Drabbles: The Silmarillion, part 2 by Zdenka

Colors

Maeglin chooses the colors of his House. (Maeglin, Aredhel. Implied/referenced character death.)

Written for 100words on Dreamwidth, for the prompt "gaudy."

They dismounted for a brief halt to rest the horses. Maeglin’s heart was beating wildly; he kept glancing behind for signs of pursuit. But his mother was smiling, her eyes fixed on a patch of bright red flowers. “I had almost forgotten, how much brighter flowers are in the sunlight.”

The lords who came to give their condolences for his mother’s death were dressed in bright colors, a dizzying profusion of heraldry, and glittering with jewels. To Maeglin’s eyes, they seemed gaudy and overdone. Since his mother was gone, for his own emblem, he would have no colors but sable.