It was the first full meal Alyssae had consumed since she was awakened and it was also a long time since she ate an Elvish menu. She was so accustomed to meat that she had to get used to vegetables again, but it still tasted her well.
She was bored a little. Legolas, Thranduil, Thranduin and a few other elves were engaged in business matters that Alyssae found difficult to understand. She looked around the room, to Tauriel who sat at another table and of course to the dwarves, but Thorin seemed to catch every glance and that made her terribly nervous. Just like the previous times she had made progress, she was not sure if something had changed between them, sincee a relapse seemed to be hidden in a small corner. Yet he looked calm tonight. Often she found herself staring fainting to his lips, which formed a beautiful smile, and when their eyes met, she looked away blushing.
"I'm going to get some air," Alyssae announced when dinner was over and the men still talked about things that had nothing to do with her life.
Thranduin looked up. "Shall I go with you?"
Hastily she shook her head. "No, I'm fine."
For a moment he looked hesitating at her, but Alyssae stood up before he changed his mind and walked outside. She placed her hands on the wooden railing and stared at the sky. Here and there she could see through the branches of the trees and saw a twinkling bright star. A sigh escaped her lips as she realized she never would want to live here. Her view on the sky was very limited and that was exactly what she liked to look at. The enormous canopy above her gave her a feeling to be trapped and she could imagine that Tauriel liked to hear her talk about the outside world.
"Hey."
Alyssae turned around abruptly when she heard his voice.
"Thorin." A blush appeared on her cheeks when she noticed how languishing her voice sounded, as if she had been waiting for him for hours.
The dwarf glanced at her without saying anything, as if he wondered why he had gone outside.
Alyssae searched for words before he would walk away.
"Did you like the Elvish food?"
It was a silly question, but she would love to have a mindless conversation with him, without trying to reconcile after harsh arguments or trying to free themselves from unpleasant situations.
"I've eaten less pleasant meals the last weeks," he replied. "How was it to sit on a table with elves again?"
"There was no wine dripping along beards and there was no smacking into my ears," she chuckled, "but I was bored. I can't remember someone made a joke. "
There was a moment's silence, and Alyssae didn't know if she found it uncomfortable or not. Behind them sounded the murmur of those who still lingered in the dining room.
"Could you bear the smacking of Bombur no longer?" she asked when she realized Thorin had not planned to go somewhere.
A smirk played on his lips. "Above all it was the burping match between Bofur and Dwalin that made me feel sick."
Alyssae laughed, making Thorin's eyes twinkle.
"I was hoping you would like to accompany me during an evening walk."
A warm feeling spread through her chest after hearing those words.
"I would love to," she whispered when she noticed Thorin looked at her expectantly.
She let go of the balustrade and walked to the stairs. She felt a little shaky because of the nerves and when they were halfway down the stairs, she almost lost her balance, by which she leaned against Thorin.
"Sorry," she muttered embarrassed. "The muscles in my legs are still very weak."
She was startled when his fingers were suddenly upon her hand. "I will hold you."
He murmured the words without looking at her and Alyssae's heart skipped a beat.
She had never expected to walk hand in hand with this dwarf prince, who had granted her no friendly looks not so long ago.