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The Acceptable Sacrifice by Larner	11 Review(s)
grumpy	Reviewed Chapter: 71 on 1/28/2006
What a greatidea Rosie has for a present for Sam for Yule. I like it that Frodo is still using the dragonfly, and he is making a picture of Strider for Sam too. Well the first of the king's new coins has been put to good use. Frodo has Bag End back! Author Reply: Yes, Rosie understands how to let Sam know she's still waiting and who to have do the pictures; and Frodo's own gift is so welcome as well. He'd still use his dragonfly, particularly if years later a bottle from Tol Eressea brings back pictures with it as the signature sign. And indeed that first coin has blessed Frodo--and in time will return to him.

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 71 on 1/25/2006
Definitely solves the difficulty! Well done! Author Reply: Thanks--what a difference just a small change in wording can do, right?

Baggins Babe	Reviewed Chapter: 71 on 1/22/2006
Rose is such a dear, sensible lass, and she seems to be understanding more about the journey. At least she's eager to listen and doesn't disbelieve Frodo or Sam. And she can see their Light too - very perceptive. I sometimes think Rose gets a rough deal in fan-fic but I think she must have been exceptional, for Sam to think so much of her. I've always found Gollum's motive's for his interest in the Dead Marshes very shuddersome. The book says something about him stealing birds' eggs and taking babies from their cradles, so I hate to think what he might have done had he been able to reach the bodies...... Author Reply: When one is starving it can be horrible, and many who survived the camps in Nazi Germany found themselves eating things they'd never have dreamed they'd eat. I have always pitied this in Gollum, myself. And I certainly agree about Rosie--a most wonderful lass she must have been to attract Sam, so that's the way I tend to write her.

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 71 on 1/21/2006
It’s so sweet of Rosie to care so much for Frodo! She is a dear hobbit, and Sam deserves no less than someone like her. And I thought it good she marked that Frodo and Sam were given the titles of ‚Lord’, but not Merry and Pippin, who are heroes as much as the other two. Oh yes, I can imagine Galador having a fit about Aragorn’s ‚unkingly’ behaviour! giggles Sometimes I wonder how long Galador was able to endure that and to remain in his office ;-) Author Reply: A wise, perceptive lass, Rosie Cotton as I imagine her. She'd pick up on the fact that in spite of the fact both deny fighting the enemy that Frodo and Sam yet were given the title of Lords but not Merry and Pippin, whom all agree DID fight. Therefore, Frodo and Sam must have done something extraordinary, and she'll slowly but surely draw the story from the two still reluctant story tellers until she knows just what it was that was done. Aragorn will keep Galador on as Master of Protocol, although they will, from time to time, drive one another to distraction. After all, Galador knows better than anyone else in the kingdom of Gondor just who should sit by whom and who must never be within yards of one another, and precisely what the pecking order is. Without him the feasts could go totally to pieces, and Aragorn knows it. Besides, it gives him someone to devil by being "unkingly" when a chuckle is needed.

Queen Galadriel	Reviewed Chapter: 71 on 1/20/2006
I love the way you write Rosie, clever and caring and quietly discerning. I wish Tolkien had shown us more of her character, but as it is, I've always imagined her that way. My my, so many with bad memories-Frodo, Merry, Pippin, Sam, Freddie, and probably every other hobbit who spent time in the lockholes. "He’d tried to get to them--maybe he’d thought as he could eat ’em..." Oh! Eat them? Oh, that is so...I'd think that would be beyond even Gollum. Ooo! Off to read the next chapter! God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: Rosie has a way of drawing the truth out of others, and accepting it in a manner that helps them discuss it. At least, that's the way I've always seen Rosie Cotton. Trauma brings nightmares with it, and I'm certain that most of those who were in the Lockups or otherwise personally threatened by Lotho and Sharkey and the Ruffians must have had their share of nightmares. Tolkien certainly implied in Gollum's description of how he couldn't touch the images in the pools that Gollum had perhaps tried to get to them to help his hunger. He certainly indicated that Gollum stole babies from cradles as well as eggs from nests, and that these were among the clues Aragorn and Gandalf used to track him during their search for the wretched thing. You can blame that one directly on the Master, you know. Anyway, glad you appreciated this chapter.

shirebound	Reviewed Chapter: 71 on 1/20/2006
I really love the scene with Frodo and Rose... Frodo takes every opportunity to let folks (especially Rosie) realize how special Sam is, and with what respect he's held in the Outside. Sam will feel honored to be wedded to Rose, but that feeling of respect will certainly be returned -- and magnified, because of Frodo and the King's regard for him. Author Reply: Rosie is indeed a special lady, and deserves her Sam, as he does her. But you are right--the love for Sam by Master and King amplifies the respect all others feel for him, including she who will be his wife.

