Reviews (172)

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Yavanna would be the one of the Valar who took the Wood Elves under her special care, I would think. She and Orome seem the Valar most attuned to the forest and growing things. I'm glad you liked that! Legolas and Elerrina will overcome their problems in the end, I'm sure. Somehow or other. Possibly they'll even conquer curmudgeonly Taryatur - given enough time! Love to the KBs. And lots of nectar. Thank you.

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I don't think the girl is quite ready to be grabbed yet! He has yet to convince her. They are very attracted, but they don't know each other enough to trust their feelings. Thank you. I'm glad you are enjoying it!

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Poor Taryatur! I am getting increasingly fond of the grumpy elf. He did have some good points (in his mind anyway - and I think I might feel the same way about some of them) about why Legolas was definitely not the right suitor for his daughter - but, as his wife told him, an invitation to dinner was not inviting him to bond with Elerrina! It was never going to be featured on 'most sparkling dinner parties ever', but at least they all survived it! I first read in an Agatha Christie about a 'secret de Polichinelle' - which is something not generally mentioned because it is uncomfortable and everyone knows about it - so that those who don't already know, never find out. Clearly all the Noldor know about Linevende's connections to the sons of Feanor - but nobody talks about it. Very sensible of Legolas to do the simple thing and go and ask! And, in all probability, it wouldn't make Elerrina much less acceptable to the Wood Elves than just being Noldor! Representing the Silvan elves and putting their best interests forward - well, it's a task big enough to make Legolas wish he had stayed hidden away on Tol Eressea. But he is too responsible to turn away from it now he knows it's there to be done - and he does have contacts who will open doors for him that would remain closed to most of his people. Which would, in itself, upset some of those place-seekers. Legolas has bypassed all their efforts and been drawn straight into the High King's circle. Bound to cause annoyance. And poor Legolas is walking a tightrope across a pit of alligators. Thank you, Linda. It's been a busy week and I'm way behind in replying - sorry to be so long!

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I think Galadriel has seen the Look in Legolas and Elerrina's faces and she is enough of a romantic to think it is a good thing. Enough of a stateself, too, to see that a bond between the Noldor and the Silvan might be a jolly good thing - but also experienced enough to know that certain behaviour will help such a relationship get accepted - and enough of a meddler to have no problem dipping her fingers in the pie to 'help'. Finrod is wise - and packed with charm, I think. He is certainly sensible enough to keep out of other people's emotional entanglements. (After all, look what happened when he got involved with Beren and Luthien! Although I think he's safe from werewolves in the Blessed Realm.) I was thinking about the Valar and their favourite groups of elves. After all - Aule likes the Noldor, Ulmo's preferred groups are the Teleri and Falathrim, the Vanyar seem to sit at Manwe's feet. Yavanna is a natural choice for the Wood Elves. Orome would like them, too, I think - or maybe he would be more interested in the Sindar. Or perhaps Elbereth would take interest in them... Elves are curious, contentious creatures. I think some, at least, would have been totally scandalised by Gimli and I'm sure that rumours of all kinds would have circulated among them. And Legolas has walked straight into the counsels of the great - that must have caused bitterness among those who have been striving for years to get that kind of access to power. Thranduil will not be impressed about a possible Noldor daughter-in-law. I'm hoping he'll be so pleased to see his son that he will forget to explode until he has had a chance to get to know her. Fingers crossed. Maybe Taryatur's outrage will help him. He will hardly want to react in the same way. Poor Taryatur - he's a very upright honourable elf, with just a few rather big hang-ups that go on to make things hard for him. Gimli would have known that he didn't have much time left, I suspect, and would have considered it well-spent in putting his elf in Galadriel's hands. Or Elrond's. But I think his romantic streak would have felt that the Lady would have been best able to help Legolas. Legolas really needs a few more of his own people about him - but I think he hasn't really made the full mental adjustment from warrior-travelling-light to head-of-state-with-an-entourage. His is a lonely path right now and he spends a lot of time with people who don't share any idea of his past. It's no wonder he's vulnerable to the appeal of a certain elleth! Thank you. More fairly soon, I hope.

