Welcome back to the fic To Be Forever Faithful. A big fat thank you goes
out to everybody who reads and/or reviews this fic. Several of you have
requested longer chapters and quicker updates. Well, first of all, if I
make the chapters longer, the updates will be fewer. Plus, I like to read
fanfics on-line as well and so it's hard for me to crank out more than one
chapter a week. That might, however, change once we get into summer
vacation (only three more months!!!). For now I will just try my best to
give you quality chapters when possible. Now, onto the story! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Tolkien Enterprises or Lord of the Rings.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
To Be Forever Faithful
By: Ponytail Goddess
Chapter 10: A New Type of Training
Belegwen slowed as they, both Haldir and herself, came upon their destination. They came to a complete halt in front of the cafeteria. Slightly worn out, she mopped off some beads of sweat that had congregated upon her forehead. Her hands fell to her legs and she hunched over, trying to catch her breath. As she gasped for air, the morning sun blazed down upon her figure and she stared at her shadow that lingered in the creamy brown dirt.
"Stand up straight if you want to catch your breath", Haldir stated, sounding somewhat agitated. "You will never catch your breath if you stoop over like that."
She looked over at him as she came back to a straight standing position. Mentally, she grimaced. He hadn't even broken a sweat and appeared unruffled. She had not thought that she was this much out of shape... However, this could be partially due to her having just got out of the infirmary.
"Stretch a bit also, unless you would like to send yourself back to the healer's flet." He stated nonchalantly, staring up into the golden leafy branches of the trees.
Belegwen did as she was told, bending back her legs one at a time to stretch her quadriceps. Secretly, she wondered if the commander was all right. He seemed to be preoccupied with something today, and that simply was not like his usual self at all. Something was bothering him, but what...?
"Sir", she stated meekly, afraid of how he may react, "Commander sir, I'm ready now." With this said, his eyes immediately snapped away from their viewpoint and met hers intensely.
"Okay", he said, sighing gently as a breeze blew his hair across his face. He brushed it away quickly and said, "But before we go to breakfast, you will learn another lesson."
Belegwen was now truly paying attention to him. "Before you can lead any elves in my place, you must gain their respect." He stated strongly, showing that he obviously believed in what he was teaching. "For they will not follow you if they think badly of you."
Now Belegwen became anxious. How could she possibly get these men to respect her after all of the mockery that had gone on between them?!? Would she ever be able to lead them? Perhaps this job was not meant for her after all...
"You shall start out by getting to know them a bit better. However, that is not your first task." He stated as he started to move into the cafeteria, motioning for Belegwen to follow his lead.
They came to a stop in the middle of the entrance to the cafeteria. Belegwen watched as the soldiers ate and talked merrily, their light hair gleaming in the sunshine. She gawked at the sheer amount of soldiers that were inhabiting the room.
"Today, I merely want you to go up to all of the tables and wish them a good morning. If they ask you anything, answer it in a mannerly way, unless it is vulgar, in which case you shall ignore it. Am I understood?" Haldir asked her, looking down at her, awaiting an answer.
Belegwen looked up at him, her eyes filled with terror. Her mouth opened up a bit and her jaw quivered, as if she could not find the correct words to respond with. She could not believe that he wanted her to do this. How could she-?
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go!" He stated, now perceptibly exasperated.
"But..." Belegwen stuttered, not moving a muscle in any particular direction. Surely he would understand why she did not wish to do this. Most of the men in the room had never spoken to her at all. She seldom ever spoke with them either. Belegwen was not even sure of all their names.
Haldir's eyes drooped dangerously until they became slits. "If you want them to respect you, you cannot fear them." He stated slowly, his voice in an eerie monotone. "If you have the courage to speak with them openly, you will be regarded by them. Do not fear what they think, for it truly should not matter to you. You want this job, so go and do it!"
Mixed emotions passed through Belegwen's mind. He had hit the nail on the head. How he knew about her terrors, she did not know. Was it that obvious, or had he found out more about her from the Lord and Lady?
Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. However, he was right. She did want the job, quite badly now, in fact. She had worked so hard these few days already and she knew that she had a long ways to go as well. Her mind called out for her to just give up and throw in her towel, defeated. Her heart screamed out for her to surpass all of her fears and go for the dream though.
The dream-it had never crossed her mind until about a week ago. Belegwen had never thought that she could accomplish such things. Her family had never had a history of high guard positions, and she had figured that she would be the same. Now that she knew it was possible though, she was not quite ready to give it up.
