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In the Hands of the Enemy by meckinock	46 Review(s)
Thorongirl	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 5/25/2005
It's the rare story that is as good as this one. Excellence throughout. Everyone seems so in character and I can picture Tolkien himself would be proud of the story you have written. So I guess you're not going to reveal who Rolly's "mentor" is yet. That's fine. You are right though in your answering note, that Rolly's actions were not just out of fear, but of loyalty, too. I suppose that was obvious in what he said to Aragorn about how HE would never disappoint HIS father (or father figure) but I rather neglected that point in my review. Love the camaradie between Gandalf and Aragorn here. You make it easy to picture. I like my Aragorn/Legolas stories too, even though I know that that friendship isn't as well established in the books, but I like to imagine it anyway. Wonder if Tolkien had any inkling that indeed the "road would go ever on and on" via the world of fan fiction? Oh, the 300 recommendations? Afterwards, I thought that "perhaps" I shouldn't have been so eager to make so many recommendations since you DO have another story to finish. Actually, right now I am culling the list and am planning on highlighting within my Profile Page the stories that I consider to be the "Best of the Best". Yours will be mentioned of course and strangely enough MOST of them will be about the Scruffy Ranger (Aragorn, not Halbarad, though I do love him too). And all my names? Lord, I can hardly keep track. (Checks out Personal Internet Name Book). I always find it fascinating that the Breelanders have little appreciation for the Rangers. I guess that's part of the reason for their effectiveness, that folks don't really know what to make of them. Off to Rivendell, I assume? My stars, that sounds like a wonderful idea for a story. Loved Halbarad's reaction to sending Dudo to Rivendell. Priceless. That and the line "I ran out of people to beat up." And the ending, wherein Aragorn gives Dudo his new "Ranger name". Very poignant. Honestly, there are just SO many things to commend and comment on, I'm not sure where to leave off. Oh. Of course. Bob Pearblossom??!!! You had me laughing out loud. Thank you so much for this marvelous story. Author Reply: Thanks, Thorongirl! Though I don't have a hundredth of his gift for language, it's my hope that Professor Tolkien wouldn't be too horrified by my take on his world. Thanks so much for reading, reviewing, and recommending (again). And now I'd better get back to this writing business...

Gandalfs apprentice	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 5/8/2005
Hi meckinock Take your time with your story. You'll know when it's time to post. Then we fans will gobble it up like Gollum with tasty raw fissheses! I'm working on a story myself about Aragorn's first years with the Rangers, until he is 26 and leaves for Rohan and Gondor. It will deal with his first meeting with both Halbarad and Gandalf, among a lot of other things that I haven't figured out yet. I won't be posting at Stories of Arda, though, because I'm not an approved author. I have got one finished story up at www.tolkienfanfiction.com. It's called The King of Many Cloaks and it's an AU tale of Aragorn and Arwen. If you're interested, I'd love to know what you think of it. You ought to post there, too. Author Reply: Hey, G.A., Sorry for the late reply; I've been out of town for a few weeks and just got home. Thanks for the review and encouragement. Your young Aragorn story sounds very interesting; I look forward to reading it. And thanks for letting me know about your Aragorn/Arwen story - I'll make a point to pop over to Tolkienfanfic and check it out! I'm a little squeamish about writing Arwen myself - she'll always manage to be off somewhere else, I think.

Imrahoil	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 4/13/2005
A teaser? Uhoh. Why do you think I'm channeling Gollum? I'm the greedy type. Here I sit having swallowed your appetizer in approximately two seconds and want more. In other words, a teaser is definitely not a kind idea. I would love you to death should you ever update. No, forget that, not ever, soon, now, but not ever. A typo: but Rivendell also did not seem to by the place ... Author Reply: Thanks for picking up the typo! I guess I just dug myself deeper with the preview of coming attractions, huh? Thanks for the prodding, though. It sometimes seems the universe is conspiring against me so the encouragement is definitely appreciated.

