Welcome back! Thank you for all of your kind comments; they are greatly appreciated. Some of you have been asking when the romance will start. Well, I cannot say and spoil the surprise, though I will say that this will not be your average romance. Enjoy this new chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Tolkien Enterprises.

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To Be Forever Faithful

By: Ponytail Goddess

Chapter 7: Realizations and Acceptance

The darkness of night caressed the tops of the silver mellyrn in the Lothlorien wood, their leaves glistening in the soft moonlight. A gentle breeze rustled their leaves placidly. All was calm, including the ellon who was climbing the stairs which led into one of the healer's talans.

However, upon entering the room, tension ensued instantly as the Marchwarden of Lorien came face to face with the feistiest healer in the golden wood. Eltirwen was an old and rather beautiful elf with large grey eyes, long dark hair, and a presence that was mighty. To some elves she seemed rather uncouth, but in reality she was caring and had a strong backbone. Indeed, over the years she had learned not to let any elves usurp her authority when it came to healing.

"What brings you here, Marchwarden?" Eltirwen asked with a firm voice, placing her hands on her hips in annoyance from being interrupted while attempting to mix up a tonic.

"Is Belegwen awake yet?" He asked as the Eltirwen stood up and approached him, dressed in unembellished tan robes. "I have just began her Marchwarden training and I do not wish to have her fall behind." Haldir said, clearly annoyed with the situation that had unfolded. He had found Belegwen collapsed behind him on the pathway at the beginning of their morning run and had immediately carried her to a healing talan. That was during the earliest hours of the morning. However, the entire day had passed now and Belegwen had never came to find him, so he found himself back at the talan to find out what had delayed her.

At this point, Eltirwen crossed her arms and glared at him. "Belegwen will not be doing any training for a while, Haldir. You have overworked her body. Surely you did not expect that she could do everything you could right away? None of the wardens can and this is what happens when they try!"

Haldir now grew impatient with her tone. He could not remember the last time someone other than Lord Celeborn had taken that kind of a tone with him. "I will be the judge of that! Let me see her." He insisted, then started to walk around her. Eltirwen grabbed his arm before he could get past her though and stared into his eyes, her face glowering.

"She has not regained consciousness yet, but when she does, she will be in no condition to do anything for a few days." Eltirwen said firmly, holding onto Haldir's arm to prevent him from disturbing her patient.

Haldir huffed when he heard this news, yanking his arm away from her with an angry face of his own. Quickly, he stormed out of the talan and down the stairway from whence he came.

"Hmph! Good riddance!" Eltirwen huffed, then went to her back to mixing up the tonic that was half-made on her desk.

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The first thing Belegwen noticed about her surroundings was the cool breeze upon her face. It softly stroked her cheeks and tugged at her loose hairs, blowing them gently away from her face. All was silent around her; in fact, the only thing she heard were some faint footsteps nearby, perhaps in another room? Slowly, the blackness she saw faded to blue as her eyes started to function again, her brain slowly becoming more and more alert with every passing minute.

"Where am I?" She muttered in a wispy voice as she slowly tried to turn her body sideways to look and see. She gasped as the pain suddenly returned, shooting through her sore muscles like lightning. Belegwen fell back into her original position and her eyes flickered around the dimly lit room with curiosity.

Ah, yes. She remembered this place. She was in the healer's talan, a place she had been a few times before. Belegwen was facing away from the room's open terrace, but moonlight was still pouring into the room and helping her to identify the familiar space. Suddenly, Belegwen heard footsteps and then a hand gently touched her shoulder. She gasped at the touch, then immediately regretted it, as she had managed to jerk her body in surprise.

"You are awake warden. It gladdens me to see it," said a female voice from behind her. Belegwen recognized the voice; it was Eltirwen, the healer. Once Belegwen knew who it was, she relaxed slightly.

"How are you feeling Belegwen?" she asked, walking closer to the bed so that Belegwen could see her.

Belegwen sighed, then whispered, "Weak and sore."

The older and wiser elf walked around to the other side of the bed and smiled kindly down at Belegwen. She looked ever-so-slightly less youthful than other Eldar in the golden wood, possibly from the stresses of her job. This reassured Belegwen though because it meant she was in good, knowledgeable hands. "That is something I can remedy. Let me fix you some tea." She said, then bustled off to do just that.

