"Silence!" The shrill shout echoing off the broken stone walls didn't completely succeed. Though the animated discussion died down for a moment at least.

Displeased, the Lady Dis roughly grabbed the dwarrow who was one of Dain's warriors and shook him. This had more of the desired effect of shutting up the shouting, though the dwarf wasn't even close to being hurt by the movement. He stared at the dam with wide eyes.

Dis made a flat hand sign followed by two more. The three males sent sidelong glances at each other, as if trying to judge her resolve. The dwarrowdam hissed at them. "Don't make me resort to Khuzdul." She said, pointedly not looking at the lone elf in their midst.

Tauriel's already tense muscles tightened further, but she made no comment. A soft touch on her shoulder reminded her that Brunere was there. Though whether the younger dwarrowdam was offering comfort or support and for the situation or the small sting from being excluded, the elf could not tell. The touch firmed when she did not shrug off the hand.

"Brunere should go up first, being the most injured."

The hand on Tauriel's shoulder lessened and would have dropped away entirely if the she-elf hadn't reached up and caught her wrist. The red-head squeezed Brunere's uninjured hand briefly, turning the game of whom was supporting whom around. The violet-eyed dam gave a weak smile and nod. "I am not so badly injured, and would it not be best to have someone stronger up top already to help pull me to safety?" She held up her wrapped and broken hand to further emphasize her point.

"It goes against the male pride to be rescued before a dwarrowdam." Dis' voice mocked the dwarves lightly, though with a smile to show she approved somewhat of their intentions. "Yet we would be better served to have your strength up there."

"We will be needed to anchor the ropes down here, to keep the ones being rescued from swaying into the jagged rocks, or bringing down a jumble of new ones." Groused the dwarf with the most gray in his thick beard, and while his tone might have been a bit belligerent, he managed a short bob of his head toward the princess.

"I could do that." Tauriel offered, just wishing they could get on with the actual rescue. The stone draped around her neck was still glowing a warning, though the light had dimmed. Was the magic fading? Or the threat? Worse, was the unsettling knowledge that she still wasn't sure who the stone was trying to warn of danger? She as the bearer, or Kili as the one it was originally given.

Dis shot a dark look at the red-head, then suddenly froze, her expression turning thoughtful.

"There are dwarrow up there, you got the same message." One of the dwarves sounded very unhappy. "The stairs be out, and it's a long way up to stable ground. There is are two ledges, one of them ill-supported and it could collapse. Three pulley systems and limited space on them to draw us up. The order we go will be of vast importance."

"Any collapse could bury those left beneath, or strand those on the way up to safety."

"Tauriel."

The she-elf looked over at the Lady Dis. "Yes?"

"No, I mean you …you should go first." Dis pointed at her firmly.

The red-head shook her head. "I can steady the ropes down on this end, I have the strength. What I don't have is the stone sense to rise through three pulley systems without causing difficulties."

"Don't hit the sides and all will be well." Erelinde spoke rather dryly, though kindly. "You'll be fine."

"She has the strength and none of the weight." Dis explained. This shut the still arguing dwarves up as they too turned to look toward the she-elf.

"Elves are very strong, the near equal of dwarves." The princess said, only a little bitterness staining her tone.

Near equal? Tauriel did not quarrel out loud with that assessment, though she did not agree with the assessment. She drew up proudly.

"And they have none of our weight." Dis continued, bending her knees a bit and giving a small jump for emphasis. "I recall seeing my …" She stumbled over the word before steeling her spine. "Husband. I recall him and his brother walking over snow and not sinking, nor leaving marks."

The older dwarrow looked skeptical as he eyed the thinner, leaner, she-elf. He stuck out his hand as Men do in greeting.

Tauriel, unfamiliar with the gesture eyed the male balefully. "I don't know that hand sign. What does it mean?"

"It's a Human sign." Erelinde explained before the others could, all surprised the elf was unfamiliar with the gesture. She held out her hand to Brunere, who shook it in greeting, as a visual demonstration for the red-headed elf. "It has many meanings."