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Thank you - lovely to hear from you. I am so pleased you are enjoying this story. Legolas and Elerrina have a lot of obstacles to overcome along the way, poor things. Even in the Blessed Realm a Wood Elf and a Noldor elleth are not going to find everyone smiling on their budding interest. And these two have added difficulties, too. Not to mention the fact that every Wood Elf is coming out of the trees and expecting Legolas to wear his father's mantle. I hope you continue to find the story entertaining.

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Thank you. I tend to feel that elves are naturally curious, intelligent, active creatures, who would continue to be that way even in Aman - and gossip and scandal and petty rivalries are part of living with others. Legolas and the dwarf must have caused a lot of tongues to wag! And a lot of people will have been jealous of the way he just stepped into a position of power among the great and good. Taryatur doesn't like Legolas (although he would like him better if he found himself a wife elsewhere. Maybe. Until he realised how upset Elerrina would be and then he might dislike him even more.) but he is honest and honourable. He would never stand for underhanded sneakiness - and anybody who thought he might can't be all that bright! Finrod - well, he's male. Safer by far to leave that romantic malarkey to the ladies! And he is old enough - and wise enough - to have learned when to let them do their own thing. He probably doesn't even find it all that interesting, either.

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Thank you - glad you enjoyed it. Nathroniel - well, she used to make Legolas tidy his room and found tasks for him when he was bored. Told him stories if he woke in the night. And her presence is comforting to him - in an entirely non-sexual way ... She's not his mother - but probably when his mother was alive she was a nursemaid. She's got the sort of personality that reassures hurt children and I think she took on a bigger role when Laerwen was killed. He looks on her as part of his extended family and always visits her when on Tol Eressea. (Goodness the cast list gets complicated!) Sorry if I didn't put in enough clues to her identity.

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I'm glad to provide a pick-me-up - after all, you did the same with your little Legolas adventure! Yavanna just has to have been interested in the Silvan elves - when she saw how they cared for and lived among her creations. And here, near Aule's court, she is probably more embodied than anywhere else - I don't think she could help dropping by to look Legolas over. I was thinking in the car this morning - how must it have felt for the elves to go to Aman? East of the sea, they were the top species and all others were awed by their power and beauty - and their ability to commune with the song of Arda. Then, they land in the Blessed Realm - as the lowest sentient group, out-powered by the Maiar and the Valar. Treated, in many ways (in my opinion) as clever children. (Also in my opinion, half of what was wrong with Feanor. He never outgrew the smartass fourteen year old.) But definitely less gorgeous, less powerful, less omniscient, less creative ... just less. Thought for the day! Poor Taryatur. He doesn't get seen at his best when he is with Legolas - and yet he is an upright honourable elf who just wants the best for his family. Who sacrificed himself on the battlefields before Angband at the call of the Valar and still carries scars. Glad you liked Galadriel and Finrod's bits, too! Thank you.

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Taryatur is becoming a more tormented and complicated character with every passing minute! Poor chap means well - but he is more scarred by his experience of the world beyond the bounds of Aman than ever Legolas is! And they will come to terms - eventually. It might take them a few decades or centuries, but I am sure they will understand each other in the end. I was thinking about the Valar and their favourite elven kindreds - and Yavanna just had to take an interest in the Silvan elves - when she could divert her attention from the natural world. They are so bound up with her creations. And poor Galadriel - she made a lot of her own difficulties, but she learned to live with them and turn them to good. On the whole.

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Thank you. Legolas and Elerrina are very drawn to each other, but they are sensible enough to realise that theirs would not be a match made in heaven. And they are responsible enough to try to step back. I'm glad you are enjoying the story!

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The traditionally female roles of managing estates are a bit much for poor males! Especially since he is starting from scratch - when Legolas's mother died, all the personnel were in the right places and knew exactly what to do to keep things running smoothly. Elerrina and Legolas are so drawn to each other - but they both have enough sense to realise just how much everyone they know would disapprove. I don't know quite why glass jumped into my head as the kind of working that absorbed Elerrina - but it has become part of her. (I've got some pictures of gorgeous Venetian glass beads that I can just see her creating.) Equality is so often theoretical - and I'm sure the elves were no different. (Nerdanel will have had to leave her forge to feed, clean and supervise seven little Feanorionnath, no matter how talented she was! Feanor - no. No multi-tasking there.) It takes L and E over 300 years to resolve this. An eye-blink in the life of an elf, perhaps. But a long time, nonetheless!

