Hi there!
Now Marrow knows the truth behind the origin of mutants. What will Avalanche's reaction be? And what about Kitty and that strange experience? Not to mention the restrained relationship she has with Aragorn.
Before I begin, I want to thank you for Steve993 reviews. They have always been of great help and interest.
And then ... ah, yes! Before I also want to say that all your reviews are very important because they are my guide. And now yes ... let's go to Chapter 25!
Chapter 25: Preparing for a siege
Avalanche read with great attention the letter he received from Marrow.
Several months before the problem arose when Gandalf had found the One Ring in the Shire, Avalanche had spent much of his time at Mordor to be exact in the tower. Barad-Dûr which was where the great Eye of Fire of Sauron was.
The mutant did not particularly like being there. The eternal redness of the sky, as well as the continual smell of sulfur, fire, and death in the place, were not the most pleasant, nor were they his favorites, but ... there was something in his favor and it was that Mordor was a totally rocky place, without the slightest trace of life and this allowed him to use his powers easily, more easily than anywhere ... if any mine or city of the dwarves would be a better place and that, not completely because it could happen that he too was buried and although Avalanche could cause earthquakes, that did not mean that he did not die because of one of them. His power was great, but it required him to be very careful how he used it if he did not want to get crushed or trapped by one of his own earthquakes.
The letter or note or whatever you want to call it received from Marrow was written on a stone not very large, smooth and thin. Obviously, she had written it with the help of one of her sharpest spines since she had no pen and paper.
In that 'letter' she recounted, in a few words, the mission assigned to her by Saruman, the ambush to the Fellowship with the consequent result (Boromir's death and the imprisonment of Shadowcat, Merry and Pippin), her own mission, how she had managed to deceive Gollum so he took the hobbits to Mordor and the thorn that she had given him. Avalanche smiled at that detail. Once he got the information out to Gollum, he could kill him without any problem as his usefulness would have ended.
But there was something that struck him as Marrow did, and it was the fact that apparently, no mutant could touch the One Ring as both his companion and Shadowcat had happened to have hurt them.
Avalanche clenched his fists violently as he read the name of 'Shadowcat'. He hated that girl, he hated her with all his heart! He had been in love with her, he had protected her several times, he had tried to change so as to be with her, and what had happened ... she had abandoned him because she simply did not like the way he was! It was not possible! Had he forsaken it? After being friendly and could even be said to be affectionate with him ... she had abandoned him and then had fought several times against him to defeat him! No, Avalanche hated Shadowcat, and to some extent he was glad to be taken her prisoner to Isengard because he knew she would refuse to participate in Saruman and Sauron's plan, and the mutant knew that the traitor wizard was very capable, and he would, to torture her and destroy her will just as he did with the orcs to create his horrendous creatures called 'uruk-hai'. What a shame he could not be present! But it consoled him that in the near future he might see the once pretty mutant, made a monster and for the sole purpose of serving Saruman and Sauron.
However, that would have to wait because he was still disturbed by the fact that Marrow told him about the One Ring and her talk with Sauron. What was that One Ring that seemed to hurt all the mutants in specific? And why the owner of the One Ring had not been able to answer that question to Marrow? She had written to him in her 'letter' that she would talk to Saruman about the matter, and as soon as she knew the answer, she would send it to him.
Something else that caught his attention was that Marrow vehemently advised him to be very careful and not to trust anyone, if at all in Sauron because the guy seemed genuinely interested in mutants as allies, but that he was very careful anyway. It was not necessary for him to tell him, Avalanche did not trust anyone easily and there were few people who gained his trust like Magneto or Mystique or Sauron, but apparently even the Dark Lord of Mordor was not a reliable person. He would have to be careful because he was in the lion's den and could not afford to be trapped or, worse yet, dead.
With a shock wave of his mutant power, he shattered the stone card. He would wait for Marrow's answer, and depending on it, he would know how to act and how to command the army of orcs and Nâzgul. That was the good thing about being mutant and being a powerful one and having mastered his skill: they had put him to the front of it, only Sauron was above him in the chain of command in Mordor.
