That was so.....happy and perfect! I love the way you wrote that bit with healing and that Pimpernel hugged Aragorn! That Merry came out of the Shadow that was trying to claim him again! I'm glad Ferdi is well again also, I hope he is able to get over this experience! Pippin knowing his daughter again was splendid! thank you and hoping for more soon!
Author's reply
Thanks, Hai. I appreciate your faithfulness in reviewing. Reviews are an encouragement, and often supply food for thought while fleshing out the next chapter on the outline.
As you probably already know, another chapter has been posted. The next one after that is due to go up on Monday if I get any writing time over the weekend.
Oh, and you're welcome!
FantasyFan
· 26 April 2004
· Chapter 19: Healing Begins
I find myself taking a big breath along with the hobbits. It smells like an apple orchard to me! Literally, this chapter is a breath of refreshment and ease after all the terrible things that have happened. THe hands of the king are the hands of a healer, indeed. It was good to see Nell take the first step toward trust - I'm sure it helped with her healing. And I'm glad to see that Ferdi has come back to himself too. He's been hurt so many times, so badly. I bet after this the Rohirrim will add athelas to their gardens of healing herbs.
Author's reply
Mmmm, an apple orchard in spring, lovely. Just close your eyes and inhale and feel the petals cascading softly on your face when the breeze gives a puff.
It was good to get everyone back in their right minds, to lift the lingering darkness from their spirits. Whatever would we do without athelas? I wonder, however, if it tolerates cultivation or if it is one of those plants that can only be found in sheltered, secluded spots growing wild?
The next chapter, at least, will continue the respite, and perhaps the one after (but perhaps not). Enjoy the next chapter, at least. And remember that as always, I am working towards a good ending.
Thanks for reviewing.
Marvelous chapter. That must have been a bed and a half! I loved the group healing and how Aragorn moves around the hobbits, so gentle. This scene is so like Tolkien to me, very simple but moving. The fact that Aragorn and Arwen don't say a word, it's all in who/what they are that works the healing, makes the hobbits' sparse dialogue even more meaningful. Lovely! Thank you.
Amy
Author's reply
Thank you, Amy, I appreciate your taking time to review.
I figure that a bed made for Big Folk would be like a bed-and-a-half (two beds?) to hobbits. Probably would hold a whole family or more. I think Eomer ordered the legs sawed off all the guests' beds, though, to make it easier for hobbits to climb on and off.
Thank you for the high compliment--"like Tolkien". I cannot think of anything better.
Connie
· 26 April 2004
· Chapter 19: Healing Begins
Oh what a sweet chapter. So refreshing after all the angst. I am so relieved to see all the hobbits recovering.
Why do I have this feeling that they're going to run into that ruffian again. This time, though, I bet they're better prepared(sp) to deal with him.
One little thing. I shouldn't say it, being the world's second worst speller and all, but you left out an "h" in laughed in the paragragh where Nell hugs Aragorn. It just jumped out at me, so I figured I'd let you know. You usually have so few errors of any kind in your writing that I noticed this tiny one.
Thanks again.
Connie.
Author's reply
Thank you, and of course you should say it! My editor is still under the weather and may not be checking this chapter for a few days. I've made a few "tweaks" on reading it again, but I missed that "laugter" so I'm glad you spoke up.
It is nice to have some refreshment. The story's only half over, so there is more angst on the horizon, but not quite as horrendous as we've seen, I hope. Since it exists in outline form, not yet written, I can't quite promise. But I'm thinking that the point has been made, and everyone now knows just how mad and dangerous the old ruffian is. No need for gratuitous torment.
Thanks for reviewing and helping with the error checking!
poppymuddyfoot
· 26 April 2004
· Chapter 19: Healing Begins
I'm not sure where to begin. I've been computer-less for a while so I just discovered this story. I read 19 chapters in one sitting. I then went back to the SOA homepage and discovered that another chapter had been posted while I was reading. The fact that I was thrilled about a new chapter even after having just read 19 of them ought to tell you how much I'm enjoying this story. The characterizations are so real, so true to how I see the hobbits, I almost feel like I've come home to visit them. It is so wonderful to read a story that includes all their families and their culture, especially juxtapositioned with the culture of Men. I am eagerly anticipating the next chapter. (You really want to know how much I'm enjoying this? I even forgive you for what you did to Pippin!)
Author's reply
Poor thing, I know what it is to limp along with a barely-functioning computer and also to have to do without completely whilst the thing was in the shop. Amazing that we ever got anything done at all before the era of computers.
I'm very glad to hear you're enjoying the story and that the characterizations of the hobbits ring true. Whew. Certainly relieved to be forgiven. (Why is it fun to put our friends and loved ones into predicaments and then write them out again?)
Thanks for reviewing. Stop by anytime. The Muse seems to thrive on comments and virtual pina coladas (chocolate is also helpful).
