Because I was just eager to get passed this point in the story, I decided to upload this chapter quickly (It did help that it is a short one).

To those that told me that I wrote the Tragedy of Duscur to soon, I want to make it known that I did not. The game starts off in the year 1180 and four years before that is the Tragedy, so 1176 is the right year to write the event as I did. The game never provided an exact month so I was given liberties to decided when during the year to do so I decided on it happening at the beginning of the year when it would be more easy to travel to such a place in the Kingdo

Ages:

Byleth: 16

Dimitri: 12

Dedue: 13

1176:

Taking care of two emotionally damaged kids as well as keeping herself hidden away in a room was absolutely horrible. Byleth had quickly come to regret her decision but she couldn't leave. She couldn't leave Dimitri no matter how torturous her situation was.

When she had learned that Glenn had died that day as well, she felt rooted in place. Their relationship was starting to mold into something, something she didn't know but something that she had been excited to see and now…now she would never get to find out. Never being able to challenge him again or even see him again had been another blow to her heart and she didn't even know how her heart was still whole.

Not being able to comfort Felix or Ingrid was painful to her but she already had her hands much too full for even herself to handle. In order to comfort Dimitri, she had masked her hurt and hid it away, but it was eating her alive and there was little she could do about it. Dedue had proved to be a challenge she didn't know how to face. Neither her or Dimitri really knew what the poor Duscurian boy had suffered and even if he could communicate it, he wouldn't. He was content with suffering in silence and that only caused her more pain.

Nights, she had learned were the hardest as the voices Dimitri heard were the loudest then. She hadn't believed him at first because she just couldn't believe that Glenn or King Lambert would say such things, but it was quickly apparent that her friend heard such voices and at times her voice would be drowned out by theirs. She did not know how to combat such voices and so all she could do was remind him that he was a good person, who did nothing wrong; it was weak argument, but it was the best she could come up with.

Byleth had discovered another use for healing magic in her time, trapped in the room, and that was it could bring some comfort from nightmares. Dimitri had suffered from nightmares nearly every night and some would be so intense that she couldn't wake him from it. But thanks to the comforting warmth of Faith magic she learned that she could at least comfort him somewhat and sometimes the nightmares even faded or at least he was able to wake from them.

While Dimitri had been very forth coming with his suffering, Dedue was utterly quiet about his. He showed no signs of having a trauma besides his wounds and the bags under his eyes; and the bags could be easily be brushed off as Dimitri awakening him at night as Byleth had her fair share of bags. She had started to suspect that maybe he didn't suffer as nearly as greatly as Dimitri and had merely been in the wrong place at the wrong time but one night she finally heard him cry out during a nightmare.

Ever since that night, she spent her nights sandwich between the two young teens that would constantly awake her, with a powerful squeeze when a nightmare became too much. At first, she could handle it but as the nights dragged on it was becoming much to taxing both physically and mentally for her. Unable to sleep at night and far too much on edge during the day to sleep, had made her ill but she could not seek help nor could she let Dimitri find out, as she couldn't add to his suffering so she continued to suffer in silence.

Tucked away in one of the room's corners had become Byleth's little spot as she tried to shut everything out, her pain, her intense desire to see her father, her guilt, and the growing hatred for Dimitri that she refused to acknowledge. Hugging her knees tightly to her chest, she buried her face into them as she tried to empty her mind. The days were easier to pass when she had no thoughts or even the sense of time's passing.

Her body had grown weak from lack of use. Her eyes were slowly sinking in and her once tone muscles were slowly eroding away from the lack of a proper diet or the ability to really move around because she was to afraid to make noise. She was starting to look like a shell of her former self.

"Happy birthday By!" Dimitri said and her head shot up to look at him. He hadn't smiled in months, but he tried to put on a small one for her as he presented her food. "I asked the chefs if they could make your favorite."

She didn't say anything, she didn't even acknowledge the food that he was trying to give her; his congratulating words echoed in her mind. It had been over three months since she last saw her father. Over three months since she was last outside or even had a proper bath, outside of the little wiping down she would give herself early in the mornings. Over three months since she last ran around. It had been over three months since she was last outside of that room.

She gritted her teeth as she desperately tried to ignore the hated that was welling up inside of her. Looking away from him, she looked at the food; it was another meal he had neglected to eat. She had quickly discovered that the food he was giving her was parts of his meals that he hadn't eaten and as of late he wasn't even eating many of them. Her nails dug into her legs as she looked away in disgust.

"By? Is something wrong?" She didn't say anything and stared at the wall. "Do you not like it?"