"I want to see how strong you are." The dwarrow said, his hand still out in front of him.

Tauriel put her hand in his, letting him squeeze the much smaller bones of her hand. They didn't budge. Her face remained impassive as the pressure grew. The dwarrow stared at her face, becoming disconcerted as she showed no signs of strain. He bore down further, making a rough noise and squeezing with all he had.

The she-elf slowly smiled in an unfriendly manner, how was this moment unlike how the High Elves had reacted when she'd been promoted to captain? She hadn't given in then, and she wasn't going to start now. "When are you going to start?" She said mockingly.

Startled, the dwarrow first stared at her with widening eyes and then burst out laughing. The other two males began cackling wilding, one slapping his thighs as the other near dropped to the cavern floor in mirth.

"Ah lass." The older dwarrow wiped tears from his eyes, smiling at her. "I'd heard you were a game one." He nodded in approval. "Aye, now. You'll be going up first."

His laughter and ease of manner salved her exposed nerves and Tauriel felt the warmth of cautious approval. She looked over at the ropes being prepared and nodded.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

He was so tired and lost in the song that he couldn't even hear how cracked and rough his voice was sounding. Fili leaned heavily against the stone wall, his palm still flat to the surface hewn out by generations of his ancestors. His head was bent, his forehead resting against the wall, almost like the song was a whisper into the ear of a lover.

"Lad please."

Fili blinked, finding his eyes dry as well as his mouth. His fingers twitched.

"Lad?"

Bofur. The blond's head turned and looked over at the concerned dwarf holding out the water pouch. He licked his lips, finding them rough and dry. He straightened.

The hatted dwarf smiled in relief, nodding and gesturing for Fili to take

The prince shook his head, turning to start the Song once more.

"Stop!" The command was stern, and although Bofur had no authority over him, Fili did indeed stop.

"What?"

"You need a break." Bofur told him far more gently than his norm.

Fili puzzled over the attitude and rolled his neck, finding it stiff. He frowned and dropped his hand. His fingers nearly cramped and started aching immediately. He frowned.

"It's been half a day at least, I count nearly twelve hours." Bofur smiled palely at the younger blond. "The mountain is stable again, can't you feel it?"

Blue eyes turned upwards and around, seeking the voice of the stone. He could hear nothing. No, not nothing. A quiet. The stone was there, but no longer straining under pressure. He said as much to the other dwarrow.

Bofur bobbed his head, his smile growing as he passed the water pouch to the young prince. "Yes, exactly so! The stone is …well, it's just stone really. Stone don't think thoughts and such. You're connected now. And the mountain is stable again."

"What caused this?" Fili took a careful mouthful of water, letting the moisture seep into his tissue. It was important to conserve what little resources they had, and the bag was only about a quarter full as it stood now.

Bofur whistled tunelessly and shrugged. "Never felt the like before." He admitted almost reluctantly. Fili's eyes narrowed on the miner and he realized that the other male was more upset about what had happened than he was letting on.

"What aren't you telling me?" Fili demanded suddenly, his eyes narrowing fiercely despite his weariness.

Meeting the prince's gaze, Bofur coughed a hoarse laugh and dropped his gaze. "Mirror of Thorin ye are sometimes lad." He waved a hand at his eyes to indicate what he meant.

"Well?" Fili grunted, not to be deterred.

Bofur pushed his hat back further on his head, his hair flattened against his forehead with sweat. The older of the two dwarrow nodded and looked around them at the rocks caging them in. "While you've been greeting Erebor, I've been thinking."

The blond nodded and resealed the water pouch, setting it aside as he listened.

Bofur sighed unhappily, running an agitated hand over his impressive mustache, tugging lightly on the ends. Fili knew his fellow Company member well enough to sense the deepness of the unease.

"Tell me." He said, though this was less a demand from a prince and more of a plea between friends.

The miner nodded and shrugged unhappily. "It weren't natural." He said with a sigh. "I thought at first I must have missed the signs. Erebor is new to me, and me to her. Haven't built a rapport here, not yet, not even close."

