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Pirates Versus Privates,Eleven

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Night had fallen on Mickey's ship, but Minnie couldn't sleep.  She had been offered a chance to sleep wherever she pleased, with Mickey's eyebrows wiggling in hopes of her choosing a certain captain's quarters, but Minnie had decided to spend the night wandering the ship. Oswald had been thrown back into the cells alongside Mortimer. Minnie was still upset about the 'floozy' comment Mortimer had made, and so she avoided the cells for the time being. She wasn't sure just what she wanted to do this night.

Of course she had objected to barging in on the wedding, and of course her efforts went ignored. While she did agree that the entire affair between Millicent and Edward was fishy, there had to be better ways to get to the bottom of this problem than crashing the event.  But what could Minnie do about it? She couldn't escape the ship, nor could she find a way to warn anyone ahead of time. As she wandered, her frustrations built up and she became angrier and angrier.

Eventually she was outside, walking quietly on the deck, when she spotted Goofy leaning against the mast, a half empty bottle of rum in one hand. He was forlornly looking at the starry sky, and didn't realize Minnie was nearby until she cleared her throat. He smiled at her but the expression was weak. He slid down until he was sitting so they were somewhat eye to eye. Minnie was the first one to speak. "So, you really intend to stop this wedding."

"Sure do." He nodded slowly, offering Minnie the bottle but she shook her head. "I know Millie woulda never agreed ta it. We made a promise ta marry each other and she's never broken a promise befer."

"You made that promise when you were children." Minnie crossed her arms. Without Millicent around, perhaps she could better cross-examine this dog. "You didn't even understand what you were doing. Maybe Millie doesn't want to marry the prince, but why should she be forced to marry you just because of a pinky promise?"

Goofy had just been about to take another drink when the question was launched. He paused, bottle almost to his lips, and his eyes became sadder. "… Ye don't like me much, do ye?"

"I'm just stating the facts." Minnie began to count the facts on her fingers. "She's a high ranking woman of the N.A.V.Y. , and you're a pirate with a huge bounty on his head. By continuing this relationship, you keep putting her in danger. Do you have any idea what would happen to her if this gets found out? Treason isn't just a slap on the wrist!"

Goofy hugged his knees, almost looking like a child being disciplined. "We know that. It's why we kept it a secret… tried ta, anyway. I don't want ta get Millie inta any kinda trouble."

"Then why do this?" Minnie leaned in, glaring as she was able to let some of her frustrations out. "Why keep pursuing this… this hopeless love when you know nothing good can come out of it? You're chasing someone you can't have! You and she are only putting yourselves at risk, and there isn't going to be a happy ending no matter what happens! Either you get caught and are put to death, or she gets caught with you and you die together!" She didn't realize how loud she was getting as she was losing sight of just exactly who and about what she was yelling about. "She loves someone who may as well be already dead! You're only going to hurt her! Why are you doing this?!" She grabbed Goofy by the arm, demanding an answer she wasn't even prepared for.  "Why?!"

Goofy didn't answer right away, instead allowing Minnie to take some deep breaths to calm down.  When he felt it was safe enough to reply, he swallowed. "… I'm gunna die anyway…" His voice was slow and careful. "… So I wanna live every day like it could be me last… And if I was set ta die tomorra… then I wanna die fer the one person I luv most." Minnie frowned, so Goofy added a little more. "I do luv her, lass. I luv Millie, just as much as Mickey luvs ye."

"Oh, don't bring him into this." Minnie grumbled, looking away at the mention of that bothersome captain's name. "We're talking about you and Millie. I'm trying to help my friend, but you just want to doom her from the start."

"Right and wrong, missy."

Goofy and Minnie's heads turned to who had just spoken, and Ortensia emerged from the shadows. Her black fur made for excellent stealth so Minnie couldn't be sure how long the cat had been hidden. Minnie was very sure that she still didn't care for Ortensia and so her frown only deepened. "How am I wrong?"

