Warrior's Heart

Chapter Ten

Arielle could hear the horrid sounds of stone being broken, of statues being toppled as Thorin ordered the city reinforced further. For the next several days, she saw no one, as they were all busy carrying out his orders.

She didn't even see Thorin, for despite his promise that they would try to conceive another child, he didn't come to bed any one of those nights. She didn't know where he slept, or even if he slept at all. And that did nothing to ease her worry. If anything, it made her worry more.

It was so easy to lose track of time in Erebor. Without seeing the sun, the days and nights were easily mixed up and confused. To make things worse, the others seemed to go out of their way to avoid her as well. Twice, she had come into the dining room to find Dwalin and Balin there, only to have them excuse themselves at once. Even Kili and Fili seemed to keep their distance.

She left Thorin's chambers and just set out to look around a bit. Erebor was so vast, she had no idea how much of it she'd already seen or how much of it remained, and there was no one about she could ask.

As she descended into the mountain's depths, the air grew cooler, more damp, and the silly crown on her head seemed to grow even heavier. She should have left it in their chambers, but Thorin seemed to grow annoyed any time he saw her without it, so it was easier to don it and suffer.

The sound of voices caught her attention and she rounded a corner to see Thorin and Dwalin in conversation in the immense cavern of a room. She recognized the forges the dwarves must have used back before Smaug, and their being lit lent a bit of warmth to the cavern.

But what struck her most was the floor upon which the dwarves stood looked to be of solid gold. It glinted in the glow of the fires, and she was certain she'd never seen so much gold in one place before. Ever.

Thorin looked up and her heart skipped a beat at the annoyance on his face. But then, he smiled. "My queen. What brings you down here?"

"It was far too quiet in our chambers. I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Of course not." He looked over at Balin. "You do not mind, do you?"

"Of course not, Thorin. The lady Arielle is—"

"Queen," Thorin interrupted sharply.

"I beg your pardon," Balin turned to her. "And yours as well."

"Please don't." She joined them in the middle of that solid gold floor, her boots clicking softly against it. "What is this place?"

"These are the forges," Balin explained. "Precious metals are melted down here to be crafted into jewelry, mostly."

"And why is the floor gold?"

"We tried to drown Smaug in gold," Thorin said, shaking his head. "It didn't work."

She nodded, looking over at him. His eyes were still a far more brilliant blue than normal, but he seemed very much like his old self, which made her heart rise even as Balin said, "If you will excuse me, I'll let you two alone."

"Oh, you don't need to leave on my account," she said, moving to stand between him and Thorin. "Especially if you're discussing something important."

Balin glanced up at Thorin. "We aren't."

"Wait," she caught him by the wrist as he moved to step around her, "have either of you seen Mr. Baggins? I realized I haven't seen him in days."

To her surprise, Balin winced and Thorin's jaw tightened. She looked from one to the other. "Have I said something wrong?"

"That filthy little Shire rat has gone back to his books and his comfortable chair," Thorin growled.

"What?"