Fili nodded, after half a day singing the Song of Stone he knew he was only hearing a faint echo of what should be there. A barely discernable brush of awareness.

"Blamed myself for bringing us down here." Bofur frowned sharply, then shook his head at Fili's protest. "Nay, of us two I would be more in the way of experienced in these matters. Should have sensed something off, but I was too angry about them wrong sized rods."

"But?"

Bofur nodded grimly and pointed around him at the broken rubble. "The more I think on it, the more I don't think I missed any signs."

Confused, Fili shook his head. "Meaning?"

"It's not localized."

The prince stared at the hatted dwarrow, trying to decipher his meaning. He tried to think it through such as he would if Thorin was here, trying to teach him another lesson. "Not localized. We knew that there would be others involved in this cave-in."

"Cave-in?" Bofur tasted the words as if finding them sour, he drew back and shook his head. "We seem to have the time, so let me give you a quick rundown of your kingdom for you, lad."

"Is that …."

"This isn't limestone." Bofur began, patting the rock beneath him. "Nor is it a lava tube or a glacier cave. Those be prone to collapse and a good mining engineer would have a whole other system of support. Still and all, they will fall." He paused tellingly and dropped his gaze for a moment. "That's more along the line of what happened in the Blue Mountains."

His father. Fili held his breath for a moment, thinking of Nehili.

"But this is Erebor, and it's different here." Bofur sighed and nodded as the prince did not interrupt him. "A roof-fall can mean all different kinds of collapses, from flakes of shale to great sink holes that go all the way to the surface."

Fili raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "There was none of that here."

"Exactly!" Bofur pointed at the prince for emphasis. "This is stable ground. Bedrock. We are deep below the mountain. Before Smaug came there wasn't a tremor in centuries. The only roof-fall here was deliberate and part of the mining process."

"Another dragon attack?"

Bofur frowned, as if disappointed somehow. "Nay. There was no impact. The stone wasn't shook any, it simply ….came down."

Fili ran through the words in his mind, parceling out the facts as he marshalled his thoughts into a conclusion. But he was having difficulty understanding whatever it was the other dwarf was trying to impart to him. "What?"

Licking his lips in a nervous gesture, Bofur tugged at one of his ears.

Fili sighed, leaning back. "This wasn't just an attack, as if by an army of goblins or orcs." He guessed.

Bofur slid his eyes over to meet the young prince's gaze. "Not even earth movers could have done this. Oh, they could muck up the place pretty badly, but not this." He waved a hand around in a generalized gesture.

"Mordor?" Fili asked next, not really wanting this question asked. Or answered.

A brief nod dispelled his hopes. Fili dropped his head into head, scrubbing his fingers over his scalp, feeling the braids which were so much a part of his culture. "No one knows where we are. There's too much stone and rock to dig out without tools. And I can't sing the stone well enough to let anyone know where we are."

"Not even Durin himself could do that, lad." Bofur rushed to reassure his companion. "We dwarves like to say we're stone, but we're flesh too. Stone, it don't listen easily, not to something as small as us."

Fili flashed a grin, almost blinding in its suddenness. "Then I'll just have to make it listen."

"Lad?"

Fili stood, dusting off his palms, not that it did any good as grimy as his leathers were at the moment. He marched over to the side of the small area left to them. Slapping his palm against the rock face, he winked at Bofur. "If there's a way to let anyone up there know we're still alive, I'll find it."

"Lad." This time the word was drawn out and sad, a warding against false hope.

"Bofur. We brought thirteen dwarves across Arda to face stone giants, eagle flight, goblins, orcs, capture, and a death-dealing fire-breathing dragon. No one had odds on us. No one in the world."

"Well now lad, I seem to remember a human killing the dragon, and elves saving our arses!" Bofur near yelped as Fili turned a fierce eyed glare upon him.

"No matter. We won." He drew back and slapped the rock stingingly hard with his palm. "This is Erebor and I will not give up on her. Now, get up off that arse and sing with me. I may be the Line of Durin, but you know stone far better than I. Sing, damn it!"