Her throat felt incredibly tight with all the emotions she tried to smother. "You need to eat," he said, and she wanted to laugh. She didn't want to eat, all the food he brought her had lacked flavor. "Come on. Please eat. "He pushed the food closer to her and she had to suppress the desire to smack it away.

"Eat," was the only thing she could trust herself to say without giving away her anger.

"Excuse me?"

"Eat," she said again but that time a hint of her anger seeped through.

"I am not hungry." She exhaled sharply through gritted teeth. "Besides, this is your food."

"It's food that you didn't eat again." Though she wasn't completely able to mask her voice of all her emotions, she was able to at least keep her tone mild. He looked away from her to look at the food.

"It is okay," he said so quietly and she sighed.

"You need to eat." Her tone was neutral as her anger began to leave her.

"You need it more…" He might have blinded himself to a lot of things but even he couldn't deny the terrible state her body was in.

"How about this then?" She felt the desire to protect take over and she looked at him. "You take one bite and then I will take a bite. We will continue this until all the food is gone. Deal?"

"But-"

"If you don't eat than neither will I." She saw how he wanted to protest but soon gave in and took a bite. Before she took a bite, she looked at Dedue, who had been standing a bit a way back with his hands behind his back. "Did you eat your food properly?" He nodded and she narrowed her eyes. He nodded again, a bit more vigorously that time. She never doubted that he ate all his meals, she got the feeling that he understood the importance of food. Satisfied with Dedue's answers she took a bite.

When the food was gone, she returned to silence and looked back at the wall. No longer did she feel her anger, but she couldn't bring herself to look at the boys. Now that she knew just how long that she had been there made the horrible situation worse.

She felt Dimitri's light touch on her shoulder, but she refused to look at him. "By, are you mad?" She stiffened as she didn't want to face him, but his tone had been pleading. Reluctantly, she turned to face him, and his dull eyes were a stab at her heart. Silently, she shook her head no.

"We got you a gift," Dimitri said and gestured for Dedue to come forward and from behind his back he produced a large bouquet of flowers, with most of them being jasmines.

Her eyes widen when the flowers were handed to her. Despite them having such a strong fragrance she couldn't smell them until they were right in front of her. She knew that her senses had dulled but she didn't realize just to how great of an extent.

"We plucked them from the gardens but Dedue was the one that was growing them."

It took everything in her to not crush the flowers in a strong grip. She was living in the castle (if one could call what she was doing as living) and yet she couldn't go out and see all the flowers in bloom. She couldn't even go out to the balcony and look at the gardens below in fear of being discovered. That gift was just an insult to her, and she wanted to crush it.

"I…I like growing f-flowers," Dedue said slowly and fidgeted with his hands. His Fodlanese had greatly improved after she started teaching him. His accent was still thick, but she could at least understand him now. Seeing his little smile had melted her heart, she was happy to see that he at least found something he liked to do in such a difficult environment.

She looked back at the flowers, and her anger slowly melted away. She didn't want to feel such resentment to them, they had lost so much. "Thank you," she said as she closed her eyes. "They are lovely." She decided to focus on nothing else, but the relaxing sent of the flowers.

Despite being reminded of the day and month not that long ago, Byleth quickly lost track of time as once again everything blended together. Her condition only deteriorated further and soon she could no longer bring herself to eat. Not even the negotiation tactic that she used on Dimitri could get her to eat. It wasn't long after that that she would only move when it was necessary.

Dimitri had been besides himself as he didn't know what to do. If he told a healer than her presence would be known, and she would probably be taken away and absolutely didn't want that, but she also needed to be seen. She had tried to assure him that she was fine, but he knew that was a lie. In the end the fear of losing her had won out and he remained silent.

It was close to evening when two knights stormed into the prince's room. They stared down at the weak girl that was slumped against the wall. Sunken eyes looked up at the knights and a slow smile formed on her lips. She was finally free from her torment.

She had tried to arise to her feet but only fell forward. The knights were forced to hold her up as they guided her out of the room. On their way to their destination they had passed the prince and Dedue. Unable to meet their gazes, she looked away as guilt devoured the relief she had been feeling. Desperately, she tried to ignore Dimitri's despondent cry of her name, but it still pierced her weakened heart.

Byleth had been tossed into a cell in the dungeon and she was ashamed of the joy that she had felt at being in a new location. No sunlight reached her little cell, but she didn't care as she no longer had to deal with the suffocating air of the prince's room and the pressure to be a pillar of strength. Despite being in the dungeon she felt freer.

Her joy did not last long as guilt consumed her. She was free of her suffering, but Dimitri wasn't. In the end she had done very little for him and probably just made things worse. She wished that she could at least apologize to him.

