Now closing the eyes was a technique that according to theory should have improved my hearing, but clearly I had not heard correctly what the Queen had just said. It was gibberish. There was something about a king of monkeys and she thinking I should marry him. And there were animals. The entire room was filled with noisy and garish animals. I open my eyes and stared at her. She was thrilled. Ecstatic with this situation.

I took a deep breath that pushed out every one of my ribs and demanded "What?"

"You've been offered an opportunity of marriage, my dear," Queen Flore replied as she smoothed the fur atop my head. "With a king!"

No. Kings did not rule over animals. At least, they shouldn't. Animals had no clue what they were doing government-wise. It was unrealistic. Kings did not send a bunch of animals to court ladies. I felt sick. My paws dug into Queen Flore's shoulder. "When did they get here?"

"About an hour ago." She was utterly jubilant. "Have you ever heard of such a thing? Look at this! The entire kingdom was abuzz with it, I can't believe you didn't hear a thing. Where were you?"

I wasn't sure if I dared voice the activity of trying to break a mirror. Seven years bad luck and all of that. Though with this site I must have broken something. I cleared my throat. "May I speak with you?"

The inane excitement on her face morphed into something more recognizable as tact, and she nodded. "Of course. How silly of me. We'll speak outside."

"That won't… scare them or concern them?" I shifted my gaze to the animals. Animals. Was I really one of them? My heart pounded hard at the thought. Though what else was I? Of course I was an animal. Who spoke perfect human.

"Good point." Queen Flore folded her hands at her chest, ever so the incredible queen she had always been. "Attention! Please, relax here, but I must beg your forgiveness as I discuss the proposal with Babiole."

Every pair of monkey eyes turned to me, and the monkeys smiled. It unnerved me. Monkeys. Just like me.

"Do they have any idea what you just said?" I whispered. I had no idea how it worked with my own kind.

She shrugged. "I'm relying on the parrots to do the translating. They're the ones that translated for the monkeys, at any rate." She beamed her brightest smile and swept into a low curtsey as the parrots chattered something to the monkeys.

Monkey speech. Was I supposed to know this?

We were just leaving the noisy courtroom into the much more placid hall when it hit me that I knew next to nothing about monkeys. Which made no sense. I was, after all, a monkey. I had paws and a tail and a pretty little furry face. I was a monkey. That's how it was. And had I not read everything I could get my paws upon about monkeys? Did I not know their biology and ecology?

Mere trivia. I had never lived among them. Neither had the scholarly idiots who had written those books. They had merely observed them for a little while. None of them knew the language, the monkey culture, the apparent monkey kingdom, and therefore neither did I.

The King of Monkeys wanted to marry me. Who was the King of Monkeys? I had no idea!

"I'm sorry to spring that all upon you, Babiole," Queen Flore told me as soon as the door was shut. "There went all my manners. Me not even calling you in time. Presenting you with one of the most important moments of your life in such a casual fashion. Someone should have slapped me. I was insensitive."

"You're telling me," I muttered. "I feel sick!"

"That's to be expected. I had multiple proposals before accepting Bastien's father. It really affects you."

I had one proposal. My very first. I nodded. "Oh. So this is normal?"

"Please don't be sick on the palace floor," she said with a laugh.

"I'm just not very sure what's going on here." I felt like scampering down and running around the floor, but I couldn't move from the Queen's shoulder.

Queen Flore's eyes turned to the door as if she were looking through it. "His name is King Magot."

"What kind of name is that?"

"I don't know, it's what the parrots repeated. I don't trust parrots. Maybe something was lost in translation name-wise."

I wrapped my tail around me and shuddered. "If you don't trust the parrots how do you know some monkey named King Magot wants to marry me?"

"Because no parrot would make up that phrase. Besides, they brought you gifts."

Against my sanity my interest was piqued. "Really? What kind of gifts?"

"The usual. That is, when courting a young lady of a noble station. With a monkey twist. Lots of fruit. Jewelry. Pretty rocks. Flowers. Trinkets like that. They're really quite lovely. You should be flattered."

"I am flattered," I said slowly. "I just… he wants to marry me?"

She nodded, her eyes once again sparkling. "Would you marry him?"

"I…" How was I supposed to respond? I was in love with Bastien, which was a problem considering the difference between our species, so that was something that was never going to happen. But this? This was completely out of the blue. "I… is he here?"

"No. From what I gleaned, he was married to some other monkey who was killed several years ago. He sent his ambassadors instead."

"Monkeys have ambassadors." I had to be dreaming. "What do you think?"

She plucked me off her shoulder with her free arm and hugged me to her chest. "I stand by what I first said. This is a wonderful opportunity for you. Even if you don't accept, I'm thrilled you have this proposal. It's so exciting. I couldn't be more excited if this had happened to a daughter I don't have. I…" She wiped a tear from her eyes. "I'm so happy for you. It's your choice."

"But you're the Queen," I said dumbly. "I'm…" I was what? The pet monkey? I had never felt that way, but I wasn't sure what else I was.

"Babiole, I can't instruct you in this! It's not like they asked me to sell you off. The proposal for you, not me!"

"I can't see you marrying a monkey," I said with a soft laugh.

"No. But maybe you."

I nodded. It was a lot to take in. "Can… we go back in there?"

I almost regretted returning to the animal-filled room. They all just watched me with freakish adoration and I had to wonder what the last monkey queen had been like. Now I as a Capuchin was rather exotic. My tail was more useful than theirs. Not that the monkeys before me were ugly. They were monkeys, all clean and handsome, and I had to admit the birds and panthers and the rest of the zoo before me made for an interesting and exciting image.

Monkeys. These were my people. My animal-people. Whatever the term would be. I was one of them.

