Zach had promised Tiesha a bit too much when he'd said he would see Evelyn the next day. While he had indeed been in New Albion on Monday, he was unable to meet with the Princess. She was caught up in royal business and Zach was turned away at the staff entrance by an apologetic Bethany.

He trusted his memory to hold onto Tiesha's message for a couple more days, so he spent the day on other tasks. First, he wanted to learn more about the upcoming equinox festival, specifically about how to run a vendor stall during the festivities. If Zach could run a stall selling something unique and desirable, he might be able to make a sizable short term profit.

Of course, short term profits wouldn't keep him afloat forever, but they could provide a nice boost to his nest-egg and help finance his next venture. You had to spend money to make money, and a shrewd businessman couldn't let good opportunities pass him by.

Zach even had an idea of what he'd sell at the festival, assuming he could acquire the raw materials in time. But that step needed to wait until after he understood how the festival was managed and had taken care of any required approval processes.

The castle also contains all the municipal offices, so I should start there, he thought as he left the staff entrance alley, where Bethany had been anticipating his fruitless visit.

He made his way around to the other side of the castle to some wide stone steps that led to a very official-looking double door. Before just walking in, he approached a guard stationed outside and asked, "Is this the right place to ask about being a vendor in the upcoming festival?"

The guard nodded. "Yeah. You want the Event Planning department. Fourth door on the left after the big fountain."

Fountain, huh? Zach thought. I guess the administrative side of a royal government is just as fancy as the royalty themselves.

He was wrong. It was even fancier.

Zach quickly encountered two fountains inside the building. Since they were the same size, he didn't think either was the big one the guard had mentioned, but they both featured dozens of streams of crystal-clear water shooting in an ornate criss-crossing pattern, like overlapping looms. They framed the entryway of polished granite and marble, guiding visitors deeper toward the numerous offices within.

Zach was conscious of every one of his footfalls as he crossed the distance to a large object in the distance. The room opened up, with a high domed ceiling and a massive crystal chandelier, and the center held a massive fountain.

Four lifelike marble figures stood in the twenty-foot-wide pool, shooting streams of water into the air from their hands. At least, Zach assumed they were lifelike, but he'd never seen anything like some of them. Next to the sculptures of a human man and woman in long flowing robes were two fur-covered humanoids with doglike faces.

The only other clue Zach had about the dog-people was their style of dress. Both wore hide tunics with feathers and beads tied to the hems. The statues were all pure white marble, but he got the feeling that those beads would have been bright and colorful in real life. The figures reminded Zach so much of Native Americans, or at least the popular stereotypes of them, that he half expected them to be wearing moccasins too, but the statues' feet were hidden under the water and he couldn't check.

He made his way around the distracting fountain and continued down the hallway, then stopped at the fourth door down. The dark wood door was closed, so he knocked gently.

"Come in!" called out a voice, surprisingly casual for such a noble setting.

Zach opened the door and stepped into a small office with barely enough room for a desk and a few chairs. Behind the desk was an elderly man with a long white beard. He had a heavy brow and bushy eyebrows that hid his eyes almost completely, yet his wrinkled face still looked kind.

The man said, "Sorry about the door. Having it closed makes people think I'm not here, but I only want to block out that incessant fountain. The sound was nice for the first day, but not the three-thousandth. How can I help you, young man?"

As a legal adult, Zach sometimes bristled at being called 'young man', but the man behind the desk looked old enough to safely call anyone young. Zach stood up straight, hoping he looked respectable in his nice clothes, and said, "I'd like to inquire about the availability of merchant stalls for the upcoming equinox festival."

"Oh-ho-ho-ho, oh-ho-ho!" The man laughed freely for nearly fifteen seconds before saying, "No need to go so verbose, boy! Normal King's Speech will do you just fine with me."

Zach felt his eye twitch. Now I've been downgraded to 'boy'. Not the result I wanted… He took a breath and tried again. "Are there any spots open for the festival? If so, how can I get one?"

"Yeah, there're some open. Normally they'd be full up weeks ago, but vendors are less optimistic about this festival since everyone already spent all their spare Harts at Evy's multi-month celebration. I can get you set up for a stall. Just need to know what you're selling."

"Uh, that's not actually set in stone yet. I didn't want to buy ingredients until I knew I'd have the stall."

"No problem. Sounds like you're selling food? I can put you down as food and get you in touch with the inspector."

Zach raised a finger. "Actually, my plan is to sell coffee, if I can get the beans."

