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Spring Awakenings by daw the minstrel	406 Review(s)
Fadesintothewest	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 4/29/2004
What a great ending! I am happy that both families were able to celebrate the bonding of Celuwen and Eilian. And oh what great things await Celuwen and Eilian. It is good that he is staying and he will realize this soon enough. Our Legolas, searching and scanning teh crowd, hopefully he too can soon find what he needs. Author Reply: Eilian should thank the stars that Thranduil and Ithilden are making him stay home. His "punishment" will be sweet! Poor Legolas. He seems so alone.

Laura	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 4/29/2004
So whats next? I can't wait for your next story. I've read each of them about 5 times. I love your writing. Please write another one soon! Author Reply: Thank you, Laura. I am thinking about a story with young Legolas and perhaps Ithilden before he was married. They haven't spent much time together in my stories. It might be interesting. But I have to do some work first.

Any	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 4/29/2004
Ah! So good! :) Sólith more or less powerless and forced to give his blessings... hehe :) Thranduil making peace with Eilian... :) and Legolas, well, hm, poor Legolas leaving all of his family behind, heading southwards. But at least he'll return to his patrol as its lieutenant :). I liked this story very much - especially the heroic-Legolas-chapters :) So, what'll be up next? I just love your stories and almost can't wait for a new one to begin. So I hope you'll post a new one soon. Hehe :)) All my best wishes & thanks for sharing this beautiful story with us! You're the best! ~Any Author Reply: Heroic Legolas made my fangirl heart swoon. And Thranduil was at the top of his game both as king and as father. I think I'll do a young Legolas story next. I miss the elfling. daw

Tapetum Lucidum	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 4/29/2004
This chapter left me feeling so melancholy for the youngest prince that I almost found myself wishing for a romance for him. Pretty scary. I really enjoyed Eilian and Thranduil's little discussion. It was very good to clear the air between them. I agreed with you earlier when both Celuwen and Legolas felt that Thranduil under-valued his middle son. The father rarely showed him his approval. You made his feelings more clear in this scene - he does truly value what Eilian has done as a warrior, he just lives in constant fear that his carelessness will allow him to come to harm. You did a good job of letting both of these strong personalities show their emotions without letting them get too sappy. I don't think all of their conflict will be suddenly resolved but it should help ease the constant tension between them. Definitely a good thing with Eilian serving in the home guard and starting a life for himself in the castle. (That jeweled dagger has become a regular character - I think it appears in most of your stories - grin). Thranduil's reaction to Solith's arrival almost made me feel sorry for the hard-headed elf. Your use of the royal "We" for the scene between them was a great way to set Thranduil apart from the rest of the elves present as the one in unquestionable authority. Every time the king opened his mouth he subtley reminded Solith of his position. He handled the insult with great diplomacy and hopefully helped settle things between the young couple and his in-laws. Usually it is the mother-in-law who is the challenging one. Thranduil's gift to Celuwen was most appropriate and Solith's lack there of for Eilian suited him as well. The little stroll to the feast grounds was the first place I felt truly sorry for Legolas. Neither he nor Thranduil had a partner to walk with but somehow Legolas felt more alone. The extra food at the feast was a good way to point out to the king and his family just how loved Eilian truly was. Apparently they did not realize it. Legolas' search for Tuilinn was very sad - I don't think he had ever been lonely in such a big crowd. Having him dance with Annael's wife was a good way to distract him but still not enough. Having Maltanaur ride all night to be there was a nice touch as well - I had forgotten him. Favorie line - "You had to hand it to Thranduil: He was as wily as they came." Isn't that the truth? It was wonderful that his entire family came out to see him off so early in the morning. I got choked up as he said goodbye to them all. It was definitely one of your sadder moments. There are a lot of big adjustments coming up for the family in the near future - Alfirin has another woman to run the house, Celuwen has a new home and position, Eilian has a new wife and postion, Legolas' promotion... I hope your next tale picks up where this one left off. (Get her, Nilmandra!) Great job! Your further development of Alfirin's character in this story was enjoyable. I think it is great that you made Sinnarn so much like Eilian. It must have vexed both his parents greatly! Author Reply: I'm glad you liked the discussion between Thranduil and Eilian. It was my favorite part of the chapter, although it was hard to write. I didn't want to smooth things over too easily, but I did want them to come to some sort of realization of what was going on between them. Solith never had a chance once he put himself in the position of being Thranduil's guest (or once Isiwen put him in that position). Thranduil is about 1000 times as good at getting his way as Solith is. I still wonder what Solith will be like to Eilian when Thranduil is not around but then, as I recall, Solith invited him not to visit anyway. I think that Legolas does look more alone than Thranduil because Thranduil has a partner somewhere, and also he's wholly swept up in governing and protecting the Woodland Realm. Legolas seems more vulnerable. His family loves him and shows it and that's good, but I imagine that he longs for bonding too. Tolkien says that's the natural state for an Elf. I had been planning to write a young Legolas story next, maybe one with lots of Ithilden before he got married. And Nilmandra says it's a good idea! (And I always obey Nilmandra the Cruel) But I may come back and write about this year Eilian spent at home sometime. I do want to get to the Five Armies this summer if I can. daw

