A.N. Hello, and welcome to another chapter! (I've been watching too much youtube…) Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! We've been taking our decorations down today, and while there's less clutter, it's still depressing. Ah well. Life moves on. Thanks to all of you who are reading! I love you all!
ChelseaSW6: I hope you're better with patience than I am. Lol. I've always sucked at it. And I've been wondering about that. :/ I feel like there have been a few people who haven't gotten emails. I contacted support, but I'm not sure if they've seen it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my original characters and plot points.

The entire company was quiet as they trailed up the mountain. It was a cold, dark day that threatened precipitation, but had yet to deliver. Danica felt her heart pounding so hard she thought it would explode. She was too far back to see anything ahead, and so was relying on sound to know if any fighting began. The paths had just begun to narrow when it happened. The sound of clashing metal bounced off the rocks, and had the soldiers in front of, and behind her preparing their weapons. She looked nervously at Oin, who reached over, and gave her arm a squeeze. It seemed like an eternity they were shuffling along the trail, hearing the sounds of fighting and death. A couple of refugees when running by, escorted by bloodied soldiers. They looked alright, so Oin pulled her along, stepping carefully along the rocks so they did not fall into the dark below.

"Move, move, move!" Fili yelled, voice much closer than she'd expected. "Danica! Oin! We need you!"

And, just like that, they were pushed along the line, passing the skirmish with a few goblins, and led into a cave. There were some small fires lighting the space, where a few dozen dwarves huddled in groups. There were mostly women and children, many of whom were clutching each other in fear. Danica's heart clenched.

"Over here!" a voice called. Back in a corner, a dwarrow dam was applying pressure to a little girl's leg.

Oin and Danica hurried over, and while Oin checked and bandaged the leg, Danica took care of any other wounds. Looking around, there were a few more injured, including a couple of their own soldiers. After a permissive nod from Oin, Danica moved on to the others. Each child that was injured put another chink in her heart that she had to ignore so she could work efficiently. Yet, no matter how hard she worked, she felt like she was going too slow. More injured soldiers were coming in, and some goblins had managed to break through and attack. They were easily killed by the dam who had been with the little girl, but it heightened the stress of Danica's patients.

"You must be Danica," the dam from earlier knelt by her as she tended to a soldier's arm.

"I am," once the bandage was secure, she looked up, and saw the blue eyes of Durin's folk watching her. "Are you Di̒s?"

"Yes. You should know that while I am unsure about a human becoming queen, all I want is for my brother to be happy. He has had so little happiness in his life,"

Danica nodded somberly. "I know. Happiness is all I want for him as well,"

"And that happiness seems to be based in you," Di̒s replied. "Leave it to my brother to find his One the way he did. Still, I am indebted to you for saving him and my sons,"

Danica was unsure how to respond, and was saved from having to figure it out by a soldier coming in. He was drenched, and Danica could now hear the rain outside.

"We have pushed the goblins back! Anyone who can walk needs to leave now!"

Di̒s immediately stood, and began ushering people out. Most were able to get out on their own power, and a couple were carrying children who could not.

"Danica! Go with them!" Oin ordered, putting a splint on an older man's broken arm. "I will stay here until the ponies can be sent for,"

There was no time to argue, as Di̒s grabbed her arm, and pulled her out into the rain. They stayed at the back of the group, making sure everyone moved safely.

"Wait," Di̒s suddenly stopped, looking back to where the battle was still raging. "I need to see if my sons are alive,"

Danica stood with her, feeling uneasy. "We cannot wait long," she pressed.

"There they are," Di̒s said, not hearing Danica.

Sure enough, Fili and Kili were back-to-back, pushing the dwindling goblin force back. It didn't look like it would be much longer before they could bring ponies up. Since Di̒s still held on to her arm, Danica tugged to get her attention.

"We need to go," she urged.

Just as they turned to go, a few goblins hopped form above, coming between them, and those escaping down the mountain. Behind them, more goblins kept the attention of the soldiers. Danica pulled out the knife Thorin had given her before she'd left, while Di̒s brandished her axe. With the trail being so narrow where they were, Di̒s was able to dispatch those in front pretty quickly. A couple came between Danica and the soldiers. Panicking, she slashed out at them, managing to graze one on the arm. Growling, it struck out at her with its sword. Pure luck saved her for the first few blows. She slashed again, her blade raking across the creature's throat. Blood splashed her face, making it hard to see as the goblin fell from the cliff, but was soon replaced by its fellow. Danica was not so lucky with this one, and received a couple gashes before the goblin's sword pierced her side. The pain brought her to her knees, which gave Di̒s the opportunity to behead the goblin.

"Come on! We need to leave!" Di̒s wrapped an arm around Danica's waist, helping her to stand. Danica cried out, then gritted her teeth, and forced herself to move.

A strange, scratching sound had her looking up, to see another goblin ready to pounce on them.

"Watch out!" pushing Di̒s away, she took the full weight of the goblin, and they both tumbled into the abyss.

It had been agony waiting for them all to return. Every felt like torture as he tried to put his focus on his duties. He needed someone to become permanent Lord of Ered Luin, for there were many dwarves who still wished to stay there. Others were coming from the far east, and there were still living quarters that needed to be cleaned. The forges were as productive as they had been before Smaug's attack, and trade was beginning to flourish.

"Your Majesty," a sentry came up to him as he stood in the jeweler's workshop to speak to his master crafters.

"Are they back?" he asked, something in his gut telling him they were.

The sentry smiled and nodded. "They should be at the gate now,"

Unable to completely control his excitement, he hastened to the gate, ignoring the chuckles from those who knew what was going on. Many of the refugees had already made it inside by the time he reached the gate. He recognized some, and was pleased to see plenty more streaming in. His eyes searched among them, but could not find Danica. The excitement was beginning to sink into fear when he finally saw Oin.

"Oin, I am relieved to see you are well," he said, walking up to him. His fear intensified at the look on Oin's face. "Where is Danica?"

Tears filled the older dwarf's eyes. "I had sent her out when the first group was able to escape. She was with your sister when…when she…" he was unable to speak, looking down at his feet and sniffling.

"When she what?" Thorin's voice rose, causing some around them to stop and look.

"Uncle,"

Fili and Kili walked toward him, faces grimmer than he'd ever seen. Not only was Danica absent, but so was Di̒s. Thorin looked at his nephews, feeling heart turn to ice.

"Fili…where are they?"

"Danica pushed Mom out of the way of a goblin attack. She slipped off the cliff, and Mom tried to catch her," tears filled Fili's eyes as well. "I'm sorry. They're gone,"

He went numb. This was why the maia had allowed them to see each other. It was the last time they were going to see each other. One step back, then two, and he was walking away from the gate. Any calls of his name fell on deaf ears. His feet took him down to the Dragon Hall, as the Gallery of the Kings had been renamed. For some reason, this had become his place to think. Hardly anyone came down here, uncomfortable around the gold floor. She had kissed him here. Kissed him and brought him back to sanity. That, and imprinted herself forever upon his heart. It felt like his whole world had shattered when she had disappeared from his arms. Somehow, this felt different. There was fear, but not hopelessness. A test. That is what Danica said this would be.

Turning back around, he went back up to the gate. There were people who needed help, and he needed to be the king Danica wanted him to be. After all, when she came back to the mountain, he couldn't let her down. She was alive, and if she didn't find her way back to him, he would have to go get her.

"Hurry back," he murmured, hoping Mahal would hear his words, and use them to spur Danica back to his side.