'Poor Marrow!' He thought. 'Saruman is not a person to let anyone else in control'
But then he thought it over. The fact that Saruman was thus did not mean that Marrow could not turn the play to him and as sample was the decision that she had taken with respect to the One Ring.
Kitty watched the desolate, rocky landscape that surrounded Helm's Deep. That night would surely be lined with corpses of friends as well as enemies, most likely of friends ... perhaps all the inhabitants of Rohan.
Ten thousand uruk-hai! Ten thousand! Kitty shook her head. The X-Men had never faced with a force as numerous as that, and the worst of all is that a force composed of beings who did not know the mercy and, instead, their blood hunger had no rival. If they could compare to the Sentinels or ... to Apocalypse.
Three hundred was the approximate number of those who would fight against that army of demons called uruk-hai, many of whom were either elders or children and almost none of them soldiers or warriors. That would be a complete massacre. Stupid king! That he did not realize what his stupid decision would be? And what glory was there in dying heroically if a whole kingdom disappeared? That sacrifice still had some meaning, but ... no! It did not have it, for without Rohan only Gondor remained as the kingdom of Men (according to what Gimli had explained to her) and it was then logical that Saruman should turn his gaze to that kingdom of Men.
If only a few of their X-Men friends had been with them! With that Storm, Wolverine, X-23, the bastard Colossus and Iceman, but no ... it was only she whom the king had ordered to go down to the caves, along with the other people and the princess, had barely finished eating. Kitty had not been pleased with the king's order, but it was obvious that Théoden still did not trust her. What would Kitty have to do to earn his trust? Aragorn himself had advocated for her! But King Théoden was as stubborn as a mule and, to be said, somewhat proud.
Why? Why were not they there? How unfortunate they were dead or ... no? To her memory came the strange experience that passed. Hearing the voices of Logan and Ororo had been a great relief, but what she did not understand was why they talked to Emma Frost if that mutant was an enemy of the X-Men. Had they allied with her? So bad was the situation that the White Queen had put aside her lack of scruples and had joined the X-Men? Starting with the question: were her friends alive? And if they were, why had not they let her know? And why were they looking for her telepathically? Because such a situation was what seemed to happen according to Emma's words, after all she was a telepath mutant almost as powerful as the Professor. Kitty did not understand it and wondered again and again what it meant. Would they be looking for her? But why telepathically and not by means of some locator? Why had she felt such pain, as if they were trying to pull her off? No, that did not make sense.
Then that was not the only thing because if they were looking for her they would surely know that Marrow and Avalanche were in Middle-Earth. So ... why were they trying to get her out of this place if they all knew how dangerous those two mutants were? Rather it must be that they sought her to help her overcome them, not to take her away and leave her friends at the mercy of those two dangerous enemies.
And another situation arose. Friends? Did she consider the Fellowship of the Ring as her friends? Frodo had told her that, for him, she was part of the Fellowship. She did not know what Sam's idea was, but it was probably the same or very similar because the hobbit used to think very much like Frodo. Merry and Pippin? They had shown much concern for her when they had tried to flee. Would they consider her as their friend? Kitty thought for a moment, probably yes because the hobbits had a noble and sympathetic heart. Gimli? The dwarf had become friendly with her and had shown great pleasure in seeing her outside the Fangorn Forest and back with Aragorn ... yes, Gimli was now considered her friend and she also liked him very much, she liked his temper slightly grumpy, but sympathetic. Legolas? Kitty did not know what to think. The elf's reaction at the sight of her had been utterly unexpected, yet entirely sincere. Kitty had clearly felt that the warmth and relief that Legolas showed her when he held her was true and came from the depths of his heart. And her? She had hugged him because she had felt it was the right thing to do, but her reaction to leaning her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and sighing relieved that was totally unexpected. Why had she done that? Since when did Kitty have such closeness and confidence in the elf as to do that no matter what the people said? That was a question, and yet Kitty did not regret doing it, on the contrary, she would have liked that hug had lasted longer because for the first time in her life she had felt totally safe, understood and ... the strangest: beloved. Kitty shook her head when she reached this point of her pondering. No, Legolas had shown great relief and joy at seeing her alive and in one piece because after all he was in charge of her protection, help and care. However, a little voice told Kitty insistently that this was not the only reason, nor was it the only reason Kitty had reacted in this way to the elf's kindness. What was happening? Kitty chose not to think about it anymore and passed the next member of the Fellowship: Aragorn.
