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𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 : 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬

After the sound of water splashing against tile flooring and a towel leaving it's holder, Eris had changed into a new set of clothing, even if it wasn't much of a different one. She did not even dare look in the small mirror that was placed above the sink, fearing the haunting image that would stare back at her; she'd rather live in ignorance.

Come to look at it, she'd rather live in ignorance of all of it. Her mental state, her physical state, from her physical place of existence to the emotions that caused her heart to crush over, and over again.

She wished she could tune out the world and ignore all of it.

And so she did.

Sitting on the side of the bath, wet hair dripping onto the white tunic, being the only thing that tied her to the existing world, she stared at the wall, waiting for the bird keeper to come bring her back to her cage.

Said bird keeper knocked on her door a few minutes later, asking whether she was done, with an uncertain tone before bringing her back down the hallway and down the stairs, into the cobblestone room.

He sat her down on the worn-out mattress on the backside of the space, leaving her to her thoughts as he cleaned up the wound on her ankle, which she had already forgotten about, as she kept staring at the wall opposite of her.

At some point George had left, but not before changing the one candle that lit the room and placing another plate next to Eris, replacing the one that had been untouched from the time before. She would say it had been the day before, but she wasn't sure.

And so a cycle came into life. A cycle of the plates being switched out with fresher bread, potatoes or soup, the candle being re-lit and the couple of times a day George would come down to bring her to the bathroom.

Between those moments, Eris was in limbo. A state of mind that couldn't be described as fully conscious, but to her unfortunate fate, never unconscious either, as every time she came close to the sweetest relief of sleep, another harming thought surged through her mind, forcing her to sit upright to fight back the urge to cry out.

The effects of her harmful pattern presented themselves quickly. It hadn't taken long before Eris couldn't walk up the stairs by herself anymore, and George was forced to carry her from her prison to the bathroom, never a word spoken.

Everything existed in a blur. Nothing made sense to Eris beside her raging thoughts, which subsequently brought her back to one particular person, or rather two persons; Tommy and Tubbo.

When she first thought of them, a tightening feeling of panic iced through her veins and she thought about the state she saw Tubbo in last. Because what if his wound had gotten infected while she was away? For all she knew he could be dead right now, lying six feet under in the dirt and soot outside of L'Manberg.

What if Tommy found himself in a situation she wasn't there to help him out of? What if his recklessness and impulsiveness had pushed him too far for the last time?

Her sense of sanity was rapidly draining in her current situation but at the same time, she felt like she could not do a thing to make it stop. A sense of self forced her to sit silently in the corner of her grey prison for unknown times on end. She could not find the motivation or sheer willpower to do anything else, and it terrified her.

Then Eret started making his way down occasionally, to the utter dismay of Eris, who couldn't bear the sight of him, glaring blankly at the floor every time he dared to set foot in her room.

Her room. It has been that long.

Every time he came down, he would try to get her to eat, worried glances and gentle words thrown at her in vain as the well-meant words were nullified by the owner of the voice.

He'd stay for a few minutes, trying, and failing, before retrieving in loss. And everytime he did, Eris had to fight back a sob.

At one point it was particularly dark, meaning that the candle would be replaced soon. Eris couldn't wait for it to happen, as the flickering flame frustrated her to no end in its shifting dance with the air around it, taunting her in its free movement.

Suddenly, the little dance was interrupted as the flame blew sideways, disappearing out of existence as the wooden door opened wide, with the only lightsource now coming from outside the room, leaving Eris to shield her eyes.

In came the one person she had dreaded for long.

Dream stood in the doorway with another tray of food.

The mask was still prominently placed on his face with the black dots daringly staring down at her.

"Afternoon." He murmured absently as he placed the wooden plate down on the cold floor before, turning his back to Eris to change the candle.

She watched on with a mild glare as he carefully retrieved the dying candle from its holder, before lighting a fresh candle with the dying one.

Something about it seemed almost poetic, almost.

After putting the young candle back in its place, which still burned a little meekly, he turned back around to face the brunette on the ground.

He huffed, "Jesus, when was the last time you slept?"

She didn't know. It frustrated her. All she knew was that she was awake for far longer than would be considered healthy for any living being.

Too wrapped up in thoughts, she didn't reply, to the utter annoyance of the masked man.