Bofur grinned as he slid off his perch and joined his prince. He didn't know if they had a chance, but if they did, they were going to try and take it.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Father."

The soft spoken voice could have been lost in the hall filled with the noise of the injured. All while there was ringing of metal upon stone rang non-stop throughout the area, from places both near and far deeper inside the underground kingdom.

Still, the two tall elves, so similar and so different, both heard and immediately spun on their heels. Elrohir's face split into a relieved grin as he swept his younger sister into an enveloping hug, making her drop the large canvas bag she'd been holding.

Balin straightened up from where he and the elves been speaking with an injured dwarf. Both dwarves smiled at the family reunion. Daughters were a treasure to any dwarrow, and they doubted the elvish father felt much different.

Elrond, could suddenly breathe again. Taking advantage, he drew air into his lungs which no longer felt quite so cramped. "Arwen." Her name was a supplication upon his lips, and a thanksgiving. "When you are quite through." He gently chided his son.

Elrohir reluctantly released his sibling as their father held out his arms to his only daughter. Arwen fit inside his embrace perfectly, resting her head for a moment on his chest, hearing his heartbeat. "It does these eyes good to see you both."

Over her head, Elrohir's gaze met that of Lord Elrond's. Elladan. Kuilaith. How to tell her? What to tell her, they themselves didn't even know how the two were.

"You are uninjured?" Elrond asked, avoiding the topic a moment at least. He leaned back, placing his hands on her shoulders and peering into her open gaze.

Arwen smiled easily, doing much to warm her father's cold worry. "Scratches only. I was with Master Dori in the weaving craft halls. Before I knew what I was about he'd grabbed me and shoved me in a tight corner with several other dwarves."

Balin grinned outright while the injured dwarf sat straight up on his pallet, his right arm bound to his side with bandages. "Dori, you are sure? He is well?"

"Your brother was fine and hale, helping to lead the recovery of others so trapped." Arwen told the ginger-bearded dwarf. "I was able to see Ori briefly as well, he is also uninjured."

Nori nearly choked so quickly did he offer her thanks for the news.

Elrond swallowed hard, knowing Dori must have reacted quickly in a way that his daughter wouldn't have known how to do. Elves weren't used to underground mines, or stone above their heads. "I owe him."

The she-elf nodded, patting her father's cheek for a moment before looking around for the bag she'd dropped. "The main entrances to the craft halls are destroyed. The dwarves were able to find another way around, though it took a while, and some digging. Nuluin sent me with some healing supplies he thought you might have need of."

Her light voice did nothing to inform her father if she'd been frightened, or how much 'digging' had to have been done to get them free. "We were able to get through to the healing halls eventually."

Elrond's hands tightened as Arwen met his gaze fully. "I saw Elladan. Ori got he and Kuilaith through safely."

Elrohir took courage in the fact that Arwen did not look devastated by grief. "The news is good?" He asked, garnering her attention.

"Nuluin says our brother took a 'killing blow' from …." She turned to look back over at her father for clarification.

Elrond sighed unhappily. "Saruman has betrayed us." He acknowledged.

"I had hoped it to be nothing more than rumor." The brunette she-elf said with a heartfelt sadness. "Words and nothing more."

"I'm afraid not." Elrohir said, still angry, though he'd been outside fighting goblins for most of the afternoon. Only inside now as Galadriel had sent him with messages, letting Elrond know that Thranduil would be arriving within the hour and that Cirdan was all but come as well. The Humans of Dale had already made their presence known, flanking the goblins as best they could even though the enemy had seen them approaching.

"Well." Arwen straightened up. "Rumor speaks of Saruman trying to kill Kuilaith, with Elladan stepping deliberately in the path?"

Elrond frowned at the memory, feeling again the bitter shock of betrayal and terror as he saw someone he'd so trusted attack his son and grandson. He nodded quickly.

"I rejoice for you that Elladan lives." Nori gave a short bob of his head, "but if it was a killing blow, how does he still breathe?"

