The fear made her numb. Alyssae stared at the creature that rose above them. It was a giant bear, which sniveled angrily and roared wildly. Instinctively she grabbed the hand of the one next to her – of course it was Thorin. He drew his sword and stared furiously at her, as if she was the one who could decapitate him at any moment. However, she was too afraid to move and pull back her hand. Without doing or saying anything, she saw the bear flunking his hind legs. Once more he roared aggressively.
Her eyes flashed to Thorin, who raised his sword defiantly. Alyssae felt like she was choking when she heard the howling of wargs behind her. They were trapped!
She looked over her shoulder and noticed seven wargs, on which orcs were seated. Azog rode in the middle, on his huge, pale beast.
'Stay calm,' the voice of Mithrandir sounded, but Alyssae had no idea how she could stay calm in a situation like this. Her last hour was passing away. Soon she would be torn apart by a warg or a bear. She almost broke Thorin's fingers when the bear jumped forward and she closed her eyes. A blast stroke her hair and someone behind her cried terrified. The moment she turned her head, she saw Bombur lying on the ground. His short legs floundered in the air and Ori and Bifur had to get him on his feet together. The bear had jumped over them and pushed Bombur to the ground, but now he ran at the orcs, who turned their animals in panic.
'Go!'
Mithrandir's voice loosened their limbs and encouraged them to run. Alyssae let go of Thorin's hand and obeyed the wizard. The situation was very confusing, but she followed the dwarves across a green meadow, where the buzzing of bees drew out their running footsteps.
'To that house!'
Alyssae was one of the first who reached the house. Dwalin opened the door and they urged inside. Gasping for breath they threw themselves at the straw, while Mithrandir closed the door behind him.
'What was that?' Gloin gasped. He pressed his hands against his sides and his face was full of pain.
'That was our host, Beorn.'
The company stared at Mithrandir in disbelief. Some of them stood up, ready to go on.
'He is a shape-shifter. When he feels threatened he changes into a bear. In his animal shape he is very unpredictable, but in his human state he might be willing to help us.'
'Is he a friend or an enemy?' Thorin wanted to know.
'Neither of them.'
The dwarf sniffed and turned his head away.
'Let's try to get some sleep,' Mithrandir proposed when they were all a bit recovered from shock.
Alyssae nodded and tried to feel comfortable in the straw, which was quite simple since she had no idea how it felt to sleep in a real bed anymore. While she swept some straw together, she saw the grin on Kili's face.
'What?'
He shook his head chuckling and laid himself on the floor, with his back to her.
Alyssae glanced at Thorin once more, who was sitting with his back to the wall and stared at his hands. She felt like a coward for grabbing his hand when she was afraid, but she only realized by now he hadn't pulled his hand away. A tiny smile was visible on her face, after which she closed her eyes and fell in a dreamless sleep.