She could almost feel the roll in his eyes as he stepped in front of her, kneeling down so they were almost at eye level.

"You're a lot less annoying this way." Dream mumbled, reaching over and placing a finger under Eris' chin, to which she shoved him off by tilting her chin and looking away. "I like it better."

Eris clenched her jaw. The way he looked down on her, sent her back in a more aware state, even when she wasn't entirely sure this was even real.

"I have to say however," Dream continued, placing his hand back on his knee, "That you really did a number on us. We spent almost the entire day making sure the house didn't burn down. How did you even do it?"

Swallowing dryly, Eris looked back at the man in front of her, who seemed to be a lot bigger than seconds before. A slight feeling of satisfaction ran through her veins as she felt validated in her destruction. She was still good for something.

In contrast, Dream took little satisfaction from the lack of a reply, his head tilting slightly in frustration, "How did you do it?"

A small spark of defiance bustling inside of Eris made her glare at the two dots in front of her, a small sense of control giving the brunette more energy than she had in gods know how long.

Her defiance was rewarded emptily as Dream did not like her silence, even if he had said so only a minute before. The masked man reached over once more and this time took a hold of her chin more steadily, his fingernails digging into her skin.

She winced, before answering quietly with a dry throat, seeing no other way out, "Glass and paper."

He continued to hold onto her chin as he took in her words, but with a significantly less painful grip this time, as he put the pieces together, "Hah."

Dream shrugged lightly, "George's book. Clever girl."

Only now he let go of the brunette's chin, who craned her neck in response, turning away from the mask.

"Very clever actually." Dream mumbled, reaching to his side to retrieve the wooden tray with the same old potatoes and bread. The only irregularity being the bowl of soup displayed on the tray also. It was now her turn to cock her head.

"You need to eat."

Eris rolled her eyes almost unnoticeably as she turned her head to the side once more, getting the most distance between her and the unappetizing looking food held next to him.

"Clever, but oh so annoying." The masked man sighed, shifting in his place, "Look, I'm not going to leave before you eat. If you keep this up you're gonna be dead in a week and I don't feel like dealing with that. So I'm not gonna leave until you've eaten all of this."

The words were a bit more calm, while they mostly screamed disinterest. Eris didn't know what to think of them, but still, the unwavering stubbornness in her kept her from moving an inch.

Dream sighed, "Well, I have all the time in the world, and I have this tiny feeling you do too, so have it your way."

He put the tray in front of Eris' feet before sitting back against the opposite side of the room, making himself comfortable as he retrieved a small book from his pocket.

Apparently the man had spoken the truth with having all the time in the world as he started reading the book. It took Eris a while but eventually she could make out the title printed on the leather cover; 'The Lost City Of Mizu.'

Funnily enough she was familiar with that story also. It had been Fundy's favourite for as long as Eris had known the auburn-haired boy; he had carried it around for years, always skimming through it, almost as if he searched for a different outcome every time he did so.

Suddenly, the book closed again, removing Eris from her dazed stare, instead she looked back up at Dream, who had his head cocked slightly again.

"You've been staring for at least twenty minutes. I don't simply blip out of existence if you glare long enough." The man suddenly spoke in a monotone voice.

Eris sighed once more, averting her gaze to the plate on the floor. His existence in her space irked her, she badly wanted to have him gone, but the mere thought of eating made her stomach do a flip so she averted her eyes once more, this time to the ground.

"Still not eating huh?" Dream asked, opening his book once more with a sigh.

He continued reading and a silence overtook the room again.

"I'm not hungry." Eris suddenly blurted quietly. She didn't know what overcame her to speak to the masked man in front of her, but she did.

It grasped Dream's attention however, who looked up, "I don't care."

Closing his book for the second time, he put it to the side, pointing at the food at Eris' feet, "You either eat it yourself or I feed it to you. Your choice."

Then, as if he hadn't said anything, he went back to reading his book in silence, the only sound evident in the space being the occasional ruffling of paper and the slowed breathing of the two presences in the room.

Defeated, Eris looked down at the plates. Her last stubbornness screamed at her to keep refusing to eat, her stomach as well, but the sheer thought of Dream forcing her to eat in any sort of way irked her enough to admit her loss.

