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| At Hope's Edge by Cairistiona | 17 Review(s) |
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| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 3/22/2018 |
| Hee! Even after multiple reads, this story about little Estel is still my favorite I’ve ever read. It makes me smile every time ... Author Reply: That makes me so happy to hear, thank you! I had a lot of fun imagining and writing that little memory. :) | |
| Ellynn | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 8/25/2010 |
| Aww, wonderful. You wrote father/son long talk so touching. Elrond's words of comfort are very wise, and once all traces of Black Breath disappear, I hope Aragorn will realise that Elrond is right and that his self-accusations are wrong. Beautifully done. P.S. I love anecdotes from Aragorn's childhood, they are so funny. :))) And I know who Trotter is! :) Author Reply: Yay, you caught the nod to Aragorn's early incarnation! LOL I'm so glad Tolkien decided against making Aragorn a hobbit with wooden shoes. And thank you... I'm glad you liked this scene. It was one of my favorites to write. :) | |
| LisaG | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 2/6/2010 |
| Great sorrow and great joy...all in one chapter! It was good to finally see Aragorn talking to his father and sharing his fears, guilt (however unearned) and sorrows. He desperately needed that cleansing cry...very cathartic. I'm glad foster father and son are finally not estranged any more, though their relationship is still a bit tenuous due to the Arwen issue. :( I adored the story of little Estel as the captive Mirkwood Princeling! Forty-eleven peppermint sticks sounds like a fair ransom to me! ;) Author Reply: Thanks, Lisa... I never really bought into the idea in the movies that Elrond was so cold and unforgiving toward Aragorn. But I could believe, based on the fact that they did have this issue of Arwen between them, that there were times when Aragorn might misread Elrond and come to the erroneous conclusion that Elrond really never wanted to see him. I imagine things grew very awkward between them at times, although I don't think Elrond ever stopped caring deeply for Aragorn. So that's part of the crux of this story, another element of the sort of perfect emotional storm brought on by circumstance of his people, his drive to fulfill his destiny and bear up under all the other burdens laid upon him, and his physical health. And glad you liked the bit about peppermint. *g* I've always seen little Estel as being a perfectly normal little boy with a very wild imagination! Thanks for the review! | |
| Dreamdeer | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 8/10/2009 |
| And finally the eucatastrophic chapter, the cathartic moment when Aragorn finally lets go, and full healing can reach him, when he knows his father's love, and his place in the world, and his light returns. Weeping and laughter and thoughtful silence by turns overpower me as I read this. (And I loved the way Cairistiona found a way to weave in the outtake of Trotter!) Author Reply: Wow, I had to look up "eucatastrophic"... that was a new one on me. And now, knowing what it means and where it originated, I'm more than a bit humbled that you'd use it in conjunction with this story. I don't like deux ex machina endings and tried my best to assure that this story was, yes, eucatastrophic instead. I wanted to be sure there were threads woven throughout the story leading up to the moment of release and relief for Aragorn, and it's reassuring to know that you found them there. And glad you liked the Trotter reference. I couldn't resist! Thank you again for the kind reviews you've left me for this entire story. It's been such an encouragement to me as a writer. | |
| Marethiel | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/21/2009 |
| Oh, Cairistiona... This was so beautiful, so touching. Poor Aragorn, and how blessed to have the fatherly love of Elrond to succor him!! There was humor: Elrond entered. “Estel! What are you doing out of bed?” “I thought I might read for a bit.” He turned a page, acting as nonchalant as he could considering he could not seem to focus his eyes on the words. He prayed Elrond did not see how his hands trembled. Elrond’s eyes trailed across the room to the now empty shelf, taking in the items on the floor and then to the book in Aragorn’s lap. “The book is upside down.” And there was pathos: He tried to turn away from Elrond, to wrest control over himself before all was lost, but Elrond stopped him. He put a hand against Aragorn’s cheek and whispered, “Nai tyeldar sí nyérelyar. Coluvan nyérelyar. Sorrow no more, my son. Sorrow no more. Let me hold your tears and your sorrows, if only for a little while. Coluvan nyérelyar.” Elrond’s gentle words, the same soothing words from Aragorn’s childhood, were his undoing. The grief that he had kept bottled up for so many long weeks now seemed to pour out of him uncontrollably, and it shamed him to be so weak but he could no more stop the flood of tears than he could have stopped the flow of the Bruinen. Terrible sobs tore through him with such strength that he felt he would fly apart if Elrond’s strong arms did not hold him. As Elrond crushed him to his chest, he reached his own arms around him and clung to him and wept for Mallor, for the people of Bracken’s Ferry and Windydale... each man, each woman... Each child. He gave his grief free rein and it flew through him like the violent storms that assail the coasts of Gondor and somewhere in the wildness of it, in the tumult of pain and grief, something tight and cold and hard loosened and warmed and softened, and the tears finally slowed until the storm blew itself out and left only exhausted, empty silence. He started to pull away, but Elrond tightened his hold. “Not yet,” he murmured, and so Aragorn stayed where he was, and somewhere in the barren place that was his soul, peace stole its way back. Wow... this had it all. Thank you so much for sharing your gifts with us. Beautifully, masterfully done. ~Marethiel Author Reply: Thank you so much, Marethiel! I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for taking the time to point out what parts of it you really liked. I did try to keep a balance between the pathos and the humor, in order to make each a bit more strong, and to keep it from dissolving into melodrama. I'm glad you felt I hit it right. Thanks again! | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/20/2009 |
