Second and Last Chance

(A/N: Second up today. Would have loved to go into more detail about the human enemies of Sauron, but unfortunately I can't afford the time right now with my course and all. Maybe one day I'll revisit and edit, if I don't edit this chapter enough to satisfy, that is.)

The Shunned and Outcast

The elves had fallen to the spiders, protecting Afrid. He was the only one left alive, now, but he wouldn't be alive much longer. He turned and ran. A good portion of them went after him, the rest remained with the elven bodies to wrap them up in silk. Alfrid didn't care that he had no clue where he was going. He just knew he had to get away from the spiders. With luck maybe he'd stumble on a settlement, or even an elven patrol. He tripped and cried out in pain, falling. He rolled over. The spiders were nearly on him! He cried out in alarm, staggering up. He held his sword in a style reminiscent of the Haradrim. His stance was that of the Easterlings. Not that either would do him any good. He was garbage with a sword. If elves hadn't been able to stand, he certainly couldn't.

Just then figures leapt from the bushes and from out of the trees, landing on the spiders and immediately stabbing them over and over quickly and mercilessly, expressions disciplined and calm. They called out orders to each other in a language he didn't know… Wait… Yes he did. His eyes widened. He knew that language! It was his father's tongue! His mouth dropped. These were Easterlings and Haradrim banded together! The Men of Darkness! Snapping out of his shock when one of the Haradrim fell at his feet, he attacked the spider going to stab the one who had fallen. The spider died, he'd aimed well, and Alfrid turned to the Haradrim man quickly. The Haradrim stood up and went to attack him. "You really going to attack me now when there's spiders 'ere?! Brilliant decision, genius," Alfrid had furiously demanded of the man in their language. The Haradrim had been taken aback, but he hadn't gone to attack again. Instead he had returned to fighting the spiders.

When the battle stopped and the smoke fell, it was only Alfrid and a large group of Haradrim and Easterlings. And they were all looking at him. Not in a friendly way either. His mouth went dry. This would end very, very badly for him, he knew… But just as an Easterling went to kill him, an older one—a good bit older—stepped forward and said, "Wait!" The younger Easterling paused… The older one turned to Alfrid and questioned him, in their language, "Do you know the name Nergui Adnan?"

Alfrid's eyes widened. "He was my father," he answered, uneasy about the question. The eyes of the band of men widened. Before Alfrid had known it, they'd pulled him up onto a horse and rode away, with him hollering and demanding to know what this was all about.

Present

"As it turned out this band consisted of those who were once part of me father's band, and their children after them," Alfrid said. "The old one knew me father. 'E was their leader, 'e was. On learning I was 'is son, they got it into their fool 'eads I was heir to the leadership of them all. I didn't know the first thing about nothing... Now I know a good deal."

"Such as?" Percy asked.

"Let's just say I isn't so subpar when it comes to fighting anymore," Alfrid dryly said with a shrug. "'And-to-'and as well as with a sword, spear, and bow and arrows… And I know 'ow to ride an Oliphant now, I do. And sail a ship good and proper. They 'ave friends amongst the Corsair of Umber, sometimes even join up with a band of 'em. Been quite the experience it 'as." He could never admit just how much of an experience it had been. Or how much he had come to appreciate his roots or history. Or how much he had come to learn of these 'Men of Darkness'. Or how much he had grown to like this band that had been his father's. Or how close he had drawn, now, to his deceased parent. Rather his memory. He had learned… a good deal about things from the likes of these, he had. But to admit any of this would probably end up getting him labelled an ally of darkness and traitor and end up with his getting himself killed. After all, there weren't no hope for the Men of Darkness. Too far gone, they was. At least so everyone seemed to think. Granted they wasn't the most pleasant or tolerant sort around.

Bard summed up the band of warriors in their arrayed armors and styles silently. "What will you do?" he questioned Alfrid.

"What does you mean?" Alfrid asked.