She reached over to the bowl of soup and placed it in her lap while she sat crossed-legged. She had to admit that the warmth the bowl gave off was a nice feeling, even if most of its heat had left the ceramic already.

Slowly she started to work her way through her stale meal, finishing what she believed to be pumpkin soup first. She had eaten one piece of bread before she felt like she was going to throw up.

Eris pushed the plate of remaining food to the side, alerting Dream.

"You look like a toddler doing that." He noted absently, looking up from the book, which earned a weak glare from the girl in front of him, "There's still food on there."

"I'm full." Eris retorted in a whisper, propping up her knees to her chest once more.

Dream went quiet for a second, seemingly in thought.

He hummed, "Yeah, again, I don't care. At least finish the bread. Then you can say you're full."

"No."

The two dots turned slightly as Dream cocked his head. He sighed, "Just fucking eat it."

And to this, Eris listened, she picked the tray back up and munched on another piece of bread. Eris listened to Dream's command, and she hated it. She wasn't supposed to listen to orders, she never did.

Then after what felt like hours, there was no more bread on her plate, only a few small potatoes left in a bowl.

"Finally." Dream said, closing the book and stretching his arms behind his head, "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Eris rolled her eyes, looking to the side, as Dream picked up the tray from her lap and made his way out of the room again without saying another word, as if he was never there.

The brunette was left in confusion, her own reality faltering, as the fullness of her stomach suddenly disappeared and she had to wonder if he really had been there.

Her lingering questions never were answered as her routine continued with George coming down the stairs a while later to take her to the showers, carrying her with more ease every time he did so.

Then once down in her cage again her thoughts consumed her and spiraled into more toxic moods as time passed on and her sleep deprivation hit a low point.

It was only when Eris laid down on the mattress, staring at the flickering light of the candle, that a small knock was heard on the door and Eret appeared in the doorway.

His tall frame almost filled the entire length of the door even when his posture was slouched  awkwardly.

Eris looked up at him with wide eyes as he kept standing there, her entire line of sight bright and blurry.

"Eris-" He started slowly, but Eris turned around, turning to her other side.

"Please-," He continued, slowly making his way inside, noticeable by his feet against the stone flooring, "You need help-, George told me tha-, I know you can't sleep alone, please."

"Go away." Eris mumbled, almost inaudible. But it was enough for Eret to hear.

"I'm worried about you, Eris." The brunet pleaded, taking another small step closer.

"Suddenly Eris turned around, sitting up, "You don't get to worry about me."

The words had taken Eret slightly aback, a sorrowful glint present in his dark eyes as he stood still, "I didn't mean for any of this to happen-, I'm so sorry."

"Go away." Eris repeated, this time much louder, but also a lot more broken. If she would have had the strength to lurch at him, she would have.

Eret took a small step back, "I- I'm not leaving right now. You look like you haven't slept in ages-, I know you need someone here."

"I don't need anyone, especially not you." The brunette replied, her voice shaking slightly. It took a lot of mental energy to not break down right then and there. The man she had called her best friend for as long as she could remember standing in front of her in such a defeated way, it shattered her heart.

"I know." The man mumbled, taking a few steps backwards until his back hit the wall, before sliding down it, sitting down, "But I need you to sleep."

A broken sense of fury took over Eris' throat, "I don't want you here, you bastard!"

A suffocating sob left the brunette also, which left her slightly surprised. But her sudden outburst proved to be taking its toll and a sudden wave of fatigue overcame Eris.

She ignored it however and kept staring at Eret, who looked hurt, but still did not move from his seating position.

The anger in her vanished and one simple question as she let herself lay back on the mattress, turning her back to him once more, the tiredness overwhelming.

"Were we not enough for you?"

A sniffle and a sigh were heard, "..You were everything I wanted and needed."

"Then why?"

A silence.

"I wanted to protect you."

"You liar."

Silence once more.

____
A/N:

yoo kinda quick update (not really)????? POGCHAMP

small life update - i got diagnosed with inattentive ADHD a little while back at the ripe age of 18 - which is .. something. i really hope this can help me tho with dealing with the world and keep motivated and shit.

hope you guys liked this one? i don't really but it gets the point across so yea

i also would like to know what you guys think of eret? i'm just really curious

anyways - onto the next chapter,, it's gonna be a big one hehehehe

you matter a lot,
blue