A/N: I'm sorry! You had to know I wasn't going to make it easy for Thorin or Kaleria! Please don't give up on this story. You can be mad about the last chapter, but keep reading! I love you guys so much!

As soon as Kaleria made it back into the party, she began searching for Hedina to tell her what had happened. She scanned every dancer and every table for an orange dress until she saw Hedina standing with a group of women near a table of men playing cards. She hurried over and took Hedina by the arm.

"I'm sorry. May I borrow you for a moment?" Kaleria pulled on her arm urging Hedina to come with her.

Hedina made a quick apology to the other women, then followed Kaleria to a private spot near the wall. "Whatever is the matter?"

Kaleria took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "Brerrick kissed me."

"He what!?" Hedina exclaimed, causing eyes to turn in their direction.

Kaleria shushed her as she looked around waiting for prying eyes to turn away. "He followed me out onto the balcony, and he kissed me."

"What did you do?"

"I shoved him off," replied Kaleria. "He claimed he loved me and that I can learn to love him, but I can't."

Hedina nodded her head slowly. "Okay, and how did he take that?"

"Not well. He stormed off."

"He has probably never been rejected before." Hedina stared at Kaleria for a moment. "How are you taking it?"

"What?" Kaleria wasn't sure what Hedina was getting at. "I'm upset that he chose tonight to tell me that he loves me."

"He thought he was making a romantic gesture." Hedina saw Kaleria was about to argue with her, and she took her hand. "Forget about what happened. Let's enjoy the rest of the evening."

Kaleria nodded and turned to watch the dancers on the floor. As she watched, a dark figure, resembling Thorin, walked quickly through the crowd and out the side door. Kaleria couldn't tell who it was, but they didn't look happy.

The day after the celebration found the mountain quiet as most dwarves had slept in late to recover from the activities of the night before. Only the shops that needed to be open, opened to serve their customers, while the other shop owners took the day off. The mines remained empty for the day since it was likely most of the miners had a hangover they couldn't work through.

Dis hadn't seen her family since she had gone to bed the night before, and now that it was nearly dinner time, she thought it might be nice to make an appearance. When she arrived at the dining room, Thorin was sitting in his usual seat, tapping his fingers on the table, impatiently. Dis sat down before she questioned her brother about his mood.

"How are you feeling, brother? A long night of drinking still pounding on your head?" Dis hid her remark as a joke, but her concern seeped into her tone.

Thorin glared up at her. "No. And, so you are aware, I did not drink too much last night."

Dis raised an eyebrow. "Your foul mood says otherwise."

"I have other reasons for my mood," said Thorin, sharply.

Before Dis could question him further, Fili and Kili walked into the room laughing about something from the night before. It was only once they took their seats that they noticed the tension at the table. They both straightened up in their chairs.

"The celebration was a success, uncle," said Fili. "Many people told me how grateful they were to have it."

Thorin gave a short nod as a reply, and Fili looked toward his mother for a hint of why Thorin was acting so strangely. Dis shrugged as she reached for her napkin and placed it in her lap. The boys followed her lead and reached for their napkins as well.

"We should eat," said Thorin, signaling for the food to be brought forward.

"Shouldn't we wait for Kaleria?" asked Kili.

Thorin gripped the armrest of his chair. "I don't believe she is eating with us tonight."

"Did she make plans with Hedina? Usually she tells me these things," commented Dis.

Thorin started to lie, but the door opened revealing the subject of their conversation.

Kaleria hustled to her chair. "I'm so sorry I'm late. I slept longer than I should have."

"It's alright. We haven't been waiting long." Dis looked from Thorin to Kaleria. "Though we thought you had other dinner plans."

"Why would you think that?" Kaleria seemed as confused as Dis.

Dis turned to her brother, waiting for him to explain.

Thorin couldn't look at Kaleria. His eyes remained locked on his plate. He was doing everything he could to keep his temper under control, but he knew one glance at Kaleria's face would throw him over the edge.

"I thought you had another engagement. My mistake." He took a long drink from his cup, signaling he was done speaking.

"I'm sorry to have misled you," replied Kaleria.

Thorin snorted at her comment and all eyes turned to him. No one wanted to be the one to ask, so Kaleria volunteered herself.

"Is something funny?" She studied his face as she asked.

"I wouldn't say it's funny," grumbled Thorin.

Dis looked at him. "Would you mind explaining, so the rest of us may understand your humor?"

Thorin pushed away from the table, standing from his chair. "I'll have dinner in my room."

He walked away from the table and out the door before anyone could comprehend what was going on. Fili and Kili looked from their mother to Kaleria, wondering if one of them could explain, but neither woman had an answer. Dis had only seen her brother act this way when he was overwhelmed by the sickness, but he had avoided an outbreak for weeks. They had thought he had moved past it. The silence stretched for a long time as they continued eating without Thorin. Dis decided she would seek out her brother for some answers.

Dis had always had a sense of when people were lying, when people were telling the truth, and when people were hiding something from her. Her boys hated it because she always knew when they were up to something; Thorin hated it because he could never sulk in peace.

He had been waiting since he left dinner for Dis to follow him and question his mood further. Somehow she always knew when he was at his weakest and would answer her questions without too much push back. Thorin had been on his guard from the moment he locked himself in his room. He wasn't about to tell Dis about his recent heartbreak. He convinced himself he was already getting over it, and bringing it up to his sister would be pointless. Thorin was okay with being the unmarried king of Erebor; he didn't need a wife.

