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𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 : 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

One thing to be noticed was the fact that Eris didn't feel as blurry and numb as before. Instead, the suffocating emptiness in her stomach and the sleep in her head buzzed through her mind. For the first time in who knows how long, Eris felt physically awake.

To her misfortune however, her awareness came with the already emphasized pit in her stomach and an aching back to add to that.

As the events of the evening before entered her head and the remaining sleep left her mind, she also realised that she had properly slept, and with that; the reason why.

She frowned as she stared at the wall, listening for the breathing of the other presence in the room, but strangely, and fortunately, there was none.

Eris rolled over, making sure to not put pressure on her still-weak shoulder and eyed the corner where she had last seen the dark-eyed man. The cobblestone collision of the Two walls stared back at her emptily.

Eris sighed. Why had she fallen asleep? Why did she have to prove him right?

The lit candle next to the door still danced slowly, swaying to an unknown beat. Blue eyes followed closely as the flame moved, carefully analysing every small movement as they had done so many times before.

Some time went by like that, watching the candle burn to an anticlimactic death, sizzling out of existence ever so slowly.

It was shortly after that when the sound of footsteps down the stairs were heard, and Eris sat up from her lying position as she listened, trying to figure out the owner of those steps.

The lighter sound of slouching feet were the giveaway to the repetitive noise.

Three small knocks were heard before George unlocked and opened the door slowly.

Tired eyes glanced shortly at Eris' probably-equally-tired ones, before they averted to the candle next to his face.

Something was different in George's behaviour as he replaced the burnt-out candle with a fresh one with shaky hands and his normally slowed breathing now hitched slightly every so often.

Eris noticed quietly, but didn't question it.

In silence, George removed the chain around Eris' ankle and picked her up slowly to bring her to the bathroom, as he had done so many times before.

Once he locked the door behind Eris, she stood up from her leaning position against the bath, reaching over to the sink in front of her.

She still didn't dare look up at her reflection in the mirror in front of her, instead she tilted her head downwards, staring at her pale arms that gripped at the sides of the sink.

Her stomach sunk at the sight of them. Instead of the slightly tanned, toned arms she had grown to expect, she came to see the frail underarms that showed barely any inclination of a muscle at all.

Technoblade would be disappointed.

Reaching over to the faucet, she turned it on and waited impatiently, before splashing water in her face rather aggressively.

Eris did this a few times, ridding herself of her thoughts before she turned the faucet off again, leaning back against the side of the bath once more.

She sat in silence for a moment, not moving as she held her hands against the sides of her head.

Shortly after George knocked on the door and brought her down again, leaving her to be entertained by the candle once more.

It must have been a few hours after that, Eris wasn't sure, when another set of footsteps made their way down again, these ones were heavier, but somehow also more rhythmic, calculated even.

And to Eris' surprise this time Dream suddenly stood in front of her, the usual smiley face staring hauntingly at her.

But instead of the taunting remark she expected, he just tossed her a piece of bread,

"Eat this. We're leaving soon."

The way he spoke the words differed from their usual arrogance, the monotone syllables hiding the true feelings of the man in front of Eris.

After picking at the bread for a moment, she broke off a piece and slowly started eating it.

Dream made his way over and kneeled in front of Eris, who couldn't help but tense up slightly at the movement, but to her surprise, he pulled a key from his belt and unlocked the shackles around Eris' ankle.

Thousands of questions ran through Eris' mind as to where they could be going. What if they would bring her back to L'Manberg? Then she could finally see Tommy and Tubbo again, she could even see Wilbur again-

"Give me your hands." The sudden voice called Eris back into reality and she looked at Dream.

"What?"

"Hands." He repeated, gesturing to the rope he held in his own.

Eris followed his line of sight and shook her head, "No."

Dream sighed, "Look, I don't trust you to not do anything stupid. Just give me your fucking hands."

Putting Four remaining pieces of the bread to the side, she slowly extended her arms in front of her, watching as the masked man wrapped the rope around her wrists, his calloused fingers brushing against her skin every so often because of the fingerless gloves he wore on his hands. Eris cringed at the feeling.

