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The Help of a Friend by daw the minstrel	26 Review(s)
JustMe	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/1/2006
OMG! I love this story! It brought back not only Turgon, the delightful little imp - but one of my personal favorites, Elowen. I have always loved the interaction between Legolas and Elowen. I love the way she is always trying to feed him - and of course its the strawberry jam! (What - no seed cakes?) It is amusing to see how Legolas deals with Turgon. Things that he allowed himself to be led into as a child, suddenly seem very dangerous now that he is an adult. I was especially amused by the way Legolas lectured Turgon's parents on the need to give their son some attention. Hopefully, they have learned their lesson and heed his words of wisdom. Thanks DAW - your story was a bright spot in a day that was otherwise pretty crappy! Author Reply: Thank you, JustMe. Were you surprised by Turgon's return? I amused myself by trying to figure out how all this would work. I love Annael's whole family. His parents are wise and loving, so no wonder he was such a great kid. Legolas was lucky to have this family to go to. Turgon was not so lucky, which is why his friends were so important to him, I think. And this time, his friend Legolas will be able to give him some adult guidance. Sorry about the crappy day! Eat ice cream. Sleep. Tomorrow will probably be better.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/1/2006
I'm back! And thrilled. This is an absolutely delightful story! (And have you found that reviving Turgon in the Blessed Realm has made you feel better about his fate? Because I will admit that distress over Sinnarn made me write In the West for my own relief - and I haven't brooded about him since!) I adore Elowen. She is the perfect mother and mother-substitute! She might just have to take on a bit of Turgon-rearing here - because his own parents seem just as ... dippy as ever. What a hopeless pair! Neither of them has a mind anywhere near focused on what is important! It's just as well that Legolas has decided to sheepdog them on the trip to Tirion. I can't imagine what kind of chaos Turgon could stir up in his enthusiastic, wide-eyed, puppy-dog attraction to anything and everything potentially disastrous. He is beautifully drawn. And with an innocence about him that he had been losing back before he was killed. Legolas - I just love the family resemblance to Ithilden - is in so much better a position to add wisdom and experience to friendship now. Not to mention that taking on the subtle guidance of Turgon will help him recover from Gimli's death better than anything else. Better than Tuillin's return, really, because that might make him feel guilty about forgetting Gimli and moving on. Siondel, too. Great character - and with an innate wisdom. Considering he's only Eilian's age (ish) - he has always seemed to understand people and be able to guide them so naturally. Probably a family trait, because Annael's much the same way! And I love your description of him and the light shining from him. - And the wonder that he and Turgon share of the simple pleasures of being embodied. Mind you - Mirdaniel's heart is in the right place. I do like how she has treasured Amdir's letter and Turgon's wonderful colourful picture. She just needs a course with Super-Nanny to improve her parenting skills! he recognized a note in its song that the trees of home had always saved just for him. The Blessed Realm is becoming home? Not the child he was - but better able to help his friend become the elf he should be. And save him from the bears. And of course Legolas has to take on the Thranduil role! (I can just hear those words coming out of his mouth.) Who else is there to represent the house of Oropher and influence the behaviour of the Wood elves? And he needs to be blunt. After all, nothing else has managed to get through to Turgon's parents! I wonder how Turgon will manage to deal with having a grown-up friend. He might find it rather difficult until he has trained Legolas to shrug off some of the more Ithilden-ish behaviour - but he is certainly providing him with exactly what Legolas needs right now. Good for Namo. I suspect his timing in returning Turgon to his family is more than coincidence. An absolutely wonderful story, Daw. Thank you so much for visiting the Blessed Realm. I hope to see you there again! It's worth admitting to birthdays to get presents like this. Wonderful. I'm off to delight in another visit to Elowen's cottage for a bit more bread and jam.... Author Reply: I'm so glad you liked it, Bodkin. I think I'd already comforted myself with the knowledge that Turgon would be re-embodied. Once that gets firmly lodged in your head, it eases a lot of pain. I still tell myself that Namo honors Galelas as a hero. He'd like that a lot. But then I had to work out how Turgon might change from being in the Halls. He's a child, after all, and was always well intentioned. This isn't Feanor. So how would he be purified? And I decided he'd be more or less like you said, regaining his innocence. He was discontented because he couldn't do things other kids could do because his parents didn't help him or watch him. I think that's why other kids were so important to him. And to his credit, he chose Annael and Legolas, good kids both. Only here, as you say, Legolas is better prepared to help him. So all Namo was waiting for was Turgon's parents. He certainly wouldn't send a child to be without family. I don't think anything will ever get through to Turgon's parents, but if they show their affection and Legolas gives Turgon some guidance, things may turn out okay. I hope you had a nice holiday and I'm glad you liked this.

