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Chance Encounter by Dreamflower	13 Review(s)
PIppinfan1988	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/19/2006
You know, I can have a vivid imagination at times--I can only hope I'm getting the tunes right in my head because these are some very lovely songs! I'd never tire of listening to this special duo singing. :-) I am also enjoying the King and the Steward working out their relationship. LOL, I had a nice laugh out of Gimli's advice to the hobbit groupies; grow hair on your feet, or forget it! Poor, poor Legolas (wicked laughter). I am loving this story! :-D Pippinfan

Baggins Babe	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/7/2006
snigger Gimli sending the fan girls of Minas Tirith off to annoy Legolas!! And making the ladies remove their shoes and stockings and telling them they would have to grow foor fut..!!! I've been giggling about this. I meant to review before this but committee work somehow got in the way. sigh I'm delighted to see Menelcar is now singing for the King, and how wonderful that he has been asked to be Court Bard - it couldn't happen to a more deserving person! The songs were perfect - and I loved Aragorn gently teasing Frodo about dancing on tables! :-)) Author Reply: I think Gimli probably got a snigger out of it as well. Not to mention a view of the ladies' ankles... He does deserve to be Court Bard, doesn't he, after all this time. When I found those two songs, I could not believe how close to perfect they were. The first one needed a bit more tweaking to be "Middle-earthy", but the second one only needed a couple of words changed. Well, really it was quite funny looking back on it--and I could see Aragorn teasing him about it now that all was over with.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/6/2006
So I lied--it was but one more chapter, after all..... Lovely, and such an appropriate song to dedicate to Frodo. Very, very lovely. Pippin's singing is wonderful! Author Reply: snerk I've done that myself. I do believe that "The King's Commission" made me late or nearly late--for work more than once, LOL! When I saw that second song, it just really spoke to me of Frodo, his pure heart, and his need for joy and grace. I think that it would have done the same for his young cousin.

Andrea	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/6/2006
"Not since Gimli made the last group remove their shoes. He inspected their feet, and told them that unless they could grow hair on their feet, their cause was hopeless, that thick hairy foot fur was essential to seducing a hobbit. And then he asked if any of them could grow beards." LOL!!! And what else would Gimli do as to send them after Legolas! I loved the two old songs. When I heard the melody to the first one, I was sure I heard it somewhere before. Thanks to Lindelea's review I was able to remember. It had something to do with Christmas. Thank you for putting the "Merry Inn Song" in here! Aragorn's remark was very funny and I'm quite sure, Frodo laughed with him! Author Reply: I just thought Gimli would be the perfect person to deal with "hobbit-groupies". I loved them too. I had to make several changes in the first one, but the second one is very nearly unaltered. The Folksong site is a treasure trove! That's one of the first of Bilbo's songs that Menelcar heard, and it has become a staple of his repertoir.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/6/2006
Poor Faramir. He still squirms rather at being pinned down by a king who wants him as a friend. Denethor has him trained to be just a touch too respectful and abject. But Aragorn will get him out of it - in time. And Eowyn will be a help - she's not too fussed about grovelling to position and looks more at the person behind the rank. Still, growing up as the highest-ranking female in Rohan, she can afford to be a bit more casual. And not being related to Denethor would help, too. I wonder if Gimli was the lust object of many of Minas Tirith's dewy-eyed maidens - or whether they concentrated on cute hobbits and ethereal elves. Being a hobbit-friend isn't too bad a career move for Menelcar - from street corner to the High King's private dining room in one day! Still, it couldn't happen to a better bard. And, somehow, I can just see Pippin easing Boromir out of a trap of brambles. In fact, the hobbits could have proved really useful in certain situations that never arose. Still - they had enough on their plates! Although Pippin still has a sneaking desire to be as much of a bard as he can under the circumstances. Good to see him singing with Menelcar. Author Reply: Yes, he does squirm a bit still. Denethor has him trained to be just a touch too respectful and abject. Exactly. Much like the courtiers Aragorn was glad to get away from; Denethor has a lot to answer for. Faramir is too honest and forthright to dissemble, but he is also going to couch anything he says in the most formal and respectful fashion, and he is definitely not going to "presume". But you are right about Eowyn as well. Rohan is a far more informal place, and the Rohirrim, I think, far more like the Northerners in Arnor in their approach to their rulers--respect and obdience, yes, but also a level of friendly openness impossible in a more metropolitan setting, and a sense that a King is still one of them, no matter that he wears a crown. I have a feeling we would never know. Gimli would keep it all to himself, LOL! Not a bad move at all; and best of all it was completely unconscious on his part. I had a good deal of fun with that particular tale. I had used it as a brief anecdote in "A New Reckoning", and then it found its way as a Marigold's Challenge story. But I have a feeling the tale would have been a popular one in later years. Under that argent-and-sable livery, there yet beats the heart of a bard, and always will.

