Ailith and Éowyn continued to sort through the carts from Edoras.
"I want these taken into the Caves," Éowyn called to a watching girl and handed her a pile of blankets. The girl looked like she was about to protest when Éowyn turned her back on her and continued to dig through the cart. With a face of thunder, the girl trudged off in the direction of the Caves.
"Here, you two, take these as well," Ailith added and handed items to two of her friends. As the girls disappeared, the two women exchanged looks and then burst out laughing.
"Their faces! You would have thought we asked them to run naked through the soldiers' quarters!" Ailith gasped, sinking against the cart. Éowyn laughed with her and then stopped, her eyes shining. Ailith looked behind her and saw Legolas and Aragorn standing by the door . The latter was bruised and bloody but most definitely alive.
"You should go speak with him," Ailith said. Éowyn blushed slightly but shook her head.
"There will be time for talking later," she said and picked up the last of the blankets. "Do you have all of the medical supplies you need?" she called as she started to walk away.
Ailith swung the pack with her medicines over her shoulder. "Barely. I am going to have to prioritise injuries which I really do not enjoy doing," she said, quickening her stride so she caught up with her friend. They made their way into the Hornburg and scurried through one of the many narrow corridors to reach the door to the Caves.
"We will find something to pile against the walls here," Éowyn informed her, directing with a hand, "that can be pulled across to hide the door. Just in case. We'll keep the entrance free for now if you are Healing in the main hall because we don't want you to get cut off."
Ailith nodded. Éowyn was in her element here. Although she had never had to survive a siege here, she knew the Hornburg as well as Ailith knew the Fortress and her knowledge really showed now, when it was most needed.
"Is there an escape route out of the Caves?" Ailith asked. Éowyn paused.
"There is one," she admitted. She led Ailith to the very back of the Caves to where there was a narrow fissure in the wall. Together they peered into the black passage beyond. "Éomer and I once explored it when we visited Helm's Deep with our father but we did not go very far in," Éowyn said. "I believe it comes out somewhere in the mountains, on a path that leads eventually down into Gondor. Still, I would not wish to take it unless there were no other options."
"Miladies," a gruff voice said behind them. They turned and looked at the Rider. "The King requests your presence to discuss tonight's arrangements," he said.
"They are boys!" Éowyn said. "They need to be kept safe; they came here to be kept safe! And in the meantime you send us to cower below in the Caves!"
"She has a point, sire," Ailith added. "Those women will know how to handle themselves, they could help the men!"
"No. A woman's place is not upon the battlefield," Théoden said calmly.
"We can both fight! Ailith is a sworn Rider; one of your soldiers and she has been training me in combat! Do we not have the right to defend our homeland? Let us fight tonight!" Éowyn said.
"No."
"Why not?!"
"As I said, a woman's place is not on the battlefield! War is upon us; you have other duties! Motivate the other women; keep the children happy; prepare for the return of the soldiers after the battle," Théoden said, refusing to make eye-contact with either of them. Éowyn drew herself up to her full height.
"Fine," she said coldly. "If that is what you believe."
She turned on her heel and stormed from the hall. Ailith remained behind, still staring at her King. He raised his eyes and met her gaze.
"You understand, don't you?" he said quietly. "If I let you fight then I must let her fight. And she is far too dear to me to be cut down by some filthy great Uruk whilst attempting to defend my people."
"I understand, sire, but I don't agree with your decision," she said curtly. "The women down there would gladly fight for their lives. You clearly have never had to separate an old ewe from her lamb."
"Here, try this," Ailith said as she held out the mail shirt. The boy who accepted it could not have been more than thirteen. He should be in the Glittering Caves with his mother, not getting ready to fight in a battle. The mail completely swamped him when he put it on.
A giggle from under the table made her bend down. She pressed a finger to her lips and Cahal did the same, his blue eyes shining at her adoringly. The young lad had followed her about for hours and clutched at her, wailing miserably, when she had tried to pass him over to another woman. Eventually she had just accepted him and told him to keep quiet and out of the way of the men. Thankfully he was far too young to have to fight tonight.
"They have seen too many winters!" the voice of Gimli exclaimed and she raised her head slightly, her eyes narrowing.
"Or too few," Legolas added. He stopped in the middle of the armoury. "Look; you can see the fear in their eyes."
He glanced at Aragorn and then started to speak in a flowing language which Ailith could only assume to be Sindarin. How dare they! She could not understand the words but she understood the tone and bristled with anger. These were a simple folk, they needed encouragement. How dare this strange warrior stand in their midst and declare them unworthy for battle!
Evidently Aragorn thought the same because he stepped forward and shouted "Then I shall die as one of them!" before storming out.
"Leave him," Gimli rumbled when Legolas tried to follow. Ailith scooped Cahal out from underneath the table and gripped his hot little hand tightly in her own. She took a deep breath and looked around.
The men looked confused and saddened. This would never do.
"What fools these strangers are," she said loudly. She said it not in the Common Tongue but in the Rohirric language. There was a sniggering from some of the men and she felt the colour rise in her cheeks. When she spoke the Common Tongue, her accent was as precise and gentile as any educated lady of the court. However, when she spoke in Rohirric her accent completely collapsed into the harsh sounds typical of any commoner off the Wold. Today she could use that to her advantage, today she could speak to the men on their own level. The Common Tongue was the language of the court but Rohirric was the language of the people.
"This is your home. In your blood is that of the people of Helm Hammerhand as the blood of Eadric the Shepherd is in mine. If I could stand beside you tonight then I would be proud to do so..."
She looked Legolas directly in the eye and then finished with "...as these three will be when the battle is over."
She steered Cahal out of the armoury; Legolas following them closely.
"What were you saying to them?" he demanded.
"A little encouragement, that is all," she said shortly.
"Those men were dejected before you spoke and they are hardly ready to face battle now but they are standing a little straighter and there is a gleam in their eyes that wasn't there before!"
She spun on the spot, Cahal screaming in delight at being spun around.
"I came down to their level. Those men can barely speak the Common Tongue, they have never seen an elf before and you have the audacity to say that they are not going to live in a language that they do not even understand!" she said fiercely. "If you think that there is no way they can win then they may as well lie down inside the Deeping Wall and wait for the Uruk-hai to slaughter them in the mud like cattle."
"I merely meant that they seem unprepared-" Legolas started but she cut him off.
"No, you think they are hopeless. I sincerely hope that they prove you wrong," she said angrily. "Now excuse me, I have duties I need to attend to."
She picked up Cahal and walked off, offering up a silent prayer to Béma as she did so. War was upon the Rohirrim and they needed any help they could get. Words could only go so far.
AN - First things first, to anyone who cares, in my head a Wold accent is similar to a Yorkshire accent. My grandmother is from Yorkshire and I find it to be a very warm and friendly accent. It is possible for an accent to fluctuate like Ailith's did as well. I myself have a mild Scottish accent but when I speak to my cousins in the South of England, I go really English.
Also, yes Ailith won't be fighting in the Battle of Helm's Deep. We all know how it goes, OFC stands with Legolas and Gimli on the Deeping Wall, Legolas makes witty comment about Gimli's height and boxes, OFC gets injured when the wall explodes, blah blah blah. There are hundreds of stories where that happens on this website. I got my own plans.