Figures Fflewddur would spill the beans about their encounter with Morda; it was too good a story not to tell, for a born storyteller like him. I love Eilonwy's reaction to the broken harp string, and Fflewddur muttering about how much more useful it would be if it warned him *before* he stuck his foot in.

I think Taran is sensitive enough to Eilonwy's feelings by this time that he would have preferred to tell her about her mother's death when they had sufficient privacy that if she needed to cry, she could do it either alone, or with him there to hold her, but in either case with no other witnesses. He might have gotten to it within a day or two of returning to Caer Dallben, if Fflewddur and the wounded Gwydion hadn't arrived practically on his heels.

There's an interesting bit of foreshadowing here for the end of "The High King" - when Dallben finally does reveal what little he knows of Taran's origins, the only knowledge he has to impart about Taran's parents is indeed the manner of their death.

Awwww. I love them so much! And you were them so beautifully. I just reread (relistened on audiobook, actually) and was feeling a desperate need for some fluff. (The books were devoid of fluff! Only criticism I can make.) So now I'm so happy I found your stories! :D

Finally, some time to read and review fanfiction. And my, what a fic to read.

I don't know how you did it, but I honestly felt like I was reading a piece of prose by Lloyd Alexander here. This is heart-achingly beautiful material, and I don't have a single complaint. Not. One.

Favorited.

This is lovely. I always wondered how and when Taran told Eilonwy about her mother. I love that Fflewddur gave him the nudge, albeit inadvertently. Very nice!

-Thistlerose

haha i luved it. u got the characters just right

Saeriellyn! Wow, I've read all of your stories, but I didn't realize it was you until you posted 'Resolution' on dA. I love your writing! Your characterization is amazing! Eilonwy was dead-on.

“If you joined us just to be discouraging and depressing,” she remarked, “you’re succeeding. Personally I’d like to think about something else for a while, which is what we were doing.” (cackles)I love it when Eilonwy cuts Taran's melodrama short with one swift of her sharp sarcastic tongue. Truth be told, she actually annoyed me when I was younger, but now I find it funny. That was totally a Taran/Eilonwy hallmark hehe. I don't want to litter this review with quotes since I loved practically each and every witty line in this fic. Fflew-fflew's stuttering and Eilonwy's quick gibes had me grinning from ear to ear.

I love it love it love it! Imma put it on my favs!

Perfect combination of light comedy and drama. You captured Taran's awkwardness in revealing Angharad's fate so perfectly; Taran did a fine job of it I must say, and Eilonwy's reaction was heart-wrenching.

A sweet orphan moment Aw...but then I'm a sucker for Eilonwy and Taran.

:3! Very cute. I do love this fandom; thanks for contributing!

~Amunet 8D

perfect, perfect, perfect! I love it! So real and in character and all that!

on a slightly different note, I'm getting the seeds of a Prydain fic, and was wondering if you'd be willing to Beta it for me in the future when there's something to read other than my notes?

(yeah, I went to bed last night after reading your other Prydain one-shot and the Princess Diaries).

Good heavens, no explosions here! I'm glad that Eilonwy and Taran were able to talk this over without screaming, sarcasm and tears-they both show remarkable self-possession, especially in those trying times.

Again, your words fit like a glove-one you found while wandering in an antique shop, tried on on a whim, and were astonished to find clinging to your fingers like a second skin (only made of cloth, not flesh, and gleaming with silk threads in a pattern that seems to change as you look, revealing hidden depths of complexity beyond your comprehension... at least, hidden for now).

Well, that was a bit of a conceit (considering I didn't want to keep repeating myself, it seemed fitting).

Aw, darling Taran and Eilonwy sap! So sweet, I adore it!

So, I really love your Fflewddur at the beginning. The truthful harp doesn't often have occasion to snap strings for reasons other than broad colorful exaggeration, so it's really interesting and insightful to see it doing its stuff in this context - Fflewddur trying to gloss things over to spare Eilonwy pain.

And your Taran, too, is lovely. I adore the little part with him thinking about wanting nothing more than to run away with Eilonwy to somewhere safe and far from war and pain and hardship... and how perfectly fitting it is that ultimately he chooses the very opposite in passing up his chance to go to the Summer Country. And I love the way you highlight how he so stubbornly refuses to talk about his feelings for her while there are grim tasks at hand.

And Eilonwy, finally. Since the Chronicles of Prydain are so very often written from Taran's point of view, we don't often see into Eilonwy's head. Rather we see her as Taran sees her, as a bit of an enigma (silly boy). You do a fantastic job here of showing us a glimmer of Eilonwy's inner thoughts, her questions and sadness about her mother. It's so beautifully done! I absolutely adore it. I'm getting the impression that you go deeper into that with your "Princess Diaries" story (cute title, but the way!) so I think I shall put that on my reading list...

Beautiful, lovely piece.

I'm also a fanfic writer and I absolutly LOVE what you said in your bio. They're great characters until some weirdo teen (I'm 12 so I can't be considered one yet) decides to put some sexually twist on it! I hate it when that happens. Thanks for being someone who is smart enough to say something about it.

~Stardust-sprinkler

Very sweet. Thanks for guiding me here. I'm not sure if it eases the pain of losing Lloyd Alexander or makes it worse, but it is a nice tribute to him that we love his stories enough to immerse ourselves further and explore his characters on our own.

Whoops. Poor Fflewddur. He was so embarrassed, and I felt for him as he excused himself and went off after putting his foot in it. I hope they made him feel better when he returned.

I swear you are truly Eilonwy on earth, or you are channelling her somehow (can one channel a fictional character?). Her speech patterns and observations are remarkable. I really loved it when she said of the broken harp string - "they do make rather lovely shapes, don't they?" That one just made me howl.

I do love thinking of the quiet times of the Companions, when they sit around the fire at night and talk. I enjoy little gap-fillers and getting into their heads. Lots of fine plot-bunnies pop up, and you took advantage of a good one.

I didnt actually read this, because I'm not familiar with this book. But I really wanted to comment on your profile, and what you said about the limits of fanfiction. I completely agree with you. The thing that bothers me most about fanfiction is that so often the stories I find have some problem, whether it is bad writing or off-canon characters, and each time I encounter this it ruins my take on the story a little more. I wish all fanfic authors understood the limits they work in, and I wish you wrote Lord of the Rings fiction. good luck with your writing, though.

I like it. This is a wonderful oneshot.