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A Matter of Heart  by daw the minstrel 167 Review(s)
BrazgirlReviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/9/2004
Oh, it's always great to read from you again! Nice start!
I guess I will have to read the other story now. Poor Legolas he is suffering so much. The way you describe it is great. I love when Legolas thinks about Ithilden... if he kissed the maiden!!!

Author Reply: Glad you liked the start, Brazgirl. When I started this, I knew people might read "See the Stars" and it kind of made me cringe because that's the first story I ever wrote and I can see everything that's wrong with it now. Ah well.

Having Alfirin come into his all-male home must feel very odd to Legolas. And given his own adolescent stage, he has to be wondering about what's going on with her and Ithilden. Heck, so does Thranduil. I'm sure Ithilden would be appalled to realize that.

Jay of LasgalenReviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/9/2004
Ai, poor Legolas! It's been a long time since I read See The Stars, but I remember how terrible he felt after killing the spy. I'll have to go back and read it again!

He seems to be getting better, as the title suggests, but he needs to talk to his father about it, not just a healer. It must be hard for Thranduil to see him like this.

On a lighter note, your OCs are as good as always - Galelas is a jerk, Turgon bragging as always, and Annael is simply Annael. I do think though, that he'd ask Legolas what was wrong - it's not invading his privacy; it's a friend's concern.

Lovely to see a new, angsty story!


Jay

Author Reply: I flinch a little at your going back to read "See the Stars." It was the first story I ever wrote and it's pretty raw. I hope I've learned since then.

In my head, Thranduil has tried to get Legolas to talk to him but Legolas has refused. A terrible parental moment, when you see your kid in pain and they won't let you help.

You're right that Annael might ask what's wrong. At least I think so. It's hard to tell with guys, especially young ones. They're such idiots sometimes.

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/9/2004
What a great start. Poor Legolas - this kind of event is not one that can be put behind him quickly. Perhaps, a warrior who had killed oodles of orcs and other enemies would have more - terms of reference, I think I mean - and a more developed philosophy of war, but the poor elfling has gone straight from the cheerful slaughter of armies of wooden soldiers to a realisation of what death means. And death in an elleth, too - one who, in imagination at any rate, should be innocent and protected - a Miriwen or Beliniel rather than an evil spy. And where is Mithrandir when you need him? (Actually the twins could have been quite useful at this point - Legolas needs someone who has been there/done that, who isn't related to him and bleeding over his pain.)

Galelas is a . . . (I am currently selecting and rejecting various descriptive terms, either for not being sufficiently internationally comprehensible or for being too rude). . . but he is! I am reminded of a quote from a favourite TV programme - along the lines of 'being Galelas is his crime . . it is also his punishment'. And he doesn't know what's been going on, but he should have enough sense to suspect that there is more to it than meets the eye - Annael says somewhere that Legolas is privileged rather than spoiled and none of his family let him get away with things like taking time off lessons just because he wants to.

And Alfirin is coming to dinner! I'll bet she feels like Goldilocks about to sit down with the three bears. Or maybe Red Riding Hood with an extra helping of wolf.

Legolas has been practising the eyebrow manoeuvre! (Did he use the mirror, do you think?)

Poor Turgon. I wonder how much of what he has done has been in his imagination. Neglected child that he is, perhaps a lot of his boasting is bravado. And I just love Annael and his family. More screen time for Annael!!

I'm writing too much. Great start. Look forward to more.

Author Reply: I think the protective instinct is strong in Legolas. His whole family acts it out right in front of him, so that's no surprise. So killing a maiden (and close up, with a knife yet) would be terrible, even though it was necessary. And then, kinslaying is such a big deal among elves. Sigh.

I like that line about Galelas. Being him is his punishment as well as his crime. He straightens out later. He has a dreadful family too, so I kind of feel sorry for him.

We'll see Alfirin and the dinner in the next chapter. I hope to restrain myself long enough to write about Ithilden and Alfirin together with no disasters happening!

Much of what Turgon has done is in his imagination. Absolutely. I find that Annael tends to fade from sight a little when all three of them are together. Turgon is pretty dominating.

NilmandraReviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/8/2004
I am even more exhausted than when I read it the first time, but this time I felt what I hoped to feel - the additions are great. Thanks for humoring your, at least on this night, rather humorless beta :/

Author Reply: Thank you. I'm glad you think so.

