Nothing of Queen Patricia's kingdom struck me as extraordinary, but the sight of the city appearing through the rainy mist held me in awe. The city was dark with night and weather. No one had ventured into the rain and so no one knew of the girl taken through the city and through the palace gates.

The carriage stopped before the palace doors. Before I had time to comprehend my apparent new home I was covered in a thick cloak and pulled into the rain. Clumsy as I was, a few missteps in the mud were no match for the servants who mobbed me the moment the carriage wheels paused. I was pulled through a haze of halls by people who wouldn't give me a word edgewise, stripped of my clothes by chatty women, and in the end found myself gasping for breath in a tub of hot, rose-scented water. At least privacy was allowed while I bathed.

The bath was pleasant. I was sore from the journey and it seemed ages since I had been alone. So I happily enjoyed the bath and tried to comprehend just what had possessed me to come to this place. The room was small, containing little more than room for the tub and a spot for dressing. But the details were so ornate that I knew Queen Patricia had a hand in them.

When finished, I stepped from the bath and wrapped myself in a towel. Through the door was a bedroom I assumed was mine. A fire had been built, the pale red covers of the bed turned down. The color was repeated throughout the room, mixed with shades of brown. It was a likeable arrangement. A white nightdress lay across a chair. I walked past it to the window. It hung open, rain visibly coming down beyond it and a puddle of water fresh on the windowsill. I pulled it close.

"Cut off my exit, will you?"

I nearly let go of the towel.

Sitting on top of the nightgown where she had not been moments ago was Gigona, tiny and pretty with a look meant to kill. A monkey. A sweet, little, not-so-innocent monkey. I felt the briefest twinge of jealousy.

Was I yet authorized to order guards? And what? Look like a silly girl unable to take care of a mere monkey? "What are you doing here?"

A good demand. My voice did not waver and I sounded like I had grown up in a royal court.

Gigona was not fazed. She just tilted her head to the side and smiled. "Following you. Obviously."

Which meant… she knew who I was? Impossible. A thought that was followed by a stupid mistake. "Why are you following me?"

The grin on her face widened. "Don't you think it strange you are conversing with a monkey? Babiole?"

I sat down on the bed, stunned.

She hopped from the chair and scurried over the floor toward me. "I thought it was you. I couldn't be sure, but I thought it was you. This confirms it. You've gotten big."

No sense in lying about anything with her. "I'm not really a monkey."

"Clearly. You took far too well to humanity. Let me guess. You used the oil, didn't you?"

"In the box? Yes."

"Such an amazing result. I shall have to report this to my father. Takumin oil is extremely powerful but one never hears of any impressive results. Youthful regeneration, healing, all boring in comparison to transforming into another species." She hopped onto the bed and before I could do anything set into examining my hands.

"I don't understand how you are not really a monkey. I can see it but I'm at a loss for how it's possible."

How to explain the story to anyone? "I was turned into a monkey at birth."

She laughed and switched her scrutiny to my hair. "Lucky you. I suppose not all are fortunate enough to be born as monkeys."

"I was meant to be a human. This entire time. That… that oil, whatever you called it, stopped it. Is that what it does? Heal?"

Gigona nodded as she ran her paws through my hair. "Something like that. In the most romanticized term they say it brings truth forward. A lovely notion but I prefer people to just say what it does and be done with it."

"Where does it come from?" I should have been too surprised at the visit to get into a scientific discussion, but here I was, asking questions.

She locked eyes with me. "Oh, this and that. To be honest I really have no idea. Various materials distilled and put together. The not-so-magical secret of Takumin oil. I hear the recipe came from a fairy but I don't know how true that is. So do you like being a human?"

"…I'm not quite sure. I think so."

"I wouldn't be able to stand it. But if it works for you, I see no reason to not believe you." She continued picking through my hair and the conversation died.

It was very strange. I forced the next phrase. "I still don't know why you're here. I thought you were done looking for me. Is it so important I be taken to your father?"

"No one is looking for you anymore."

"But you—"

"Looking for you solely out of curiosity." Her sentence was terse and as soon as it was said she let go of my hair and dropped to the floor.

"But you need to go home to—"

"I will not be going home at this time."

"I don't underst—"

Gigona sighed deeply and curled herself into a sitting position. Just like how I used to sit. "I already told you I'm sorry for pushing you into the river. I didn't want my father to marry you."

"Yes, you said as much."

"In light of recent events, you had best be thankful I pushed you in. Otherwise, I doubt you would be alive at this point."

I gripped the bedcover in my hands. "What?"

"It was after we met again by the river. I was returning to the convoy, ready to report to Mirlifiche that you were no where to be found when I overheard one of the guards speaking to him about the return home and a few more things were said and…" She took a deep breath. "To make a long story short, he would have killed you. He was grateful you fell in the river. The search was a show, nothing more, and your disappearance was a stroke of pure luck."

I stared at her. I believed her completely. "And… and you?"

"I'm the Princess. I assumed I would be next. Get rid of everything that lies in the path to the throne. So I've spent days wandering around. It's a lot of fun."

"But your father. You can't stay away forever."

"I will return after Mirlifiche makes up some tragic story about my death, as I imagine he will do. I'd love to catch him in a bold face lie." She all but spat the last words.

Here I was, sympathizing with the very monkey who had tried to kill me. "Where will you stay?"

She didn't appear to have heard the question. "Why are you in this place?"

"The Queen… she wants to adopt me. Something like that."

"Convenient." She jumped back on the bed. "I suppose I can stay with you."