Hola, and welcome back to the fic To Be Forever Faithful. The response I have gotten to this fic is rather astounding. I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews. Also, it has been brought to my attention that I'm making the elves very sexist; this is not so. See, the elves in this fic simply do not know how to act around Belegwen, not knowing exactly how they should treat a female warden. However, Belegwen is very insecure as is and thinks that everything bad that happens around her has something to do with her being female. I thought I'd just quickly point that out. Enjoy this new chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything associated with Tolkien Enterprises.

ooOoo

To Be Forever Faithful

By: Ponytail Goddess

Chapter 6: Pain and Determination

The air seemed heavy around the exhausted figure who was just barely pulling herself up the stairwell. Belegwen was rather unsure if she would make it up the stairway this time or not. Her whole body ached from staying low in the field for hours, slowly combing through the grass until she had found each target and hit them with her arrows. Haldir had seen her moving three times and, true to his word, she had been hit with three blunt arrows. Two had hit her back and one had hit her in the chest. Had this been an actual scenario with real arrows, Belegwen would have been dead.

Once that unusual exercise was finished, the two had practiced throwing knives at a variety of targets for a few hours, then went for the longest run that Belegwen had ever completed. On and on they went, over hills and through the woods, sometimes off of the trails. Afterwards, Haldir had seemed fine, as if he did this exact run several times a week. Belegwen, on the other hand, felt terrible. Her legs felt like jelly, worn out and tender from the extensive run. She dared not lift her arms either; they ached from having thrown her knives over and over again, trying to achieve the absolute perfection Haldir expected from his second.

Knowing that she would have to walk back down the staircase to bathe was not a very reassuring thought at the moment. Somehow she made it into her room, then collapsed upon the hard floor, not being able to go any further. She could feel her muscles throbbing with pain. Nearly every one of them seemed to have been overexerted today. All was not well.

Slowly she turned her body over on the cold floor and tried to undo the straps that held her armor on, using her shaky arms as best as she could. Minutes seemed to drag on forever as she finally got the retched armor off her body, piece by piece. Desperately, she wanted to go downstairs to the bath. Nothing sounded better to Belegwen right now than to wash the grass and mud from her body. However, she knew that she could not make it back down the steps and resigned herself to remaining in her quarters.

Mentally, Belegwen cursed herself for being so physically unfit. She couldn't believe that she had been a warden for all this time, yet she could not seem to keep up with Haldir at either of the training exercises they had completed together. Of course, Haldir's idea of training was much harder than what her previous training partners' had been. She had expected this to a certain degree, but she had not anticipated it being quite like this.

"It is necessary." She thought to herself while feeling miserable about her current state. "If I want this position, it is necessary."

Suddenly, Belegwen's resolve broke and tears poured from her eyes like miniature rivers, finding their way down her cheeks and dribbling onto the floor. Belegwen did not wipe them away, unable to without having twinges of pain shoot up her arms. "I must get to bed somehow," she thought to herself, dreading what she was about to do.

Ever so slowly, Belegwen drug herself over to the bed, her soreness nearly overcoming her. Somehow she managed to pull herself onto the bed. Silently, she laid as still she could manage while pulling the light covers over her body. Sleep quickly claimed her, temporarily relieving her of the pain.

ooOoo

He was coming to her; she felt his presence before he had even arrived, in the way that she had for several millennia now. An instant later, she heard her husband's soft footsteps as he strolled in at a comfortable pace. Celeborn had never been one to hurry unless it was a time of great need. Without seeing his face, she sensed something was weighing deeply on his mind tonight, troubling him.

"You are filled with concerns tonight, meleth. What is burdening your heart at this time of night?" Galadriel asked softly, turning away from the terrace in their personal quarters and looking her husband over, finding him in a state of worry, as she had suspected.

Celeborn's countenance was bleak and spoke to her with a very serious tone. "I grow concerned about Belegwen. This greater responsibility has been all but forced on her with due haste and I am uncertain about whether or not she is well-enough prepared to handle it."

"Why do you think that? Tell me, what it is you have seen?" Galadriel asked, looking deeply into Celeborn's eyes to try and figure out the root of his concerns.

"I saw Belegwen tonight as I returned from my nighttime walk and she does not seem to be fairing well. In fact, it appears Haldir has pushed her far beyond her limits. I worry for her safety." Celeborn said with sadness in his eyes.

