Reviews (167)

White Wolf · 26 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Oh my. That kind of cliffhanger is what I usually leave everyone with. I'm wondering if there will be angst ahead or if Legolas and Ithilden will both escape injury. I liked the way Ithilden and Alfirin made up. Very sweet. I can't blame Legolas for attacking Galelas. I know Galelas doesn't know what happened to Legolas, but I'm not sure it would have mattered to him. In fact, it probably would have made things worse. He's always been a pushy big mouth. I've always felt it was defensive rather than offensive behavior due to his unhappy home life. Dit I analyze that right? :o)

Manderly · 25 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

You left us there? I think this cliffhanger thing is becoming an epidemic. It always seems to be a convenient and rational spot to end the chapter for writers, but really quite nasty for readers. But great chapter. What Galelas said to Legolas of being an unrealiable warrior - ouch! No wonder Legolas went ballistic. I would too if I were him, but Galelas doesn't know what happened to Legolas so I guess he can be forgiven, sort of. So Ithilden and Alfirin have made up. I wonder if they find the making-up as sweet as it has been promised them. They both seem to be enjoying themselves anyway. Then lightning strikes. Must their intimate moments always have to end so dramatically? I really hope that you update soon.

Brazgirl · 25 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

I loved the fight and Thranduil's confrontation between duty and will. Thanks for updating today Daw! It was lovely to read from you, especially read about Ithilden and Alfirin... and Thranduil, of course.

Karri · 25 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Ai! The elfling is not doing very well psychologically, is he? Of course, now he may not be doing well physically, either. A wonderful story so far, daw. I am greatly looking forward to the next chapter. :-)

Nilmandra · 25 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

I am enjoying seeing the characters with the depth we are seeing this time. I think the masters may need to say something to Galelas - his behavior is a little much for Legolas to deal with in addition to all the other things he is coping with. I admit I perfectly understood Legolas losing it and punching him. The straw that broke the camel's back, as the saying goes.

thechevin · 25 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

What a terrible thing to do to a person at Christmas leaving them with a cliff hanger like that I am glad Legolas took a swing at Galeas he deserved it I think Thrnaduil would not be unhappy about it either given the situation although I doubt he will tell Legolas that There I was happily looking forward to a sweet if wet end to the chapter with Ithilden and Alfirin about to have a happy reunion and you spring this on us how can I face Christmas dinner with this worry HAppy Holidays

LOTRFaith · 25 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Catching up over Holiday break... :-) Hmmm... I find myself wanting to hug and strangle Legolas at the same time... It would be a lot easier if he just started talking, instead of holding everything in... But at the same time I can understand why he is holding back too... Laughing most of the time when Ithilden and Alfrin come into view;-) It reminds me so much of a friend of mine who is currently undergoing the same 'courtship' type. Anyway... Great job! Keep up the good work and Merry Christmas!

Eruviluieth · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Evil Cliffie! BAD!!! OK, you have my attention, not that you didn't before. Loving the story, very intriguing. Update soon!

Frodo3791 · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Sure! Just when I thought this chapter was going to end so happily, Legolas is going to get hit by a tree! Cliffhangers are so bittersweet. But Legolas did rough Galelas up a bit. I'm proud of him, though, he's not proud of himself, nor is the archery master... and his family. None the less, I'm sure it felt good, and perhaps Galelas will think twice before he says stuff to Legolas. Or not. Those two remain enemies for quite a while. Anywy, I'm looking forward to the next chapter. -Frodo

The Karenator · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Holy cow! A cliffhanger and on Christmas Eve to boot! Things were looking up there for about five seconds. Ithilden offered an olive branch and Thranduil was in a good mood...and then Galelas. What a knot-head. I realize that he didn't know what Legolas's problem was, but for pete's sake, can he not keep his mouth closed for a second? Guess not. I can't say I blame Legolas for the knuckle sandwich. Saying that he wouldn't want Legolas at his back was the last straw. Weapons has always been the one place in Legolas's life where he felt competent and solely his own person. I suppose for him weapons are his art and this jerk-wad just insulted his most precious creation. Does Galelas ever find out what Legolas's problem is? He should be ashamed...he should be, but it'll be a while yet before he grows a brain. I just knew the little whelp was going to disappear into the woods. Thranduil had the working parent's monkey on his back, two things that needed to be done and one parent to do them. Good thing Ithilden was willing to try to be understanding when he found Legolas...and Alfirin...wet Alfirin...in her clinging dress. By the time he realized she was no longer angry with him, he was probably thinking: A year! I have to be betrothed for a year! This was a cold rain, I assume. And then, a tree bites the dust, inconveniently right where Legolas and the horses are waiting. So...who's it going to be? Now remember, the kiss of death for any movie is to harm a kid or an animal.... :>) But in fanfiction.... I'm really looking forward to the next installment. Such a good chapter. It was just full of goodies. Merry Christmas, your dawness. Karen