Her eyes shut for a second, though it felt like an hour to her. Then, she opened them and then an expression of raw determination rested upon her calm, composed face. "I understand, commander sir." She stated, then pulled herself together. Both her mind and heart finally agreed and she stepped forward to the first table.
*~*~*~*~*
A small smile crossed Haldir's face as she walked over to the first table. She was going to do it. He had seen her emotions just now. It had taken a lot of mental battle before she had acquired the confidence to do what had to be done.
"She shall make it through this training if she allows herself to." And indeed, it appeared that she would. She left the first table with a smile on her face and walked over the next.
All that she had needed was a tiny push out the door.
Haldir's face quickly returned to its normal stern position. He quickly got himself a tray of food and sat down at his designated table. From here he watched as she slowly but surely accomplished what he had asked of her.
Perhaps now that the other men saw that she truly thought she belonged here, they would treat her more normally. Maybe that had been the problem all along. Or at least, that is how he himself had viewed it. There may never be a normal work relationship between her and her colleagues. Haldir was rather unsure of this. Only time could tell what was in store for her.
He slightly frowned as he recalled the kiss from the morning. His mind had been so full that he had nearly forgotten. "I must have just been tired and deranged. Surely I will not let myself do something so foolish ever again." He muttered to himself as he consumed some of the fruit on his plate.
His mind then wandered back to all of her faults. She had lagged him down severely today. He had not gotten the run that he had wanted to. Nor would he get it tonight either, as he would be working her too hard.
Then his mind reminded him of his plan. Yes, she would be doing three times the amount of running by this time next week. He would increase the distance every time they ran until they were doing a satisfactory amount of running every morning and night. Yes, this plan would work out perfectly...
Haldir could not help but smile a bit though as he watched her conquer her fear of socialization. She now seemed to be doing it naturally. This was definitely an improvement. Now she would at least be treated fairly, or so he hoped. However, the second she looked in his direction, his face became sour again, a frown slightly touching both ends of his mouth.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Did you like it? Please feel free to tell me your opinion. Frankly, I'm not sure if this is turning out exactly how I had planned it, so I'm not so sure if the comments will be good or not this time. I'll try to update soon!
Anyway, wish me luck! I have Solo & Ensemble Contest on Saturday. Plus, I have a nasty cold. These two together always seem to bring me bad luck at performance time, especially because I lost my voice for it last year (no voice+vocal performance=disaster). Let's just hope my good friend Dayquil will get me through it!
-P.G.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Tolkien Enterprises or Lord of the Rings.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
To Be Forever Faithful
By: Ponytail Goddess
Chapter 10: A New Type of Training
Belegwen slowed as they, both Haldir and herself, came upon their destination. They came to a complete halt in front of the cafeteria. Slightly worn out, she mopped off some beads of sweat that had congregated upon her forehead. Her hands fell to her legs and she hunched over, trying to catch her breath. As she gasped for air, the morning sun blazed down upon her figure and she stared at her shadow that lingered in the creamy brown dirt.
"Stand up straight if you want to catch your breath", Haldir stated, sounding somewhat agitated. "You will never catch your breath if you stoop over like that."
She looked over at him as she came back to a straight standing position. Mentally, she grimaced. He hadn't even broken a sweat and appeared unruffled. She had not thought that she was this much out of shape... However, this could be partially due to her having just got out of the infirmary.
"Stretch a bit also, unless you would like to send yourself back to the healer's flet." He stated nonchalantly, staring up into the golden leafy branches of the trees.
Belegwen did as she was told, bending back her legs one at a time to stretch her quadriceps. Secretly, she wondered if the commander was all right. He seemed to be preoccupied with something today, and that simply was not like his usual self at all. Something was bothering him, but what...?
"Sir", she stated meekly, afraid of how he may react, "Commander sir, I'm ready now." With this said, his eyes immediately snapped away from their viewpoint and met hers intensely.
"Okay", he said, sighing gently as a breeze blew his hair across his face. He brushed it away quickly and said, "But before we go to breakfast, you will learn another lesson."
Belegwen was now truly paying attention to him. "Before you can lead any elves in my place, you must gain their respect." He stated strongly, showing that he obviously believed in what he was teaching. "For they will not follow you if they think badly of you."
Now Belegwen became anxious. How could she possibly get these men to respect her after all of the mockery that had gone on between them?!? Would she ever be able to lead them? Perhaps this job was not meant for her after all...