Imrahoil	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 4/13/2005
By the way, it's April. Perhaps you haven't noticed. I do remember something about sequel and end of March, we will just forget the "don't hold your breath" part, won't we, so where is it? Imrahoil desperately trying to do Bambi eyes whilst muttering in her mind "The naaasty Ranger holds them from us, but we wants it, we wants Halbarad, we wants Gandalf, we wants Tillfield in Rivendell, wheeeere is it, where IS it ..." Author Reply: You're killing me! I love you. I'm trying. How about a little teaser? Dudo took the bundle and unfolded the garments skeptically. Though they appeared to be more or less his size – a trifle big in the middle, perhaps – they were garments such as he had never seen on a Bree hobbit. Shire clothing this was: a deep green coat, finely tailored with lapels and bright brass buttons, fitted trousers that buckled at the knee, and a cream-colored shirt with buttons. They looked like not only the clothing of a Shire hobbit, but a rich Shire hobbit. He put them on and hesitated about the dagger belt. He hated to leave it behind, but Rivendell also did not seem to by the type of place where people went about carrying weapons. He tugged a last time at his jacket and emerged into the hallway feeling slightly ridiculous, but upon seeing him Elrohir’s face broke into a delighted smile. “They fit! Splendid! Then let us find the kitchens.” He guided Dudo through broad hallways of polished stone, down a great staircase, and along more hallways, until Dudo was quite sure he would never find his room again should Elrohir abandon him. Finally the hallway opened into a large kitchen. It was much larger than the kitchen of the Prancing Pony, and much, much cleaner. There were worktables of polished stone, great ovens for baking bread, and two enormous wood stoves. Pots and pans hung from racks over the center worktable, and every size and shape of baking dish was stacked neatly in a hutch. A lady elf was standing at the stove, stirring a copper pot that must contain whatever it was Dudo had been smelling since leaving his room. It took him a moment to work out what she was doing there, because she looked nothing like any cook he had ever seen before. Butterbur’s two cooks were old, with stringy gray hair pulled back haphazardly from faces that sprouted hairs in all the wrong places. One was fat and the other thin, but this….what should he call her, he wondered. This… lady Elf….was tall and lithe and as graceful as a hawk in flight. The hand that stirred the pot was slim and graceful, with long fingers that curved about the simple wooden spoon as if it were a silver chalice. Her face was smooth, flawless, and despite the steam from the cauldron, white as snow. Her raven hair fell down her back like a river of ebony, and her eyes were like liquid sapphires. “Dudo, I would like you to meet Tiriel,” Elrohir said.