"Will you stay with them, or will you return to Dale with us?" Bard asked.

"What has I gots to go back to there?" Alfrid grumbled.

"A pregnant wife," Percy answered.

"You means a pregnant 'arpy," Alfrid replied. "Besides, she's probably already married 'erself to the shopkeeper."

"She hasn't. She is still mourning you," Percy said.

"Mourning my foot," Alfrid said.

"She has rarely left the house, she dresses in black, she's shown no interest in any other... she's kept waiting, Alfrid," Percy said. Alfrid raised half an eyebrow.

"She's what?" he asked.

"She still waits for you," Bard said for Percy. "And mourns. And arranges for your memorial, though she has delayed and delayed, hoping news would come to her of you… Have the elven patrols not found you yet?"

Alfrid shifted uneasily. "Thranduil spotted me," he admitted. "When 'e 'ad slipped out of 'is palace to go for a ride on 'is elk. Saw me from a distance. Looked at me with them eerie eyes, reproaching me. Was like he knew what I'd been up to, who I'd joined up with. 'E waited. Probably was waiting for me to go to 'im or go back to me people." Huh, he'd called them his people… More like his teachers, he wryly added to himself. "I chose them," he added, gesturing to his father's men. "Thranduil bowed his head in acknowledgement then rode off back to 'is palace." He'd never admit how grateful he was to the Elf King for that.

"Who will you choose now?" Bain piped up curiously from behind Bard.

Alfrid was silent. He didn't know… No, he did… "I'll go back to Dale with you, but only to see 'er, let 'er know what's been 'appening… I isn't going to leave me kind. Belong 'ere with them more than I ever did there… They isn't welcomed anywhere, you know. Hated in every corner say for with their own. They're evil, the enemy. Their women is unpleasant to look at and there isn't one good among them… Or so stories would 'ave you believe…" Turned out their women were some of the prettiest he'd ever seen. But then that was comparing them to Dale's assortment, so what did he know? And the other stories... There were two sides to every coin. He'd seen their side now, and stories were definitely just stories. "They gots nowhere, I gots nowhere. Kindred spirits we is."

"You have Dale and Esgaroth," Bard answered.

"If they doesn't have a place there, neither does I," Alfrid retorted. "And Hilda… It'll be 'er choice whether she'll come with me or not."

"Do you want her to go with you?" Percy questiond.

Alfrid was silent. "Yes…" he finally answered. "Right I want 'er to… That isn't me decision to make, though. Take me back." He turned to the Easterlings and Haradrims and said something to them in their language before going to Bard and Percy. Besides, he needed to grab his horse anyways. Missed the smelly beast.

"What did you tell them?" Percy asked.

"To wait for me on the beaches of Long Lake," Alfrid replied. "When I goes to join them, we ride out. Join up with the Corsairs for a mite." Bard and Percy nodded. The party began the journey back.

LotR

The party approached Dale. "What is you thinking, Bard? You've been awful quiet," Percy remarked.

"I ponder many things," Bard answered. "The matter of the Easterlings and Haradrim… Is Alfrid correct, do you suppose? Are there redeeming qualities in them? Or in the Corsairs and Wildmen and all those humans considered wicked?"

Percy was silent. "I've always thought they was men, just like us," he finally answered. "Just under a different sort of rule and a different set of circumstances. They bends their knee to no one say themselves... And ally with darkness... They're duty bound like we, just their motives are... Their motives are dark to us, but we may just not understand the things they fight for. They doesn't know any better. Nor do we."

"All of them?" Bard asked.

Percy cringed. "A good portion," he admitted. "But… I doesn't think they're beyond redemption; beyond being just men like you or I. I think they've been branded and shunned and feared and outcast for too long. So long, in fact, that the stories have become true because we've made them so and forced them to make them so. Even the Easterlings and Haradrims and Corsairs in Dale and Esgaroth—though there isn't many—show evidence of it. No one trusts them, everyone fears them, they is looked on with suspicion always. That's our doing, not theirs. They try to go about their lives. They're evidence enough the men of Khun and Harad and Umbar isn't all bad straight through to the core." There were a good deal of Umbar in Dale, actually. Or those descended from them.

