Daisy made the best effort she could to stifle yet another yawn as Lord Mortimer droned on about his personal qualities, which was clearly his favorite topic. Despite his gaudy finery, it was becoming clear he wasn't of such high standing as he claimed… or clearly thought himself to be. She looked at Minnie with sympathy.

Her friend was the picture of courtesy, as usual, sitting poised and proper in one of her finest gowns and listening without interrupting. But even from a distance, Daisy could see the effort it was taking to keep a polite smile frozen on her face. Honestly, though, she doubted Mortimer would even notice if Minnie snuck a yawn.

Daisy found herself thinking of how uneasy she was about Mickey's 'improper' visits and almost laughed. Now she actually preferred the guy who snuck in… at least he was likable.

With great reluctance she turned her attention back to Mortimer as he boasted about the part he'd had in King Walter's funeral. Daisy couldn't hold back a frown of disapproval, and she saw Minnie doing her best to hide the same look. The deceased king had been a beloved figure, greatly respected even by his enemies, and his death had been an event of deep mourning, certainly nothing to brag about.

He must really be desperate to make himself look good. Pathetic.

Finally, Minnie cleared her throat and spoke up.

"I'm sure your service was appreciated. It was certainly a hard time for his family."

To Daisy's relief, Mortimer stopped talking and nodded.

"It was… the queen took it pretty hard. They were together thirty years, y' know."

Daisy caught a note of suggestiveness in his voice and frowned, but Minnie remained indifferent.

"Yes, I can only imagine how she feels. I hear it was hard on the prince too."

To Daisy's great surprise, Mortimer shrugged.

"Oh, sure."

He leaned toward her and lowered his voice.

"Between you and me, though, he was always kind of a scrawny runt. It never took much to get him riled up."

For the fist time, Daisy saw Minnie's mask slip as she clenched her jaw and tightened her grip on the armrests of her chair. Only a few seconds passed before she took a deep breath and her face was neutral again.

"So you know him?"

Daisy caught the hint of a sneer on Mortimer's face before he replied.

"I met him once when we were kids, and I haven't wanted to since. I know his name and that's enough for me."

At that, Daisy's dislike for him was confirmed. Conceited, disrespectful, and just plain unpleasant… no, nobody like that was going to end up with her friend if she had anything to say about it.

From the look of it, Minnie was of the exact same opinion. Slowly, she rose from her chair and folded her hands over her waist, her eyes narrowed. When she spoke, there was a coldness in her voice that Daisy had never heard.

"I see. Well, this has been… interesting, but I must apologize… I'm beginning to feel rather tired. Daisy, if you would please see him out. Thank you for your visit, sir."

With that she turned her back. Trying not to smirk, Daisy stepped forward and gave a confused looking Mortimer a small curtsy.

"If you'll follow me, milord…"

Mortimer opened and closed his mouth a few times, then finally got up with a sulky look that was better suited to a disappointed child.

"My pleasure, Princess," he muttered with a slight bow before following Daisy.

The door had barely closed behind them then he grabbed Daisy's arm and pulled her around to face him, looking impatient.

"All right, so who do I talk to about the next visit? It looks like I'll need to do a little convincing for this one."

Daisy glared and yanked her arm away. His rudeness wasn't much of a surprise, but it disgusted her all the same.

"I'm afraid that's up to Her Highness, sir… since your rank is less than hers."

The angry flush on Mortimer's face made it clear that he had caught the gibe. Daisy gave him her fakest polite smile, hiding her intense satisfaction.

"It was a pleasure, my lord."

Mortimer narrowed his eyes, then grumbled something in acknowledgement and turned with a snap of his velvet cloak.

"I'll expect her Highness's invitation."

Daisy squinted at his back, resisting a sudden and very unladylike urge to stick out her tongue.

I wouldn't count on it.

She returned to Minnie's room to find her fuming to herself as she paced, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Ooh! I never saw such a… who does he think he is?"

Daisy smirked a little, wondering how much of that was from personal insult and how much was from wanting to defend her friend. Probably both.

"I'm guessing you don't want a second visit, then?"

Minnie shook her head.

