Welcome back to my fic! I'm sorry that this update has taken so long. Being a sophomore isn't easy! But alas, I cannot lie; I have slacked a bit. That and I've had a bit of a case of writer's block. In fact, as I sit here typing this, I still don't know exactly what's going to be in this chapter. We'll just see where my mind takes me... Enjoy!

Note: Oh yeah, for those of you who say the romance is slow, I'd like to remind you that this isn't probably going to be you're average romance fic, to say the least. It won't be the usual, but I think it will turn out rather enjoyable regardless of this (Sorry, that's all I can say about it without giving some stuff away!).

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

ooOoo

To Be Forever Faithful

By: Ponytail Goddess

Chapter 11: The Unexpected

Belegwen was all aglow as she pranced out of the dining hall. Her lips kept trying to form a smile even though she was attempting to keep a straight face. The wardens had appeared slightly surprised at her presence, but they were not at all crude as she had originally expected. In fact, they had all been quite polite.

"I do not know what I was afraid of before!" Belegwen thought to herself as she walked towards the library where the Marchwarden had said they would meet. A light wind rustled the golden treetops above her and a few soft leaves fell into her silvery hair. Her hand quickly brushed them out of her tresses, which were rather warm from the sun's vibrant rays.

She softly sighed as she entered the library, unready to leave the beautiful day for the confines of the indoors. With regret plastered upon her face, she searched through the rooms of the secluded library for Haldir.

It was at the top floor that she finally found him waiting for her. He was sitting comfortably in a chair, leaning over a large table while reading something. There were several large books sprawled out across the table, some open and some closed. Immediately he looked up, acknowledging her presence. "Come sit and we shall get started." He said with a dull voice she had not heard from him before.

Belegwen was slightly startled by his voice. He was acting so strangely today and she could not seem to figure out why. It was good that he was no longer being so demanding, but she was not used to this total lack of vigor either. It was as if something important was on his mind and it was keeping him from functioning in his usual way.

Silently, Belegwen pulled up a chair and they began.

ooOoo

Two hours later Belegwen exited the library while feeling mentally fatigued. However, nobody would be able to see how she looked because of the large stack of books that she was trying to carry back to her room in the warden's halls.

"As if I didn't have enough things to read already..." She muttered insolently as she stumbled up the stairs to her room with the pile wobbling from side to side dangerously.

Whatever had been bothering Haldir before, he had quickly snapped out of it. In fact, he had puffed up and became his bossy old self again. When she had questioned any of his strategies, he had quickly retaliated with answers, proving his methods had been perfected years ago with sound logic.

The funny thing was that every time he proved her wrong, he got rather carried away with his voice. He would always start at a whisper, then grow louder and louder until he earned himself a reprimand from the chief librarian. They had been approached by her twice before she had threatened to kick them out of the room for disturbing the peace.

Thinking about this released a small chuckle from Belegwen's mouth as she tromped up the final black marble stair and pushed the door to her room open. Ah, the look on his face had been priceless when the librarian had told him that she didn't care whether he was the Marchwarden or the Lady of Light herself; he had to stay quiet regardless!

Upon entering her small room, Belegwen promptly dropped all of her books down onto her armor rack and then breathed a sigh of relief. She then looked over the mess of books that were scattered on the rack and floor. Spotting the one she wanted, she quickly grabbed it.

Advanced Bird Calls for Leaders.

Belegwen now sighed again. Haldir said they would practice these tomorrow when they went back to the fences for their next fortnight of border patrol. This meant she had to read the thick book all in one night. She groaned at the thought of staying up studying into late hours while memorizing the book's contents. It would not make for a pleasurable night at all.

Slightly annoyed, Belegwen settled herself comfortably on her bed and was just about to start reading when her door burst open quite unexpectedly. Totally unprepared for this, Belegwen gasped and took a rather hard tumble onto the cold floor.

Looking up immediately, she found herself glaring at none other than the Marchwarden. "Please knock before entering." She declared angrily, then instantly regretted the words that had flown out of her mouth in the spur of the moment.

Haldir appeared rather surprised as well. He was obviously unused to being talked to in such a manner. "Sorry," he muttered, looking down at the floor suddenly as if the black swirls interested him.

An awkward silence filled the air. "What brings you here Marchwarden sir?" Belegwen inquired softly, feeling bad about her outburst. She was still in shock that she had spoken to him with such power. It was very unlike her.

