All of the zoo's animals, at least that could be there, were gathered inside the lemur habitat the next morning. Most were slightly agitated, wondering what pointless declaration Julien had this time. Maurice, Mort and Tiana were standing in front of all the animals waiting for Julien to be ready. After a few more minutes Maurice picked up a trumpet from beside him and blew it to command everyone's attention.
"His royal highness, King Julien!" Maurice introduced Julien who walked to the front and smiled at all his subjects.
"I have gathered you all here today to make a very important announcement. From this day forth, I proclaim that Tiana shall be my queen and rule alongside me." He held out his hand and Tiana took it. There was a silence before a quiet applause came from the animals. It wouldn't affect them at all, no one listen to Julien as it was, but it still seemed like a nice gesture. Mort handed Julien a crown, one almost identical to his except it had a single pink leaf in the centre, and he placed it on top of her head.
The animals dispersed soon afterwards, and left the lemurs on their own. Tiana bounced up and down on the spot before hugging Julien tightly and spinning him round a few times, then setting him back on the floor. She punched the air triumphantly and smiled broadly.
"If only all the people who said I'd amount to nothing could see me now. In your face, I'm queen now!" Tiana shouted to the sky and spun round herself, stopping when she was dizzy and stumbled forwards, laughing giddily.
"Uh, who are you talking to?" Julien asked and she let herself fall backwards onto the floor and stared up at the sky.
"I'm just so happy right now. I think I need to take a walk to calm down, as soon as the world stops spinning around." She smiled and closed her eyes for a couple of minutes and then opened them again and stood back up and left the lemur habitat, waving to the other three as she did.
"Hey Marlene, how's the water?" Tiana was sat on the fence of Marlene's habitat. Marlene waved to her from the small pool of water and Tiana waved back, falling off the fence and into the water. "That may or may not have been an accident." She walked to the shallow end and sat down so only her feet were in the water.
"So, how can I help?" Marlene swam next to her and asked.
"Just taking a walk and I thought I'd drop by. Didn't plan to do it literally." Tiana adjusted her crown so it was straight. The penguins walked past and she jumped up and over the fence to right in front of them. "Anything need testing, Kowalski?"
"Yes actually. How about tomorrow if you're not busy?" Kowalski said.
"Brilliant. What are you guys up to today? Need any indestructibility?" Tiana asked hopefully.
"Not today, sorry. Just going out on a food run." Skipper told her and carried on walking, followed by the other three. Tiana watched them walk away. Skipper was starting to warm up to her, at least a little bit she hoped. She smiled softly and relaxed her shoulders, the hardest part of being new had passed but as she became a permanent part of it, things would either get easier or harder, and either way was fine for her.
Two months later and she'd gotten used to her lifestyle. It was starting to become predictable but she'd had enough excitement in her life. It still felt odd, her new, calmer life but there were still things left to keep on her toes. She was especially thinking about this as she and Julien enjoyed a small picnic in the park.
"I wish I could see what everyone I've ever met would think of me now. I've been so many different people in my life that I don't know who the real me is, but I don't really care anymore. And that's a good thing, I think." Tiana said absentmindedly as she ate grapes individually.
"Of course it's a good thing. Probably." Julien replied. It was evening and the sun was beginning to set and street lights were beginning to turn on. Tiana lay down on the ground, resting her head on her hands and looking to the side as Julien did the same.
"They always thought they knew what I'd be when I grew up, or what I wanted to be. I just let them think what they wanted of me. It didn't matter. But I'd love to rub it in their faces that I did something they thought was impossible for me." She grinned at her achievement.
"You talk to yourself a lot." Julien commented.
"Yeah, I know I do. They always said they knew what I wanted to be, but to be honest I didn't even know. I do now though. And I think, or at least hope, that I am it." Her smile softened and she closed her eyes.
"And what is that?" He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at her. She opened her eyes and locked gaze with him.
"Sensational."
Well. There we go, the end. This chapter was shorter than I thought it would be, but I wanted to avoid rambling. And I just had to get that title drop in at the end. Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing, it's been great and I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it. I'll see you in the pseudo-sequel.