Long had passed her ability to tell the passage of time and so she didn't know how long she was in there before she received a visitor. Her eyes widen and she stumbled over to the bars of the cells. A smile was twitching at the corners of her lips and she wanted to cry out in joy, but reality was quick to break her little illusion as the voice that came out of her illusion wasn't that of King Lambert's but another's. She was unable to hide her hurt, but the man said nothing about it.

King Lambert kept his hair nicely combed back, while the man, before her, kept his blond hair messy. While King Lambert had a small, nicely trimmed beard, the man was clean shaven. Even their eyes were different, the former king's had been a brilliant blue and the man had blue eyes as well but they were a dimmer shade. Their similarities were so great that it was a stab at her heart to continue to look at the man but she couldn't look away.

"So, you are the infamous Byleth Eisner that I have heard so much about," he said, and she matched his stare. It was only then that she noticed the two knights that he had brought along with him. "I would have liked to say, it is a pleasure to finally meet you, but this situation is not an exactly ideal one."

Now coming to her sense, she realized that the man before her must have been Lord Rufus. She had only heard a few thigs about him, like how he was the older brother of King Lambert but because he didn't have a crest that the throne was passed over him and given to his younger brother. She had never seen him at events and based on how little she heard of him from King Lambert or Dimitri, she suspected that he might have resented his family.

She had tried to introduce herself but because of her condition, she struggled to bow and so he stopped her. Using the bars to support herself, she at least refused to sit when he allowed it. She wanted to at least show him as much respect as she could in her position.

"Now Byleth, tell me do you realize how serious the crime you committed is?" Her eyes widen but she shook her head. "It is punishable by death." She hung her head. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Nothing," she said as she looked back up at him. He arched an eyebrow but said nothing. "I wanted to see A-His Highness no matter what and I was willing to sneak into the castle to do so." He continued to remain silent. "I just wanted to comfort him, even if it was only a little."

"Your devotion to my nephew is admirable, if not idiotic." She didn't say anything to that.

"I know I have no right to make a request, but may I please write a letter to my father? I owe him an apology for running away."

He was silent for a bit before he looked her over and she fought the urge to shiver under his gaze. "Many of the rumors surrounding you said you are quite the beauty." She didn't know what to say to that. "And though you may not look it now, I can at least see the potential." She didn't like the way he was looking at her, but she made sure to show no signs of it.

"How about I make you a deal." Her eyes widen but she remained silent. He leaned forward a little so that he could be eye level with her. "I will allow you to live in the castle and you can see my nephew all you want and all you have to do is be my lover. How does that sound?"

Pressing her lips tightly together, she rested her head against the bars. A few months ago, she would have accepted that deal with no hesitation but now…Now she just wanted to be far away from the castle, and she hated herself for wanting to abandon Dimitri.

"I see," Rufus said as he stood straight. "Though looking at you, it seems I might have been a little late for my deal." She gave him a small bow and struggled to right herself up from it.

"Well as a final act of kindness for my departed brother, I will let you go." Her head shot up like a wyvern taking flight to look at him. With a simple gesture of his head, he motioned for the knight, behind him, to unlock the cell. Her eyes darted between the knight and Lord Rufus.

The cell's door was open, but she didn't make a move to leave. She just stared at the lord with a million questions running through her mind, but she couldn't think of a single one to ask. Eventually the knight had to come in and drag her out.

"Why?" she was finally asked.

"My brother cared for you deeply as well as does my nephew. He has bothered me every day, begging me to set you free and promising all kinds of things in return." She said nothing as she couldn't look at him any longer. She was only causing problems for Dimitri. "Ultimately, I have decided to reward such dedication. It is a rare thing to see." She nodded to him and said a small thank you.

"This freedom does come with some stipulations." She nodded. "You are to leave the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and never return." Her eyes widen. "Nor are you to have any contact with prince Dimitri or anyone of great importance." She pressed her lips tightly together, in a hope to stop her lips from trembling. Unable to maintain eye contact, lest her emotions show, she looked away.

"I know that this might seem cruel, but it is for the best." Slowly she brought her attention back up to him. "Many believe that you had something to do with the tragedy." She opened her mouth to protest but he silenced her by raising a hand. "I never believed such a rumor and seeing how far you are willing to go for my nephew; it is clear to me that you are not capable committing such an atrocity. But unfortunately, it will mean very little as the rumor will still persist and well…you were already despised by many of the nobles." She said nothing and once again looked away. She knew she wasn't liked but would those nobles really go so far as to put the blame on her? Were they really that cruel? "There is a call for your head." She looked back up at him and she almost couldn't believe what she heard. Did she really deserve such hatred from the kingdom nobles? And all because she wasn't born as a noble?

