Disney Storybits 36

PLEASE READ THE DESCRIPTION BEFORE READING THIS STORYBIT!

Even from the jail cells, the two prisoners could hear the loud cheering from rooms up above. Yelling, singing, cups smashed together, a grand party was being held for their newest arrivals. As Minnie paced back and forth in the cell, she would occasionally stop in one place, trying to listen for any vital information. At least, that's what she was telling herself. The truth, which she would flatly deny if being told so, was that she was trying to learn the connection between Mickey and Ortensia. The way they had just been so happy to see one another, and even hugged… it had created a knot in her stomach that only grew tighter as time went on.

Realizing she wasn't going to be hearing above the drunken cries and merry songs, she gave up her walk for now, and leaned against the cold wall, looking at her fellow prisoner. Lord Oswald had settled for sitting since they arrived, grumbling but otherwise unusually quiet. The bruise on his cheek from Ortensia's slap was still clear as day, and Minnie wondered for a moment if she spotted a hint of claws in that mark as well.

Only moments ago, both of them had been successfully captured, and Oswald, trying to be a hero, grabbed the nearest pirate and threatened to beat them to a bloody pulp if he wasn't released. Alas, he had 'grabbed' what he assumed to be a male's chest area, and it turned out that the heavily cloaked and disguised pirate was in fact a woman, and he had chosen the wrong area to get handsy on. After the shriek and slapped that followed, the pirate had shedded the heavy robes, revealing to be a very pretty young feline, and Mickey instantly called her name, recognition obvious. Since then, the other two had been jailed as the others tried to figure out just what was going on.

As Minnie played the scene out again in her head – Mickey calling the girl's name, Mickey hugging the girl, Mickey just looking so happy to see her – there was the sound of footsteps, and both prisoners looked up the see the first mate, Goofy, leaning over them, cheerful as always. Keys in hand, he unlocked the cell door, and then stepped backward. "Time to join the party, folks! Just follow me!" As if they were late guests instead of prisoners! He pocketed the keys, and began to walk. Minnie and Oswald exchanged looks, but got to their feet, the chains on their ankles and wrists clinking and clanking as they made their way out.

When they arrived to the upper room, the party was still in process, and the room reeked of rum and smoke. The first thing that Minnie spotted was the pair directly in the middle of the room, Mickey finishing off the verse to a bawdy song, one hand with a glass filled with spilling alcohol, his other arm around Ortensia's waist. The knot tightened to an excruciatingly hard degree, nearly ready to snap. As her hands clenched and unclenched, the captain spotted the arrivals, and let go of the cat to walk over, though Ortensia was at his heels to follow. "There they are! How is me girl doing?"

"I could be better." Minnie's tone was a supposed air of indifference, raising her nose in the air as she extended her arms forward, showing that she was still cuffed.

Mickey clicked his tongue, and then snapped his fingers towards Goofy. The dog understood the commands, taking the keys out once more to unlock all of the restraints on the mouse and the rabbit. Minnie rubbed her wrists, while Oswald was, still, oddly silent. Ever since she had first met him, she had known the rabbit to be a loud-mouth, complaining a lot about this and that, including his sheer, utter hatred for Mickey. Though Minnie was grateful for the silence, as it also meant he'd stop fake-flirting with her just to piss off Mickey. Oswald merely stared hard at Ortensia, expression unreadable. She didn't appear to notice.

Mickey took a quick drink before speaking again. "That's better… now, then, time to get us all acquainted like. Ortensia, this is my wife, Minnie - "

"I am not your wife." Minnie cut in, as she always did, even though it always proved to do little good.

"And Minnie," he continued, as if he hadn't heard his girl, gesturing back towards the cat. "This is my little sister, Ortensia."

"Little sister?!" Minnie and Oswald gaped at the same time, startled by this sudden revelation. Oswald broke his unannounced vow of silence by going even further. "You can't be related! She's a cat, and you're a mouse!"

"Rich boy's got a working pair of eyes, good fer 'im." Ortensia rolled her eyes, taking out a small file and attending to her nails. "We may not be siblings by blood, but we're just as good. We be family by soul."

