Welcome to Ambrosia!

[Mickey Mouse]

“…um.”

Minnie’s jaw had sufficiently dropped thanks to Guu’s display in the middle of the street. For a second, she simply floundered in wonder at the little girl—er, for a moment there, not so little—and her astonishing power, before suddenly it hit her.

“Oh. My. Gosh,” she exclaimed, leaping out of the carriage and rushing over to Guu. “Now I remember you from the Abyss! You’re… you’re so strong!”

She reached out to touch the princess, placing a gloved hand on her arm before thinking better of it and jerking away. Sure, she was a Queen in her own world, but here, she had to remember that she was nothing more than a simple citizen… worse, even, she was a refugee here in Ambrosia. Certainly Princess Guu wouldn’t want everyone just putting their hands all over her. That would be unladylike. “I… I’m sorry, Princess,” Minnie bowed her head, trying her best to curb her own regality in favor of Guu’s, “I meant no offense—”

“No offense at all,” Guu shrugged, “I’m not your normal ruler, Minnie.” The pink-haired princess reached out and touched the lady mouse on the shoulder. “Like I said, the locals like a ruler that can cut loose.” The Queen couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“Thank you, Princess,” she replied meekly.

“Now, let’s get on with the tour!” Guu repeated, clapping her hands together and hurrying back into the carriage. Minnie followed quickly, sliding into a seat next to Molly, who still stared up at her in wonder.

“I… I’m glad you’re okay, Minnie,” the little girl said, reaching out and touching the lady mouse’s hand. Minnie’s first instinct was to recoil, but she thought better of it; sure, back in her homeland, she had been taught to avoid touching the common folk. In fact, she had been mostly completely devoid of interaction with anyone below her status until Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had come along to be her protectors. Her only friend had been Daisy, her loyal lady-in-waiting. But Mickey had always taught her that those ways were the wrong ways, no matter how much they had become ingrained into her being.

She sighed, thinking back on her husband. He had always been such a kind king, so good at reaching out to the commoners—she had always been in charge of relations between worlds, yes, but that was because she knew how to carry herself like a ruler. If she’d let Mickey do it, he would just end up having a bunch of fun and nothing would get done. But now… now, she had been freed of her queenly obligations, placed into the care of Guu and her guard.

For once in her life, she felt absolutely and utterly normal.

“Thank you, Molly,” she smiled, grasping the girl’s hand tightly. Minnie did not want to admit it, but she thought she might be starting to… like this place. Just a little bit.

“Oh, good,” Guu piped up, looking out the window, “Here’s the town square. Sylvia, go get everyone’s attention.” The teenager nodded and slipped out of the side of the carriage. Guu looked over at Minnie and Molly, who wondered what was going to happen next. After a beat of silence, the pink-haired princess hopped up onto the window of the carriage and stretched her arms up to the top. She pulled herself up onto the roof, disappearing from sight.

For a few seconds, Minnie and Molly sat in silence. Then, Guu’s head popped into the window.

“Aren’t you coming?” she asked, and the pair looked at each other before reaching out and grabbing on to one of the stretchy girl’s hands, which had just extended back into the carriage. Guu pulled the pair of girls up onto the roof of the carriage.

Down below, Sylvia had begun to gather a good chunk of the town around where they stood. The sheer amount of species that formed the crowd astounded Minnie; she supposed the Disney Realms, too, were comprised of many different types of creature, but the Queen had to admit she had never seen them all gathered in one place. Guu was certainly a special type of princess, to be able to draw all of these different peoples to her and have them live peacefully alongside one another. That type of thing, she had inferred, occurred infrequently in the Omniverse; just from her short time in Camelot, it seemed like most people had their preferences and if you did not fit within their idea of what a perfect creature was, then you would have a difficult time making your way.

Minnie and Molly flanked Guu, Minnie on her right and Molly on her left, as the princess prepared to speak to the crowd.

“Hey everyone,” Guu said, projecting her voice over the gathered group, “I just wanted to officially introduce you to our two newest guests, Molly, who you’ve met—” she gestured to the small girl “—and Queen Minnie Mouse of the… what’d you say it was?”

“Uh, the Disney Realms.”

“…Queen Minnie Mouse of the Disney Realms!” she gestured to the lady mouse, and then waited for the inevitable applause. It came tepidly, and then rose in enthusiasm. Guu nodded her approval before continuing. “Now, I’m sure you’ll all give Minnie a warm Ambrosia welcome. Allow me to do so first, though. Minnie,” she started, turning toward the Queen, “I know you were a queen in your home world, so it’s only natural you have some sort of royal standing here in Ambrosia. I can’t offer much, but I would like to ask you to be one of my advisors, as well as if you would be willing to accept the title of Lady of Ambrosia.”

Minnie’s cheeks flushed red. “…of course, Princess,” she nodded, trying to look as regal as she could manage in light of these new events.

Guu reached over and took Minnie’s hand in her own tiny one. “Ladies and gentlemen of Ambrosia, give a warm welcome to Lady Minnie Mouse!” The tiny girl lifted the mouse’s hand up into the air and the crowd erupted into cheers.

