The Hobbit: Unexpected Allies

Chapter 1 of a new Hobbit story, this one will be longer than any of the others I've done and will cover events in both DOS and BOTFA. Will of course focus on Bard and his children and as for pairings, a new twist this time as Sigrid will be paired with an OC at first, but events will later lead to it being Fili/Sigrid, along with the usual pairing of Bain with an OC, anyway, hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: The Hobbit belongs to JRR Tolkien.


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, sixteen year old Bain and his youngest daughter; thirteen 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 preparing 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 seven days since she had last seen him and she couldn't understand it.

"Where's Da?" She asked her siblings, worried. "I thought he was supposed to be home by now?"

Bain smiled reassuringly at her. "You know he's gone long some nights Tilda."

Tilda shook her head. "But it's been a week."

"He's been gone that long before." Sigrid gently reminded her; although she too was worried about their father.

Tilda sighed however. "I can't help it, I'm worried."

Bain and Sigrid shared a glance with each other before finally smiling, clearly both thinking the same thing.

Tilda noticed this however. "What is it?"

Bain turned to her and smiled. "Listen Tilda, if it helps, Sigrid and I could go and look, see if Da's back yet."

Tilda immediately perked up at that.
"You sure?"

They both nodded and Tilda smiled, agreeing.

Sigrid then reminded her. "Alright, we'll both be out though, you'll be by yourself, so, remember…"

Tilda nodded, she knew what her sister meant. Being by herself she had to be careful, not do anything dangerous. If there was any trouble she could go to the neighbours for help. Both reassured by this, they left the house.


They descended the steps from their house and onto the walkways that spanned the lake.

"Bain?" Sigrid began, uncertain. "You seem rather, certain Da will be back, what if he is in trouble."

Bain turned to her and smiled gently. "Sigrid, you know Da, he will be fine, I know it."

Sigrid sighed but nodded. "I see, well, we might as well look anyway."

"Yeah, alright…Might be better if we split up." Bain replied.

Sigrid nodded in agreement and they did so, searching in different directions. As she walked, Sigrid casually smoothed out the creases in her dress; keeping an eye out for her father. That wasn't all however, she was being wary, particularly of certain male inhabitants of the village. Sigrid always considered herself plain, just ordinary, which was why is disconcerting, not to mention distasteful when those men tried to blatantly proposition her.

'Disgusting pigs.' She thought angrily. 'They think they can get me to do what they want; just because they think I'll be desperate enough for any favour they offer.'

She would never be that desperate, besides, in spite of her rough background she was a proper girl. She was saving herself that way for marriage, as she was supposed to. She heard her name being called out and looked up. She smiled when she noted it wasn't one of those sleazy men she was trying to avoid; but rather, a man whose attentions she welcomed.

The man was young, only a year older than her, certainly a lot younger than the ones usually propositioning her. He was tall too, around 5'8" with short blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin, he had a light stubble on his face and a muscular build. His name was Philip; he was the son of the town blacksmith and was also courting Sigrid.

While nervous about it, due to Bard's reputation, his family seemed to support their courting. Sigrid knew her father did too, seeing Philip after all for what he was, an honest and good young man.

"Sigrid?" He queried, noting her preoccupation.

She started and smiled. "Huh, oh, Philip."

He nodded, also smiling before asking. "What's happened?"

"Da's not back yet, Tilda was getting anxious." She explained; her smile dropping. "I have to admit, so am I."

Philip nodded. "Ah, I see. I'm sure he's fine."

"That's what Bain said, I hope so." She replied softly.

"I'd be happy to help." He offered her kindly.

She smiled at that, knowing all too well he would say that, that was the kind of person Philip was.

So she nodded. "Thank you."

So together they resumed the search.


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

As a note, unlike my other stories, the OCs in this one are based off of actual actors/actresses in appearance, so feel free to check up images of them to aid in seeing what they look like, for example, in this chapter, Philip is based off of Bobby Lockwood.