Welcome back to my fic! Glad to have you. Though school has been torturing me, here I am with another chapter. I am so sorry about the long wait. Do expect long waits between the chapters from now on, though probably not that long. My life has grown very complicated and I have little time or motivation for this anymore. I still do want to finish it though and I will try my hardest to do that. Enjoy!

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

ooOoo

To Be Forever Faithful

By: Ponytail Goddess

Chapter 23: Surprise Skirmish

The world around Belegwen was still, silent other than the soft scraping sound of her sword being gently pulled from its scabbard. In the small clearing, her body started quickly moving around, her sword slashing at an invisible opponent vigorously with precise actions. Fast was her footwork and her sword gracefully went where it should, the moonlight glowing down on her as she continued her little game.

Soon the hushed world was interrupted by her quick gasping breaths as she continued at an incredible speed, her hair flowing wildly around her, and her mind going completely blank. Having put aside all of her troubles from earlier in the day, she slashed repeatedly at the air, jumping and dodging the enemy as she imagined a fight.

ooOoo

Haldir watched her battle proceed silently, going unnoticed amongst a thick bunch of mallorn leaves. After talking with Rumil and reminiscing about adventures the three brothers had in the days of old, Rumil had fallen asleep, exhausted from his grief. Feeling as though the problem between them had at least began to be resolved, Haldir had left him sleeping in his room to search for Belegwen once again.

Her trail had been easily found once he retraced his steps by the burial grounds and he had tracked her down with an hour to a small clearing on the outskirts of Caras Galadhon. For over an hour now he had sat in a mallorn and observed her, though she was so caught up in her practicing that she had not noticed his presence. On and on she went, not faltering as if it truly were a life and death situation. He admired her spirit, though he was still a bit upset with her for not showing up to his meeting.

Finally, totally spent, he watched her fall to her knees and roughly undo her uniform's grey tunic, revealing her bland black undershirt, which was casually tucked into her lace-up breaches. Quickly and ungracefully, the cloak was thrown in his direction. Thinking rapidly, Haldir darted from his previous hiding area into a different tree. However, her sudden gasp told him that he had not been stealthy enough about the action.

When he looked back down at her from inside of the darkened tree foliage, he saw that she was back in a ready position. Her large blue eyes were gleaming in the moonlight with slight traces of fear in them, though it was not something a casual observer would have recognized in her. Nonetheless, he knew her well and decided not to give up this sudden training opportunity that had just been created.

"Who's there?" she whispered dangerously as she slowly turned around, sword clasped between her small hands tightly. All was silent around them, covered in the blanket of darkness that was night. He could hear the faintest calling of a night bird in the distance, but that was all. Quickly, he jumped into another tree to her left.

She whipped around, having seen the flash of a shadow and heard the slightest rustling of leaves. Haldir knew she was aware that it was not the wind making those noises; she was smarter than that. All of her senses were well attuned to the situation before her. Haldir was not sure how much longer he could keep this up, as she was looking right in his direction.

"Come out, I say!" She commanded firmly, never taking her eyes from the tree that he was situated in. "I know you are there. Show yourself!"

A small smile graced Haldir's face as his hand reached for his clandestine dagger, which was positioned inside of his boot in a small sheath. Now the fun was about to begin.

Being an excellent shot, Haldir quickly aimed the blade for the tiny groove that was at the base of her neck, where her collarbones met, and threw it while at the same time taking advantage of the distraction to inconspicuously dash into a new hiding spot.

However, he had no time to settle in as his own knife came whirling back towards him. He barely had enough time to duck and avoid the knife being thrown at his head. With lightning-fast reflexes, his hand yanked his heavy sword out of its holster and upon seeing a flash of silvery hair, he jumped from the tree and they started to battle each other the moment his feet hit the ground.

Swords clashed simultaneously as the two went at it with all of their might in the small clearing. Haldir led the violent skirmish and she followed, matching him stroke for stroke. Then, he saw a tiny glimmer in her eye and suddenly knew he had lost. A moment later, she proceeded to shove her sword into the soil and gripping the handle, she delivered a hard kick to his stomach, forcing him to stumble backwards.