Ortensia was filing her nails again, wanting to keep them sharp for the next time Oswald pounced on her. "It was doomed from the start, but it wasn't his fault." She sat beside Goofy, and after some hesitance Minnie sat in front of them. "He was doomed since birth. So was Pete, so was Mickey, so was I. We were born pirates."

"Now that's just ridiculous." Minnie huffed as she smoothed down her uniform. "No one is born a pirate, it's a choice. I heard it from Clarabelle… she, Millicent, and Horace grew up in the same neighborhood as Goofy, Pete, and that Peggy woman and they didn't turn out to be pirates."

"That's cause of their folks, and their money." Ortensia stared at Goofy, mentally imploring him to fill in the gaps of the story.

He looked uncomfortable to do so but relented. "… Millie's pa was a member of the A.R.M.Y. befer he was killed by pirates. Her ma was given alotta money as compensation. Clarabelle and Horace's parents were farmers and they managed to rake in alotta money too. But me folks were poor as ye could get. So were Pete and Peggy's."

Minnie felt something twist in her stomach but refused to acknowledge it. "So what? Being poor automatically made you a pirate?"

Ortensia took over the storytelling. "Only the ones who want to live. Our folks couldn't afford to send us to no fancy schools, so we got no education. And then when it comes to legal jobs, it's all about what yer folks did and who they were. No one wants ye if ye ain't smart and if ye ain't from a good family. Then the years go, and yer an adult, and yer nothin' but a burden on yer folks now. So ye gotta steal food in order to live, gotta keep movin' so ye don't get caught, and what ye steal gets bigger and bigger…" She waved her hand in a circle. "… And what happens when yer the child of a pirate?" Goofy flinched but kept quiet. "No one will take ye in, no one will want ye, yer expected to take up the helm of yer old man.  We are doomed from the start, but not because we wanted to be." Her throat was dry from the explanation so she swiped Goofy's bottle and took a good long drink. "… Course, that's just one of the reasons ye ain't right fer me Mickey."

Minnie decided to launch onto that train of thought before the moral ways of life she had been taught would shatter in her mind. "I've been trying to tell you, I want nothing to do with Mickey except to arrest him!"

Ortensia pulled the bottle back. "And I want what's best for me brother. Whatever ye've been tryin' to do to get him off yer back, it ain't working. Ye need to get it through to him that bein' with ye is just not good fer him."

Minnie jabbed a thumb to Goofy. "And why aren't you telling him that about Millie?"

Ortensia handed the bottle back to him. "He's hopeless on his own." Goofy smiled despite the insult. "Ye and Mickey are rotten fer a whole different reason."

"And what's that reason?" Not that Minnie cared, because she certainly didn't. She didn't like Ortensia, and felt insulted that she wouldn't be considered good enough to be with Mickey. Impossibilities aside, it should have been the other way around. Mickey wasn't good enough for Minnie.

Ortensia shifted and held her knees. "Ye know who ye remind him of?"

"I knew it!" Minnie pointed an accusing finger to Ortensia. "He has had other girlfriends before me! Clarabelle and Daisy were right!"

"Naw, naw." Goofy drained the last of the bottle. "Mickey ain't ever had a girl befer. He ain't ever shown a fancy ta any girl. Yer still the first."

"Not fer lack of tryin'." Ortensia grumbled, wringing the file in her hands. That got confused looks from both Minnie and Goofy. "… Mickey's as dumb as a sack a bricks when it comes to knowin' when women want him. Even if a girl dressed up in the tightest dress she had and laid out on his bed like a harlot on the streets, he wouldn't bat an eye." That only got more confusion, and Ortensia rolled her eyes as she was forced to make it clearer for the two. "… And I'm speakin' from experience."

Goofy still was at a loss, but Minnie clued in, and she scooted backwards as she shrieked. "What?! Y-y-you tried to seduce Mickey?! But you're like siblings!"

"That's more on his end than mine." Ortensia ground her teeth as she focused all of her own frustrations back on Minnie. "I tried to make him mine fer years, but all I ever got was a pat on the head. No matter what I did, he never got an idea about how I felt. He just couldn't see me as anythin' more than his little sister. And there's only one reason yer so different!"

