The dwarves began to dig as they had not in many years – deep into the mountain range of Ered Luin. The strength of the rocks they met with could not test against their own toughness, nor could the occasional caving in of the tunnels they were forming. There were a few frightening moments in which it seemed like some of their people might be lost in the depths, but eventually they were found and rescued from the rubble which had collapsed upon them. This work continued day and night as the dwarves pushed farther and farther into the heart of their mountain home, hoping to create their own waterway and search for any sign of salvation in the form of a hidden oasis.

Yet, despite their labors, little was discovered. There were two tasks before them: the first was to clear out small channels and systems in which they could store any water they might collect (in the way of the forges, but modified to maintain the water's drinkability), and the second was to continue digging and see what they could find. A few places had been marked as future mining sites, and that was good, but iron would not fill their bellies.

The delving was hard work, and the dwarves were all the thirstier for it. The mining endeavors grew more and more desperate each day as the fortitude of Durin's Folk was tested once more. Thorin, his spirit renewed by his ability to take action at last in support of his people, was out among them in the new tunnels and caverns. He toiled alongside his fellow dwarves, sweating out what little they drank and pushing on despite the buzz in their heads and the soreness of their muscles. Each day the king completed what light business he could in a timely fashion and then left Evie to look after the rest of their monarchial responsibilities so that he could join his brethren in the depths of Ered Luin.

Evangeline watched him make these choices in silence. She would not be the one to question the mighty king, now filled with so much expectant purpose. She worried about him, out there in the dark with others who were perhaps more experienced at the work, yet he was a king and he needed to demonstrate during these dark times that he would do whatever it took to provide for his people and fulfill his promises to them. Everyone in Ered Luin respected this, for it was the reason Thorin was so beloved by Durin's Folk. He was a leader who proved his mettle every day, not just once on a battlefield. When the dwarves of Ered Luin needed hope, they found it in the form of their king beside them. If they were fighting in defense of their honor, he was in the midst of the fray, mithril shining. If they were homeless and wandering Middle Earth as blacksmiths, then so was he. If they were burrowing into the depths of a mountain to search for water and create new systems for holding it, he was beside them, tools in hand. It was the quality he was most admired for, and it was the reason dwarves' faces lit up when they spoke of Thorin Oakenshield, King at Ered Luin.

The Blue Mountains were no great fortress home… Not as Erebor was, or the Mines of Moria, before they were lost. Ered Luin was only a ghost of that great, deep-rooted mainstay the Iron Hills, for although they were named hills, they were far from their diminutive title; Dain's kingdom was a mighty dwarven stronghold and one of the last surviving bastions of their people. Thorin was king of his settlement, indeed, but he was not King Under the Mountain. That title went only to the ruler of Erebor, and nothing he could do here in Ered Luin would ever compare to that great haven. Thorin constantly lived in the shadow of Erebor, their former home, and because they had lost it he felt the constant, wrenching responsibility to prove himself as a leader. The heavy burden of his duty to Durin's Folk was such because he knew he could never recreate Erebor, and that as fine as their home at Ered Luin might become, it would never compare to that great kingdom. So he would work harder and do more to ensure the very best for his people until they could retake Erebor and return to the lives they had been promised so many years ago.

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Evangeline woke in the middle of the night to the sound of her door creaking open. A few shuffling footsteps preceded the growing outline of a dwarf, and she stirred as her husband approached the bed. It was hard to tell in the low light, but he appeared to still be dressed – as he got closer and bent to pull the sheets of their bed down she realized he must have rinsed himself off as best as he could before joining her, yet his best proved to be hardly presentable. There were still many signs of the tunnels upon him; the dust clinging to his long, tousled hair, a smear of dirt at the top of his forehead even though tiny beads of water clung to his eyebrows and his beard… He had tried to wash up but was too tired to do a thorough job of it, no doubt. It had been like this for days.

