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Interrupted Journeys: Part 4 Journeys of Discovery by elliska	8 Review(s)
Gilraen	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 5/15/2007
Wonderful story! I adore how you pictured Legolas and Thranduil, but I specially like, what you write about Oropher. I hate fanfic, where he is pictured as mean and ruthless, because except one mistake he was good and wise king. (Only one small admonishment, elves probably didn´t use fork and knife.) Author Reply: Thank you! I love Thranduil and Oropher. They are fascinating characters in the little details that Tolkien teased us with. I agree that fictions that portray either of them as evil/crazy are absolutely maddening, not to mention completely unsupported by Tolkien's works. As for tabel utensils, while medieval people did not use anything but knives at table, the Hobbits did. We see in The Hobbit: "Seems to know as much about the inside of my larders as I do myself!" thought Mr. Baggins, who was feeling positively flummoxed, and was beginning to wonder whether a most wretched adventure had not come right into his house. By the time he had got all the bottles and dishes and knives and forks and glasses and plates and spoons and things piled up on big trays, he was getting very hot, and red in the face, and annoyed. "Confusticate and bebother these dwarves!" he said aloud. And Beorn had them: Then baa-baa-baa! was heard, and in came some snow-white sheep led by a large coal-black ram. One bore a white cloth embroidered at the edges with figures of animals; others bore on their broad backs trays with bowls and platters and knives and wooden spoons, which the dogs took and quickly laid on the trestle tables. It seems unbelievable to me that the First Born would be ignorant of utensils that aftercomers did use. So my Elves use them. :-) Thank you so much for the review and I hope you keep enjoying the story. :-)

Idhreniel	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 3/20/2007
Thank you for the update! Despite of the time I never forgot about your story. And how complex is your plot... and how nice are your characters! It's great to read from you again, Elliska! Hugs! Author Reply: Hi Idhreniel! Good to hear from you too! I am very glad to be back and I hope to stay that way, despite how insanely busy work is. The plot will be more and more complex here soon. I have a few more chapters here and then I will break off and start a new story where the action picks up quite a bit. :-) Thanks so much for the review!

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 3/19/2007
Sorry I'm late with this. I wanted to get all my term papers finished first. I love how eager the children are to get outside, and the horror that this eagerness arouses in the parents. They're eating vegetables and wolfing down fish -- clearly something is amiss here, but the parents don't have any way to express their worry, because eating vegetables and wolfing down fish is a good thing! Caught in their own trap! I think that going to the river and catching frogs sounds like a fine activity, but puppies could be okay, too. And Thranduil made just the right decision -- keep the enemy close, and kill him with kindness. Author Reply: Sorry to be late with my reply. School is quite rude to keep us both so busy. :-) Yes, I think the children's willingness to eat those foods without complaint must have been a pretty obvious sign. :-) It cracked me up to think about parents glad the kids were eating, horrified at how and curious about why. I am often glad I am not a parent. I think it must be maddening. Poor Maidhien has seen so little of what Legolas's other little friends get to play with regularly. She really wanted to see those puppies. Maybe she needs a kitten. There has to be some of them in the barn too. :-) And I agree with you about Thranduil's decision. He made the only one he could, really. It will have consequences, as all decisions do. But any other decision would have brought worse ones, I think. Thank you so much for the review, FP. I hope you got to enjoy some of your Spring Break term paper free.

