Dornessiti (Hobbit Short Story)

Chapter 14

"For mahal's sake will you eat something," Dis sighed exasperatedly, looking down at the bowl of soup her brother had let go cold. Thorin's eyes were hollow and unemotional as he stared blankly into the fire, not replying to his sister. The sheer state of him made Dis want to cry. She'd got him into this mess, she'd convinced him to become a father, and now it was tearing him apart. She knelt beside his armchair and took one of his hands in both of hers.
"Nadad, please, I'm begging you. Starving yourself won't bring her back. Eat, sleep, regain your strength, please."
Thorin just stared emotionlessly down at her. He looked almost dead behind his eyes. Lost and devoid of hope.
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She'd seen him like this before, after Azanulbizar. He'd just sat in his armour for hours, not letting anyone tend to his wounds or clean the blood from his brow. Everyone who tried to disturb him was sent away, maids, council members and soldiers alike. Only Dis had been allowed near him. They'd sat together in silent vigil for hours, the air filled with nothing but grief as they'd held hands into the early hours. She and Thorin were the only ones left. Their mother, father, grandfather and brother had all fallen within a year of one another, leaving nothing but a well of emptiness in their absence. Thorin's only other comfort had been a young dwarrowdam, the sister of his best friend Dwalin. But she had been slain too. Her death had merely plunged him deeper into sorrow. He hadn't spoken for days after the battle, turning aside the councillors who'd tried desperately to speak to their new King. Eating and sleeping had seemed alien to him, as he stayed up late at night and stared emptily into the night sky. Dis had begged him, pleaded with him, but he would hear nothing. Most nights, she'd ended up crying about it all to a dwarf named Vili, who had held her and hushed her until she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. Now he was gone too. He had been killed in an orc raid a month before she could tell him that he was going to be a father for the second time, leaving her with five year old Fili and the bump that was to become Kili. And now it was happening all over again. Dis was alone in the world, with her brother falling back into grief, and a missing child to find.
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A pair of footsteps came creeping lightly over the floorboards, and a cool flannel was pressed to Hazel's forehead. She tried to push it away, but her arms felt like lead.
"Hush, ilverin," purred a soft voice "Lie still."
Hazel whimpered softly, tears forming in her eyes. Everything hurt. She'd spent the last two nights awake and sobbing, sick until her stomach was empty and throbbing with pain. Brianna had cared for her, staying beside the distraught child even as her husband had tried to quiet the crying baby. Halbarad was a sweet child, and one of the only ones in the house Hazel didn't mind being around. He just babbled and giggled and stared up at her with curious little eyes. The only time she didn't like him was when he cried. Brianna was gentle, motherly and protective, caring for the little girl with a cautious kind of concern. Halbaerd just scared her, and Hazel flinched as he came into the room.
"Bria," he said "We must go before the snows come again."
"She's too sick Hal, if we take her out there..." Brianna hesitated for a moment, looking down at the tiny fever stricken child beside her, whispering softly "...she'll die."
Hazel whimpered, clinging tightly to her blue teddy which had been returned to her after being washed and dried. She wasn't sick enough to die, was she?
"We have to take her," Halbaerd continued "If the snow comes again she could be stuck here for weeks. The drifts are already three feet high."
Brianna sighed, looking down at Hazel who was shaking feebly and close to tears.
"D-Don't want t-to d-die," she whispered quietly, her tiny fingers clutching her teddy bear.
"I'm not going to let that happen, ilverin," Brianna hushed, tempted to reach out and brush the strands of hair away from Hazel's feverish forehead. By the look in her eyes, the little girl could see she wasn't lying. She cared too much for that. Hazel nodded a little, eliciting a gentle smile from Brianna's lips.
"We'll take the horses," Hal said. Hazel's tired eyes lit up a little at the mention of horses, managing a tiny smile. Halbaerd left the room, trudging down the stairs to ready the horses.
"You'll ride with me, ilverin, if that's okay," Brianna said softly, getting up and taking a few blankets out of a chest.
"N-No," whimpered Hazel.
"You want to ride with Hal?" She questioned, looking confused.
