Welcome back! Do you get sick of hearing the same thing up here over and over? Sorry. I'll try and think of something different to put up here. While your waiting though, here's another chapter for you to enjoy!

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

ooOoo

To Be Forever Faithful

By: Ponytail Goddess

Chapter 17: Carrying On

Haldir stood up and began to search around the smoldering trees for any sign of Belegwen. The ground was littered with the bodies of orcs, but he could not find any sign of her anywhere. Thinking back to the battle, he realized he had not seen her during the pandemonium or their efforts to put out the flames. This worried him immensely, for Belegwen had been assigned to this border and was not the sort of elleth who would run from danger. He knew that if she was able, she would be out there with everyone else, slaying orcs with ferocity and extinguishing the fire.

Haldir also knew she would not have just left Nimrodel sticking out of some orc. The sword meant too much to her; it was a gift from the lord and lady of Lorien. Belegwen had never treated that blade with anything other than care and it was always with her, wherever she went.

Many questions now lingered in Haldir's mind as he started to run towards the city. What had happened to her? Was she injured somewhere? If so, why had he not seen her body on the ground by where he had found the sword? Haldir eyes were quite keen when it came to details and he felt certain that he would have remembered seeing her if she had part of the skirmish.

As Haldir came to the edge of the woods and entered the city once more, he squinted his eyes to try and make out what was happening through the thick clouds of smoke that were hanging low, like a dark mist, all throughout Caras Galadhon and the surrounding forest. There was a disturbing silence filling the city; not even a bird was chirping in the gloomy aftermath. Nevertheless, he could make out the shadows of several elves waiting in what appeared to be an irregularly shaped line.

"What is the meaning of this?" He wondered as he approached the scene. He nearly gasped as he finally got close enough to see what it was: a very lengthy line leading to the healer's talans.

Most of the Eldar within the line were wardens, ellyn he recognized from his many millennia of service. Some of the wardens had their wives by their sides, holding them close with a desperation Haldir had rarely seen in public. Many of the ellyth were weeping, while others were trying to comfort their husbands who were in great pain from their battle wounds. There were even a few elflings scattered about, though they made none of their usual noise, as if sensing the tension and mood that surrounded them. Indeed, there was a somber mood amongst those who were waiting.

Upon a closer inspection of the area, Haldir could tell that there were too many injuries for the healers to handle. The talans seemed to be full of people and there were many more who needed to be brought in. A few of the less experienced healers were out weaving through the line, assisting those who had minor injuries to the best of their ability.

Feeling frustrated, Haldir sighed. If Belegwen was in one of these, he would never be able to find her. There was no room for any extra people in the healing talans currently.

Haldir could not help but notice though that Eltirwen's talan seemed to have no signs of life coming out of it at all. "How odd..." He thought to himself as he headed out towards it, breaking into a soundless jog. Upon his arrival at the base of the tree, he came face to face with a sign written with rushed Elvish characters. It read 'Do Not Disturb.'

"Could this mean-" Then, without wasting another thought, Haldir chose to totally ignored the sign and climbed up the stairs quickly. Eltirwen was used to him disregarding her rules anyway; she would not mind too much.

He had been expecting Eltirwen to jump out and yell at him upon his arrival, but was surprised when this norm did not occur. Silently, he opened the door and gingerly entered the talan. It was completely dark and there were no signs of Eltirwen or any other elves. An eerie breeze was blowing through the open part of the talan, rustling some loose papers that were scattered around on Eltirwen's desk sloppily. Slowly, Haldir snuck through the room, being careful not to disturb anything and started down the hallway, continuing his search.

The sickening aroma of stale blood hit him immediately as he turned the corner. His foot hit something soft that let out a tiny crunching sound. Haldir looked down to see a messy pile of clothing that was encrusted with deep purple blood. Scrunching his nose with disgust, he easily stepped over the mess and continued down the hallway, glancing into empty rooms as he came upon them.

Finally, he noticed a soft glow coming from one on the left, the second room from the end. Cautiously, he leaned forward and glanced in. There was Eltirwen, her back turned to him, leaning over a petite, limp body that was laying lifelessly upon a bed.

Belegwen.

This is what he had been fearing all along. Once again in a state of shock, Haldir ambled over to the her bed, looking down at her with large, anxious eyes. She was so pale in the grey morning light, her face an ashen shade that he had seen on those who had passed into the Halls of Mandos. Inside, his mind was screaming, hoping his innitial assumption was incorrect.

Gradually, his eyes moved to Eltirwen. She appeared quite weary, almost as if her many long years had finally caught up to her. He could see her hand clutching Belegwen's limp one and hear the soft whispered words she was directing to the body. She was wielding the mystical power of the elves to try and heal Belegwen. If she had noticed his entrance, she had not acknowledged it.

Not knowing what else to do, Haldir seated himself in a nearby chair, pulling it up to the other side of Belegwen. Tentatively, he took her icy hand between both of his. His head bowed slightly as he started to gently caress her hand between his, barely touching her in fear of causing her pain. Tears were now threatening to fall down his face, as he felt down her wrist for a pulse. There was the littlest one there, which made him feel relief for a brief second before he mentally started to question how long it would last.

Haldir had been unfortunate enough to have seen many elves in this state; she was dying, from what he could tell. For a short while, he sat there listening to Eltirwen try to convince her to stay. Sadness filled him as he realized that he had come to care about her over the last few weeks and was not ready to say goodbye to her or face another unnatural death. Was there no goodness left to be had in the world?