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Taryatur and Linevende have developed layers. And then more layers. Taryatur is a very complex elf with reasons for his prejudices (but he still needs to get over them!) I don't imagine Thranduil would have been much happier about the prospect of a Noldor daughter-in-law, either - but he's not there to be vocal about it! This is proving a fun story to write - although it needs lots of other action to prevent it becoming too mushy!

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I am now (thank goodness) not really writing multiple stories any more! At least ... the multiple bits are things like 'Reflections' which are one off short snippets. They just jump into my head and are done! Doing 'Arwen' and 'Ripe for Change' was really painful and I will definitely try to avoid ending up doing that again! I know I avoided making too much of Elerrina at first - people do get worked up about Legolas and the ladies! - and actually, it was rather fun establishing children and parents first. But she has to be a strong-minded girl - she took on quite a role in the teeth of what must have been quite a lot of opposition. Legolas's mother. (This is what comes with leaping around in the time-line!) She is living west of the Pelori with the Forest elves. I don't think she ever spent any time east of the mountains - and she didn't come to the shore to welcome Legolas. He doesn't meet her until 'Far Horizons', by which time he is already married and Eleniel and Galenthil have been born. I think, perhaps, because he lost her so young, he doesn't recognise the link that might tell him she was around. And it is the Silvans east of the Pelori who need leadership. The ones already in the far west are quite happy with what they have!

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Thank you. I thought I knew a reasonable amount when I started in this game, but I definitely know a good deal more now - and weaving in details from the Silmarillion and the Histories is just too tempting! No - I don't think Legolas was particularly gripped by the Age of the Trees. Or that it was a priority in the education system of Mirkwood! He probably knows a great deal about Doriath, though. And Lenwe. 'Reflections' starts off so many ideas! Elerrina's hair colour started off as no more than part of a joke - and then developed into a whole family background that linked her with Nerdanel's parentage. Nerdanel, I feel, might have stepped away from Feanor, but will have still spent the time since agonising over her children and her inability to save them from themselves. And, come to that, whether she would have been better to stay and fight the demons. People being what they are, I'm sure that reflected opprobrium affected the Kinslayers' remaining kin in Aman, whether they had anything to do with Alqualonde or the Flight of the Noldor or not. Just as the family of murderers tend to not to be the first to get invited to social occasions. I'm glad you're enjoying it!

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Elerrina and Legolas have a courtship that lasts over 300 years - so it is going to take them a good long while to progress beyond attraction. But they are elves - the attraction is pretty strong! (I like romantic tension. It's much more exciting than the - er - wrestling stages.) Legolas is beginning to grow into his role - and knows that he has to tread carefully so that he is not seen as selling out to the Princes of Aman. He has to spend time in the forest as well as being the voice at court. Haldir has been at a bit of a loss - I don't think he was really high in Celeborn's councils, but he is a very loyal elf and will do what is necessary once he has been convinced. I'm glad you are enjoying this story. Thank you. There will be more quite soon - as soon as I can get my brain engaged properly.