Minnie shrugged off a small sense of smug pride. Ortensia had every right to be jealous. Not that Minnie cared about Mickey at all, as she would mentally state ad infinity, but it was Ortensia who didn't deserve Mickey. "And what would that be? Who do I remind him of?"

Ortensia met Minnie's eyes. "His ma. You have her eyes."

Minnie snorted and was about to rant about Ortensia's desperate delusions, but then she saw Goofy whose eyes were wide. He almost looked a little afraid, as if they had suddenly landed on forbidden territory. This wasn't a joke or some petty bout of jealousy, so Minnie kept quiet and allowed Ortensia to go on.

Ortensia clicked her nails together. "He doesn't talk about her to anyone but who he really trusts. He'd give me a good yell if he found out I told ye. But ye gotta know. His ma…" She sighed, and leaned on the mast. "… She was beautiful and kind… but she was also a harlot." She paused to let the word sink in that it was not a throwaway description like before, but the actual literal meaning. "When she accidentally got pregnant, she decided to keep the kid… the one good thing she had in life, the one person who would actually need her. She gave up the business and tried to make a decent livin' fer 'im. I only met the woman once, and I can still remember her eyes." She closed her eyes as the memories became darker. "… One day, one of her… former payers… came back, wantin' another round. When she said no, he ended her, right in front of Mickey."

Minnie found she couldn't breathe. She looked to Goofy for confirmation, and he hung his head low in sadness. The twist in her stomach stretched throughout her entire body, taking over her lungs and her air. Ortensia slowly opened her eyes. "… That's why Mickey doesn't kill. That's why he doesn't want girls on his ship. And that's why he's doin' all of this fer ye. Ye remind him of her, and he doesn't want to lose her again."

Minnie did not want to speak but her mouth had ideas of its own. "… How… I mean… are you sure?" No matter how many gulps of air she took it wasn't enough to satisfy her lungs. The moral dilemmas and histories were proving to be too much for her to handle. She felt ill, and struggled to stand up. Her balance felt off, and she wouldn't look at either pirate. "I'm… I'm going to go sleep." Each step she took made her dizzier, but she still managed to make her way around the ship.

Goofy looked to Ortensia, turning the now empty bottle back and forth. "Cap'n ain't gunna like this."

Ortensia watched Minnie leave. "What he doesn't know won't hurt 'im." Goofy wondered if Ortensia was revealing such information to truly help Mickey, or to ward Minnie off from what Ortensia felt was rightfully hers. It bothered Goofy too much to think about, and he had enough worries. He gazed at the stars, and tried to imagine Millie in her wedding dress. It made him smile.

~*~

Nancy Tremaine felt very privileged in that she was allowed to interview the Prince's future bride the morning of the wedding.  However, in the hours she had spent in the palace's guest room with Millie, the most she had learned was –

"I don't wanna marry hiiiiim!" Millle bawled again, sobbing on her bed and kicking her feet. It was wrinkling her snow white wedding gown but it was obvious she could care less about that. She hugged a pillow close to her chest and rolled back and forth on the bed. "I don't wannaaaaaaaa!"

"Yeah, I got that." Nancy put down her paper and pen, rubbing her temples as the whining continued. "Miss Manchester, why in the world are you so upset? Prince Edward is handsome and kind…"

"But I don't love him!" Millie sat up, sniffling as she faced Nancy. "And he won't listen to me! He just says I have cold feet! All my feet want to do is run away from here!"

Nancy sat up in her chair, still determined to wring out Millie's real reasons for reluctance. "What makes you think you won't grow to love him? All you've done ever since the engagement the other day is say you 'don't want to', but you won't give anyone a real reason why."

"I think not loving him is a very good reason." Millie let her feet dangle off the bed, watching the floor with downcast eyes.

Nancy picked up her pen and pointed it right at Millie. "Miss Manchester… is there another man in your life?"

