Three Fates Entwined | Dream Team

Chapter Ten

Sapnap inspected some leather armor on sale, turning it over and checking out every corner. It seemed to be good quality, and it was brand new as well. Only fifty coins. Not bad.

"Hey, Clay, this is good, right?" Sapnap asked Dream, being mindful of his cover-up name.

Dream glanced over at the armor and held out a hand. He felt the leather and nodded approvingly. "It's pretty good. And the price is decent as well. Are you going to buy it?"

"Yeah, hold on." Sapnap rummaged around his pockets, looking for his gold. Then he frowned. "Oh... those assassins from before must've taken all my money. I'm broke, dude."

Dream sighed and pulled out a hundred golden coins, handing them to the marketer. "I'll buy it for you, and one for me. But you owe me, okay?"

Sapnap grinned. "Of course. Thanks, buddy."

He took off his cloak and slipped on the middle section of his armor, feeling around the sides for where to secure it. A second later, he felt Dream's hands tightening the straps. "Oh, thanks. Wow, I must seem like I know nothing, huh?"

"'Seem?'"

"What? Do you really expect me to say that I know nothing? I'm not going to admit something like that."

Dream huffed and started doing up his own straps. With their armor, they seemed more like knights than knights-to-be's.

Sapnap grinned and struck a ridiculous pose. "Hey, Clay! Look! I'm a knight!"

"No knight who actually cares about their ego will do something like that," Dream said, rolling his eyes. He glanced around him at the rest of the market stands. "We need food. You're going to owe me even more after this."

"I'll pay up. Eventually."

Sapnap watched as Dream headed across the street to get some apples. His golden hair caught in the rays of the sunlight, and his green eyes sparkled like emeralds. He couldn't understand why someone with looks like that would hide them underneath a childish mask, or how he couldn't even gotten famous in the first place if he covered them up.

Then again, he had basically lived under a rock for his whole life, so he knew nothing.

"Hey, Sapnap," Dream called. "Catch."

He tossed a couple apples in his direction. With the expertise of someone who had tossed around apples for the past week or so, Sapnap caught the apples and put them swiftly in his pocket. A professional magician couldn't have done it better.

"How much is my grand total up to now?" Sapnap asked, following his new companion towards what looked like an inn.

"Sixty coins."

"What? The apples cost ten gold? You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not. You better cough up the money at some point."

"Come on, Clay, we're friends, right? Friends don't demand money from friends."

"I guess we're not friends, then."

Sapnap trailed after Dream as he pushed through the doors of the inn and approached the lady at the counter. She glanced up at them as they headed in and scowled. "Oh, hello."

"Aren't you supposed to be happy when you see customers?" Sapnap asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Paying customers, maybe," she grumbled. "You two look broke as heck."

Sapnap wasn't about to admit that he was as broke as heck, but luckily, Dream stepped in. He placed a couple of coins on the table and smiled.

The lady swept the gold off of the table and into her lap, positively beaming back at Dream. "Why, you are paying customers," she cooed. "Very nice, very nice! Pick any empty room that you want up above, there aren't many people here anyways."

"Is there one with a good view of the streets?" Dream asked.

"Of course, honey, just stick with the rooms on the left."

Sapnap didn't even bother hiding his grin as he headed up the stairs, with Dream right on his tail. "Man, that was brilliant, dude! You're so smooth with people. You didn't even say anything and she was all sweet with you!"

"She was sweet with the gold," his friend corrected, passing by a few doors before stopping in front of one that looked identical to the others. "Ah, this one's in a good position. Come on."

Sapnap furrowed his brow. "Wait, you didn't pay for two rooms?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to share. This is for the good of your wallet, Sapnap."

The room had two large beds with a table in between, and a bathroom right next to the closet. Sapnap grinned as he looked around. A nice, furry carpet, a large window, and clean bedsheets. Whatever that lady was charging, it wasn't enough. Not that he was complaining.

He made his way to stand next to Dream, who was staring out the window. It was a good spot, with an excellent view of the road all the way out towards the castle in the distance.

"So, why do you need to be able to see the street?" Sapnap asked. "I mean, it's just a street after all."

"Without streets, where would we be now?"

"Uh... in the forest?"

Dream shook his head as if to clear it. "That's not the point. Look, we want to be knights, don't we? Well, the king is always looking for more warriors to add to his army, and I bet that this village is the first that they go to when they hire new recruits."

Sapnap lit up. "Oh, so we're going to wait for them to come to us. Makes sense. That way, we'll seem like professionals, not some wannabes who really wanna become knights."

His companion nodded. "You should rest, Sapnap. We've been travelling all day. There's no way that you're not tired."

"Oh, I am definitely tired. If something happens, wake me up, okay?"

"Nothing's going to happen. Just rest."

Sapnap flopped down on the bed closest to the door, leaving the one next to the window for Dream. He closed his eyes and sighed. In a second, he was asleep.