Galadriel understood Celeborn's concern, even though he could not see the importance of the situation in the way that she could. To Celeborn, Belegwen was like a second daughter, having become his ward upon the death of her family all those years ago. He had raised her as if he was her own adar and continued to look after her even now.

Galadriel closed her eyes for a few moments, acknowledging his pain and thinking over her response to him. It would be hard for Celeborn to witness what would happen to Belegwen, but Galadriel knew that some things were meant for the greater good. This was one of those things.

Indeed, some things were simply meant to be.

"She will recover; this, I see clearly." Galadriel stated, deciding not to panic Celeborn with the fullness of her vision just yet. "Soon she will become everything we have envisioned and more. Her destiny is greatness. We must not stand in the way of fate."

"If she cannot withstand the necessary preparations, will not all of this have been done in vain?" He persisted, halting in front of her. "She must be well enough to carry out her task or there is no reason for her to continue suffering in this manner."

Galadriel peered deeply into Celeborn's eyes. His heart was so kind, caring for her well-being. It was hard for Celeborn to watch anyone suffer, let along someone so dear to his heart. Galadriel walked over to Celeborn and took one of his hands between her own, meeting his eyes before reassuring him.

"You need not worry about this, Celeborn. She can handle this training and much more. I am certain this." Galadriel said confidently. "I see many great things in her future."

ooOoo

Belegwen awoke to a strong hand shaking her shoulder roughly. Her eyes quickly snapped into awareness as the lingering pain from her training the prior day once again became obvious. She rolled over in bed and came face to face with the Marchwarden. He looked rather cross, his eyebrows furrowed angrily. "You are late for our morning run. Get up, and be quick about it!"

Her eyes followed him as he made haste out of her room. Then, remembering she had no clothes on, she quickly checked to see what the Marchwarden had seen. When she saw the sheet was covering her body, she said a quick prayer of thanks to the Valar. What would have happened if it had not been?

"I shall have to start wearing my robe to bed." She muttered, annoyed already with the Marchwarden. A small part of her had hoped this was just a bad dream and that she would wake up to the sounds of birds sweetly serenading her from outside of her window during the normal morning hours, as she always had in the past. However, that was not so. It was still dark outside, the stars still lightly painting the sky above the city.

Belegwen rolled out of bed, all of her pain from yesterday immediately returning. She found herself falling onto the hard marble floor when she first stood up, but was able to right herself after a few minutes of stretching. Though the pain was not quite as bad as it was yesterday, her muscles still throbbed quite severely. She knew Haldir was waiting for her, so she started to put on her armor at a quick pace, noticing happily that one of the maids had cleaned and organized it for her.

After quickly putting the usual messy braids back into her hair, she exited the room, limping ever-so-slightly. The pain in her legs refused to go away as she took on the stairs one by one. Never had her body endured such torture, not even when she had fought in skirmishes with orcs on the border!

"It's about time," Haldir said snidely as she stepped down the final stair. "Be on time next time! I do not appreciate having my time wasted! Now, let's start our day with a run."

Immediately, he took off running down the path, an Eldarin blur in the first light of dawn. Belegwen tried her best to run after him, her eyes enlarging as she attempted to keep up with the rigorous pace he set.

Her mind started wondering about some questions that had been plaguing her since yesterday. How could he be so fast and do so many physical endeavors in one day? She simply could not understand it. There was also a part of Belegwen that wished she could figure out how to get on his better side. Haldir seemed to be nothing but upset with her for the last day and she wanted to remedy that somehow. Belegwen desperately wanted to figure out how she could work around his horrible attitude and prove to him that she could be successful as a Marchwarden.

However, these thoughts did not remain in her head very long. Soon all she could concentrate on was the pulsating beat in her legs as she pushed herself forward involuntarily. Her head felt as light as a feather and was slowly drifting off into the sky. Yet, at the same time her heart felt like it might explode, unused to being subjected to such torment. It quickly became hard for her to think of anything at all.

She watched as Haldir seemed to be getting further away, her legs gradually moving slower and slower. Soon she could feel the forest pathway underneath her hands. The world seemed to spin around her as she struggled to try and stand back up. Then, everything went black.

ooOoo

Edited by P.G. on 05/16/20.

Well, there's another chapter. I'm sorry that it is so short; I'll try for a longer one next time. Please feel free to tell me your opinion. I'll try to update soon. Have a nice day!

-P.G.