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Thank you! Legolas has begun to accept what he must do as the leader of his people. It's a bit of a peripatetic role - and he has to be careful not to be seen as selling out - but he has to be where the power is. (The thing that amused me about the offer of the estate was when Elrond threw in that Finarfin had been saving it for Celeborn. That just came - and fitted so perfectly with just how irritated Finarfin was with his son-in-law about now that it just had to stay.) (sigh) I knew it was one Teler, lots of Teleri - but my fingers clearly refused to acknowledge it. Legolas has lots of kinswomen looking after him. He should be worried! I'm glad you liked the Teleri royals - Espalas is a bit headstrong, but he's only a younger grandson, so he gets away with it. And I love the image of Legolas sailing with Erchirion in the Bay of Belfalas - challenging the sea's call. Elerrina and Legolas are very attracted. They just both have enough sense to see the difficulties - and are not prepared to play Romeo and Juliet. And the barriers between them are huge. Taryatur only wants what is best for her - and he believes with total conviction that exposure to the evil of life east of the sea makes Legolas unsuitable for his gently reared daughter. And that is quite apart from his connection to Oropher. I suspect he might even convince Legolas that Elerrina should be protected from him, too. I imagine there was a time when Linevende's father was rather unfond of Taryatur - such is the destiny of young ellyn seeking to wed an elf's daughters. And he enjoys payback time. Gimli would make a point of contact between Aule and Legolas - and link him with the descendants of Mahtan, too. Poor Taryatur - nowhere is safe! Haldir is - not trained to rule. Not ready to take that sort of responsibility. But he is very loyal to Celeborn and he will do what he believes his lord would expect of him. Legolas cannot command him, though - he needs to convince him of the path he needs to follow. Yet, too, I think he is another one who would welcome a task - I don't think he would want to sink into a marshmallow contendedness of living in the Blessed Realm. It's not going to be easy ... I'm now left wondering how easy it was for Legolas to step back and accept his reduced role once Thranduil arrived. Three hundred plus years of being the face and voice of the Silvan elves - and suddenly he is having to convince his father of the wisdom of his actions. Glad you enjoyed it!

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A Queen Bee type happy dance? I have rather avoided stories where Legolas is centre stage - especially since this involves the early stages of his relationship with Elerrina. I mean - Legolas plus romance upsets a lot of people! And then, how do you occupy 300-400 years? I mean, that takes us back to the Great Fire of London... It's actually quite difficult to imagine passing that much time getting to know someone. I do think that the sons of a lot of the Noldor nobles would not have a great deal to do with their time. It's not as if they had to learn to take over from daddy - and the more generations that built up, the less there would be for them to do. And they would be spoilt brats, I think. Indulged and not able to see why they can't just have what they want when they want it. Finarfin's solution of making them work and earn their place in society is a wise one. I reckon they would be quite anti-immigrant, too - looking on them as inferior and infesting lands that belonged to said brats. Having Finrod and Orodreth witness their activities made them real in a way that reported actions wouldn't have been. (I like Finrod - he is a complete charmer. Poor Orodreth got to be younger brother to a Golden Boy and older brother to Artanis. Tough on him.) It is going to take a good long while before Legolas ... and Elerrina, come to that ... overcome their reluctance to admit that they like each other. They're not, I'm glad to say, morons like Romeo and Juliet. They can see the difficulties that would need to be overcome. Camentur is a decent elf - rather more open than his father, but then not having shared his father's experiences. Elerrina - well, she's pretty and talented, but she's not perfect. She's a little too inclined to bow to her father's wisdom - but she does live in a patriarchal society. On the other hand, Legolas does end up loving her! I hope you find her worthy of his affections! Thank you. I hope the story continues to please!

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Elves know when they meet the one who completes them. So they say! But Legolas and Elerrina are fighting it as hard as they can. It is just not a suitable match - every grain of sense they have is telling them it can never happen. Taryatur loves Elerrina dearly - and he really only wants to protect her. He does, of course, think that nobody is really good enough for her, but his reasons for objecting to Legolas do have some validity. As far as he's concerned, anyway. The politics just seem to get more and more complicated - and the more you think about how different people will have seen what was going on, the more complicated it gets. Reflections is the starting point of a lot of stories. And a lot of things that started as little more than a joke - like Elerrina's hair colour - have become plot points. Legolas must have missed Gimli dreadfully. He grounded him, I think. And, to my mind, the elves of Lasgalen didn't really sail willingly - and many of Legolas's contemporaries died in the long battle to hold the wood and the Battle under the Trees. They will return eventually, but they didn't sail with him. He does need friends - he is making new ones, but it's not the same as having someone who has known you since boyhood.

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Thank you. I took a long time to step back to Legolas's early days in the Blessed Realm and look at what he did and his growing interest in his wife. Perhaps the romance works because its culmination has already been settled. Maybe. Thank you for the typo information. It doesn't seem to matter how carefully you reread, there is always something that gets past you!

