Minnie found herself holding her breath as she looked out the window at the enclosed prison wagon arriving in the courtyard, guards marching alongside it. Beside her, Daisy sniffed.

"I feel sorry for the poor horses. Hope they didn't throw their backs on the way."

Minnie smirked, but the usual urge to laugh wasn't there. Despite her relief that the attacker was caught, she was nervous. She was pretty sure that she was going to have to admit who she really was soon, and that was going make a mess. Mickey had asked her to leave, not wanting her to get in trouble, but she wasn't leaving while he was still sick.

"Daisy," she said, turning from the window. "You sure you don't want to go home? I don't know how crazy things might get, and…"

Her friend waved a hand.

"Don't worry about me. After eight months in the middle of nowhere, crazy doesn't sound too bad." She stretched her arms. "I'm gonna take a walk… I'll let you know what they do with the guy, if I just happen to find out."

That did make Minnie giggle, and her friend returned it with a grin before heading out the door.

A quiet sigh returned her attention to Mickey, and she hurried to sit back down beside him. Picking up a damp cloth on the nearby table, she gently ran it over his forehead. His fever was finally coming down and his breathing was smoother, a physical reminder of the doctors' optimistic outlook. When Queen Lillian visited earlier that morning she'd thanked both girls sincerely for the turnaround, but Minnie didn't really care about credit. All that mattered to her was that Mickey was all right.

The sound of the door opening interrupted Minnie's thoughts.

"Oswald?" she asked, surprised. "I thought you'd want to…" The rabbit gave her a slight smile.

"I would, but they gotta ask the guy questions n' I can't promise I wouldn't let my fists do the talkin'."

Minnie couldn't help but smirk at the thought.

"I wouldn't mind seeing that."

Oswald chuckled as he dropped into another chair and stretched out his legs.

"Goofy said th' same thing."

After a few moments, he cleared his throat.

"Look, uh… there's somethin' I need t' talk to ya about."

Minnie's nerves fluttered up again, but she kept her voice calm and quiet so she wouldn't wake up Mickey.

"What?"

Oswald shifted, looking uncomfortable.

"Well, there was this guy who came ahead of everyone else, and there's somethin'…"

He hesitated, then blew out a breath and looked up.

"You're Princess Minerva, right?"

Startled, Minnie could only stare at him at first. Finally, she managed to speak.

"M-me? I… w-why would you…"

Oswald gave her a slight smirk.

"Guess that's a yes. The guy was in a frenzy, sayin' you disappeared while they were lookin' for Lard Head."

Minnie hugged herself, rubbing her arms as she tried not to shake. She might as well admit it; saying she wasn't wouldn't do any good.

"Does… does Father know?"

Oswald shook his head.

"No… Mick's mom kinda already guessed who ya were. She'll let 'em know you're okay, and you can tell your dad you're here when you're ready."

Minnie stared at him, both relieved and stunned. Her look must have been easy to read, because the rabbit only smirked.

"Hey, it's not that hard to figure out."

The guilt Minnie still felt suddenly came back full force. Her eyes started to sting as she lowered them.

"I-I'm so sorry, it's my fault this happened…"

To her surprise, Oswald interrupted her.

"I think I'm th' one who should say sorry." He sighed and shifted on his seat. "I know I was kinda… accusing. But it wasn't 'cause it was your fault. I guess I just… had t' blame someone."

He glanced down at his feet, looking ashamed.

"I understand," Minnie said after a moment. "Things must've been so hard already, and then this."

Oswald nodded.

"I'm just glad he's gonna be okay. Don't know what I'd do if…"

His voice trembled just a bit and he shuddered. Minnie felt a lump rise in her throat and nodded.

"I know."

She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and looked up; Oswald was looking at her with thoughtful eyes and a small smile.

"I'm startin' to get why he wanted t' see ya."

Despite herself, Minnie blushed a little. Hoping it wasn't too noticeable, she turned back to Mickey and dabbed his forehead again.

"I'm just glad I could help," she said softly. Just then Mickey stirred and murmured, and the conversation was forgotten. His eyes opened, blinking tiredly.

"Minnie?"

