A cat's particular and dignified name is supposed to be a secret to all other living beings. So what happens when a simple teenage girl from America guesses them on the first try? The worst part is, she doesn't know what she's doing until it's too late.

[A/N] to save confusion, the first person bits are from Cassie's point of view, and third person bits are from the cats'. Yes, this is the Cassie mentioned in A Thief and a Warrior.

[=^..^= point of view change]

[… time cut in same POV]

…

The new queen soon became fast friends with Rumpelteazer, and the two were hardly apart from each other. Her name was still a mystery, as the queen had refused to look at her reflection at all. When she wasn't with Rumpelteazer (because she and Mungojerrie were off thieving), she could be found watching the sky in some obscure part of the junkyard, trying to summon memories of her old life.

It was one such meditation that Alonzo found her in, her chin resting on her folded arms, her clear eyes staring up at the clouds. He approached slowly, absently wondering if the effect of her voice would be the same as when she was human.

"Hey," he said. The queen glanced at him, mumbled a hello, and returned her gaze to the sky. Alonzo sat down next to her. "Still don't know your name?" He asked casually.

She scowled. "No. I have memories of people talking to me… but every time I sense they say my name, the memory fades. I don't even know what it would sound like…" she frowned, flexing her claws absently.

Alonzo didn't know what to say. How could someone not remember their own name? An idea popped into his head. "I could help you if you want?" He offered, watching the queen for her reaction.

She stared at him, her eyebrows raised. "I thought you were with Cassandra…" she blinked at the name, but shrugged it off. "Won't she dislike your spending time with me?"

Alonzo sighed. "She's not happy with me anyway. I don't know what's wrong with her this time…"

"'This time'?" the queen laughed. "How many times has she broken up with you?"

"More times than I care to remember," Alonzo muttered, pulling his knees up to his chest and pressing his forehead against them. He half expected the queen to laugh at him, but when he looked back at her she looked concerned and sympathetic.

"How about this," she said sitting up. "You help me figure out my name, and I'll figure out what's up with Cassandra. Deal?"

Alonzo grinned. "Deal." He shook her outstretched paw, feeling slightly happier.

=^..^=

I watched Alonzo descend the pile we'd been sitting on; he had patrol duty. I wondered how I would get the truth out of Cassandra… she and I weren't the best of friends. I nimbly leapt off the pile, searching for the slim Burmese queen.

…

I found her on the north side of the junkyard, sunning herself.

"Hey there!" I cheerfully called, drawing attention to myself.

"What do you want?"

I put on a hurt look. "Just to get to know everyone," I said, pouting a bit. "Why don't you like me very much?"

Cassandra eyed me carefully. "What do you want?" she repeated.

"Oh nothing," I shrugged nonchalantly. "But I'm a great listener if you need to vent about anything." No need to mention that she looked like she needed to spill her guts to a fellow queen. I turned to go, counting down in my head. I reached one right when I heard Cassandra call out. I turned around, looking at her curiously.

"I do need to get something off my chest…" she said slowly.

I smiled kindly. "Whatever you need," I climbed up to join her.

=^..^=

Alonzo padded along the road, headed for the Vicarage wall. Old Deuteronomy was slumbering in the sun, just as he always was. Alonzo sat, watching the old patriarch for a moment before climbing the wall to nudge him awake.

"What can I do for you Alonzo?"

"Why did you erase her name from her mind?" Alonzo asked, frowning. "She doesn't have a clue what her human name was."

"She's not going to be human ever again, so I saw no reason to leave that detail in her memories."

"But you did leave her memories." Alonzo confirmed.

Deuteronomy nodded. "Anything that would help her know how long she's lived, or where she came from, or even details about her family, I let it stay. However, anything that hinted she was human I blocked." He gazed sternly at Alonzo. "I would appreciate it if you didn't remind her, either. As far as she knows, she was separated from her family before she came to us."

"But she still doesn't know her name." Alonzo reminded Deuteronomy.

"A sad fact, yes, but a fact nonetheless." His expression turned thoughtful.

"She still has her gift," Alonzo said, remembering the morning after her transformation. "I think if she sees her own reflection long enough, she'll find her name. But she won't go anywhere near anything she thinks might have a reflection."

"I think," said Deuteronomy, "that she needs to first accept she is a cat. No doubt she is thinking it is all very strange, and thinks she will change back any moment…" Deuteronomy stared at Alonzo, calculating. "Alonzo," he said finally. "I want you to spend time with her, make her comfortable being who she is."

"With all due respect, wouldn't that job be better suited for a queen?" Alonzo asked. His mind was reeling; why was this job put on his shoulders? He had already agreed to help her figure out her name.

Deuteronomy chuckled. "Word has reached my ears that you are helping her already. I will tell you this: to learn her name, she has to accept the inevitable. She will never be human again, and she has to understand that."

"Yes sir," Alonzo mumbled.

"Is there anything else?"

Alonzo shook his head, and turned away from the wall, dragging his paws the whole way back to the junkyard. How in Heaviside was he supposed to help her accept that she's a cat? He was winding through the tall piles of junk when he heard voices talking. He snuck closer, listening in on the conversation.

"Does he know?"

"No," Alonzo recognized Cassandra's voice, along with the new queen. "I'm too embarrassed to tell anyone else… I think the only solution is to leave for a while. I'll come back when I can."

Alonzo inched closer. What were they talking about?

=^..^=

I gave Cassandra a sympathetic hug. "If you feel like leaving for a while is best, I could go with you," I smiled. "It could be fun living on our own for a few months."

Cassandra laughed, laying back on the card table we were sitting on. "You know something," she said, looking at me. "You really are a good listener."

I shrugged. "So I've been told."

"You still don't have a name, do you?"

I shook my head sadly. "Alonzo thinks I could know it if I look at my reflection…" I wondered if it was true.

Cassandra smiled. "If you don't mind, I could give you a nickname," she offered. I smiled and nodded. "How about 'Ears'?"

I laughed. "Sounds good." I stretched out. "My name is Ears!" I sang out, making Cassandra laugh carelessly. I grinned at her. I could tell we would become good friends.

=^..^=

Alonzo chuckled as he continued along to the clearing. 'Ears' was getting along great with Cassandra, and he had a feeling he would be back with her soon enough. He reported to Munkustrap for the evening patrol, his happy thoughts lifting his paws higher than usual.

…

Cassandra felt much better as she padded back to her den. Ears agreed to meet her outside the junkyard after dark, when they would leave on 'vacation'. Jenny was the only other cat who knew why they were leaving… her being the one who'd diagnosed Cassandra's behavior in the first place. She gathered a few of her more treasured possessions, pausing at a small hand mirror. After some thought, she threw it into the sack as well. She would do what she could to help Ears find her real name.

[A/N]

Yay! I like reviews! Special thanks to Maeline and demeterfan5556 for being my first notable readers, and for inspiring me to continue with what I'd originally done as scribbling on a page… :D

*hint* If you review, I will thank you by name in my notes, which could lead to promoting stories… ;)