The Ranger she had saved for some strange reason she did not even understand, but ... she had to accept it: it had been an excellent idea because she'd had to go through a couple of adventures with him and realized that the man named Aragorn did not was what he seemed and she had judged him wrong. The Ranger had advocated for her before the king and had told all those who had come that Kitty had saved his life to prove that he trusted her and that Kitty was a reliable person, not to mention that he had saved her life of a Warg and had taken her with him on horseback to Helm's Deep. Yes, that man named Aragorn was not who she had thought he was.
Kitty was not a person who liked too much to apologize, but ... she could at least make peace with him. One could not be in bad terms with the companion of adventures and amrs, especially if it was taken into account that in a few hours they would have to fight side by side against ten thousand demons called uruk-hai.
Avalanche walked resolutely towards the exit of the tower of Barad-Dûr. Marrow's "letter" had arrived with Saruman's explanation of the origin of the mutants, not to mention the little experience she had had before the Wildmen ambush and the tragic end of all of them at the hands of the mutant .
Avalanche realized that if Saruman had tried to get rid of Marrow, there was nothing to stop him from trying to do the same thing to him later. The traitor wizard had realized that Marrow was already well aware that the real reason why Saruman had hidden the truth all this time, was the fear that both mutants would rise against him. And who would not? Avalanche was sure that between the two they could beat Saruman. Unfortunately, the two were not together in Isengard. The traitor wizard had it in mind when he told them where to stay each and now Avalanche could not leave as well as Mordor for two reasons: one, the One Ring was on its way to Mordor and it was up to him to pick it up from the corpse of Gollum; And two, if he left without saying a word, it could happen that Sauron suspected him and then leaving Mordor would be somewhat ... complicated so to speak.
Through her letter, Marrow had let him know that the two mutants together could take Saruman out of the way. As for Sauron? The Dark Lord of Mordor was far more powerful than the traitor wizard, though he did not yet have all his power and would not have it until that damn One Ring was in his possession once more.
Avalanche had thought very seriously about the possibility that Sauron would kill them once he had gained all power. Probably not even Magneto could defeat him and that he was Omega-type mutant and, if it was considered the revelation of Saruman, also had in his nature to be half wizard and half human and therefore would be more powerful in Middle-Earth than in the earth.
Marrow had advised him to act with caution. Her idea was to take Saruman out of the way and make him pay for his betrayal and assured him that she would take care of it. The one that remained was Sauron. What to do? Marrow had told him that it was up to him since he was the one in Mordor, but she had promised that once she would have gotten rid of Saruman would go to Mordor to help him in the plan he had made with regard to the Dark Lord of Mordor.
Avalanche immediately realized that what suited first was that Sauron suspected nothing, he was sure that he would not mind that Saruman was eliminated if he had as allies to two mutants descendants of the two Blue Wizards and that they were loyal to him. What was convenient here was to be a step forward that he and the way to be was watching the One Ring.
Avalanche did not know where the two hobbits and Gollum would be, but he did know that that wretched being was extremely dangerous and cunning, so it would not be easy to find him, it was for that reason that he had gone to see Sauron to tell him that he would seek out those three to bring them directly to his presence and give him the One Ring. Of course, the One Ring would be in his hands before that of the Dark Lord of Mordor and hoped that by then Marrow would have arrived.
What would they do then? There were two options: one, to force Sauron to fulfill his deal even after he took possession of that jewel; Or two, was to overthrow him and keep them with all power.
Which one suited? That was a question, especially if it was taken into account that he had heard rumors that there was a being far more powerful than Sauron and that was more evil than he.
Avalanche shrugged. There would be time to make those decisions, for the moment what was important was to find those two hobbits and Gollum or at least know their whereabouts. He beckoned to a small squad of orcs and he stood on a floating rock covered by a thick stone armor to avoid any treacherous attack, came forward and went in search of the hobbits and Gollum.