As another surprising turn of events, the ropes turned out to not be tightly bound around her wrists. They left no real room for escape of course, but still, it was something Eris noticed quietly as well.

Dream leaned back and rose back to his feet, before reaching down and pulling Eris up with him by her arm. And even then, Eris noticed the way he hadn't been harsher than would be necessary.

"Can you walk on your own?" He asked, his hand still loosely holding onto Eris' arm.

The brunette ripped her arm from his grip and huffed, "Yes."

Taking one step forward worked, but after no more than Five steps, Eris' bluff was called as her knee buckled and she fell over, caused by the sheer fatigue created by the movement.

Before completely collapsing however, Eris was pulled up by her arm once more.

Dream had caught her and put her back in a standing position, sighing, "I don't have time for this."

The words were said more to himself than to Eris, but the usual sarcasm and annoyance were not present in his words, instead frustration and a seeming distraction seemed to take its place.

Without saying another word, he took a hold of Eris' arm again, a firmer grip than earlier, before forcing her to walk with him up the stairs.

And instead of Eris' usual stubbornness, she let herself be dragged with the masked-man, a gut-feeling preventing her from doing so.

Once up the stairs, she was led down the familiar hallway again, but instead of the usual, immediate left turn, she continued down the hall. Only at the end of it, she was walked to the right side, out of a larger wooden door, and the space she entered made her eyes go wide.

She was outside. The greens and browns of the plants and trees around her greeted her with a soft breeze, a deep breath left her dry lips. However, it was only then that she realised that it was dark outside. Confusion took over her senses at the sight.

Eris didn't have much time to collect her bearings however as she was led onwards down a dirt path until they reached a separate building, which looked more like a shed.

Suddenly Eris was pulled to a halt, in reaction she looked up at the masked man, "Wait here."

She waited and watched as Dream vanished into the shed. Still, she stayed in her place. Even when George appeared with a horse from the shed the masked man had disappeared in. His eyes looked up at her with an unreadable expression as he held a lead in his hand, connecting to the dark horse next to him.

He suddenly shot a sympathetic smile, which only fuelled Eris' confused state. Then Dream appeared from the shed again, this time he brought with him a horse of his own. Contrasting to George's dark-brown mare, Dream's horse was much lighter, with even lighter manes and a white line of fur placed on the front of her face.

George looked like he wanted to say something, but before he got the chance to do so, a new voice appeared from behind him,

"Why the fuck does it have to be so early? It's not even Six in the morning. The sun isn't even out yet." Sapnap shouted as he appeared on the dirt path.

An immediate frown set on Eris' features as she glared at the black-haired man, which he promptly returned.

"You know why. Just get your horse. We're already late." Dream grumbled in reply, not even looking at his friend as he found far more interest in correcting something on his horse's saddle.

"This is bullshit." Sapnap replied in aggravation, before entering the wooden shed himself to retrieve his own horse.

The masked man straightened the fabric of the saddle before hoisting himself on top of the animal, petting her head afterwards.

After properly positioning himself, he turned to Eris, and reached out his hand.

"Get on, we have to go."

Eris stayed put as she realised what was going on. She wasn't going anywhere on a horse, especially not with Dream.

She shook her head.

"It wasn't a question." Dream stated, the same unwavering tone of voice he had shown earlier in the cobblestone room.

Still Eris did not move a muscle, staring up at him with narrowed eyes, "I'm not going anywhere with you."

Dream let his outstretched arm drop, tilting his head back slightly and letting out an annoyed groan.

"Can't we just leave her here?" Sapnap suddenly asked as he appeared back from the shed, already on the back of another horse, this one as black as his own hair.

"No, we can't." George mumbled in reply, looking up at Dream with a hint of question in his dark eyes.

"We can't." Dream confirmed as he met George's glance, before reverting his line of sight back on Eris, "You're going to have to ride with one of us no matter what. So, if you don't want to ride with me you can go with Sapnap if you like."