Millie jerked so roughly in response to the question that she fell off the bed. She quickly sat back up, face bright red, and she tugged down on her veil to hide her face. "A-a-another man? What? Me? Noooo. No no no! Th-th-that's such a silly… I don't have a boyfriend! I don't know where you're getting any idea that I'd have a b-b-boyfreind!"

Nancy started to believe this interview was going to go a lot quicker and smoother now that she knew Millicent was such a horrible liar. "I'll take that as a yes. From the sound of it, you're mad for this other guy, which is why you can't even fathom loving Edward."

Millie squeaked, and buried her face in the pillow. "M-m-m-mad? Noooooo! I'm not! There's no one! I can't! Ooooh!"

Nancy chewed on her pen as she thought out loud. "What an interesting twist… the only thing that could make this story better is if the other guy actually shows up." Millie quietly looked up from the pillow. "You know, like in the plays and books, the girl's just about to marry the wrong guy, and the priest says if anyone has any objections, and then the other guy bursts in!" She smacked her hand on her notebook pad to add to the zeal.

Millie's cheeks continued to turn vibrant colors as she imagined such a scenario. She honestly hadn't figured a way out of the wedding yet and had hoped a way would show itself to her. The romance of Nancy's imagination appealed to Millie, and she clung tighter to her pillow at the thought of it. Her dashing Goofy, her knight in shining armor, bursting into the palace to sweep her away! "Oh my…" Her voice took on a dreamy quality. "…Does that kind of thing really happen?"

Nancy shrugged. "The priest says it for a reason. So who is this other guy, and how come you haven't mentioned him before?"

Millie was lost in thoughts of her wonderful Goofy picking her up and carrying her off into the unset before she realized she was still being spoken to. She looked away, eyes screwed shut. "Th-th-there isn't anybody! Nobody's g-g-g-going to interrupt the wedding! No one is going to run inside and take me away to be his l-l-lover! Absolutely nobody and no one will s-s-save me!"

Nancy bit her lower lip, thinking she had been so close to getting the answer, but now it seemed like they were just going in circles. "I guess it'll still be pretty exciting even if it doesn't happen… but if it did, I think I might feel a little sorry for his highness." Nancy reasoned to herself that if she were in Millie's shoes, there wouldn't be an ounce of hesitation in her step. Some girls were just lucky.

~*~

The ballroom of the palace had been decorated and transformed into a makeshift chapel, with pews moved in and a staged altar built overnight. Edward and the royal family had spared no expense in turning their home into the perfect wedding location. Horace and Clarabelle were in the back of the room watching the guests fill up the seats, but overnight they gotten a third military member to join them. Daisy stood in between them, relaying the news she had gotten since Millie's engagement. "… So they searched the entire zoo, but they couldn't find Minnie, Mortimer, or Lord Oswald. No one knows where they are."

"I'm sure they're all right." Clarabelle rubbed her arms in an effort to make her body calm and convince herself of her own words. "Poor Minnie, though… seems like lately she just can't stay out of trouble, no matter what she does. If you ask me, it's all Captain Mickey's fault."

"No argument here." Daisy kept her eyes on the guests. "We've got to work harder and arrest him before he wrecks her life any further. At least Millie's set for life now and we don't have to worry about her any longer."

"Here comes the prince!" Horace stopped the conversation, and the three of them saluted at once. They were the only members of the military present, with the rest of the security being handled by the professionally trained guards of the palace. Everyone rose in attention as Edward entered, forgoing the traditional black and white tuxedo for one of vibrant purple and gold with a flowing cape that was probably longer than the bride's dress. His loyal servant Nathanial was right beside him, and the two took their time to wave at the crowd as they made their way forward. Clarabelle spotted Nancy scrambling to blend into the crowd, but aside from her and the music playing from the old organ in the corner, everything was quiet.