"Wait! How did I get here?" Belegwen called out to her as best as she could, her eyes shutting again as she began to feel light-headed.

"You passed out while exercising with the Marchwarden. Do you remember now?" She asked, sounding a little worried.

Oh dear. The reality of the situation was frightening to Belegwen. Her eyes immediately opened widely as she remembered the entire dreadful incident. There had been so much pain and agony; she had hoped all of that had just been a dream. However, it was not.

"Yes, I do", she finally replied, her shame showing in her eyes as she wondered what Haldir must think of her now. She had tried to prove herself to him and look where it had landed her!

Eltirwen immediately noticed Belegwen's mental anguish and laid a soothing hand upon her forehead. "Do not worry yourself, Belegwen. It was out of your control. Now, you should focus on resting while I make you some tea." She said, getting up and silently making her way out of the room.

However, rest did not come to Belegwen as she could not help but wonder how the Marchwarden would react when he saw her next. Sleep did not come to her until Eltirwen gave her some herbs to ease her anxiety. Then, she was finally able to get the rest she desperately needed.

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The next morning, the same figure from the night before climbed up the stairs. Soft sunrays hit his hair, making it shine vibrantly. However, Haldir noticed nothing about himself or the weather. He barged right into Eltirwen's talan and stormed into Belegwen's room before Eltirwen could stop him.

His eyes immediately fell upon her small figure underneath the sheets. She was very still, but he could see that she was simply sleeping in the bed. Her silver hair was sprawled out over her pillow messily, spilling off of it and onto the floor in a silvery pool. The sun hit her tired face, the rays showing off the tired lines underneath her eyes.

"What are you doing in here?!" Hissed a very upset Eltirwen, shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

"I wanted to see is she was up, obviously." He replied slowly, not bothering to keep his voice at a low level.

Eltirwen signaled for him to quiet down by putting a finger to her lips, then frowned at him. "I did not say that you could come in here. You are supposed to receive permission first." She whispered tersely.

Haldir rolled his eyes at this and opened his mouth to counter attack this remark, when a soft moan from the bed turned both of their heads towards Belegwen, who was now conscious for the second time. Belegwen stared at them both, her eyes mere slits since the early rays of sunlight were shining brightly into them. "What…?" She softly mumbled, resting her gaze on the two arguing elves.

"At last, you are finally awake." Haldir stated, surprised momentarily, but then getting right back to business. "We have training to do."

After mumbling a few inaudible things, Belegwen started to slowly sit up, holding the sheet close to her naked body so she would not expose herself. About halfway up she cringed and fell back down onto the bed, her silver hair going everywhere when her head hit the pillow.

"She is not going anywhere." Stated a very firm Eltirwen, appearing to be quite annoyed with the Marchwarden at the moment. She crossed her arms over her chest sternly, then glowered at Haldir quite heartily. "Leave. Now."

It was Belegwen, however, that surprised everyone by breaking the tense silence. "No, give me a moment," she muttered with determination in her voice. She tried to sit up again, only to fall back once more.

"No!" Eltirwen exclaimed, now looking rather alarmed as she rushed to Belegwen's side and tried to prevent her from getting up again. "Stay put! You do not have the strength to be doing anything right now. You will stay here for a while and rest." She stated quite clearly, in an unquestioning manner.

Eltirwen the raised herself back to her normal height and walked right up to the Marchwarden, appearing utterly fearless in every possible way. "And you, Marchwarden," she stated, jabbing her index finger on his chest and pushing him back slightly, "You will leave now before you cause any more trouble. Have I made myself clear?" She asked, though it was not truly a question; it was a demand.

Haldir's brow furrowed at this act of boldness, but he still managed to remain calm and unruffled somehow. Belegwen could only imagine how much anger was welling up within him at that very moment.

"Very well then," he said, his head still held up high, "I will be back tomorrow and we shall do some training that lacks physical demand." He said to Belegwen, then turned to Eltirwen. "Surely you will not object to this."

Eltirwen's eyes narrowed as she reacted to his foul attitude. "If you must, but only if she is awake and feeling well enough. Am I understood?"

Haldir did not answer; he just turned around and headed for the door silently. The talan was soon as quiet as it had been ten minutes prior.

"What am I going to do with that ellon?" Eltirwen muttered under her breath as she slowly went about her work once again.

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

Well, did you like it? Please tell me what you think. I'll try to update soon. Until then...

-P.G.