Balin hissed and made a gesture meant to shut the other dwarrow up, shaking his head at so indelicate a question. "Magic."

Elrond shook his head immediately. "No. Saruman had blocked our ability to react in that manner. No. Elladan took the blow meant for Kuilaith without such aid."

Balin's eyes widened as both Elrohir and Arwen now stared at their father too. "But how?" They asked nearly at the same time.

The elvish healer shook his head. "I can only speculate. Saruman had a known distaste for dwarves."

Nori snorted derisively.

"He was clearly aiming for Kuilaith, he even said so before Elladan took the blow meant for his son. My son's child is mortal. What would be a killing blow to him …" His voice trailed off as he considered how close they'd all come to death.

"Elladan is not mortal, so he knew the blow wouldn't kill him?" Balin asked.

"I'm afraid not. The attack should have killed Elladan." The elvish father said, his voice tight. "I believe that Saruman didn't put his full strength behind it because he did not feel it necessary, not to kill a mortal mixed-blood dwarf. He might have been conserving his strength for his escape."

"He miscalculated the love of a father for a son." Balin said with respect in his voice, giving a more formal bow to the elvish leader, which Lord Elrond returned with grace.

"Indeed."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Tauriel allowed none of her misgivings to show, tugging on the sturdy rope to test the strength of the life-line dangling from above. After crawling through the excavated opening in the fallen debris, there wasn't much space on this side. One of the dwarrow helped harness her to the rope and pulley system while Kili's mother helped and observed.

The she-elf looked upwards, then downwards. They were on what was left of an outcropping, part of the stair system that would have led up and out if it hadn't been smashed. Tauriel tilted her head once more, trying to pierce through the darkness at the hole in the staircase, but there was not sufficient light.

"Gimli is up there, among others." At Tauriel's blank look the princess took pity on her. "My cousin Gloin's son."

Ah. The red-head nodded to show she'd understood. Yet she could not help but recall that Gloin never gave her much of anything beyond a day's greeting and a chilly look. Not unfriendly, but not really welcoming either.

"Ready?"

Tauriel nodded to the dwarrow, who gave a complicated system of tugs on the rope to indicate readiness. She had a moment to wonder and then her feet were no longer on the ground.

"Careful." Oddly, it was Dis who called up after the departing elf. Tauriel concentrated on as little movement as possible. The last thing needed was for the rope to start swaying like a pendulum. Thus she had nothing to do but allow herself to be pulled up by sheer force, leaving her little to do but think.

"Well." Tauriel said aloud to no one, as she cast her gaze down to her chest. The warning stone that Kili had gifted to her still glowed its pale alert. No brighter now that she was in the air being lifted, than it had been on the ground.

A scraping sound carried from somewhere above her and her head jerked upright. Making the rope sway slightly. Tauriel stifled a curse or two as she forced herself still. The rope steadied slowly.

Slowly she moved upwards inch by agonizing inch.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"King Thorin." Elrond bowed at the approach of the dwarven monarch.

Intense eyes narrowed as dark brows furrowed with the king's scowl. "Am I to call you Lord Elrond at all times?"

"Certainly not." The elf's mouth twitched and he nodded his head. "Thorin." He amended his greeting to something less formal.

"Today's events, if nothing else, shows that I …was wrong about you." Thorin admitted, though with ill grace and a deep frown. "Though why you think you can summon me in all this confusion is beyond my understanding."

Elrond's eyes showed his surprise. "It wasn't meant as a summons, but my daughter Arwen has arrived from the healing halls with news."

Thorin's temper faded somewhat, though he mused that might be bad as it seemed to be the only thing holding him up from utter exhaustion at the moment. "Kili?" To his credit there was barely a pause before he asked about Elladan as well.

"They had to take a more circuitous route, due to difficulties." Elrond gestured to the jumble of rocks around them, though the main hall was pretty well cleared of debris. If only to make room for all the gathering dwarrow, and the injured. "But they arrived safely enough. My son still lives, though he is not awake."

King Thorin nodded thoughtfully, then grimaced. "It was a brave thing he did, protecting Kili."