Aragorn was putting on his armor. He was still troubled. Seeing those children and those elders with armor and with sword when they had never used one or wielded one and knowing to what they're going to face, filled him with grief. How many mothers, wives and sisters wouldn't see their beloveds with life again? He didn't want even to think about it, but there was no time to despair, it was time to go on and give courage and hope to those who didn't have.
Suddenly, someone handed him his sword. Aragorn raised his gaze and saw that it was Legolas.
"We have trusted you this far and you have not led us astray. Forgive me, I was wrong to despair" he said
Aragorn smiled. He knew his friend from very old and he always had known that Legolas never had distrusted of him, it was only his worry of the outcoming siege which had made him to tell him that all was despair. Maybe it had had to do a lot with the fact that the elf knew that if they failed, that if HE failed, Kitty would die by the hands of the uruk or worse yet, she would be taken to Isengard.
"There's nothing to forgive, Legolas" he said
When hearing this, the elf smiled. The two old friends again ready for facing together a hell. Heavy footsteps followed by a ringing metallic sound were heard.
"If we had time, I'd get this adjusted" said an embarrassed Gimli with a mail coat so long for him that it seemed more a dress "it's a little tight across the chest" he added
A gasp of surprise followed by a snort of someone who tries to stifle a laughter made the three turned and saw that in the entrance of the armory was… Kitty with her hazel eyes wide at the looking of the dwarf and with a hand on her mouth trying to hide her incoming laugh.
"Do you think is funny, lass?" asked Gimli but not really angry but embarrassed
Kitty breathed deeply for drown her laugh.
"Is just that you look… a bit… strange" she said forcing to not smile
Gimli snorted.
"Can you fix this lass? I mean, using your ability, can you fix this?"
"I'm sorry Gimli but I'm not neither metal bender nor telekinetically nor have adamantium claws like Wolverine or X-23"
Gimli scoffed. What a shame! Now he had to fight with such mail coat that wouldn't let him move freely.
Legolas approached to the mutant.
"Kitty, you should be in the caves with the others" he told her softly
Kitty rolled her eyes.
"Please Kitty" said Legolas taking by her hand and squeezing it gently "this place is too dangerous"
"But I know fighting" she said annoyed "I'm an X-Men since I was 1. I'm not rookie in the battle"
"Kitty, if you stay here, how will I be able to protect you?" said Legolas a bit more firmly but at the same time with a pleading look "I can't fight and protect you in this battle at the same time"
Aragorn and Gimli looked at each other with a very knowing look. It was said that when an elf sensed someone it was because that someone was very, VERY close to the heart of the said elf.
"Why not?" she asked stubbornly "besides, you wouldn't have to protect me because I can protect myself being in phasing state all the time"
"Please Kitty, understand me" he said
"I think that… you should listen the elf, lass" intervened Gimli "besides the king had the stupid idea of ordering that you must stay in the caves"
"Yes, yes, I know" she said annoyed "because he doesn't trust me. You know? I thought that stubborn people was something that was only a characteristic of my home-realm, but turns out that it isn't"
Kitty looked at the elf. He's gaze was pleading but at the same time she could read again that a feeling that was beyond concern of friends was there. However, she didn't let it convince her, but she decided to play her cards different.
"Well, anyways, I was coming to talk to Aragorn" she said "after that I'm leaving for the caves" she added sulkily
Legolas and Gimli turned to look to Aragorn who in turn raised a surprised eyebrow. What did Kitty want to tell him?
But before any of them could say anything, a horn sounded.
"That is no orc horn" said Legolas
The four looked at each other and rushed out. When they arrived at the main gate, they stopped short. An elven army leaded by Haldir, the March Warden of Lothlórien, had arrived.
"How is this possible?" asked in disbelief Théoden once he was before the elven army
"I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell: an alliance once existed between Elves and Men, long ago we fought and died together" answered Haldir "we come to honor that allegiance"
"Mae Govannen, Haldir!" greeted happily Aragorn. And without further ado, he hugged the elf showing his happiness of seeing such reinforcement and the Marche Warden too "you are most welcome"
Haldir was really surprised. Such happiness and in that way shown was very weird among elves who were creature who had their emotions almost always in check. Nevertheless, he returned the embrace.