Bodkin
· 26 April 2004
· Chapter 19: Healing Begins
I would have thought the whole of Middle Earth would have cottoned on to athelas by now! Aragorn should take Eomer to task for not having piles of it in his store rooms.
Glad the hobbits are getting better and Pippin has his sense of humour back.
Author's reply
Well, I kind of got the impression that athelas was good for headaches, but only in the hands of the true king does it work miracles. So unless people are planning on having Aragorn stop by, there wouldn't be much point in keeping lots of the stuff around. Besides, usually when he needs some I've had him carrying it with him in a little pouch hanging from his neck... even though he didn't in the original. (Wonder why? Does it lose its potency after awhile?)
Thanks for reviewing.
Bluegrass Elf
· 22 April 2004
· Chapter 18: Just Before Teatime
Yay! Arwen is so smart!
Author's reply
Sure is good she married Elessar, and is there to keep him straight!
Thanks for reviewing!
Hai
· 21 April 2004
· Chapter 18: Just Before Teatime
Oh dear, problems with an athelas shortage, but Arwen seems to have come up with the best solution to that one! How terrible that Pippin doesn't remember his family! Merry not trusting Eomer must be hard on the king of Rohan! Ferdibrand and Pimpernel both lost in a way to their own fears! As always looking forward to more!
Author's reply
Thanks for the insightful comments. I am glad to say that there is more, now, for have just posted the next chapter.
Connie
· 21 April 2004
· Chapter 18: Just Before Teatime
Oh dear, now you've really got me started worrying about Merry now, too. I hope Arwen's plan works, otherwise they're likely to lose someone. Of cours, I know you would never let that happen.
I really like Farry and Goldi. They seem to be a really fun couple. The moments with them bring a smile.
Thanks.
Connie.
Author's reply
Yup, I couldn't let one of the canon characters die, unless I decided to slap an "AU" label on the story. But it is much more challenging to write within the constraints of canon.
Thanks for reviewing!
Lyta Padfoot
· 21 April 2004
· Chapter 18: Just Before Teatime
Arwen's idea is brilliant. Goldilock's made me laugh!
Author's reply
Goldi often makes me laugh or at the very least smile. She's fun to write.
I'm glad Arwen has a good head on her shoulders. Of course, years of life experience are probably a help, too.
Thanks for reviewing!
Bodkin
· 19 April 2004
· Chapter 17: Of Warm Milk and Honey
Poor Ferdi certainly goes through it! He suffers more than Pippin and that's saying a lot!
Bluegrass Elf
· 19 April 2004
· Chapter 17: Of Warm Milk and Honey
Milk with honey helps you sleep? Hmmmmm.
Connie
· 19 April 2004
· Chapter 17: Of Warm Milk and Honey
Hmm. So Farry's having dreams simular to what Frodo used to have. Very interesting. Thank goodness they have no idea how close to the truth it was.
Poor Ferdi. His luck's even worse than Pippin's, I think.
Poor Aragorn, too. He's about at his wits end dealing with all these traumatized hobbits. Even Merry is doubting him. We don't know yet how Pippin feels about him now since he still trying to figure out the when, where, why, what, who and how of things again.
Please keep the updates coming.
Connie.
Bluegrass Elf
· 19 April 2004
· Chapter 16: Forget-Me-Not
Oh no! Poor Pip!
FantasyFan
· 18 April 2004
· Chapter 16: Forget-Me-Not
Pip sounds here exactly the way my son Speedy sounded when he fell off his bike and got a concussion (he fell off as I was chasing him down saying, 'Where is your helmet?"). He would ask, "What happened?" and I would say, "You fell off your bike." Then he would say, "I don't feel good," followed almost immediately by, "Is it time for dinner?" I would say, "We already had dinner," and he would start over again with "What happened?" Fortunately, after an overnight in the hospital, they decided it was a simple concusion and he would be just fine. And fine he was, very soon, though he had headaches more often than your average six year old for quite a while. So we will wait it out with Pippin as well, and hopefully he will be much better in the morning. I'm glad Merry got to see him and be reassured, and also glad that he didn't stay long enough for that reassurance to fade in the face of Pip's confusion. I know Merry is not at his best right now, but his lingering doubt of Elessar is a little surprising. Hobbits being superstitious doesn't surprise me, just that Merry would fear old shadows more than he trusts Aragorn. Then again, perhaps it reminds him of the barrow, which would be enough to scare anyone for years.
Connie
· 18 April 2004
· Chapter 16: Forget-Me-Not
Finally! I know you said it would be a while before you got back to this one, but it was a long week for me waiting to see what happened next.
This chapter hit a little close to home. About six and a half years ago my dad had an aneurysm that ruptured, and when he first woke up after sergery he thought it was 1972 (which meant he thoght I was nine). So I can relate to poor Forget-Me-Not. Everything turned out well for us, and I know it will for them too.
Please don't keep us waiting so long for the next chapter. I don't know if I can handle the stress.
