The Hobbit: An Unlikely Pair

First chapter of my first Tolkien story; in this case The Hobbit, set in the movieverse; specifically Desolation of Smaug. Follows a similar plot to the Lake Town scenes of the movie, but with a key difference, Bain has a girlfriend (or sweetheart or whatever they were called in those days) who has an interesting role in Lake Town. She will feature in several key events; with her own input which may bring some slight changes. Also plan to go beyond DOS and include my own idea for Smaug's attack on Lake Town; hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: The Hobbit and associated works belongs to JRR Tolkien, Peter Jackson and other associated companies.


Chapter 1

The Lake Town, also known as Esgaroth, was quiet. Very few people were out of their homes; the run down town was rarely the sight of any real activity. Many families lived in poverty, their houses almost dilapidated and in some cases too small for the family. This was all contrasted by the large, well-furnished dwelling where the Master of Lake-Town lived. While not undeserving of his position for intelligence; he was not a popular leader amongst the citizens. True he had improved trade relations with the Elves that lived in nearby Mirkwood; but he was greedy and corrupt and kept most, if not all, of the profits for himself. Very few however had the nerve to act or even speak out against him, especially since they didn't know who could be trusted. As far as they knew, the person standing next to them could be spying for the Master; out of all these spies and lackeys one was well known; Alfrid Lickspittle; a man who only supported the master for his own gain. It was from Alfrid that the Master had singled out one citizen in particular as his enemy, one who had the nerve to stand against him and call for elections to determine a new master for Lake Town; an idea that others were slowly coming around too. That man was Bard; the local bargeman and suspected smuggler. As such the Master devoted many of his spies to watching Bard's house and movements.

For now however; Bard was away from Lake Town on business; getting ready to ship the barrels that were being sent by the Elves of Mirkwood, as they came down the river. So the only people in his house were his three children; his eldest daughter; eighteen year old Sigrid, his only son, fifteen year old Bain and his youngest daughter; twelve year old Tilda. They had been left to handle their own affairs, their mother having died birthing Tilda; as such Sigrid assumed much of the responsibility for the family that a mother normally would have. Right now Sigrid was prepare what food she could for lunch; she hoped their father would be able to bring some in for them soon, they were running out. Behind her, Bain and Tilda were setting the table. Once she was done making the food Bain came over to help her take the plates over to the table. He looked at them carefully and then up at her, they both discreetly nodded. It was an unspoken agreement between them always that; no matter how little food they had, they would always ensure Tilda had enough to eat; even if they had to go hungry. The family all sat down to eat; Tilda made a face as she noted the amount of food on her plate, in comparison to her siblings. She didn't like that they did this; she didn't want them to suffer for her sake, but she had learned that arguing about it never worked, it didn't stop them.

Tilda's mind wandered to the other thing bothering her; their father was late, normally, when he went out to collect the supplies from the Elves, he was only gone for two days before returning. But this time he had been gone for longer than that, it had been five days since she had last seen him and she couldn't understand it.

"Where's Da?" She asked; hoping Sigrid or Bain would know something and tell her.

Bain only shook his head; Sigrid sighed. "He's away out working; I know he's been gone for longer Tilda, but he should be back later today, I'm sure of it."

Tilda shook his head. "But, he was only supposed to be gone two days; it's now been five, what if…?"

Sigrid shook her head; trying to calm her sister's worries. Bain smiled at his younger sister reassuringly.

"It'll be fine Tilda." He told her calmly, before returning to his food.

"Exactly…" Sigrid added; before remarking. "…And Bain, stop eating so fast."

It was true; both girls noticed Bain had been eating quickly; as if he was in a hurry.

Tilda's curiosity was piqued immediately. "Why are you in such a hurry Bain?"

Bain shook his head. "It's nothing, sorry, I'll slow down."

Tilda pouted but said nothing; Sigrid however noted Bain was hiding something; his ears had gone red, something that always happened when he didn't tell the truth. However she decided not to pursue it and the family continued eating their lunch.

Finally, after lunch; after stating to his sisters that he was going out to see if he could spot their father's barge coming back, Bain left the house. While it was part of the reason he had left the house, it wasn't the whole truth. The whole truth was that he had left in order to meet someone. There were a few people walking about, thankfully the Master hadn't put his best spies on the job today; Bain knew the house was being watched but the spies were too conspicuous. They all turned away, or pretended to be busy, a bit too busy, in some activity, when he looked in their direction. Shaking his head he slipped away and managed to lose them easily. He then headed to his destination; this part of Lake Town was even quieter, as nobody ever really came here anymore. He looked around, confused; then he heard her voice.

"Bain, over here."

He turned and smiled. Waiting just out of sight; by the old abandoned warehouse, was the person he came to see. The girl was the same age as him with long dark brown plaited hair and dark brown eyes; her skin was smooth without any scars and the only blemishes were a smattering of freckles across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. She was roughly the same height as him and, while not fat, was slightly pudgy due to not having fully outgrown her baby fat yet. Her dress was dark red in colour and made of fine silk, while not frayed or patched it was slightly worn; the colour slightly faded, due to the weather and the nature of their surroundings. She was beautiful; many males who had seen her agreed on that; although some of them focused on cruder aspects of her appearance such as her medium sized yet firm breasts, or her long shapely legs; either that or they remarked that her beauty was marred by her rather prominent ears and square jaw. For Bain however, she was beautiful, simple as that.

He approached her; smiling widely; she returned the smile. Once close enough he wrapped his arms around her waist as her hands went over his shoulders and her arms warped around his neck. Then, pulling her body against his, he kissed her. She returned the kiss eagerly; being young and inexperienced the kiss was slightly messy and they didn't exactly catch each other's mouths; but to both of them it was sweet and loving. They parted for air and Bain smiled.

"Reina, I was worried you wouldn't make it." He said softly.

Reina smiled back at him and nodded. "I almost didn't…My grandfather's getting very suspicious of why I keep going out; says I shouldn't be mixing with people beneath me."

Bain frowned at that; he wasn't sure what they should call themselves, childhood sweethearts wasn't entirely accurate, but lovers sounded too grown up for them. Yet their love would have been considered controversial if discovered; especially since Reina was the granddaughter of the Master of Lake Town. Yet Bain couldn't imagine a person more different from him. She frequently clashed with him on various matters, especially politics; she cared deeply for the people of Lake Town and wished fervently to ease their pain and suffering, to find a way to end their poverty and hunger.

"Honestly, your grandfather…If he's still ruling, things will never change." Bain stated as he pulled back slightly to look her in the eye, still holding her.

Reina nodded; agreeing with him. "I know; your father is right, we should have elections, we need a new ruler. If I was ruling this town, I wouldn't allow this; I'd do something to try and fix all these problems; to help people."

Bain smiled. "I believe you, I know you would."

With that they kissed again; knowing that, doomed as it was due to their different social statuses, their love was strong and would endure. No matter what, they would always hold a place for each other in their hearts.


End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.