Evie took a deep breath which came out far too much like a gasp, trying, despite her sudden, overwhelming surge of fear, to stay calm. She swayed on her feet for a moment as one of her hands searched weakly to her side until it found the cool stone of a wall to steady herself with. She closed her eyes for a second longer than she needed to blink, then opened them again.
"Who knows about this?"
"Only you, my lady…" Oarkir stumbled over his words, his eyes scanning the fluctuating expression on the queen's face as she tried to hide her terror and look like she was in control of the situation.
"Good." She tried to think everything through as fast as possible. There would not be much time.
"Tell no one else. We need to keep this a secret for as long as possible."
She did not think anyone would try to take advantage of Thorin's situation, but one could never be too careful. And if people discovered that his life was in peril, there was no knowing how they would react. Tensions were high enough with so little water to go around; the last thing they needed was despair for a possibly lost king, or worse, anger at his absence. Evie's heart throbbed at the very thought, and too much was flashing suddenly before her eyes – her bed empty without him, the throne absent of his judgment, their table clear of his commanding presence at its head… And her, always alone… No. He was perfectly fine, he was simply trapped. They would get him out, and everything would be well. It had to be.
"Do everything necessary to free them. If anyone asks questions we can explain that a few miners have been trapped, but under no circumstances are you to include the king in their number. I will make the announcement myself if we cannot get them out before sunset."
Evie swallowed, trying to mask her feelings with well-practiced regal demeanor. Oarkir took her orders with a nod and a bow, rushing off to see them completed. The hobbit felt her heart leap up into her throat and tried to slow her breathing enough to do what needed to be done. She was no help to her husband, or her people, like this. Evangeline Took, wife of Thorin Oakenshield, King at Ered Luin was no fragile maid – she had seen many empty chairs at once-full tables before, and she knew death would come as it might. The queen could only hope that today it would not come for her beloved.
Steeling herself, the hobbit caught the attention of the attendant who had originally interrupted her meeting and sent him back in to excuse her absence and to share that the queen had pressing business to attend to and would update them later. Next she went back to her room, collecting her healing supplies into their usual satchel and gritting her teeth as she began the long trek down into the heart of the mountain.
After a certain point it was clear which direction to go, even without a guide. She could see others funneling down one particular tunnel, and she followed them towards it. Within a few minutes a trio of dwarves arrested her progress, hesitantly introducing themselves and asking if they could act as her escorts to wherever it was she wanted to go.
"Are you visiting the folk down in the caved in tunnel? It's mighty dangerous down there, mi'lady, I don't know that – "
"As kind as your alarm for my safety is, I am intent on seeing the damage done and communicating with the poor souls trapped in the tunnels my husband and I commissioned."
Nothing more needed to be said, and the dwarves led her farther into the weaving passageways, down and down until what little light they had from their torches seemed to be almost snuffed out from the very presence of the darkness around them. It coveted anything bright, primed to devour any light that dared infiltrate its depths. Still, they continued on, the strange, jagged shadows created by the miner's helmets alarming in the flickering light of their torches. Evie held a light in one hand and her healer's bag in the other, her fingers gripping each so tightly her knuckles turned white. It was the only sign of weakness she could dare display.
Evie didn't need her new companions' announcements to realize they had finally made it to the appointed place. There were a number of dwarves collected together in a small area, and none were moving forward. Sharp edges of rock protruded out of the tunnel before them like dragon's teeth (not that Evie had ever seen a dragon, but she imagined the scale might be similar all the same), frightening in their solidity.
The dwarves around her began to mumble, and Evie caught enough to recognize that the assembled parties were noticing her arrival. She tried on what she hoped appeared to be a grim but determined expression, and held her candle up so they could look at her face.
"Thank you all for your concern and quick reaction to this disaster. Unfortunately, collapsed tunnels are a hazard when working so deep within the mountain, and this is not the first time we have had to clear a blockade of this size. I need all the dwarves necessary to begin this work to remain here, and all others to evacuate the area. I will ensure everyone is notified of any progress, but until we have made some I need this tunnel clear. Our main priority is getting those trapped on the other side of this rock freed. Who is here to help me do that?"
Most of the dwarves stepped forward, preparing the essential tools and huddling together in the struggling light to try and devise a proper plan for the excavation. They asked no questions and they made no complaints. They simply got to work in a way reflective of the dignity of their kind, and required nothing more of her.
"Can those on the other side hear us?"
She asked one of the newly formed crew, and he frowned down at her, the wrinkles of his face sharply drawn in the low light.
"Unfortunately not. The rock is too thick – we heard some noises earlier so we know some are still alive, but no more than that."
Evie lost control of her expression for a moment, her grey eyes widening in frightened amazement. So it was worse than she had thought. Thorin may be on the other side of the rubble, but he might not be alive. He could have been crushed by the impact; only Mahal knew who was alive and who wasn't on the opposite side of the obstruction. They were separated by mere feet of stone, but to Evie and the miners it might as well have been miles.
"He'll be alright, my lady."
The dwarf offered, and it was not until that moment that Evie was sure everyone present knew their king was trapped behind the barrier of heavy rocks. She appreciated their respect and their silence more than she could ever express, but at the moment all the queen's heart could handle was the realization that even though she could dare to hope for the best, it was quite possible that her husband was already dead.
.
.
Evie had dozed off against the craggy, curved wall of the tunnel, despite her best efforts to stay awake throughout the difficult process of exhuming the trapped miners. How long she had been underground, she had no sense of. Obliquely she realized she had thought to go and announce to the kingdom the truth of what was happening, yet under so many miles of dirt and rock she felt so removed from the civility of dwarven politics that it seemed much less important than it had before, and the threat of the realm's confusion rather less intense. Everything which was real to her now was the hard earth under her feet and the chokingly thin air of the subterranean world she now occupied. Sleep had overcome her weary form after she had watched the stalwart dwarves in her company tearing carefully at the rock before them for what seemed like hours and hours… She had been waiting patiently with her medical supplies on her lap so that the instant anyone was freed she could see to their health, but after waiting for so long the darkness had won over her fearful anticipation and the fatigue of her worrying had wearied her at last.
