AW, Chapter 15, Stepping Stones (and other things)

[rthstewart]

So, the whopping (and I do mean whopping) Chapter 15 is up.  I thought of splitting it, but once you read it, I think you'll see why I didn't.  No historical notes, really.  It pretty much speaks for itself.

The first 4,000 words of Chapter 15 (with a notable exception in the first couple of paragraphs) repeats Chapter 1 of Rat and Sword Go To War.

Comments

[cofax7]

YAY! Oh, that was good, and the meeting (at last!) of Asim and Lucy was all that was promised. Plus, EDMUND TOLD HELEN THE TRUTH!!! Woot! ::Dances::

Bravo!

[rthstewart]

Thank you! Lucy falling out of a tree and Asim falling in a dead faint has been in the head canon for a long time -- Helen was a recent development. I'm so glad you liked it!

[florentinequill]

My reaction upon seeing the chapter notification in my inbox? "SCREW PIANO PRACTICE, IT CAN WAIT." xD

Ditto what cofax7 said, though I kinda wish there had been more in-detail, sentence by sentence coverage of Edmund and Helen talking about Narnia but that's more my desire to know every little detail than flaw in the actual scene. It would mess with the flow/focus of the main story too much. *sigh* Darn. Oh well, I'll live!

[rthstewart]

Thanks so much for coming by and reviewing. I really appreciate it and I'm so glad you liked it! You want every detail sentence by sentence. It was ALREADY 18,000 words!! FAINT. But seriously, I thought about that, actually, and writing more of the dialogue and the reveal and then decided on a fade to black. Helen, to her credit, realizes that while all this is exciting beyond belief for her, her son is totally focused on the adventure he is about to embark upon. (She doesn't know that the point of TSG is a forward looking, OK, so NOW WHAT? ) It's a lot of fortitude on her part to be able to step back and put his needs first. It occurred to me later that she doesn't know that Narnia is all tied up in espionage -- if/when she does learn of that, she's going to come down really hard on any loose talk about it. Susan and Edmund have created QUITE a mess there.

[florentinequill]

...Wow, that was 18k? That didn't feel like 18k. Yeah, that makes perfect sense...and oh dear, I wouldn't want to be a fly on that wall if/when Helen finds out.

[h_dash_h]

Oh my! So very much worth the wait! The discussion between Edmund and Helen just floored me. I was not expecting it, yet in retrospect the paths to it were all laid out so clearly. The overlapping voices of Helen and Morgan helping Edmund to confide in his mother, and the more tentative revelations from Digory and Polly setting up Helen to accept it. Not to mention her own spywork, and the fact that she had just in many ways revealed herself and the nature of her work more than she ever really did to Susan

[rthstewart]

I've wondered now if I really should have bothered with the meeting with Polly and Digory given that she gets the full story from Edmund a short time later. Part of it is just bad planning on my part and always making it up as I go. When I planned the meeting between Helen and Polly and Digory I hadn't thought that this was how the reveal would go. It's funny -- I've always know what I was doing with John but Helen has been more a WIP. So, here are

[min023]

Oh, it's wonderful. Edmund and Helen, Asim and Lucy, Alice, the elder Friends. Squeee!!!!!

[rthstewart]

Thank you!

[adaese]

A three handkerchief chapter. Helen, Polly and the Professor. Helen and Edmund. And at last, Lucy and Asim. Thank you!

[rthstewart]

Thanks so much!