call her “Nell.”
Pimpernel is 4ft tall (which is tall for a Hobbit), has tanned olive skin with freckles, dark chestnut-brown Merida-curls that she normally wears in a ponytail, and mossy-green eyes flecked with gold.
She was bullied because of her height when she was a kid, especially by Lotho Sackville-Baggins and Ted Sandyman. Of course, being a Took, she quickly learned how to fight back.
I headcanon that Hobbits’ “awkward stage” is in their tweens rather than their teens. With that being said, Pimpernel’s tweens were good to her and although she’s still taller than average, she grew into a beauty.
Lotho eventually noticed this, and also realized that Pimpernel was one of the wealthiest heiresses in the Shire with a big dowry (he obviously doesn’t love her, he just sees her as a possession with certain perks).
Lotho begins to pursue her, but she would rather meet an angry feral chihuahua with rabies than marry him. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know how to take “no” for an answer.
This unwanted, one-sided courtship is the catalyst in one of the Copper Pimpernel AU stories for how Maedhros and Pimpernel meet. In the other story they meet before Lotho tries to court Pimpernel.
Pimpernel and Maedhros get married the spring after her thirty-third birthday.
Lotho Sackville-Baggins is not happy about it. Thanks to his parents spoiling him and his mother’s hereditary persistence, he refuses to give up on Pimpernel, even though she’s married and later starts having children.
Maedhros goes by the pseudonym “Dœgred Winsterhand”; the only Hobbits that know Maedhros’ true identity are Pimpernel, Paladin, Pearl, Frodo, and a few trusted cousins. Most Hobbits are such notorious gossips, after all, and if word of a former Kinslayer Warlord living in the Shire somehow becomes common knowledge to the rest of the world, it would endanger Maedhros and possibly anyone associated with him.
Maedhros has a prosthetic hand made of mithril with a bronze finish. He always wears gloves in public to hide his prosthetic and his scarred left hand (see above point), so most Hobbits think that he has both of his hands and just likes wearing gloves. In one version of this AU, the prosthetic is given to him as a gift by Tom Bombadil and Goldberry. In the other version, Elrond and Maglor commission Dwarves from Erebor to make it for him.
Maedhros’ wardrobe is similar to that of Dúnedain Rangers. He tried Elf-sized Shire fashion once, including going barefoot; all the Hobbits kept staring at his feet, which…creeped him out unnerved him, so he stuck to boots and Ranger clothes after that.
Pippin is Pimpernel’s little brother, thus making him Maedhros’ brother-in-law. He actually doesn’t mind Pippin’s shenanigans; he’s used to it after corralling his six younger brothers and many younger cousins.
Maedhros works mainly as a gardener. And since I headcanon that Fëanor taught all his sons at least the basics of metalwork to see which one(s) would inherit that skill, Maedhros also does occasional blacksmith jobs (more so during the winter months when gardening is slower). Metalwork isn’t his best craft, so his blacksmithing isn’t nearly as masterful or flashy as his father’s or Curufin’s or Celebrimbor’s. However, what he makes is good enough that he never gets any complaints from his customers.
As of yet, Maedhros and Pimpernel have five children together: three girls and two boys. They might have more children; they want a big family.
To quote C.S. Lewis, “You cannot go back and change the beginning, but you can start from where you are and change the ending.” With this quote in mind, I usually tend to write themes of forgiveness, redemption and healing in my WIPs. This is especially true for Maedhros in this AU because I think he deserved better.
There’s definitely going to be a lot more to both of the Copper Pimpernel AU stories than this, but I don’t want to reveal too many spoilers. 😁
