"My Lady? Excuse me?"

Minnie blinked, her face heating when she realized that Clarabelle had been talking to her for a while.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, Clarabelle… I can't seem to stay focused."

The maid waved a hand.

"Oh, think nothing of it, Your Highness. Anyone would be distracted after a day like yesterday."

Minnie nodded; yesterday had indeed been quite an uproar. As it turned out, her father had been furious that the bandits so easily got hold of her. She liked to think that at least some of that was concern for her, but it seemed he was angrier at the insult to him. And finding out that rebels had been the ones to rescue her made the insult even greater. He had ordered that that detail be kept quiet; the official story would be that the guards defeated the bandits.

"Of course," Clarabelle went on, her voice growing somewhat scornful. "Your dear suitor claimed to be so concerned, but my friend Clara Cluck says he was more frantic for his sake rather than yours."

Minnie couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Somehow, that doesn't even surprise me."

Clarabelle scoffed.

"Lands sakes, the way he's been acting, I don't know why His Majesty hasn't sent him back home with a lengthy complaint to his father."

Minnie pressed her lips together; that question often came to her as well, and the fact that her father hadn't done just that was troubling. Was he seriously considering Mortimer? Minnie was certain he could never be a good husband, and surely wouldn't be satisfied with being a mere consort, but her word counted for little. Her father's word did, however, and his word was final.

"Well, perhaps he's waiting to see if he straightens out," she said. Clarabelle scoffed.

"Then I think he'll be waiting for a long time."

Minnie couldn't help smiling, but a knock at the door stopped her reply.

"Come in," she called. The door opened and Daisy stepped in. Smiling, she approached and curtsied.

"Your Highness, I have a letter."

Minnie cocked her head, slightly confused… it wasn't Daisy's job to deliver her mail. Apparently guessing what she was thinking, Daisy's smile grew somewhat sly.

"I just happened to run into the courier and told him I would save him time." She held out the sealed parchment. "It's from a… certain friend of yours."

Minnie felt a stir of excitement as she took the letter. Sure enough, she recognized the seal right away.

Mickey.

Without hesitation, she broke the seal and unfolded the letter. The familiar script brought a smile to her face as she read.

To Her Highness, Princess Minerva.

Hope you're doing okay… I know it's been a while since I last wrote.

Minnie's smile grew somewhat more solemn; she knew he hadn't mentioned their meeting just yesterday in case someone else read the letter. Even in her personal life, nothing was truly private. Shrugging it off, she read on.

Things have been pretty slow around here… if Ma and Dad wanted to live somewhere quieter, they sure picked the right place. I know you told me about that new fella who came visiting… sounds like he's a real charmer. Sure hope your dad isn't serious about him. My cousin Madeline wrote to me about a guy after her, and he's annoying the heck outta her. Lucky for her, her folks don't like him much either. Her dad's about ready to tell him off for good. So, how've things been going since you last wrote? I'll try to answer a little quicker this time. By the way, sorry about Os… he can be a tough nut to crack, but he's got good intentions.

That brought some amusement; she had drawn that very conclusion pretty quickly after meeting the rabbit.

"Well?" Daisy asked, clearly trying not to sound impatient. "What does he say?"

Minnie looked up, raising a brow.

"You delivered this yourself so you'd be the first to know, didn't you?"

A slight, embarrassed blush came to Daisy's face as she fumbled for an answer.

"Why, Your Highness… the very idea, I…well, I…" She hesitated, then sighed and gave a somewhat shamefaced nod. "Well… yes."

Minnie broke into a giggle.

"Oh, it's all right." She looked down at the letter. "He's just talking about regular things. He says he heard about Mortimer."

Daisy snorted.

"That stuck up nimrod probably wants everyone to know about him."

Minnie bit back another giggle before going on.

"And he apologized for his brother… says he means well."

Daisy crossed her arms, frowning.

"Hmph… if you ask me, he should apologize for himself. Hard to believe someone that rude is related to someone so nice."

"Mickey says he's nice too," Minnie replied. "You just have to get to know him."

"I'll have to take his word for it," Daisy said with a small smile. "So, tell me… can we expect a visit from him anytime soon?"

Minnie's smile lessened as she let out a sigh.

"Probably not… Pomona is so far away, and he's probably really busy lately."

She was careful not to say exactly why he was busy; she trusted Clarabelle and Daisy, of course, but even walls had ears these days. You never knew who else might be listening.

"It's too bad about his parents," Daisy said, drawing Minnie's attention. "It sounds like they were such nice people."

"They were," Minnie said solemnly. "Mother enjoyed their company the one time they visited."

She trailed off, gazing down at the letter. As always, the mention of her mother brought a tug of sadness and regret.

If only she was here now. Things would be so different.

A hand touched hers, causing her to look up and meet Daisy's concerned eyes.

"Minnie? Are you all right?" she asked gently. With a quiet sigh, the Princess managed a small smile and nodded.

"Yes. I just… just miss her, that's all."

Daisy gave her a sad smile of her own as she patted her hand.

"I think we all do."