TR the Lurker	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 4/8/2005
I'm such a bad fic reader, I don't think I've ever left a review before. But this one is just too special not to say anything. I agree with what the last few reviewers have said. This is also one of my favorite stories. I was just back reading it again, because it just holds up so well. You know, you go through these same-ol' fics all the time and then once in a while you just need some outstanding characterization and writing to bring you back to that happy ficland place. This story is definitely that. First of all, I'm highly thankful to anyone who writes Aragorn and Gandalf pre-LOTR fics. I can only imagine the friendship and adventures they had together. Why don't more people write him? If I had the skills, I know I would. And then to also have Halbarad? YES!!! I love the movies, but I was a book whore first, so I have a definite soft spot for Halbarad, and you wrote him EXACTLY the way I think of him. It's so dead on character and so well-written that I feel like I have followed these rangers around for years and know them personally. Also, I get pretty tired of the Aragorn and Legolas pre-LOTR fics... the movies make it seem like they were best friends, but anyone who read the books knows he was closer to Gandalf and Halbarad. So this is even more of a precious gem for me. And as if THAT wasn't enough, you also wrote likable, believable OCs! I'm normally not an OC type of person, but if all of them were written like this, I might have a different attitude. Great job. I'm glad to hear you are writing a sequel. Anything I can do to help the process? Send you a fruit basket? How about an Aragorn cardboard cutout? :-p Author Reply: I don't know what to say, TR, except wow! You made my day! I'm a semi-reformed lurker, too; this story has actually forced me to become a better reviewer because I realize now how nice it is to receive positive feedback and I feel obliged to give back the gift once in a while. But even though I've gotten better about leaving reviews I can definitely relate to lurkerdom, AND really appreciate the extra effort you took to review. I think part of the trouble with writing the sequel to this story has been that great feedback like yours really puts the pressure on me to write a sequel that meets readers' (as well as my) expectations. This story had a fairly simple and straightforward plot structure that made it easy for me to explore the characters while still moving the plot along. Once I started working on the sequel I realized it would by necessity have a trickier structure, and wrapping my brain around that problem took about a year! It was a joy of discovery for me to write these characters, and I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed my interpretations. Halbarad is such a mensch. A simple, hard-working guy with no pretensions to greatness, sustained by a simple but steadfast faith - in Aragorn. And Gandalf - what a gift it would be to have a wise counselor in one's life who accepts you as you are but is always helping you become better. Glad you liked the OCs, too - OCs are tricky and I hadn't planned on having them feature heavily in the storyline, but like so much else in this story, they surprised me. While I've enjoyed my share of Aragorn-Legolas friendship fics, and some of them are excellent, I do agree that it seems unlikely that the two were close, long-time friends prior to the Quest, simply because of geography, what we know of Aragorn's early life, and the obligations of their respective roles. What I find challenging is to try to wedge my stories as best I can into the canon relationships that we know existed, and this includes, as you say, Aragorn's relationships with Gandalf, Halbarad, and Elrond. I would love the Aragorn cardboard cutout - but what I really need right now is a cardboard cutout of ME. I work in a pretty busy industry, where long hours are expected, I travel a lot, and my firm is on a three-year inspection cycle, with our big inspection coming up in July. We are doing all the pre-inspection work now, so I have even less free time than usual. Today I have set aside to work on the story, though, so I'd better get to it! Thanks again.

Envinyatar	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 3/23/2005
Re your reply to ai elbereth, don't ever doubt that this story helds up well. I, too, re-read it frequently and I don't do that with many stories. What impresses me the most is how true to canon it feels. I enjoy some Legolas/Aragorn friendship stories, but it seems to me pretty clear from the books that they scarcely knew each other before the Quest. Aragorn clearly did, however, have close friendships with both Gandalf and Halbarad and its a pleasure to read anything about them, particularly when the story is as well-written as this. All of this is, of course, leading up to that sequel of yours. I'm delighted to hear you're working on it and really looking forward to reading it. No pressure, of course... Author Reply: Gosh, you are so sweet. I was drawn to explore Aragorn and Gandalf's friendship because it seemed they must have been very close for many years and through many trials. And then at some point Halbarad just showed up and elbowed his way in, and he seemed to go surprisingly well with Gandalf. Who knew? I still can't believe how much wonderful encouragement I've been getting. I really do appreciate it, even though it makes me feel even worse about not getting the sequel out yet! As much as I love hearing how people enjoyed this story, I wish even more that I could give you something new to read...like, tomorrow. But finishing the story right now is like trying to do a root canal at a rock concert. I just hope that when you do get to read it you'll think it was worth the wait!