Having said his peace, Lord Rufus motioned for the knight to take her away. She had to struggle to get the knight to let her go long enough for her to show her appreciation as well as a plea to tell Dimitri and Dedue that she was sorry. The lord spared her no glances or gestures as he continued to walk away.

In the cover of night, the knight escorted her out of the castle. No one was even aware of her presence throughout their little trek. The knight never said a single word, nor did he spare her the slightest of glances when he shut the gate behind her.

She only stared at the gate for a few minutes before slowly turning to look at the forest. It seemed so unreal to her; she had started to believe that she would never see the outside world again. The gentle breeze against her skin had her heart singing. She would have liked to have felt the warmth of the sun on skin as well but at that moment the calm moonlight was enough. Taking a deep breath, she basked in the still of the night for the first time in such a long time.

Her bliss did not last long as she dropped to her knees soon after as her emotions started to overwhelm her. Joy, at finally being free. Relief, to be free of such heavy burdens. Delight, at the thought that she would soon be reunited with her father. Guilt, for abandoning Dimitri and Dedue. She knew she was letting King Lambert and Glenn down for running away but she couldn't go back, she didn't really want to go back either. And above all those emotions was sadness. The thought of never having to see Felix, Sylvain, Ingrid, Dedue, and of course Dimitri again was a fear that she never knew that she had. She buried her face into her hands as she just didn't know what to do.

Realizing that just wallowing in all of her feelings wasn't going to get her no where and that she knew she needed to leave before someone spotted her, so she decided to push her feelings aside and press on. What was done, was done, she couldn't change anything; or at least that was what she was trying to convince herself of. Despite all her efforts she was still a weak, little girl, with no power in a nobles' courts. Glancing back at the castle, she gave a silent apology to both Dimitri and Dedue and hoped that each of them will be able to help the other.

With her apology done, she started her trek into the forest. She knew Lord Rufus wanted her out of the Kingdom's lands as soon as possible but at that moment it would be impossible for her. She was going to need a least a few days to recover but with no money to her name it was going to be even more difficult; she wasn't even in the condition to be able to do odd jobs.

She was completely unaware of the attack, until it hit. The fireball should have seared her back but all it did was burn her clothes; in the chaos of everything she missed seeing her necklace that glowed. She didn't have time to really think about why the attack was so ineffective as she quickly spun around to face her attacker, but the swift motion was too much for her haggard body and she stumbled forward. Laughter from her assailants caused her to look up and she found that it was three masked men and her blood ran cold.

The young woman tried to run away but her body was slow and staying upright was just a challenge all on its own. The laughter never ended, and she desperately tried to push her body forward. All too quickly her breathing became haggard and her body cried out in protest. Only a small distance was covered, when she realized that she would not be able to go any further. Her hand flew to her dagger and it was only then that she remembered that it was confiscated when she was thrown into the dungeon.

That was it, she concluded. Her time had finally come. She gritted her teeth and whispered an apology to her father; in the end they wouldn't be reunited, and she had hoped that he would be able to move on from her death. She did take comfort in at least knowing that Dimitri would never learn of her death and wouldn't have to live with the guilt of believing he caused her execution.

When she could no longer run anymore, she turned to face her attackers, who had been casually strolling along. With escape impossible and she knew it would be pointless to wish for a rescue, she decided that she would face them with the little courage she had left. Her father didn't raise a coward.

The men exchanged glances with each other before they cautiously made their way towards her. Looks were shared once again, when they were just a few feet away. Eventually, the bravest of them stepped before her and unsheathed a dagger that was very similar to the one used against her during the Wyvern Moon two years ago. Despite her trying to maintain a brave front, she couldn't help but flinched at the sight of it.

"Are you giving up?" the man asked. She said nothing and glared at him. A final glance back at his fellow men before he plunged the dagger into her chest.

She refused to give them any satisfaction of a reaction. At most they were just allowed the sight of blood trickling down her chin that managed to slip between her sealed lips. He pulled the dagger free and she fell back. The world seemed to slow down as she stared up at the few stars that she could see between the trees' tops. She never imagined that death could be so slow coming, it seemed so fast the first time that she nearly experienced it.

Shouts soon filled the area, but it did not register to her. She closed her eyes as she realized that she could finally sleep. She didn't believe in the afterlife but if it did exist, she hoped that she could at least see king Lambert, Lady Patricia, and Glenn.

Just before she drifted off, she could hear someone pleading for her to stay awake, but she no longer had the strength to do so.