You know what I think about all this extra work. I think I feel like Thranduil. I want to help, but there doesn't seem to be much I can do!

ManderlyReviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/8/2004
Yay, a new story!

It looks like Legolas is going to have more than just sword training to worry about. Ah, the joys and pain of realising for the first that there is this thing called the opposite sex and that girls are more than just the object of pranks. And Turgon is so endearingly clueless.

I am glad you are writing this story. I've always wondered how Legolas would deal with the trauma of killing that elf maiden, especially for one so young as him and who has yet to see a real battle. I am surprised that Thranduil has been able to keep himself from jumping in to help his baby.

Author Reply: Girls are on Legolas's mind a bit more not only because of his age but also because he sees Ithilden courting Alfirin. That has to be a big event!

I think Thranduil has tried to help his baby, but Legolas won't talk to him, and Thranduil can't drag it out of him. It must be terribly frustrating to want to help someone, to know they need help, but to have them push you away. :-(

French PonyReviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/8/2004
I think you read my mind. Or you read my coach's mind. The thing with the elbow is precisely what Coach was helping me with the other day (well, that and point control, but that's a whole nother can of worms). Thelion has it almost right. The elbow thing is about speed more than raw power.

It's too bad; there are all these people around Legolas who care about him, and they are all going to fail him. This story won't have its own ending; the ending is that other story, the one with two names. So you (or at least I) can see the future, and it ain't pretty.

On the one hand, I can be angry at the masters for not sitting Legolas down for a discussion right now; at Ithilden, for backing off so easily; for Thranduil, for doing the same thing; for the psychiatrist-healer, for not including the rest of the family in the sessions. But on the other hand, I know how that sort of thing works. When you're traumatized, you don't want to talk about it, and you keep it inside where it festers until something stupid and dangerous happens. Something like that happened to me, once, not so very long ago. Part of me wishes that someone had stopped me sooner, and part of me knows that nothing would have made a bit of difference.

I suppose that what makes me maddest is that Thranduil is a far more emotionally open parent than either of mine. He's got the emotional intelligence and the rank (he's King) to know how to deal with his hurt kid, but he just lets him go. Go see a shrink, kid, and come back when you're feeling better. Even my parents (part of what my mother once eloquently called "a family of secrets") made more of an attempt than that.

Elowen ruffled his hair as she passed behind his chair on the way to take a seat at the end of the table and peel the vegetables she was carrying. “I, for one, am glad you are back safely and hope you do not intend to do anything so dangerous again until you are a few years older.”

Bwoop! Bwoop! Bwoop! Red Alert, Captain! Dramatic Irony dead ahead!


Author Reply: I always like it when you tell me about your fencing classes and whether I'm getting that stuff right. I'll pass your information on to Thelion. :-)

It's true that Legolas is not going to come out of this intact. In my world, the loss of his mother was the shaping event of his childhood, but the death of Turgon was the shaping event of his adolescence. It settled him down in a way and made him decide what was important. Of course, it also left him scarred.

In my head, Thranduil had tried to talk to Legolas, tried to reassure him and tell him he did the right thing. But Legolas pushes him away, as you point out we tend to do. And maybe it just takes time for some of these things to heal, no matter who tries to help us. I'm glad to see that whatever stupid and dangerous thing you did, you are still around to talk about it.

Yeah, Dramatic Irony. :-)

LOTRFaithReviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/8/2004
Horray! A new story! :-) Poor Legolas... It must be horrible for him... To kill someone is trumatic in itself, but to kill one who cannot be touched by the ages passing by?

I find that when I use the word immortal it gives a greater sense of higher quailty to the elves than I think is supposed to be... Immortal means you can't die.. And elves can.. :-( As we so unfortunately found out :-( But excellent start thus far! I eagerly look forward to more:-)

Author Reply: You're making me think about what Tolkien meant by "immortal" here, Faith. It's true that elves "die," but by that he means their fear (I can't make the little umlaut over the e here) separate from their bodies and go to the Halls of Waiting. But then after a while they're reincarnated in Valinor (as you show in your story). So in that sense they're immortal. The unanswered question is what happens to them after Arda ends. They don't know.

Hm. It's very early in the morning here and this is too philosophical for me!

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