"What would you say if I told you I am considering giving them Esgaroth?" Bard questioned. There were too few populating Esgaroth as it was. He knew Percy's words had truth, they would not be looked gently on in Dale, and always with suspicion, but in Esgaroth they could have a place. In Esgaroth they could found something of a life and in time, perhaps, even be accepted.

"The question isn't whether I like the idea or not, it's whether they're willing to do it. They would be a constant threat, Bard. They've lived lives as outlaws and bandits too long, and villains and marauders. I doesn't know if they could settle into a life in Esgaroth, or if they'd even want to," Percy answered.

"Then should I not even try?" Bard asked.

"You're taking a risk, Bard… But in the end, that risk might be a bold one, a good one, for not only us but them too, and all of our races across Arda. May one day even be an example and progression," Percy said. Though that day probably wouldn't come until the fourth age if not even later on.

"Then shall I try?" Bard questioned.

"It's up to you," Percy answered. Bard sighed in frustration. It was hard, not knowing for certain what to do.

LotR

Bain ran ahead to bring news to Dale that the search party had returned… And that they'd brought back their quarry. Hilda waited in the forefront of them all, lips tightly pursed. Bain hadn't said whether they'd brought him back dead or alive, after all. Percy's wife gently held her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around her belly. It was showing that she was pregnant now. After the first few weeks of pitying statements and exclamations about how sad it was the child was Alfrid's, she had lost her temper completely and freaked out at all who had dared say as much. They'd never made a slight about the baby being his again. It was best not to recall what she had said to them all.

Alfrid walked sulkily towards the gates of Dale and looked up, honestly not expecting to see her there. Or if she was there, he didn't expect a happy reunion… He was right. She was in the forefront, yes, but their reunion wasn't going to be pleasant. Her eyes lit up like an inferno and she stormed towards him like a tiger. Oh this was going to be painful. Sure enough the moment she was in range, she struck him as hard as she possibly could! He cried out in pain.

"Dammit, woman, what was that for?!" he demanded.

"Alfrid Lickspittle, if you ever leaves me a widow again you'll rue the day you was born, you will!" she screamed at him. He looked at her in disbelief, for you see, he had noticed tears burning in her eyes that she was fighting to hide. "I isn't ever going to forgive you for this and I isn't ever going to let you lives this down! How dare you nearly die on me?! Why if I wasn't a decent sort…" she started, about to continue her rant.

He suddenly burst into laughter. He'd forgotten how much he'd missed this. Before she could chew him out for laughing, he drew her close and kissed her adoringly on the lips, his hand behind her neck, fingers entwined in her hair. His other hand rested lightly on her stomach. He felt her shiver and a sense of self-satisfaction ran through him. She threw her arms around his neck suddenly and sobbed against his lips as he drew away. She pulled him back immediately, kissing him again. "You didn't think I was going to go so easy on you, did you?" Alfrid murmured to her softly, pausing the kiss a second time before resuming it once more and gently swaying her. "Can't imagine the poison you'd tell our child 'bout 'is father were I not 'ere to match your poison with poison of me own against its mother." She struck him a second time then embraced him tightly. He spun her around.

"Where was you?" she questioned. "What 'appened to you out there?"

Alfrid was silent. "We'll talk at 'ome," he answered. Home. The word suddenly felt so much more right.

