Fool for u

One's hungover, one's dying, and we all missed the damn boat

Perhaps it was the four tankards of brandy and two mugs of ale. Perhaps the overeating. Perhaps the singing and dancing... well, whatever it was the fact remained, they overslept.

When Periwinkle woke with Bofur half on top of her, snoring and snuggling her like a teddy bear, she nearly went back to sleep but something was off. It was the silence, the absence of Fili and Kili's hushed snickers and Dwalin's booming voice that finally made her woke with a start.

"Crap!" She shook Bofur by the shoulders, earning a few incoherent mumbles from him, "Bofur, wake up! We overslept!"

"One more hour..." He buried his face in her neck and snuggled her closer.

"No, Bofur..." She groaned, but quickly thought of something that would most definitely wake him up, "Oh, look... two barrels of beer."

That instantly got his attention. Bofur shot upright with a huge grin, "Make mine a double!" It took him a moment to remember where they were before he heard the music coming from the outside, "By my beard, is that the time?"

Indeed, the music outside was for the departure of the Company. Periwinkle and Bofur gathered their things in a hurry before rushing out of the Master's house towards the music. The streets - er, decks of Laketown were overcrowded with cheering people, making it extra difficult for the couple to push their way through. They had to make it, they just had to...

Once they reached the edge of the pier they stopped abruptly, feeling their hearts drop in defeat. The Company already left, the boat growing smaller and smaller the further they sailed from Laketown.

"Oh no..." Periwinkle's voice broke.

Bofur hung his head low as he muttered, "This is my fault, lass. 'm sorry, shouldn't have drunk so much last night."

She shook her head slowly, wanting to tell him that it wasn't his fault or anyone's. It was Durin's Day and Thorin would've been in a hurry anyway. Besides, she couldn't guide them further if they reached the other side of the lake. She has never travelled there before and the dwarves aught to know those parts better. Perhaps the Master would lend them another boat to follow the others.

Periwinkle searched the crowds for the Master, but who she found instead surprised her even more, "Fili? And... Kili? Oin?!"

Bofur's head jerked to where she was looking and instantly his face lit up, "Ah! So you missed the boat as well?"

"Periwinkle." Fili sighed in relief when he saw them approaching, "Thank Mahal you're here. Kili isn't well, we had to stay behind."

If missing the boat wasn't enough, now this as well. Her brows creased in worry when she noticed for the first time how pale the younger prince was. There was no mischievous glint in his eyes, no playful smirk on those lips, and no sign of the Kili she knew.

"Let's take him to the Master's house." Periwinkle immediately suggested, "He has medicine."

 There was no better plan. They only knew of the Master and Bard's houses in Laketown and they doubted the latter would help them after his quarrel with Thorin.

Fili and Bofur hooked their arms around Kili and hauled him to his feet. He groaned at the agonizing pain that shot through his leg as they moved through the crowds. All the way Periwinkle lectured Kili for not having Oin check his wound earlier. It was probably infected, did he have any idea how dangerous an infected wound was?! She swore she would give him a smack up the head if he wasn't suffering already. Despite her lectures, everyone knew she only cared too much about Kili.

The Master's house towered above them as they reached the courtyard, and the man himself was currently ascending the stairs to his home with his guards and Alfrid on his heels. Periwinkle left the dwarves to run ahead, shouting as she went, "Wait! Please, wait!"