Elrond nodded in acknowledgement of the compliment. "Neither of my sons lack for bravery, nor Arwen. Though a parent might wish for more restraint from time to time. Today was not such a time."

A weary laugh escaped the dwarven king. "Perhaps Kili gets his reckless nature from Elladan. I had always assumed it to be from other relatives." Thorin's heart still ached as he pictured Frerin's laughing face.

"Or a mixture of all of them." Elrond allowed, feeling every bit as hollow and exhausted as Thorin. "It seems Arwen was shocked to hear that Galadriel feels Fili still lives. Word had gotten to the healing halls that your crown prince had died. She has gone back to get more healing supplies, retrieve more information, and to deliver the news on Fili."

Thorin hated to think of Kili's pain if he believed his brother to be in the Halls of the Waiting. "Rumors will be everywhere. Some of it even true. Thank you for informing me about Kili and Elladan."

Elrond nodded, then seemed to sense a hesitation in the king's manner. "Was there something else?"

Frowning, Thorin looked around to see who was close, who could hear. Sharpening the elf lord's curiosity. Obligingly, Elrond moved closer to the king. "No." But as the elf began to move away, the king's frown sharpened further. "Wait."

Elrond waited, saying nothing.

Thorin sighed, his voice dropping to a whisper. "When only you, I and Elladan were there, against Saruman, unable to move or fight …." His voice trailed off there, though his expressive eyes finished the thought for him. "Killing us." He added after the elf did not speak for a moment.

Elrond had no difficulty following the trail laid out before him. Though he had no response to give. Right before Elladan fell, and before Galadriel burst through the wall. Something had happened. Something with Kuilaith. A huge blow against Saruman. And a light his memory was giving greater strength to than could possibly have been there. Very uneasy, the tall elf shifted his weight, as if trying to find his balance both physically and mentally. "For that, I have no answers, not yet." He side-stepped the question.

Thorin grunted, sensing the elven leader's disquiet and definitely not satisfied with that answer. "Have none, or will not yet share?"

Lord Elrond thought back to that moment, when Kuilaith had begun to glow and he too frowned. "For this, I have none. Not yet. I … would not … he should not have … I do not know."

A soft sigh was the king's response. "Damn. I think I would have been happier if you just weren't sharing."

In that, Elrond could only agree. How had Kuilaith accessed the Eldar light within? His training was not that far along, nor had any of the elves considered the lad to have enough elvish blood to do such a thing. Yet. Kuilaith had fought back. Against Saruman. It might have been only for a moment, but that one blow had freed both Elrond and Thorin, and had perhaps alerted Galadriel.

"I have heard no rumors about this part of the fight." Elrond said cautiously. "Only you and I were witness." Elladan too, though that was left unspoken as neither were sure that the elf would survive the recent events.

Thorin nodded, getting the message. He too had said nothing, not even to those closest to him. "A discussion for another time?"

"And another place." Elrond agreed wholeheartedly.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"You don't have to wait." Dis said to the she-elf as they both watched the dwarrow pulling someone up from the lower ledge. "You've been rescued."

"So have you." Tauriel spoke quietly, watching the dwarves as they pulled on the clever rope and pulley system. For something thrown together at a moment's notice and with little resource, she was impressed. "Everyone is not yet up."

"Brunere and Erelinde are already on their way to the healing halls." Dis reminded her.

Tauriel nodded even as she pointed at the main pulley. "It creaks louder than it did when pulling me up."

"That was nearly two hours ago." Dis said a bit snippily.

"Brunere has a broken hand that needs to be set as soon as possible, it is only right she goes to the healing halls." Tauriel explained calmly. "But I want to see everyone pulled out from down there before leaving."

"So damned honorable. Trying to make a good impression?"

The red-head blinked and turned to look at Dis. She guessed that whatever momentary truce they'd had while trapped was gone now. "I don't leave people behind. I was a Captain of the King's Guard for centuries."

"No longer, now you seek a higher title. That of princess is it?"

"I need no title beyond that of my own name. And I will stay to see everyone brought up." Tauriel reasserted.