LotR

Hilda listened to his story in a cross between wonder and sadness. He intended to leave, he had made that clear from the start… But he had given her a choice… A difficult one, at that. It was a promise. A promise that should she choose to stay here, he would come back. At the least once every year. She didn't believe it. He would be gone for years at a time sometimes, she sensed. But maybe he would stay true. Maybe he would keep to once a year at least. Surely he would come back more. He had to. He had tried to promise more, but she had shouted at him not to make a promise he couldn't keep… That he'd relented and hadn't argued the point made her uneasy. Her choice was to go with him or remain here while he gallivanted about Middle Earth trying to get in touch with his roots and be something he wasn't… But could she say that, really?

…Perhaps he had already been trying to be something he wasn't for all the years he'd lived in Esgaroth…

"Will you wait until the baby is born and weaned?" she questioned.

"If you wants me to," he answered.

"What of… of your father's… your, people…?" she asked.

"They'll wait," Alfrid stated.

"How can you be so sure if they's anything like you," she bit bitterly.

"Didn't say they'd wait nearby. I'd 'ave to find them again, I would. They won't search for me," he said.

"What if you can't find them?" she asked.

"I will," he stated with conviction, and she knew his words were true. Whatever it was they had taught him, whatever skills he had now, at least one involved finding his sort again.

Hilda was silent. "Give me until the child is weaned to make a choice," she said. "Wait a little longer."

He smirked, catching what she'd done. She had copied what he had once said so often to her. Wait a little longer, wait a little longer, wait, wait, wait… "I can't wait forever, hagraven," he said. "But I'll try… for your sake…"

She closed her eyes tightly. "I think I may love you, Alfrid Lickspittle…" she bitterly and disgustedly murmured.

"I know you does," Alfrid replied, smirking wickedly. "I know you does because I certainly love you Hilda Bianca. At least as much as can be expected from arch enemies." She smiled and giggled, opening her eyes again. She went to him and sat in his lap, kissing him. He drew her close.

"Sleep with me," she whispered to him. His men could wait a little longer.

Alfrid nodded in consent, picking her up bridal style and smirking. "I intends to," he answered mischieviously.

"Doesn't you be getting any ideas, Alfrid Lickspittle," she said, frowning at him.

"No more ideas than you already has," he replied. She grinned as he carried her up the steps and to their bedroom. He lay her down gently and lay over top of her, kissing her soft.

LotR

Alfrid was saddling up his horse to ride out to his people. Bard and Percy were watching. "I should like to see how you've improved in fighting style, Alfrid," Bard remarked.

"You will," he answered. "Staying until Hilda gives birth and until the child is weaned."

"I wish you would stay longer," Bard said.

"Doesn't belong here. Never did," he answered.

"Will you stay if I give you and your men Esgaroth?" Bard questioned.

Alfrid jerked the saddle too tightly. The horse reared and kicked. He yelped as he was sent to the ground. He was too shocked to think on pain, though. He scrambled to his feet. "Give me what?!" he exclaimed in disbelief. He couldn't have heard right.

"Esgaroth has yet to fully recover. Much of the population will not return there. Many who have often speak of leaving it for dead and returning to Dale. It is empty, as of yet, though it has been rebuilt… Should I give Esgaroth into the hands of the Easterlings and Haradrim and Corsairs, and whatever other 'outcasts' or shunned of men care to populate it, will you take it and be my ally?" Bard questioned.

"You-you're making me Master of Lake Town?" Alfrid dubiously said.

"Only if your people choose to stay there with you. They will be welcomed near to us. I will speak with Dain and Thranduil, and I will ensure they leave you in peace and accept that you are there," Bard said.

"You've got to be joking," Alfrid said.

"No… Esgaroth is yours, if you choose to take it. I have spoken to the people there, and to the people of Dale. It took no small amount of convincing, but I have won most over to my side," Bard said. "But Alfrid, this is an experiment, no more. A test to see if friendship can ever again be formed between our kinds, and alliance. Elves, Dwarves, Men of Darkness, us... Let us see if it is possible to be as our sorts once were ages ago, friends and brothers in arms... But if things should go awry..." He didn't need to finish. The point was clear.