The hobbit woke up to a loud shout and immediately sat up, nearly knocking her head on a rock jutting out of the wall, perilously close to where she had been resting.
"We're close!"
Someone called out, and the distinct sound of falling stones could be heard under the clinking noise of a pickaxe driving into a crag in the rubble.
"I – I think I can hear someone! Everyone quiet!"
Another person cried, and Evie stood and stepped closer. Everything seemed a lot brighter than it had before, perhaps because her eyes had finally adjusted as much as they were able to the dim, faded light of the burrow. Even from a few feet away, Evie could see one dwarf standing with his axe in hand, ready to strike again at the wall of rock, while another leaned forward and pressed his face to the obstruction as his large hand, blackened with dirt, waved for silence. Evie strained to listen but she could not hear whatever it was he could.
After a brief pause the dwarf stood, and everyone else in the tunnel seemed to let out a collective breath at once.
"News from the other side – there is not much space there, so we have to be even more careful with each strike. We've got to make them count, and be delicate..."
"If we knock the rocks the wrong way an avalanche might come down on those who are trapped, killing them at once."
Another dwarf added, his lips turned down in a grimace.
"And?"
A third dwarf joined in, his face tense and his eyes like sparks in the dimness.
"And.." the first continued, taking a deep breath. Evie thought she might cry out from the lurid sting of her anticipation for his words, and her fear at what they might reveal. "One is dead, two alive. We'll keep working in a moment, but why doesn't everyone take a quick break – the water should be here soon, and we could all use a rest as we figure out how best to finish this."
There was a moment of collective silence, and then the dwarves began to move around. A few sat down, closing their eyes as they tried to find what reprieve they could while others huddled together and began to whisper. The water should come soon, indeed… Evie had called for it what felt like ages ago, but she supposed time was moving slower here than it would have anywhere the sun's rays could touch. She wanted to make sure that everyone who was working so tirelessly to free these trapped dwarves would not go thirsty… At least not tonight.
"My lady," the dwarf had come to Evie's side, and the queen bit down on the inside of her mouth as she tried to prepare herself for whatever was to come.
"Did they say…"
"The king still lives."
He told her quickly, and she nearly fell to her knees she was so relieved and overwhelmingly grateful. Her eyes shone with it, even though she tried her best not to demonstrate her intense sentiment. The dwarf had said it loud enough that others could hear, yet discretely enough that no one made comment. They should know, Evie recognized, and yet everyone had been very respectful of her wishes to keep things quiet until events could come to a resolution.
Evie swallowed, thanking the dwarf, whose name was Nanir, and trying to steady herself on her feet, which were threatening to give way beneath her.
"He wants to speak with you." Nanir added, his eyes directed downward. The queen nodded, taking small, careful steps toward the rocks piled high before her and praying she did not trip and fall. She made it to the blockade after what seemed like an eternity, and sat (or tumbled, more like) onto a large rock protruding at the bottom of the collection.
Her tiny hands searched across the rocks built up before her, as if she could touch him through the barrier.
"Th – Thorin?"
She called out softly, certain no one on the other side could hear her feeble voice, yet too afraid to speak louder. She did not notice how the rest of the dwarves in the area slowly backed away, putting some distance between the queen and any prying ears with admirable respectfulness. One lingered a moment too long, interested in the proceedings, but a comrade tugged him back and pushed him farther down the tunnel and away from what was sure to be an intimate conversation.
The muffled sound of shuffling came from the other side of the rocks, and then a voice answered her.
"Evangeline."
When she heard him say her name all hope for royal decorum fled from her heart as fast as a raven could take flight. She crumbled there beside the rock, releasing the smallest, most desperate sob.
"Thorin! Oh thank Durin you're alright."
"For now.."
He replied, and although she could sense his attempt at humor what she heard even more clearly was the fatigue in his voice and, somewhere beneath it, the fear. That was what made Evie instantly strong. Knowing that he needed her, that he was just as afraid of leaving her as she was of losing him… It had been years and years since they were in any sort of trouble – since Evie had been stabbed all those decades ago by the goblins, or the flood which nearly killed Fildur… Thorin and Evie had seen their fair share of adventure, maybe less than some but certainly more than most, yet this was not how she imagined the end to be. Separated by hard, unyielding stone, swallowed up by the mountain itself, that great mountain which had brought them together and made them a home… No, it could not end like this. Not after everything they had been through.
Evie put on her most Tookish, queenly face and felt her jaw set in determination. No one was dying today.
"We are going to begin pulling out the rocks closer to you… Be careful and try to track each rock as we lift it so you can avoid any others which might fall when the blockade is disturbed."
Even the hobbit was impressed by how flat her voice sounded, how certain. She had heard the other dwarves talking before, and had asked her fair share of questions, and she knew how best to proceed.
"Evangeline, you shouldn't be down here… It's dangerous."
"First of all, my beloved king, I have tended to the wounded in battlefields far more gruesome than I care to remember and if I am not afraid of orcs or the poisoned arrows of the Harad then I am certainly not afraid of a few large rocks. Second of all, if you are so concerned for my safety perhaps you should not have gotten yourself trapped here."
On the other side of two feet of stacked rubble, Thorin Oakenshield smiled.
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Author's Note: I hope all of you are well! Thank you for your continued readership and I hope you are still enjoying this great adventure! Your thoughts, comments, and suggestions are always appreciated! My very best to you!