Welcome back to the fic To Be Forever Faithful. Wow, 100+ reviews... I would have never guessed. Thank you all for such positive responses and criticism. It is greatly appreciated. Now, here's another chapter for your enjoyment.

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

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To Be Forever Faithful

By: Ponytail Goddess

Chapter 9: Moments of Confusion

Soft blue light illuminated the dark room as the tall figure entered it slowly, a blank expression pasted upon his fair Eldarin face. As he crept in soundlessly, a small figure entered behind him, clutching his hand protectively. Though it was dark, the elfling's fair silvery hair glimmered as the magical light washed over it.

Ever so slowly, the tall elf walked around the room, turning his head to scan the area. The elfling followed him silently, never straying from his side for a second. Her eyes were wide and full of fear as they approached every nook and cranny of the cozy little room.

Finally, the tall figure stopped and stooped down on his knees. "My dear, there are no creatures of Melkor hiding in this room. I deem it safe for you to sleep in."

The elfling's wide blue eyes flashed around the room again rather suspiciously. "Are you sure ada?" She whispered, her voice shaking with the fear that still lingered in her heart.

The tall elf sighed, a frown touching the edges of his mouth. "I shall also make sure your brother knows not to tell you stories of that nature. Come along dear; it is time for you to drift off into the land of dreams." He stated, leading her over to her small bed. He lifted her into it and gently pulled the light covers over her tiny body.

"Will you sing to me?" She murmured softly as he stood up to his full height.

"I am sorry, my dearest Belegwen. The fences await me. Shall I send your naneth in?" He asked, a saddened tone showing up in his voice. He wished he could stay with his daughter and help her conquer her fears, but his duties could not wait.

"Yes please." She whispered softly, "Good night ada. Stay safe at the border tonight."

"Good night, my dearest daughter. May the Valar bless you with the most wonderful dreams until you awaken again." He softly said, then disappeared through the doorway, making the blue-tinted light dim and leaving her surrounded by the menacing darkness. Tears poured from her eyes, dampening her silken sheets as the chilly breezes blew around her, taunting her to no end. Quickly, she pulled her head underneath her sheets and waited for some comfort to find her.

"My dearest Belegwen, what torments your heart so?" A tender voice asked from beside her. Her eyes peeked out from beneath her sheets to find the face of her naneth staring down at her.

Belegwen could not bring herself to say anything. However, once her naneth sat down on the edge of her bed, she immediately embraced her tightly and cried onto her reassuring shoulder. She could feel her naneth's soft hand caressing her hair all the while, her lips whispering soothing words into her ears.

Then, ever so gently, her naneth laid her back down into her bed. "Your adar said you requested a song. Which do you want to hear, my dearest daughter?"

"Sing to me the song about Nimrodel." The child softly whispered between muffled sobs. Her naneth's hand rested soothingly upon her head as her voice began to ring out softly. Her voice was beautiful, flowing from her lips to the heavens.

Belegwen listened to the soft tune and soon felt herself drifting off, just as her ada had promised. The winds no longer were chilling, but now felt gentle and cool upon her tear-streaked cheeks. Comfort filled her being, and it was at that moment when she felt the softest of kisses placed upon her lips.

"Goodnight naneth," Belegwen muttered as she slipped off into dreamland...

A strong hand suddenly gripped her shoulder and shook her, waking her from her placid slumber.

Her soft blue eyes were immediately met with a set of intense ones; the eyes of the Marchwarden. "It is time for you to get up. We have work to do today." He stated, quickly turning and exiting her room within the healer's talan.

Belegwen carefully sat up and looked around. Already, the images of her dream seemed faint and distant, as if it had never occurred at all. Yet, she was astonished. Never before had she had a dream about her family that did not involve images of their deaths.

She cringed as her thoughts turned to the unpleasant images she had long wished she could forget. "Why?" She asked, addressing herself out loud and blinking back tears from her eyes as she remembered the grim scene she had walked into as an elfling. That fateful day had changed the course of her life forever, making her first an orphan, then Celeborn's ward. The experience had molded her into an elleth who desired to be a warden, despite all the odds that had been placed against her.

She had made it though somehow. Belegwen had accomplished what she set out to do, going above and beyond the call of duty time and time again. She desperately hoped that somewhere, her family knew what she had accomplished and would take some pride in the elleth she had become.

Feeling a bit emotional, Belegwen got up and started to look around for her armor in the dim light of dawn, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon and the sky starting to fill with the first colors of the sunrise. Belegwen began to feel trepidation when she suddenly realized she could not find her armor. "Where did it go?" She asked herself, knowing it had just been in the room with her yesterday.