"Of course not! I didn't even really want this one! He sounded insufferable in that letter, but he's even worse in person!"

Daisy smirked.

"I have to agree. Don't worry, he's a lower rank so you can turn him down."

She gave Minnie a sympathetic smile.

"He might not give up very easy, though. He sounded quite determined."

Minnie sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"I know… I just hope he doesn't start causing trouble."

Feeling sorry for her friend, Daisy stepped forward and patted her arm.

"Don't worry. Something as important as those negotiations won't be threatened by some whining lord. Besides, he'd have to go to your father first before coming back without your permission."

Minnie smiled gratefully, but Daisy could still see some unease in her face.

"Maybe you could talk to Prince Michael?" she suggested. "I'm sure he could…"

She dropped off as Minnie shook her head.

"No, I couldn't… he has enough to deal with already. Besides, you're right. Mortimer isn't important enough to cause any real trouble."

She hesitated, then smirked at Daisy.

"Even if he tries hard to convince himself he is."

Both burst into fits of giggling at the same time. Now that there was no need to be polite, Daisy was perfectly happy to make fun of Minnie's irritating suitor.

The sun was reaching a low point in the sky, and Minnie was beginning to get restless. She couldn't sit still and kept pacing the floor at regular intervals and even Daisy couldn't distract her. Minnie glanced at the window again and sighed as she sank down on the seat.

Maybe he's not coming today…

It surprised her how disappointing that thought was. She must have grown more used to Mickey's visits alleviating her boredom than she thought.

"Your Highness?"

Daisy's voice broke into her gloom and she managed a smile.

"I'm fine, Daisy. I was just… thinking too much, I guess."

She could tell by Daisy's half smile that she wasn't quite buying it, but she didn't pursue it.

"Well, how about a game of Piquet? That always occupies my mind."

As Daisy sat by the table and began shuffling a deck of cards, Minnie let out another quiet sigh and gave one last glance out the window. She gasped and jumped to her feet; Mickey stood below, waving up. His smile was wider than she'd ever seen, and it made her smile just to see. She waved back and hurried toward her bed.

"Daisy! He's here!"

The duck looked up in surprise as the cards scattered mid-shuffle. Barely noticing, Minnie pulled the red leather book out from under her mattress and hurried back to the window. She was about to turn the pages when she remembered Daisy. Calming herself, she turned to her lady in waiting.

"This is how he gets up here. Please, just… don't panic, okay?"

Looking utterly confused, Daisy nodded. Minnie smiled and turned back to the window, turning the pages forward. She didn't see Daisy's face as the canary flew up through the window and landed on the floor, but she could imagine her confusion.

Smiling, Minnie turned the pages the other way. She heard Daisy's stunned gasp as Mickey turned back to his true form and glanced at her. The lady in waiting stood staring, her jaw dropped wide open.

"How… what… when…"

Minnie looked back at Mickey, and both started laughing at the same time. This seemed to snap Daisy out of her shocked trance. Shaking her head, she swept a deep curtsy.

"Y-your Highness."

Mickey smiled and nodded in return.

"Nice t' see you again," he said. Minnie giggled and walked over to her bed, replacing the book.

"I'll explain later, Daisy. For now, could you please keep an eye out?"

Too startled to remember her curtsy, Daisy simply nodded. She was so focused in staring at her and Mickey that she almost ran into the door.

"I-I'll, uh… be just outside."

After she found the knob and stepped out, closing the door behind her, Minnie hurried over to Mickey with a wide smile.

"I'm so glad you came! I was starting to think you wouldn't be able to today!"

Still grinning, Mickey took her hand and bowed over it.

"I'm real glad I could! The council's gonna be meeting tomorrow before the negotiations start, an' I…"

He suddenly hesitated and cocked his head.

"Hey, you all right? You look kind a'… I don't know, stressed."

Minnie blinked in surprise; she'd always been an expert in hiding negative emotions, but almost since the day they'd met Mickey seemed able to read them so well. She wondered if he was like that with anyone, or maybe just with her. The thought made her blush.

"Oh… no, it's okay, I'm all right. I was just a little concerned that something might be wrong. What were you going to say about the negotiations?"

