The assassin's evasion attempts were surprisingly acrobatic and competent, given the limited space to work in and the large amounts of opposition she was facing. Therefore, it was simply unfortunate that her choices for avoiding the paladin's lunge amounted to 'moving backwards' before giving up.

There wasn't much way out of being grabbed from an onrushing force when your head was firmly buried in your hands. Fortunately for the assassin, Tyaethe's anger was still far below the level of brutalising prisoners. She swept the small attempted murderer up in her lunge and then pivoted, even though there was no way to stop her charge by that point. It was better to take the impact with the court mage's barrier than harm a surrendering foe.