The door to his room burst open to reveal Dis with the Durin scowl on her face. She slammed the door behind her and marched over to Thorin, who sat in one of the chairs in front of his fireplace.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Dis asked, crossing her arms.

"Nothing."

"Don't you dare lie to me, Thorin. The last time you locked yourself in your room, you fell ill for six days. I'm not about to repeat that, so you better tell me what's going on."

Thorin stared at the fire. "I'm fine, Dis. I'm tired from all the excitement last night."

"I've seen you when you're tired. This is different." Dis moved to kneel at the side of Thorin's chair, grabbing his hand to make him look at her. "Please, tell me what happened. I'm worried about you, Thorin."

Thorin met his sister's eyes and saw the pain hiding behind her strong exterior. He had never seen his sister look so hurt by his actions. Dis was a strong woman, but as Thorin stared at her, he realized how much her strength depended on the health and safety of her family.

He put his other hand over hers. "I'm sorry I made you worry, but I don't want to discuss what happened." Thorin stood from the chair and stepped over to the mantle. He kept his back to his sister, so she wouldn't see the tears threatening to fall.

"Why do you believe you have to burden everything on your own?" Dis stood, fueled by her anger. "I'm your family, Thorin. We share the responsibilities and the burdens of this mountain."

"This isn't about the mountain. It's about Kaleria." Thorin's voice broke when he said her name, and he sucked in a breath to steady himself.

Dis' eyes grew wide. "What happened?"

"I was going to tell her," said Thorin. "After our dance, I found the courage to tell her what I feel. I followed her to the balcony, but I was too late."

"What do you mean too late?"

Thorin closed his eyes as the image of Kaleria kissing Brerrick played in his head. A tear fell down his cheek. "She kissed him."

"Kissed who?"

"Brerrick."

Dis recoiled, blindsided by Thorin's statement and the coldness in his voice. She had heard Hedina and Kaleria talk about Brerrick, but Dis never thought Kaleria was interested in him. Every time she spoke about him there was something in her voice that had convinced Dis she wasn't in love with him.

Maybe she had been wrong.

"What are you going to do?" Dis asked, still looking at Thorin's back.

Like he always did, Thorin shouldered his pain, straightened his back, and became the king he was raised to be as he faced his sister. "I'm going to carry on as I always do, and lead this mountain back to prosperity."

Dis stepped forward and hugged her brother. It had been a long time since she had offered him comfort in this way, but Thorin accepted her into his arms and squeezed her hard. The siblings stood together for a few moments before Dis pulled away, staring up at Thorin.

"Do you want me to say anything to her?"

"No," he said, quickly. "She doesn't need to know."

Kaleria packed her bag with her sewing supplies-needles, threads, pins-and hurried to Dis' room. Dis hadn't asked her to help mend clothes, but Kaleria needed something to do and the princes probably had a pile of shirts to mend already.

After the celebration, the feeling within the royal family seemed tense, though Kaleria couldn't put her finger on why. When she had returned to the party, she noticed Thorin had left, and when she asked Dis about it, she had said he was tired. Then, at dinner the other night, Thorin had left early and no one seemed to know what was wrong with him. Thorin had been acting strangely for long enough that Kaleria assumed Dis would've confronted him about his behavior. Kaleria wanted to know what she could do to help him.

As she rounded the corner, she hit something solid and nearly fell over if not for the large hands holding her steady. She looked up into the pale blue eyes she knew too well.

"Forgive me, my king. I must watch where I'm going," she teased.

Thorin released her arms, gave a sharp nod, and continued walking.

Kaleria looked after him. "Thorin, is everything okay?"

He stopped, paused, then faced her. "Yes. I'm running late for a meeting. Excuse me."

Kaleria watched him disappear down the hallway, confused by his abruptness. She knew he was acting strange, but she could usually relieve him from his moods. She had seen him with the dragon sickness and this was nothing like that. She wondered how he was treating his advisors, because she had seen him act this way twice, and if he was developing a pattern leading back to the dragon sickness, Kaleria was going to do everything to keep him healthy.

She arrived at Dis' room and knocked on the door twice.

"Come in."

Kaleria entered and approached Dis, who stood over her table looking at papers. "How can you have this much work already?"

Dis looked up for the first time, and her expression became impassive. She turned her head back to her papers. "I'm a busy woman."

"Yes, I know. You're busy making sure the mountain runs smoothly." Kaleria put her bag down on the table. "Where are the boys' shirts? I'll start mending them."

Dis waved her hand in a shooing motion. "I'll do it later. Go have fun."

Kaleria raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Because you tell me constantly how much you don't like sewing."

"I'll be fine."

"Then I'll stay here and advise you on your important decisions. That is my job, you know." Kaleria went to sit down, but Dis stopped her from moving the chair.

Kaleria met Dis' eyes, waiting for an explanation.

"I need to be alone," said Dis. "I need to think over some things, and I can't do that with you here."

Kaleria frowned. "Dis, if you need to talk about something, I'm always here for you." She tried to cover Dis' hand to offer comfort, but Dis pulled her hand away before Kaleria could touch her. Kaleria replaced her hand at her side, then shouldered her bag.

"Let me know if you need anything." Kaleria left Dis' room before the tears could start falling.

First, Thorin was acting cold toward her, and now Dis, who she never thought would turn against her, was doing the same. Suddenly, the family she had thought she was becoming a part of was abandoning her. Kaleria had never felt more alone than she did in that moment walking through the empty hallways of the kingdom under the mountain.