Hort was someone who always kept his promises. He knew how much they meant to people, and he understood how important was follow-through.

Too bad he couldn't keep his promise of not thinking about Beatrix.

During work, while he carried heavy cargo under the scorching sun, he would find her sneaking up among his thoughts. He brushed it off, frustrated with himself. Beatrix was only supposed to be someone he thought of once a week, not while he tried to keep count of cargo.

Tuesday came quickly, and Hort tried to get off work earlier. He knew he was a merchant, but he liked feeling presentable. Especially if he was in Beatrix's presence. He could daydream about her all he wanted, but he was always waiting for her to say something stuck up about him.

He walked over to his ship, where he found Jairo on deck, looking over at the sea. Hort quickly climbed in, and Jairo noticed him. He waved at the man, and proceeded to go take a quick bath. He had no idea how Jairo had stolen a ship as nice as this one, but he appreciated his theft.

Hort stayed in his quarters for about half hour, seeing the sun set from his window. He loved seeing the sky change from light blue, to yellow and pink, to an almost purple shade, until the sky was a midnight blue shade. He also tried to think of a lie to tell Jairo.

Hort hated lying to him, but he didn't want to tell the truth. He always went with the one of seeing some of his buddies at the Tattered Sail, the bar where him and Beatrix met. It was as close to the truth as he would get, seeing as Ravan often talked to him as one of his friends.

While he changed into a blue shirt, Jairo knocked on the door.

"Come in." Hort said. Jairo opened the door.

"Hey, I'll be going downtown with some other merchants from the area. Are you going somewhere?" He asked. Hort gulped.

"I was thinking about it." Hort admitted. Jairo raised an eyebrow.

"Tattered Sail?" Jairo asked. Hort nodded.

For a moment, he feared Jairo would say he'd be there too. Hort would be dead if he found out he was going there to have a venting session with the princess. But luckily, the next words out of Jairo's mouth were:

"Don't do anything stupid, kid. If you need me, talk to Killian, a bartender. He'll know where to find me.

Hort held back a sigh of relief, and instead just nodded quietly.

"Thanks Jairo. I should be back by ten, at the latest." Hort pledged. Jairo nodded.

"I'll be here around the same time. Have fun, I know you're a smart kid." Jairo grunted, but Hort grinned.

Jairo could be nice in his own gruff way.

§§§

Even if his situation was a bit…sketchy, Hort was growing fond of Ravan. He also looked forward to seeing the bartender, not only because he charged them less, but because Ravan was really fun, especially because he wasn't just always talking about selling.

"Well, well, Well, if it's not my favorite merchant." Ravan teased. Hort grinned.

Ravan was in his usual white shirt and with his hair in a bun, while he wiped some glasses.

"And here's my favorite bartender. How's your shift going?" Hort asked. Ravan shrugged.

"I had to separate a fight already. These people have been feisty today. What about you? Waiting for your lady?" Ravan wiggled his bushy eyebrows. Hort rolled his eyes.

"She is definitely not my lady…she's my rich acquaintance, maybe?" Hort replied. Ravan tsked at him.

"Well, Her Highness must be disappointed you think that." Ravan said. Hort raised his eyebrows, confused.

"I'm just merchant boy, why should she care if I say that?" Hort frowned. Maybe she was only his acquaintance, but Gods she didn't stop lingering on his mind…even if he refused to admit such dangerous truth.

Ravan looked around, then darted his eyes to the door, checking for the princess, then returned to Hort, smirking.

"Beatrix likes you. I know that for a fact, and you should take that chance." Ravan advised. Hort's heart dropped, then sped up.

"I'm sorry, what?" Hort exclaimed loudly, earning glances from other customers. Ravan chuckled.

"Oh yeah, she came Friday night. I was surprised, actually. I was waiting for you to show up late in a tizzy, but you never did… anyways, I think the three drinks she had got to her, because she talked way more than usual, and she never has three in one sitting, but anyways, she wouldn't stop talking about how much she has enjoyed talking to you for, what, three times? I was surprised." Ravan told. Hort's interest was piqued.

"There's more. The princess was especially fond of babbling about how cute you are. I laughed and had to agree, because she's not wrong, so I just asked her if she liked you or something, like, mostly as a joke, but she mumbled what sounded like a very serious 'maybe' so, I think you're in for a treat." Ravan finished, and Hort was a stuttering mess.

"No, no, no, no. You have to be lying. I mean, yeah, she did say she talked to me cause she found me cute but….that has to be it…" Hort reasoned. Ravan shook his head.

"She's got it bad. I'm surprised, actually, she has always been quite the ice queen. Besides, don't act like you don't dumbly stare at here when she talks." Ravan pointed out. Hort blushed.

"….she's easy on the eyes…aaaand she's here. Damn it, Ravan! I don't know what to do now." Hort confessed.

"Act like you always do, she likes that." He winked at Hort, and sure enough, Beatrix took a seat next to him. She was wearing her purple cloak, but she had her hair in a braid tonight.