Mickey looped an arm around Minnie's shoulders, and she allowed it for now. "See, when I was but a wee little lad, I kind of took Ortensia here under me wing. I taught her everything I knew, made sure to keep her out of trouble… cute as a button, she was."

"Was?" Ortensia smirked at her 'sibling', but let him continue.

"I was her teacher, her friend; we ruled that little town we lived in. But the skies and the seas were callin', and I knew I couldn't stay there forever."  He emptied his glass, and then chucked it behind him. "So when I got enough gold, I was out and ready to make the world me own. But I promised me little sister I'd write to her all the time, and that I did do."

"And that's just why I'm here." Ortensia finished, then fished out a small parch of paper from a small satchel hanging off her shoulder. "That last letter ye sent me had me all worried. What's all this about gettin' hitched to some N.A.V.Y. girl?"

Whatever relief Minnie felt at knowing the two were siblings and nothing else, it was diminished by that paper, and she made a grab for it, glaring at the amorous pirate at her side. "What have you been telling people about me?!"

He held up a flat palm in response. "Nothin' but the honest truth, luv."

Ortensia snatched the paper right back, and read it out loud. "Dear Ortensia, I hope you've been doing well. Ye ought to know that soon you'll be gettin' a sister-in-law, for yer big brother has finally found the one. A lil' while ago, I was snatched up by the N.A.V.Y., and set to be hung, but while I was waitin' for the angel o' death, what I got was a different sort of angel."

"Oh, brother." Oswald mumbled under his breath, and Minnie's cheeks were starting to redden.

"Love at first sight exists, for the moment we saw each other, we knew we had to have one another-"

"That's a lie and you know it!" Minnie finally shrugged off Mickey's arm, hands on her hips. "We fought the first time we met! We were trying to shoot each other!"

Ortensia went on, undeterred. "Each day that passed in waitin', we fell harder and harder. When the day came for me to meet Davy Jones, me sweet little Mins knew she couldn't bare to have me gone, and helped me escape - "

"You tricked me into unlocking the cage!" Minnie was now shrieking, fists tightly wound. "You pretended to be choking, that's why I opened the door!"

"And since that day, we have drawn to each other, with the spirited miss always chasing after me for more hugs and kisses-"

"I've been trying to arrest you!"

"So I expect the wedding by next year, when she quits the N.A.V.Y. and becomes my newest crew member. I want a good gift and toast at the reception. Luv, Mick." Finished, Ortensia rolled the paper back up, looking at her brother, whose shirt was being clenched by a very angry private.

"Nothing but the honest truth?" Minnie hissed, nearly toppling Mickey over as she leaned forward.

He waved his hand a little, unafraid of her wrath. "May have exaggerated a smidgen."

Returning the paper to her satchel, Ortensia raised an eyebrow as she spoke skeptically. "I came here to see just what kind of girl was trying to go after me brother, and make sure she's the right one fer him. Me brother only deserves the best kind, ye know."

"I have absolutely no interest in marrying your brother." Minnie let Mickey go, crossing her arms. "He failed to mention I'm already engaged!"

Ortensia looked at Mickey for confirmation, and the pirate shrugged one shoulder. "Minor detail."

"Can't help but be thinkin' the lass wants nothing to do with you, Mick." Ortensia jabbed a thumb towards the other female. "Which is just as well… from what I've seen, she aint good enough fer ye anyway."

Minnie had been nodding along to Ortensia, until that last sentence came out. Her head quickly jerked toward the cat, pride wounded. "Excuse me?"

The feline met her eyes, starting off with a haughty snort before explaining. "I said, yer not good enough fer my brother. Too small, too scrawny, too weak… I saw ye out there, ye couldn't even put up a good enough fight against some weak little men."

"I was doing my job." Minnie glowered, her rage now directed at a new target, and gestured with one hand towards Oswald. "It was my duty to protect Lord Oswald, and I've been doing a fine job of that!"

"Real fine!" Ortensia laughed with a hard shake of her head. "Yer our prisoners, in case that slipped yer mind! Yer just a lil girl in her mama's big girl outfit, aint cha?"

"I am a real N.A.V.Y. woman!" With that, Minnie grabbed Oswald's arm, and forced him forward. "Tell her, Lord Oswald! I've been doing a great job protecting you, haven't I?"

