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A Cat in King Elessar's Court by Agape4Gondor	14 Review(s)
Linda Hoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 5/5/2008
I'm so glad Aragorn has come at last! Author Reply: Me too - He was most needed - but poor Faramir had to be tended - so a little sleepy-time for the Cat - and some healing too!

meckinock	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 5/3/2008
It's nice to see the warm bond that has developed between Alqualondë and Pippin, and that the cat is comforted somewhat by the respect the hobbit had for his late master. Whether the cat is right in blaming Gandalf or not, his need to lash out at a person he believes could have changed the outcome is understandable, given his raw grief and shock. It was touching when it was revealed the person gently holding him and stroking him was none other than Aragorn. It showed respect for Aragorn to formally introduce himself and ask for the cat's service. I suppose Alqualonde might have to wait and see how it goes with Faramir before giving an answer. Author Reply: Thanks meckinock... I'm hoping the two of them become quite good friends. They are building a pretty nice foundation... we'll see. Alqualonde thanks you for your kind understanding of his moment of .... He is grateful for the kind ministrations of the stranger... but will withhold judgment for a bit... Bless you for your kind words!

Baggins Babe	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 5/3/2008
Poor loyal, brave Alqualonde. I can see how he would have perceived Gandalf's failure to inform Denethor of the coming of Rohan to be treachery. Cats are always unfairly considered to be selfish or disloyal in my opinion, by people who don't understand these wonderful, bewitching creatures. I just want to hug the poor cat. Oh goodness! Aragorn has finally arrived. I do hope our dignified and wise cat feels able to give his service to the King. Author Reply: Alqualonde thanks you for the 'virtual' hug - he is not used to showing affection, but at this moment, he is slightly desperate... He thanks you for your kind and generous compliments, too. As for Aragorn - we'll see if these two can bond.

Tari	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 5/1/2008
Poor Alqualondë. What a way to find out about his master. His rage is quite understandable. In the real world, cats do mourn when their owners die which made this so real to me. He was a brave little cat to attack Gandalf, who could quite possible have turned him into who knows what. (Maybe a toad.) I never thought about the possibility of Gandalf telling Denethor that Rohan was coming. It brings up the question as to why he didn't. I’ll have to pay closer attention the next time I read ROTK. Great chapter as always. Tari Author Reply: The Cat thanks you for your understanding. He is, however, slightly ashamed at his display of emotion. He will try to control it in the future. Perhaps it is because he is becoming older... not olde... not yet... but a wee bit older. Oh - and he is embarrassed to say he did not even think of what that wretched wizard could wield him into!!! He was angry beyond belief.

Pearl Took	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 4/30/2008
Poor horrified Alqualondë! To feel so alone and betrayed. I'm glad he could take some comfort from Aragorn. Author Reply: Poor thing is right - well, Pip's going to help him too... Thanks for reviewing!

Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 4/30/2008
This part was so sad for me. (and perhaps hope that another of my kind might be found. There are none left here in Minas Tirith.) The thought that in the midst of all of this, the Alqualondë is alone. I think it gives the cat a bond with Pippin during his time in the city. Pippin is the only hobbit in Minas Tirith for a time and alone among the big folk while Alqualondë is alone too. I have seen anger in a time of grief that reminds me so much of the scene that you've written here with Alqualondë's reaction to the sight of Gandalf. It's a blind rage and can be very startling. I find myself wondering what will be the result of Alqualondë's thoughts being heard. So far, the cat had not spoken to Pippin, so he at least, must have been caught completely by surprise. Again, I must say that I find this look at events through Alqualondë's eyes very entertaining and I am still enjoying this very much. Author Reply: Oh my – has my muse talked to your muse??? Pip and the Cat are bonded by more than being unique in Minas Tirith – we’ll see how in an upcoming chapter. Sobs The shock for our Cat was too much for him. I personally hope he doesn’t remember that moment of total, blind rage. Hmmm, it will be interesting indeed to find out what Pip’s thoughts were one such an event. The Cat will be hard-pressed to deny it. :-) PS – MANY thanks for your kind words and reviews – they help sustain the muse and that is very good. The scribe. PSS – The Cat is glad to provide some form of entertainment for you. PSSS – I think the Cat is being facetious. The scribe.