Dot	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 3/19/2007
Between you and daw, Spring Break has been a real treat for all of us! I was thrilled to see a story alert for you again :-) I loved the opening. Those children are adorable. And completely transparent! I’m still laughing at Galithil stuffing his food into his mouth with both hands :D And Legolas throwing his father’s words back at him – kids are adorable (if smart-mouthed!) when they do that. I kind of felt sorry for Thranduil, though, when he seemed to be the only one who wanted a little discipline. And as if that wasn’t enough, the adults then all decide to discuss his youth. Which I loved even if he didn’t ;-) I think Thranduil needs a holiday. The responsibility of training the puppies was a good idea. These are all basically good kids and they’ll thrive if they think they’re trusted to do something that really matters. I really just had to smile at their excitement at being free again. They’re absolutely brimming with joy. Aewen is hilarious in her disbelief that Galithil was rewarded for what she sees as complete insanity. Granted it was a mad thing to do but I guess she hasn’t realised that the intent is often what’s important and there was a lot of selflessness and bravery in his moment of madness. You write the interaction between the children so well. They suck me right in. I was pleased to see Maidhien and was hoping they’d invite her to join them. But I thought the differing views were very realistic. They all have very real reason to dislike that family and plus at that age it can be very important to you who you’re friends with. I was glad to see it was Legolas and Galithil who made the effort. I love Maidhien herself and if they give her a chance I imagine she won’t be long winning them over. I absolutely loved the part about catching frogs!! LOL. Maidhien seems so utterly bewildered at the thought that the girls didn’t like it and the boys are thrilled to have someone who likes the same things they do. Oh, but I did feel bad for Eirienil. She did sacrifice a lot when the rest of them were grounded. But she knows just what to say too – puppies! “Galithil likes Maidhien,” Legolas taunted in a very soft, sing-songy voice… Funny, I was thinking the same thing ;-) The council discussion was fascinating. It’s a hard one to call, really. And Thranduil has a tough job sifting through advice and opinions to do what he thinks is best. I can see where everyone s coming from. It’s more serious than just malicious gossip and banishment seems like an ideal option – except that if there’s a grudge against the king and his family, being sent away isn’t going to soften them. Surely it makes more sense to keep them where they can be watched and where their influence can be curbed? And then there’s the children who need to be given a chance to become decent adults. But then… I don’t know, something tells me Thranduil isn’t going to find that any solution is an easy one. I really like Hallion. He is a brave elf! I thought he made an excellent point that they haven’t really done anything to help Dolwon and Dannenion adjust to life in the capital. Though again, not so easily done… ~~And I’m still inclined to want to lock the two of them up.~~ Excellent chapter, Elliska. I’m eagerly looking forward to more :-) Author Reply: Yes, I think Thranduil was feeling a little frazzled by the end of that lunch between the children, no one agreeing about discipline and then everyone enjoying making him into a child again. He liked putting them all in their place at the end. All of them but nana, at any rate. ;-) Maidhien actually ends up having a very big role in this from here on out and is involved in some surprises, so I'm glad you like her. Right now, she has only had boys (her brother and cousins) for friends, so she likes all the types of activities they like. And unfortunately, Galithil and Anastor and Noruil have a little too much in common, so Madhien feels comfortable with him. She can't imagine anyone who doesn't like frogs. :-) And the decision to let D&D stay or to send them away seems very simple on the surface, except that when you talk to people about it (I did to see how realistic people thought this would seem) everyone said, "Well obviously I'd do X." But X was always different, so the decision isn't so simple. Thranduil has taken Hallion's advice. It remains to be seen if doing so will turn out well in the end. Many years in the future, Hallion and Thranduil are going to discuss this conversation again and do the 'should have' thing. Locking them up would probably have solved all the problems but I can't see elves doing that (and it isn't really a medieval punishment...and it certainly would not allow my plot to advance!) ;-) Thanks you so much for the review! I do appreciate them so much! :-)

perelleth	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 3/18/2007
Yay! Go Spring Breaks! I cannot believe it was a year since you last updated this? Anyway you have me hooked by Galithil's antics. His character is greatly developed in this story, big heart big mouth and no connection between the two and his neruonal cells... I was snorting as Legolas had to kick his shin to make hiçim shut up for once! Yet he has a good heart indeed. I cannot begin to tell you how glad I was to see another chapter of this I think that giving Thranduil such an exptended family is a wowonderful device, and I as well love the politics in this. I loved the stewards dutiful and brave attempt at making his lord change his mind... and Thrnaduil's reactions. lovely. I can wait for the next one patiently. Author Reply: Breaks are wonderful!! I find so many wonderful new stories during them! ;-) I am glad you enjoy Galithil. Poor kid does have his heart in the right place, though he might take Legolas's advice (and yours) and start thinking a bit more, as you suggested. Unfortunately, that change is going to be learned the hard way. I know that the 'cast of thousands' is annoying to some, but I have always loved stories like that. They tend to be what I read and write because I love the possibility offered by all the different interactions. Thranduil has a lot of different view points and advice, some of it good and some of it bad. He has to choose. And when dark times start taking apart that network of support he has, he will have to learn to deal with that. I just think there is lots of potential fun in that. So I'm glad you enjoy it too. :-) Thanks so much for the review, Perelleth. :-)