Oswald grumbled again, and then smoothed down his clothes. "I have nothing to say to you," he addressed Minnie, and then to Mickey "Nor you. But…" Now his gaze was back upon Ortensia, lips nearly twitching, something impatient and emotional was brewing. Perhaps being beaten by a female pirate had done a bigger damage to his ego than Minnie first thought. "You, I do have something to say!"

Ortensia's lips curled, looking deeply amused. Minnie privately noted – while swatting Mickey's hand off of her tail – that the cat and the rabbit were rather alike. Both were incredibly snooty and thought their opinions were better than those around them. Even the way they were glaring at each other seemed to carry a similarity. "And what's that?" Ortensia asked, readying herself for another good laugh.

Oswald looked her up and down, then nodded to himself… and then clasped one of Ortensia's hands in both of his own, and said in a strange serious and happy mixture tone, "Marry me."

There was an explosion of silence, as suddenly every single crew member stopped what they were doing to whip around and look at the pair. Even Mickey had stopped trying to get his arms around his beloved, choosing to look upon his sister and the noble.  Such an impossible statement it was, that Minnie would have been sure she merely imagined it, had not the shocked look of Ortensia confirmed it was the truth. The quiet continued on, as if expecting Oswald to explain the prank he had just pulled, until the cat, face now pale as a washed skeleton, managed to croak a word out. "What?"

"Marry me." He said again, somehow not seeing what was so surprising about this demand. In fact, he was leaning in towards her as she leaned back, eyes shining, and a gigantic smile plastered on his face. "I've loved you from the first moment I met you! You're everything I ever wanted from a woman! Even your name is perfect! Oh, Ortensiaaaaaa~!"As he leaned in for a kiss with the extended vowel, Ortensia lashed out, slapping his other cheek.

She wildly looked at her brother and his woman, flustered. "What is this loony going on about?!"

"I'm going on about marriage, darling!" The slap hadn't stopped him any, though it had brought him to his knees. To make up for this, he was now hugging her waist, oblivious to how utterly ridiculous he was looking. "You and me, together forever! I'd be the happiest man alive!"

The stupor was beginning to wear off on the observers, as made evident when Mickey, growling, came up to the rabbit and began kicking him to the back. "Hey! Get yer paws off me sister! Who says I'd even let ye marry her!"

Oswald refused to let go, despite the kicks, and despite Ortensia's shoving. "I don't need your permission, rat!"

"What about my permission?!" Ortensia yowled, taking off her satchel, ready to use it as a weapon.

Minnie calmly watched the situation unfold, feeling an uncanny familiarity toward it. "Oswald, are you just doing this to annoy Mickey?" After all, that was the reason behind Oswald pretending to be interested in Minnie, and also one of his sole purposes in life.

"He's got nothing to do with it." The rabbit still managed to ignore Mickey yanking on his leg, as the aristocrat took one of Ortensia's arms, giving it kisses up and down. "This is all about me and my sweetheart!"

"I NEVER SAID I WAS YER SWEETHEART!"

"GET OFF ME SISTER!"

Minnie then came to a realization as she watched the tug and forth continue. "Oh, no." She rubbed her temples as she reluctantly stated what she thought out loud. "This is me and Mickey all over again!"

Hearing his name, and dodging a backwards kick from the rabbit, Mickey wagged a finger towards the private. "I dunno what ye been drinkin', luv, but this is totally different! Ours is the real deal, the destined from the stars sort of deal! This bunny boy is a just a bouncy bugger!"

"Ours is more real than anything you've got!" Oswald retorted, holding onto his unwilling bride for dear life. "We're meant to be together! I've known it since our eyes locked!"

"Ye mean when I was cuttin' up yer face!" Ortensia snarled, baring her cat claws at her unwanted suitor. "Those ears will be comin' right off if ye don't knock it off!"

"Oh, Ortensia, you're so fierce!"The rabbit sighed in a heavenly matter, happily ressing his face into her side.

"LEGGO, LEGGO, LEGGO!"

"GET! OFF! ME! SISTER!"

Minnie felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned to see Goofy sympathetically offering a bottle of rum. She glanced back to the bickering strangeness, and then decided to take the bottle. She had a feeling she was going to need it.