…As I mentioned during our conversation yesterday, I loved this one!

And it makes me really look forward to reading Sunrise. Sometimes I wish I could experience the whole set of the five chronicles again, as re-imagined by a writer of adult fiction vs. youth fiction…and I guess I am doing that, piece by piece.

One thing I would love to see here, and I know the timing of when each story was written, would maybe be some small revisions to recognize what happened in “While We’re Waiting,” since those events would have happened by this time.

The inner workings of Eilonwy’s mind is a fascinating place, and since we see most of the chronicles from Taran’s perspective, this really is something fresh, and makes for a whole new story. And since we are so used to reading about Taran’s angst and self-doubt, reading about how Eilonwy experiences these same emotions from her perspective is doubly engaging. At the beginning of the story, I seems she takes Taran avoiding her during the first part of their journey as some type of lack of interest…of course the truth is exactly the opposite.

Taran’s reserve in talking about his experience with Dorath brought to mind Eilonwy’s own reticence to talk about her experience with him in “One More Day,” of course her reasons were even more traumatic, but still interesting how Taran avoids his own memories of that traumatic experience, almost as much as she does. And Eilonwy’s “shattered” perception of Taran the boy, now replaced by Taran the man, reminds me of his own perception in “While we We’re waiting” of how Eilonwy has grown, becoming more than what she was. It’s interesting to me how his changing perception of her seemed like more of a growth change, and her changing perception of him was more of a total replacement of the boy with the man. Maybe there is something profound in there, about how each sex grows up.

Here I wanted to do this:

“A warrior’s sword is his constant companion.
With it, he guards his life, his king, his country.
Wielded with wisdom, it brings liberation to the oppressed, protection to the weak, and fulfillment in the service of others.
I charge you to be thus, a warrior worth of his sword.”

Can you tell me how you came up with that? Maybe it has some traditional roots, but it seems like something born in the land of Prydain also. Either way, I really love it.

Of course the whole “girding ceremony” is a wonderful piece of writing, worthy of a novel, as old memories and terrors flit through Eilonwy’s mind, as she tries to remember the words of the sentiment. And of course to him, the ceremony coming from her means the world, and will be a memory and source of strength to him in the trials to come.

What Eilonwy said to him after ceremony brought tears to my eyes, her seeing him for his true worth, and not the way the world used to see him, just as an assistant-pig-keeper. And I always loved that little piece about the apple tree, and it fits perfectly here again. Their rediscovery of each other after such a long separation and so much experience and maturing in each of them, is such an under described area by LA himself…thank goodness we have you to fill those holes.

And the open door at the end, it brings to mind the end of THK, and that definitive door walk, and how many other open doors they will be experiencing together throughout their lives.

Again I love this as much or more as “While We are Waiting,” they are certainly related pieces, and and I would love to see them taken together somehow…especially if you create a new comic!

This is so truly special, thank you again for all you do. And I truly never thought I would enjoy reading “fan fiction” so much, it seems a demeaning word in a way for such wonderful storytelling.

LOVED the connection to the apple tree scene. How do you do that?! How did Lloyd Alexander do that when he made all those connections from one book to another? Alas that he lived so far away and that I didn't write to him as often as I should have. Never mind.

A lot of shipping round here...enjoyable though. Thanks

Wow, I honestly wish this was in the original book. This was really really good, thank you for making this.

This was soooooo good

This was so cute! I loved it!

It MAY be a tad AU, but I'm a sap like you, and I so don't mind. I love the in-depth look at their sexual tension, and why Eilonwy can seem so snappish sometimes. I also like the idea of them re-learning each other-so romantic.

The ceremony and energy between them is great in this story! Very well done. Realistic and classy.

Absolutely lovely!

This was really sweet. I loved the ending.

This was beautifully written, and alternately funny, cute and poignant. I loved it! I definitely yearned for more Eilonwy/Taran fluff in the books and this fits very nicely :) Thank you!

This is beautiful, and I feel I ought to tell you so. We get a whole lot of what Taran feels for Eilonwy in The Chronicles of Prydain, but she doesn't get much of a say until the very end of the High King. And knowing Eilonwy, she's probably very dissatisfied with this state of affairs. So thank you for writing this from her POV.

God Bless,
LMSharp

see Stephenie Meyer thats how you write a love story

What a beautiful story. I was totally lost in the interaction between them. Thanks for this!

This is so amazingly beautiful! I love the way she reacts to him; your story is so emotional and so lovely. I loved the way the theme of opening and closing doors runs through your story. I can't do it justice in this review. All I can say is thank you for writing this.