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 3/16/2007
How nice to have you back writing, Elliska. One of the things you've always done so well is shown in that council scene. You show the reality of debate as people voice heart-felt and reasonable positions that differ. What a job to be a king! So Thranduil decides to keep his enemies close without much hope they'll change, and these enemies have actually conspired to harm his wife. Wow. And yet, what else is he to do? The kids are learning too. Maybe the next generation will reconcile. I hope so. Author Reply: I like debating. And I think a good king would want to listen to his council debate a subject so he could think about all sides of the matter. 'Course they have to shut up when he makes up his mind, and not all Thranduil's advisors in my little world always do that... ;-) Yes, not surprisingly the decision to keep them close has long range impact. On everyone, especially the kids. Some for better and some for worse. There is a scene much later on where Thranduil and Hallion discuss this conversation again, that I kind of like/am amused by. It is good to be back! :-) Thanks so much for the review, daw!

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 3/16/2007
Gorgeous, elliska, just gorgeous. I love Eirienil and Aewen's suspicion of Maidhien and Galithil's instant defence of her - and his concession to her wish to see the puppies. And I do hope Hallion's policy is effective - for her, at least. I hate to think of the children being lost - Lindomiel is so right and I'm glad Thranduil is prepared to accept the risk of keeping his enemies under his eye for the sake of their children. Even if that does include Anastor and his unpleasant friend. There are so many things to like - and I don't have time to go into them all ... I'm going to indulge in a second review when I feel more comprehensive! But - I am so pleased to see this. You need more free time! Author Reply: I do need more free time! :-) But on the up side, this is the first part of the monster chapter (over 40 pages when all editing was done) that has been hanging me up so badly. Now that I have conquered it (and settled for just dividing it randominly at every 10 pages for posting), hopefully I won't get hung up again. I say too much answering reviews. I had an answer all typed up to this and when I re-read it, I realized I might as well just post a summary of the entire rest of the plot. :-) Suffice to say that all the children start seeing some new viewpoints from here on out, since Thranduil decided to let Dolwon and Dannenion's families stay and encouraged interaction between them. I especially like Galithil, Maidhien and Tulus as this goes forward. :-) I'm glad you enjoyed it (and don't feel like you have to leave another review--I loved this one). Thanks so much for the review! :-)

lwarren	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 3/16/2007
Oh welcome back, elliska! You have been missed sorely! I have re-reread all the Journeys over the past year and hoped you would eventually continue the story! Yay!!!!!! This chapter started out on a hilarious note! I howled at the image of those kids scarfing down their food (like it or not) so they could be released from their punishment. Galithon, in particular, shoveling it in with both hands snort makes for an appealing picture. Thranduil is such a tease, isn't he? He played them just right - they didn't know what to think! snickers I also appreciated the fact that Legolas turns his father's own words back on him..."Are you not hungry, Ada?...You are not eating well." I can't count the times my own have tried that on me! g I do like the way the King handles his son - giving him the responsibility with the puppies' training so he won't feel left out was genius (oh, I do LIKE the King!) In fact, I just love the family dynamics - you do write them so well! Loved the kids bursting out of the palace like a dam bursting - I take 40 third graders to recess and that is exactly how it feels once I release them from their line...one can only get out of the way! LOL You also write the kids just right - the bickering and arguing and taking sides...ah yes, three more days of spring break and peace! :-) And once again, your way of dealing with the politics of the Woodland Realm is fascinating. Now, I have to say that I am with Amglaur on the question of letting the traitorous leaders stay or banishing them...but I knew Thranduil would have no part of kicking them out. So, he's going to try to win them over personally? Hmmmm, and if I recall correctly, those same awful persons were planning on using Maidhien in gathering information about the royal family. This is not good, elliska, not good at all. I wait patiently (or not! lol) for an update and hope that Hallion's idea doesn't backfire in the King's face! Wonderful chapter and welcome back! Linda Author Reply: Hi Linda! Isn't Spring Break a wonderful thing? I am on mine and that is how I finally had the time to get back on track here. I'm glad you liked the opening scene. I thought it was fun. Poor Thranduil. But Legolas is so happy by the time he leaves since he gets to train the puppies. And I think kids that turn stuff back on their parents are hilarious, so Legolas has to do it. :-) I am just taking deep breaths thinking about 40 real life kids breaking loose for recess. Wow! Yes, Spring Break is good. ;-) And the politics heat up from here (approx. Third Age 1965) until the Watchful Peace begins. Things get increasingly tense from here on out. Thranduil may wish that he had not listened to Hallion by the end. Thanks so much for the review!

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