Once Edward was at the altar it was obvious why they chose this place to hold the wedding. The windows of the ballroom were stained glass masterpieces, and as the sun shone through them their colors danced around Edward, highlighting his handsome features. It was so beautiful that it was over the top and almost bordered on the ridiculous. The music paused, and then swelled again, as everyone turned once more to see the bride enter. Millicent was dressed in an elegant white, and her long dress was the stuff little girls dreamt off. Her face was the exact opposite, still drenched in tears and as miserable as a dog in the rain. She was literally dragging her heels as she walked with her head lowered as teardrops fell onto her multicolored bouquet.

Clarabelle and Daisy noted they didn't want to catch the bouquet from such a sad looking bride. Horace knew he was supposed to be quiet during the ceremony, but a sound was catching his ears, and he whispered to his female friends. "Do you hear something?"  Daisy and Clarabelle stopped their salute and put their hands to their ears to listen in. It was very faint, but there was definitely something rumbling somewhere. It was becoming louder as the seconds passed, and then a dark shadow blocked the sunlight over Edward. He didn't even have time to mention, "Oh, this doesn't look good." before the big disaster struck.

The windows were shattered by the front of a large flying ship, and Clarabelle, Daisy, and Millicent instantly recognized it as belonging to Mickey. The ship slowed down to a halt before any further damage to the palace could be done, so only the front part of the ship was wedged inside. In the shocked silence, a faint voice on the ship could be heard. "Gosh darn it, Pete!" The trio of girls instantly recognized the voice as belonging to Mickey as well. "That's the last time I let ye drive!"

People in the pews began to scream in fright, climbing over each other to get out of the ballroom. One body jumped from the ship, and landed in the middle of the aisle, though he stumbled as he tried to get his footing. It was Goofy who managed to catch his balance, and as he looked to see exactly which part of the wedding he stopped, he groaned in disappointment. "Aw, we came too early! I wanted ta do the 'objection' thing! That's the best part!"

Clarabelle, Daisy, and Horace were ready to swoop in and fight, but the continuous crowd of escapees blocked their path. They became terrified over what would happen to their dear friend Millie, but Millie had gone from sobs to squeals of delight. "Ooooh, no!" She exhaled deeply, eyes shining with hope. "How terrible! Pirates! This is just awful! Woe is me!" Each supposed outcry was joined with a bounce of her heels.

Other pirates began leaping from the ship, ready to tear the palace apart in their pilfering, but Goofy didn't pay them any mind. His eyes stayed on Millie, and he ran to her side, smiling brightly. "Gosh, yer purdy." He murmured, taking a good look at her. "I could just kidnap ye right here and now."

"You brute." Millie timidly held up the bouquet to hide some of her face as she returned his smile in full. "Don't you dare lay a hand on me." At the 'request', Goofy lifted Millie's veil over her head, gazing lovingly into her clear eyes. Anyone who saw them in this moment would have to be incredibly dense not to realize how they felt about each other.

Prince Edward saw them in that moment and assumed the worst. "That pirate is trying to steal my bride!" He thrust an arm towards his servant. "Nathanial, my sword!" The shorter man complied before running off to join the crowd of panicked people. Edward overdramatically pulled put his sword, and almost tripped on his own cape as he ran down the altar. "I'll save you, Millicent!"

The lovers were snapped out of their reunion, and Goofy managed to pull out his own blade and whip around just in time to block Edward's blow. As prince and pirate began their duel, Millicent fidgeted back and forth in place, trying to figure out how to help Goofy without revealing their real relationship. "Oooh, ooh… uh, careful! Watch out!" She managed to thwack Edward upside the head with her bouquet and cheerfully added "Oops, missed!" right after it.

Clarabelle had always thought her height made her unappealing as a woman, but now it was giving her advantage as she could see over the vanishing crowd. Things were only getting worse, and while the guards were putting up a worthy fight against the pirates, there were other calamites happening. "Daisy, go after Nancy!" She and Daisy began to take out their pistols, and Clarabelle used hers to point at Nancy who was using a rope hanging from the ship to climb aboard. "That fool is climbing on the ship! I'll go after the priest, it looks like they're kidnapping him!" The white and gray owl priest at the altar was being wrapped up in strange metal coils belonging to Mickey's infamous yo-yo. "Horace, you leave with the crowd!"

