Alyssae barely got the chance to see what was happening. The weight disappeared from her back, which almost fell broken, and the next moment she was lifted in the air by her right leg.

'Alyssae!'
The horror in Thorin's eyes frightened her and there was no way she would let go of him. He raised himself a little so she could wrap her arms around his waist. She screamed because she got the feeling she was torn apart. The muscles in her arm burnt when she was lifted higher and higher. She drew Thorin along.
'Don't let me go,' she whispered while tears run down her cheeks.
'Of course not.'
His voice was husky and his eyes showed the fear which he was battling. He could escape from this danger by pushing her away, but instead he hold her waist with one arm as well. With his other hand he tried to cut the thing that was holding her.

All of a sudden Alyssae spun around. She kept holding the dwarf, but was shaken so heavily she couldn't think anymore. Sticky threads appeared all around her and their arms and legs were pressed together.
Alyssae screamed so loudly Thorin squeezed his eyes while cursing, but she knew her helpless screams were their only hope.
Suddenly they hung quietly. She felt an inexplicable pressure on her head.
'We are going to die,' she concluded when she realized they hung upside down on a branch. The outlook to be eaten together by a spider was a more comforting thought than that she would find him totally ripped open in the grass.
Thorin didn't speak. His breath brushed her neck and she wondered if he was brooding on a way out. Alyssae knew he wouldn't come up with anything. They were pressed together in some kind of cocoon and they couldn't move an inch. She wasn't even able to kiss his lips, although a rejection was the last thing she wanted to hear from him. Although it was hardly better than the words he did say.
'This is your fault.'
'What?' she asked in disbelief.
'I told you this wasn't the right moment to talk. If you hadn't been so busy with gabbling we would at least have heard that thing.'
Her hands were itching. 'If I wasn't stuck here, I would have slapped you in the face,' she grumbled.
'You disagree?'
'It was not a monologue.'
An aggrieved sniff was audible, but that was all they could do.
'You are unbearable. Even the moment you're about to die.'
Unbearable and irresistible.
'Speak for yourself. You dragged me into this misery. Literally.'
Alyssae's cheeks turned red. By shame or by anger, she didn't know.
'You held me just as tight as I held you.'
She muttered the words and if he hadn't been so close, she would have believed he couldn't hear her.
Thorin murmured something back, but she supposed it was in his own language.
Alyssae's fingers crept to his hand. 'Do we really have to storm at each other during the last moments of our lives?'
It was silent for a while, until Thorin yielded in the end. 'You are right.'

Alyssae was in two minds. Would she tell her secret? Would it ease his death when he knew she loved him? She knew it would mean the world to her, but she was the one who searched for confirmation.
What was he thinking aboutf? The dwarf woman who had stolen his heart?
She took a deep breath and asked: 'I am sorry you will never see her again.'
'Who?'
'That dwarf woman.'
'You think I care about that?' he grumbled, while he started to move wildly with his shoulders again, trying to free himself.
'Kili will become a great king, just like you. You don't have to worry about that. But I understand when you regret there's no time to spend with her and-'
'There is no one!' he snarled so angry her ears hummed. 'Do I have to spell it out for you?'
Alyssae held her tongue, but she couldn't believe his words. 'I saw it in your eyes,' she whispered. 'So she already passed away?'
Would that make it easier to look Death right in the eyes?
The only reaction she received was an irritated sniff. 'You are unbelievable. Why do you even think about such things before we die!'
'Because it is useless to elbow our way through. We will not escape from this web.'
'I will not give up.'
'You will only die sooner when you wear yourself out. Maybe the others will find us.'
Thorin seemed to see a truth in her words and became a little calmer. There was just a little chance they would be found, but it was better than giving up. They were still close to the road.
Alyssae started to feel hot. There was almost no fresh air in this dead forest, and it was even worse in this cocoon, especially by Thorin's strains.

A long time they were both quiet. Alyssae started to feel a little sleepy, which frightened her.
'We have to talk,' she said. 'Otherwise we'll fall asleep and never wake up again.'
Thorin sighed deeply. She already found out he didn't like to talk.
'It was a relief to be redeemed from your voice.'
'Then talk yourself. I like to listen to your voice.'
Thorin looked up surprised, but Alyssae shrugged honestly – one of the few movements she could still make. 'I can't help it.'
'What on earth should I talk about?'
Alyssae almost wanted to suggest that he could talk about Erebor, but in time she realised that could be a painful memory at the moment.
'What did you do those days you were waiting for me?'
'Not much,' he answered. 'I explored the surroundings and tried to sleep.'
'Exciting.'
Thorin looked up again and when their eyes met Alyssae felt goose bumps on her arms.
'Above all I wondered what you said to me, just before you left.'
Alyssae started to sweat even more. She opened her mouth, but closed it quickly. The dwarf prince however kept looking awaiting at her. Her mouth became dry and it was difficult to swallow.
Even now they both were looking into a deep abyss, while they knew they would be pushed into that dark depth very soon, she didn't dare to repeat the words in the common speech.
'There is no translation.'
Thorin's eyebrows formed a deep V. He didn't believe her.
'Was it an insult?' His voice trembled frightfully.
Alyssae looked the other way. Maybe he considered it as an insult indeed that he was loved by an elf.
'At least it wasn't meant as an insult.'