The clang of metal on metal echoed on the courtyard walls, then stopped. Mickey hefted the dull practice sword in his gloved hand and gave his opponent a grin.

"That all ya got?"

Oswald smirked back as they circled, their feet shuffling across the dirt.

"You sure ya wanna know?" he goaded.

"Anytime!" Mickey replied. Oswald grinned and twirled his own weapon before darting forward. The blades whirled as each swung and parried, dodging each other's moves with a skill obtained through years of practice.

"C'mon, mouse!" Oswald called. "Give me something I haven't seen already!"

Mickey smirked as he imagined the frowns on the nearby guards' faces at the rabbit's familiarity. It was sort of funny, really… they thought it disrespectful, but they were the only ones it really bothered. Mickey took a quick moment to brush the sweat out of his eyes and began shifting back and forth, raising the sword as if to charge and then lowering it again. After several long moments, he noticed Oswald starting to clench his jaw. He pushed back an urge to smirk and continued to circle.

C'mon… he thought.

All of a sudden, Oswald jumped to the right. Mickey mimed a stumble and went on his knee, waiting. Sure enough, Oswald leaped forward, aiming a sidearm swipe at his exposed side.

Mickey swung his sword upward, and a clang rang out as Oswald's met it. His startled look met Mickey's eyes and he grinned. The mouse braced his feet and made a quick jerk to the side, sending Oswald stumbling. He scrambled to get to his feet, but Mickey quickly tapped the back of his neck with his sword tip.

"Gotcha!"

Oswald groaned as he turned over and glared, making a poor attempt to hide the proud look on his face.

"Ah, I decided t' go easy on ya this time," he said. Mickey grinned and offered a hand.

"C'mon, Os… we both know ya never let me win."

Oswald sighed and grabbed Mickey's hand, but he grinned back as Mickey pulled him to his feet.

"Yeah, well, someone's gotta," he said.

Mickey laughed as they crossed the courtyard and placed their weapons on a nearby rack. He had to admit that the rabbit had a point, even if he exaggerated it a little.

"Right. Thanks for keepin' me honest."

He shook his head as they began removing their padded armor.

"It's nice to know not everyone thinks that's a problem."

Oswald looked up and his face grew sympathetic.

"It's not everyone, Mick," he said. "It's just those stuffed shirt old bloods that're jamming things up, and everyone else knows it."

Mickey sighed as a familiar weariness tugged at him.

"I suppose," he said. "I just don't know how they expect me to convince them when they're too scared to let me do anything."

Oswald snorted.

"What, cause you didn't sit in front of them and give a few fancy speeches?"

Mickey gave him a half-hearted grin.

"Well, when you put it that way…"

He shrugged, and both of them chuckled as they headed out of the courtyard and down a castle hallway.

"I just wish I could do more help Mom," Mickey said, his smile fading. "This is all so hard on her, and it's like they don't even care."

Oswald frowned and shook his head.

"I gotta say, I'll never understand how their minds work," he grumbled. "You've learned all this stuff, and you're ready for this. They'd see that if they bothered to look past their own crooked noses!"

Mickey smirked, then both of them started laughing. However, they stopped as a figure came around the corner. It was Horace, one of the ministers. He hurried up to them and executed a quick bow.

"Sire, the queen sent me to find you," he breathed. "The session for today will be starting soon."

Mickey blinked in surprise.

"What? So early?"

Oswald gave a disdainful snort.

"Probably another one of their things… trying to see if they can catch you off guard."

Horace looked at Oswald with a halfhearted smile.

"As much as I hate to admit it, sir, you're probably right," he said.

Mickey sighed as a familiar weariness weighed in his bones; how long would all these pointless tests and attempts to trip him up go on?

"Thanks, Horace," he said. "Be there right away. I'll see you later, Oswald."

As he hurried toward his room to change, the thought entered his mind that at least now he might be able to get out sooner. And that would mean more time with Minnie.

A smile came to his face, and suddenly he wasn't so tired anymore.

…

Minnie hummed to herself as she ran her hand over the books on the shelf, scanning the titles. She was in the mood for something nice, something… poetic. On her way out the door with Donald's latest letter, Daisy glanced up and smiled. She hadn't seen her friend in such a good mood for a while. Even if she was a little confused as to how it came about, she was glad for it. And she hoped that soon there might be more good news; Donald had written that the king was slowly but surely recovering. She didn't want to tell Minnie just yet though, just in case the situation turned sour again.

Meanwhile, Minnie hesitated as her eyes caught a volume of romantic ballads. She had known this book since early childhood, when her father would come to the nursery every night to read it to her. He said her mother had read it to her while she was a baby.

Smiling, she slid the book off the shelf and went to sit on the window seat. After adjusting the skirt of her gown, she opened the book and began to read.

She quickly became immersed in the first ballad, about young woman engaged to a noble knight who was away at war. She sat at her window every day, gazing out over the ocean and hoping it would bring him home safe.

Since she was a little girl, Minnie had always loved to picture the knight as he returned to his bride. She wondered if he was like Mickey…

The young mouse bit her lip as her cheeks heated.

Where did THAT come from?

Minnie glanced out the window with a sheepish smile. She really must be a helpless romantic, involving her friend in such silly dreams. Who knew what he would say… of course, knowing Mickey, he probably wouldn't say much. Minnie stifled a giggle as she imagined him coughing awkwardly, trying to stammer out a reply.

Movement in the trees interrupted her, and she sat bolt upright with a surprised gasp. As if her thoughts had been some kind of a summons, Mickey emerged with Pluto bounding close behind and looked up, waving at her.

Excited, Minnie abandoned her book and leaped to her feet. She hurried to her bed and pulled the red book out from under her mattress, turning the pages as she returned to the window. The little bird flew up right away and landed on the floor, looking up at her. Minnie turned the pages the other way and turned Mickey back to his true form.

"It's so good to see you!" she exclaimed, setting the book down. Mickey grinned as he took her hand and bowed.

"Feeling's mutual," he said before kissing it. Minnie giggled and sat on the window seat, patting the spot beside her.

"I wasn't expecting you so soon."

"Neither was I, till about three hours ago," Mickey replied, sitting beside her. Hearing a slight catch in his voice, Minnie cocked her head. Mickey glanced at her and shrugged with a half smile.

"It's a long story," he said. Minnie reached out and gently patted his hand.

"If you want to talk about it, it's all right," she said with a reassuring smile.

Mickey looked at her again, then smiled back

"That's alright, I'm fine," he said. "But thanks."

He sighed and shook his head.

"I just don't understand it… I've studied politics, history, all that almost since I could read. Dad let me shadow him as soon as I was old enough, he… he taught me everything I needed to know."

Minnie felt a lump of sympathy rise in her throat. She smiled a little and placed a hand on his arm, stroking it.

"But it feels like it's never enough," she said softly. "Like you're never enough."

Mickey looked up at her in surprise for a few moments, then smiled back and placed his hand over hers. She shivered a little at the sudden warmth.

"That's right," he murmured.

Minnie found her vision fixed on his deep blue eyes. There was so much warmth in them, so much gratitude. She reached out to place her other hand on his…

"Excuse me, your Highness?"

Minnie's head snapped around as the door opened.

Daisy froze on her second step in. Her eyes went wide as saucers.

"What… what…?"

Minnie quickly let go of Mickey's hands and leaped to her feet.

"Daisy, don't yell!" she exclaimed. Her friend stopped, then took a deep, slow breath.

"I… I'm not gonna yell… I'm not gonna yell at all…"

She let out the breath she was holding, then hissed the next words so fiercely the two mice cringed.

"What is going on here?!"