The once-empty infirmary was now bursting at the seams. Healers from Dale and Erebor tended to as many patients as they could, focusing on those most in need. Female nurses comforted those who were beyond help. Thorin recognized far too many faces, whose varying expressions of pain and helplessness fueled the spear of guilt that buried deeply within him. Not even the relieved glances from some of his men assuaged it.
"Thorin!" a soft voice called from the back. Radagast stood outside the curtains separating Danica, gesturing fervently.
Exhaustion briefly forgotten, Thorin hastened to the wizard. As she had for too long, Danica lay in her bed, body motionless in sleep. However, for the first time in weeks, a spark of life emanated from the healthy flush in her cheeks. No longer did she appear as an empty shell, but merely a woman on the brink of waking. Overcome, Thorin fell to his knees, dropping his head onto her chest where her heart beat strong and steady.
"Thank you," he whispered in prayer, not sure to whom he spoke. "Thank you for bringing her back to me,"
Tears wet his cheeks and soaked into her nightgown. Though it felt indulgent to ask for anything else, he prayed they would survive the siege. That their lives could finally settle into a peace they'd never truly known. Danica deserved that chance, and Frerin deserved a happy life.
Only when he felt more composed did he look up at Radagast. The wizard had gone above and beyond to help them. Though serene, his efforts showed plainly in the deep circles painted around his eyes.
"Thank you. For everything. I do not know how to repay you,"
Radagast smiled. "It was my pleasure. Truly. Now, she likely won't wake for another few hours. I assisted her in falling into a deep, peaceful slumber. Though it will restore her body, I cannot be so sure about her heart and mind. I…this is not the first time I have seen such mental trauma, and few cases end in happy resolution,"
Rarely had Thorin seen such things so close, and he felt woefully unprepared and unqualified to walk beside his wife through the coming days. How could he possibly help mend what had been broken?
"Thorin, the king knows you're back,"
Almost grateful for the interruption, Thorin looked over at Tala who stood by the curtain, face grim.
"Dwalin is already on the way," Tala said.
"I will be here with Danica," Radagast assured before Thorin could think to protest. "As I said, she will be asleep for some time yet. If she does wake before you return, I will send someone for you,"
Resentment for his nephew warred with resignation for what he knew needed to be done. Giving a nod to Radagast, he pressed a tender kiss to Danica's temple.
"I love you,"
Tense silence surrounded them as Tala led Thorin to Fili's quarters. When they entered the study, they encountered Fili, Thorin Stonehelm, Dwalin, and a couple of the generals locked in a silent, but volatile standoff. Fili's furious gaze met Thorin's.
"My advisors and the men of Dale are demanding consequences for your insubordination. What do you think I should do to appease them?"
Bristling, Thorin stood taller, though already the tallest in the room.
"Remind them that by rescuing my wife, I ensured her power could not be used against us. Once rescued, she neutralized the threat of the Easterling battalion that would have ambushed us from the west,"
A flicker of awe flashed through Fili's eyes, but he would not be moved. "Do not hide your intentions behind the pretense of valor. You were blinded, Thorin. Blinded by the love for your wife. And while we can all understand such feelings, yours drove you to abandoning your people when they needed you the most,"
It wasn't just rage that sharpened Fili's voice, but desperation as well. Beneath all that, fear. Thorin glanced around the room, and noticed one glaring absence. His lungs halted, cold flooding through him.
"Where is Dain?" his voice was a hoarse whisper that still managed to crack the air like a whip. Thorin Stonehelm flinched at the sound of his father's name.
Fili's glare grew colder. "He died. Yesterday, while defending the body of King Brand. Both of whom gave their lives for their people and lands while you were-"
"Do not finish that sentence," Thorin growled. "Don't you dare,"
"Thorin's presence would not have changed my father's fate," tears glistened in Stonehelm's eyes, but he kept them at bay. "The fact of the matter is that we were overwhelmed. Likely would have been more so if Lady Danica's magic had been used against us,"
"But the absence of our former king, and our best general, Dwalin, affected morale!" one of the elders, a dwarf named Oldin exclaimed angrily. "Whispers circulated about how you once again chose a human woman over your kin!"