The man wasn't bothered. "I'll put down 'drink' then. Still gotta meet with the inspector once you have your product though. Can't have you getting a bunch of people sick with spoiled ingredients, even if the Healers would love the business. What's your name?"

"Zach Pike," Zach answered, then spelled it out for the man.

The man scratched the same note on two pieces of paper and handed one copy to Zach. "Just bring that to the inspector across the hall. He'll pick your stall location and do his inspection on the day of the festival."

"Is that all?" Zach asked as he took the paper. "No application fee or anything?"

"Nah, at least not when there are so many openings. But if you back out without telling us, we'll send a guard to collect 50 Harts for the hassle."

Zach nodded. "Thank you for your time."

"Just doing my job. Good luck, kid."

Zach ignored the 'kid' part and focused on the task at hand. He crossed the hallway to a door marked 'Health Inspections' and stepped inside. This office was much larger and far busier. People were moving from desk to desk, sorting through papers and filing them in wooden cabinets.

"Whatcha want?" a young woman barked when she noticed Zach.

"I'm supposed to meet an inspector. I'm doing a drink stall at the festival," Zach answered.

The woman kept digging through a stack of papers even as she said, "Stall 13, and Grecc will be inspecting your stall at 5pm on the 22nd. Don't make him wait. You bring all your own stuff. No table or water provided. Here's your vendor badge."

Suddenly, a solid object the size of Zach's palm came flying at his head. He barely managed to catch it in time. He glanced at it and saw that it was a shield-shaped piece of wood with an ornate seal carved into it.

"Uh, what about this paper?" He held up the note from across the hall.

"Save it for Grecc. You're done. Get out of here. Can't you see we're busy?"

Zach turned and left in a hurry, wondering if the health inspectors were always that understaffed or if something had changed recently. In any case, Zach had work to do too. He needed to visit the suppliers near the docks, a couple equipment rental places, and get back to the Hard Fought Rest before sundown for the most stressful task of all.

There she was, wearing the same green dress as before, nearly spilling out the top of it like before. There was no doubt she was beautiful, and that made what Zach had to do even harder.

She was at the bar by herself, and Zach knew he had to act fast while she was alone. He walked stiffly across the room and sat down on the stool next to the woman, then he had to work up the courage to speak.

"Um, excuse me, miss?" he managed, though the volume was nearly too quiet to hear over the start of the dinner rush.

She turned, her warm brown eyes peering out from under her thin eyebrows and flowing auburn hair. "Ah, hello again. Despite seeing you around here a lot, I don't believe I've caught your name. I'm Harmony."

"Zach."

"So what can I do for you tonight?"

Zach noticed the way she'd phrased that, such that it was filled with potential without being outright lewd. She'd probably been in her line of work for a while and had refined her technique.

He had rehearsed his response in his head several times, but it didn't make it easy to say. After an awkwardly long pause during which Harmony was quite patient, he asked, "Are you available tonight, for the entire night? All the way to morning, I mean."

She raised one eyebrow, looking more intrigued than doubtful. "I suppose I can be, for the right price. But I don't discuss price out here. Shall we retire to your room early?"

Zach shook his head. "Not yet. I just wanted to mention it to you now, before you went upstairs. I wouldn't want to get in the way of your other business. Can you meet me at ten?"

The belltower down the street had chimed seven just a few minutes ago, and eight would be its last chime until morning. Beyond that, people needed to estimate the time, or use an expensive pendulum clock. The inn had one in the kitchen, mostly to assist with cooking and to close down the bar at a consistent hour.

"I suppose so. You're in that first room at the top of the stairs, right? Shall I go straight there at ten?"

Zach swallowed hard, then said, "Yes please."

Zach was writing in a notebook, tracking all the deals he had in progress and the total cost, when there was a soft knock at the door. He quickly answered it and was again taken back by Harmony's beauty.

"Uh, hello. Come inside."

"That'll cost extra," she said with an impish smile.

"What do you mean?" Zach said, confused.

"Just a little Companion joke," she said as she slipped through the doorway. "I charge a fee to cover potential pregnancy, but you get it back if you don't come inside."

"Oh." Zach's face was burning. He was overwhelmed, in way over his head. This woman had sex for a living, and he was still a virgin. He still would be after the night was over, unless things went way off the rails.

She sat down on the bed and patted the empty spot next to her. "Don't worry. The fee isn't that much, since I can just pay a Healer for their morning-after service."

