Wanted and unwanted
The guests had spent two days helping Erkenbrand and Sunniva to search for Cearo, before they had to move on to the next stop of their journey. Théodred could not stay for long at one place during this journey around Rohan unless there was a legal reason such as him suffering an injury or a illness that would make him unable to ride.
"When she is found, bring her at once to the closest camp where we put criminals that will do manual labor as part of their sentence. She will spend the remaining two years until her coming-of-age there, with the reality of being stripped of her status as a noble, and find out the hard way that everyone in our sociality must know basic skills for survival," Théodred ordered to Erkenbrand, who nodded in agreement.
"Yes, there is no way she will escape punishment for attacking a lady who is under your protection, my prince. She is old enough to understand that, and can not pretend to be one of those unfortunate persons who are half-wits because everyone in this household and that of her dead father can testify that she is normal."
His young sister-in-law had this final chance to redeem herself, and become a respectable young lady to be a wife later. While understandable that Cearo did not desire to be merely a wife and mother in adulthood, the truth was that she had a duty to bear one child if she wanted what she viewed as freedom. This was simply how things was, if all young women went away in battle to be shield-maidens there would not be any promises of that many of their numbers would return alive. And Rohan needed its population to grow steady, the one who died replaced by the younger generations.
How could they have known, that Cearo would find her death 12 days later at the hands of a orc, dying alone and with nothing of the success she had dreamed about to add to her name?
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Helm's Deep was the shared name of both a valley and its major defensive structure built from stone, named the Hornborg because a horn sounded from its tower could be heard in the whole Deep. It was perhaps simple in the eyes of Westeros, but Elia did not doubt Théodred when he told her that it was the strongest point of Rohan.
"King Brego thought it wiser to have the capital of Rohan closer to Dunharrow, a refuge in the White Mountains, in case of attack. He felt that Aldburg, the first capital, was too far away from good protection."
"It is a good defense," Elia said, feeling herself stuck with awe over it. Based on what she could guess, Helm's Deep had not originally been built by the Rohirrim, given that their buildings was made from wood, but of a different culture. That realization made her curious.
The group was welcomed by Gamling, who was Erkenbrand's lieutenant, and the leader of the watchers of Helm's Dike.
"My prince, it is a honor to be your host during the days you and your companies will be here."
Though somehow, Théodred was not surprised at all when Gamling leaned slightly towards him and whispered in a low voice:
"Given that the boy look a little like you, my prince, be ready on some gossip about whatever he might be yours."
The prince made a face at those words, and Gamling understood the request to speak no more of it.
"If I ever had sired a child before marriage, I would take responsibility by at least ensuring that the mother is not ostracized and taken care of, for sharing a bed with me at some point and she chose to keep the child instead of aborting at some point during the first two months of pregnancy with the help of the local midwife."
For all of that Mareliss could sometimes give him a little bit too much unwanted information about pregnancy and childbirth, thanks to her being his wet-nurse, Théodred had at least learned from early adolescence that there could be consequences of sharing a bed with a girl. Besides, illegitimate children was actually pretty rare in the House of Eorl, mainly because the Kings of Rohan wanted to avoid a succession crisis in the shape of children born from a love-relationship before a legal marriage that could threaten the legal heirs born from a wife.
On the other hand, Gamling hoped that Théodred being around Elia and her children could hopefully renew the hope of that the prince would eventually find a bride, for the two children showed how Théodred actually was surprisingly patient around them despite their young age.
Rhaenys and Aegon was also in awe over the Hornburg, as they explored the keep after getting to rest a little bit.
"Rhae! Rhae!"
Aegon tried to follow after his sister, when he suddenly stopped in front of the doors to the chamber with wooden tables where they had eaten a light welcome meal with the adults earlier. The sun light were very bright here, and for some reason Aegon thought that he heard the voice of King Théoden despite that the King of Rohan was all way back in Edoras:
Where is the horse and the rider?
Where is the horn that was blowing?
They have passed like rain on the mountains,
like wind in the meadow.
The days have gone down in the West,
behind the hills... into Shadow.
For a moment, Aegon did really see the King there in the chamber, standing with his back towards the door as someone dressed him into armour. But as the boy blinked for a moment, the two adults was no longer there.
"Aegon?" Rhaenys called, confused over why he had stopped following her. Since their mother had asked her to not stray away from her brother, Rhaenys knew that she must keep a eye on him. And this keep was a unfamiliar place, one where they could easily get lost in.
"Wait, sis!"
Aegon himself had no idea about it due to his young age, and Elia could impossibly know it either because of how young her son was, but he was one of the Targaryens that normally would be haunted by dragon dreams, which here in Middle-earth, due to Arda being a different world altogether, changed into that he had some degree of second sight.
What Aegon just had seen without understanding its deeper meaning right now, was that in thirteen years a big battle in the War of the Ring would be happening here in Helm's Deep, in the year 3019 of the Third Age.