| What a wonderfully moving chapter! I am so relieved that Aragorn is no longer bottling up all his pain and grief and that Elrond is not estranged from him. Author Reply: Thank you, Linda! I'm so glad it touched you. Yes, I don't see that Elrond and Aragorn ever had a real estrangement... tensions that flared up, yes, but the love was always there and always strong. Thanks for the review! | |
| Lily Baggins | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/20/2009 |
| I've now read this chapter again---and again---and again---and I can't seem to stop myself. It's a sickness with me. I sat with a huge grin on my face at the adorableness of Aragorn trying to make his way to the chair, and Elrond catching him at it. Oh, how I do love it when Aragorn gets restless and tries to escape his sickbed! And then I sat with my breath held as Aragorn finally deigned to discuss his worries with Elrond, and as the tension built up in the room. And then I sat with tears in my eyes as Aragorn poured his heart out and let loose his grief. That was absolutely one of the most wonderful, heart wrenching, beautifully written Elrond-Aragorn scenes I've ever seen unfold. I don't know how many writers would have the skill to make Aragorn sobbing like a baby so utterly touching and believable and sad---so very sad---but you accomplished it, in spades. I'm very sorry to read that there's just one chapter to go. I will certainly miss having more of this story to read and look forward to---miss it like my own right arm. Author Reply: Thank you so much, Lily! Gosh, I know that feeling of needing to read and re-read certain chapters and to think that I've written a chapter that has you doing that is so encouraging! I tell you, I had to revise and reshape the whole "sobbing like a baby" bit soooo many times before it felt right, simply because it's such an unusual position for Aragorn to be in, but I couldn't see how he *wouldn't* eventually break down and cry after all the horrors he'd seen. So I'm glad that it was believable to you. I think only with Elrond could Aragorn have reached that place of release, and only then if Elrond managed to pry an opening to allow Aragorn to safely express his grief. It was one of the hardest scenes to write, so I love that you're reading it a lot! LOL I'm going to miss having this story to fiddle with myself, to be honest. There's always a sadness underlying the feeling of accomplishment. I've lived and breathed this story for well over a year, actually almost 2 now, so it's a bittersweet thing for it to end. But there'll be other stories to come, so we can look forward to those! Thanks for the lovely review! | |
| Estelcontar | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/20/2009 |
| What a very moving chapter! I see Aragorn may have learned his lesson, but he's still healthily determined, not to say stuborn. I loved the bit in which he said he was trying to read, and Elrodn deadpanned: 'The book is upside down'. LOL It's good to see humour back in both their lives. I'm also glad Elrond and Aragorn got to talk and get things straightened out. I'm sure their misunderstanding had a lot to do with Aragorn's original weariness and despondency. Now that Aragorn opened his heart to Elrond he's bound to mend much faster. It's needless to say that I really, really loved the captive Prince of the Woodland realm, and even more the hobbit Trotter bits. Both made my day. This is another chapter that could have easly slid into the melodramatic, but it didn't. Congratulations. Author Reply: Thank you, Estelcontar! Oh yes, this could have turned into a treacly mess, couldn't it have? That was my biggest fear, so it's very encouraging to have you say it didn't turn to melodrama. I think the humor probably helped in that regard. I couldn't resist playing around a bit with some childhood memories. *grin* I'm so glad you liked this chapter with it's fairly wild swings of emotions. Thanks for the review, as always! :) | |
| Minerva Organa | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/20/2009 |
| *happy sigh* What a lovely last chapter. Aragorn has finally allowed himself to grieve, which I'm sure is one of the most important things he can do on the road to recovery. And the exchange between him and Elrond was especially poignant. Even if things aren't 100% worked out between the two of them, at least they both know that their love hasn't diminished. And those last few lines were *perfect*. Author Reply: Thank you, Minerva! I'm so glad you liked this, and how it ended. :) Aragorn really did need to finally let go and let out all his grief, and with Elrond, it was safe for him to do that. I think even with Halbarad he might have felt a reserve, a need to be the strong leader. But Elrond is Ada, after all. I'm so glad you enjoyed the story and hope you also enjoy the epilogue, which is almost a story unto itself. Thanks for the review! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/20/2009 |
| Reassurance and release of grief--two things needed that day for healing to properly proceed! Yes, the right thing needed by both, as well as the poem he now reads that seems to mirror his own situation.... Lovely! Author Reply: Thank you, Larner, and yes, I've always felt that Aragorn would feel a strong kinship with Beren and all he went through to win Luthien--it really is a parallel story to his own. It seemed a fitting end to the story. :) Thanks for reviewing, and hope you enjoy the epilogue as well. | |