Three Fates Entwined | Dream Team

Chapter Thirty-One

Sapnap wandered through the village. Nothing much had changed since his last visit. Everything was the same, from the ignorant villagers to the stands selling fruit nearby.

Everything in the village was the same, but Sapnap himself had changed more than anything.

He ran a hand through his black hair and glanced around. No sign of a shady evil mastermind hanging around, buying oranges and acting extremely suspicious.

Sapnap gave a mighty sigh. "Why couldn't this be so much easier if he just appeared right now?"

"Who are you talking to, boy?" a tired voice asked irritably.

Sapnap's eyes widened as he looked over at the old man standing behind his fruit stand. "No way, you're still alive?"

"What's that supposed to mean, boy?" he grumbled. "Of course I'm alive!"

"Sorry, sorry," Sapnap mumbled apologetically. "I just... I dunno, it's been a month since I last saw you. I thought a month would be enough."

The old man raised an eyebrow shrewdly. "Enough for what? To get me killed? To hire an assassin and have me lynched in my sleep? Ha! No assassin would even think of working with you."

Sapnap shrugged. "Are you sure about that? I met an assassin at the castle, you know, and he's my best friend now."

The man swallowed nervously. "Ah... right, right. So you did get to the castle, then?"

"I did," Sapnap said cheerfully. "I met some people, almost got killed, raided the kitchen a few times, almost got killed again, and here I am."

He smiled. In fact, that was a poor explanation of what had happened. He had been through so much that twenty-one words weren't enough to cover everything. It wasn't enough to follow Sapnap's footsteps as he strolled through the castle, the constant threat of death looming over his head as his friend, an assassin in disguise, walked by his side.

"How are you still wearing the same clothes?" the man asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Hey, I washed them. I just like this outfit."

"You're not hiding any more apples in the folds of that fabric, are you?" He eyed Sapnap's sleeves and cloak suspiciously. "Then again, your movements wouldn't be quick enough to escape these eyes."

If the man had said that the first time Sapnap talked to him all that time ago, before the whole ordeal in the castle had happened, Sapnap would've been extremely offended. But now, he was perfectly calm.

A few near-death experiences will do that to you.

"Hey, have you seen a weird man around these parts?" Sapnap asked.

The old man looked him up and down. "Yeah, I have."

"Not me, you---" He bit back his retort and huffed. "I mean, have you seen someone who looks like they could be the person hiring assassins to kill others?"

The guy shrugged. "No. But if you want to find someone like that, just go to that path over there. I'm sure you had to go through it on your journey to the castle anyway, so you should know it already."

"I did go through there," Sapnap admitted. "And yeah, it's full of assassins, but no hiring guy."

The old man waved a hand. "Where there are assassins, there are people willing to hire them."

He did have a point. Sapnap gazed towards the east. He couldn't see the castle in the distance, but he knew it was over there, and he knew that George was seated in that castle, waiting anxiously for the spies to report back.

"Here you go," Sapnap said, tossing a coin towards the man. This time, instead of it hitting him on the back of his head, the man managed to catch it in his hands.

"And what's this for?" the man asked sourly, though he still slipped the coin into his satchel.

"Oh, it's just payment," Sapnap responded, a sense of déjà vu rocking him. "For the apple."

"What apple?"

Sapnap winked and flicked his wrist, the apple he had palmed right at the beginning of their conversation appearing like magic in his hand. "Your apples are very good, by the way."

The old man stared at him. Sapnap just smiled and turned away, heading towards the west. He wasn't heading on the path that would take him back to the castle. On his way to the village, he had passed by it without stopping. Dream was going to take care of that area. Sapnap's mission was to search around the further regions in case Peligro decided to go far away while his friends searched the area closer to the castle.

There's no way he got too far away. Everything he has build up is here. In this kingdom, he is like a second king.

No wonder he wanted to have George and his father killed.

Must be hard being of royal blood.

Sapnap's cloak swished around his legs as he walked. It was nice to have his cloak flowing down from his shoulders again, knowing that his family house's symbol was stitched into the fabric. He had gone for a more comfortable approach on clothes at the castle, but now that he was traveling again, he had to trade out comfort for reliability and durability.

His hand wandered down to the hilt of his sword. Peligro was out there, and Sapnap was going to find him. Who cares if he probably has a bunch of nasty people who will obey his every command and probably can kill me very easily? I have an assassin and a prince on my side. What more do I need?

He was going to make sure that Peligro would regret ever sending Dream after the royal family.