Well, hello there, dear readers! :)

Oh my goodness, what am I doing? I find myself swamped with three fanfics and then what do I do? I go ahead and start another one! I must be out of my mind xD

I found myself drawn to the idea of a Bard/OC story because I just really love Bard (I mean, seriously, the man is gorgeous! xD) and I thought it would be interesting to have another take on the Hobbit story!

So I hope you all enjoy this first chapter! :)

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In a land far to the East of Middle-Earth, there was the small town of Esgaroth, or otherwise known as Laketown. This was a town of simple fisherman and merchants; a poor yet still thriving town that made do with what they had. This place was built upon the great Long Lake that was set just on the borders of the Elven kingdom of Mirkwood and the great Dwarven mountain kingdom of Erebor. However, there had been no Dwarves living in the mountain for hundreds of years on account of a mighty dragon known as Smaug taking siege of it and stealing their home as well as their treasure from them. For the past sixty years of that time, the dragon had slept, but the people of Laketown were not without fear of the day when the dragon would wake and come upon them next.

In this small town on a lake, there lived a young girl named Hanna.

Hanna was a fair-looking girl with light brown eyes, long, brown hair and a bright smile that could lighten any room. However, she was pretty shy and wasn't always very social with others unless prompted to be or she felt comfortable around them. If in the right mood or if around someone she felt at ease with, she wouldn't be afraid to speak her mind, but oftentimes, that took a bit of time.

She was the daughter of a bargeman named Hyman and a seamstress named Hilda Bianca. Like most the people in the town, they weren't that rich, but there were still pretty well to do. They had at least enough to help them get by for a while. Hyman was the bargeman who helped bring in the empty barrels sent down the river from Mirkwood, refill them and then get them sent back. That itself brought in a decent amount of income to help the family. Hilda helped bring in extra money by working as a seamstress.

Unlike most of the lake people, Hanna didn't always enjoy being on the water and so far from land. Moreover, she was content, but still wanted to try and get on land more often when she old enough. On occasion, she and her parents would take a boat and spend an afternoon or an evening on the shores of the Long Lake playing games or exploring or even just sitting around a campfire enjoying a meal or telling stories. Those were family times Hanna enjoyed the most.

When she was about twelve years of age, her father taught her how to row the boat on her own so she could start going to shore on her own whenever she liked. She was a responsible and trustworthy girl, so her father was all right with letting her do things by herself. Once she learned how to row a boat on her own, she started going to the mainland whenever she could get the chance. In her spare time, she would skip rocks across the water, read, sketch, go fishing, revisit old spots she and her parents had discovered, sleep on the sand or—her favorite—climb the trees. If possible, she would climb to the very top of a tree and overlook everything below. She felt free and as though she could rule the world from such a height.

One day, when she was fifteen, Hanna had gone to the shores and was once again up in the trees, looking out over the lake. It was quiet out save for the light chirping of the birds that flew overhead. The wind was weaving its way through her long, brunette locks and softly caressing her face. She closed her eyes, enjoying the soothing feeling.

But then the silence was broken by a voice crying out, "Hello, there!"

Hanna's eyes shot open and she let out a startled cry. As she did, her foot slipped on the branch she was standing on and she started to fall down the tree. She had only hit a couple of branches on the way down when she was able to grab hold of one to stop her fall. As she hoisted herself up onto the branch, a figure suddenly came swooping down from the branches and onto the one next to hers, making her gasp.

It was a young boy who appeared to be around her age. He was thin, had ruffled, shaggy black hair that came just above his shoulders, grey eyes, a square-like jaw and was wearing a light tan coat with a fur collar over his simple dark clothing. Slung over his shoulder was a dark knapsack. The look on his face was full of surprise when he crouched down on his branch, holding onto the one above his head with one hand.

"I am so sorry, miss! I didn't mean to frighten you!" he exclaimed, looking embarrassed. His voice had a tenor-like sound to it; it wasn't quite deep yet but it wasn't a very high-pitched voice like younger boys would have. It was in the in-between stages of voice changing, which meant he definitely he was a growing, teenage boy.

Hanna was hesitant to answer at first. She averted her eyes away and mumbled in return, "You didn't frighten me…you just startled me. I thought I was alone."

"I could see that," the boy responded. "I could see your eyes were closed and you looked so peaceful; you seemed so lost in thought, it was no wonder you never heard me come up the tree." Then he began to chuckle at her.