The king sat down as carefully as he could on the side of the bed, trying not to disturb his wife but too exhausted to be as careful or quiet as he wanted. His boots slipped off one by one with two heavy thumps. Thorin was slow in removing his clothes, as if to stretch his arms up and take off his tunic was nearly too difficult for his wearied muscles. Evie's brow furrowed, and she sat up to help him. The dwarf turned, his long nose outlined in the dark and his eyes surprised. In his fatigue the king had not realized she had been watching him since he had entered their room, and he certainly did not expect her to rise and assist him so late at night (or early in the morning, more likely).

Evie sat beside him on the bed, her legs folded beneath her. One of her delicate hands reached for his cheek, turning his face towards her so she could look into his eyes. The pain and worry she found there frightened her, but also brought out the kindest part of the queen's nature. All she needed to be for him now was comfort, and that was something the hobbit knew she could accomplish. She kissed him, first on the cheek and then on the lips, her fingers grazing the rough line of his beard and coming to rest near his chin, collecting the precious drops of water which had been trapped there. When they broke away from the kiss her lips lingered near his, their foreheads touching as the couple soaked each other in for a moment. These brief instances of repose were quite rare in the midst of all that was taking place, so the pair had learned to savor them.

The queen's eyes flashed down to her husband's hands, which were at his sides keeping him stable where he sat on the bed. She took one of them in both of hers, startled by the way his fingers trembled. The healer spread his hand flat on her lap so that the back was pressed against the silks of her nightgown and she could move her fingers across his skin as if she was painting a picture on his open palm. Thorin shivered, and Evie leaned her head against his shoulder with supreme gentleness.

"You are doing well by them…"

She announced softly, her hands closing around his. It was what he needed to hear, although not what she wanted to say… Her heart begged her to tell him that he was being irresponsible and pushing himself too hard – what if something happened to him? What would they do without their king? What would she do without her husband? He was working himself much too hard, staying out too late… But if she had said this, he would have ignored her and perhaps even become angry. She knew him, and she knew that all she could do for her exasperatingly noble dwarf now was give him hope and encouragement. He was working so assiduously because he wanted to do the right thing for his people, and she yearned to prove to her stubborn husband that he was succeeding.

"Belinir does not approve, of course…" he confessed, his hand quivering even while it relaxed in between both of Evie's. "He thinks a king should rule his people, not toil beside them. Surely a king must prove his mettle, but in wisdom and in battle, not in simple physical tasks… He says this, and yet I would not feel a king unless I shared in my people's burdens…"

His voice was deep and nearly hoarse, croaking out from the back of his throat after another long day trapped underground yelling orders back and forth with the others and sifting through dirt and rock and all manner of hidden things which live deep in the earth. Evie grimaced, but held her ground. She knew what it was to be a dwarven king – she had heard the tales and read the histories… She was familiar with rulers like Thrór, King Under the Mountain, and his style of leadership. But this, as they too often reminded themselves, was not Erebor, and Thorin was not his grandfather.

"I have no doubt that your hands bear many more bruises and callouses than those of your father, and certainly more than his father's hands presented… Yet a king who sweats and labors alongside and for his people is no less loved than one who reigns from on high in times of prosperity."

Thorin turned again to look at her, raising his hands with a slowness that betrayed his screaming muscles until he could touch her face. His rough fingers slipped along her smooth cheeks, his thumb resting on the corner of her lips.

"Your people praise you in every corner of Ered Luin – you are more than a king to them, Thorin. You are their leader and they trust you in everything because you have proven your strength and loyalty to them more times than there are numbers to count. Believe in your own power, my love, for your people believe in you. Unfailingly."

She was about to open her mouth to say something else, more words to try to prove her point and demonstrate to him the value of his work, even if for once she agreed with Belinir (although for different reasons) that perhaps it was safer for him not to be performing such difficult labor, when he kissed her. It was a slow, startling, tender sort of kiss which made Evie's heart beat louder in her chest and her limbs go weak. He tasted of dust and sweat – all at once it reminded her of when she had met him in Gondor, laboring in the bewildering heat of the forge… And yet they had both come so far from that moment in time, as had Durin's Folk.