* * *

“So cool that you’re a Lady of Ambrosia now, Minnie!” Molly commented after the carriage had started on its way again.

“Yes,” Minnie nodded, reaching up and sliding her tiara off her head, “It’s very nice.”

The town of Ambrosia passed by the windows as they drove, Guu or Sylvia occasionally launching into a little explanation of the importance of a section of town. Minnie paid close attention, wanting to become familiar with her new home, but her thoughts drifted nonetheless. The more that happened in this city, the more the lady mouse felt that perhaps this stay would not be quite as temporary as she thought. Heck, she had just been given a title after being here for all of an hour and drawing a crazy murderous bounty hunter into town.

But Guu’s hospitality was unlike anything Minnie had ever witnessed. Truly, the girl already cared about her well-being, and the well-being of the rest of her citizens, to boot. Minnie had always been comfortable in her queenliness, but in just a short period of time she had already found so much to admire in the pink-haired princess. Certainly, balls and pretty dresses were important, but had she lost sight of the true joys of being a ruler in the midst of all the pomp?

Mickey had never lost sight of it. He had always cared about the people, even if it meant that sometimes Minnie felt like he might not care about her. Oh, shut up, she told herself. She knew that wasn’t true—of course he cared about her. He cared about her more than he cared about anything else. He was in love with her, and she certainly was head over heels in love with him. He just felt a responsibility to the world; like he needed to leave it in a better place than he had found it. That wasn’t to say that Minnie did not feel the same way… she merely had a different way of showing it. Less direct, perhaps.

But now… a second chance. The lady mouse had always had an inkling that perhaps getting pulled into the Omniverse had been something of a random happening, but recently, she had started to consider the idea that fate had brought them here. Something bigger than themselves wanted them to be here, to reunite, and to make a new life.

Maybe now, she could make up for all the missteps she’d made as queen. Maybe that was what Ambrosia could offer her. A home… and a shot at redemption.

The former queen stood up, losing her balance just a little as the carriage continued to rock along the Ambrosian roads. “Minnie!” Sylvia exclaimed, reaching out and grabbing the lady mouse by the arm, “you need to sit down while the carriage is moving.”

“Just a sec,” Minnie waved Sylvia off, leaning out the window. She looked at her tiara, letting the sun hit it just right so that it gleamed in the light of day. And then she looked out into the town, and she tossed the crown away. It landed off in a patch of dirt not too far away, but within seconds, the carriage had gone too far for her to see it anymore. Not even the sunlight’s gleam could distinguish it from the grass and the soil surrounding it. “There,” she said almost to herself, smiling.

“Oh, we’re here,” Guu noted as the carriage began to come to a stop.

“…where?” Sylvia asked. Guu ignored her, sliding past Minnie and exiting the carriage. The other three females followed her.

Standing before the princess and her pack of girls was a large, empty plot of grass, beautifully green just like everything else in this mystifying forest. Minnie reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out her matching bow, placing it atop her head as she observed the empty acre of land. “So…” she started, looking over at Guu, “what is it?”

“This, Lady Minnie,” the pink-haired princess replied, “is where you’ll be staying. If you’d like.”

Minnie’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“You can summon a house here, if you want,” Guu explained, “I think it only natural, now that you’re a Lady of Ambrosia, that you be given some land to do with what you will. Set yourself up something nice for you to settle down in… that is, if you’re planning on staying. I know you’re on the run, so I can understand if you feel the need to leave quickly. If that’s the case, you can continue sleeping in the room I’ve given you at the palace, but I thought I’d offer.”

Minnie contemplated for a second. It was so nice of Guu to just offer her land like that—like it was nothing. But what did that mean? Setting up a home here would mean admitting that her stay in the Omniverse was more than just temporary. It would mean admitting that just perhaps, her and Mickey’s hopes of finding a way out were just that: hopes.

Mickey wouldn’t like it. And even if she did settle down here, he probably would still go off and try to find out how to get them back home. But the lady mouse had decided.

“It’s beautiful, Guu,” she smiled, turning toward the princess, “I’ll absolutely take it.”

“Yay!” Molly exploded, rushing Minnie and attack-hugging her once again. “You should build the Clubhouse! It always looked so cool!” The Queen looked over at the little girl, wondering how the heck she even knew what Mickey Mouse’s Clubhouse was. But… it wasn’t a bad idea.

“Sounds like a plan,” she smiled, holding up her hands and preparing to start summoning her and her husband’s old second home. The Castle had always been where they spent the majority of the time, but the Clubhouse had been fun for a vacation or when they needed to otherwise get away. “Guu,” she glanced over at the princess, “Maybe you can help me out a bit? This is gonna take a lot.”

The pink-haired princess nodded. Sylvia and Molly watched as the two royal women began to summon Minnie Mouse’s new home. With their combined effort, hopefully it wouldn’t take too awful long. About a half hour later, the Clubhouse stood as the newest building on Ambrosia’s already peculiar looking skyline.

Minnie Mouse could only smile. Maybe this could be home.