His voice wasn't as hoarse as before, and the smile came easier to his face. She smiled back and stroked his head.

"Hi. Feelin' better?"

Mickey nodded, then his smile widened when Oswald trotted over with a big grin.

"Y' know, there's better ways to get people t' let ya sleep in."

Mickey let out a raspy chuckle.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Oswald smirked and gave him a very light fist bump on the shoulder.

"Well," he said, his voice quivering ever so slightly. "Glad you're still around."

He glanced at Minnie and cleared his throat.

"I think I'll let you guys talk."

The hint of a grin was visible on his face as he headed out. Once he closed the door, Minnie looked down to see Mickey gazing back at her. A sudden blush heated her face and she smiled shyly.

"S-so… how's the pain?"

To her surprise, Mickey simply reached out and took her hand in his. His blue eyes seemed brighter and deeper than she'd ever seen.

"Minnie, I… I haven't thanked ya yet. For savin' me."

"W-what? But, I…"

"No, ya did. I don't know how, but… when I was unconscious, I think I somehow… knew when ya came. I was tryin' hard t' fight it, but I was so tired… I didn't know f' I had anythin' left. Then I felt… I don't know, stronger. Like I could keep goin'. And I wanted to, for Mom, Oswald, my friends…"

He squeezed her hand, his voice quivering with emotion.

"And… so I could see ya again."

Minnie's eyes welled with tears, and she couldn't reply through the lump in her throat. She tightened her grip on Mickey's hand as he continued.

"I-I know I really haven't known ya that long, but… somehow, I feel like I've always known ya. And I…"

He gulped, suddenly looking nervous.

"I've never felt about anyone… the way I do about ya."

He took a deep breath, but before he could say another word Minnie, driven by some invisible force, leaned down close to him.

"Mickey…"

Her lips met his. In that instant, both were lost in a swirl of pure bliss. Minnie brought her other hand up to brush Mickey's cheek, as he lifted his to touch her hair.

Finally, they drew back. Minnie gazed into the ocean of his eyes, her own brimming with tears as she continued to caress his cheek.

"I love you too," she whispered.

…

Daisy shuffled through the crowd, tapping her feet with impatience. A good many of the castle staff had gathered in the room above where the prisoner was being questioned to listen, and were taking turns looking through the large half open vent.

As long as Daisy figured out what they would do to the guy, she was fine, but she wouldn't mind getting a look at him. Voices continued to echo from the room below as a guard barked another question and the prisoner began stammering.

"B-b-but I din' know who it was! Whut was I s'posed t'…"

Lillian's cold voice interrupted him.

"And you think if it was a civilian, that would change anything?"

"U-uh… I… well, I…"

Finally, the group watching through the vent moved to give others a turn. Daisy pushed forward with the next one and eagerly looked through the vent.

Her eyes went wide and she froze. For a while she could only stare, but snapped back to reality when a maid poked her, impatiently asking if she could have her turn now. Daisy quickly turned and pushed through the crowd, then raced out of the room.

…

Minnie wasn't sure how long she'd been gazing at Mickey before the door suddenly swung open.

"Hey, your friend's here…"

Oswald barely got that much out before Daisy shoved past. Thankfully, she was too worked up to notice either mouse's beet red face. Her words, however, quickly returned them to normal.

"I… I saw him!" she panted. "N-not just now, I mean before!"

Minnie stared at her, too stunned to speak, but Mickey slowly pushed himself further upright.

"Y-ya mean ya know him?"

"Not personally, thank you!" Daisy exclaimed. She hurried over to Minnie and grabbed her hands.

"I didn't recognize him in the tower because he hid his face. He was with Mortimer when he came to see you!"

Minnie felt her heart drop to her stomach. She could only stare at Daisy in shock, but then Mickey exhaled and slumped back against the pillows, his face blank with disbelief.

"I… don't believe…" He shook his head. "I-I always knew Mortimer was a lowdown guy, but… doin' something like that…"

Minnie looked at him, then a rage she had never felt before started to fill her.

"I knew he was a horrible man the minute I saw him. He… he almost…" She clenched her fists until they shook.

"We can't let him get away with this!"