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In Darkness Buried Deep  by GamgeeFest 8 Review(s)
harrowcatReviewed Chapter: 13 on 11/20/2005
Oh poor Edon! But it sounds like he has some very wise adults around him who will assist him in growing up to be a person to be proud of!

And thank goodness for Tom Bombidil! :)

Author Reply: Edon's in for a world of punishment, but Menegilda is fair. She'll see to it that he learns his lesson.

Tom to the rescue! Good thing he showed up when he did, and that Frodo was able to get himself into the open.

Thank you for reading!

Grey WondererReviewed Chapter: 13 on 11/19/2005
So now we come to the heart of the matter! Edon has certainly given Gil cause not to trust or like him, hasn't he? Menegilda certainly is quit a force and I do believe that Edon is in for some punishment for his deeds. I dare say that his punishment will be even greater for having gotten away the first time. Your OC's are so interesting that I find myself forgetting that they aren't Tolkien's characters. They fit so well within the story and all of them are very interesting indeed. Looking forward to more soon!

Author Reply: Menegilda is rather stern when it comes to trouble-makers. Edon will be kept quite busy with his punishment, you can be assured of that. He'll also be eating his humble pie, whether he wants to or not. She is a force to be reckoned with. She knew exactly how to play Edon to get him to spill his guts.

Perhaps now it can be better understood why Gil always loses his temper and common sense around Edon. He was betrayed by someone who was supposed to be his best friend, and for a misdeed Gil didn't even commit. There is a great amount of animosity between them. Hopefully, they've both learned enough from this experience to bury the hatchet.

Thank you so much! That is the greatest compliment I can hope to receive. Gil and Edon have made themselves quite at home in this universe, as have the other OCs. I'm glad they've earned your nod of approval. :)

AndreaReviewed Chapter: 13 on 11/18/2005
Finally, they've found him! With all the care and medication of his well-prepared rescuers he will be allright in no time, I'm sure! Though his *real* rescuer was Old Tom Bombadil, of course, master over all his lands, including the trees of the Old Forest. Old Rory's hopes were not in vain.

So, Edon was the one who first fell in love with Fuchsia (or so he thought) and Gil promised not to interfere? But Fuchsia chose on her own - and not the way Edon expected. I think it's to his advantage, that he tells Gilda everything. He will accept any punishment now.
Let's hope the search party, including Frodo will arrive soon at Brandy Hall. For Gil knows now, that Frodo is safe, but Edon is still expecting the worst - and that's not fair ;-)

Author Reply: Frodo is found, and will soon be out of the Forest, if not completely out of danger. They will need to hurry to get him back to Brandy Hall and the hands of the healers. Good ole Tom, showing up to save the day, but not sticking around for the credit.

Edon will accept the punishments, and that is very much to his advantage. He's confessed at last to his wrongdoings and he has been through enough guilt in the past few days over Frodo's disappearance to not shirk his responsibilities again. This will be a humbling experience for him, and if Gil can learn to humble himself also, they might just be able to put this behind them.

Thanks for reading!

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 13 on 11/18/2005
Good for Menegilda. An excellent bit of digging beneath the surface. And Edon and Gil both seem rather chastened one way and another - which is a pretty growing experience.

I'm so glad that Tom put his foot down and insisted. And, somehow, the thought of huffy trees is exceptionally pleasing. Now Frodo has been rescued - and his experience might be enough to ground him.



Author Reply: Oh, Menegilda has had to interrogate her fair share of tweens during her years as Mistress of the Hall. Edon wasn't prepared for her and that helped her to win out in the end.

Edon let his insecurities get the better of him, and Gil got the short end of the stick. After that, Gil retaliated, as can only be expected, and the problems only grew from there. They will both have to humble themselves before they can be able to move on.

Tom is the Master and the trees could only do his bidding. They're weren't happy about giving up their play toy, but at least they did get a little bit of play out it, while it lasted. That should keep them content for a while. :)

Frodo will come out of this with a slightly altered look on things, which will help. But he still has a lot of healing to do. This can only be a starting off point for him to do just that.

Thanks for much for reading, and for all your wonderful reviews! :)

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 13 on 11/17/2005
I read this last night, but was called away before I could respond to it.

LOVE it! Love that Edon is confessing to all, and that he's taking responsibility for his actions. Love that the trees grumped when Tom insisted they allowed Frodo to be rescued, and that Sara and Rory had an idea this was a probability. Love the reactions of Rufus. And love the realistic manner of dealing with the unconscious and then delirious Frodo.

Very well done. Now, if Edon and Gil will truly bury the hatchet, we will all be pleased.

Author Reply: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :) Edon's been carrying this secret around for well over a year. He was going to make himself ill if he kept quiet any longer. If anything good came of this, at least Edon has learned to step up and own his actions.

Those trees weren't too happy to see their master come and take their toy away, lol. But they gave in, as it was their only option, and they will contend themselves with remembering their little game in the years to come. :) Rory at least had a hope that Tom might show up and save them all. Saradoc was likely too worried about Frodo to give Tom much thought.

