Do Not Enter is Written on the Doorway (Treehouse)
Twenty-two-year-old Prince Sapnap of Kinoko Kingdom was watching the clock tick as his parents tried to explain some growing concerns that they had about his behavior. Sapnap had dyed his hair black from brown and to his parents, that meant he was rebelling. He didn’t care in the slightest. He just wanted to leave.
Eventually, his dad seemed to take notice and told him, “Sapnap just please know that we want the best for you,” he received a slight eye roll from the prince, “but we’ll let you go. However, that does not mean this conversation is over for good.”
As soon as Sapnap heard those words, he started to walk the palace halls while being careful not to break into a run. He just wanted to catch up with his two friends, Sir Dream and George. Both were knights who were training or doing chores quite often, but Sapnap always tried to find a way to catch them during their break. That or he made excuses to let them leave from time to time.
He finally reached the backdoors to the knight quarters and immediately saw the two boys talking, still in their white training garbs that go under their armor.
“Hey! How much longer do you guys have left for your break?” Sapnap asked.
“Oh damn… we got to go in about one minute Sap…” Dream said, scratching the back of his neck. Sapnap’s face dropped, little did he know a smirk rose to Dream’s face.
“Dream stop messing with him,” George scolded suppressing a laugh, “We’re done for the day.”
“Really? You guys usually have a few more hours of training,” Sapnap said, confused.
“Yup,” Dream confirmed as he opened a bottle of healing, “Commander Sam let us off early so he could go guard the prison.”
The three talked for a few more hours till George and Dream were called for lights out. Sapnap watched his two friends walk away still talking, just without him this time. He let out a sad sigh. He wished he could just talk with them for hours. Truly he wanted to talk to someone he could trust for hours upon hours.
Most times in conversations, he just listened, but he also loved talking about things he enjoyed. He loves Filipino food–a rarity since the continent Essempee (SMP) is separate now from the rest of the world–he could talk about his favorite recipes for a while as he forced you to try them. He also loved animals. He and Dream had found a stray cat they named Patches and took care of it until they found the original owners.
Sapnap started to remember all the pets as he thought about things he wanted to talk about. Happy memories flooded his brain and brought serotonin. He barely even realized that he walked to the storage closet and not his bedroom due to his distraction.
When Sapnap finally flopped down on his bed, he stared at the ceiling just thinking until he finally fell asleep.
The next morning no maid or servant came to wake him. That was an unusual thing, but he didn’t mind the extra time to sleep in. However, he was skeptical about why his father didn’t send anyone to wake him. So, he went to investigate.
At first, he didn’t want to bother anyone by asking so he just eavesdropped. He heard some whispers about the King, his father, stressing about an argument with the Queen, his mother, about something to do with a close friend of his father.
Oh well. Nothing to do with me doing something wrong I guess.
Now that he knew that something was going on between his parents, he didn’t figure they’d be needing him much today. So now he had nothing to do. Dream and George were busy with training, he doesn’t have lessons today, he doesn’t have any meetings to attend, nor does he have any appearances that are mandatory to do. Sapnap decided he’d just walk around until he thought of something.
He eventually came to the area of the palace that led to the forest which connects to the center town of Essempee.
Maybe I could run away for a few hours as I did as a kid.
Usually, he’d tell himself not to because he was too occupied, nor did he want to be reprimanded. However, this time he listened to the opposite side of his brain that told him to have fun while his parents were busy. He did just that.
He ran through the trees, ignoring the slight tears in his attire from getting caught on branches. Sapnap felt as if he was eight again, running to meet up with someone, the name and face of that person he can’t recall, but that doesn’t matter. He felt free.
He eventually found an open space, carpeted with flowers. It looked as if it hadn’t been touched in years. He decided to look around the colorful, bright place.
This place looks beautiful and oddly familiar.
As he was searching, Sapnap found a large tree that held a treehouse in its thick branches. He climbed the wobbly ladder which was probably made by ten-year-old children who knew nothing about safety. Yet, he still felt like he had to climb. Sapnap felt an odd sensation of nostalgia.
When he reached the treehouse’s balcony, he grabbed the blanket that he found laying there, covered in dirt and rainwater. It must’ve been forgotten by the owner. After putting the blanket back he went to the door of the treehouse. There was a crumpled sign barely on the door.
“Do not enter,” Sapnap read aloud.
Sapnap did not obey the sign and walked in anyways. The room of the treehouse was illuminated by natural sunlight. Without the sun, the room would be pitch black. Sapnap was suddenly very thankful for the warm sun. As soon as he saw the inside of the treehouse, he knew it was his.
It was the treehouse he and a friend had built. It was even further confirmed when he saw a beanbag with the name ‘SAPNAP’ in a black sharpie.