Author: Karina "Galadriel"

Chapter: 6

(Time passed since last episode: about an hour)

"Curse this tower!" Saruman growled, pacing the floor. The lack of activity was getting to him. Before the ents attacked, Saruman had control over all of Isengard, and now there was nothing to rule over with the exception of Grima and Orthanc. "Nothing! I'm left with absolutely NOTHING! Curse those ents."

Grima watched Saruman pace the floor, rolling his eyes and resting his hand on his fist.He was sitting down on the floor with his back resting against the wall, somewhat drowsy. He knew that Saruman was tired of kicking him around, so he had nothing to worry about. Katherine was also watching Saruman in the shadows, with her dark eyes shut halfway into smaller slits under the shadow of her hood. All three of them needed some sort of activity to occupy themselves for at least a little while before they went mad. At length, Saruman paused. He heard a sound from far off. He made his way to the closest window.

"Horses." He said, grinning. He was relieved that something new was happening. Then, his face switched to an upset scowl almost instantly. "Oh no," he grumbled. "Gandalf and his odd companions are coming." At this, Grima winced. He remembered all too well his first encounter with the four travelers. He could not forget the humiliation of not doing his job well. Katherine also remembered the travelers. Her eyes were now fully open, but she was not as affected as Saruman and Grima. She knew that they would come, she just wasn't sure about when.

"When they come, stay out of the way." Saruman commanded Grima. "Let me do the talking." Right after he said this, there was a loud banging at the door. Saruman stiffened. "Go check, Wormtongue." He commanded.

"But you told me to stay..." Grima started, but Saruman wasn't in the mood for arguments.

"Answer the door, THEN get out of the way, Wormtongue!" Saruman hissed. Grima jumped up and left his spot for a moment, stuck his head out the window and shouted "Who's there?" The reply was incomprehensible to Katherine and Saruman. Grima returned to his original spot and said "Gandalf wants to speak with you, my Lord."

Saruman sighed in resignation. "If he insists." He said, clearing his throat. He went to the window. Grima relaxed when Saruman took his attention away from him. He looked over at Katherine, once again darkened by the shadows. She slowly walked into the light when she saw that Saruman had his attention elsewhere. Katherine never took a liking to Saruman, in fact, after she informed him about Helm's Deep, Saruman had no use for her, so he ignored her. She stood next to Grima, who was sitting down on the floor with one hand on his forehead. Katherine looked down at him.

"You do know that the ranger is down there; the one who stole Eowyn's heart." She said softly.

"Yes, I know." Grima replied, not moving. Katherine frowned. Before, whenever the subject of Eowyn came up, Grima would have a heartbroken expression on his face. Of course, Grima and Katherine had only known each other for a few hours, but many things can happen in a short period of time.

"You're already over the Rohan woman?" Katherine asked, sitting beside Grima. "It has been less than a day." Grima lifted his eyes.

"I'm not completely over Eowyn," He rasped, not looking at his companion. "I still want to be with her... very much." Then, he took a deep breath. Katherine would never understand how he felt, and how he could feel it so quickly. But, he felt that he had to let her know some time, and this was the perfect time. He could hear Saruman talking with Gandalf. All right, Wormtongue. Now or never. He said to himself. Then, he looked at Katherine, right in the eyes. Katherine wasn't wearing her hood at the moment, so her dark glittering eyes almost overwhelmed him. He swallowed hard before speaking, but when he opened his mouth, his voice was shaky.

"Katherine," he began. Katherine raised an eyebrow questioningly. Grima hesitated, then continued softly. "Katherine, whenever I look into your eyes, I see Eowyn. I can't explain it, but all I have to do to be with Eowyn is to look at you." Grima then clamped his mouth shut. He must have gone too far. He was not acting like himself at all. He hung his head in shame.

Katherine reached out a pale hand and raised his head so he was staring straight into her eyes. "So, you have fallen for me just as you fell for the Rohan woman." She hissed, glaring at Grima. He was struck dumb by Katherine's gaze, so all he could do was nod his head guiltily. Katherine continued. "You are aware that there are many differences between Eowyn and myself, aren't you?" she asked, staring at Grima more intensely, as if she was scaring the answers out of him. Grima winced and squeezed his eyes shut. He felt that Katherine would push him away at any time. "Of course, one of the differences is..." Katherine said slowly, her voice becoming les harsh. Grima braced himself. Just get this over with, please! I can't take this any more! "...I won't break your heart."

Katherine finished, then let go of Grima's chin, letting his head drop. Grima was in total shock. She didn't reject him! He looked willingly at Katherine, and found that her lips were curled in a tiny smile. Grima was about to say how happy he was to Katherine, when a voice broke the moment. Saruman was cursing the company below him so loud, both Grima and Katherine were jolted back to reality.

"Curses." Grima hissed, hating Saruman more than usual. On impulse, he stood up and grabbed Saruman's palantir. Katherine stood up as well.

"Oh no." she whispered, putting her hood back on and backing into the shadows.

"Please don't make me miss." Grima hissed. He threw the palantir.