Haldir seemed to be willing to let it go though and continued as if nothing had happened between the two of them at all. "I thought we should practice some swordsmanship skills today. Now." He said, ignoring the embarrassment she felt from her outburst. His calm and demanding demeanor had already returned and the expectation for her was set.

Belegwen blinked a few times, then got to her feet and followed him out the door and down the long staircase once again. She smiled as the sun hit her hair, warm and familiar. The two quickly approached the training area and found a spot away from other wardens to where they could practice safely.

Belegwen reached down and unsheathed her sword. The blade shimmered brightly in the light as she unmasked it. Her sword was called 'Nimrodel,' for it had been found down by the mouth of the river nearly an age ago. It was most definitely of Eldarin origin, but none of the historians had been able to pinpoint its exact creator. The Lady of Light had given the sword to Belegwen about a half a millennia ago. Though its history was unknown, it was wonderfully light and had still served its purpose quite well. Belegwen would use no other.

Belegwen finally looked up to see Haldir already in a stance, waiting for her to signal that she was ready. Quickly, she acquired her stance as well and they started in. He started with a side slash. She instantly countered it and then tried a forward blow. Haldir blocked it easily, his hand quite steady, yet nimble.

Suddenly, instinct kicked in and before Belegwen even realized what she was doing, she had kicked the sword right out of his unsuspecting hand. Nimrodel was pressed tightly up against his neck. A dull thud could be heard as Haldir's sword fell to the ground beside him.

Haldir's eyes were wide as he stared at the shimmering blade by his neck intently. Slowly, Belegwen pulled it away and both of the partners shared a sigh of relief. "Where did you learn that?" Haldir asked inquisitively.

"My adar came up with his own style of swordplay while he was a warden. He recorded tricks and tips for doing all of his special sword maneuvers in his journal. It is in my possession." Belegwen replied softly, her mind flashing to her dead family for an instant before she pulled herself back into the present.

"I see," muttered Haldir, using an almost gentle tone of voice. "I would like to look over those journals sometime, unless you are opposed to this idea."

"I will consider it," Belegwen replied, unsure if she was willing to allow someone else access to her adar's private accounts. It was one of the few items she had that belonged to her family and she treasured it greatly.

This revelation was followed by a moment of utter silence, only interrupted by the wind's gentle whisper through the trees and the barely audible song of a bird from on high. "I was unaware your adar knew of such things. Pity. If I had know he had such skill, I would have had him at an even higher rank."

Haldir then paused briefly before asking, "Will you show me how to do that last move you did?"

"Certainly Marchwarden sir. I would be happy to." She stated as she slowly walked over and grabbed up his sword from the grassy area where it had landed. Her eyes widened at its weight. How could he wield such a heavy sword so naturally?

"This move is all about timing," she said as she lugged his sword over to him. He took it from her easily, as if it weighed nothing at all. That disgusted her greatly. It was unfair that he could have such strength! "You do not want to kick the sword while it is pointed or even slanted towards yourself or you will be impaled. You want to kick it while it is being turned over in the hand because that is when the user has loosened his grip."

Belegwen took a breath and was about to continue when a warden ran up to them from the confines of the shady forest. The ellon looked horrible and the stench coming off of him was terrible. He reeked badly of a smell that no Eldarin warrior could would fail to identify: orc blood. He was covered in the foul navy liquid. His own blood was trickling down his face from what appeared to be a sword slash across his cheek.

His urgency caught their attention and they turned simultaneously towards him. He stopped and immediately grabbed Haldir's arm harshly while he took a moment to catch his breath. His eyes were filled mingled with fear and grief. Utterly surprised, Belegwen instantly took a step back. The smell had already started making her slightly nauseous.

The elf the stood up, still panting from exertion. "Marchwarden sir, there was an orc attack on the western front. Orophin… Orophin was hurt. I could not get there in time." He stammered, then finally met eyes with Belegwen, revealing that tears were welling up in his soft grey eyes. "Come sir, I know not of his condition."

Upon hearing this news about his brother, Haldir dropped his sword and took off at a sprint towards the healer's talan. The other warden followed after him, though not nearly as fast. Belegwen simply froze, stunned at the news, as she watched the elves run into the city.

ooOoo

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

Well, there's another chapter. Feel free to give me some good feedback. I love it. I'll try to have the next update come sooner. Also, I think the rating might jump sometime in the next few chapters. I hope this doesn't affect your opinion on the story. Thanks! Have a nice day!

-P.G.