I just wasn't strong enough to break a mirror. Not even a little one. Now everyone would assume that even a little Capuchin would be capable of smashing a little glass, especially one as intelligent as I.

It doesn't work that way.

Though I was not ready to dismiss the idea that maybe having something hard in my hand would do the trick.

I just wanted the mirror gone. I hated it. I hated its dainty make and trimmed frame with all the stupid flowers. I hated Queen Flore for giving it to me, and it was difficult for me to hate Queen Flore. And I hated how my tiny paws did nothing against it except make it all messy, gross, and streaked.

I sighed a rather forced sigh and turned from the mirror. Logically, if it were making me that upset, I should just leave it alone and make the ladylike choice of distracting myself with something else. Like sewing. Or climbing a tree. But such choices felt like giving in, and I hated giving into anyone, especially inanimate objects.

I was sixteen years old. I should enjoy looking at myself in a mirror. I was, after all, a very pretty little monkey. Everyone said so.

I wanted to claw the eyes out of every idiot who said such a thing. And I wanted to claw out Bastien's eyes for never saying it.

I could barely remember the last time I had spoken to him.

Good. Think of Bastien. Turn all frustration to Bastien. He was an idiot prince boy who clearly did not have time for his best friend. The moron was too busy chasing skirts.

I scampered from my little chamber into Queen Flore's quarters. It was the mid-morning of a perfect spring day. I should be outside attacking that tree-climbing notion, but instead I was too busy feeling sorry for myself. Who cared about perfect springy sunshine days when I was miserable? I sure didn't. The sunlight that poured through Queen Flore's windows to set the room practically on fire did absolutely nothing to improve my mood.

She was in court. Of course she was in court. She as Queen, she had to act like it. A perfect queen she was, and I had no idea what Bastien was going to do when he was king. Be an idiot? Spend his life looking for the perfect queen all over again?

Maybe I should just be queen. Would that be such a bad idea? I had heard of kingdoms among animals, monkeys included. Humans weren't alone in that concept, humans had just happened to have perfected the kingdom concept. I had read all the books of human history I could get my paws on and sadly I had no respect for whatever my own species had to offer.

I really liked humans.

The halls of the palace were empty. Every available servant and courtier was probably outside enjoying the day. Curse them. No, take back the curses. I didn't care. In fact, it was better to be alone.

There was the general's daughter. A beautiful girl. A redhead with freckles. Adorable on every level. And witty. Very witty. I had observed them the day before. Out in the garden.

Bastien had failed to ask my opinion on her. I didn't know whether I would have given him good or bad.

I slunk into the library, as empty as any other room, and pulled out a book on the Roman Empire. I hated the Romans. I would just have to skip to the part where the Empire fell.

It was difficult for me to pull out books. Books were heavy, and I was used to having other people get them for me. Recent years had changed that, and I had managed to get to the point of holding my own when it came to hunting down books. Good ol' books.

Only I couldn't concentrate. The words and phrases ran together in repetation. I could not focus. I couldn't get the image of Bastien and the general's daughter out of my head.

How stupid could I be? Couldn't I force this away? Bastien was the biggest idiot in the kingdom, quite possibly the world. And he was a human.

Love was the worst thing ever. Every silly sonnet out there deserved to be burned.

I was just about to write my own gruesome version of Roman events when a servant finally appeared. She looked aggravated and amused at the same time.

"Babiole, the Queen summons you."

Queen Flore hadn't summoned me in days. I used every ounce of my little body to shut the book. "In court?"

The servant girl nodded. I couldn't remember her name. Bastien probably would. Then a small but excited smile swept over her face. "It's vital you come soon."

It was good to be wanted, even if it were only by Queen Flore.

As I approached the throne room the reason for the low population in the hall was not the irritatingly beautiful day. Everyone possible was in court even if they really didn't belong there.

And I quickly found out I had missed the beginning of the major excitement of the day.

I should have suspected by the noise I heard. Not just humans. Animals. A total menagerie, and not a nice one. Noise, noise, noise. What traveling ambassador had decided to impress Queen Flore with animals? Did they not know she had me? The incredible talking monkey girl?

The room was filled with animals. The ones that first caught my eye were the monkeys. There were no Capuchins like me. All were Old World. I was glad I had researched monkeys over the years. I didn't like them. I knew that right away. They were weird and low and so… uncivilized. For the first time I was truly grateful of all that Queen Flore had ever done for me. In accompaniment of the monkeys were birds. Brightly colored parrots and storks and incredible beauties I didn't recognize. And a panther. No, make that four panthers. Why were panthers in court?

I hung in the doorway, trying my best to keep my mouth from dropping open.

"Babiole!" Queen Flore exclaimed as she quickly walked toward me.

Oh dear. She was smiling. Not the normal smile she had when she wanted to show me off. Another kind of smile. One I had never seen before. It lit up her face, which held a mood that was at once comforting and terrifying.

Something was going on.

She bent down, and I scrambled up onto her shoulder. "What's going on? This place is a zoo."

"Animal-kind," she replied gently, almost in a whisper.

"Who brought them?"

"Sent them is more the correct term." She beamed at the animals around her. They seemed to regard her with all the respect due to a queen. They couldn't be that bad.

Shouldn't I be feeling more respect and affinity toward them? Yet all I could do was stare. I wanted them gone.

"They're actually here in representation of a king."

What sort of king sent animals to represent him? I frowned. "So… why I am here?" I didn't mean to be rude, but I was terribly uncomfortable.

Queen Flore's smile was so big it could have ripped right off of her face. She looked at me with more love than I had ever seen from her before. "You're the reason these animals are here."

I stared at them. They stared at me. Then, they actually bowed.

"What's going on?" I whispered.

"The king they represent," Queen Flore said, "Is the King of Monkeys."

I closed my eyes.

"He has heard of you. He has asked me for your hand in marriage, and I think this is a wonderful opportunity for you."