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Spring Awakenings by daw the minstrel	17 Review(s)
LKK	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/29/2004
I am trying. I am trying. I am trying really hard. Honest. I'm trying to be impartial and see thing from Solith's viewpoint. But he's making it awfully difficult! I know he loves his daughter and wants the best for her. But he's wrong! Just plain wrong! argh! Eilian did good in this chapter. For such a temperatural elf, he managed to hold himself in quite well. Slip of the tongue regarding the betrothal notwithstanding. I like how he handled the returned letters issue with Celuwen. Even though he admitted suspecting Solith, he didn't acrimoniously accuse him. He was very even tempered about the whole thing, considering the circumstances. I hope though that Celuwen's upcoming talk doesn't result in Solith forbidding her to see Eilian. (Do elves do that sort of thing? I'm not sure.) I didn't get a chance to review the last chapter before this one was posted. But I want to say that Legolas did a remarkably fine job for his first day at diplomacy. He may not have gotten the elfling to eat the vegetable, but there are lots of parents who never accomplish that particular feat! LOL Good chapters, daw! And welcome back from your break. :-) LKK Author Reply: Solith is difficult. I must say I enjoy picturing him and Eilian going head to head for many years to come. Eilian is doing well so far, but I don't think patience is his long suit. Legolas is doing well, which is good for him because I think he really values Thranduil's good opinion. He's not out of the woods yet though. I'm glad to be back!

Jay of Lasgalen	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/29/2004
Poor Eilian is still feeling the effects of his wound. I think that Celuwen will help his healing a lot, and he will help her as well. I do hope that Eilian did the right thing in telling her about her father withholding the letters like that - she's furious, and rightly so, but words could be said that are later regretted. I have one BIG complaint about this chapter - there's no Legolas. But Eilian's musings about the weather and the river has got me worried ... Jay Author Reply: Oh I know. My intention at the start was to put both brothers in each chapter, but the parts just keep getting too long. The next chapter will be all Legolas again, and then I hope to have one that is half and half. Celuwen is pretty angry. Solith won't know what hit him, I'm thinking.

Estel_Mi_Olor	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/29/2004
Oh dear, that's not working out very well is it? Poor Eilian, and Sólith. Love can be so blinding at times, and when it is aided by fear then it it impossible to see. Celuwen and Sólith need to talk, with their tempers in check. Sólith and Eilian need to talk to. Gees, what a mess! I'm glad Isiwen has become Eilian's ally, for something tells me he shall need her before the end. As always, excellent chapter. I can't wait for an update, and some sort of conclusion to the situation that poor Eilian has to face! (I know, I know, I take too much pity on him!) Author Reply: Oh you are so right. Fear. Solith is afraid of what will happen to his daughter if she marries Eilian. I'm not sure how much patience Eilian has for this sort of thing. He is not doing well at the moment. (Which is good for my plot, I guess.)

tigerlily713	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/29/2004
Solith's in trouble! Great chapter! I can't wait for more. Author Reply: Yes, Solith is in trouble. But let's not forget that Thranduil is expecting Eilian to get Solith's approval. Maybe Celuwen can talk him into it. I'm glad you like the chapter. It's nice to come home to people who want to read what I write.