Kitori	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/31/2006
I'm so glad you wrote this! I was a little sad when "In the West" didn't cover Turgon's return, and then I thought how awkward it would be for him to reappear being so much younger than his friends. It will be hard for Legolas to have to balance "friend" with "adult," I think. I hope someone does Tuilinn's return if it hasn't been written already :) Author Reply: Hi, Kitori. When I was writing this, I kept coming across these moments when I'd be trying to follow Tolkien's logic about how re-embodiment would happen and about what happened in the Halls of Waiting, and I'd have to stop and laugh. It all seems to strange from our human point of view. So yeah, this is going to be tricky for Legolas but I think it's what he and Turgon both need. Bodkin hinted at Tuilinn's return but didn't show it. I don't know if I'll get to that, so you may have to imagine it for yourself. :-)

Manderly	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/31/2006
What a pleasant surprise to see a story from you, and a greater surprise to see Turgon again. He never ceases to amuse me, though there's also the urge to smack some sense into him at the same time. I am glad for Legolas though to regain a friend that he lost in his youth. Turgon won't be quite the same as Gimli but I am sure he will keep Legolas busy enough. It's just so strange to see the gap in their age. Somehow I think the friendship between the two friends will take on a whole new dimension. Turgon's parents seem as clueless as ever. You would think they have learned their lesson the first time around, but apparently not. Good for Legolas for speaking up. Thank you for this update on Legolas' life. I hope we get more. Author Reply: Thank you, Manderly. It was hard to figure out how much Turgon would have changed in his time in the Halls of Waiting. I decided he's still a kid, without much sense, but he's happier than he was. In the long run, experience will teach him wisdom. Legolas's task is just to keep him alive in the meantime, which come to think of it, is sometimes the task we parents all face!

NaughtyNettie	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/31/2006
Hi Daw! I was so happy to see you had a new story. This one was beautiful too. I never conjured up the thought of Legolas getting to see Turgon again after he was killed but I'm glad that you did and I'm glad that he was able to. It probably relieved some of the guilt and hard feelings he had toward himself. I especially liked the dream in which Legolas says goodbye to his childhood, a difficult task for all of us, it was somewhat heartbreaking. It's sad to know that we take those days for granted and can never have them back, in a sense I guess Legolas did get his back with the "return" of Turgon. Thank you for posting this wonderful story. As always, I look forward to more from you. -Nettie Author Reply: If I surprised you with Turgon, then I'm glad. How odd for both of them though. I'm not sure I can wrap my mortal mind around what must be like for them. I'm glad you liked the dream. I hesitated about that because dream sequences annoy me sometimes, but you're right. He was saying goodbye to his childhood and his life in ME, to everything he's lost. And he's ready to move forward now and be happy again.

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/31/2006
What a sweet, yet strange story! How odd it must have been for Legolas to realize that a friend who was once his contemporary is now once more with him, yet is not much more than an elfling in maturity! While Legolas went on to become an adult, and to experience all which that meant. Yet this is just the distraction he needs, to help him over his grief at the loss of Gimli. Author Reply: The more I thought about all this, the stranger it got! It's really tricky to work out how Valinor, re-embodiment, the Halls of Waiting, and so on might actually function. And you're right: Legolas is getting as much help as he's giving. Thanks for the review.

Noor	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/31/2006
Thank you Daw for that wonderful story!It was great to hear from Turgon again, some things never change but will he grow up physically in the West?? He should do shouldn't he? Any more stories on the way?? ( She says hopefully?) Happy Birthday to you all..... Noor Author Reply: Turgon would grow up. After all, lots of elves are born in the west and grow up there. It's just that I thought Turgon would be re-embodied at the same point where he died. Of course, who knows? This is very puzzling to us mortals. I'm thinking about another story, though I haven't done anything on it yet. I'm still working on my original fic. I'll have to see if inspiration strikes.

mithwen	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/31/2006
It must be hard for Legolas to face the grief of losing a friend without his family’s support. I always imagined his mother would be released from the Halls of Waiting when Gimli died. (Sorry…I keep playing with your characters in my head.) But this was lovely as well. Perhaps Legolas can indulge his inner child a bit when he’s with Turgon. He needs a bit of joy in his life again. Author Reply: In deciding who had been released here, I followed Bodkin's time line in "In the West" because this is a birthday present for her. I feel free to vary it elsewhere if I want to! :-) I think Legolas is getting as much help from Turgon as Turgon is from him, so you're right about that.

Jay of Lasgalen	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/31/2006
I love other people's birthdays! There's such a wonderful rush of fantastic stories for the rest of us as well. This is no exception - full of wonderful touches and atmosphere. Legolas is still grieving for Gimli, but his surprise and joy to see his friend again was lovely. I have to admit I'd forgotten poor Turgon - I can only recall the details of his death dimly. I'll have to go back and read the story again. This tale made me think about poor Galelas as well - when will he be released? Author Reply: The story in which Turgon dies is the third story I wrote so I had a lot to learn. Of course, if I'd written more about Turgon before he died, I probably couldn't have killed him. Galelas! Now that would be interesting. How would he and Legolas get along? How would his time in the Halls have changed him? I hope Namo treated him like the hero he was. He'd like that.

pipinheart	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/31/2006
It was nice to see Turgon again, Legolas long lost friend. Turgon hasn't changed much still as adventurous as ever, and still seems to find trouble. If his parents heed Legolas advise, only time will tell. But Legolas will be there watching over him as well... Great!! Author Reply: It was hard to decide how Turgon would be changed by being in the Halls of Waiting. Supposedly adults were purified in some way, but Turgon was a child. So I decided he'd lost some of the resentment and uncertainty he'd been building up over things like not being able to make arrows when the other kids did. Still, I think it's a good thing Legolas is there to help him grow up.

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