Rhaenys did not have those powers, but the rhyme Mereliss had spoken the morning on her birthday was true about her season of birth as well: A gentle heart that could be a strength in itself if a person knew how to be in guard for people with ill intentions.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
In Edoras, the rest of the royal family was busy in their own way. Since it was a fine spring day with some warmth from the sun, they had taken the chance to be outside and enjoy the fine weather.
"Bad news, uncle?" Éowyn asked the King at his side as Théoden was reading a letter from his son, while Éomer once again was trying to keep Balaerion off his head. The now nearly fully grown black cat clearly liked the various members of the House of Eorl, although his methods of showing affection could be somewhat questionable.
"In a way, guess. It seems like the younger sister to Sunniva, Erkenbrand's wife, tried to attack lady Elia on the belief of that she...was not the noble lady she seems to be."
Both the siblings looked shocked.
"What!? But Théodred made sure to write and send a letter ahead to ensure that there would be no misunderstandings about her and her children!" Éowyn protested, recalling how her cousin had not be so happy over the jokes about that people who saw Rhaenys and Aegon for the first time could indeed mistake them as his offspring based on age.
"You mean Cearo, right? She was with them here as visitors this past Midsummer feast, she thought herself the better rider simply because she managed to beat me and a few of my friends in a race. And then she made fun of Éowyn when she tripped over a uneven piece of grass and dropped that cup of cold water that my sister had planned to give me to drink."
No, Cearo had not made any good first impression on the King's nephew and niece. If anything, the older adolescent girl had acted self-important, not caring if she did hurt the feelings of others as long as she was in the right. And the siblings had agreed on that she would never manage to catch their cousin as a husband, they knew that Théodred was more likely to refuse marriage altogether if his possible bride behaved anything like Cearo.
"Please tell me what this foolish girl have done to displeasure you so," Laywyn requested, having taken a small break in her ridning so her mare could rest for a little bit, and now came to join her family where they had gathered.
Once the full tale had been told, both of what had happened at the past midsummer and what Cearo had tried to do against Elia, Laywyn did agree that it was not a acceptable behavior for anyone, no matter their age or gender.
"If a new Queen of Rohan thought it more important to be remembered as a battle-loving shield-maiden than bearing children for the King, she is fated to not be recalled fondly in later generations. I fully understand that no all women wants marriage or children as legacy, being a such woman myself, but even a Queen that sadly is fated to be barren no matter how much help she can get from healers and midwives to try becoming pregnant, can still leave a good legacy behind in the form of being a good counselor to her husband and protector of her people in times of crisis."
That was the legacy of many sisters and brothers to former Kings of Rohan, helping in the government even if they were not present in Edoras and linking all the parts of Rohan together.
After a while, Laywyn rode out again since Éomer and Éowyn had to return to their school lessons, and Théoden also had his duties as King to deal with.
"I will be back soon, Brothor!"
Yet she was not far from the capital and stopped her mare, when she heard the sounds of a new rider arriving. It did not take long for the other rider to show up among the sea of green grass that was one of Rohan's hallmarks. The old man, proving his age by having a long beard of grey faded into white, was dressed in a tall pointed hat, a grey cloak and had a long wooden staff in his packing behind the saddle.
"Are you sure that you are not a disguised elf, since you never seems to pass over to the afterlife?" Laywyn asked bluntly, her arms crossed as if she was disappointed for some reason.
"Taking after your lady mother Morwen in seriousness as always, lady Laywyn. Yet it is the same kind of grace as well. Alas, I have no plans to leave the living world yet, I am afraid," Gandalf the Grey responded, not upset at all over how the daughter of Kings had addressed him.
And in a way, she had a point; he had last been in Rohan nearly four years ago, when her younger sister Théodwyn had died from the illness that had struck her in the grief over becoming a widow.
"You better not be planning anything that proves your name of Stormcrow again, as my brother so kindly named you last time you was here in the Mark."
"More like I had hoped for something more joyful, for once."
Biting the inside of her cheek to not say anything, Laywyn simply nodded and led the way back to Edoras, Gandalf following her.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Author note:
I do not know if Tolkien have any words for mentally handicapped persons in his works, but I will try and not show any disrespect in the writing. I also do not think people in Rohan would find it funny if someone tried to play dumb for the sake of escaping punishment
In canon it is not really made clear if Gamling serves under Erkenbrand, but since someone has to be commander in Helm's Deep even during peacetime, I thought he could have that role
Aldburg was one of the oldest towns in Rohan and the first capital of the realm, was built by Eorl the Young in the region known as the Folde, east of Edoras. After Brego, son of Eorl, completed the Golden Hall and the Kings removed to Edoras, the lordship of Aldburg passed to his third son, Eofor, from whom Éomund, father of Éomer, claimed descent.
Dunharrow was a refuge of the Rohirrim hidden in the White Mountains south of Edoras and fortified against attack. Dunharrow was a clifftop overlooking Harrowdale, the valley of the river Snowbourn.
Stormcrow was a name given to Gandalf by King Théoden in Rohan, a reference to his arrival being associated with times of trouble. If Théoden lost his brother-in-law and youngest sister roughly around the time as Gandalf did show up in Rohan without warning, that could be a reason to why his arrival became associated with times of trouble.