But as I looked at them, I felt nothing. No disgust, no opposition, but no affection, either. I did not feel like one of them. It was a strange sensation. Had I been around humans that long? Was I that removed from my monkey heritage? Part of me just wanted to stay here with Queen Flore and Bastien.

And what? Entertain guests and fret over Bastien's many love affairs? Now this, this was exciting. Joining the monkeys. Becoming a queen. I had just barely thought earlier I should be a queen. Maybe I would grow to love monkeys. I was one of them, wasn't I?

Something didn't feel right. I hopped from Queen Flore's arms to a chair.

Immediately a bright orange parrot flew up to me. "A message!" it squawked.

I was talking to a parrot.

A monkey followed the parrot, holding a little jade box, which he extended to me with a bow.

I took the box. It was beautiful.

"A gift," continued the parrot in a flat and ridiculous voice, "from King Magot, in praise of her beauty and talents. Your fame has traveled far."

Yeah, it had reached the animal kingdoms. I fiddled with the latch, but it was too complex even for me.

"This box comes from a fairy. It's very rare."

"I am afraid I have not yet made up my mind!" I said, handing the box back.

But the monkey shook his head.

"Gift," repeated the parrot. "No matter what."

"Gift," I echoed. It was a very pretty box. If King Magot had things like this, he certainly couldn't be bad at all.

The monkey chattered something to the parrot. I was horrified to discover I had no idea what he was saying. I didn't know if I were supposed to automatically understand monkey speech or not."

"Mirlifiche has others gifts," said the parrot. "He can go get them, if you wish."

Other gifts. How rich was King Magot? And how shallow was I? My heart was pounding up a storm, I still felt sick, and I couldn't just accept a proposal based on a few presents and the fact I was the same animal. Could I?

No matter how much sense it made. And I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited and even impressed by all this. It was nice, after the shock was gone.

"I can't," I said. "Not right now."

The parrot and the monkey I assumed to be Mirlifiche nodded. Polite bunch. That was good.

Animals were easy to keep in a palace. Finding quarters for them was simple. Queen Flore assured me I could take all the time I needed, no pressure from her. It was my choice and my choice alone.

What would it mean if I accepted the proposal? I knew next to nothing about marriage, especially to a monkey.

But the monkey thing was something that continually brought itself back. I was a monkey, at least in body, and King Magot was a monkey. A very wealthy monkey. With talking parrots.

I wouldn't be able to hold a conversation with my own husband without a parrot. But maybe I could learn the language of monkeys. It was a horror I didn't already know it.

I guess I just felt closer to humans.

But staying here in the palace meant doing what I had been doing. Amusing people. Reading. Bothering people. It also meant my silly affection for Bastien.

Bastien. Stupid, stupid Bastien. I wanted him out of my head.

I saw him at supper. Apparently the news of my proposal had reached him because he couldn't look at me without laughing.

"Be nice," his mother hissed. "This is for someone incapable of proposing."

That shut Bastien up. For the moment.

But after a few bites he was back on it, his eyes sparking at me. He was very handsome. "So when can we expect to dance at your wedding? Or swinging? Will it be in the trees?"

I wanted to fling something at him.

"One of us must get married first," he continued. "Why not you?"

"Don't pressure her," Queen Flore warned.

"I'm not, Mother, I'm asking her a question." He grinned. "A monkey king! You marrying a king. You can't get much better than that."

He was right. Few things were higher than a king. If I were to marry a monkey, which would be expected for my species, why not a king since one was offering? All I had to do was agree or disagree and throw in a few solid reasons for my choice.

Nice and logical.

I did not.

Instead, I opened my big fat mouth and said "I could marry you."

Both Bastien and the Queen went silent.

I needed to save it.

But it didn't saving. Queen Flore smiled after a moment and Bastien burst out laughing. "You're hilarious. I had forgotten how many you are."

"I'm known for my wit," I said dryly. I wasn't being funny. I had been serious. That was the most serious thing to come out of my mouth, as dumb as it was.

"Yes, you are," Queen Flore said. She wasn't laughing, just smiling, and there were something in her eyes as she looked at me…

She knew.

I felt dizzy. But I had to continue this. Make it seem like I had been joking. So I winked at Bastien. "Just think about it. We are matched perfectly."

He was still laughing, and that made it worse. "Hardly! Have you looked in a mirror?"

I couldn't fake a smile from there. Of course I had looked in a mirror. I had that morning. What was he trying to say ?

He gasped for breath and settled back into his chair.

Why did I love him again?

"Babiole," he said breathlessly, "If you accept this proposal, I am going to miss you."

My heart skipped a beat.

"But if you accept it, send me your first baby monkey, for old time's sake."

"Bastien," Queen Flore said sharply.

She should have been speaking to me, for I picked up one of the tiny forks that had been made especially for me and threw it at Bastien. Then I darted out into the hall.

Queen Flore was not far behind me, and it was only her long strides that caught up to me. "Babiole, what was that?"

I wasn't in tear until she spoke. "Nothing."

She towered above me, arms crossed, face worried. "You love Bastien." She wasn't accusing, not terrified. She was merely commenting.

I refused to nod.

She sighed. "I should have expected as much. I'm sorry I was so excited about this. You probably want to stay here."

Stay here and do what? Maybe she didn't get it. What I had spoken was true, truer than I had imagined. I wanted to be Bastien's wife. But that was impossible.

"No, I don't," I said.

"Babiole." She scooped me up into her arms.

"I want to visit, of course," I said. "As often as I can. I don't want to forget you."

She gasped, and the excitement of before returned to her face. "Babiole, my darling, are you…"

I nodded. "Yes." My mind was made up. Bastien's words had made it up for me. "I'm accepting the proposal."