"You shall start out by getting to know them a bit better. However, that is not your first task." He stated as he started to move into the cafeteria, motioning for Belegwen to follow his lead.
They came to a stop in the middle of the entrance to the cafeteria. Belegwen watched as the soldiers ate and talked merrily, their light hair gleaming in the sunshine. She gawked at the sheer amount of soldiers that were inhabiting the room.
"Today, I merely want you to go up to all of the tables and wish them a good morning. If they ask you anything, answer it in a mannerly way, unless it is vulgar, in which case you shall ignore it. Am I understood?" Haldir asked her, looking down at her, awaiting an answer.
Belegwen looked up at him, her eyes filled with terror. Her mouth opened up a bit and her jaw quivered, as if she could not find the correct words to respond with. She could not believe that he wanted her to do this. How could she-?
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go!" He stated, now perceptibly exasperated.
"But..." Belegwen stuttered, not moving a muscle in any particular direction. Surely he would understand why she did not wish to do this. Most of the men in the room had never spoken to her at all. She seldom ever spoke with them either. Belegwen was not even sure of all their names.
Haldir's eyes drooped dangerously until they became slits. "If you want them to respect you, you cannot fear them." He stated slowly, his voice in an eerie monotone. "If you have the courage to speak with them openly, you will be regarded by them. Do not fear what they think, for it truly should not matter to you. You want this job, so go and do it!"
Mixed emotions passed through Belegwen's mind. He had hit the nail on the head. How he knew about her terrors, she did not know. Was it that obvious, or had he found out more about her from the Lord and Lady?
Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. However, he was right. She did want the job, quite badly now, in fact. She had worked so hard these few days already and she knew that she had a long ways to go as well. Her mind called out for her to just give up and throw in her towel, defeated. Her heart screamed out for her to surpass all of her fears and go for the dream though.
The dream-it had never crossed her mind until about a week ago. Belegwen had never thought that she could accomplish such things. Her family had never had a history of high guard positions, and she had figured that she would be the same. Now that she knew it was possible though, she was not quite ready to give it up.
Her eyes shut for a second, though it felt like an hour to her. Then, she opened them and then an expression of raw determination rested upon her calm, composed face. "I understand, commander sir." She stated, then pulled herself together. Both her mind and heart finally agreed and she stepped forward to the first table.
*~*~*~*~*
A small smile crossed Haldir's face as she walked over to the first table. She was going to do it. He had seen her emotions just now. It had taken a lot of mental battle before she had acquired the confidence to do what had to be done.
"She shall make it through this training if she allows herself to." And indeed, it appeared that she would. She left the first table with a smile on her face and walked over the next.
All that she had needed was a tiny push out the door.
Haldir's face quickly returned to its normal stern position. He quickly got himself a tray of food and sat down at his designated table. From here he watched as she slowly but surely accomplished what he had asked of her.
Perhaps now that the other men saw that she truly thought she belonged here, they would treat her more normally. Maybe that had been the problem all along. Or at least, that is how he himself had viewed it. There may never be a normal work relationship between her and her colleagues. Haldir was rather unsure of this. Only time could tell what was in store for her.
He slightly frowned as he recalled the kiss from the morning. His mind had been so full that he had nearly forgotten. "I must have just been tired and deranged. Surely I will not let myself do something so foolish ever again." He muttered to himself as he consumed some of the fruit on his plate.
His mind then wandered back to all of her faults. She had lagged him down severely today. He had not gotten the run that he had wanted to. Nor would he get it tonight either, as he would be working her too hard.
Then his mind reminded him of his plan. Yes, she would be doing three times the amount of running by this time next week. He would increase the distance every time they ran until they were doing a satisfactory amount of running every morning and night. Yes, this plan would work out perfectly...
Haldir could not help but smile a bit though as he watched her conquer her fear of socialization. She now seemed to be doing it naturally. This was definitely an improvement. Now she would at least be treated fairly, or so he hoped. However, the second she looked in his direction, his face became sour again, a frown slightly touching both ends of his mouth.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Did you like it? Please feel free to tell me your opinion. Frankly, I'm not sure if this is turning out exactly how I had planned it, so I'm not so sure if the comments will be good or not this time. I'll try to update soon!
Anyway, wish me luck! I have Solo & Ensemble Contest on Saturday. Plus, I have a nasty cold. These two together always seem to bring me bad luck at performance time, especially because I lost my voice for it last year (no voice+vocal performance=disaster). Let's just hope my good friend Dayquil will get me through it!
-P.G.