Dot	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/29/2004
Welcome back! And what an excellent chapter you’ve returned with! I’m really getting worried about Eilian. Whatever about feeling stiff for a while, it doesn’t seem right for him to be still in so much pain. Maybe if he didn’t spend so much time trying to hide the fact that he’s in pain… I’d say the healer will have a thing or two to say to him when he returns. He did seem to manage with hunting and with running along branches but still, I am starting to feel apprehensive about what you have in store for him;) I thought you did a great job with Celuwen’s emotions in this chapter. I could really sense the confusion in her. It’s as though the moment she has longed for has arrived but now she isn’t so sure what to do, as if she has never really thought past that moment when Eilian would return. She seems to be really struggling with the thought that she will have to live up to her promise that she would be able to let him go again. I really do like Isiwen. She seems at ease with Eilian, at least as much as she can be with Sólith around. Like you say, she probably finds him just as charming as most females do but still, I’d imagine that if she felt he wasn’t good for her daughter then he wouldn’t have found himself very welcome either. “Good,” said Sólith. “I will go with him.” The other three all paused with forks halfway to their mouths.” LOL! That was hilarious. You had me laughing so much it took me a while to be able to concentrate on the rest of the chapter. It’s just such a funny image – the notion of Sólith accompanying Eilian (with weapons) seems so completely absurd to them all…has fits of giggles again … “I want you to break things off with my daughter,” Sólith said.” What??? Alright, any sympathy or understanding I might have had for him has just gone out the window. Yes, he loves his daughter but he is not stupid – in fact in the past he has seemed quite wily and aware – so he has to see that Eilian cannot take the full blame for the situation. Eilian is right, it is up to Celuwen to decide of she can bear him being a warrior, but having said that they really need to both discuss it. I wonder how much Eilian really needs the South. It seems to me that the main reason he was drawn there was to escape his life at home as well as craving excitement. But at this time, with the Shadow growing stronger and reaching further there is evil to be fought in probably most parts of the realm, not just the South. I wonder if he had a home and happiness with Celuwen, would he really feel the need to go back South. She might be willing to let him go as long as he wasn’t in the most dangerous place in all of Mirkwood and he could still do his duty to his father by serving elsewhere. I know, what he really needs is a child! Ah well, I don’t even know why I’m rambling on like this when I know very well that at least at the time of the Council of Elrond, Eilian is still captain of the Southern Patrol (I haven’t checked but doesn’t Beliond or someone mention it to Legolas in ‘A Question of Duty’?). Sorry for letting my thoughts wander there…! I’m glad Eilian told her that his letters had been returned to him. Even if it damages her relationship with her father she still deserved to know. You know, I’ll have to apologise profusely to Sólith if it turns out not to have been him but rather Isiwen or someone else who sent back the letters! Oh, and his mother helped Celuwen put a snake in his bed?? Sometimes even I miss Eilian’s naneth… It just struck me how much Eilian really has grown. He seems… I don’t know…more aware of himself, and of others I guess. I mean, to a certain extent he still wants to make life easy for himself and seems to resent Thranduil a little - resent is probably too strong a word but he does seem to feel that he would have done things differently if not for his father’s expectations - but at the same time he appears to be able to judge his own actions, past or present, for their own worth rather than just by what others think. Anyway, I really enjoyed this chapter. Even though you came back from your trip even more enigmatic that you were before. I can’t believe that after all this time I still don’t know what’s going to happen between Celuwen and Eilian…;) Author Reply: I am so glad that Celuwen's confusion came through. I think that she and Eilian both are a little uncertain of what the other wants and how to go about handling this difficult situation. Once they commit, it's forever and that's pretty scary. Isiwen undoubtedly remembers Eilian as an elfling, when he and Gelmir would sometimes sleep over at Celuwen's cottage. I suppose Solith does too. Oh my. I was just struck by a plot bunny. I wonder how they all behaved when they were kids and what the parent wound up thinking about them. I'll bet Eilian could be a little hellion sometimes. Eilian will have to think about what kind of life he wants, but he can't make those decisions on his own because of who he is. Thranduil and Ithilden will have something to say about it. And he is a talented leader of the dangerous southern patrol. Even the Orcs know that. I love Lorellin in the little glimpses of her that I get. Legolas would have grown up in a very different household if she had still been alive, and Thranduil would have been a different person, I think.

The Karenator	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/29/2004
Welcome home! I hope the trip went well and was productive. And now...Operation Celuwen. That Solith is going to hang himself quicker than Eilian can bring home supper. While I can appreciate his desire to 'protect' his daughter, I can't help but be amazed at how dense he is. His daughter is fading because of her separation from the elf she loves, and the old coot is still trying to get rid of the guy. I hope Isiwen can help her poor misguided husband learn to add things up. I kind of like Celuwen's mother, and I think she's just the gal to knock a little sense into the brick-head. But there are still problems to be addressed. I don't doubt that Eilian loves Celuwen, and I don't doubt he would be faithful. I don't even think Celuwen is worried about that anymore. The long absences and the danger of Eilian's job is still a fly in the ointment. If we can just tie Solith to a post somewhere out in the forest, then the two youngsters just might can work this whole thing out. I hope Celuwen will give us a hint as to what was said after she charged into the cottage like the Light Brigade. Inquiring minds want to know! 'Duck, Solith! The wrath of the fading elleth is upon you!' I mean, for Eru's sake, she a few centuries old! It might be Elven culture to have the parents' blessing, but when one of the parents is an interfering knuckle-head, then sometimes an elleth has to do what an elleth has to do. Good show, daw. I can't wait to find out what Celuwen decides...though I have my suspicions. Can you tell Solith gets me all worked up into a lather? I'll calm down before the next chapter. Carry on, Karen Author Reply: I suspect that you are right, and the females of the household will kick Solith around the kitchen a little and make him see reason. Or maybe reason is not what is needed here.;-) I have to figure out what happened in the cottage and how much Celuwen will tell Eilian, because of course he isn't there so neither are we. You sound like Nilmandra on the topic of Solith.