"Old men and their grudges," Dwalin scoffed. "All the same arguments passed around for decades despite constant evidence to the contrary and proof of the absurdity of yer complaints!"
Yells broke out, each side getting into the other's face, spitting threats and insults. With a roar, Thorin shoved between them all.
"No more!! We are already under siege, and cannot afford to turn on each other. I grieve our losses as much as any of you and would be lying if I claimed guilt did not play a part in that pain. Yet, I would still make the same choices without a second thought and will not apologize for it. Be angry with me, hate me, but get over it until this is all over,"
"And the dwarven ring?" Oldin asked, face still drawn in a glare. "That, at least, would be some compensation for our losses,"
Both the rings burned in Thorin's pocket. Why hadn't he given them to Radagast when he could? "It is no longer in the hands of the enemy. Nor is the one the General used. Radagast has worked to make sure their power cannot be used again,"
Fili growled in frustration. "They could have saved us! Damnit, Thorin! Do you not care for the fate of our people?"
"Watch it, lad," Dwalin warned.
Thorin took a deep breath, his brittle control cracking. "Taking a leaf from the books of our gold-sick ancestors, are we?"
Blue eyes flashed. "You would know. Isn't that what drove you to strike the wife you forsake your people for?"
He snapped. Snarling, Thorin grabbed his nephew by the collar and shoved him against a wall. Protests buzzed like mere flies in his ears.
"You listen to me. You wish to be a good king? Put your own grievances aside so you can think clearly. Everyone is looking to you, and you are crumbling beneath that weight. Yes, I fell to the dragon sickness. Be better than me. Better than those who came before us. You always had a kind, brave heart. Use it,"
Fili shoved at him, but Thorin could see how vulnerable his words had made their king. They stared at each other for a tense moment before Fili closed his eyes and turned away.
"What do you suggest we do now?" Stonehelm questioned softly.
This small act of trust and deference changed the room's atmosphere in an instant. Those whose rage burned with palpable ferocity now looked between him and Fili, shaken and uncertain. When it was clear Fili would not answer, Thorin spoke.
"We need to send out scouts, animal or otherwise. In a last show of her great abilities with the rings of power, Danica ended the lives of many of our enemies. The question now is how many are left, and what the state of their armies is. The panic and confusion may be the perfect chance for one last charge. Take advantage of their weakness and confusion and annihilate them. Thanks to my wife," he sent a sharp look to Oldin, "the odds have shifted in our favor,"
Some shifted their eyes guiltily, but their confidence was growing.
"I'll send a raven," Tala said, hurrying out when Thorin gave him a nod.
"Even if the enemy is weakened, our men are lacking morale," Stonehelm pointed out. "The men of Dale have lost their king, and we-" grief cut his words short.
It speared through Thorin as well, the image of his strong, honorable cousin haunting him. Nothing he could do would make up for this failure.
"None of us could help him," Stonehelm said as if hearing Thorin's thoughts. "We tried, but he wouldn't leave King Brand,"
Thorin passed a hand over his face. Brand's son, Bard II was likely overcome with the loss of his father and the sudden, crippling weight of a kingdom on his shoulders. It was a weight Thorin knew well.
"Are you alright?" he asked Dain's bright-haired son, now Lord of the Iron Hills.
Tears sprang into Stonehelm's blue eyes, but he held them back.
"I cannot allow myself the time to consider that. If I do, I fear I will wish to join him,"
Thorin clapped a hand on his shoulder, the only comfort he felt he could give.
"Your Majesty, my Lords, King Brand's son wishes for a joint council," a soldier said from the doorway. "Our sentries have reported mass chaos amongst the enemy,"
"That son is now Bard, King of Dale," Fili turned, voice strong. The voice of a king. "Tell him that we are on our way,"
The soldier nodded and hurried off. Before anyone else could leave, Fili lifted a hand.
"All of you need to hear this and follow through should I fall. Thorin, son of Thrain, if your wife, the Lady Danica has succeeded in contributing to our triumph, I will pardon your insubordination. If not, you and your family will be banished to the Blue Mountains, never to step food beyond the Green Wood as long as you live,"
A strangled sound made its way from Dwalin's throat, but Thorin silenced him with a look.
"Understood," he said.
With a curt nod, Fili led the way out.