Then, her eyes found some other clothes that were neatly laid out on a chair, her boots standing humbly on the floor close by. "My warden outfit?" She questioned softly, not understanding what had happened, but then she remembered. She had missed the remainder of the armor-clad days. She was free to wear her comfortable attire now. Haldir must have brought them in for her.

"Thank you Marchwarden," she muttered as she quickly dressed, trying to find other things to think about to get her family's talan off her mind.

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As soon as Haldir exited Belegwen's room, he found himself slowly sitting down in one of Eltirwen's chairs with a look of shock on his face. What had just happened in there?! His mind was going utterly insane as he recalled exactly what he had done.

When Haldir had arrived at the healer's talan, he found that Eltirwen was still asleep, so he had taken it upon himself to enter Belegwen's room and get her up for the day. For a few minutes though, he had found himself staring down at her sleeping form. Haldir was very used to seeing her wearing her warden's uniform and her infamous messy braids. However, while watching her sleeping, devoid of the uniform and braids, he had noticed something about her that he had never realized before.

Belegwen was actually quite pretty and feminine. Her hair seemed much more lovely without the braids, especially as it started to glisten when the first light of dawn passed over the terrace and onto her silvery tresses. Her skin was smooth, pale, and looked soft to the touch. Her lips were rosy and full.

Haldir could not help but allow his eyes to wander a little lower as well, enjoying the way her neck curved into her smooth shoulders. He could see her collarbone, prominent and proud, leading the way to her arms. Those arms did not look thin and delicate the way many ellyth arms appeared, but had defined muscle tone that had come along with years of wielding weapons. Yes, he knew her arms were capable of most anything and felt they did not look out of place on her, regardless of them being different than what he had seen on most ellyth.

When he caught himself eyeing the curve of her breasts, which were covered by the bedsheet, Haldir had turned around for a moment to get his thoughts back to a more appropriate place. After all, this was his training partner and fellow warden he was thinking about!

With a sigh, he turned back to look at her again and was able to appreciate how peaceful she looked. Haldir suspected she had been through some hard times during her life, which seemed to have resulted in her being shy and distant with other elves. He did not know all of the details, but he knew she had lost her family when she was younger and had been Lord Celeborn's ward for over 15 years before she came of age.

Because of this, he suspected that Belegwen had little to be happy about on a regular basis. She had never smiled very much during her time with the wardens and never quite seemed to be relaxed. Now though, caught in the middle of a dream, her face seemed tranquil and her lips almost appeared to be wearing a smile. He liked that about her and became so lost in the moment that he found himself bestowing a small kiss on her lips.

He hadn't really thought about the consequences of his actions as he bent over to kiss her, but had immediately starting panicking once he realized what he had done. Haldir had quickly shaken her awake and left the room abruptly, his thoughts speeding by as if they were on galloping horses.

"Why did I kiss her?! Why did I linger in her room?! And did I really admit she was pretty?!"

Haldir was very confused by what had just happened. In reality, he had seen many ellyth who were much more beautiful and acted much more normal than Belegwen. He had been attracted to many of them in his youth, but had given up on the idea of courting a long time ago. An elleth had not caught his eye in this manner in many years.

So, what was it about Belegwen that had suddenly piqued his masculine interest? Honestly, he had not a clue.

"I do not know what has come over me," he thought to himself, gripping his head violently with distress momentarily before forcing himself to act normally. Mentally though, he was very alarmed. "What if she had been awake for that?! What if she knew?!"

"Marchwarden, I am ready." A tired-sounding voice said from behind him, nearly causing him to lose his cool. Pulling together as much dignity as he could muster, he turned around to face her, only to find that she was looking at him oddly, as if slightly confused about something.

Inwardly, Haldir shuddered. Was she going to say anything about this?! How could he face her now?! "Marchwarden, are you alright sir?" She now questioned, looking at him with what appeared to be concern in her eyes.

Feeling insecure and annoyed because of his own idiocy, Haldir headed for the doorway, motioning for her to follow him. "We are going to go for a short run first. Then, after breakfast, we shall start to learn some strategies." He stated softly, then began to run down the stairs of the talan with her following in step. He would have to think this over later when he had a moment to himself.

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Edited by P.G. on 05/17/20.

Well, what do you think? Feel free to tell me all. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I will try to update soon. Have a nice day!

-P.G.