Legolas approached and embraced his brother in race while Gimli stayed aside. He still didn't like the elf who wanted to make him walk blindfolded.
Just Legolas had left Haldir when Kitty was already hugging him.
"I'm so, so, so glad to see you again!" she said with a wide smile
Haldir blinked several times surprised at the reaction of the mutant while Legolas frowned slightly when hearing this as well as seeing the happiness of the young woman.
"Me too, Lady Katherine Anne Pryde" Haldir said after a moment "I wouldn't have guessed that you'd be here, especially since you surely know what is coming" he added the last sentence while glancing Legolas.
"Yeah, well, it has passed a couple of things and turns and well… here I am: in the lion's den" said brightly Kitty trying to ease the mood.
Haldir nodded.
"It's then a pleasure to find you well, Lady Katherine Anne Pryde"
Kitty smiled while King Théoden was surprised. Seemed that not only Legolas trusted her but Haldir too, seemed that that mutant was well received and had good reputation among elves. Was she trustworthy? He shook his head, that would be considered later, now it was time to prepare for the incoming battle.
Haldir advanced with his army of 1000 elves followed by Aragorn and the king who would show him what positions they would have during the siege, as well as the main parts of the fortress. Throughout the tour, Kitty followed closely her friends. She was also interested in the position of the newcomers and the distribution of forces.
Haldir had frowned, seeing that the vast majority of those who would fight were children or old men, and that the few men were mere citizens or farmers. It had been a good idea to go to Rohan's aid because if that had been all the strength of that kingdom, it did not matter if Helm's Deep was impenetrable, those 300 'warriors' would not survive.
When Kitty followed them, Legolas turned to her.
"Kitty, please go to the caves," he asked softly.
Kitty rolled her eyes.
"Legolas" she said "did not Gandalf say that I had come to Middle-Earth because the Válar had considered that I should help you?"
Much to his regret the nodded because he already guessed what her reasoning was.
"So how am I supposed to help you if you force me to be hiding in the caves?"
Legolas was already opening his mouth to respond, but Kitty continued.
"On the other hand, you know very well that since I was almost a child I have been accustomed to fighting and that my mutant ability helps me. Did I not survive a fall of more than ten meters and a wild river? "
"Yes, Kitty, it is true that you survived; But you were also taken prisoner by the orcs and almost killed thanks to the drug they gave you, not to mention that you almost fell into the clutches of Saruman, "he replied" also, these are uruk-hai, these are not a wild river nor are they a fall from a high cliff, they are not even like the Warg "He took a deep breath" Boromir asked me as his last will to protect you "
"Well, if that worries you then I'll fight at your side, so any problem that comes up, you'll come to my rescue"
Legolas shook his head.
"No," he said. "You do not understand Kitty. I cannot fight, I will not be able to fight if I know that you are here, if I sense your presence in the middle of the hell that is going to untie "
"Sense?" Kitty frowned again, confused. "Are you like Lady Galadriel? Do you have telepathic or betazoid ability? "
The elf took a deep breath. How could he explain the real reason when even he was not entirely sure? He took her by the shoulders gently but firmly.
"Kitty, I ask you to go to the caves" he said "do it for your sake and for mine"
Kitty tilted her head ever more confused. Was it that the elf was a telepath or a betazoid? Would it be something like Lady Galadriel or as he mutant type among his kin? And why would it be for the sake of him? She understood why her own, but not his own. Once more she noticed in his blue eyes that light that reflected a feeling much deeper than a simple friendship or concern could reflect. However, she did not give up her purpose so she just decided to change tactics.
"It's okay," she said, pretending to accept defeat "I'm just going to talk to Aragorn and I'm going to the caves"
Legolas nodded and accompanied her to where the Ranger was finishing the details with the King and Haldir.
"Katherine Anne Pryde, if I remember correctly I told you to go down with the children and the women to the caves," said Théoden as soon as he saw her
Haldir, Gimli and Aragorn turned.
"Um ... yes, I just wanted to speak for a moment with Lord Aragorn before I obeyed Your Majesty," Kitty said, clutching her hands nervously.
The audience turned and looked surprised at Aragorn who raised a surprised eyebrow, but after a moment he nodded.