Hanna herself even chuckled a little herself. "Normally, there's no one else here when I come so I do tend to lose myself in thought sometimes," she said.

"I don't blame you. I do, too," said the boy.

She looked back up at him, a bit perplexed. "You've been coming here, as well?" When he nodded, she then asked, "For how long?"

He shrugged and replied, "A long time now, I suppose."

Hanna straightened up against the trunk of the tree so she could face the boy. "So have I," she told him. "How is it I have never seen you?"

He shrugged again. "I don't know." Then he smirked and said, "But you see me now!"

She giggled at his enthusiasm, which was strange for her, because no one had ever made her giggle like she did so quickly after meeting them.

"What's your name?" asked the boy.

"Hanna. What is yours?"

He smiled. "My name is Bard." He then held out a hand to her.

Timidly, she reached out, took his hand and shook it. "How old are you, Bard?"

"I am sixteen," he answered. "And you?"

"Fifteen," she replied.

"Oh, I'm older than you by a year," Bard pointed out.

Hanna was unsure of how to respond so she simply lowered her eyes and said nothing.

Noticing her shyness, Bard said to her, "You do not like to say much, do you?"

She hesitated looking back at him, but still shook her head.

"It's all right, there's no need to be shy around me, Hanna," he said calmly. "I am a friendly person, I won't hurt you."

This time, she did look up at him and saw him giving her a warm, comforting smile. At seeing that, she felt her own mouth starting to curve up into a smile, too.

Then he reached into his knapsack and pulled out a red apple. "Would you like an apple?" he offered.

She nodded, thanking him, and he handed the apple over to her before pulling another one out for himself.

"Are you from Laketown?" asked Hanna before she took a bite.

"Aye, I am," Bard answered.

"How is it that I have never seen you until now? It's a small town; it's hard not to know almost everyone."

"I was a sickly boy when I was younger. I did not leave the house much; I was always in bed."

"Oh…I am sorry."

"It's all right. I got better as I got older and then I was able to go outside and build up my strength. That was a few years ago and I'm fine now."

She chuckled. "Obviously, since you were able to climb these trees."

He snickered as he took a bite from his apple. When he finished chewing, he asked, "How often do you come ashore?"

She bobbed her head from side to side in thought. "Just whenever I get the chance," she said. "I sometimes help my mother or my father with their work and that can take up time, but whenever I get some time to myself, I like to come here."

"Do you think you will be here tomorrow?"

Hanna looked at Bard curiously. "Why do you ask?"

Once again, he shrugged as he replied, "Well, I should be on my way home about now, but I just thought…it would be nice to maybe see you here again. Despite the short time, I've enjoyed talking to you."

She was a bit surprised to hear that. Because of how shy she could be, she didn't have very many friends and not many children her age liked to talk to her. But this boy was different; he didn't mind that she was timid and didn't question why she was that way like other children would. He encouraged her not to be instead of shunning her for it. And he said he enjoyed her company; he enjoyed talking to her. He was quite an interesting boy, in her opinion, but nevertheless, the thought of possibly seeing him again the next day and talking with him seemed…quite pleasant.

In answer to his question, she said nothing but simply smiled her bright smile at him, which he took as a good sign.

Bard put his apple back in his sack, stood up and, with a courteous nod, said to Hanna, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Hanna, and I hope to see you tomorrow."

Hanna nodded back and responded, "The feeling is mutual, Bard, on both counts."

Bard smiled politely at her and then proceeded to jump down to the next branch and swung himself down all the way to the ground. Hanna moved to the outer edge of the tree where she watched him walk to his boat sitting close to hers on the bank. He climbed into his rowboat and pushed off into the water. Still standing up, he picked up an oar and began to row.

As he started to row away, she thought of one last thing she wanted to say to him. "Bard!" she cried out. When he looked back at her, she grinned and said loudly, "If you get here and can't find me...look to the trees! That's where I'll most likely be!"

Bard shouted back, "I will remember that!" Then he asked playfully, "What if I get here before you?"

Hanna responded likewise, "Then I will look to the trees! Is that where you'll be?"

He grinned. "Aye...that's where I'll be," he said.

"Then until tomorrow!" she cried.

Bard put his fingertips to his temple and then gave her a farewell salute. "Until tomorrow!" he repeated. Then with that, he resumed rowing home.

Hanna watched him a little while longer, smiled and then looked down at the apple Bard had given her.

"Until tomorrow...," she repeated to herself and then took a big juicy bite out of the delicious fruit.