Gandalfs apprentice	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 3/3/2005
I have to say that this is one of the best fanfics I've read, and I'm hard to please. And, as you can see from my nom de plume, I am one of those who sadly notes the absence of Gandalf from fanfic. I'm no slave to canon, but come on...we can invent that Aragorn can have a great friendship with Legolas without leaving Tolkien's story in the dust, right? What I really like about your story is that you take off on the canon and use it to make a new adventure (aside from the fact that the writing is splendid). There must have been all kinds of incredible adventures in Eriador during those years. My guess is that Rolly's master is Saruman. Who else can it be? Gandalf and Aragorn can't figure it out, though, because they're not supposed to know that Saruman has turned. Although I've always wondered why it was that Thorongil warned Ecthelion to place trust in Gandalf over Saruman...Please, please, please, get that sequel up! I was so thrilled to find out about it! Have you read Nightwing's story on this site? It's terrific. I haven't written any stories yet myself (except forty years ago as a teenager, way before the Net was even thought of), but I've got one in mind. Author Reply: but I've got one in mind. Oh, please write it! I can't get enough of Gandalf, either. I would love to see more stories about the adventures he and Aragorn must have had over the years before the Ring War. I really enjoyed trying to weave the story into the canon timeline and leave as few seams as possible. Rolly's master was indeed Saruman but poor Gandalf and Aragorn weren't allowed to find that out for another ten years. Actually it's Halbarad who makes the connection between Saruman and Rolly, but you won't get to read that part unless I finish this danged sequel. Thanks so much for leaving such an encouraging review just when I need it most!

ai elbereth	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 1/25/2005
Gah! This has to be my favorite LOTR fic ever. I just re-read it for the hundredth time. I only wish you had more stories published; you are so talented. Anything with Aragorn is cake for me, but throw oft-neglected Halbarad into the mix? I bow to your feet. Also, Gandalf! I'd like to think he and Aragorn had a great friendship before War of the Ring timeframe and I don't think there are enough stories detailing it. This is one, and it's... well. I love it. But I already said that. Aight. Still working on that sequel? Get a move on :p Author Reply: Still working, still working! Halbarad won't let me neglect him any more. He got quite vocal about it, actually. Although I'm not sure telling me that he hadn't seen his wife in over a year was the best tactic... Wow, I'm really thrilled to hear that you enjoy the story enough to go back and read it over and over again. And to hear it be called one of someone's favorites - that's amazing. I have to go back and take a peek at it every so often to check continuity with the sequel, and I'm always afraid I'll find that it's actually quite horrible this time around. So it's reassuring to hear that someone thinks it's held up well! I, too, really enjoy the Aragorn-Gandalf friendship and I wish there were more stories about them. Thanks for being so kind and encouraging - it really has been a struggle getting back to the sequel and it's quite difficult to make the time for it; so hearing from you really helps.

Casso	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 1/9/2005
Thank the Valar I have only just read this story - now I only have to wait 'till the end of February for the sequel (that was a promise right?). I have only recently discovered fanfiction and I must say what a relief to find something to fill the void having exhausted Toklien's own writings and all three movies, extended versions and all the extras. I greatly enjoyed this story, its nice to see Halbarad, I missed him in the movies - Thankyou Author Reply: Wow! Thanks for the review- I'm glad you liked the story and I'm glad you found it. Actually I've been sitting here working on the sequel pretty much non-stop all day today. I'm still shooting for the end of February. It's about half done but I won't start posting it until it's all finished. I think we all ended up reading fan fiction for the same reason - and wait until you run out of fan fiction to read and decide that the only solution is to write your own! If you're still fairly new to fan fiction and you enjoy Halbarad, allow me to give you a link: http://www.livejournal.com/users/meckinock/19729.html#cutid1 to a list I made recently of some of my favorite Dunedain stories - several of them feature Halbarad. Who is currently sitting in the pouring rain, somewhere on the East Road, with a hobbit who is not sure why he ever thought he wanted to be a Ranger...

washow	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 1/7/2005
I've been patiently waiting for the sequel but it has been a year and still no sequel. Are you planning to write one or have you decided against it? Author Reply: You are patient, indeed! I had to put the sequel aside for a quite while but it's coming along pretty well now. It's going to be another 50-60,000 word story and Elrond will make his appearance finally. How does the end of February sound? Thanks so much for the continued interest - I'm amazed that anyone still remembers this story after all this time and I'm sorry it's taken so long to get the sequel out.

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