While Daisy ran to do her assignment, Horace grabbed Clarabelle by the arm angrily. "Wait a minute! I can't leave, you need all the help you can get!"

Clarabelle shook off his arm. "You're a mechanic, you're not a combat soldier! Now get out of here!"  Ignoring Horace calling her name, Clarabelle ran into the battle, fighting any pirate who got in her way. Horace's fists clenched, and he resorted to the only weapon he had on his belt, a large wrench that was almost as big as his arm. He'd show her, he wasn't useless! He was part of the A.R.M.Y., and it was their duty to protect people by fighting pirates. He too ran into the growing battle, slugging any pirate he saw across the head with his wrench.

The brute strategy worked for a few brief moments, until he tried to crack the wrench across the head of a large mechanical cat he didn't recognize until it was too late. Horace stepped back as Pete turned around and the childhood friends recognized each other instantly. Horace had managed to crack Pete's mechanical eye, but his real eye had more than enough contempt to make up for it. "Horace Horsecollar." His voice dripped with amusement as he towered over the shaking horse. "Still tryin' ta play the hero, even after all this time?"

Horace swallowed down his fear, branding his wench forward. "I'm not tryin' ta be a hero! But yer goin' out of yer way to be a real villain…" He jumped forward, determined to knock out the same man who he had once played kickball with as a child.

On the ship there were few people left, and Mickey was one of them, trying to pull up the priest by his yo-yo. He only stopped when Minnie kicked him in the rear and yelled shrilly in his ear. "What in the world do you think you're doing?"

Mickey glanced behind him and rubbed his sore backside. "Well, long as we got one of these fella's around, ye and I can finally tie the knot, all official like! Lemme just reel him up and then we can get to the honeymoon."

That earned him another kick to the rear with even louder yelling. "Mickey, you put that holy man down this instant!" Mickey grumbled, but complied, pressing a button on his yo-yo to retract the metal string. Minnie then tried to climb over the ship's railing. "Now I have to get down there and make sure Goofy and Millie don't expose themselves!"

"Aw, c'mon!"Mickey grabbed Minnie's arm gently, trying to tug her back on the ship. "Can't ye stay a little longer? We didn't even get ta sing one sea shanty tagether!"

"Oh, let her go." Ortensia leaned on the railings besides Mickey. "She's not doin' us any good here"

Minnie exchanged a quick look with Ortensia, muscles tightening. The information about Mickey's mother weighed heavily on her mind, and she slowly looked to oblivious Mickey. Minnie tried to wriggle her arm loose from Mickey's grasp. "… She's right. This is the last time I'll say it, Mickey. We're enemies. I'm not your wife, your girlfriend, your anything. The next time we meet, I'm going to arrest you." Her warning lost the strength she intended to say it with and instead came with a shaky uneasiness.

Mickey caught the changed tone, and when Minnie tried to climb down one of the ropes hanging off the ship, he touched her hand. "Hey, now… what's the matter? Ye don't sound right." He gently rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand.

Minnie avoided his eyes, not wanting him to look into the replacement of his mother. "Mickey, I have to go."

"At least lemme have a goodbye kiss, turtledove!" Mickey bent himself over the railings and even went tippy toe on his foot, trying to push his lips forward.

Ortensia hissed and bent over as well, flicking her miniature knives in one hand. "She said go, so let her go!" She swung her hand in an attempt to cut Minnie's rope off and send her dropping. Minnie yelped and swung out of the way, but a rope was still cut. It wasn't Minnie's, but someone was still on it. Ortensia paused, looking at who she sent plummeting. "… Uh-oh."

Down below, Goofy and Edward's swashbuckling battle had moved both bodies under the ship, neither of them about to give up. Edward's part of the battle was overly flashy as he insisted on throwing his cape back every time he moved his blade. "Villainous fiend!" He loudly declared as they moved on the broken glass. "I won't let such a filthy degenerate take away my one true love!"