After spending a little bit longer on land, Hanna decided it was time to head back home. She rowed her boat back to her house on the lake, tied it up and then went inside. The outside door led into their family room adjacent to the kitchen.

"Mama! I'm home!" she called out.

Hilda, her mother, came out from the kitchen and smiled as she saw her daughter. Hilda was wearing a cream-colored blouse with a darker over-shirt, a floor-length dark gray skirt and deep purple, fingerless gloves. On her head, covering her black hair, she wore a blue beaded cap that had tassels on both sides. It was her signature accessory that a lot of people knew her by.

Hanna loved her mother very much. Having hardly any friends, she had spent a lot of time at home and got to grow close to her mother over time. Hilda was a good, strong-willed woman who, a bit unlike her daughter, wasn't afraid to speak her mind, even if she knew it could get her in trouble. She hoped that one day, that particular trait would rub off on her daughter.

"Hello, darling!" she said to Hanna as she came into the room. "I haven't seen you much. Did you go on shore again today?"

"Aye, I did," Hanna replied. "And there was someone else there this time."

"Oh?" Hilda said, tilting her head with curiosity.

"It was a boy," said Hanna.

"A boy?" Hilda repeated, now even more interested. "Who?"

"His name is Bard."

"Bard...oh, I think I may know his parents! He's about your age, isn't he?"

"He's only a year older. He told me that he's been traveling to shore for quite a while, too, but I've never seen him. He must have been going at different times than when I would go or he goes farther ashore than I do."

"Did you talk to him much?"

"A little bit. We didn't speak for very long because he had to leave."

"Oh, I see. What did you think of him?"

Hanna shrugged as she sat herself down on a chair, unsure of what to say. "He seemed...pleasant," she told her mother, drumming her fingers on her thigh.

"That is good," said Hilda.

"He wants to meet me again tomorrow," Hanna added.

Hilda's eyebrows rose up. "Really? Are you going to?" she asked.

"I think I will," Hanna answered. "Bard seemed friendly enough, even in the brief time we spent talking to each other. I wouldn't mind meeting with him again."

Hilda then smirked at her daughter and asked her, "Was he handsome?"

Hanna whipped her around in disbelief. "Mama!" she exclaimed.

"What? It was only a simple question."

"I barely know him!"

"You do not have to know someone to still think they're handsome."

Hanna was about to say something back, but then realized that her mother did have a point. She thought back to when she first saw Bard; his sweet smile, his ruffled hair, his mysterious gray eyes like the sea after a storm. She hadn't really thought about it at the time, but...she had to admit that Bard was indeed very handsome.

"I see that smile, my dear...!"

She came out of her thoughts and saw her mother was grinning cheekily at her. She hadn't realized that, while she was thinking of Bard, she was beginning to smile. She blushed and turned away, making Hilda snicker.

"You know, you are approaching the appropriate age for courting," she hinted.

"Mama, please...!" said Hanna. "I'm not thinking about courting anybody, especially a boy I just met and don't know."

Hilda gave a nod in defeat. "All right," she said, holding her hands up.

Hanna then continued, "Besides, I would rather get to know a man and be friends with him first before I ever think of courting him."

"Well...as I said, I know his parents and they are very amiable people," Hilda pointed out. "If Bard is anything like them...he may turn out to be an excellent suitor for you in years to come."

Hanna just snickered at her mother and rolled her eyes. "Can I please, at least, get to know him first, Mama, before you suddenly marry me off to him; a boy I just met?" she asked.

Her mother just grinned teasingly in response before waving her hand and saying, "Come on, dear, let's get things ready for supper. Your father will be home soon."

Gladly, Hanna followed her mother into the kitchen and began gathering all the things they needed to cook supper. All the while, her mind strangely kept wandering back to Bard and she found herself actually looking forward to the next day when she could see him again.

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It'll be fun to see where this all goes, huh? ;)

So now I'm really sunk...cuz this means my story is official and I now have FOUR fanfics to worry aobut xD but oh well! Each one is an adventure! :D

Yea or nay? Leave me a review or send me a PM with your thoughts! :D

Until next time!

PS: Ya'll know the lady in BotFA who argues with Alfrid a lot? Calls him a weasel? Yeah, apparently her character has a name...and it's Hilda Bianca! If you didn't figure it out from her description, THAT lady is Hanna's mother! xD I liked her in BotFA; I thought she was awesome, so I thought it would be fun to really include her in this! xD