The Eastern Woman

The lonely Elf

"At the dawn of the fifth day, look East."  said Gandalf to Aragorn, before taking the horse and leaving.  The ranger suspected that the Wizard had gone to look for Éomer, who was wandering through the northern plains with his soldiers, after being banished by Grima.

"That Istari should stay here."  Goneril had commented.  "We will find ourselves fighting against legions of Uruk-Hai's, magic could make the difference."

"Gandalf knows what he is doing, it is not up to us to judge his choices."  Legolas had replied dryly.  The Elf no longer looked at her, he was evidently annoyed by the blackmail the woman had threatened against him and his father.  But Goneril was sure there would soon be another confrontation between them.  It remained to be clarified what role Amon - the healer kicked out from Greenwood by King Thranduil sixty years earlier - had played in the history of her life.  She was certain that the Elven Prince was devoured by curiosity about it.

The multitude of inhabitants of Edoras had quietly set in motion.  A silent, slow and terrified mass.  Théoden had decided to take lots of breaks during the march.

Goneril knew they had to expect an attack, sooner or later.  The Orcs would never have missed the tempting opportunity: children, women and the sick all lined up, ready to be killed.

There were Rohan's knights, however, a sufficient number to keep those beasts at distance and to allow the most helpless to escape in case of an ambush.

She had her own plan.
She knew Helm's Deep structure very well.  She had studied every defensive fortress of Middle-earth, in moments of rest, when her legionaries camped and she remained alone in her personal tent to reflect.  That structure had been carved out of the rock, but it had a hidden escape tunnel.  An underground path, which led from the basement between the rear mountains, and reached the other side.  A gallery that would have been crossed with difficulty by a mass of men, women, and frightened children, but much more easily by a single woman and a horse.

Her idea was to wait for the arrival of Saruman's army, let it attack the fortress, and during the general confusion, take Aldair and leave that place. 

However, there was no hope. 

Aragorn and Théoden lived on pious illusions, but the female soldier knew very well that the white Wizard from Isengard would find a way to break through the walls of the fortress.  It was Saruman, after all.  And he had sided with Sauron, which greatly increased his malice.

Once she escaped through the mountains, she would have galloped up to Edoras, which would have been empty at that moment.  The king's palace most likely hid treasures full of gold.  Goneril would take everything there was to take, load it on Aldair's saddle, and leave.

Perhaps that infamous Degarre had already laid his hands on the boxes of coins accumulated over the years.  But the treasure of Edoras was still there, where everyone could find it.

She had even thought of going away immediately from Edoras, waiting patiently for the exodus to be completed and entering the King's residence undisturbed. But Théoden, who was not stupid, would have understood her intentions and given orders to bring Rohan's riches with them. Perhaps he suspected that she was his daughter, but for the moment  she was just a mercenary warrior, people who were not very worthy of trust.

"I made stew, would you like some?" asked Éowyn suddenly. The march had stopped for the second time. Goneril detested those continuous interruptions on the way, there was no time to lose. The sun wouldn't stay high for long.

"Keep that stuff away from me. Judging by the smell, it would make a goblin sick." she replied.

"You could be kinder." Éowyn protested. After getting a harsh "no thanks" from Gimli too, the young princess went back to Goneril.