"I thought you were in a hurry to find Kili!"

The red-head nodded, even as she held up the chain holding the warning stone. It was no longer glowing. "The dwarves pulling me up told me that the prince is leading rescues in the crafting areas. I will join him as soon as possible." The relief she'd felt on hearing that had nearly dropped her to her knees, though she did not try to explain that to Kili's mother.

Dis glared at the she-elf, hands on her hips and her eyes nearly glowing with irate temper. "You are not upset that he is not here to greet you as you are rescued?"

Tauriel looked up in true surprise. "Upset? He is doing his duty as a Prince of Erebor, I would expect no less of him. Also, how was he to know where I was located or in need of rescue?"

Dis made a sound that could mean anything, but spoke no further.

A creaking noise had Tauriel's green eyes narrowing as she eyed the pulley. "I really don't like that sound of that."

"Nor I." One of the rescue party dwarves frowned. "You have a good ear. I'm going to replace that pulley as soon as we get this dwarrow up here. We only have one more to go after him."

"And then the rescuers on the lower level ledges." The she-elf nodded thoughtfully, recalling her misgivings on the stability of the two lower levels where there had been pulley systems rigged up on their behalf.

"Indeed."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Sit, sit!"

Erelinde couldn't really make out any of the words people were throwing at her, though she batted at the helpful hands coming her way. Trying to steady her.

Fili? Gone? The dwarrowdam was finding it difficult to breathe. Darkness sort of surrounded her vision, encroaching in toward the middle as things looked like they belonged in a tunnel.

Someone put their arm around her and she tried to jostle them loose, only to find out that it was Brunere and her friend wasn't letting go. Agonized sky-blue eyes met frightened violet ones.

Erelinde took a gasping sort of breath, then shook her head. "Bofur?"

"I don't know. No one seems to know." Her friend said. "He, he told me he'd be with the prince today."

Prince. Fili. Waiting. Erelinde shook her head. "I'm the daughter of a mining engineer. Nothing is certain, news can be wrong." But she was saying this to ease some of the fear in her friend's gaze. Not because she believed it, not deep down.

What Erelinde knew was that loved ones could die. She'd seen it happen and had felt death's sting. She'd decided to come out of her crafting halls and give life a chance, and … it all collapsed. Again. Fili, gone. Her father, no one seemed to know where he was. Suddenly she moaned, her hand tightening on Brunere's good hand. "Lady Dis, she doesn't know."

Oin came around the corner looking harried and preoccupied. He walked right by the two dwarrowdams then stopped and spun, his eyes fair leapt with relief and joy. "Wonderful! Good, come, we need all the hands we can get!"

"I'm down one hand." Brunere said, fighting off her fear the best she could. At first it had been a matter of getting out of the Ozinafkhur. Simple enough, though not an easy task. It wasn't until she and Erelinde had been escorted to the healing halls that she'd started to appreciate the amount of damage done to Erebor.

Erelinde had gasped and started shaking as they'd seen the hallways that were collapsed, or only partially open. Flickering lights had illuminated the scope of the disaster in a profound manner. Fear had taken hold like it hadn't before, not even with the walls and ceilings coming apart all around them.

Brunere had been so sure that Bofur would be waiting for her when she'd come to the top of the safe passageways. Then she'd seen all the damage and had been sure that he was off rescuing others, doing his job heroically. Missing was not something she'd been prepared for. And Prince Fili. If he waited, then what about Bofur? Hadn't they had an assignment together? Today? Or was it yesterday by now?

"Er? What?" Oin gestured for her to follow. "Come, there is much that needs to be done."

Brunere started to move away, but Erelinde shook her head, grabbed her friend's arm and lifted the roughly splinted broken hand so that it was within Oin's line of sight.

Although hard-of-hearing, the dwarf was not blind. Oin immediately frowned and moved to check the splinting work, muttering under his breath.

Erelinde looked around at all the injured. The faces were stoic, trying to ignore pain and grief. That was the dwarrow way. Tears flowed though. Jobs were carried out and duties attended to, but tears did flow. That too was very dwarven. There was no shame in emotion, nor loving ones friends and family.