"You surprise me Kitty," Aragorn told her once they were alone "why so much urgency to talk to me?"
Kitty looked at him. She realized that the Ranger was not upset that she wanted to talk to him, but rather was surprised mostly because, although she had saved him and he had advocated for her, they were still not on good terms.
"Do not feel unique, Aragorn," she replied "because I too am surprised that I have this urgency to talk to you"
Aragorn smirked. No doubt, Kitty would never cease to be Kitty, the young woman who had temper, but good-hearted and reliable.
He sat down on one of the steps of a ladder that was going to lead to an inner corridor of the fortress, while Kitty paced in front of him with her arms folded and her brow furrowed. Finally, she turned to him who waited patiently.
"Um ... I wanted to talk to you because ... considering the situation that lies ahead in a few hours and that we will die, I thought it would be a good idea we would be on good terms"
Aragorn raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Was he listening well? Kitty wanted to be on good terms with him? And on the other hand, apparently, she believed that hardly anyone would survive except that nobody ... including him.
"It's not that I think you're going to die or I want you to die," Kitty added, "I mean, I'm not going to wish you to die because my super heroic feat would not have made any sense if I wish you to die"
Aragorn smirked.
"But the thing looks very, very bad," Kitty murmured after a moment "and since no one has life assured, it is better that we are all on good terms"
Aragorn got up and walked over to her, forcing her to stop in the middle of her walk.
"So badly do you think we're going?" He asked quietly.
"I would not tell you if I did not believe it, do not you think?" Kitty chuckled "I think it's one of those times when I wish the X-Men were here, at least those children would not die," she added with low eyesight
Aragorn looked at her for a moment. Kitty had come to apologize in her own way, that is, to tell him to 'be on good terms'. Perhaps getting a little closer to her and showing a little more openness will help both of them accept each other.
"And which of your friends do you think would help us the most?" He asked.
Kitty looked up and saw him smiling slightly. She shrugged her shoulders.
"I do not know ... there are several options. Storm would be great because she could electrocute with lightning to many of them; Iceman could freeze them; Jean could throw them into the void by telekinesis; Cyclops on his part could with lasers of his eyes kill of a shot to tens of them ... but, if it were not possible, if by force it had to be hand to hand combat, Wolverine and X-23 would be the most indicated and ah! obviously, me too and Nightcrawler, Colossus ... Psylocke too. Imagine ... all of us (the last ones I mentioned to you) it's almost impossible to hurt us, and Wolverine and X-23 regenerate so fast that in a matter of seconds any wound they have is completely healed! " her eyes illuminated, but after a while they went out "unfortunately none of them are here, only me and to top it neither the king nor Legolas want me to fight, one of them because he does not trust me and the other who knows what goes through his head of elf, but the fact is he says that he can sense my presence and blah, blah, blah "
She turned her gaze to Aragorn who had listened with great attention, especially the last part.
"Hey, do not you know if Legolas is mutant or has any ability similar to that of Lady Galadriel or has telepathy or betazoid ability?" She asked.
Aragorn shook his head. How did he explain to Kitty that when an elf sensed the presence of a person it was because the elf was in love? How did he explain this to her when there was a battle that would be hellish at the door? To know what her reaction would be! Fortunately, Kitty shrugged.
"Anyway, the fact of wanting to talk to you was not to talk about Legolas, but to tell you that it would be good if we were on good terms," she said, offering him her hand.
Aragorn smiled and shook her hand.
"We're on good terms," he said.
They both knew they had misjudged each other. Aragorn knew that Kitty would never say it, but it did not really matter, the fact was that she recognized it and he and she knew it.
Marrow had finished eating. After running nonstop for days, then fighting all Wildmen without leaving one alone alive and writing a detailed letter to Avalanche was something ... exhausting even for a mutant with a stamina like hers, not to mention being weak for lack of food for days.
Marrow was standing on the balcony from where Saruman had given his little speech to his army of ten thousand uruk-hai. She saw the sky. It was not the most beautiful, especially if it was considered that she had seen the sky on the banks of the Anduin, no, it was not the most beautiful, but she had to accept that compared to what Avalanche surely had to see daily she was in a paradise, only the continuous odor was something she could not stand, but well ... not everything you can get in this life.