The usual smugness had found its way through Dream's words again, earning a chuckle from Sapnap and Eris sighed. Sitting on a horse with the black-haired man seemed like literal hell to her, even more so than if she had to go with Dream, the lesser of two evils if you will.

"Fine." The Brunette mumbled, taking a step forward and letting herself be hoisted up onto the horse by her arms.

Eris made sure to scoot as much forward as possible to remain the most distance between herself and the masked man behind her, whose breath she could feel push lightly against the hairs on her neck.

Her cheeks felt hot as the sheer embarrassment and humiliation of the situation came down on her. She willingly sat on a horse in front of the very man that took her prisoner, and he didn't even have to fight her for it. A simple command and light threat of a worse alternative were enough to get her where he needed. She hated it.

In silence they made their way through the dark woods, the only source of light being a wooden torch that illuminated the trees and plants around them in an orangey-yellow that George held. Not even the moon guided them as they rode on, almost if the universe did not particularly want them to carry on.

The only light other than the torch were Seven meek stars still visible in the night sky.

Even in her uncomfortable situation, Eris felt refreshed as the wind pushed against her cheeks. She truly did not know how long ago it was that she had seen the sky last, let alone been outside. Because of that reason, she decided to not question the man behind her about their destination. That, and the fact that he was holding the reins in his hands far more tightly than would be necessary.

After around twenty minutes of riding, Dream suddenly made his horse come to a halt, George and Sapnap followed suit.

The action broke Eris' silence, "What's going on?"

No reply was given as Dream dropped down from the horse, before picking up Eris by her sides, which made her flinch in response, before he let her down from the horse as well.

Confusion overwhelming, she watched as George got off from his horse as well, tying the rein to a tree before walking over to Dream and giving him a hug.

A few muttered words were spoken before Dream returned to his horse and got on again, his posture stiff and unnaturally upright.

"What the fuck is going on?" Eris asked again, this time her voice shaking slightly in frustration and the perceived severeness of the situation.

Dream huffed, "You'll see soon enough. Just stay here."

And then Sapnap and Dream were gone, riding down a separate path, taking George's torch with them and leaving George and Eris in the mercy of the shy lights of a nearing sunrise.

Eris turned around and looked at George, who had a grave look on his soft features.

"What's happening, George?" Eris asked one more time, her tone of voice a lot quieter now that she was alone with the brunet.

Said brunet was quiet for a moment, before he averted his line of sight to an opening in the clearing, Eris followed and her jaw dropped slightly.

Only now she realised they were standing on the top of a hill, looking down on a valley in front of them. A small river splits the valley in two, almost equally, with a small wooden bridge that connects the two sides.

But then, she saw them.

Eris placed a hand over her mouth in shock as she limped over to the edge of the hill, until George put a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from moving forward even more. Because there, down by the river was Tommy. Tommy and Wilbur, and Tubbo and Fundy. Everyone was there, Tubbo was there, he was alive. Even the unfamiliar boy and girl Dream had managed once were there. They seemed to be around Eris' age, at what she could actually see. A sense of glee took over Eris as she looked down onto her family, the ones she truly loved.

It was only after a moment when the happiness left her veins cold in dread as she looked at their distraught faces and physique.

"It's a duel."

A reckoning to be reckoned.

Tommy stood on the foot of the bridge; jaw clenched as he held tightly onto Eight pieces of paper in his hand. He furiously stared in front of him, at the empty side of the valley. Wilbur stood beside him, his face unreadable as his hands were placed in the pockets of the waistcoat that he still wore.

It was only then that Eris realised how high up she was, how dry the air around her seemed and that the sun was almost starting to be seen in the distance, faint outflows touching the tops of the hills around the valley.

Then the other side of the valley wasn't empty anymore, Dream and Sapnap appeared from the line of trees on the left side of the valley, to the noticeable fear of the people on the right side of the valley.

Words that Eris couldn't make out were exchanged between the two sides as Dream and Sapnap tied their horses to one of the trees. Then Sapnap and Wilbur came forward and the word duel finally settled in.