"N-No m-more blankets," the tiny girl insisted. Her fever making her feel like she was constantly on fire, the last thing she wanted was more layers on top of her burning body.
"I'm sorry ilverin," Brianna apologised softly "We have to wrap you up otherwise you'll freeze."
Hazel shook her head again.
"N-No."
Brianna sat back on the bed beside the tiny child, wracked with concern for her.
"I said I wasn't going to let you die, ilverin," she said softly "And I'm not going to let that happen. But we need to keep you warm."
Hazel stared at her for a moment, shaking ever so slightly. Why did this woman care about her so much? She wasn't perfect or special in any way. Even her own daddy didn't seem to care that much about her.
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After a while she gave a cautious nod, allowing Brianna to dress her and wrap several layers of blankets around her frail form. She felt so hot she thought she was going to be sick again. She knew they were taking her somewhere.  Maybe it wouldn't be daddy's village. Maybe it was somewhere else, where she could find another place to live. Maybe he wouldn't find her...
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Dis trudged through the village. Her hood was pulled up against the wind and she prayed under her breath that the snow wouldn't fall again. The drifts were too deep now. Fili had spent most of the day before digging their front door out and carving a path to the main road, which was thankfully clear. The village was reasonably thawed, the blanket of snow having been crushed to sludge under dwarf and human feet alike. Dis ducked into the forge and was met with a wave of heat. James looked up from his work and set his tools aside, greeting the dwarrowdam.
"What can I do for you, milady?" He asked, cleaning the ash from his hands with a cloth.
"It's less of what you can do for me, really," she sighed "I wanted to apologise for my brother not attending work recently. The workload must be..."
"It's fine milady," James cut in, waving his hand dismissively. He then stopped for a moment, freezing mid-reach for his hammer, his indifferent expression becoming melancholy as he said softly:
"He must be worried sick about Hazel."
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Dis nodded, her throat becoming a little choked at the thought of her brother. He had scarcely moved all day, and seemed like a ghost when he did. He didn't speak, barely ate or drank. They were re-living a nightmare, and the only remedy was finding Hazel. They had to find his little princess, his dornessiti, else Dis feared he would waste away to nothing.
"Milady? Are you okay?" James asked, feeling he'd upset Dis by mentioning her niece's disappearance.
"I-I am well enough," she stammered, straightening up and ignoring the burning in her throat. James frowned softly.
"I'm sorry, milady," he murmured, his shoulders hunching and his gaze flickering to the ground between his boots. Dis found it strange how this tall, strong human could seem so small and meek when he felt he had done something wrong. He reminded her of her own boys, already so fearless and full of bravado despite being so young. The only person that'd worked harder than them to look for Hazel had been Thorin. Dis nodded at James stiffly, refusing to let her emotions get the better of her.
"It's fine, James," she said with false surety "All will be well."
James gave a weak comforting smile in return, feeling powerless to help the dwarrowdam.
"You know..." he began. He had been hoping to offer any shred of assistance he could muster, no matter how little or useless it was, but his sentence tailed off as two horses with riders came trooping slowly into the village.
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The riders were human from what he could see, one male and one female, followed by a large black dog. The male had a sling across his chest with a bundle wrapped inside, although from the distance James couldn't tell if it was a bag or a baby's swaddle. The female rider was holding something small and wrapped in blankets that shivered weakly every few seconds and gave a constant yet quiet, whimper like cry. James headed to the edge of the forge, shivering at the sudden gust of chill wind. The male rider spotted him and dismounted, the dog following at his heels.
"May I help you sir?" James asked, straightening up. Even drawn to his full height, he was still at least four inches shorter than the dark haired stranger, whose blue eyes pierced from under his hood. The sling across his chest contained a tiny baby, which slept soundly against the mans chest from inside its nest of blankets. Up close, the dog appeared more wolf like, with intelligent amber eyes, thick black fur and large, pointed canines. Yet it stood benignly at his master's heels, waiting for any command that he may give. The man met James' gaze and said:
"My wife found a girl in the forest a few days past. I was wondering if you knew who she may belong to."