dr_seuss_is_cool	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 4/28/2004
Hello. I must apologize very profusely firstly for not reviewing earlier than now. I am very sorry. Hopefully this will not be your least fullfilling review. :) The talk with Eilian was very interesting. I loved Eilian's behavior. Thranduil is so different. He can be very interesting and confusing at the same time. Even with those things I still love him. Alfirin is so adorable. Ever since she was introduced to your characters she has be in my heart. Solith, even if he is a semi-bad guy, is very special to me. He is almost the exact same as my dad. I can just imagine the necklace that Thranduil gave to Celuwen. The bonding ceramony was very sweet, much fluffiness. Tears came to my eyes when Beliond came to Thranduil. Beliond is so wise, I had never ever thought of why someone would not want to have foresight. Tears also came as Legolas was leaving. To wrap up this review, and the last of my reviews on this story, I will say that I have loved this story very much, along with all other stories of your doing. Thank you very much for writing. Bye bye :) I await the next story with eager eyes. Author Reply: Dr. S, reviews are welcome any time, and I am very grateful for this one. Thranduil was confused, I think. He's just figuring out some things about his own feelings. And he misses his wife terribly. I'm glad you liked his talk with Eilian because it was my favorite part of the chapter. I think Alfirin is a kind and gentle soul. She makes a life for Ithilden that is more relaxed, and when she married him, Legolas was young enough that she mothered him a little, which he needed. You're scaring me saying Solith is like your father! daw