Duel; such a small word for such a big thing. Eris knew a thing or two of duels. She knew about the many dumb rules and the devastating outcomes, Techno had told her about it plenty. Eris was even there when the Blade partook in one himself. She can't remember with, who or why, not even how old she was; the only thing vivid in her memory was the blood and the white carrier that brought the limp person away.

Sapnap and Wilbur met in the middle of the bridge, hardened glances and straightened backs as they began to talk. Eris guessed this would be the only moment this duel could be called off.

Sending the seconds in, to see if they can get the record straight.

But that's when Eris realised, if Wilbur was the second, Tommy was going to shoot.

"No." Eris muttered over and over in realisation as she tried to get closer to the edge of the hill, only to be pulled back a bit more forcefully by George.

"You can't. We have to stay here." He muttered; light sympathy woven through his vowels.

"Tommy can't partake in a duel. He's sixteen, we have to do something!" the brunette whispered frantically as she looked back at Tommy, who carried a determent scowl on his far too youthful features.

"Eris." George began, earning her attention back as she stared at him with wide eyes, "He's the one who challenged Dream."

Eris was silent for a moment. Because that would seem like a Tommy thing to do.

"But don't worry, okay. Most disputes die, maybe no one shoots."

But Tommy and Wilbur will never let anything die.

Eris turned back around just to see Wilbur nod his head curtly and give Sapnap one of the two bows he was carrying and make his way back to Tommy.

There was no going back.

Eris started to claw at her bound hands as she looked on hopelessly, they would never be able to see her from the place she stood, camouflaged between the trees. And even then, it seemed like Eris' throat tightened by the second, breathing started to become a task in of itself, let alone shouting.

The blond boy on the foot of the bridge unclenched his hands around the pieces of paper before giving them to his leader, who gave him a pat on the back, before handing him the remaining bow and an arrow in return.

After that Wilbur retrieved backwards even more, now standing next to Tubbo and the unknown girl, who's arm he held onto for emotional- or physical support; probably both.

A small pang of pain snapped through Eris' body at the sight, but was quickly drowned out by the dread of the following events.

Because for the first time since Eris and George arrived, she could make out the words Wilbur spoke.

"Today, in the early morning of the Ninth of May; a duel will be held between Dream of the Greater Lands and Tommy of L'Manburg for the independence of his nation and the freedom of our fellow revolutionary. Both have received a bow and arrow of equal quality which will be used to shoot the other to determine the fate of L'Manburg and Eris."

The brunette flinched. She was part of the reason why Tommy stood down below, risking his life. The upcoming quilt swallowed her whole and her breathing pattern seemed to get even more hitched.

"I will count down to Ten, then you may shoot. I suggest both of you pray for either Hell or Heaven to let you in, and with that, may the best man win."

The words were spoken with the elegance Wilbur was known for, not a single emotion audible in his lower voice as he looked over the valley, glasses pushed back against his nose.

He gestured over to Tommy and Dream, who started to make their way to the middle of the bridge and shook hands rather aggressively, before turning their backs to each other, readying their bows, Their height and physical difference almost laughable in this grave circumstance.

"Fundy, you can turn around."

The sharp-featured boy did as instructed as he turned his back from the duel, setting his medical kit down on the ground in front of him.

Silence overtook the valley; the only thing audible to Eris being her irregular breathing and the slight ringing that formed in her ears.

Then it began.

"One."

The two men below took a step forward.

"Two."

Another step.

"Three."

Another.

"Four."

George placed a hand back on Eris' shoulder, either in comfort or restraint, Eris didn't know.

"Five."

Dread.

"Six."

Guilt.

"Seven."

Another step forward.

"Eight."

Eris looked to the side and noticed Tubbo hiding his face away.

"Nine."

The sun became visible above the hills.

"Ten paces; fire."

They turned around and two arrows sissed through the air.

One arrow missed.

The other didn't.

____
A/N: 

yeaah - that's gotta suck

i worked really hard on this chapter as it is full of references to the song ten duel commandments from the musical hamilton, thought it be fitting. i hope you guys liked it :]

love,
blue