Taking the lead, she made them go faster, now seemingly testing him, as if she had caught on to his little game. Quickly though, she tired of it and finally smacked his knee with the flat edge of the sword, faster than lightning, and he went down backwards painfully. He gasped as he felt his spine make contact with a root that was sticking up out of the ground.

When he looked up, she was on her knees directly over him, her hair glimmering in the pale moonlight and her sword pointing towards his heart. "Say it," she gasped while trying to catch her breath, though still sounding very firm.

Haldir found himself not ready to give up yet and as he opened his mouth to say it, he deftly grabbed her sword arm and flipped her over so that he was on top of her and started to pull up his sword-

"Say it!" She hissed dangerously, her stealth dagger now at his throat, though he was on top. Haldir stared down at her intense face as she gripped the gleaming blade tensely with her left hand.

"Mercy," he murmured, lifting up both arms in defeat. His eyes were wide with surprise and he was stunned by her quick thinking. She was good with a sword and there was no denying it. Whatever her father had written in his book must have been impressive and would help this warden survive anything she came into contact with.

Dropping his sword to the ground beside them, Haldir found himself putting his hand on the ground above her shoulder and leaning down because he needed a moment to recover after their skirmish, his eyes closing briefly as he felt the dagger against his neck fall away. The two then stared at each other while on the ground in silence, the only sound audible being their deep breathing as they both tried to catch their breath after their skirmish.

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His eyes were beautiful. Belegwen had noticed their intensity before many a time, but had never truly appreciated their beauty. His eyes were blue, a dark cerulean that was so deep she feared that if she stared into them for too long, she would drown in their unfathomable depths.

Never before had Belegwen been in such an intimate situation. Haldir was still on top of her after their skirmish, the warmth of his body radiating through her undershirt and giving her the newest sensation of a growing heat from within. She was pinned down to the soft earth, the cool night breezes contrasting with all that she was feeling at the moment. Soft tendrils of his hair tickled her neck gently as her breasts brushed against his chest with every breath she took.

All the pain and confusion suddenly left her mind and she was overtaken by an intense longing that had been lingering between the two of them for a long time. Belegwen had known about it, but she had refused to acknowledge it up until now. Entertaining the fantasy that was playing out in her mind, she gently reached up and caressed his face sweetly with one hand, tucking away a small flyaway behind his ear with care.

There was just something that felt very right about being with Haldir. Belegwen did not quite understand why, but something had united the two in a way that was much deeper than being brother and sister in arms. In all the years of her long life, Belegwen had not even bothered to dream that she could feel this way about an ellon. Courtship and marriage had seemed unobtainable to her because of the life she had chosen to live as a warden. Yet, here he was and Belegwen suddenly found herself wanting everything that she knew she had already forfeited in her life.

Could it be possible that Haldir felt the same way? Judging by the way he was looking at her, she ventured that perhaps he did.

Watching him carefully, Belegwen saw his eyes run slowly up and down her body with silent admiration. At last, his eyes met her own again and stared into the depths of her soul. She felt her jaw quiver as he gently touched the side of her face with his hand, marveling at how tenderly he was touching her and how good it felt. Though he was already very close to her, Belegwen's breath caught in her mouth as he leaned in even further. His eyes were half open and filled with desire for her. When his lips were only a hair's breadth away from her own, he stopped moving and she could feel his hot breath against her face as her whole body tingled with anticipation.

"May I?" He whispered, his lips almost touching hers as he asked permission. Belegwen could imagine nothing she wanted more at the moment and nodded once, trusting him completely. Immediately, his lips were on hers and she felt precisely how passionately he desired her as he kissed her over and over again. Belegwen watched as his emotional walls came down and he showed her how he really felt about her with every touch he bestowed upon her. After a while, their silent kisses gave way to the beginnings of exploration and the couple easily gave into each other's desires. It was what they had both wanted, an unspoken wish that was now being granted.

That night, Eru Iluvatar himself smiled down on them as the two became one underneath the stars.

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Edited by P.G. on 05/24/20.

There's another chapter, which I hope you enjoyed. Yes, it was short, but it was better than no chapter at all, right? I'll attempt to update soon, but there are no guarantees on that. Also, please inform me if something is out of context with the story in this chapter; it's been so long since I last wrote it that I'm not positive that I did it right. Thank you all for your patience and support. Have a nice day!

-P.G.