Raksha The Demon	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 4/30/2008
A very dramatic, painful chapter indeed. I do have some objections, not to the quality of the writing, which is powerful, but to certain other points. 1. The chapter title - Treachery Revealed. There is no treachery. Gandalf never betrayed Denethor; nor did he swear fealty to him to obey him in anything. Denethor certainly didn't reveal all of his knowledge of Sauron's strategy to Gandalf (until Gandalf himself announced them - i.e. the Witch-King's participation in the Enemy's taking of the outwalls, and the coming of another of Sauron's armies from the Black Gate). Neither Denethor nor Gandalf is under any obligation to reveal information to each other. The title only makes sense if the title is a reference to Alqualonde's own opinion rather than an objective heading for events within the chapter. 2. I do take issue with Pippin saying that Denethor didn't know that the Rohirrim had come - Pippin never said so in the book. In ROTK, it is not said whether Denethor knew or not; though his attitude is so prideful and despairing by that point that, as other readers have pointed out, knowledge of the Rohirrim's arrival would probably not have deterred Denethor from his course. 3. From what I can see by reading ROTK, it is very likely that Denethor did know that the Rohirrim had come. At the time that he is having the servants prepare the pyre in Rath Dinen, the sound of the horns is reaching up into the very sides of Mount Mindolluin (Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed.) 4. Gandalf has often been close-mouthed, cryptic and secretive. But he has never opted for needless cruelty; and seems to have always abhorred unnecessary deaths. There are two possibilities why Gandalf didn't tell the crazed and suicidal Denethor that the Rohirrim had come: (A) Gandalf took it for granted, having heard the horns himself and the horns being loud enough for Denethor to have heard them in Rath Dinen; (B) Gandalf deliberately withheld mention of the Rohirrim because he thought the battle wasn't necessarily going well on the Pelennor and he thought that telling the already distressed Denethor that his allies had arrived and were getting their horses' behinds kicked might cause poor Denethor to light that pyre even quicker. I think the first theory more valid. Author Reply: blushes at your generous words ‘I do have some objections, not to the quality of the writing, which is powerful, but to certain other points.’ Ah – there might not have been treachery in your eyes, dear Raksha, but the Cat thought, believed, and was horrified at what he perceived as treachery. The story is his, not mine. The titles are his, not mine. As for your second point about whether or not Denethor knew the Rohirrim had come – please see my notes to the unknown respondent. The Cat swears he didn’t know the Rohirrim had come. That’s enough for this scribe. As for the horns and your quote (Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed.) – please again see my response to the unknown reviewer. They might have DIMLY echoed up the sides of Mindolluin, but it doesn’t seem they made it to the House of the Stewards. IMHO As for your point 4 – I would never accuse Mithrandir of needless cruelty – and you have a great point about the two of them keeping each other in the dark on certain things – but I do wonder why the wizard kept this piece of information from the Steward. The Rohirrim had yet to join battle when Mithrandir and Pippin heard the horns, thus Mithrandir would not have known they were being pummeled by the time he reached the House of the Stewards. Communication had to be broken down by that time. And he didn’t have time to inquire of the guards at the Sixth Level as to the progress of the battle before he entered Rath Dinen. IMHO Nevertheless – all these points are mute. The Cat swears he didn’t hear the horns; the Cat swears Mithrandir let Denethor die; and the Cat is furious. If I were Aragorn, I wouldn’t leave the Cat alone with the wizard.

6336	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 4/30/2008
Probably not, as far gone as Denethor was I don't think he would have belived Gandalf, he was too much in Sauron's thrall! More please, Lynda Author Reply: You are probably right, Lynda – Denethor was pretty far gone – it seems. Yet there was that ONE moment…. That one moment that gave the Cat hope – then it was dashed. Bless you and thanks for reviewing!

Fiondil	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 4/30/2008
I think I would have to agree with most of your other reviewers and for the various reasons they give. If Gandalf ever thought to tell Denethor about Rohan, perhaps he realized how futile such would prove in deterring Denethor from his chosen path. I think ultimately Denethor was less in love with Gondor and more in love with himself as its ruler. He would never have been able to live in a world where there was an actual King on the throne of Gondor (and Arnor) however exalted his role as Steward might have been under Aragorn's rule (as we see in his ennobling Faramir as Prince of Ithilien). It is hoped that the healing hands of Aragorn will comfort Alqualondë and that the Cat will come to realize that even if Denethor had known of Rohan's coming, it was, for him, too late. Thus, Denethor's greatest tragedy was succumbing to despair. A great, if short, chapter and I'm looking forward to seeing how this all ends. Author Reply: Thanks for the review Fiondil. You speak of what the other reviewers said. I’ve another little thought. I was speaking at an LOTR conference this past week-end and ran into a man whom I think highly of. Professor Hyde, a Tolkien scholar. When I proposed the question to him – he suggested that Mithrandir probably thought that Sauron was ‘tuned into’ Denethor. If Mithrandir had told Denethor that the Rohirrim had arrived, because of that connection, then the Dark Lord would know and Mithrandir could not let that happen. I didn’t much agree with that explanation either! But Professor Hyde is an incredible author and philologist in his own right. And I find myself hard-pressed to dispute him. http://mormonlit.lib.byu.edu/lit_author.php?a_id=3160 and he has been a correspondent of Christopher Tolkien’s. http://www.tolkienbooks.net/html/cjrt_bibliography.htm hiss from the Cat The Lord Denethor was not more in love with himself than with Gondor. Let that be abundantly clear. He gave his life and his sons for Gondor, not for himself. The scribe wishes to say that the chapters are short because the Muse has a short attention span giggles wildly – Oh, I hope she didn’t hear that!