Alfrid felt numb, to say the least. Finally he gasped out, "Yes! Bloody 'ell we'll take it!" If, that was, the others didn't mind the arrangement. Before Bard could say anything more, or Percy for that matter, Alfrid swung up onto his horse and galloped off to speak to his father's people.

"I isn't sure if that was wise," Percy said.

"Nor am I. We may yet come to regret it in future. But should it happen, Thranduil and Dain will be on our side of the matter," Bard stated. "We will be ready if something goes wrong… But I am willing to give the evil men of Khun and Harad and Umber and the wherever else the other so-called 'evil' men dwell a chance."

"You are a brave ruler, Bard. Maybe not so wise as you are brave, or maybe both equal. Who's to say? Time will tell, I suppose," Percy said.

"How can we learn and grow and develop if we do not take risk?" Bard questioned.

"Risk had ended as many dynasties as it's strengthened," Percy pointed out.

"True," Bard admitted. "But what is one more either way?"

Some Months Later

Esgaroth was populated now, mainly by men of darkness and those of Dale brave enough to go to them and learn about their pasts and cultures and about them as men. So far it had brought only fortune to both, though admittedly there was no small amount of strife at the start, or even still. However, Alfrid had agreed to keep Bard allied. He had a way with words, after all, and had been able to bring the 'outcasts' over to his side. They were working together to bring the two places closer and build trust again.

Alfrid was reading a book, engrossed in it. Hilda came down the stairs, a tiny bundle in her arms. "How is 'e?" Alfrid questioned.

"Down for the night," she answered, grinning gently down at the newborn in her arms and nuzzling it softly. Alfrid rose, placing down the book, and went to her. He looked down at the little one. "Looks like me father," he remarked.

"With bits of mine as well," she said. Eyes of the Easterlings, skin of the Haradrim, Alfrid's face shape which must have been his father's, and her pa's nose and mouth, and her cheeks. May have sounded not all that pretty, but it was. The child was beautiful, and more than just her had said as much. The birth had been surprisingly easy on her. For that she was grateful, as was Alfrid. The mortality rates of mothers giving birth were particularly high in Esgaroth and Dale, or had been. She was lucky she hadn't been one of them.

"Let me carry 'im," Alfrid said.

"As if I'd trust you to carry an infant, Alfrid Lickspittle. You'd probably drop 'im on 'is 'ead," she replied.

"Like you was dropped?" he sneered.

"Oh shove it down your pie hole!" she snapped sharply.

"Give me the baby, wench!" he demanded.

"Over me carcass!" she replied.

"I'll be glad to make it 'appen!" he yelled. The baby began to cry, waking up. "Now see what you did?"

"Me? You was the one yelling your fool 'ead off!" she retorted.

"You should 'ave let me 'old it! 'E's me son too, you know!" Alfrid shot.

"Of bloody 'ell, take 'im! We'll see 'ow well you does at putting 'im to sleep again," she challenged. Huffing she turned, walking away. "Starting to think I preferred you gone!" she snapped.

"You'd be singing another tune if it was so!" he retorted.

"Bah!" she replied, starting to cook food. He smirked as he watched her and looked down at his child. Maybe he could manage this marriage thing after all. Gently he kissed the infant, then went to his wife and kissed her head. She smiled softly to herself as the babe calmed.

(A/N: And end. Hope you enjoyed it. Not sure how much detail Tolkien went into about Esgaroth after the Hobbit ended, other than just passing references and mentions that it and Dale joined the War of the Ring on Thranduil's side or something like that. Haven't read all Tolkien's material, though, so I'm not sure. Being as it was so vague, as far as I know, and they never really went into Lake Town's fate after the Hobbit, I decided to put a bit of a spin on it here. Seems a little sudden to me, but again, short on time. Hope you liked it anyway. I do intend to write other stories for the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings in future, but for now school needs to be my focus. Until next time, then. Reviews appreciated, and a thank you to those who have reviewed it all the way through.)