"I ain't filthy!" Goofy retorted as he jabbed his weapon forward. "I took a bath this mornin'!" He wanted to smell nice and fresh when he saw Millie again.

Edward backed up several spaces, trying to think of a winning strategy while also keeping his good looks out of harm's way. Maybe if he could intimidate this scoundrel, the battle would be won.  He held out his arms, and spoke as loudly as he could to be heard among all the fights. "Good will always triumph over evil! It will be this day my one true love and I shall be united forever more!"

Nathanial, who was hiding under an overturned pew, crossed his fingers. "Don't sing, don't sing, don't…"

Edward started to sing. "I've been dreaming of- "

This time his song was cut off by another falling woman, as Nancy had been the one who suffered from Ortensia's knife fury. She landed in his arms and her force was enough to make him sit on the ground. After they got over their bout of dizziness, Edward and Nancy looked at each other. Edward's eyes widened, and he dropped his sword to gently touch Nancy's cheek. "Fair maiden… are you all right?"

Nancy blushed and grinned. "No one's ever called me fair before!"

"I can't imagine why not." Edward cradled her gently in his arms, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Why, you're the fairest maiden I've ever laid eyes upon. You're astonishing."

"Oh, your highness." Nancy giggled, suddenly feeling ten times younger.

"Please, call me Edward." He held her hand, and they grasped their fingers together firmly. Anyone who saw them in this moment would have to be incredibly dense not to realize how they felt about each other.

Millie had been watching the fight this entire time, and while this was a great relief, she couldn't help but feel insulted too. She looked at Goofy, who shrugged in response. Millie shook her head and slid off the ring on her finger, and dismissively threw it in the air, glad to be rid of it. Goofy reached out to catch it, and he dropped it inside of his jacket. He winked at Millie, who giggled in turn. It was this sight that caught Minnie's attention as she finally managed to climb down from the ship, and it brought life to her frustrations again. Why did they have to look so happy when their relationship was doomed to fail? Why were they trying so hard to get something they couldn't have? What if Goofy was using Millicent to replace someone too?

Her internal woes were set aside when she saw something tossed in the air and ready to land on her. Assuming it was either a weapon or someone's stolen property Minnie launched herself at the object and swiftly caught it in her hands. The object turned out to be Millie's bouquet, recklessly tossed aside. Minnie held her breath at the implication of what she caught, and for a split second, she could see herself in Millie's gown and Mickey in a smashing tuxedo. Shrieking at the image, she tossed the bouquet, and this time it was caught by Nancy, who happily giggled. Daisy had managed to fight off enough pirates to finally get to Nancy, and seeing that she was fine, she went to Minnie. "I heard you yell, are you okay?"

Minnie quickly brushed any remaining petals off of her uniform. "I'm not exactly in the mood to talk about it." Why couldn't her heart and her common sense agree on anything? She know knew the reason why Mickey went after her, and yet her mind still produced that image. What was wrong with her?

Clarabelle was still surrounded by no less than five pirates, though her temper was calm. This was a routine fight, and she only needed a few more minutes to handle everyone around her. As she kicked another pirate out of her way, however, Clarabelle saw to her horror that Pete and Horace were engaged in their own fight. As she watched them, the entire world around her slowed down as she helplessly saw Pete punch Horace hard in the chest, with such force that he turned backwards. Horace dropped his wrench, and Pete picked it up. Though Pete looked averse to do so, he swung the wrench, aiming for Horace's back.

"No, Pete, don't!" Clarabelle was already screaming, already running, already shoving everyone and everything out of her way in a desperate attempt to stop the attack before it was too late. "His back is still bad, his back is still - "

The blow hit Horace's back before Clarabelle's screams hit Pete's ears. Horace cried out in agony and collapsed onto the floor. Pete was startled because he didn't think he had hit so hard, and was startled further to see the back of Horace's uniform starting to become stained with blood, while the wrench was clean. Clarabelle knelt at Horace's side, trying to pick him up and carry him on her shoulders. "Stupid, I… I told you to go…"She cast a hate-filled glare at Pete who was so frightened by its intensity that he dropped the wrench.

