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A Matter of Heart by daw the minstrel	24 Review(s)
pipinheart	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 10/2/2005
Maybe Ithildren can change Alfirin mind, he has told her he loves her and she has said the same... Author Reply: Alfirin's head told her one thing, but her heart told her another. And then her mouth let it out!

elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/5/2005
So nice to come back and find out what happened in this story as I was on vacation. I like Tonduil. Such a good kid. I'd like to see more of him in these. Alfirin's conversation with her mother was well done. Good motherly advice. And poor Legolas. He does not need Galelas causing him grief. I liked the part where you described Legolas' knife and its runes. Good angsty introspection there. And I loved his interaction with Alfirin. She could be just what he needs. But Alfirin and Ithilden were priceless. She tried so hard to take her mother's advice and her reaction to Ithilden/Legolas was great but that 'slip' that she made. You had me there. I read that and I thought, 'Boy, Daw doesn't make typos but when she does, even those are good.' Then I read on. You really got me. That was great! Loved it. And that was a wonderful way to get them to finally admit the obvious to each other. Great! Author Reply: I was away all this week, hunting for pirates in the Caribbean, so it was nice for me to come home to all these ego-stoking reviews. :-) I like Tonduil too. He's so good hearted. I have such a large cast of characters now that I tend to lose some of them, although it was Tonduil who was getting married in "Tangled Web" when the dwarves crashed the party. I'm shameless. I'm still laughing at my own funny scenes. As you probably know by now, Alfirin is just what Legolas needs. She's motherly and concerned, but she hasn't been hovering over him like his family have been doing. And she's female. I think he needs that. That slip of the tongue did originate in a type I made while writing about these two in a different story. I looked at it and laughed and then decided to save it to use at the right moment. And this was it!

lwarren	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/21/2004
Whew! "I will bed you goodnight." vbg Oh well, the heart speaks truly here - forget being practical...grab the elf and drag him to the woods! ;-) Alfirin in this chapter is very appealing - practical, somewhat unsure, sympathetic, compassionate, funny...I really like getting to know her character! Poor Legolas! He is having a hard time of it. He needs someone to confide in - too much pain and guilt all locked up inside still. And he wonders at his need to be alone, and why he can't seem to regain his composure. I see he's been counseled by the healer...he's avoiding his father...and is too embarassed/ashamed to let his best friends know. Which leaves the entire burden on him, unfortunately. Great chapter, daw! linda Author Reply: That little slip originated in a typo I made when writing about these two in another story (My Brother's Keeper, maybe). Anyway I looked at it and laughed. And it wasn't right for that story, but I decided to save it for another one and here it just seemed to fit. It spoke volumes really. I'm getting to know and like Alfirin better too. She looks so serious and even kind of bossy on the surface, but she's not a prig. She can laugh at herself and at Ithilden too, thank goodness. Poor Legolas is right. I need him still a little off balance by the start of "Prodigal Sons," but he can get a bit better than he is here.

Frodo3791	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/20/2004
Because I've finally had it with fanfiction, I'm coming here to review. It's so bloody annoying at times! Anyway, I had part of my last review typed up, but it all got messed up, so I'll review here and now. Anyway, it's strange to see Alfirin unsure of what her duties would be at the palace if she bonded with Ithilden because we see her so... in control... in your later stories. Probably a lot of it is just the confusion to how she feels about the relationship. But anyway, it's interesting to see the change between old and young Alfirin. It's also weird (I'm not sure if this was in the last chapter or this one.) to think Alfirin and Eilian, who I miss a lot, are the about the same age. But then again, I'm sure things like that happened all the time in the places of elves. I wish Legolas would have fought Galelas. Annael probably did the right thing by breaking the two of them up... ,but revenge can be so sweet. Too bad the consequences aren't as great. I'm looking forward to reading more, even if I don't review, but I'll try to find time. I know how nice it is to see that email come up saying Review Alert! Oh yes, and if for some reason you don't update anytime soon, I hope you have a Merry Christmas. Hopefully things aren't too hectic. -Frodo Author Reply: Fanfiction.net is so temperamental sometimes. I know just what you mean. I thought that maybe it would be hard for any woman to know what running the palace was like from the outside. She doesn't live there and while it probably resembles her own family's house, there'd be things she never thought of. I didn't think about this adjustment when I first created her, so I'm glad to have a chance to think about it here. Elven ages boggle my mind. I don't know how they dealt with it. You're an adult, but geez, this person over here is 1000 years older than you. Or you and your siblings are of the same generation, but you're 600 years apart. I can't get my head around that. You think Legolas should finally get at Galelas, do you? You're a trouble maker, Frodo! Merry Christmas to you too. We're traveling some to see family so I hope the weather holds and we don't get big snow.

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/20/2004
I am enjoying these chapters of character development, of seeing internal struggles and conflicts dealt with (and you are doing great with the um, 'restrictions' we have placed on you!). Getting in Alfirin's head makes her a very likable character and her little slip at the end of the chapter was grand. She has doubts and concerns, but she loves most of all. And throwing Ithilden off his guard on occasion is a very good thing. Author Reply: LOL. If I'd known how hard the restrictions were going to be to deal with, I'd never have agreed to them! Alfirin is growing on me as I take her POV. She popped up originally just as a generic love interest for Ithilden, but she's shown herself to have more character than I realized.

