The King and The Baker

Chapter 26

Maybe Ora had been too quick to judge Thorin. As it turned out, he had gone straight to his sister- a mother herself, and a woman with a heart so gold she was fight off a hundred Goblins with her own two hands just to protect one of her own who was in trouble. So, Thorin had known that if he'd told his sister about poor Uli, she wouldn't hesitate to help her, even if it meant battling with her own morals and maybe even her people.

Ora owed Thorin. Big time.

"You there." Dis exclaimed, immediately Ava's head snapped towards Dis. Ora and the princess had only just entered Uli's chambers, and within moments Dis was already barking orders at her friends, completely skipping the formalities and introductions and getting right into business. "Go to the healer's quarters and ask for Ingert." She didn't elaborate, so when Ava hesitated, looking confused, Dis barked, "Go! Now!" And Ava flew away out the door.

Dis went to Uli's side, and Ora went to the other. "Who is Ingert?"

"Get me a damp cloth, Ora. And he was the healer who cared for me when I was carrying Fili and Kili, I trust him with my life. He's the best healer there is." Dis didn't look up when she spoke, and once she finished Ora nodded and went to get what she asked for.

When she returned, she handed Dis the cloth and immediately Dis went to work dabbing it on Uli's forehead and temples gently. Uli didn't protest, by the looks of it, she was beyond arguments and questions.

"I take it Thorin agreed then?" Ora could see Uli tried to smile, but her lips barely twitched when she spoke. Her words were a little slurred, and it was painfully obvious how much she was struggling to string a sentence together. Her eyes get drooping out of focus, and her hands were shaking.

Ora offered her a small smile, and glanced over to Dis who was watching Uli intensely. "Sort of."

When Ava returned with Ingert, a small, old Dwarf with fading red hair and a beard so long he had to strap it into his belt to keep it out of the way, he took one look at Uli and his face visibly paled.

"Oh my..." Ora heard him mumble before he shuffled quickly to Dis' side, not even noticing Ora was there watching him. He put the back of his hand to Uli's forehead and Ora watched him swallow hard. "Uli, dear, can you hear me?"

Uli mumbled something, and Ora stared with wide eyes as her friends eyes crossed for a moment, before she responded a sloppy, "Yes." She then gagged, as if trying to heave but not quite having it in her to do so fully.

"What's wrong with her." Ora demanded, but she was ignored.

Ingert pressed a hand to Uli's stomach gently, expression still grave. He exchanged a look with Dis, who visibly gulped.

Ingert then turned to Ora, and then looked over to Ava. "May I have a word with you two outside?"

Both females nodded numbly, and silently followed the healer out into the hall.

He didn't waste time in talking, but he made sure the door was properly shut behind him before facing Ora and Uli.

"When did you first notice something was wrong?" He asked, looking between them for answers.

Ora turned to Ava, who knew, and who was looking as white as a sheet.

"W-Well I'm not sure r-really. I found her only this morning. She was in the bathroom," She took a deep breath and Ora could see her eyes growing dewy, "W-we were supposed to be going to the market." She swallowed hard. "I-I thought she'd just eaten some off milk, or meat, or something. But then she started being sick too, she couldn't walk straight, she was shivering and sweating at the same time. She was delirious, too, she couldn't talk right..." She then stared at Ora, "I didn't know. Honestly, I didn't..." She trailed off, the first tear slipping down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away.