Three Fates Entwined | Dream Team

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sapnap ground his teeth together in annoyance. "Is he being serious? 'I'm the prince, oh, everything is my decision, you all don't matter one bit.' Honestly."

"He probably didn't mean it like that," Dream said.

"Oh, really," Sapnap said sarcastically. "Yeah, he definitely got that across."

He kicked the ground hard and immediately regretted it, feeling a spike of pain run up his foot. Stupid stone floors. I should've done that outside on the soft grass.

"I've never seen you this mad before," his friend said with an amused look.

"In all fairness, I'm not actually that mad," Sapnap said, turning to face him. "I'm more like... frustrated, that he would just mute us out like that. Honestly, we were just trying to help. It's not like we don't care about him."

Dream fingered with his hoodie strings. "I think... I think I should go and do a perimeter sweep, make sure that there aren't any more people hiding here, plotting to kill one of us."

Sapnap's eyes widened. "What? But if you run into one of them, they'll kill you! That's defeating the whole point!"

"It'll be fine," Dream said, completely unconcerned. "Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

"When are you doing it?"

"Tonight."

Sapnap scowled at him. "Tonight? What about sleep?"

"What about it?"

"You didn't get any last night. You're going to be a walking, sleep-deprived armor stand!"

Dream chuckled slightly and shook his head. "You can't stop me," he called as he headed up the stone stairs towards his room. "And please, Sapnap, don't try."

***

Sapnap lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had too much on his mind to fall asleep, but for the first time, he was more preoccupied thinking about things than being annoyed that he was having a restless night.

Dream... if he wasn't careful, he was definitely going to die. Sapnap didn't know whether there were more attackers waiting, but he knew they were out there.

George was the prince. He was definitely going to get targeted at some point. And Dream was famous. He had already been targeted. What's to say that it wouldn't happen again?

You need to do something. You need to help him.

He doesn't need your help.

Sapnap turned to his side on his bed and glared at the wall that he couldn't see in the darkness. Dream had made it obvious that he didn't wish to be followed, but Sapnap was worried. What if something happened?

"You can't stop me. And please, Sapnap, don't try."

His hands clenched into fists. Don't. Just don't. Stay in bed, try to get some sleep, and stop worrying. Don't get up.

But... Dream.

No.

Yes.

No.

Come on, Sapnap.

He opened his eyes and got up, reaching over to light his lantern. Once he could see again, he went over to his window and peeked out.

The moon offered some light, though very faint. Sapnap strained his eyes and squinted into the shadows. Look, he's not out there. There's no bad guy out there either, so it's all good, right?

A sudden shift caught his eye. He focused on the spot and saw someone dart across the field, stopping in the middle.

"Oh, no," Sapnap muttered.

Green cloak, black clothes underneath that made him seem eerily bodiless, and a white mask that shown in the dark. Dream.

Sapnap panicked. He gripped the edge of the window tightly and squinted even harder. Dream was looking around, scanning the area, holding a knife in his hand. Because of the mask, he couldn't tell what he was thinking, but Sapnap could tell by his grip on his weapon that he fully excepted someone to jump out and attack him.

Should I go down after him, or should I not?

Dream started walking towards the forest. Sapnap set down his lantern on the window. I don't want to regret my life choices afterwards. I do that enough already.

The guy disappeared behind the trees. Too late.

In a way though, he was glad to have not been given a reason to follow. He didn't need a mad Dream on his tail. The dude was scary when he was mad.

Sapnap stayed by his window for a good twenty minutes, waiting to see if anyone else appeared. Nobody did. It was perfectly still outside. As far as he could tell, there wasn't a single living thing moving around.

He blew out his lantern and collapsed on his bed, not bothering to put it back on the table. His eyes closed halfway and he turned onto his left side. I never knew that staring out into the wild would be so tiring.

A creak sounded from somewhere in front of him. Must be the wind, Sapnap thought groggily.

There was a whoosh of air. Sapnap's eyes snapped open and he threw himself backwards, tumbling off of the bed and onto the floor with a loud thud. "What the---" he gasped, raising his hands to block his face.

His attacker lunged forward, their blade extended towards him. Then, suddenly, their body went limp.

The weapon clattered to the ground. Sapnap pressed his back against the cold wall, breathing heavily, as he stared into the masked face of his saver.

"You're welcome," Dream said coolly, sheathing his knife.

"Oh my god."

"Come on."

Sapnap accepted Dream's hand and got to his feet, brushing himself off. "I was just attacked," he said, still unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"I know," Dream said. "I saved you, remember?"

"Why would I be attacked?" Sapnap wondered out loud. He ran a hand through his hair and frowned. "I'm not... well, I'm not a prince or famous, at least. I don't see why I would be a victim."

Dream pushed up his mask and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Because you're associated with me now," he said irritably. "Now you're a target."

He glared at the ground. Sapnap sat down on his bed and interlaced his fingers. Already, his breath had returned to a steady pace, and his heart wasn't threatening to jump out of his chest. "I saw you outside," he said. "You were in the field, but I didn't see anyone else. I waited for a while, and when I gave up and laid down again, I was attacked."

Dream didn't seem surprised that Sapnap had been watching him. "I must've missed them in the beginning. When I finally saw someone creeping towards the castle, it was way later than I should have."

He looked miserable. Sapnap sighed, then smiled up at him. "Look, Dream, it's okay."

"No, it's not," the man snapped. Sapnap was taken aback by his sudden ferocity. "This isn't supposed to be happening. It's not! It's as if he's trying to sabotage me, and if that's the case, then why---"

Dream stopped talking suddenly. Sapnap raised an eyebrow at him. What's he going on about this time?

"Forget I said anything," he mumbled. He stooped down and lifted the body from underneath the armpits. "I suppose I'll have to go hide this one as well."

"Don't leave a bloody knife in a tree this time," Sapnap called jokingly as Dream exited his room.

The unhappy look he got back made him immediately regret his words.