"Rest, my king… Sleep and let your toils be ended for the day."

Thorin smiled gratefully and reclined beside his wife, pulling her into his arms and holding her close. He kissed his hobbit on her temple, closing his eyes and falling immediately to sleep as if a curtain had been drawn over him, obscuring all thought and light. The weary king took what rest he could, always knowing that the next day's work would be even harder than the last.

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Evie was sitting at a council meeting in the mid-afternoon, her fingers pressed against her temples as she listened for what seemed like the hundredth time to Ered Luin's advisers drone on and on about how they needed to find a solution to the drought. Now their warblings were more focused, yet she could only sit and listen to calculations about how much digging they had accomplished and projections of how much more they should finish before a certain time before her head exploded. She appreciated all the more her husband's desire to be out there with his kin, digging and struggling, rather than sitting here in a chair listening to the mutterings of his elders who, though wise, were sometimes too practical for their own good, or Ered Luin's.

The hobbit sighed softly, trying not to look as frustrated as she felt. She nodded and attempted a smile, verifying everything the advisers were saying and adding that the miners could only do their best. Hopefully a breakthrough would be made, or at least the proper infrastructure built so that if rain finally did fall, they would be ready to collect it and make the most of whatever the sky delivered to them. Her words were not enough, of course, but she said what she had to.

The meeting was interrupted by an attendant, who came in and whispered in Evie's ear. The queen stood and excused herself, bidding them to go on with their discussion and to give her a report of the proceedings when she returned. She left the room, following the dwarf to where another was waiting in the hallway outside. These sorts of interruptions happened every now and then when there was news from afar or something notable had transpired, so Evie was not startled in the least until she met with the messenger, who was covered in dirt and had obviously come up from the tunnels. Her heart seized with careful hopefulness, that perhaps, against all odds, they had found something at last, although she would have thought Thorin would have gotten the news first and been here to deliver it to the council himself…

The look on the dwarf's face, blackened from the murk of the tunnels, dashed Evie's hopes to an early grave. Whatever news he brought, it was certainly not good.

"My lady…"

He greeted her, bowing politely. She nodded, her heart going slowly cold in her chest.

"What news do you bring, Master…"

"Oarkir, your highness…"

He filled in, and she took a nervous breath before confirming, "Master Oarkir."

Whatever his news, he was certainly not in a hurry to deliver it to her. Or perhaps he was scared to? What in Durin's name had happened? The anticipation made her even more anxious, for whatever Evie imagined in her head was often far more gruesome than whatever the reality was. So she begged Oarkir to give her the news he brought, and with haste.

"My lady…" he paused again, and Evie almost made a sound of fearful impatience at his hesitation. Seeing her concern, the dwarf's face screwed up in distress. "The tunnels caved in again. We are trying to excavate them and get everyone out, but it is difficult work as there are so many rocks in this part of the mountain and this is where the digging has been the hardest. We also have to be careful as there is not much space on the other side of the rubble, and if we make a wrong move those who are trapped might be crushed…"

Evie let out a shaky breath, her arms folding around her as she thought for a moment.

"Do what you can, with all care. Let them know we will get them out as soon as possible… Has the king been notified?"

"My lady, the king… The king is one of those who are trapped."

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Author's Note: A bit of a cliffhanger, there! I am very interested in Thorin and Evie living out this moment of distress, and I will confess this has been a very intriguing and emotional little piece to be writing. I look forward to sharing much more with you soon! Your thoughtful and kind comments are always appreciated – thank you so much to those of you who have stuck with me all this while and are still enjoying the story! I am so grateful to you… You are the reason I keep writing and push myself even when I'm busy and life is crazy… And I can never say enough thank you's for that. But I can try; so thank you!