Thanks.
Connie.
Lyta Padfoot
· 18 April 2004
· Chapter 16: Forget-Me-Not
Interesting that Pippin should forget and not recognize Forget-me-not.
Hai
· 12 April 2004
· Chapter 15: The Road Goes Ever On
wow! That was sure stressful but wiht a wonderufl ending! How terrible that the hobbits thought the King would be tyring to ease Pippin's passing! Good thing Pippin is back to himself now and that Diamond did give in to what the King was saying even if she didn't fully understand it! Looking forward to more!
Author's reply
Thanks! The next part is waiting on a bit of research, but I hope to add another chapter sometime this week. In the meantime, research on horse training is coming together in the story "StarFire", so you ought to see a few updates there.
FantasyFan
· 12 April 2004
· Chapter 15: The Road Goes Ever On
Arwen's faith in Aragorn's skills is touching, but I think I'm more impressed by Rosie's faith in him. She hasn't watched him keep Frodo alive beyond all reason, or drive away the Black Breath, or heal the wounds of war, no matter how Sam may have described it to her. Her conviciton is what persuades Nell, as much as Arwen's.
And the others, they don't have faith but they do have courage. I am amazed again at the grace and strength of the hobbits, as watching someone they love die, they can still sing of life and comfort. Again something marvellous to take away from this story (and your power-filled writing of it). The medical details here are vivid, but not grotesquely graphic, and I will bow to your careful research and not even try to check out whether someone with a traumatic subdural hematoma would recover lucid consciousness so quickly after trephination without anesthetic.
Author's reply
Well, I was told in my detailed questioning that unless there was other damage to the brain resulting from the fall, the symptoms caused by the accumulated blood pressing on the brain would resolve as soon as that pressure was removed. There might be some mild after-effects in following days (which you will probably see), but not long-term problems--in any event he could conceivably be lucid, able to communicate, and able to move as soon as the blood was released, "within minutes". Isn't the body a marvellous thing?
It astonished me to read the history of this procedure, and to find that it was done ages ago with primitive tools, (and repeatedly, in some cases!) without anesthetic, on awake and aware patients. I shudder at the thought.
Grey Wonderer
· 11 April 2004
· Chapter 15: The Road Goes Ever On
That was a close one! Now if only poor Nell can recover. Loved what Pippin said as he came to; Merry's line from Houses of Healing. Very hobbity. This has been very good.
Author's reply
Thank you. I did that line from memory, not remembering exactly what scene it came from. So it was Merry! How lovely.
Connie
· 11 April 2004
· Chapter 15: The Road Goes Ever On
I read most of that one with my breath held. Unfortunately I got interupted about half-way through. I probably should read it again.
How hard it must have been for all the hobbits, to have something they had no concept of done to someone they love so much. It was heartbreaking to know that they thought that Aragorn was actually killing Pippin; not intentionally, of course, but still it was hard to bear witness to.
Is Pippin going to be completely all right now? I can't imagine a person going through something like that without at least some temporary problems.
Ooo, this is such a good story. Please keep up the great work.
Connie.
Author's reply
Thanks for the encouragement. Have a bit more research to do before writing on. Will be updating in "StarFire" for a day or two before you see more of this story.
I am empathising heavily with the hobbits, in a strange land, feeling small and powerless, their protests unanswered, Elessar insisting upon his way as "the only way". He knows what he's doing, but they don't, poor souls. They may even think that Pippin recovered in spite of the King's best efforts to ease his passing...
There will be a little bit of aftereffect, but from my research it appears that I can safely write him "back to normal" soon.
I wrote a lot of it with my breath held! Whew. Glad that's over. The story is by no means over, however.
Lyta Padfoot
· 11 April 2004
· Chapter 15: The Road Goes Ever On
Pimpernel is starting to reveal PTSD. I can imagine why the hobbits would believe it would kill Pippin. Well, good thing Pippin gets to keep his promise to Diamond. The singing juxtapoxed against the situation made it that much more real, singing is intrinsic to hobbits.
Author's reply
Yes, she is. Nell has been through a lot for a hobbit. Think of it; she never met a ruffian before, having lived in Tookland during the Troubles.
Thanks for the feedback!
Lyta Padfoot
· 8 April 2004
· Chapter 14: Healers' Care
Another lovely chapter. I don't know why, but Pippin seems the kind of person destined for a hole in his head! Bet Goldilocks is pregnant, nice to see she is still practical!
Hai
· 8 April 2004
· Chapter 14: Healers' Care
Poor Diamond! I tend to start a lot of reviews that way and your stories always seem especially deserving of it. How terrible to be faced with a decesion like that, espcecially when it is so strange a concept for them! Hm, is there a certain reason food is unappealing to Goldilocks right now? ;) Looking forward to more! Thank you!
Bluegrass Elf
· 8 April 2004
· Chapter 14: Healers' Care