Alice · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Yay, another chapter! Wow, it snowed (a white Christmas in Texas no less), it's Christmas Eve, and you updated. Truly an excellent day. I liked this chpater. There were certain little bits that I just loved, like Thranduil thinking that Legolas was in a tree singing himself into a better mood. That's just such a woodelf thing to do. I also loved Legolas with his horse. That's why pets are nice. They love you and want to be with you no matter what. Well not exactly no matter what, they do like to be fed and taken care of, but you get the idea. Legolas needed an animal friend right then. Ok, so Galelas needs to be taken aside by one of the training masters and given a good talking to. Something along the lines of not picking fights with students and how much they value him. Poor insecure guy. He needs a new family. They need a society for better treatment of elflings in Mirkwood. I recommend they immedietly look in on Turgon and Galelas's families. It was a nice making up scene with Alfrin and Ithilden. Hehe. The troop commander's having impure thoughts, the troop commander's having impure thoughts,the troop commander's having impure thoughts. Okay, I'm done taunting Ithilden now. Well for now anyway. Good thing he lives all the way in Middle Earth otherwise I might be in trouble here. It was sweet how they just sort of made up on the spot. And Alfirin is so right with Legolas needing loving acceptance, which according to Legolas he's only getting from his horsie friend right now. That's bad, as nice as his horse is. So, I look forward to the next chapter. And you resolving that cliffhanger, you wicked author you. Update soon! And have a very merry Christmas!

sofia · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Will Legolas realize the tree is falling in his direction and move his horse and hiself out in time? Or is Ithilden going to do some move that is only possible for an elf and save them? Or is Legolas and the horse going to get hurt? Ah, too many choices to think about. More soon please. -sofia

emjo · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Naughty, naughty Daw! I am going to tell Santa you left everyone a nasty cliffhanger on Christmas eve! Have a merry Christmas and please hurry with the next chapter!

esamen · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Merry Christmas Eve, my friend! I had a hunch you might post a chapter today! I am retreating from the crowd at my house for a moment . . . and here's a little computerized dream-path for me leading to a moment my favorite characters in Lasgalen . . . what a lovely journey away from the dishes in the kitchen. EXCEPT, you evil woman, for your nasty cliffhanger. Do you plan to put up the next chapter tomorrow? Or leave us all in misery over Christmas Day? I actually thought that you would have Alfirin get attacked by a spider in the woods, and have Legolas defend her with only his long knife . . . getting his new relationship with his sister-in-law off to a wonderful start and getting over his trauma about weapons at the same time. Now what's going to happen? Falling branches? Please update soon . . . Happy holidays, and many thanks to you always for your wonderful stories, Esamen

Elentari · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Evil you! how am I supposed to have a relaxed and merry christmas dinner with that Cliffhanger on my mind? The makeup was all the sweeter for being so ordinary- both legolas and ithilden's and Alfirin and ithilden's. I cannot help but feel my heart going to Thranduil a bit mroe every chapter i read of yours. How tense he must be, poor thing, trying to salvage his youngling! terrific job. oh, and Merry Christmas, btw. ;)

Elena Tiriel · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Oh, dear. I was going to be ever so thankful to you for gifting us with a lovely new chapter before Christmas, and to wish you happy holidays and joy for the next year. Especially after giving Ithilden and Alfirin time to reflect about their quarrel, and the opportunity to be reunited under ever-so-slightly risqué conditions, with her (and her nipples) firmly ensconced in his arms and bouncing up and down while riding his horse (a stallion, what else?)... *Grumble* But you left Legolas in danger! Bad author, very very bad! That not-so-distant sound of thunder is coming from your angry readers... - Barbara (Happy holidays and joy for the next year, anyway...)

Jay of Lasgalen · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Thanks, Daw - a cliffhanger to leave us with over Christmas! :( I'm not surprised that Legolas finally snapped - Galelas certainly deserved it - but trouble is sure to follow. It seems Ithilden is able to learn from his mistakes, as he treats Legolas with much more care this time, and he is better with Alfirin too. But the cliffie - everyone knows trees and lightning are a bad combination! Jay