naneth	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/29/2004
Welcome back! We all missed you bunches while you were gone. Thanks for the quick update. I know how tired one is after one of these trips-I admire you for posting after a long week! I have to give Eilian a gold star for trying so hard with Solith. He kept his temper longer than I thought he might. Just shows you how much he loves Celuwen. You know, this time when he was hurt he wasn't ready to go back south. Then during this chapter he mentioned that he couldn't go back on patrol yet. I'm thinking that, even though he may not realize it yet, Eilian is finally getting ready to concentrate more on Celuwen and less on the Southern Patrol. Well, I can hope, anyway! Author Reply: I was so eager to get writing again, I could hardly stand it. I took my laptop and wrote on the trip both going and coming. I couldn't do much when I was in San Antonio, but my trip was long with layovers. I am sure I provided much entertainment to the lady reading my screen over my shoulder as I wrote about Eilian and Celuwen. Eilian is trying hard, but I don't know how long he can keep it up. Patience is not a quality he possesses in great amount. Well, he's Thranduil's son, so the king should understand. Or maybe not! ;0

Esamen/ Karen	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/29/2004
Oh, my. This is killing me . . . a real Everest of a cliffhanger. How can you do this to us? We will all die of suspense, and then where will your readership be? And I am so conflicted about the future of the lovers . . . Of course I'd like to see them happily ever after and indulging in wedded bliss, but I can totally see the father's point of view, and I even think that maybe she'd be better off with someone who is at home with her and not constantly putting his life in danger. But poor Elian! The golden boy is limping, rejected, and rebuffed! How on earth are you going to bring back our beloved super-warrior-Elf? Are you going for a major character life change here, as a result of all this difficulty? Best wishes for happy writing . . . be merciful and update soon! Author Reply: One of Eilian's problems is that his life is not totally in his control. He is the king's son and that has some consequences, particularly in a difficult era. Of course, he's also been more than happy to run headlong into danger. It gets his blood going. But maybe something else will do that! ;-) The next chapter is going to be Legolas, who is having problems too, but of a different sort.

Jebb	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/29/2004
Life for Eilian is never boring at least poor elf! Parents for all their support and love can be difficult and that seems to be something else Eilian and Celuwen have in common although Thranduil would not like to be thought of as difficult I am sure he only has the best interests of his sons in mind just as Solith does his daughter I hope all works out for them in the end she certainly has enough about her to 'deal' with Eilian and I think Thranduil might like that very much.LOL And the rain sounds very ominous for Legolas and the settlers good to have you back Author Reply: You're right! If Celuwen ever manages to marry Eilian, her life will not be boring, at least when he's around. And I think both of them would have challenging in-laws. But if Celuwen helped make Eilian more steady and happy, then Thranduil will be happy too. The rain is not going to do good things for Legolas, true. Poor guy.

vic	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/29/2004
Daw, What an incredibly long week! I had a feeling you were going to update today. I hope you had a good time on your trip and didn't do too much work-you had much more important things to worry about... like Legolas and Eilian! I feel sad that Solith, although acting in what he believes to be the best for his daughter, manages to do the opposite and drive a wedge in their relationship. He does have some good point though: would Eilian be mature enough to leave all the other maidens behind for Celuwen? Would he be prepared to sacrifice Southern Patrol for his daughter? Vic Ps I stand by my theory that Legolas' first word was 'Eilian' or something of that nature... Afterall, that's what I did! My poor mother tried to get to say 'mum', but I was stubborn and insisted on saying "aiya" or 'Alex' in adult talk! Author Reply: What a cute baby story! My son's first word was 'da.' I was so upset, given all the time I'd spent with him! The trip was pleasant but it was work -- starting with 7am breakfast meetings and ending with dinner out with colleagues. I wrote on the trip down and back and was SO glad to have the chance then. I miss writing about these people. Solith is annoying but he has good questions. Damn him!

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