A.N. Yay for updating fairly soon! Well, soon in relation to what I have been doing. Sorry this chapter is fairly short. I honestly thought it was longer, but once I'd typed it out, wasn't as much as I'd hoped. Ha. Hope everyone is doing well!
Amethyst Hansen: Thank you for reading my stories and reviewing! I appreciate it so much!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and plot points.
Nathir had the good sense to look alarmed, but remained calm. He lifted his hands to show submission, but that did little to ease Danica's rage.
"You already know of the battle to come, but there is a small army headed this way that knows of the secret door, and plans to use it to invade the mountain, and set off explosives, making the dwarves that much more vulnerable,"
The suddenness, and plain honesty of his answer gave Danica pause. She hadn't expected him to be so forthcoming.
"Why not just tell us this from the beginning? We could have put sentries in position to stop them before they reached that part of the mountain. Besides, no one can find the door now. It's sealed,"
"They have someone who can not only find the door, but can manipulate clouds and mist to hide the Easterlings from sight,"
Sighing, Danica used her free hand to massage the bridge of her nose. Well, Gwyn's nose. "They have someone with magic?"
Nathir nodded, his eyes growing sad. "My twin sister,"
Shit. "Which is another reason why you kept this secret. You want to rescue her first, so she's out of danger," releasing him, she leaned against the opposite wall. "Did you really believe we wouldn't help you if you had told us the truth?"
Nathir's stance relaxed, and he straightened out his clothes. "I believed that you would want to, but the priority for King Fili is keeping his kingdom and people safe at all costs. For Thorin, it is you and your son. Neither one would have put their priorities at risk to save my sister,"
"So, instead, you trap me in an impossible situation, harming my family," speaking the words brought forth the anger again.
"I have done what I need to do to save my family. I will not apologize for that,"
Just as she would never apologize for doing what was necessary for the ones she loved. "I cannot yet forgive you for what you've done, but I understand it. Let's go save your sister. The sooner we leave, the sooner I can return to my son and husband,"
For a while, he felt nothing but grief. Somehow, Danica's body was able to provide milk for Frerin, but because of her condition, it wasn't enough. Di̒s took the babe to a wet nurse, but Thorin couldn't leave Danica. He held her hand, looking at her sleeping face. Something was off. It was as if her body was nothing more than an empty vessel. She was alive, but somehow gone.
Devastated and confused, he left the room for the maids to clean. The world made no sense. One moment, everything was normal, with a plan in place to take care of the spy. Next moment, his son was born far too soon, and his wife was gone. Grief evaporated into anger, and he surged in a different direction. Someone in the troupe was to blame, and he would find out who. Nathir was the first he would need to speak with, but when he reached the performers, their leader was nowhere to be found.
"He left with one of our acrobats, Gwyn," one of the men explained when Thorin asked. "Gwyn had passed out earlier, and was acting strangely when she woke up. Nathir said he was taking her to Dale to visit her mother. Every time we visit this area, Gwyn goes to see her,"
Barely concealing his rage, Thorin nodded, and went to the front gate.
"Did you see anyone leave in the direction of Dale?" he asked the sentries.
"The troupe leader, and one of the members left a little while ago, but they didn't look to be heading to Dale,"
Which meant that there was no way of catching Nathir and questioning him. "No more of the troupe is allowed to leave," he ordered. "One of them poisoned the Lady Danica,"
It wasn't until he had walked away that he realized he would need to get that approved by Fili. No matter. Fili was likely thinking along the same lines by now, and would order the same when he learned of Nathir's escape. They would need to question each member separately, and no one would be allowed to leave until Nathir returned, or they had answers. All Thorin really wanted to do was pummel those who were responsible, even if only by affiliation.
"There ye are," Dwalin came up to him as he walked through the main hall. "Fili has confined the performers in a set of quarters in the west wing. We will begin questioning them soon, if yer up to it,"
"I want to look in on my family one more time, but then I will be there," the last statement was a promise, and warning to not start without him.
"We will wait," Dwalin vowed in return.
His and Danica's quarters were clean when he returned, and Di̒s was sitting by the fire, rocking a sleeping Frerin. Danica was nowhere to be seen.
"They took her to a private section of the infirmary," his sister said before he could ask. "The healer wants her closer so he can keep an eye on her bleeding,"
Thorin merely nodded. He sat beside her, and watched his son's sleeping face. Even as tiny as he was, it was clear that he was a fighter. His raven brows were relaxed while resting, and Thorin could see some of Danica in them, as well as his tiny mouth. The picture of him was nearly perfect, for instead of his aunt's arms, he should be in his mother's while she smiled down at him. The loss of that hit hard.
"How did it all go so wrong?" Thorin whispered brokenly. "Why does it always go wrong?"
Di̒s sighed, and laid a hand over his. "A question I have asked many times over the last century. You have walked a harder path than most, and very little of it has been fair. What I do know, deep in my bones, is that this is temporary. Your time is coming,"
Danica had dreamt of such a time, and he could only pray that it could still happen. Thanking Di̒s, he passed a hand over his son's hair, and got up to go see Danica.
"Before you go, have you seen Kayli?" Di̒s inquired.
"No. Perhaps she is with Fili. If I see her, I'll send her this way,"
A strange quiet had settled over the infirmary. Thorin's footsteps echoed off the stone as he walked back past the other beds. There were a few sick and elderly dwarves, but not many. Dwarves were not often prone to illness, and most elderly dwarves allowed death to take them before their bodies failed them. Part of the reason Danica's condition was so devastating. He stopped at the curtain that separated Danica from the others. Normally, he could always feel her presence when she was near. Now, there was nothing.
By appearance only, she cold have been dead. Her skin was devoid of all color, and her breathing was so slow and shallow that it was barely detectable. The maids and nurses had cleaned her, but there was still something strange about her scent when he kissed her forehead.
"Don't leave me," he murmured. "You would be taking my heart with you,"
Unable to handle the lifelessness of her, he left, and walked briskly to meet Dwalin and Fili. When he got there, he expected to see Tala and Kayli as well, but neither was present. His confusion must have shown on his face, for Fili stated,
"No one has seen them in the past hour,"
Thorin looked at Dwalin, seeing his suspicion mirrored in his friend.
"Have some check the stables for any missing steeds," Thorin advised, his words causing Fili's eyes to widen.
"You think they went after Nathir?"
Though he wasn't yet sure why they had done it, Thorin nodded. "I know they did,"