Lera	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/19/2004
I am really enjoying seeing Alfirin from this perspective. She is a wonderful person and I believe the whole Thranduilion household benefitted from her. I was proud Legolas said no to the glade, but I can't help but wonder if his response would have been the same had he not had Annael's support and the disaproval of the maidens to back him up. Alfirin will be extremely good for Ithilden. He desperately needs to learn to take other oppinions into account. Wonderful chapter as usual. Yes, I got the same result Alfirin got with her hair. Problem now. My bf loves my long hair and doesn't want me to cut it, but I believe it's becoming a hazard(it gets stuck in the car door, it tangles into anything it touches, etc.) And this pretty way of doing my hair did not serve to make him like it any less. Author Reply: Alfirin is much more interesting when I write from her POV. And maybe that's true of all of us. :-) I thought that same thing about Legolas. If he and Turgon had been by themselves, I think he might have had a harder time. I really think it took Turgon's death to wake him up. Alfirin's mother is most worried about whether her daughter will stand up to Ithilden, I think. She has every confidence that Alfirin can run the palace. I used to have long hair, although it's stick straight, not curly. I had it cut when my son was little and it was driving me crazy. As you say, it can be a hazard!

Manderly	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/19/2004
Ahh! So Alfirin is going to take the plunge finally (not that there was any doubt as we all know what the final outcome is), but still it was fun watching the way she and Ithilden test their steps around each other, and I particularly liked that Freudian slip of the tongue at the end (for a very brief second, I thought it was typo before my grin took over). Ithilden may be the all experienced and capable commander, but he still feels insecurity when it comes to the maiden that he loves. He is only human (or elvish?) after all. It's nice to see his vulnerable side. I really liked the beginning of the chapter where Alfirin was talking to her mother. A very realistic mother-and-daughter talk. I think Alfirin made up her mind right from the beginning, but just doesn't realize it yet herself. And did Alfirin's mother call Thranduil a fool? A brave soul, she is. Poor Legolas! It must be totally eating him up when he doubts his own ability of becoming a warrior. It is going to be interesting to see how he finally resolves his guilt over killing the spy. Author Reply: Ithilden is getting quite a lesson in a part of life about which he is pretty ignorant. But it will all be worth it. I'm sure she really can bed him a good night. :-) The mother/daughter talk was fun to write. I think her mother knows a lot about the family at the palace because she's seen them all hurt and in very vulnerable situations. And she didn't really call Thranduil a fool, althought I don't seem to have made that sentence too clear. She said that Ithilden was as little a fool as Thranduil was. That is, they're both not fools. If she did think that Thranduil was a fool, surely she'd be smart enought to keep it to herself! Legolas will get some better in this story, but not all the way. He has to still be ready to do a stupid thing at the start of "Prodigal Sons."

sofia	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/19/2004
aw, that was sweet. At least they both know that they love each other. Legolas is really having a hard time with the incident. I think he should tell someone. -sofia Author Reply: I'm glad you liked it, Sofia. Ithilden and Alfirin have come a long way, which is nice to see. And you're right about Legolas, of course. I think that in time he'll be ok. He's making progress. He used swords, for instance, but it's all so slow and he wants to be normal again right away.

meckinock	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/18/2004
Daw, it amazes me that you never run out of ways to make these characters grow and become more complex and intriguing. I always thought Alfirin was OK, but kind of uptight and conventional. But in this story she's got me on her side all the way. Her mother's point was interesting - here Alfirin is Eilian's age, do I remember that correctly? And she might get saddled with raising a messed-up, lonely adolescent kid. That's a big job. I like the way your characters rationally consider all their options and then surprise themselves by doing something rash, just like in real life. Alfirin had herself all talked into prudence and caution, didn't she? I really liked her for abandoning it. The scene from Ithilden's POV was so exquisitely, agonizingly detailed with him noticing absolutely everything going on around them and calculating how Alfirin must be reacting to it. That is such a guy POV; to wonder what he did that she's excusing herself to go home. I liked how Legolas, alone and despondent and resentful at the intrusion, nevertheless "pulled himself together and tried" with Alfirin, only to find out that he ended up feeling better. Author Reply: Thank you, Meckinock. I've been growing fonder of Alfirin as I write this. I think it's hard to resist a character once you've taken their POV. And yes, Alfirin thought she was going to be cool and take her time, but she has the hots for him so, instead, she offered to "bed him a good night." Now who could resist that? ;-) I had to really think about what Alfirin might be worried about too. At first, I thought she might resent that she would not wind up with a household that was fully her own when she married, but then I realized that in the world I've created, she would always have expected to go to her husband's family's home, so there might have been a mother-in-law. Actually, I think that would have been harder than what she's getting into now!

Elena Tiriel	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/18/2004
Oh, my, Daw! I took a double-take, then laughed out loud. Even your typos are creative! And so brilliant of you to have tucked it away for just the right moment in a future story... Well, I bet Ithilden has the biggest, sappiest smile imaginable plastered all over his face while he's walking back to the palace. I bet his warriors won't even recognize their stern Troop Commander any more (and he won't even notice their existence). And I bet the music was even livelier, the stars were blazing forth riotously, abundantly colorful flowers were springing up under his feet, and the whole world (including the trees) was singing the Sindarin version of the Hallelujah Chorus... And I bet Celuwen, if she slept at all, was dreaming about well-muscled thighs and where she wanted them to be in spatial relationship to herself... ahem Nice chapter, Daw! Thank you for rewarding Ithilden, Celuwen, and your shamelessly romantic readers... - Barbara Author Reply: LOL. I have to admit I was giggling to myself as I posted the chapter. I thought people might like the idea of bedding Ithilden a good night. It was fun to write this from his POV and to have him think that the music was sweeter and the stars were brighted and not to know it was him. I think Ithilden is hoping for more a reward than this, but he's the well-behaved, responsible son and, unlike Eilian, he'll wait out the year's betrothal. Sigh.

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