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Interrupted Journeys: Part 2 Journeys Perforce by elliska	5 Review(s)
Lenielestel	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 4/18/2014
Reading through this fabulous epic for the second time! (Sharing it with a friend!). We read this chapter last night, and I was struck anew by your powerful way with words. I was reading aloud, and had to stop a few times because Thranduil's lines gave me chills! (Good ones!) You have made him an incredible speaker, and I love it! You also do a fantastic job of helping your modern readership into a feudal frame of mind without breaking the storyline. Amoneth's slowness to grasp the necessary facts of court life makes me want to hit my head against a wall, but she is a great literary device for educating without exposition. I feel for Thranduil here. You seem to have a very clear understanding of what happens to a leader when their own support system fails to support them properly. I hope that it is not from personal experience, but just a very good imagination on your part! In a small, insignificant way, I have been in Thranduil's shoes. For a time I was royalty in an mmorpg (puzzle pirates), and had my own Amoneths to deal with. (and a Marti, come to think of it.) You have captured the struggle and the feelings perfectly. Well done!

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 11/19/2004
It's amazing what a little fencing, a day with only one class, a nap and chocolate will do for one's mood. Dieneryn really is a shiksa, isn't she? When Thranduil asked her to stay with the Dwarves, the first thing I thought was that he had picked the only person he could, for what nana could refuse her firstborn baby anything? The second thing I thought was that her response might go more along these lines: Thranduil: Stay with the Dwarves for fifty years, naneleh. Dieneryn: What? Me, stay with the Dwarves, whose people rose up and destroyed my home, which I fled with only the clothes on my back and my baby in my arms? Oy, Thranduileh, with my own body I nourished you and protected you from the marauding Dwarves, and this is how you repay your mother's love? Thranduil: On second thought, maybe Lindomiel should stay. . . Dieneryn: No, my son should not have to ask his wife such a thing. From your mother you may ask, for a mother will always give. Fine. Go away Enjoy these last years remaining to you in your lovely, civilized, tree-house capital, in the company of your own people and your brother. You will be very busy, organizing wonderful farewell parties and celebrations, so I will not expect you to write to your old mother, all alone with the Dwarves, but if you ever need anything of me, all you need to do is ask. When my grandchildren (whom I will never see in the beauty of their infancy) arrive, be kind and name one for your father, may he rest in peace, and teach them not to forget your poor, dutiful, abandoned mother, doing her duty to her King and Lord living all alone with only the Dwarves for company. By that point, Thranduil would be lying on the floor sobbing openly. But Lindomiel does make up for much of that, doesn't she. Oh well, it'll be a way to get Thranduil up to the construction site for. . . ahem. . . "inspection" at least once a year, nudge nudge wink wink, eh wot? I am endlessly amused by Nali, who approves of the King's plans. I do hope he turns out to be one of Gimli's distant ancestors, because that would be just too cool. Wow. . . when Radagast says that "a little bird told him" something, he really means it, doesn't he? And Thranduil is going to take on a fifty-year apprenticeship in bird-listening. It must seem to his people as though he's Prince Charles who's just met his latest guru. But it is a useful skill to have, and he will have fifty "frustrating" years ahead of him, so he might as well do something productive. And then he, too, will be able to smile serenely and say "oh, a little bird told me." Smackdown! We all knew Amoneth had it coming (and boy howdy, did she ever!), but the threats against Aradunnon were something else. Thranduil certainly knows how to wield a mean threat, doesn't he? Though I suspect that, were he truly to banish Aradunnon, he'd find out real quick just how much he needs li'l bro around for his own mental health. Which would just make him even more pissed off at Amoneth. Speaking of