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 71 on 1/20/2006
Wow. Seventy-one chapters so far! This story just flies by, but you don't notice how long it is. But seventy-one chapters is really something. Aragorn must be a very busy man, if he is performing his royal duties as well as cooking, cleaning, gardening, grooming his horse, and all that. But he seems like the type who wouldn't like to have idle moments. Good to see that Rosie & Co. are beginning to appreciate what happened to Frodo on his trip. Rosie is such a sweet lass, and she's just what Sam needs. Together, they'll be just what Frodo needs, so that'll work out just fine. Author Reply: Yes--this one bids to end up as long as the original and "The King's Commission"--which I certainly didn't expect at first! Aragorn doesn't strike me as one who'd like to remain idle, and he'd want to try to keep up his relationship with his horse, I certain. And indeed Rosie is coming to appreciate WHY her Sam feels so caring for his Master, and is realizing that Frodo not only needs but deserves that caring. She's indeed readying herself for the day she enters Bag End supposedly to "do" for Frodo but in fact to become mistress of the smial.

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 71 on 1/20/2006
This is such an affecting chapter, showing Frodo at the Cotton's farm, and how Rose is coming to appreciate him more, as well as the Cotton family. I like the way you are showing that a good deal of the lack of appreciation for Frodo was actually his own perception--that a good many people cared a good deal more for him, and respected him more, than he cared or respected himself. True, there would always be some of those in the Shire who would disbelieve and scorn him--but it's obvious that those who knew him cared for him a great deal more than he cared for himself. I do love the way his drawings are finding a way into other hands--the drawing of the Ringwraith, which led Sam to explain. And of course how he can be led to talk of his experiences when he's talking of Sam's. I had never thought about Fredegar staying with the Cottons--a very interesting idea! And naturally, he'd have his own nightmares. Of the four Conspirators, he was the only one who'd had to deal with the fallout of remaining behind. Author Reply: Rosie is now coming to know the one her Sam thinks of as his Master, and is becoming aware of how they are brothers to one another. And I do think that those who came to know Frodo deeply would appreciate him more than he did himself, while most of the Shire would remain unaware of the fact he deserved another image of himself than the one he himself held. His drawings of his nightmares are his way of dealing with what he can't express otherwise, of facing his terrors; and they offer glimpses for those who manage to find them, of what truly bothered him, of how traumatized he truly was. And it offers a starting point for Sam and Rosie's sharing of what Frodo and Sam went through, preparing her for what more she will learn when she marries him. My first story was heavily influenced by Lindelea's works, including "The Rebel" and "A Small and Passing Thing," and so Fredegar Bolger, his own family dispossessed by Lotho's folks, ends up coming to the Cottons rather than going back to Budgeford. And, yes, he had to deal with the fallout at home before they did; but all did their best to help bring things back to what they ought to have been. Author Reply: PS--please check this chapter now and let me know if you think the modification you suggested was done properly. Thanks again for the heads up.