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The more you think about the situation the more complex it becomes. Looked at from one point of view, it's simple enough, but elves are definitely not simple. Legolas needs to be seen as a figure of authority in the councils of the great - but he also needs to be seen as an elf in touch with his roots. Probably easier with the elves of Lasgalen than with the Galadhrim anyway - after all, he is only one of them in a peripheral way. I'm surprised the poor ellon survived this time, actually. Every time I think about it, it gets worse. Haldir is devoted to Celeborn, I think. And, put in those terms, he will do what he must. I think he might need some training to make him an effective negotiator, though. Legolas and Elerrina are attracted. But the barriers between them are huge - and they are both far too responsible to consider the world well lost for love.

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Legolas must feel a simple warrior - lacking in political experience and statesman-like wisdom - when confronted with Finarfin and Olwe, but he is a king's son. He has absorbed lessons in leadership from his elfling days - but he's now moved in among the big boys. Haldir - well, I suppose he has had some small authority in leading patrols and groups of warriors, but he has a long way to go before he is ready for the task that confronts Legolas. But he is needed - there is a space for someone to direct that group of elves and Haldir will fit into it. And he will do it - for Celeborn, if for no other reason. The more I think about Elerrina and Legolas, the more surprised I am that they could ever hope to overcome the gap between them. And they are both dutiful people - prepared to restrain their own desires for what they see as the greater good.

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Thank you. There aren't very many named Galadhrim (as far as I know), so Haldir often ends up with unexpected levels of responsibility! It is a very difficult task, settling a new group of people in a different place. In some ways, small groups cause less alarm - but it is only natural that new arrivals should want to gather where they have kin. Getting Haldir to take authority is probably going to be a help. Elerrina and Legolas are just attracted - but they do know that any relationship between them is close to impossible for reasons both personal and political. It will not be easy to move past the barriers. I did avoid this story for a long time - but anyone who reads my other stuff knows the outcome here, so there didn't seem much point any longer. Elves are complicated people - politics and disputes and ancient resentments are going to be part of their lives wherever they are. Stir them up and see what happens! We wouldn't want Legolas to get bored while he waits for his father to take ship. I'm glad you're finding it interesting.

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Poor Legolas, indeed. And yet, would he really want to have nothing to do? I think his biggest problem has to be that his people are so scattered. He has to be everywhere and get on with everyone in order to help them - and yet they will not appreciate seeing him as a Noldor lackey. Falling for Elerrina will - well, I can see that in some ways it might help his cause, but in far more ways it will just make things worse. All round. And then, of course, she feels much the same way about him. Attracted, but only too aware how impossible the relationship would be. Yes, I think Legolas has some experience of both ruling and negotiation - to an extent as his father's son and also in Ithilien, but he had to defer to his father's decisions in the one case and he was only in Ithilien for about a century. He is dealing, in Finarfin's case, with someone who has been king for 7000 years. Longer with Olwe and Ingwe. However much he has learned since he was at his father's knee, he has a long way to go to reach their level. Fortunately, he has their goodwill. (And the support of Galadriel. Probably helpful.) And he is working in a land where they take 144 years to be one. But it'll all work out all right in the end!

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Taryatur really does feel that Legolas is a bad, bad choice of life partner for Elerrina. He is very protective of his family - and he wants to shield his daughter from what he sees as the evil influences of Middle-earth. He remembers the bad things that happened during the War of Wrath and how the elves were touched by them, but has forgotten the loyalty and strength and other positive effects of working together towards a common goal. Perhaps he has been isolated from fellow veterans of the campaign because of his wife's connection to the sons of Feanor - I cannot imagine many of those who saw Maedhros and Maglor steal the Silmarils would feel kindly towards them and they would have met survivors of Doriath and Sirion and known those of Alqualonde. Taryatur might end up feeling he is standing between his family and the whole world - whatever his reasoning he is not going to find it easy to let anyone in. Thranduil will explode, I think. Not happy. Although Taryatur's adamantine resistance might make him a bit more willing to be open-minded. We'll have to see - there's still quite a while to go before Legolas needs to worry about that! Thank you. I hope you continue to enjoy this!

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Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. I hope you continue to enjoy it!