	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 4/30/2008
Yeah, Gandalf is a terrible person. Denethor believes nothing he tells him unless he has already confirmed it for himself, he has treated him badly for years, insulted him, told him that he believes he deliberately tried to poison his sons and his knights against him. Is he going to believe Gandalf in a highly charged moment after his mind has been overwhelmed by despair? No. He would think it another trick, meant to delay him so that his will could be thwarted yet again. Why SHOULD he believe Gandalf, or anyone? By the same reasoning used to disparage Gandalf, didn't anyone else in the city hear the horns, like Pippin did? Didn't other people already try to tell Denethor? Wasn't there shouting and cheering in the streets when the horns were heard? Probably. Did this make any difference whatsoever to Denethor? No. Remember, he told Gandalf that their hope had been cheated. He probably had seen Rohan coming in the palantir -- just as he had seen the Black Fleet coming. He believed that the reinforcements coming to the aid of their enemies would be stronger than any help coming for them. This is the sort of thing Sauron would have delighted in revealing to him. "Sure, your allies are coming, but they're not going to be as many or as strong as the allies who are coming to help ME. Chew on that, Denethor!" Which he did, and despaired. Gandalf could have said, "Rohan has come," and it would have made no difference. Despair was now in control of Denethor's mind, not reason. Author Reply: I agree despair ruled Denethor’s mind, but the Cat hoped beyond hope. When it became clear to him afterwards that Mithrandir knew of the coming of the Rohirrim and didn’t tell Denethor – all he saw was his beloved friend stabbed in the back. And no, I don’t think Denethor heard the horns. Pippin and Mithrandir were standing right by the Great Gate – the Rohirrim were about 27 leagues away from the Great Gate. If you look at this one quote in The Siege of Gondor (ROTK) – it says: ‘All was silent, save for the rumour of war in the City down below, and they heard the water dripping sadly from the dead branches into the dark pool.’ As I read this, it seems that the Citadel was so high up (almost 3000 feet), that noises from the city below (never mind nine miles away at the North Gate where the Rohirrim are blowing their horns) like the sounds of battle are muted. That they could hear the dripping water reinforces my belief. Rath Dinen was ringed by walls which would block some of the noise from the Pelennor and Denethor was in the tombs of the House of the Stewards. I cannot believe that much noise would have filtered through those walls. Every mausoleum I’ve been in has been as quiet as a grave (forgive the pun). I could be wrong. I truly, truly don’t believe Denethor heard the horns. I don’t think his guards and servants heard either. I definitely don’t believe the Cat heard the horns. He would have slashed Denethor’s face to get him to listen to him if he had. IMHO Don’t think of the movie scene for this tale. It is not the same. This story is book-based. Shouting and cheering in the streets? Remember – there were NO women and children (just the few boys used as runners) in the City. They had been evacuated. I don’t think any shouting and hearing could be heard – at least not in the Citadel… the bulk of the army, IMHO, was stationed on the First Level. I’m sure there was cheering there! Could it be heard in the House of the Stewards? I doubt it. I personally don’t think it could be heard even in the Citadel. As for whether or not Denethor saw the Rohirrim coming? Not sure. The sight could have been blocked by Sauron. He showed Denethor the Black Ships. Who knows what Denethor saw, was allowed to see, was able to see on his own? I had really hoped he would have seen that the Rohirrim were coming – but then they took the ‘road lesser traveled’ because of the threat on the Great West Road and ended up in the Druadan Forest. Not sure if Denethor would even consider them being there. In fact – if Denethor saw them coming, he would have seen the massive enemy army that was on that road and thought Theoden could not make it past them. More reason to despair - that his old ally was walking right into a trap and would probably be defeated before he and his men ever reached Minas Tirith! You could be right – that Mithrandir believed nothing could get through Denethor’s despair… but the Cat believed. Poor thing.

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