whom, she is finally going to get the education she should have had a long time ago, and it's going to be a lot harder now. This may force her to decide once and for all if Aradunnon is really worth marrying or not. Author Reply: Ok, I have a new rule--in addition to not reading your reviews at work, I am also not going to read them at 5:00am when I can't sleep because my husband is snoring. I laughed so hard at this that I woke him up.... Wait. That seems fair. I loved your version of Thranduil and Dieneryn's dialogue. Even more so because there is a version of it that has a line something like "What would your father have said and how do you plan on explaining this order to him when you see him again..." blah blah--in other words, laying it on a bit more. I liked yours better though. I like Nali too. I like dwarves. I think I'd be one if I lived in Middle Earth. They fit my personality pretty well I'd have to admit. Radagast, as little part as he gets in LotR, was my favorite character when I first read the book (I read the trilogy before the Hobbit and got attached to the Elvenking). I'm afraid I'm one of those tree-huggers as they call us in the US. An environment freak. I thought the idea of Yavanna and Radagast was just too cool on Tolkien's part. So I'm afraid I have to include him when I can. And it does say in the Hobbit that the birds had already carried news of Smaug's death to the Elvenking, so canonically, Thranduil does have a special relationship with the birds in his realm. So.... Bottom line, I'll admit, I just like Radagast and birds. :) (The Prince Charles guru thing is what finally did me in--I had my laughter smothered in a pillow before that.) Yes, Amoneth had it coming and now she's going to get it. For fifty years. Good thing time passes under an elf's notice. I'm sure Thranduil would not want to lose Aradunnon, for personal and political reasons. But, he is right--Amoneth behaved like an idiot--where was Aradunnon? He should have helped her. They both are at fault. So now they have Thranduil's personal help. As much as I'd like to spend time with the Elvenking, I don't think those would be the perfect circumstances. Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're feeling better. Yes fencing and chocolate...that's the ticket.

Brazgirl	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 11/19/2004
This was your best chapter, it trully was. Thranduil's mother reaction was so, so nice! I love it. And Lindomiel, even at her age, is behaving so well, so queen like. It was a wise decision, though it will cause her beautiful husband some loneliness. Loved the wizard. Very natural, very Tolkien like. And now... the best. The discussion between Thranduil and Amoneth. It was better than I expected. Thank you so much for sharing this. Actually thanks for sharing this fic! Hey, I don't care how long you take to update, this is just great! Come on! When Thranduil said he would be her tutor I jumped! And I bet he is the most strict tutor she will now! He sounds to me someone who never lets his pupils fails... that is frightening! The whole guilty he made her feel, the threats... the treatment he gave his brother because of her! Very, very nice! Wonderful. Brazgirl (still amazed by Thranduil) Author Reply: Thank you, Brazgirl. :) I had fun with this chapter in a lot of ways. Mainly because I was playing with Thranduil's authority. His mother gives him a hard time--and Thranduil even admits he couldn't force her to stay--but notice that she does stay. Lindomiel stays though Thranduil would prefer she not--again he admits he can't stop her--but he still gets what he wants: Lindomiel's acceptance of the new home. The guards don't want to stay behind...but notice they do. Radagast goes where he wants, and it's where Thranduil wants him. And boy does Amoneth get what she deserves--Thranduil's full wrath. In other words--Thranduil always gets what he wants in the end. :) I love Thranduil. I thought you'd like the discussion between Thranduil and Amoneth. It was pretty harsh but she has had plenty of opportunities to do the right thing and she didn't. And now she will pay--yes, I bet Thranduil will be a very demanding tutor. :) She will not fail. It will be frightening for her if she doesn't shape up. And, ultimately, he is really trying to help her and therefore his brother. He's a good person. Thanks for the review!

