Three Fates Entwined | Dream Team

Chapter Four

Sapnap didn't expect a place that was supposedly full of thieves and killers and assassins to be so nice and welcoming.

The sun was starting to set, casting a blinding light over everything, but the trees provided him with ample shade. There was a paved road, but he preferred to walk in the forest bordering the path. That way, not only could he avoid being jumped, but he could use nature to his advantage at the same time.

His dark silky hair was in desperate need of brushing, but he didn't have anything but his fingers to brush it with. It didn't matter, though. His hair was the least of his concerns at the moment.

"Assassins," Sapnap murmured to himself as he walked. "How interesting...."

He knew about the legendary skills most assassins possessed. Once, he had even considered finding one to teach him to be a better fighter. But he ruled out the idea at once. Knights walked a straight path. Assassins liked to walk a very jagged and curvy one.

But the thought of meeting an assassin still excited him.

Sapnap looked around him, judging the trees. He picked a tall one, with limbs that would support his weight, and began to climb up. Other than the one he had just come from, he didn't see another village, which meant that his only option was to sleep in the wild.

Not that he minded. To him, the wild was a friend, not an enemy. Except for that time where he had almost been killed by wolves. Other than that, it was a friend.

He took off his cloak and set it down on him, acting as a makeshift blanket, and leaned back against the trunk of the tree. The sunset painted the sky in shades of orange, red, yellow, pink, and purple, while some blue still peaked out. It was beautiful, as if a rainbow had came by, puked out its innards, and left.

Tomorrow, Sapnap thought groggily to himself. I'll push myself until I reach the castle. Nothing, not even assassins, will get in my way.

***

He woke up to find a young boy sitting next to him.

"Ah!" Sapnap scrambled away from the stranger, nearly falling out of the tree. "W-what? Who are you? Where did you come from? Why are you here?"

The boy watched him, waiting expectantly. Sapnap frowned. "Uh... what else do you want?"

"You're missing one," he noted. "What, who, where, why. You're missing when."

"...Dude."

"If you take what, where, and when, and replace the first letter with a T, then you get the answers to your questions," the boy said.

"Excuse me?"

"That, there, and then," he said proudly. "Logic."

Sapnap couldn't believe that he was having such a weird conversation. "No, not logic. Answer my original questions. Please."

The "please" was more of an afterthought, but it seemed to do the trick. The boy smiled and folded his hands in his lap. 

"I am Snip," he said. "I was taken from my family when I was young, so I don't know what my house is. As to where I came from, well, I came from over there."

He pointed a finger into the distance. Sapnap followed it and saw nothing but trees and land. "Uh... okay. What's 'over there?'"

"My camp," Snip said simply. "With the other assassins."

Sapnap raised his eyebrows. "'Other assassins?'" The kid couldn't have been older than thirteen. How could he be an assassin?

"And as to why I'm here," Snip continued, "well, it's because we're going to capture you."

Out of nowhere, four people jumped out of the trees. Sapnap grabbed his cloak and leapt down from the tree, despite the height. His foot hit the ground hard, and a shock of pain went through him.

Hands grabbed at his shirt, catching onto the fabric and pulling him to a stop. He wrestled against his captors, but it was no use. Five against one, even if one of the five was a small boy, was no very good odds.

Someone pulled a sack over his head. Sapnap felt a chord being drawn tight around his neck, keeping it in place. The sack was rough and thick enough to let almost no light through. Crap.

Ropes bound his hands and feet, rendering him unable to move or escape. Okay, Sapnap thought glumly, I take it back. The wild is not my friend. This is even worse than that time with the wolves.

"Yay!" Snip's voice cheered. Hands clapped together in joy. "My first distraction! I think I did good."

"You did great," a female voice said. "Now, take him to Peligro. He'll be perfect for the plan."

Sapnap felt his body being lifted up and tossed over someone's shoulder. He squirmed around a bit, but a sharp prick in his neck stopped him.

"There, there," the female voice said. "That'll knock you out, and then we'll take you to the big bad boss, okay?"

"No, that is not okay!" Sapnap shouted. "I don't know what you want, but this is stupid and I'm not going along with you and I don't care what's gonna happen because there is no way that I'm going to let a bunch of shady assassins just carry me off like some sort of luggage and--- mmhhph!"

Someone pulled the sack off of his head. Sapnap strained his eyes to see if he could spot his captives, but the sun shone in his eyes, momentarily blinding him. Then a bundle of cloth was stuffed into his mouth, effectively shutting him up, and the sack went back on.

"Thank you," the woman from before sighed. "He was getting onto my nerves. Snip, how long does it take for the drug to take effect?"

Sapnap didn't get to hear the rest of the conversation, because the drug kicked in and he passed out cold.