Rufus and Del had Frodo for the worst of his melancholy. It wasn't easy for them to see Frodo so torn and despondent, and not be able to help him. No matter what they tried, nothing worked and it would seem to them that it even got worse after Frodo's attempted suicide. They knew they were doing more harm than good, even if it wasn't their fault, and they knew the only way to help him was to let someone else take care of him. By reminding Gil of this, Rufus hoped to show Gil that there was truly no blame in this.

The healers couldn't go into the Forest themselves, as they were needed at the Hall, but they knew that if Frodo was hurt, that he would need care immediately. Dodi must have been rehearsing their instructions the entire time they were in the forest. :) Good thing too, as Frodo now stands a chance to make it back to the Hall, where he can be cared for adequately.

There is hope for Edon and Gil, if both lads are willing to meet halfways.

Thanks so much for reading!

RenaissanceGrrlReviewed Chapter: 13 on 11/17/2005
YAY! THEY FOUND HIM! *nances with joy* Not that that means he's out of danger by any means... The Sara(doc) reaction is pretty much what the Sarah reaction would have been in the same situation. ^_-

OMG. You actually portrayed Tom Bombadil in a positive light! Go you! ^_^ (I know that had to be a challenge for you! XD)

All about the lass, then. Makes sense, but it's not what I expected. (I don't know what I DID expect, lol...) Are Gil and Edon going to put everything into the past, or are they going to remain civilly at odds after this?

Author Reply: Oh, I suppose I could amp up the angst and suspense and really make Frodo suffer before he recovers, but that would serve little purpose. ~_^ Rest assured, he's out of danger, physically. His emotional state however... (Sorry, couldn't resist that)

Menaical-Psychofreak!Tom doesn't quite fit in in this universe, lol. But notice that his "appearance" was very small and he actually never really appeared. ;)

In a sense, it was about the girl. At least, on the surface. This is the typical Yoko-factor. There were problems and tensions already between Edon and Gil, and Fuchsia just gave those problems a convenient outlet. Most of those problems were Edon's own insecurities and self-doubts. Even if Gil didn't do anything out right to Edon, he would have felt the animosity that Edon held toward him and that would have affected the way he acted around Edon. No doubt, he started pulling away a bit after a time, which would have just compounded the problems. Fuchsia came in at the end of it all. She was, as Edon said, the "last straw".

Edon and Gil will have to work extremely hard to put all this behind them once and for all - if both lads are willing to do so. Certainly the fact that Edon has confessed will help Gil at least be civil to him, and now that Edon has nothing to hide, he won't be so defensive anymore himself.

TheHobbitWaffleReviewed Chapter: 13 on 11/16/2005
He's found! Alive!

Why am I still in suspense?

Author Reply: LOL, I don't know! Relax! All is well. ^_^

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 13 on 11/16/2005
A great chapter! Poor little Frodo is found by Tom, but Tom never appears--which is perfect, for he'll not remember it.

I liked Rufus' talk with Gil. Your take on Frodo is so close to mine that I can't help but just love it! Poor Frodo, surrounded by those who care deeply about him, even if they don't understand him, yet he can't let himself believe that they could love him so much, as they are not his parents, whom he just wants to be with again. (And of course, underlying all that is the fear of abandonment felt by most orphans after losing their parents). But he's safe now, at least physically.

And now Edon finally screws up his courage to see Menegilda, and finds her far more insightful and formidable than he would have thought.

So, the breakup of the friendship *was* Edon's fault; I thought it might be, but wasn't 100% sure of it.

Now, they've got to get Frodo home, and taken care of. Perhaps it will help him to see his little Merry again.

And I wonder if Gil's and Edon's friendship can ever be repaired? That's a big betrayal there, and it may be insurmountable. But perhaps they can at least come to a truce...

Author Reply: Well, the real reason Tom doesn't appear is because I really can't stand him for too long. lol But yes, Tom wouldn't make himself be known at any rate and he certainly wouldn't want to be hampered by all these hobbits asking endless questions, as you know some hobbits are known to do. ;) And of course, Frodo can't remember anything that happens with Tom, or it'll ruin their "first" meeting later on the Quest.

My Frodo is very much mirrored after your Frodo. There are some differences - I think mine is more of rascal than yours - but I didn't have a clear understanding of Frodo until I started reading your fics. So thanks! Fear of abandonment is huge here. Even if Frodo can allow himself to believe that his cousins really do love him, he'll still be living with the fear that they might not always be there for him.

You're right that Menegilda is formidable. If Edon could have just waited another day, then he would have been in the clear. But Frodo and Gil couldn't be the only ones learning something. :) The hints are pretty obvious once you know the truth. The hand was always pointing at Edon, even from the start, even before Gil appeared in the story.

It will take a lot of work on both lads' parts to repair that friendship, if they decide to do so. That Edon has confessed all will help, and if Edon is truly sincere about paying his dues, that'll help even more. Of course, Edon isn't the only one who needs to humble himself. Gil will have to learn to forgiveness before anything of the sort can happen.

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