The Eastern Woman

Helm's Deep

Helm's Deep was essentially a conglomeration of stony mountains, below which the realm of Rohan had built the Hornburg, an old-style defensive fortress.  What gave the name to the building was a very high tower, on top of which was inserted a series of ancient and powerful trumpets, used as an alarm or to give the signal of the beginning of a battle.  Their sound was unmistakable.

Goneril had never seen Gundabad, but she imagined it was similar to that place.

She noticed that there were no visible escape routes ... except, of course, for that underground tunnel.  Théoden had  had an idea that could be excellent or tragic: if the mighty walls of the fortress had resisted the frontal impact of Saruman's legions, the citizens of the kingdom would have survived.
Once those Uruks had realized the impossibility of penetrating inside, they would have stopped the attack, and they would have waited for the humans of Rohan to come out of their own initiative from the building, perhaps driven by hunger.  But it would have taken days, and time could be a precious ally: Gandalf, the Wizard, meanwhile would have been able to find Éomer and his Rohirrim.  Not to mention that other kingdoms, such as Gondor or Greenwood, once informed of the trouble Théoden was in, could have sent their soldiers to offer support to the King of Rohan.

Actually, Gondor's help wasn't to be expected, given the nature of its Superintendent, Denethor: he was selfish and morbidly attached to power.  Perhaps his two sons, Boromir and Faramir (who were said to be more noble in spirit than their father), would have moved to help the other great reign of humans living in Middle-earth, but the price to pay would have been going against the paternal will.  Denethor never took initiatives without a profit and certainly would not have sent his two sons to death.

It was likely that King Thranduil would send an army: knowing that his firstborn was helping Men and was risking his life, he would have intervened.  The soldier girl was hoping that, because if the Elvenking had arrived there in person, she could have faced him.  You see, Lord Thranduil, it is not that I want to blackmail you, but I need money and you have plenty of it and you also have a half-blood son who, at this very moment, is in Greenwood,  hidden in some regal room to study and read and to prepare for his glorious  future and, apart from me and you, nobody knows of his existence, so I really think that you will have to open five or six of your chests if you want your son to have...a future.

But in the unfortunate event in which, as the woman feared, Saruman had found a stratagem to break down the walls, Théoden's hopes, and even hers, would be miserably gone. In that mousetrap there would be nothing else to do but pray their gods before giving their souls back to Eru.

However, that was not the problem at the moment. The problem was to get that multitude of people into the fortress, avoiding that the most tumbled down from the stone bridge that led to the entrance. Although at a great distance, Goneril was able to see that the people, obviously terrified, were pushing each other to find refuge as quickly as possible. They were worried that the Wargs would reached them.

She spurred her horse.
"What is Éowyn doing? She should lead them inside." She said to herself, while the cold air made her cheeks purple. "Come on Aldair, before some of those fools fall and die."

The horse galloped to the entrance of the fortress and, once there, Goneril made an effort to maintain self-control. It took all her patience, because if there was one thing in the world that made her blood rise up to her eyes, it was the lack of order and discipline.

In front of her, there was a population that was completely overwhelmed by confusion: men and women shoving each other, someone falling to the ground and struggling to get up, frightened children crying and elderly and injured women were screaming. In all this, Éowyn seemed to have disappeared.