Welcome back to the fic To Be Forever Faithful. Glad to have you. I'm sorry for the long time without updates. I have had writer's block and now school has started as well as the marching band of doom. Hopefully I will be able to keep up somewhat frequent updates still. I don't know how it will work yet. Sorry. Well, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Lord of the Rings or Tolkien Enterprises.
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To Be Forever Faithful
By: Ponytail Goddess
Chapter 22: Reconciliation
A small figure sat up against a tall mallorn tree with her head bent down in pain. The shadows of the golden leaves were sliding across her silvery hair, each one moving as the leaves above her blew in the gentle breezes of the forest. Indeed, she was hard to see, her body forming a small ball as her arms drew her legs tightly into her torso. Her greyish-tan tunic helped her blend in with her surroundings. Belegwen had no desire to be found though. At least, not in her current condition.
Wiping her runaway tears off onto her tunic sleeve, Belegwen sat there forlornly for a long time, not moving or making a sound. During this time, a great many thoughts graced her brain. One, however, seemed to stand out the most.
Haldir. She could not tell him about this. He would lose his cool if he knew, she was sure of it. Marchwarden Haldir would be mad that she had not handled the situation better. Belegwen had authority over Erthalion and she should have pulled him away and punished him for his behavior immediately.
"But I could not do that either..." She thought dejectedly, looking down at her bruised wrists. "He was simply to strong for me."
Yet, getting Haldir involved would also make her reputation take a turn for the worse. She was supposed to be able to do these things for herself. Belegwen needed to be stronger, both mentally and physically, if she was going to successfully become a Marchwarden of Lothlorien.
Slowly, Belegwen pulled herself up from the ground and walked back out into the open, picking up her nearly forgotten bow and arrows. Being in no hurry, she made her way to the far targets silently, walking past a group of laughing wardens who were both practicing and goofing around with one another.
Some things never did change.
Suddenly, Belegwen had no desire to practice her bow anymore. She threw it down along with her arrows and started to run. Through the forest she gracefully flew, silently but swiftly at a very fast pace. Her mind went blank and she simply enjoyed the feel of the soft soil beneath her feet. Nothing else mattered.
Thusly, all of her toils were forgotten for a while, along with everything else.
ooOoo
She was late. Again. How dare she show him up like this. It was disrespectful! Had he not taught her better than this?!
Haldir quietly resumed his finger tapping against the hard wood of the lunch table. His food had lost its luster and was left untouched, as he was now very annoyed. He was sick of her always showing up late. It was like she did not care about their cause, which was an important one.
Finally pushed over his limit, Haldir stormed out of the dining hall and into the blazing heat, determination plastered upon his hardened face. She was going to hear about this one. He was not about to let this insolence continue any longer.
Immediately, he found himself heading towards the training area. Ignoring all of the eyes that followed him, he thundered across the field in search of her. However, she was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, his eyes kept searching for a clue as to her whereabouts.
"Marchwarden, sir?" A voice came from behind him. Haldir turned to see Heledril standing behind him. "Are you looking for Marchwarden Belegwen, sir?"
"Yes." He stated, attempting not to let his anger show outwardly. He had to be in control of himself to do a good job and he planned on doing exactly that.
"Well sir, I saw her run off that way about an hour ago. She was alone sir and I do not know what her destination was." He said with an obvious sense of duty. Though he was young, he was already an admirable ellon and a good warden too. At a time like this, Haldir could not help but wish he had chosen differently for his second. Perhaps Heledril would have taken the responsibility more seriously.
"Very well then, I thank you for your assistance." He stated, then took off through the woods in the direction Heledril had shown him. Surely she would not be too hard to track for one who was as experienced as himself. And once he found her he would make sure that she learned how to be punctual.
Running gracefully, Haldir found himself easily ducking under low-hanging branches and jumping over logs and shrubbery. He sprinted through the forest, looking for any signs of her that might direct him to her current location. Soon, his running took him all the way to the edge of town.
Haldir suddenly stopped and stared out into the distance at a scene that had caught his eye. Up ahead lay the field of burials and there amongst the tall grass and wildflowers was his brother, Rumil, kneeling in a spot that was all too familiar to him.
Immediately, all hostility towards Belegwen was forgotten as Haldir realized that he had pushed something important out of his head for a long while. Too long of a while.
Orophin...
Rumil.
Abruptly, the pain returned as if it was still new. In fact, perhaps it was even worse because it was mingled with guilt as well. He had put them out of his mind for the last few weeks, ignoring his problem and pushing forth with his duty as usual.
Why had he done it? It was obvious to him now that he had been stupid, as Rumil quite noticeably needed some sort of consolation. Haldir could not see his face, as his hair was flowing down in front of it, but it was evident that he was not well. Upon closer observation, Haldir could see that his brother was indeed shaking with pain and torment.
Striding forward slowly, Haldir approached his only living relative, stepping lightly as to not beat down the grasses. His head bowed down shamefully, as he knew this would not be easy. He had said things he should not have upon finding out about Orophin's death, not to mention he had not been there for his brother when he needed him the most.
A small tear graced Haldir's eye as he knelt down beside the quivering brother. Rumil did not look up or acknowledge his presence at all though.
For the longest time, the two sat there in silence, staring at the grave of the brother they both missed dearly.
"Rumil, I-" Haldir started to say, then paused as he saw his brother's blue eyes. The cerulean orbs were watered down and encrusted with anguish. "...am sorry." He finished very vulnerably.
Again, everything stilled. One could not hear the trees rustling nor the tireless wind's swishes across the emerald grasses. All seemed to stop as if the tension between the two elves could be sensed by all the creatures in the field.
"I was wrong to say what I did," Haldir stated softly, then dropping his voice down even lower, continued. "I was a fool. Please forgive me Rumil. I know it is not your fault that Orophin passed."
Haldir then awaited an answer from Rumil, whose head had once again dropped down to stare at the ground with a dull interest. Finally, he looked up and stared at Haldir, searching for the sincerity that laid within his cold eyes. "Thank you," he murmured hoarsely, as if he had not spoken in a long amount of time.
Rumil then forced a small smile upon his face and Haldir felt a heavy burden lifted from his back. Both of them then turned their attention back to Orophin's gravesite, the small stone gleaming in the sun's soft light.
"Come Rumil, let us return to Caras Galadhon and speak of him privately. Let me help you get through this. You can help me too, if you wish." He stated, then helped the tall ellon to his feet and they headed towards the city together, as a family.
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Edited by P.G. on 05/24/20.
Again, sorry about the quality. I do believe I could do better, but I've had so much to do lately that it's simply a miracle that I finished this one. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading it. I'll try to be back with more soon.
-P.G.