"Hello, Hort. How are you doing this evening?" Beatrix asked, a smirk on her pink lips.

"I've been better…how are you, Princess?" Hort asked.

"Pretty well, but ready for my usual." She shot Ravan a glance, and he went to do his unofficially assigned task. She turned back to Hort, "Is the term 'Princess' an endearment term, a mocking, or a serious thing?"

"A teasing one?" Hort croaked. Beatrix giggled.

"You seem nervous, what's wrong? You're usually not like this." Beatrix raised her eyebrow, but Hort shook his head.

"I'm just tired. We had a lot of loads today and I didn't get to rest much. I wished I had taken a nap." Hort said.

"Hm, that's too bad. I had a pretty rough day too. I was introduced to Lord Carrington today, and the guy is annoying. How can you be so pretentious?" Beatrix complained. Hort looked at her, stifling a laugh.

"What? I'm not that pretentious. I've gotten better over the years." Beatrix argued. Before Hort could talk, Ravan brought their drinks.

"Are you going to order something?" Ravan asked, "You rarely do but, I got to ask."

"Can I get a menu? I'm actually starving." Hort confessed. Ravan threw him a menu and left them.

"Is the food good here?" Beatrix asked, turning up her nose. "It smells so…greasy."

"Their sandwiches are good, and the fried sweet potatoes too. Besides, is not like a little grease will kill you." Hort told. Beatrix shrugged.

"I'll stick with the castle's dinners for now…so, do merchants eat a lot of fried stuff?" Beatrix asked.

"Eh, more like grilled. Jairo and I sometimes will fry stuff, but we stick to grilled fish. It's not bad for two people that live on a ship." Hort said, sipping his lemonade. Beatrix stared at him.

"You live on the ship? How big is it?" Beatrix asked, shocked.

"Well yeah, we sail every so often, is more convenient like that. Besides, is rather roomy. I have a bed and a nightstand, with a nice window and everything. We also have an extra sleeping quarter. It sounds bad, but is actually nice." Hort explained, but Beatrix looked at him as if he was speaking another language.

"Do you feel the ship moving because of the sea?" Beatrix asked. Her judgement was gone, replaced by genuine curiosity.

"At first, it was really annoying, but now I barely feel it. It's very soothing to have the sound of the ocean as a background noise. Even if it makes me want to go to the bathroom." Hort joked. Beatrix cracked a smile.

"You make it sound so fun, but I would feel so weird rocking back and forth…I do love the ocean though." Beatrix admitted, looking as pleased as Hort had seen her.

"Yeah, me too, but I feel certain…reverence towards it, because it's so unpredictable, but it's very beautiful, especially during nights with full moons. I get the perfect view from my room, it's absolutely gorgeous." Hort said, marveled.

"I wish I had that. My room doesn't face the coast and that really bums me out. Maybe I think your sleeping arrangements are questionable, but I envy your view." Beatrix said. Hort softly smiled.

"There's not much to envy from me, princess." Hort sighed. Beatrix placed her hand over his.

"Beatrix…" she swallowed, "please, call me Beatrix. I know you said it was teasing, but I like hearing my name. I have enough people calling me "Your Highness" or 'Princess'." Hort blinked and blushed at the familiarity, but smiled.

"As you wish, Beatrix…I like your name, it sounds pretty." Hort said, before blurting out: "it matches your face."

Beatrix stared at him. Hort's face went as red as the wine Ravan was serving.

He wanted the earth to split open and swallow him up. He was so stupid.

Beatrix laughed. Hort's embarrassment got worse.

"Please, ignore th—

"…Thank you." She said, between giggles. Hort still wanted to slap himself, but at least she seemed to like it….

"I'm sorry I said that. I don't know where that came from." Hort confessed.

"That was awkward, but really endearing." Beatrix admitted. Hort put his face in his hands and groaned. Beatrix patted him on the back.

"Hey, you're fine. Really." Beatrix assured. Hort looked at her, then looked away.

"I bet you don't get that from a lot of lords or princes." Hort said.

"They write really bad sonnets and poems. I like your thing better."

Hort blushed profusely, but Beatrix laughed again.

After that faux pas, Hort ordered his dinner, and at least that kept him from saying more dumb stuff. Beatrix ordered a glass of water, but that was all she had, besides her usual daiquiri.

As Hort ate his fried sweet potatoes, Beatrix kept eyeing them. Hort didn't know if she wanted one, or if she was really grossed out.

"Do you want to try one?" He asked.

"…kind of, but I also don't want food poisoning." Beatrix replied. Hort held out one.

"Try it, you'll be fine. Not all peasant food is bad." Hort joked. Beatrix rolled her eyes, but took it.

"Is not bad, but that's all I'm having." She said. He shrugged.

"So, do you just come to this place on your own? Or does someone bring you?" Hort asked Beatrix.

"I got some guards my age to bring me here. I bribed them the first times, then they went along with it. They drop me off at the nicer side of town, I tell them to meet me at ten, and I come here, to this little pub where no one could think of looking." Beatrix explained.

