Author: Karina "Galadriel"

Chapter 3

(Time passed since last episode: about an hour)

"Why did I come here?" Grima hissed under his breath. He had arrived at Isengard, only to find the land flooded and guarded by Ents and two Halflings, and Saruman in a very horrible mood. Now, he found himself looking out of a window high up in Orthanc, the only building left standing. He gazed at the water beneath him, debris and destruction floating on top and sinking to the bottom. Curse those tree people, those Ents. He despised the destroyers of Isengard, as well as anyone who made his life miserable. He propped up his head on his hand and looked beyond, trying to forget about Saruman's fury for a little while.

Then, Grima was aroused from his pensive state when he heard a soft "Pssst!" He straightened up but didn't look behind him. Maybe Saruman was going to take out some more of his anger on him. But the beckoning hiss came again, louder this time. Grima noticed that Saruman's voice was too deep to make a sound like that, and that caused some confusion.

"That's not Saruman!" Grima thought. He slowly turned around, only half-expecting to see who he was about to look upon. Standing right behind him was the hooded stranger, only since she wasn't in the shadows, Grima gave a start at seeing her for the first time in light. The woman's flowing dress was a very dark green, and her hooded cloak was blacker than darkness itself. The darkness of her clothes proved to be a great contrast to her face. Even the shadowed part of her face was pale, and her thin lips were curled at the edges into a dark smile. Grima realized that he was staring with his mouth hanging open at the woman. He immediately composed himself and his grim expression returned.

"What do you want?" he asked, trying to act commanding.

"I am sure you want to bring Theoden to his final defeat, am I correct?" she asked, her expression not changing. Grima's eyes widened a little at her voice. She had a high-pitched voice like a girl, but there was a complex tone in her voice that gave Grima the impression that she had much dark knowledge and wisdom, and that was intimidating to him. "Am I correct?" the woman repeated, narrowing her dark eyes. Grima nodded meekly. "I thought so. They will be at Helm's Deep. I already informed Saruman a while before your arrival." She said. Frightened as he was, Grima was upset that Saruman knew about it before his arrival to Isengard. Grima wanted the credit of telling Saruman so he could get on his good side. He was also confused.

"You work with Saruman?" he asked, feeling left out. Why didn't Saruman tell him about her? To him, being replaced was worse than being tormented. The woman laughed, which shocked Grima. Her laugh was an evil cackle that put Grima's harsh laugh to shame.

"I work for no one, but I know many things." she said, a hint of pride in her voice. Grima felt relieved, but he was still unsure of the strange woman. The power and authority the woman had reminded him a little bit of Eowyn. He relaxed a little bit, but her power was so strong, his voice was caught in his throat. He managed to squeak out the one question that popped to his mind.

"Who are you?" There was a short pause, as if the woman was reluctant to reveal her identity. At length, she raised up her long fingers and pulled off her hood, letting all her brown wavy hair fall over her shoulders. Grima gasped at the deep darkness of her thin eyes, and the pained expression on her face from removing the hood. She looked at him with the darkest of scowls. "My name is Katherine."