rgbj	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 4/28/2004
You jumped right into the angst in this chapter. When was the last time that Eilian's face had lit up at the sight of his adar? How do things go so wrong in a family that loves each other? Well it is all those little things. The rubs, tugs and tweaks that can really have a corrosive effect. A great paragraph about the wood elf lightness of spirit of his wife and the impulsiveness of his father. Poor Thranduil and Ithilden are the solid as a rock elves in this family. Legolas has enough of the solid Sindar blended with the lightness of the wood elves to be on the cusp. He can please his adar most of the time but I can recall how Thranduil reacted to Legolas' struggle as an elfling. All the king's actions driven by fear have really alienated him from his middle son while his youngest son has managed to cope. The scene between Eilian and Thranduil was so good I had to read it three times before I finished the whole chapter. It was great. Finally Thranduil knows his emotions are based on fear and Eilian can sympathize with him. He can't really empathize since he is who he is. He has changed as much as he can up to this point and bonding will also change him some but on the whole he is Eilian and the king and Celuwen will have to at some point accept that if they expect to have a good relationship with him. I don't think the king is very used to having to accept the inevitable. He seems to feel he can sway things. My special favorite was when the king had to accept comfort from his son. This makes him very uncomfortable. Since when can we not accept comfort from our children? That is not in my parent handbook thank you very much. The king better get a new one. This was a lovely Thranduil moment. Facing his fears finally, his angst over the loss of his wife and his love of her and all this leaking into his relationbships with what is left of his family. My ring. The rainbow stood for him. That brought a lot of memories back to the king. Yes new marriages always bring the movement of time and the pain of loss home to roost. Thank goodness I have a little time left before I have to worry about this. My family still calls me when they see a rainbow and I have to go look or they won't leave me alone. They will yell Eilian until I go look. We have had a lot this spring and quite a few doubles too so I have been busy. I enjoyed Lorellin liking Celuwen and probably approving of their bonding. I think the bonding would have been sooner and not as cataclysmic for the family if she were still alive. I like to think of the silvan elves as saying how nice about this bonding and the sindar elves as being shocked. Oropher would have been approving also. Now if they can just get through this party intact all will be fine. Forced smile here. Both parents are here. OOH! This is where fanfiction.net ran true to type and screwed up again. The chapter stops right here. So I came here to finish the chapter and to review. I see Solith is going to be as big a pain in the er, neck as he possibly can be. After all this can't be the first time a couple in Arda who just eloped or whatever. What really clad them was the glow of happiness. That was so sweet and Thranduil's sudden memory of newly wedded bliss. Sigh. So nice. Oh you make Solith such a hard headed elf and I bet you love writing him. All around him trying to ignore his anger about the whole situation. I bet he was hard to get there but I have total faith in Isiwen keeping him in line. I actually felt that Thranduil wouldn't hold with a Noldor tradition either since his father kept moving to get away from their influence but maybe Thranduil is more pragmatic about them and doesn't try to disassociate his realm from them. I loved Thranduil's royal WE and OUR through this whole scene. Reminding Solith of who WE and OUR family are and how Celuwen will now be a part of US as well as part of you. Upper and lower case on purpose here. Giggle. Now we get to the good stuff. Do you mean to insult OUR son? and all his children, probably including Alfirin tense up. They know what is going on here although Solith has no idea what he is getting himself into. He has crossed the line and is about to pay the price. Now we get king mode here. Solith is in for it now. WE cannot allow anyone to insult our son or daughter. Yes now Celuwen is part of the royal family and Solith will never be allowed to forget. If he wishes to not accept Eilian that is fine but Thranduil will not ever allow his son or daughter to be denigrated in any way. Gleeful here. Some elves have to learn the hard way what the warning almost threatening tone of voice from the king means and Solith is one of them. He got slammed and will eventually learn not to press Thranduil's buttons or he will always be paying the price. This won't always help Eilian but at least Solith won't be allowed to make a fracas at family gatherings. One wonders why Solith is so dense. Even my father knows better than to butt heads with my husband. He tamed me after all which is something my father never did. I loved the pleasant kingly smile and his children relax. Legolas won't go near Solith. No one wants to be near him in case he starts in again. No one is brave or stupid enough to be in the line of fire with this dense elf. Give him lots of room to stew in his own juices. I think I am glad not to hear what Legolas had to say to Alfirin. He is such a gentleman for the most part and I want this idea of him preserved. I am sure adar would not think this comment good manners but his children behave admirably as they always do. Ah those elves know how to party. It was so sweet of Eilian's friends and probably many of his ex-flirts over the decades share this special night with Eilian and his new mate. He must be great to have so many who love him. And of course the king can't let this great opportunity go by. Yes more than just his family love him. He picked the only elf in Arda who hates him for a father in law. Gotta love this irony. Ah Legolas eyeing the crowd. Another puzzle for the king to figure out. And he will. I think Legolas has plenty of time ahead of him to pursue an elleth. He is a warrior now and that's hard enough without extra pressure. The belated blessings of the parents. Gulp. I see Isiwen is holding on so Solith won't bolt. Also she can squeeze him till it hurts if he doesn't behave. The king is a master tactitian here, turn up the music so Solith is cut off before he can rant. I have attended a few weddings that turned into battle royals by the families of the participants. Such bad manners. Nice to know the king had his hand steady on the helm here. Ah Maltanaur. I agree that this will be the making of Eilian. It won't be easy for either one of them but they do have forever. He rode all night in dangerous territory, something he would never let Eilian do. The 'keepers' take their job very seriouly. Beliond and his angst. I am glad that Maltanaur is a happier elf. Beliond would never do for Eilian. Who would want Galadriel's gift of fore sight? It didn't help her with her only child, Celebrian so what good is it? Well it did seem to help during the War of the Ring. Legolas has to ride off his headache from last night. He was disappointed about his maiden wasn't he? Wily Adar indeed, he just snuck up on warrior Legolas after all. More praise for the new Lieutenant (that doesn't look as if I spelled it correctly,sigh). Big family moment here. They all show up to say fare well. Beliond will not let him ride into danger. Oh really. Off to face whatever awaits them. Great chapter, great story. I hate the end but then of course you always come up with another one to impress us with. Sorry to be so verbose but because of ff.net I am stymied about reviewing and you got the burden of it. Sorry. Author Reply: You're funny, Farflung! You write wonderful long reviews and then apologize. I was glad to be able to write about the party in this chapter, but the section between Thranduil and Eilian was my favorite too. It was tricky to write because I had to keep asking myself the same thing Thranduil was asking: what's gone wrong here? It's been interesting as I wrote this family that the death of naneth keeps coming up as something that has sent longlasting shockwaves through them all. I think you're right that if she had lived Eilian and Celuwen would have been bonded long ago. She might even have been able to get Solith to consent so that it was done with ceremonies. But even if the couple had eloped, she would have thought it was a good idea and helped smooth things over. I think that Eilian is, in a way, more independent of Thranduil than Legolas is because he had his mother growing up while Legolas did not. Not that Eilian doesn't still need his father's love and approval, of course. Thrnanduil outclassed Solith every inch of the way here. Solith never had a chance. And it amused me to show Thranduil's kids all reacting to his 'scary' voice even when Solith was oblivious. They've all had years of experience with it and know when to run for cover. Maltanaur is a much better match for Eilian than Beliond would be, you're right. He's easier to live with, I think. Beliond and Eilian would have killed one another within a month! Your family cracks me up with their "eilian" jokes! Thank you for this lovely long commentary, Farflung. Author Reply: Farflung-- I apologize for doing this here but my email keeps bouncing back from you no matter where I send it from. It says something about Your message could not be delivered due to complaints we received regarding the IP address you're using or your ISP So I have no idea what that's about. Anyway, I wanted to thank you for the leaf. It's so beautiful and so elfy!

