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A New Reckoning by Dreamflower	9 Review(s)
KathyG	Reviewed Chapter: 60 on 8/14/2021
I wonder if Opal ever did get married and start a family? It would be so nice if she did! Of course, hers would have to be a husband who was willing to live with a healer's unpredictable schedule. I hope that Opal did get a wooden leg! It would be rather difficult for her to perform a healer's duties if she had to hobble about on crutches all the time. Too bad modern prosthetic legs didn't exist back then!

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 60 on 9/29/2006
Frodo always tended to be a loner, and it's becoming worse and not better as the years pass. Poor Frodo--having not the hope of full healing now. But he does know and recognize the love with which he's surrounded, and that sustains him while he remains. And LOVE the bubble pipes. Author Reply: Well, he's not yet admitted to himself that there's no hope of remaining, but I think it is gradually beginning to become inescapable. But he does know love, and you are right--it's living vicariously through his loved ones that makes his life at all bearable at this point in time. I'm a bit of a bubble fanatic myself. I thought it might be something fun for Bergil to introduce to the Shire children!

PIppinfan1988	Reviewed Chapter: 60 on 8/9/2005
Wow! Loved going on the picnic with the gang. The pipes and bubbles were a brilliant and delightful idea! I had pondered bubbles on a couple of occasions for a certain tale but couldn't get past the technicalities....I talked myself right out of it, lol. I have something to say about Pip's and Merry's scars, but that will have to be a pm after work (sorry). But I truly enjoyed watching the family running about, smiling and laughing. It had been a little while since they could do that and enjoy it. Opal wanting to be a healer? Very nice! I am so captivated by that bone Poppy wears about her neck! I really do hope she comes back from Gondor with a ton of information. Well...until later...have a good day! Pippinfan

Hai Took	Reviewed Chapter: 60 on 8/4/2004
I'm glad that Merry and Pippin got Dago back safely! Saradoca nd Paladin deciding to let him believe he might be executed. It never hurts to let the someone who has done wrong believe their punishment may be more then it will be, sometime that is a worse punishment then what they really get. If any of that made any since! It seems Opal is making progress! I like that Eglantina and Pearl are also getting to know the girls better! It will do them good to have someone else to look up to, after the example they had they need someone with a more positive influence! I'm glad that Opal has something she would like to do and that Poppy is encouraging her in it! With a will to do so she has a good chance of recovery! Bergil being so excited to see Pippin and swinging him off his feet! Frodo telling Pippin that he is "missable" and saying that Pip could bring Bergil along! Bergil will certainly have alot of tales to take home with him! I liked your description of the picnic! Merry and Pippin taking Mrs. Diggle the ham was very thoughtful! What a wonderful idea for Bergil in introduce something new the hobbits! And something as fun as bubbles! It will probably become a new hobbit game as well! I bet Frodo is glad to be home, especially considering everything that he has had to do lately! That was a perfect ending to the chapter! Looking forward to more and hope it comes soon! Author Reply: Yes, that's the idea. Also, if they think they might suffer a worse fate, they will be more accepting of the punishment they do recieve. I think Eglantine and Pearl will take the Jewelry under their wings, if only for Reggie's sake. And Poppy is always willing to encourage someone who wants to be a healer. I'm enjoying having Bergil there without his father. It makes so many more possibilities for his interactions with the hobbits. Knowing how hobbits feel about hospitality and gifts, I'm sure that this is manners in the Shire, to gift a hostess for her hospitality. I think the soap bubbles may jsut start a new fad in the Shire. Frodo is indeed glad to be home. I'm trying to update as quickly as possible, but right now my husband has a project on, and so I'm having to share the computer more than usual.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 60 on 8/3/2004
I love the idea of Bergil introducing bubble pipes to the Shire. What a legacy. Opal as a healer - she seems to have some talent and it is a good thing to aim for. She has time to get well before she can help Poppy. Merry might not have the same number of scars, but the arm frozen by contact with the Witch Lord is fairly major damage. Neither Pippin nor Merry returned unscathed - but obvious scars make an impression on the uninitiated. As do flashy outfits and swords. I feel that only the more thinking hobbits really appreciate Frodo and Sam at anywhere approaching their real worth. Author Reply: I thought it might be fun. You will have noticed the adults were having just as much fun as the little ones with them, LOL! I thought this would give her an incentive to work with Lavender while Poppy is gone. Imagine how she will want to impress Poppy with her progress! And it will give her something worthwhile to do with her life--something that could never have happened without the tragedy. I think Pippin had the most physical scars, and less emotional trauma. On the other hand, Merry's rope burns from the Orc captivity are probably worse, since Pippin's bonds were only there for show most of the time. And you are right about Merry's arm, not to mention his annual bout of Black Breath. Frodo and Sam suffered the most emotional damage, and Frodo, especially from his efforts to resist the Ring for so long. And Frodo has his share of pretty bad physical scars, as well, though no one is ever likely to see them in the Shire. Pimpernel, I think, does appreciate these things, but naturally she and Vinca are more concerned with their "baby brother's" well-being.

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 60 on 8/3/2004
To blow soap bubbles, that is a lovely idea! In my childhood I have done it, too, and I'm sure the little Hobbits have enjoyed it as I have done it many years ago. Opal wants to be healer? I wouldn't have thought of this, but it is an interesting idea. Maybe she can make up for all her nasty behavior earlier this way. It would make her life much easier and help the other Hobbits to forget about her faults. Nice chapter! Author Reply: I still like to blow bubbles! 8-) I'm not sure why the idea occured to me, but I thought it would be cute for Bergil to show them how it was done. Opal has been impressed by the way the healers have treated her, and wants to be a part of that. She really is ready to turn her life around.

Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 60 on 8/2/2004
Another lovely chapter. the scene with Poppy and Opal was very sweet. I liked the fact that Poppy didn't just tell her things would be fine and then move on. She took time to try and help her, gave her hope, but promised nothing that she couldn't deliver. Also enjoyed the picnic. This is a great story you have going here. Looking forward to more. Author Reply: Poppy is practical. Telling her patient empty platitudes would not go anywhere toward healing Opal's depression. She's not one to make empty promises, either. If she did not think Opal had the potential, she would not have made the offer.

GamgeeFest	Reviewed Chapter: 60 on 8/2/2004
What a lovely chapter. It's good to see everyone taking some time to relax and enjoy themselves. It would have been good for Frodo to go with them, but it's understandable why he would want to go home right away. He's had enough of crowds to last him for awhile. Being a healer would be good for Opal too, though I'm sure she could still find a husband if she wanted to. Hobbits aren't so vain as she was raised to believe. Author Reply: Frodo wants to get home. Poor lad, they had barely put Bag End together when he had to turn right around and go meet this delegation. And as you said, he's had enough of crowds. I think it would be good for Opal as well. It's possible she would find a husband down the road in spite of her disablity; but that's not something she can believe right now. And she's feeling a revulsion towards the kind of life her mother had envisioned for her, with its vain pursuit of status and material things. And to her, marriage seems a part of that. Think of the emptiness of her parents' marriage.

Lyta Padfoot	Reviewed Chapter: 60 on 8/2/2004
I read that most cancer doctors were either cancer survivors or had loved ones touched by the disease, hardly a surprise that Opal might feel caled to healing after knowing such pain. The picnic was charming, interesting conversation between Freddy and Angelica. Author Reply: It's not unusual for someone who has survived a trauma due to the skill of a doctor to wish to go into medicine. Add to this the fact that Opal really does not have anything else of substance in her life, thanks to her mother, and it does not seem a stretch. Yes, Freddy and Angelica are getting to know one another a bit better. 8-)

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