Garnet Took	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/5/2006
Oh, I just love the image of Pippin and Menelcar singing together. Any time Pippin sings makes me all warm and fuzzy feeling. I like the thought of all the fellowship, and Faramir being gather simply as friends. Now that Aragorn is king, these moment are especially precious. Those songs you chose are perfect. They seem like they were meant for this. I know you changed some words, but the spirit is priceless. Thanks. Looking forward to the next update. GT. Author Reply: I love them singing together, too. Thank you very much--warm and fuzzy is just what I hoped for in this chapter. Yes, the Fellowship doesn't have a lot of time left together, so Aragorn wants to make the most of it. Surprisingly, I had to change very few words. More, of course in the first one than the second, but really, they did seem very much as though they would fit into M-e. Very soon.

Pearl Took	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/5/2006
Oh, Dreamflower! Wonderful! I loved the use of the old songs and the referance to your other story. This whole story is just delightful :) :) Author Reply: Thank you! I am a dreadful person for sprinkling in bits and pieces of other stories, and sometimes I remember to note them, but most of the time I forget. I have so much fun finding songs for stories!

Gryffinjack	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/5/2006
""Faramir, do you see anyone else in here?"" LOL! I love that line! This entire exchange was very amusing. The thought occurred to me of how much like Sam Faramir sounded before I read that Aragorn thought the same thing. Great comparison! ""Not since Gimli made the last group remove their shoes. He inspected their feet, and told them that unless they could grow hair on their feet, their cause was hopeless, that thick hairy foot fur was essential to seducing a hobbit. And then he asked if any of them could grow beards."" You know, my niece went trick-or-treating this past Halloween dressed as Merry. We ordered a nice pair of furry attachments for the tops of the feet. Perhaps we should send the fair maidens of Minas Tirith the website address? ""No, they do not care for sleeping in upper floors, not even one storey up, much less as high up as they are here. Pippin tolerates it best, but even he is somewhat uncomfortable in their present quarters."" Now this I really appreciated. For even though Pippin enjoys climbing trees and does not mind their heights, that Citadel is much higher from the ground and would indeed bother even him. Nice hobbity characteristic you've included. Finally! We finally get to see Menelcar and Pippin singing together again. Now if we could only get a recording of it so we could all hear it. I really like how you are developing Menelcar's character. He likes and cares about the hobbits in their own right, and not because of their fame and reknown as most of the other citisenry of Minas Tirith do. That much is obvious to both Faramir and Aragorn. I'm so glad that Aragorn offerred him the position as Court Bard. I can imagine Aragorn talking with the minstrel, glad of an honest ear that I doubt would only view him as king. For Menelcar is well travelled, just like Aragorn, and I imagine they could share many stories together. Aragorn needs someone like that, especially once the hobbits, Legolas, and Gimli have returned home and Gandalf has gone as well. Author Reply: I was in the middle of this reply and got interrupted, and lost it. I hope I can remember what I was saying... Sam and Faramir have a lot more in common than is obvious at first glance. I got a kick out of the bit with Gimli and the "fan-girls". You know, someone probably could make a pretty penny selling fake foot fur once the word got around. I can see it starting a fad, and some high born Gondorian maiden trying to convince her mother to let her go barefoot with fake fur glued on. "But Mooother! Everyone is doing it! and the pheriannath are in such high favor with the King!" Well, of course, hobbits' discomfort in sleeping in upper floors is canon--I am quite sure it was among the reasons they did not remain in the Citadel. Wouldn't that be neat? Alas, I don't think it's possible yet. Of course the hobbits were already dear friends to Menelcar, from his time in the Shire--especially Pippin, who had quickly wrapped the bard around his little Tookish finger. I am very sure that Faramir and Aragorn were pleased to find him such a level headed person. For Menelcar is well travelled, just like Aragorn, and I imagine they could share many stories together. You will soon find that the above will play a factor in Menelcar's decision...

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/5/2006
lol I love the beginning of this chapter! It seems Aragorn is much more successful with Faramir in dispensing with the formality than Frodo ever was with Sam! And Gimli’s way to get rid of all the admirers! rofl Hair on the feet as necessary trait snickers And of course, he had to send them after poor Legolas in the end! For Menelcar his meeting with the hobbits was obviously very lucky! To get an invitation to play for the King and his friends and then find himself offered the position of a court bard was surely nothing he’d ever expected! Author Reply: Well, of course, hobbits are far more stubborn than Men, LOL! I just had this little vision of a bunch of young Gondorian maidens all clamoring for a chance to meet the famous pheriannath, and Gimli being all straight-faced and serious, as he has them take off their shoes and stockings...snerk Well, of course it was indeed very lucky for him--but his luck had turned for the better from the time he first met Pippin, though it took him a few years to find out. And no, I don't think it was anything he ever expected.

shirebound	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/5/2006
Faramir approached, and handed him a purse, with a smile. He took it gratefully. Then he turned to find himself face to face with the King. "Sire," he said, with a slight bow. "Master Menelcar, I find myself favorably impressed with your choice of material. I will need a Court Bard. Is that a position you might consider?" That just warms my heart. If a wandering Ranger can find a home at last, why not a good-hearted, wandering bard? Author Reply: I think that Aragorn will find in Menelcar a kindred spirit--something he needs, especially once his friends from the Fellowship will have all gone their own ways.

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