Millie, Minnie, and Daisy spotted Clarabelle and Horace's dilemma and abandoned their own worries at the time to head to their friends aide.  Goofy saw his wounded former friend as well, and forced himself to head back to the ship, knowing he'd be of no help now. Millie helped to pick Horace up, looking him over back and forth. "Why was he fighting?" Millie whimpered. "He knew it was bad for his back!"

Minnie's face paled as she saw the blood now staining Horace's uniform. "What happened to him?" Horace wasn't cut judging by the uniform, so why was he bleeding? "What's wrong with his back?"

"We'll explain later!" Clarabelle began trying to move with Millie's help. "We have to get Horace to a doctor! Let the guards handle the pirates!" She met no argument as the four girls tried to help Horace leave the area as soon as possible. Pete watched them go, and then solemnly looked down at the wrench on the floor.

Mickey put one foot on his ship's railing as he looked over the damaged ballroom. He had set a time limit for this invasion to go down, and the seconds were dwindling down. Pirates were already running to return to the ship. However, none of this was on Mickey's mind. What bothered him was Minnie's saddened voice and her avoidance of his eyes. It was so different from the radical anger she usually gave him. He was so invested in the thoughts of his sweetheart that he never noticed Ortensia smiling at him.

Minnie thought she was forgetting something, but decided it couldn't be too important.

~*~

Mortimer clicked his tongue, still sitting in the cells. "So." He once again tried to get his roommate's attention. "When do you think they'll let us out of here?"

Oswald ignored him once again. He felt his time was better used in using his sword cane to write Ortensia's name in the walls over and over.

~*~

That night, Scrooge McDuck was yawning as he discussed matters with Magica De Spell, and she stopped talking on her screen when she saw and heard it. She tapped her screen. "Am I boring you, Scroogie darling?"

"How many times have I asked you to stop calling me that?" Scrooge adjusted his spectacles. "And you're the one who insisted on having this meeting so late. More than half of my servants are asleep, and so far all we've done is go over things I already knew." He tapped his fingers on his desk to make his irritation clear. "I haven't heard back from Darkwing Duck, so I have to assume everything was cleared up about his misconceptions."

Magica smirked. "If I'm keeping you from your beauty sleep, we can always cut this short and try again another time. I suppose at your age you need all the sleep you can get. Sweet dreams, Scroogie." She shut off her screen, leaving Scrooge alone.

Scrooge grumbled at the persistent nickname. If Magica only used it to annoy him, it was working. At least he had gotten her off of his back for now. Though she was a good business partner she could be very strange. He stood up from his desk and began to arrange the things on his desk when he heard the door open. He raised an eyebrow, not expecting any guests. "What are you doing here?" he looked down to resume his cleaning. "Look, can we discuss your terms another time? I just finished a meeting, and it's incredibly late. Why did Ducksworth even let you in?"

He waited for answer that wouldn't come as something hard and heavy smashed into the back of his head. He fell onto the floor, and was quietly picked up. The desk was left in disarray as he was taken out of his mansion.

End Of Chapter Eleven.
I Do Versus Do Not.

As the ship of fools sails to the wedding, Ortensia tells Minnie why she feels the relationship won't work out, as more of Mickey's past is explained. Can Millicent get through to prince Edward and explain why she can't marry him, or will she and Goofy be separated forever? And just when it seems like the ducks of this story have been abandoned, Scrooge McDuck is thrust into a world of trouble too!

As always, super huge mega thanks to :icontell-me-lies: for her mad editing skills. How she hasn't gone insane from my errors is beyond me.
© 2011 - 2024 hypermegatailsfan
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StargazerL's avatar
Poor Mickey! :iconcryforeverplz:
It's ok Minnie, I forgot that Mortimer and Oswald were still on the ship too.