Mickey paused just a moment, then the smile broke out across his face again.

"They're lettin' me take over for Mom."

Minnie gasped in excitement and couldn't stop herself from placing her hands on his shoulders; she knew how much this must mean to him.

"Oh, Mickey, that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you!"

Suddenly she realized what she was doing, and out of instinct she feared she was being too forward. But her fear was quickly forgotten when Mickey clasped her hands in his own, still grinning.

"Thanks!" A look of slight unease crossed his face. "I just hope I do it right. I mean, my dad taught me for this my whole life and… well, I know it's crazy, but I don't wanna let him down."

Minnie smiled; she couldn't help comparing him to Mortimer, who seemed to only care about getting ahead to make himself look good. She even suspected his sorry attempt to court her was part of that.

Mickey was almost the exact opposite. All he wanted was to be the best he could be, for his kingdom and for his family. And even though she hadn't known him long, he felt like one of the truest friends she'd ever had.

"… Minnie? You okay?"

She suddenly realized that he'd been talking to her and blushed with embarrassment, wondering how long she'd been standing there.

"I… I'm sorry." She gave him an encouraging smile. "You'll be great, I'm sure of it."

His grateful smile made her own even wider.

"Thanks, Minnie."

Minnie nodded, then her smile fell a little as a thought came to her. The words seemed to tumble out.

"I wish I didn't have to be here… I've been concerned about how things will go, and Father might be too busy to write."

She bit her tongue, embarrassed. It sounded like she was complaining and the last thing she wanted was to dampen her friend's high mood. But before she could apologize, Mickey patted her shoulder.

"If you want, I can come fill ya in on how the meetings went."

Minnie looked up at him, startled.

"But… but won't you be busier now? I can't make you take time just to…"

Her words trailed off as Mickey chuckled softly. His hand remained on her shoulder.

"You're not makin' me. 'Sides, if it's anything like I think it'll be, coming here'll be the

better part of my day."

Minnie felt a strange, warm feeling rise in her chest. Slowly, she reached up and placed her hand on his.

"Thank you, Mickey."

Everything seemed to slow down as she stood quietly, gazing into his blue eyes as he looked back into hers. Her heart began beating faster as the hand on her shoulder moved upward, just barely brushing her jawbone…

"My lady? Do you need anything?"

Minnie immediately stepped away as Mickey did the same. She had little doubt that her burning face was just as red as his was. Daisy opened the door and looked between them, then her eyebrows shot up.

"Oh… I-I…"

She quickly closed the door and lowered her voice.

"Was-was I, er… interrupting anything?"

Minnie felt her face burn even more fiercely.

"No!"

She looked at Mickey in surprise. He had protested at the exact same time, with that same word.

Both clapped their hands over their mouths and struggled to hold in their laughter as Daisy looked between them in complete confusion.

Mortimer was not in a good mood. After years of sitting in obscurity in some minor lordship, he was finally handed the perfect opportunity. A princess, a prize in the marriage market unlike any other.

And she wasn't interested.

"Just my luck she'd have to be a hard one," he growled to the bulky figure cloaked in black riding beside him. "And now I've got to wait for HER to ask for ME?"

He scoffed and tightened his gloved hands on the reins, making his horse whicker nervously. His companion chortled.

"So why don't ya go t' that lil' queen o' yours? If I 'member how you bluebloods work ya need…"

Mortimer glared at him.

"I hired you for your muscle, Pete, not your Neanderthal brain. Besides, she's finally speaking up for our runt of a prince and now he's taking charge. You think I'd go crawling to HIM asking for anything?"

He shook his head.

"No, I got my permission from the queen of Burbank and that's all I need. I'll figure out a way to bring her around… I just need some time."

They rode on in silence for a few more moments, then Mortimer spoke up again.

"Meanwhile, it couldn't hurt to have a pair of eyes there, to make sure there's no one else trying to… move in on her."

Beside him, a slow grin spread across Pete's unshaved face.

"And I s'pose them eyes belong to yours truly?"

Mortimer turned his head and gave him a smirk.

"Who else?"