harrowcat	Reviewed Chapter: 71 on 1/20/2006
I am glad to see that Frodo is getting the honour he deserves for the major part he is playing in the restoration of the Shire. (and Sam too) I liked the way you compare/contrast that with Master Galador's reaction to Aragorn and Arwen domesticity. (And pleased to see him in the story again.) The discussion about Sam and Frodo's enoblement was perfect here. Perhaps if Frodo can acknowledge to Rosie how much Sam went through he might come just a little closer to accpting the praise due to himself too. Sam in gondorian dress brings back to mind how Aragorn felt about Frodo with longer hair. Brothers, all three. Except that Frodo seems to be slipping back in time now he is in the Shire while Sam cotinues to move forward and not lose his links to Gondor. Nibs' reaction to the picure of the king is interesting. Sometimes being told is not enough. It is too remote. We have to see. I think this is why Merry and Pippin's parents react the way they do too. It is good to see the coin and Bag End incident from Sam's POV. I am sure, if he had had time to think about it, Frodo would consider giving away that precious first coin to re-gain Bag End for Sam and it wouldn't have been quite such a shock on top of everything else that day. Of course he suffers for it later. I am glad that you got the Gaffer's wisdom in there too. And the bit with the letters and leaving Frodo to tell Sam about the blessing he is being offered caught my attention most of all. Beautifully done Larner. Woops! Spotted a typo Larner “This will me my Yule present to Sam,” Frodo said. At least I think that it is a typo - perhaps it is shire dialect. BTW I was browsing through The King's Commission last night when the idea of Pippin as a God-parent leapt out at me. For some reason it struck me as a little strange and, perhaps, as a little too overtly christian for M.E. Any thoughts on this? Jet is as lively as ever but hating the big lampshade he is having to wear. Aparrently he is bumping it into anything and everyone!! He says that he will happily send it to you! Author Reply: Frodo begins to get the honor he deserves, but can't quite begin to fully appreciate that he's due it as much as Sam. After all, Sam didn't claim It--Frodo did! And of all the Hobbits in the Shire, I think somehow Rosie Cotton would best appreciate that Aragorn and Arwen are, for all the love they draw to themselves, still a bit of a shock to the sensibilities of those in Gondor who have quite a different idea of how royalty and rulers OUGHT to behave. And how better to express that point of view than through poor Galador? Frodo is trying to slip back wholly into Shire identity, and yet by doing so and denying his Gondorian experience he is, as you point out, failing to move forward fully. This may indeed be a part of why he in the end chooses Tol Eressea. It's always been so similar for those returning from horrible experiences, feeling cut off from those they left behind who cannot fully imagine what the others went through, or are afraid to do so. The rest of the Shire simply doesn't have the experiential base on which to base an understanding of what the Travellers have been through. And so it is that until he sees the picture, Nibs, whose experience with Men has been limited to Lotho's folks, can't quite believe Aragorn is one of them, and at first seeks to deny his identity. How long it would take this young Hobbit to appreciate that there are good and bad Men as there are good and bad Hobbits is a question at the moment; but he's coming to realize that the four who know Aragorn do love and respect them. He'll come around. Paladin and Eglantine want a safe world, and it's been shown recently not to be safe at all. They've done the best they could to safeguard their own, setting out archers to mark the perimeter of Tookland, defying Lotho and later Sharkey; but they couldn't protect their own son, who just up and walked out of the Shire into dangers they can't even imagine. They can't understand why, and don't want to appreciate he did it out of love for his people as much as for love of Frodo and a desire for adventure. They will appreciate his sacrifice, though. So glad you liked seeing the coin incident via Sam this time; and I agree--had he some warning Frodo would have been so very glad to use that coin to regain Bag End for Sam. It was, after all, one of his griefs, that he couldn't give Sam Bag End's gardens as his own again. It was Frodo who gave the first hint to Sam that he, too, might one day come to Tol Eressea to join him. I wondered, why? So it must have been somehow communicated to Frodo that it was up to him to tell Sam, somehow. So glad you approve. Thanks for the heads up on the spelling error--managed to miss that one. I did catch "ond" for "one." Will correct that. Sponsors and appointed guardians in case of emergency for children have been common in almost all civilizations, and so I used the term in "The King's Commission" for the concept which I thought Tolkien would have probably used, never thinking of it in a religious context. You are right--it might have been a term he'd have excised, although he did leave in "devil." I think I'll let that one stand. And I'm certain that Jet would LOVE to send that lampshade ANYWHERE at the moment. Laddie hated it each time he had to wear one. Give him a hug for me.

Linda Hoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 71 on 1/20/2006
Rosie is a gem ! I'm sure Sam will be thrilled with Frodo's gift. I loved Nib's reaction ! It is good to know that in fuure Aragorn 's law will protect the Shire from evil men. Author Reply: Yes, Rosie is indeed a gem, and one Sam will rejoice in forever. Am so glad they found their way to one another. Yes, I, too, am certain Sam will love all three pictures. And Nibs is having a shock, but he's starting to learn not all Men are from the same mold. And they will all come to honor the King in the end, I think.

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