Soon, he too joined Eltirwen's pleas with a soft, begging voice. "Belegwen, it is not your time to go to Mandos. You are still needed here in Lothlorien. Please return to the light."

He paused when he no longer heard Eltirwen's voice whispering along with him. He looked up to find her staring at him, perplexed at the sight of his hand entwined with Belegwen's.

"You are not supposed to be here." Eltirwen stated in a resigned voice. She was oddly calm, as if feeling too tired to argue with him on this occasion.

"I know." He stated, not really knowing what else he could say. "Is Belegwen going to survive this?"

"I know not. She has made little progress throughout the night. Unless she starts to improve soon, I fear she will not last past the end of this day." She whispered softly as tears welled up in her grey eyes.

"I see." Haldir stated gravely, looking back down at Belegwen's unmoving face. "Is there nothing more you can do?"

"No, I have done all I can. The rest is up to her." Eltirwen said, shaking her head with sadness at the thought of losing her.

A long period of silence ensued in the talan. Both elves stared down at Belegwen, watching for movement or improved signs of life. Haldir stared into her eyes and saw that the azure orbs had lost their shine and luster. Now they were just there, open as if she was simply sleeping, though Haldir knew better than that.

"The other healers are being overwhelmed out there." Haldir stated as he remembered what he had witnessed. "They could use your help right now. I could..." He started to suggest, but then his words trailed off into nothingness, fearing that Eltirwen would not allow him to assist her in this way.

"Do they now?" She murmured, a sense of duty suddenly appearing in her eyes. "You would watch her for me?" She asked with a muffled voice as she looked out the window towards the great crowds outside of the other healing talans.

"Yes, I would." He replied, hoping to help the situation in any way he could.

"Very well then," she said softly, gently pushing some of her stray brunette hairs out of her face and placing them behind her pointed ear. "You must find me and alert me if anything happens... and I mean anything." She stated firmly, then after seeing him acknowledge this with a nod, hustled out the door. Haldir listened as he heard her exit the talan and make her way down the stairs.

"Belegwen." He murmured softly, his full attention now on her. "It is not your time to leave. We all need you here. Please..." Repeatedly, he said this to her, whispering it into her ear softly as he gently cradled her hand within his own.

There were so many feelings going through his head. Being here with her like this was bringing back all of his previous wonderments. Did he have feelings for her other than friendship? Was this why he felt such pain inside from seeing her like this? He knew that half a year ago this would not have meant much to him. He would have simply paid his respects with the sadness of knowing that another immortal life had been sapped away too soon. The feeling would not have lingered for too long though, for she had not been close to him in those days.

Now, however, she had gained significant importance within his own life. Belegwen had understood what he was going through with his brother's death while many others had not.

"Please Belegwen, it was hard enough losing Orophin! I do not wish to lose you too." He cried out softly, holding her hand more tightly now, as if doing so would prevent her from being able to pass on. "I cannot take all of these unnatural deaths! You were meant to stay here! Do not leave me as Orophin did…" He begged, a tear falling down his face as he poured his heart out to her. "Please..."

No longer being able to take the pain, he leaned up against her bed and wept. Hope was never on his side. Why did so many bad things happen to him?! "Come back, Belegwen...please...please stay!" He sobbed into the soft linen sheets, squeezing her hand more and more tightly as he became desperate for a miracle.

There were other feelings too. New feelings that he could not explain or express yet. If she left though, he never would get to figure out what they could have been.

What if it was too late?

"Haldir."

Instantaneously, his head snapped upon hearing his name whispered into the silence. There she was, looking at him with her drained eyes. His breath caught in his mouth as he saw her come back to life right before his very eyes in the drab morning light. Her voice was dry and wispy, but it was there and that is what counted!

"Belegwen! Praise be to the Valar!" He whispered, his watery eyes looking to the ceiling with thanks, then looking at her with deep sincerity. He clutched at her pallid hand again, trying to offer her some reassurance. "How do you feel?"

"Horrible," She whispered, lifting her far hand up to his face ever so slowly. He noticed her cringing at the paint Her eyes squinted as the ache rippled throughout her body.

"Please stop, you are hurting yourself." He stated, wishing she would stay still as she touched his cheek weakly, wiping a few of his tears away with careful ministrations. He did not try to hold her back though, not wanting to risk injuring her further.

"Come here." She bid him, taking his head and bringing it down to her supple chest feebly. Weak after feeling so many emotions, Haldir gave in and allowed her to stroke his hair while he cried. He could feel her fingers combing through his locks in a frail manner. The now somewhat steady rise and fall of her chest comforted him as he knew she had taken a turn for the better. However, he could feel her freezing skin through the sheer sheet that separated them; her shivers were worrying him greatly.

"Are you sure you will live? You are so cold." He asked airily, so lowly that it was not even quite a whisper. "You have scared me badly tonight." He stated, blinking the tears from his eyes.

"I shall carry on Haldir." She said, her hand coming to rest on his head as she slowly drifted back to sleep.

ooOoo

Edited by P.G. on 05/21/20.

Wow, that turned out a lot longer than I thought it would. I hope you enjoyed it. I will try to update soon, as always. Have a lovely day, even if it is raining as it is here!

-P.G.