Beautiful.

You captured the characters perfectly. I especially loved Eilonwy's little comparisons, like the one she uses when her bauble won't light up anymore, the way it is often unclear whether she is chastising Taran or simply stating facts, and the way you paint her so wonderfully, beautifully /herself/. A bouquet of swords, how romantic! How much like them. Taran, too, was perfect, a bit afraid of the future, but willing to face it as long as Eilonwy is by his side. His worries about Hen and her piglets, and the memories of their friends. And the ending, which was perfect, as well.

Thank you for sharing this. It is a perfect ending to a wonderful series, and you did it full justice.

(Sorry for the anonymous review. I just realized I already reviewed your story once. Reading it a second time took nothing away from its beauty.)

I have no idea how long it has been since I've read the Taran series, but this story (I accidentally stumbled across) just reminded me I had to re-read it.

Well done! It was a beautiful fic, humorous, still a bit melancholic. Down-to-earth - what does a King do who wants to send a message but has no messengers? - and with (at least mentionings of) all the old friends, with memories of what has happened and a glimpse into the future.

I really enjoyed the dialogue - Eilonwy being sharp and talkative, and Taran calmer, and enjoying his upper hand at one point. And both of them are perfect together. The ending, too, was beautiful. I think I'll read it again, the whole story. Just for the joy of being reminded.

Thank you for sharing this! It was beautiful, and I loved reading it. Thank you. (I didn't even know there was a fandom for this series.)

This was just lovely, and sweet, and quite well written. Thanks!

Great story! You captured the way that Taran and Eilonwy interact in the books! I have always loved the Taran /Eilonwy relationship, and it was a real treat to read this story.

What a beautiful story! You've captured Eilonwy spot on :)

oh...piss.

not to say that the story is piss, of course. piss is just my new favorite swearword-that-is-not-a-swearword. the story is quite good. but i read the books when i was ten or so and did not yet know what being married meant. so...piss.

hi!

What a lovely piece you've written here. I just got it into my mind to re-read the Chronicles of Prydain because...well, actually, I don't even know!

I remember reading them when I was younger and I thought to do so again. What an adventure! I hated seeing it come to an end - and what a bittersweet one at that!

It was too bad that the Sons of Don had to leave, and take Fflewder, Gurgi and Doli with them. At least Taran has Eilonwy with him.

I really enjoyed your piece because it fit so well with the ending of the High King. It was cute, funny, and very romantic. It's about time they got together ~ after doing so much, I think Taran is completely worthy of asking her hand in marriage. AND he gets a Kingdom on top of it, can anyone ask for anything more?

:)

The passion in your story was simple but strong. I enjoyed every moment of it. You captured Taran and Eilonwy's characters perfectly.

Thanks for a wonderful read,

-P.P.V.V.

I think I reviewed this when I found it ages ago on LJ, but I'm so glad to find it again. This is one of the best TxE pieces I've ever read; you do Eilonwy so perfectly. Thanks for adding it here!

Very sweet! And you seem to have Eilonwy's characteristic manner of speaking down pat :)

Oh how lovely. I have always found the end of the story emotionally confusing - trying to reconcile grief and happiness and I think you've addressed that accurately. I also like the awkwardness of the first physical encounter that you describe - it makes the whole scene even more tender.

This was romance done right!

I adored it! And let me tell you, I can't re-read books and I don't know why, but I read this 5 fold! It was very in character and, I am glad to say, exactly what I would have expected both to say.

I enjoyed reading this, and I hope you'll continue to do work on Taran/Eilonwy side of this website!

~Leal

that was really sweet! welcome to our Prydain corner! You are a WONDERFUL new addition.

Oh, you're here! Joy!

I already sort of reviewed, but I'll be more thorough now.

I love the exchange with Taran's recognizing the irony of a king's feeding pigs and Eilonwy's typically pragmatic observation of which jobs are actually important. That feels straight out of Alexander and it fits well with the underlying themes of the books. There can be no doubt that Taran will be a much better king for having done things like feed pigs. (And tend sheep, and make horseshoes, and weed turnip beds...)

And yes, I can imagine they both would have felt completely at a loss about what to do first with this whole rulership business. Where does one even begin? I haven't seen anyone truly tackle this in fic; whatever post-series stuff is written always is set years into the future, and it's understandable. The subject is just impossibly complicated. And to have that hanging over your head while you're trying to enjoy your honeymoon, so to speak...well, no wonder she's a little snippy here.

But as I said before, the banter is charming. We get so little romantic /anything/ in series what with everyone always running around saving the world, it's nice to see a quiet interlude with them finally free to express their feelings. And it's suitably, sweetly awkward, just like you'd expect. You've kept them wonderfully in character even in a new, untried situation. Her babbling on and on is hilarious. And that line about his tugging at her hair just makes me melt - a lovely detail.

I also just really appreciate your...how to put this?...tastefulness. With taking this just far enough and no further. Dabbling with a little erotic tension without it becoming something I don't need details about concerning my childhood friends, you know? That's a fine line to walk and you've done it admirably.

Welcome to the club! Feel free to drop by our author's forum (which has been very quiet of late, but a new voice could maybe liven things up).

I love this, it is so sweetly romantic. We need more romantic taran/elionwy fics on this website.