These were her people. Longbeards. In their home. Once again under attack, though she couldn't get a straight answer about from whom. The word 'goblins' was thrown around, though some were saying Sauron had actually been within the walls of Erebor. The very thought made her nauseous.

These were Fili's people. His kingdom. And even if he were Waiting, she was not going to let him down. So what if she never became queen? It wasn't a title she'd aspired to anyway. But Fili loved Erebor, she knew that, listening to him so often talk about the quest and what it had meant to him.

Grief or no grief, she was going to cry for him. But she was going to do what he no longer could.

Brunere seemed to sense the change in her friend, turning to look at the white-blonde dwarrowdam. "Dwarf-girl?" She said, using the age old nickname from their youth.

"Between us we have three hands and two heads." Erelinde said a bit stiffly as she moved to wash her hands. "Help is needed, and help they are going to get."

Brunere watched her friend with a slightly bemused air even as Oin poked and prodded painfully at her broken hand. "Erelinde?"

But the crafter was focused. Her heart was breaking on the inside, but she wasn't going to let Fili down. "What needs doing first?" She demanded.

Brunere stared, wincing a bit as Oin shifted something in her hand. She looked around at the confusion. "We need lists, organization. The most injured need to be moved toward the back of the hall to the beds. Pallets next. The walking wounded like me can stand or sit as there is availability."

Erelinde set to work with a fury her friend had never seen before.

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"Almost there." The dwarrow said with a nod of satisfaction that turned into a shocked shout as the metal link holding the pulley in place twisted.

The sound was a little thing, but a sickening one. Tauriel looked up and saw the pin twist and bend and discolor in a way that she knew meant it was about to break. Time slowed, but as fast as her reflexes were, she could not stop the inevitable.

Knowing that, her mind raced. The pulley would break. What next? The rope would fall, rubbing over the ragged edge of the half-crumbled ledge. Would it break?

There were two dwarrow hauling up one of the males that had been trapped with them down below. Was their strength enough?

Tauriel moved like water, leaping down through the hole and catching a rough beam that had not fallen with the stonework of the staircase. She used the momentum to swing toward the side wall, even as she heard shouting from both above and below her.

She was mid-way between the second pulley station and the uppermost level when she came to rest on a short outcropping she'd noticed when she herself had been the one being pulled to safety. Here she braced herself and grabbed the rope.

No sooner had she done so when the metal pin snapped in two. Events happened as she'd thought and there was an immediate drop due to the weight at the end of the line. Then it stopped. The dwarrow above her had held on, but the rope was now rubbing against the ragged and sharp ropes up there.

Yes. A snap. She could feel it on the line. Another. The rope was fraying. Idly she wondered if this bit of rope had been left over from before Smaug. She never got to the end of that random thought before the rope broke several dozen feet above her.

Pain. Tauriel shouted as the rope slid through her hands, tearing and ripping at her palms as she struggled to slow and stop the fall. It wasn't just a question of strength, but of physics, momentum and gravity.

Slowly, the fall slowed, then stopped. Tauriel panted, her eyes squeezed shut in effort. There was still shouting, both above and below. With gargantuan effort she moved slowly, wrapping the excess rope around her slender waist, tying it off the best she could and ignoring the stinging pain of her hands. And the blood on the rope.

As she moved, the dwarrow below her yelled at first, then quieted. A shout from below was answered from one above her.

"Can you climb?"

It took a moment for her to realize the question was directed at her. She thought about it, then rejected the idea. "No. My hands are too slick. I'd never find purchase."

"Can you maintain?"

"Yes."

"I'm coming down." The voice informed her.

Tauriel nodded, though none could see her. What felt like eternity was probably only a half hour at most. She heard him coming first, realizing that the dwarves must have rigged another pulley system. "Good."

"Yes. It is good to see you."

That voice. Green eyes popped open as she stared wide eyed.

Kili was looking right back at her. "My love, you do make life interesting."