Zach shook his head. "Sorry, I haven't been very clear. I'm not actually looking for sex tonight."

She tilted her head and a lock of auburn hair slid off her shoulder. The curl at the end nestled lightly into her exposed cleavage, drawing Zach's eye there. "Oh really? Then what do you want?"

"I just want you to hold my hand all night while I sleep. Don't let go, even for a second. I'll pay the normal amount, and you can get a good night's sleep too, if you want." Of course, Zach couldn't possibly explain why he wanted such a weird and specific thing, so he probably came across as someone with severe attachment issues.

"Hmm, alright. That's not the strangest request I've heard." She put one finger to her lower lip for a moment as she thought, then said, "I'll stay with you until sunrise, and I'll just charge you my hourly rate for four hours, with no pregnancy fee. Twenty Harts total." She rested her hands on her knees, looking a little out of her element for the first time that night. "Sound good to you?"

Zach nodded. It was an expensive way to test Evelyn's trick, but it would be worth it, just to know. He stood up to get her payment and to gather his notes that were still strewn around the other end of the bed.

As he put the papers away in his backpack, Harmony commented on them. "So you are a merchant after all. I guessed based on your outfit, but you don't act quite like any merchant I've met."

"I suppose I'm not a merchant quite yet. These notes are about my first big venture. But I can't think about that right now or I'll never get to sleep."

She smiled. "Fair. Got a preferred sleeping position?" she asked, then she giggled and quietly added, "Not the kind of position I normally ask about…"

"Not really. I'll probably end up on my stomach regardless," he said, still fighting the overwhelming awkwardness of it all. "Oh, and can we wrap this leather strap around our hands? So we don't separate on accident? It's really important to me that we don't come apart."

"Sure. Again, not the strangest request."

Zach quickly changed into his pajamas right there in front of her, knowing that she had seen men wearing far less than just undergarments, and climbed into bed. Harmony took off her dress and shoes, leaving just a light camisole and some lacy underthings under that. Then she turned off the lamp and followed.

His breath was heavy as he fumbled with the leather strap in the dark. Eventually, Harmony took it from him and tied their hands together herself, much more skillfully.

"I hope you sleep well, Zach," she said, her voice soft and kind.

"Thanks."

Zach awoke on his stomach, to the sound of music. He swatted at his alarm with his right hand, then froze partway.

"Damnit."

That hand should have been tied to Harmony's hand, in New Albion, in another world.

"What a way to start a day. A hundred dollars down the drain…" But that wasn't quite right. While 20 Harts had the buying power of about $100, getting money in New Albion was much harder than in Denver. He'd been chipping away at the money Shen gave him for two weeks now, and he was about to wager most of what was left on a risky business venture. Losing 20 Harts to a failed hypothesis stung more than he'd expected.

Zach checked his phone to confirm that it was Tuesday, then got ready for class. If there was a silver lining in the situation, it was that he wouldn't miss the upcoming Econ 202 test.

Zach was grumpy all day, though talking with Erin helped a bit. She really was a supportive friend, despite the constant teasing. Even her fake flirting was a welcome escape from his own negative thoughts.

"So, my darling Zach, how do you think you did on the test today?" she asked as they left the classroom.

"Pretty good. I studied on Sunday night and got lucky on what the test covered." Zach weaved through the crowd of other students, heading for his next class in the science building.

"Would it help if I text you about what we cover on the days you miss? You could study the right stuff that way."

Zach forced a smile. "Maybe, though I wouldn't have much time to act on it. I didn't get home until this morning."

"And you can't study when you're at your, uh, family thing?"

His own mention of the morning had reminded him of the failed experiment, which brought his bad mood back. He tried to keep it out of his voice. "Correct. Thanks for the offer, though."

I don't know whether Evelyn's trick failed, or if Harmony got up in the middle of the night, or if the leather strap just came undone. As harsh as it sounds, I think I trust the Princess more than a Companion or the knot that she tied.

"Are you doing alright, Zach?" Erin suddenly asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You got a look like you were lost in thought, but you looked upset. Normally you look happy when you're lost in thought, like you're dreaming up something fun."

"Do you really have that much experience watching me zone out?"

Erin smiled and punched him lightly in the arm. "Yep! I watch you all the time!"

Zach shook his head, but he couldn't help but smile. "Not your best attempt at getting a rise out of me. Stick to fake flirting over fake stalking, IMO."

"Darn!" Erin said as she swung her fist and arm in an exaggerated motion. "Alright, I'll get you good next time."