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 11/19/2004
Wow. Angry!Thranduil is really scary. If that doesn't make an impression on Amoneth, nothing will. I was interested in the fact that Lindomiel stayed in the north. That's consistent with what Tolkien says about married couple sometimes spending years apart (as Galadriel and Celeborn did in the Second Age). Of course, I think that usually comes after the childbearing years, but the times are so tumultuous here that Thranduil and Lindomiel have evidently put that off. Author Reply: Angry!Thranduil is scary. I get a kick out of him (probably because I'm safely on the other side of my computer screen and not in the same room with him). But Amoneth can't gainsay him publicly. This chapter played around a little with authority and Thranduil getting everything he needed where he needs it. There are lots of ways to do that. Dieneryn and Lindomiel do things for the sake of the kingdom whether they like them or not and Thranduil gets the help he needs from them--he doesn't have to worry about having absolute control over them because they already make their choices for the best of the realm. Some people, like Radagast, play a role Thranduil doesn't completely understand yet, that may not entirely sit well with him yet, but that his instincts tell him will serve his ends. And some people, like Amoneth, must be brought to compliance. In the end, Thranduil has what he needs. Yes, LaCE says elves sometimes spend time apart. I almost think fifty years would seem trivial to them though so it shouldn't be that big a hardship. But honestly, the childbearing years thing is the part of this story that even I don't accept, to be honest. Thranduil and Lindomiel have been married for 1000 years of perfectly peaceful time now and LaCE says elves have children early on in their marriage in times of peace. There really isn't any reason they shouldn't have children yet. Except I just can't believe that Legolas is 3000 years old at the War of the Ring so... I fudge over that a little in the opening chapter of this part with the whole 'Thranduil's been busy bringing his kingdom back to prosperity and Lindomiel was so young herself' thing but it doesn't really hold water. :) Oh well. I don't want Legolas born yet. So he's not. :-D Thanks for the review.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 11/19/2004
Well, I wouldn't want to cross Thranduil. I hope Amoneth manages to learn from his 'personal tutelage'. It could well be the making of her. (I hope it is, because I would like to see her and Aradunnon happy together.) I think it's one of the problems of being the spare. (The wives of the aristocratic and royal being obliged to produce an 'heir and spare' before getting on with their own lives.) The trouble is that the spare doesn't have much of a role and the wife (or betrothed) of a spare has even less. Perhaps if Amoneth had been put to work earlier, she wouldn't be such an idiot. Thranduil's cool authority was much more scary than shouting at her - and she might be more inclined to try if she knows how upset Aradunnon would be if she failed and was exiled. On the other hand, he was really interesting in his treatment of Radagast - and he is right. Radagast's presence is the best thing possible for the forest under present circumstances. I hope Thranduil manages to learn Dr. Doolittle techniques. Perhaps Aradunnon should learn, too. Lindomiel is wise to stay in the north and work with her naneth-in-law establish the stronghold - although it surely won't be a total separation. Thranduil is bound to have to pop north regularly. (He seems to have won on leaving his captain and lieutenant to guard the ladies.) I love Nali - he is a Good Dude. And the secret passage idea is a good one. Thranduil might not be able to command Dieneryn, Lindomiel or Radagast, but I think he can do a pretty good job on everyone else. Author Reply: No, I would not ever want to have a meeting like that with anyone and Thranduil, much less. And I definitely would not want Thranduil's personal tutelage. When I started grad school, I was terribly under-prepared for the program I was accepted to. One of the professors called me into his office after the first exam and read me the riot act (calmly, like Thranduil, but after I left his office I went to the bathroom and cried) and then offered me his personal tutelage. He and his wife, who also worked in the department, made it their mission in life to bring me up to speed. It worked. That professor did not allow failure. He ended up being my dissertation director and I just loved him. But boy! That was a tough semester! I suspect that Thranduil and Aradunnon have finally made an impression on Amoneth. I think the heir and spare thing is funny. Sad and true. But funny. And you are correct. I like Radagast a lot. I don't buy the 'he failed because he got caught up with animals' thing. Granted, Tolkien made it very clear in his letters and in UT that is what he intended for Radagast, but I think he's wrong. If Radagast had not been friends with the Eagles, Gandalf would still be locked up in Orthanc. Radagast served his role, however small. Over time, everyone who played a role in the War of the Ring has had their place laid out for them. It's so interesting how all these things come to pass. And he does help in Mirkwood too, I think. We know from the Hobbit that birds are the special friends of the Elvenking. Heaven only knows if Thranduil learned that himself or with Radagast's help but in my story, he had the wizard's help. :) I like Nali too. I had more fun writing the dwarves in the various parts of this story than I expected I would. They are pretty cool and I can identify with their personality as it's described in the Sim far too well. :) Yes, Thranduil gets exactly what he wants regardless of how he got it. Dieneryn did stay. Lindomiel did accept the caves. Radagast will help Mirkwood. The guards may have protested (I suspect they did), but they stayed. And everyone else--you'd be better off obeying. Take Amoneth as an example of what happens when you don't. :) Thanks for the review!

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