mer	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 4/27/2004
It is hard for me to see your stories come to an end but I tell myself not to worry, there will be another one soon. Right? I am addicted! Need another story! Hey, I saw you reply to some one that there will come a time when Beliond will come back alone when Legolas goes with the fellowship. I would love to see that story from you about the at home response of Legolas' absence into the...unknown....(I recently read the one you wrote about Legolas' choosing to join the fellowship). Am I right to assume that even though you need to focus on (ahem) other things you will also be planning another story?Did I say I was addicted? Me? Author Reply: I hate seeing my stories end too. I get wrapped up in them and then they're gone and I miss them. So there will certainly be another story. I think young Legolas. I have only a vague idea right now, but it will come! I can't imagine what Legolas's family would do or say when they realized what he had gone off to do, especially since things weren't going so well in the Woodland Realm about then either! daw

Jay of Lasgalen	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 4/27/2004
This has a nice, satisfying ending, Daw. I love to see Thranduil in full Elvenking mode, using the royal 'we'. Solith is indeed a fool to have ignored that even once! The tentative understanding between father and son is good to see too. I do hope that we (and Legolas!) will see more of his maiden before too long, though. Jay Author Reply: Thank you, Jay. I find endings hard to write, so I'm glad this one came off ok. Thranduil was great. He was so capable and strong and damn sexy! Solith never had a chance. I'm actually not sure if Tuilinn will appear again, but it's nice to have the option.

Camp6311	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 4/27/2004
Oh daw, this was terrific. I think it is the best ending that you've written yet. Ditto all the accolades from everyone else. I liked this scene: "suddenly Eilian rose and came around the desk to put his arms around Thranduil’s shoulders. Immensely gratified, Thranduil rose to embrace him." This sounds just like something an impulsive Eilian would do, and this time, Thranduil is immensely grateful for his son's impulsive nature. Very nice touch. Author Reply: Thank you, Camp. Endings are hard to write so I appreciate the praise. Thranduil needed to feel loved about as much as Eilian did, I think, and Eilian has the easier time showing it, bless him.

Justafan	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 4/27/2004
How perfectly lovely! I loved the anxiousness of Legolas as he looked for someone that he could not find in the crowd. In a way, it's very nice to see him experiencing the pangs of first love. I enjoyed the way that Thranduil handled the situation both with Solith and Eilian. I hope Eilian stays careful now! Author Reply: Thank you, Justafan. Legolas was missing Tuilinn. I suppose he saw everyone else in his family with mates. Except his father of course, who was really lonely, poor thing. Thranduil was masterful with Solith, however, and the good Ada with Eilian. I'm glad you liked it.

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