You Must Have Faith

Chapter Nine

Haldir waited for a moment before knocking again.  A splash came from behind the door, and then a yowl.  He tried the door, and opened it once he realized that it was unlocked.  He walked in, looking around her room with curiosity.  It was bare, sparsely decorated, with weapons and armor covering the desk and chair.  A door on the far side of the room was open, he could hear splashes coming from it.  He went over and peered in the door, holding himself tense and ready to back away in case she was in her human form, instead of her mountain lion form like he thought.

He laughed to himself when he saw her.  She was in her mountain lion form, as he suspected, and she was lounging in the large bathtub in the floor, her tail whipping back and forth and spraying water everywhere, causing the splashes he had heard.

"I see you have not lost your love for water, Vera."  He called to her, stepping fully into the room.  Her head snapped up, eyes narrowing at him before realizing who he was and going back to their normal size.  She bared her teeth in the feral grin that he had come to know as a smile.  She purred at him, climbing out of the tub and shaking herself off slightly before coming over to him.  She placed one of her paws on his chest and pushed him back into the other room, closing the door behind him.  He went and sat cross-legged on her bed, waiting for her.  After about ten minutes she reappeared, in a bathrobe with bare feet, her hair dripping down her back.  She covered the chair with a towel, after she removed the armor from it, and sat down, looking at him with those inscrutable eyes of hers.

"What was so important that you had to come all the way here in person, Haldir?"  She cut straight to the point, ignoring the usual pleasantries.

"Lady Galadriel received a message from your old friend Mithrandir, enclosed within that message was one for Lord Thranduil.  She sent me to give it to him."

Haldir watched her carefully as he spoke, gauging her reaction to his words.  At his mention of Galadriel, she tensed up, letting out a predatory snarl and narrowing her now-cloudy green eyes, but when he mentioned Gandalf she relaxed, even going so far as to smile a little.  She sat silent for a moment after he finished.

"What was the message?"

"I do not have authorization to give you that information, Vera.  Should Lord Thranduil choose to tell you, that is his choice, but I am not permitted to tell anyone else."

She blinked once, and then stood, beginning to pace around the room with the air of an animal in a cage.  

"What are you doing here, Vera?  What was so important that you were ordered to do?"

"I have to keep him safe."

"Who?"

"Thranduil, who else?  With everything going on with the Ring and its bearer, the fall of Sauron approaching, the king will need more protection than he realizes.  I was given a vision, Haldir.  If I don't stay here, Thranduil will die, and Middle Earth will fall.  Even with my presence, victory is not assured, but I have to try, Haldir.  If I don't, I will live the rest of my life in regret.  I have no choice but to stay, no matter where else I would rather be."

Haldir bowed his head in understanding, mulling over what she said in his mind.  Then he abruptly changed tack.

"I saw how you reacted to Lady Galadriel's name, Vera.  You must let go of your bitterness.  If it wasn't for her, you'd be dead and you know it."

"I know no such thing.  All I know is that if it wasn't for her, than Thranduil might have had the two people that he was supposed protecting him instead of just one."

"Or he might have had none."

"I was willing to take that chance, Haldir.  At that moment, all I wanted was to save her.  Galadriel took that decision away from me, and doomed Kira to death before I could try to change anything." 

Vera was standing in front of him now, looming over him menacingly, fists clenched tightly at her sides, eyes sparkling with rage and fear and an indescribable pain.  Haldir's eyes were soft, looking up at her gently.  He stood and hugged her to him, feeling her shaking as she struggled to recover her self-composure.  After a moment she pulled away, face masked once more.  

"I am glad it was you to deliver the message, Haldir.  I hope we meet again once this is all over."

"I hope so too, mellon nin.  Stay strong, and shine brightly, Vera."

She smiled slightly at the unintentional double use of her name, and then he left the room, going back to his own and collapsing onto his bed, falling instantly into sleep.  She sat down on her bed and brushed through her hair, then changed into her usual green armored outfit and then going in search of Thranduil.  She met him in the hall down a ways from her room, coming from the opposite direction.

"Ah, Vera.  Good, I was just coming in search of you.  I need you to do some scouting for me."

Thranduil spoke lightly, but she could see the tension behind his eyes.

"I need you to go to Dol Guldor, and tell me if there are any troops gathering there.  Gather as much information as you can without getting caught, then report back to me."

It took all of her self-control to keep from letting slip a snide remark, she had to remind herself why she was there.

"Very well, My Lord.  I will leave immediately."

"Good.  Don't take too long, I need that information."

She bristled at his condescending tone, but chose to ignore it, instead bowing her head slightly and taking off in a sprint towards the entrance of the palace.  Once she reached the doors, she shifted shape in mid-stride and bounded into the trees, leaving the guards staring open-mouthed after her in contrast to their usual discipline.

A/N:  I hope you like this, I tried my best to keep from revealing too much, but also begin to clear up a few things.  Hopefully I found a happy medium between revealing just enough and too much.  A lot is going to happen in the next chapter, I'm looking forward to writing it.  The update schedule for this book is going to be every Tuesday, it might end up being Wednesday every once in a while but for the most part it will be Tuesdays.  Comment what you think, vote if you liked it.  Love you guys!