Dot · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

OMG!! A cliffhanger?? Oh well, I should have suspected you’d have something up your sleeve… I was thrilled to see this but I’m afraid that I’ll have to write a quick review or else you’ll be waiting for a few days. Let’s see… I was so glad that Ithilden decided to try to smooth things over with Legolas. Although, I suppose he could hardly scold him in front of Thranduil and he does have other things on his mind... And at least Thranduil is wise enough to know that even if he were ever to forbid Legolas to see Turgon, now is really not the time because Turgon can offer Legolas uncomplicated friendship and support when he needs it most. I thought Annael’s reaction to the news that his two friends went fishing was rather interesting. He must be really beginning to wonder about Legolas. And imagine what it must be like for him to silently support Legolas and then find that he drifts off with Turgon. I actually can’t blame Galelas too much for thinking that Legolas is basically doing what he wants. I mean, it does actually look that way. And I wasn’t surprised when Legolas finally cracked. That’s been building for a while now and that line about not being able to depend on Legolas must have really stung. It’s just *such* a pity that it was the archery class, which was probably the one thing that brought him any peace these days now that he knows he can use his bow without any problems. On another note, Galelas probably won't get a very warm reception at home. I bet if Tinar was ever sent home, it must have been the masters' faults...;-) Isn’t it a little awkward all round for the masters to have to let Thranduil know when they’d be training with knives? If it had been anyone else but Legolas the parents probably wouldn’t have had that privilege. Anyway, I really liked the way he reacted to the note. There was no trace of anger at all, just genuine concern. It must be so frustrating for him, especially as there are times when Legolas does seem to be healing and then out of the blue he does something like this. I love that Thranduil’s first instinct was to go and speak to his son, even though he’s actually supposed to be working. It was rather fascinating then once he discovered that Legolas was missing to watch him struggle with parental worry and reason it out for himself. All this stuff about flowers and leaves and the colour dyes that they make – is all that true?? I learn so much from your stories! I had to laugh at Alfirin so smitten by Ithilden that she can’t stop thinking about kissing him. Her anger didn’t last long. I just loved too that she wasn’t just thinking about managing the palace household or how she’ll fit in, it’s how she’ll make it “warmer and more comfortable for Ithilden and his family.” She’s so in love. When Legolas finds time to collect his thoughts and work through in his mind what happened, he always seems to be able to see things a little more clearly. It just seems to be that his initial reactions to the people around him have become far more unpredictable then they used to be. Yeah, it must have hurt that Galelas thinks he’s being favoured but Galelas has often had tormented him about his position as king’s son. That’s nothing new. I don’t know, maybe Galelas actually did him a favour by finally allowing the resentment and frustration building in Legolas to be released. It SO can’t have looked good to Legolas to see Ithilden appear yet again. I thought Ithilden actually handled it fairly well this time, though. “Neither is Eilian, nor am I, but I think you will find that Adar worries about us too.” What?? Never!! At least Legolas can definitely see the truth in that. A lot of his problem is that he feels singled out now by his family but Thranduil certainly would treat his other sons similarly if they were suffering. “You have rain dripping from your nose, so I do not think you are in a position to talk.” Ooh, lovely!! So well done. And as simply as that, the fight is over. LOL at Ithilden eyeing her up and Legolas looking on in amusement. “The world in front of him seemed to tilt crazily, and then he realized that what was really moving was the tree near which Legolas and the horses stood.” My jaw dropped at that. Where did that come from??? Luckily there’ll be other distractions over the next couple of days but don’t keep us waiting *too* long! Sorry this isn’t much of a review – it’s almost 9pm and Christmas Mass is at 10 and I haven’t even started to get ready… Have a great Christmas and take a well-deserved break for a few days. Have a good one! :-)

Firnsarnien · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Ai! The tree coming towards him? Eeek! Maybe we'll get even more wonderful Leggy angst! Heh, heh! Apparently, poor Leggy is not handling things as well as he thought he was. I think he really needs to talk about his feelings to someone. Perhaps Ithilden since Eilian is not home. Unless he talks about things, I don't think he's going to come to terms with what he did. It's eating him alive and he's going to snap just like he did today, but next time, it'll be even worse. I hope Ithilden can put aside his scolding older brother self and help Leggy the way he needs to be helped. Thranduil too, although he's been pretty understanding so far, more so than I would have expected him to be. So Alfirin is a little nipply huh? LOL I'm sure Ithilden didn't mind that one bit, no? LOLOLOLOLOL! Great chappy, can't wait for the next one as usual. :) And yes, I'll bet Mandos was quite eager to get rid of Turgon! LOL

Alison H · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

I was really looking forward to this chapter, Daw, and you didn't disappoint me.Good, Legolas finally laid into Galelas--about time, too! I really feel for Legolas in this story.His turmoil is worrying his family but it's really frustrating him because he thinks that he can handle it alone.He definitely needs help. I just loved the ending to this story where Itilden and Alfirin meet up again.Their obvious attraction to each other makes for some uncomfortable, but amusing, viewing from Legolas---and yay for the cliffy!!! I do love it when one of the brothers is in danger within sight of one of the others.I can't wait for your next update. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.Update soon!

meckinock · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 5: Is Everything Well?