"How do people not recognize you?" Hort wondered. She shrugged.

"The darkness, my cloak and usually taking off my makeup do the trick. Also, the fact I wear trousers instead of my usual gown; people are easily tricked when they're not looking for something out of the ordinary." Beatrix said. Hort nodded.

"And do you ever just take walks around town?" Hort asked her. She nodded.

"Yeah, I like going to the Turquoise Plaza. I love the fountains they have, even if there is that huge mosaic of our family. Staring at your own face in a mosaic is a strange feeling." Beatrix replied. Hort snorted.

"I can't relate to that…" Hort chuckled. Beatrix smiled to herself.

"I'd have a lot of questions if you could…so, is it just you and Jairo?" Beatrix asked. Hort nodded.

"Yeah…it has been for the past three or four years. Time gets fuzzy when you spend a lot of time sailing." Hort told. He pushed his plate forward and signaled to Ravan to come.

"Are you ready for your bill?" Ravan asked them. They shared a look, then nodded. Ravan went away, leaving them alone again.

"Are you leaving already?" Beatrix asked him. The clock marked 8:49. Hort usually left around this time, but Jairo did say he would come back at ten…

"Um…actually, do you want to go on a walk somewhere?" Hort offered. Beatrix looked taken aback for a second.

"Well, where would we go?" She asked.

"I don't know, the gardens that are like, 15 minutes away?" Hort proposed. She thought about it for a second.

"They probably are closed, but I don't see why not."

%%%

The gardens were closed, but Hort didn't really care. He liked seeing all the flowers they had, even if Beatrix moped about the gardens being closed.

"I thought castles had huge gardens." Hort pointed out, as they sat in a bench not too far from the gardens.

"They do, but I like coming to the public ones. I guess is not too bad; we did get this bench." She smiled, as she took off her hood.

"Woah, woah, woah, what happened to all the secrecy?" Hort asked. Beatrix shrugged.

"It's dark enough and there's no one around. Besides, is not like you mind seeing my face…right?" Beatrix…teased? Hort shook his head, looking at the ground.

Mind it? He spent too much time thinking about her face. It was becoming a problem.

"Well, is not like I can see it too well anyways, is too dark." Hort said. Beatrix rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, no one will see me. Why did you want to go on a walk? That took me by surprise." Beatrix confessed. Hort shrugged.

"I don't know, I guess the Tattered Sail was feeling too stuffy and I wanted to leave but I didn't want to leave you there again." Hort admitted. He liked talking to Beatrix. She questioned the most mundane things to him, with the utmost curiosity, even if he could hear some haughtiness in her.

She was also a great listener, and he needed that sometimes.

"Oh…well, that's actually really considerate of you. It's also relieving to know you actually like talking to me and is no longer because I kind of forced it on you…" Beatrix said.

"Were you worried about that?" Hort chuckled.

"Well I mean, I just kind of wanted to think you actually like talking to me." Beatrix admitted.

"Oh, well, yeah. Is nice talking to someone else my age, even if our lives are super different. I mean, most merchants I know are like, thirty, so is pretty refreshing talking to another…sixteen year old?" Hort said, grinning.

"Yeah…and I am sixteen. Could I ask you something?" Beatrix questioned. Hort nodded, but wondered what she was going to say.

He was expecting something deep, judging by the tone of her voice.

"You said that merchants sail a lot, does that mean you're going to go off for, I don't know, four months and then come back? Or would it be like you leave and settle for another kingdom for and indefinite amount of time?" Beatrix asked.

"…probably more like the first one, but Jairo would probably be the one to leave while I stay and work out other stuff." Hort replied. Moonlight hit Beatrix's face, and for a moment, he could have sworn there was relief painted across her features.

"Oh, I see." She said.

"Why, would you miss me?" Hort teased, but he also felt genuinely curious.

"I was just asking! Again, is nice to have someone to talk to , at least once a week, about something other than, I don't know, how many acres of land they own." Beatrix rambled. Hort chuckled.

"If you say so…um, as much as I love our…weekly sessions, I need to go now. I said I'd be back by ten, but I had fun tonight." Hort said.

"I should probably do the same. I liked taking a walk, even if we just ended up sitting at a different location." She said, fiddling with a hair strand out of place.

"Are we doing this Thursday next week or Tuesday?" Hort asked.

"Do you what to try Saturday?" Beatrix offered. Hort considered it for a moment. Then nodded.

"Sounds like a solid plan. Saturday at eight?" Hort asked. Beatrix nodded.

"Good night, pr—Beatrix." Hort sheepishly said. Beatrix grinned.

"Good night, Hort." She started walking ahead of him, but stopped in her tracks, turned around and walked over to him.

"Are you alri—" Hort didn't finish that sentence, because Beatrix surprised him with a peck on his cheek, and Hort didn't even know how to react.

Beatrix smiled sheepishly, before disappearing among the trees' shadows. Hort stood there like an idiot, grinning teasingly at the princess.

And that was when he knew he was in deep, deep trouble.