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In Darkness Buried Deep by GamgeeFest	9 Review(s)
Periantari	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 11/28/2005
aww poor Frodo~ All those feelings of fear and worry and loneliness and then Gil's little taunt really spurred him on to do something that no one would think he would do... And the description of the forest was really well done~ very scary atmosphere you built, and it was very effective. oh poor Frodo. :( ::goes to hug him tight:: (yes sorry, i'm reviewing backwards. :P) Author Reply: I never had anyone review backwards before, lol. That was kind of fun! :P Gil's taunt was the final straw, in many respects. It would, eventually, have come to something like this, if not quite so dire. Frodo could only have buried those feelings for so long before it got the better of him. But it all came out for the better in the end. ^_^ I reread parts of "The Old Forest" chapter in LOTR before writing this, and it helped me to anchor it down. I didn't want to go too above what Tolkien had described, but I did want it to be more frightening, simply because we were seeing it from Frodo's perspective. A child is going to see and experience things differently from an adult, and they often overexaggerate what is really happening (another reason the forest seems more mild and tame when the searchers go through).

Isilhen Daegol	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/28/2005
Wow, it's been a while since I checked this. Well, here's a long overdue review. Brilliantly written as always. I love how you put in normal parts of their life that really doesn't have anything to do with the plot, like Esme feeling guilty about wanting some time away from Merry. You also did very well with the description of the Forest. Good job! Now, off to read the next two chapters I neglected... Author Reply: It's a perfectly natural feeling for mothers to want time and space away from their children, but Esme feels that since she loves Merry and he's her first born child, she should want to be with him all the time. She'll get over that as the years go by, lol. I reread the Old Forest chapter before writing this, to make sure I remembered everything correctly. Glad it paid off. :)

Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/15/2005
Poor Frodo! He is in way too far now with no idea how to get out. I wonder what will happen to him now and how long it will take Saradoc to realize exactly where to look for Frodo? I wonder if Anyone at all saw him go in. The older lads may be impressed by this once they know what he's done but I am wondering how long it will take before anyone puts this puzzle together? Your discriptions are very good in this. I could see the trees shifting as I read. Can't wait for more! Author Reply: Yep, Frodo's got himself in quite a bind. He didn't think this one out at all and he's paying the price for it. But he might get something out of it also. At this point, it looks like no one saw him go in. Frodo has a knack of going unnoticed when he wants to. Unfortunately for him, no one will even think to imagine that Frodo would have gone into the forest. Everyone at Brandy Hall will be scratching their heads over this for a while. (This is btw, in case you were wondering, the part that I had to go back and restructure after my one month hiatus from this story. Originally, Hob saw the weskit lying on the ground right away and the search started that same night. For various reasons, that plot development just wasn't working.) I went back to the Old Forest chapter in FOTR and reread it a couple of times to get the feel for the forest. I didn't want to misrepresent it or the rumors/myths that surrounded it, and I wanted Tolkien's image of the forest as fresh in my mind as I could get it before I wrote this chapter. It seems to have paid off! More coming soon. ;)

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/14/2005
Old Man Willow and his cohorts are so dastardly. I'd wondered how he'd managed to get by them unseen, and now know. Wonderful! Poor Frodo, stuck in his clearing.... Author Reply: Exactly. They fooled him by remaining complacent, letting him get a false sense of security and just far enough into the forest that they could set their traps for him. Then they struck. Those trees are such bullies, lol! You caught up fast!

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/14/2005
Poor Frodo. Saradoc and Esmeralda will be frantic when the penny drops. I hope they don't think Gil was acting as Frodo's accomplice in this - since he's totally innocent of that! Author Reply: Frodo does have a time of it ahead of him. This won't be a nice quick walk in the park. No one will even know how Frodo got into the Forest, so Gil will be safe of that accusation at least. Edon, on the other hand, well, he did take Frodo to the Gate. There could be some danger in it for Edon. And the bounder of course.

RenaissanceGrrl	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/13/2005
OMG! Poor Frodo! That would be INCREDIBLY frightening, even for me. Suspense! Gah! cannot wait for next chapter Author Reply: I think I would be rather freaked too, and I don't get freaked very easily. The forest was deceptive in letting Frodo pass and remain there without any problems. Once he attempted to leave, they showed their true colors. Frodo's going to have to use every ounce of cunning he has.

Andrea	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/13/2005
"He could take care of himself, and Merry if necessary." That's our Frodo - always taking care of his Merry-lad! You did a great job here with your description of Frodo's feelings. To control your fears until the tension is over and no-one is watching anymore, and then finally let your tears run free - that sounds very familiar. I'm confident that Frodo will make it out of the Old Forest, though. After all, he's a Baggins and therefore the perfect adventurer! Author Reply: Yes, Frodo is very protective of his Merry, which helps explain why Merry is later so protective of Frodo. We must all do that at times - control our emotions until it's safe to let them go. For Frodo, that means when he's alone and can cry without anyone catching him at it and fussing over him. He's a Baggins, but he doesn't have much of Bilbo's teachings yet. This might prove to be a bit over his head. Or, it might not. We'll have to wait and see. :)

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/13/2005
Oh, poor Frodo-lad! How dreadful! You do describe so very well the feelings a child has, who has lost a parent early and unexpectedly. I speak from personal experience. You have it down pat: nothing seems safe or secure anymore. I am interested in your version of the relationship between Frodo and his foster-parents. Now in my version, Frodo has lived with them from the time his parents died--Sara, in fact, was one of two guardians appointed in Drogo's will, the other being Bilbo. But in your version you indicate he stayed with others first--I am curious if you will reveal who, and under what circumstances he came to be with Sara and Esme. Very intriguing. If you don't deal with it in this story, maybe in another...shoves plot bunny in your directionlooks away innocently* Author Reply: lol, that plot bunny bit me a long time ago, right after I finished "A Tale" to be exact. He's been happily munching on grass and carrots since then. So long as I can keep him distracted, I might be able to save my ankles. ;) In my line of work, I see children get shuffled around from relative to relative far too often. That, along with the time I spent studying psychology and sociology, colors the way I see Frodo's situation at Brandy Hall, though I do give him some stability in Esmeralda and Saradoc. I think Primula and Drogo would have expected an older relative, one of Primula's siblings who have already had children, to take care of Frodo should anything happen to them. I've mentioned their names in previous fics, though you mihgt not remember. Don't worry though; you'll learn a bit more about that in the next chapter and a few more tiny snippets throughout the story. That full tale is, of course, yet to be written. Let's take this one angsty story at a time! lol Security and stability are crucial for any child to grow up well-adjusted. The loss of a parent, let alone both, would cause a child's world to turn askew. Frodo lost his parents at an extremely young age, and with that he also lost his innocence - his blind belief that everything would be all right, so long as his parents were there to take care of him. He never truly recovered from their loss and there will always be that seed of doubt in him. He might have been able to forget it for a long time, with Bilbo's help, but its roots were deep.

estelnalissi	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/13/2005
It's 3 A M. Snap! Snap! Rustle! Rustle! And I'm supposed to go to sleep now? How Unkind! Continue soon, Please? Author Reply: LOL, sorry you lost sleep! I'm glad you're enjoying the story though. Thanks for reading!

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