And speaking of smells ... a disgusting one like someone who has not been bathing for a long time, one that showed wickedness came to her nose. An orc? An uruk? A Wildmen? Another ambush? Without thinking twice, from her hand she made a sharp spine and threw it at point blank range to drive away the one who intended to attack her from the back while she covered herself in the blink of an eye with her famous and dangerous armor .
A squeal that was neither orc, uruk nor Wildmen was heard. Marrow tilted her head in surprise to see who it was.
"Grima Wormtongue" said slowly "what are you doing here?"
"I'm not coming to hurt you," he said, trembling.
"I hope so," she replied "because I do not know who to trust now, and therefore I will not stop to ask before attacking"
Grima gulped.
"But you seem like a person that I can trust," Marrow said purposefully, "come, you want to keep me company?"
Grima did not know what to say or what to do. Marrow, the mutant that everyone knew how dangerous she was and what to say about her physique, was inviting him to keep her company! There would be a catch?
"Are you coming? Yes or no? "She said impatiently.
Grima approached slowly and fearfully until he was at her side.
"And well Grima ... how have you been?" She asked after a moment, but without looking him
"We ... we ... well," he stammered.
Marrow turned to him and smiled gently, however, Grima did not trust. The mutant's reputation and the evil brightness of her eyes preceded her.
"Do not be afraid, Grima," she replied kindly, "if you do not come from Saruman to kill me, you should not fear anything from me"
"No, I do not come to any of that" replied he fearfully "he does not even know I'm here with you"
Marrow smirked to herself. That information helped her in her plans.
"I knew that you had a bad experience with Théoden thanks to that fool old man named Gandalf" she said as someone talks about the weather
Grima frowned. What did the mutant intend to do? Scrub in his face his failure? For that matter, she too had failed to take prisoners to the halflings and to Shadowcat!
"Do not be angry, Grima," she replied with a false kindness that managed to deceive Wormtongue "I just asked, after all you see that Saruman has a habit of killing those who fail him in their missions"
Grima looked at her slightly in amazement. Would Saruman kill him? And what about Marrow? Had he also wanted to kill her?
"I tell you because I've heard it," Marrow went on purposefully, but all the while without seeing him "I have to confess you a secret Grima: I no longer trust Saruman, he wanted to kill me by means of an ambush"
Grima was surprised. So that's why Saruman wanted to talk to the Wildmen?
"And you know? It seems totally unfair to me because perhaps the halflings and Shadowcat are not here, but the One Ring is on its way to Mordor "continued Marrow
Grima paled. If Saruman had wanted to kill Marrow even though she had fulfilled her mission ... what hope had he if he had failed?
"I asked one of the Wildmen who attacked me the reason they had ambushed me and through him I learned that Saruman considered me already useless for his plans" lied Marrow while chuckled "to consider me useless? If I was the one who got the One Ring out to Mordor. Tell me, Grima, what do you call a person who uses you for your plans and then tries to kill you? Ungrateful, is not it? "
"But ... but ... but he told me he has another mission for me," Grima ventured to say after a moment.
Marrow chuckled. She walked up to him just a step away from him and leaned down so that their faces were inches apart.
"Do you really think so?" She said mockingly as she pulled out of her hand a spike the size of a knife and as sharp as a fresh forged sword "mark well my words, Grima: Saruman is not a trustworthy person because he uses you and takes out the biggest possible juice for later ... throwing you away like a rotten orange peel "She paused" if I were you, I would take good care of my back because I would not be surprised if he wanted to kill you or, at the very least, insult you more of what he usually does "She added while giving him the thorn.
Marrow looked at him for a moment, then smiled gently at him.
"Mark well my words, Grima" she said before leaving
Grima watched her disappear inside the tower, saw the thorn that had left him and then into the sky. The seed of suspicion and distrust was well planted.
Marrow has set in motion a plan to kill Saruman for his betrayal of her and Avalanche, as well as for taking away his power. While Avalanche will have to choose which way they will take on Sauron.
Kitty and Aragorn are on good terms ... at last, it's about time!
Waiting for your reviews guys! Believe me that they are most valuable and important to me and to this story.