Oh, dear! I hope that tree doesn't land on Legolas and break his leg or something! Wow, Nilmandra has Elrond on Viagra Vilya and Ithilden's having a wet t-shirt contest. Is there something in the eggnog? *looks around for mistletoe* I really liked the scene with Alfirin scouting for plants. For some reason it seemed really pleasant and elfy. Personally, I think Galelas had the whooping coming, and I'm glad Legolas got his licks in. The little snot will be less likely to pick on Legolas in the future. Although it would look to an outsider that Legolas is getting preferential treatment, it's none of Galelas's business anyway. I don't know if it was Alfirin's scolding or Thranduil's, but Ithilden seems to be making a serious effort to deal with Legolas as a person. It was really sweet when he said that just because he and Eilian aren't elflings, either, doesn't mean Thranduil doesn't worry about them. This was a nice scene between the two brothers. Where have I seen a leaf with a complex vein system recently? That sounded somehow familiar....

Brenda G. · 24 December 2004 · Chapter 4: Time Away

Hi, Daw. This is a great story so far, and (as usual) I am enjoying every word of it. Legolas just melts me (much like he does his father)in his current struggle to come back to himself. I was so glad that Thranduil let his heart and not his head rule when he confronted Legolas about skipping training with knives to go fishing with Turgon instead. Can you even imagine what it would feel like to know that you were responsible for someone's death? Even in defending one's self or another, it would still be an incredible weight to heft around, especially for such young shoulders. I thought Thranduil was extremely wise and gracious in the handling of his son. His embrace "without thinking" was quite telling indeed. I'm loving the tale of Ithilden and Alfirin! Oh ho! So, Miss Alfirin can speak her mind and stand in the gap for someone else! That sort of put Ithilden on his ear (right where he needed to be, I thought). Thranduil's response to Ithilden's news about Alfirin was great! As stern as the King comes across most of the time (and what he must be on most days), it is nice to see the lighter side of Thranduil. I'm looking forward to future chapters and for resolution to Legolas' reluctance to pick up his knives once more. He's a sweetheart, no longer an elfling, to be sure, but still a sweetheart. You write him so well. Keep up the good work, and Merry Christmas, Daw. I hope 2005 will be a particularly great year for you and yours. BG

White Wolf · 23 December 2004 · Chapter 4: Time Away

I'm glad that Thranduil handled Legolas the way he did. Just a small smile from Legolas made his father so happy. That was great. Ithilden deserves someone, who can match him in temperament when the need arises and not always give in to his formidable nature. I agree with Alfirin's mother: good for her.

Firnsarnien · 23 December 2004 · Chapter 4: Time Away

Ah, so they had their first quarrel hmmmm? LOL I'm glad Alfirin sticks up for Leggy. Ithilden was much too hard on him this time. He should have asked why Leggy was missing class instead of jumping down his throat right away. I think Alfirin is good for Ithilden. She's going to make him think more before he says or does anything. I think it may have been her influence on Ithilden that turns him into the Elf he is today that Thranduil respects and listens to often. He doesn't usually let other people tell him what to do but Ithilden does it in such a way that Thranduil cannot help but do it and not be resentful. That's all Alfirin right there, me thinks! ;) Poor Leggy. Seeing those knives must have surely freaked him out. *sniff* Poor Turgon too, always so willing to help out his friend without worrying what will happen to him. Everyone thinks so badly of him. *sob* And really, his heart is so in the right place all the time for Leggy and Annael. I always cringe knowing what his future holds for him. *sniff* But, I'll try to just enjoy his presence in this story without the feeling the bittersweetness of it. *sniff* See, it's your fault! You made me love him despite his mischievousness. *sigh* Great chappy as was the last. I can't wait for another. :) Hurry, hurry hurry! Yup, that's me, always impatient! LOL :)

Ms. Whatsit · 22 December 2004 · Chapter 4: Time Away

It seems to me that Legolas could, theoretically, "serve the realm" even while not being a warrior--as a healer, for example. Thranduil wishes to make sure his sons set an example by shouldering burdens, I know, but there are many different--and equally important--burdens to be shouldered. I'm getting an AU in my head now wherein Legolas becomes a healer... I liked the quarrel--in a relationship, fights are often a great way to learn the true character of your SO. And Alfirin's mom and Thranduil are right in that this quarrel resolved the one problem about the relationship: whether or not Alfirin could handle Ithilden's domineering ways. I feel terrible for Legolas. The poor baby has every right and reason to be traumatized. It's good for him that Thranduil isn't as strict and uptight as Ithilden.