A/N-this came from a story starter a friend of mine challenged me to do: "Pick a random object. Pick a Narnia character. Make that object their obsession."
It was a simple necklace, really. A fine gold chain, strung with a single opal, polished to perfection. It wasn't nearly as fine as some as the other jewelry in Lasaraleen's massive collection. But it was old, older than anything in her house, and had a peculiar story. It was whispered by the old women who did the Tarkheena's laundry that something very queer and terrible had happened to the necklace's previous owner, many years ago; it was claimed that he disappeared, and, if you happened outside on a dark night, you could still hear him crying out for it. The gem in the necklace, you see, was called The Precious Opal.
"Darling, would you find me a necklace to match this dress? Something white, an opal, perhaps, would be simply divine, for there is a white trim on my gown, and they simply must match, for this party tonight is of the utmost importance." With that unnecessarily long request, a handmaiden of Lasaraleen Tarkheena was sent into a storage room.A moment later, the dark young woman came back into the Tarkheena's chambers.
"Will this suit, your lady?" she asked, carefully holding out a beautiful opal necklace.
"It most certainly will, darling! Why, I haven't seen something so beautiful since I was being carried down my litter yesterday-you know, to go to that lovely party at Tarkheena Mahair threw since she became engaged-and saw a dress on display by that lovely little shop where I overheard just the other day about Prince Rabadash and Queen Susan-I think she's a barbarian, personally, but the son of the Tisroc (may he live forever) may of course choose whichever woman he desires. It was pink, with a lovely gold trim and pearls encrusted in the neckline." After a moment's pause, the Tarkheena sighed with impatience. "Darling, please put the necklace on me."
The handmaid (whose name was Lina,) had a strange difficulty giving the necklace to the Tarkheena-she wanted to keep it. "Precious Opal, my Precious Opal," she murmured.
"What was that?" Lasaraleen practically shrieked.
Lina went red. "N-nothing, your ladyship, I said nothing," she quickly said, hastily clasping the necklace around the Tarkheena's neck.
When Lasaraleen turned to her vanity mirror, her jaw dropped. "Where has this been, handmaid?" she asked, reaching up to touch the gem.
"In the storage room, my lady."
"So it is mine, then? My Precious Opal?"
Lina swallowed, enviously eyeing the gemstone.
The Tarkheena noticed the look and ordered the handmaid leave her at once-she didn't trust anyone near her Precious Opal; they all wanted to steal it from her.
"My Precious," she murmured once the room was empty.
Several weeks later, and Lasaraleen Tarkheena seemed to have gone mad. Nobody was allowed in her chambers-she didn't seem to need sleep or food anymore, and she could be heard talking in the middle of the night. Her slaves and handmaidens, who would sometimes linger outside of her door, begging her to come out and eat, heard her talking to someone she called "Precious." Lina, blamed it all on herself. "If only I hadn't given her the Precious," she thought hopelessly.
Inside the Tarkheena's chambers, things weren't much better. Lasaraleen had turned off all the light in her chambers, and her eyes had begun to enlarge to compensate for the darkness. She was getting stick-thin, and had begun walking on hands and knees. Her once-fine robes were in tatters, and she'd developed a nasty cough.
Then one day, she escaped out a window. Some said that they saw a pale creature, with big eyes, sparse hair, and a terrible cough escaping the city by night. And it's said now that if you go down to the old tombs, you can hear the creature that was once Lasaraleen Tarkheena, coughing and talking to her Precious.
A/N-so yeah, Las is now Gollum...what am I doing with my life?