The Royal Menagerie

Originally written on Feb 18, 2012.

AN: The longest chapter yet! Enjoy! 18 pages written here for your personal enjoyment!

Words: 5,305

Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door or Ella Enchanted.

Numbah1999's Disclaimer: Hey everyone, guess what! I'm Mr. W's daughter! Not!

The next morning, I awoke, gripping Father's ring fiercely and to the clock in King Xavier's palace announcing six o'clock. I was grateful to it; I wanted to spend as much of the day as I could to say my goodbyes to the people and places I loved. I dressed in a simple green travel gown and went down to the kitchen, pleased to find that Kami had baked fresh rolls. I took two of them. I no longer had to wonder how they were always the perfect temperature when I found them; it must be Kami's "little magic."

I wandered down to the gardens that Kami had spent much of her free time tending to. I was looking down at the beautiful primroses that had blossomed and walked straight into Mother. She sneered at me.

"I don't have time for you right now. Now scram and run into someone else. And tell Kamilla I'll be back at noon for lunch," she called after me as I ran to obey her order. As instructed, I soon ran headlong into Sonya, who was carrying an armful of my wet laundry.

"You need to be more careful, Kuki, with you leaving in such haste I hardly have time to wash your clothes, much less doing it twice." she scolded me as she extended a broad hand and yanked me to my feet easily. She shooed me away as I tried to help her pick up the scattered clothing.

After I had apologized to Sonya and then repeated Mother's message to Kami, I decided to head to the royal menagerie near the king's palace. I loved to visit the exotic animals and speaking birds.

I visited the baby dragon first. She eyed me evilly, her bright ruby eyes glowing with malice. She was both terrible and beautiful. I fished one of the rolls from my pocket and speared it on a little stick in order to toast it from the baby dragon's fire, watching carefully so I would not burn it.

I spotted a centaur staring at me in a pen on the other side of a little creek that ran through the menagerie. I walked over the stone bridge and approached the centaur. Did they like rolls? I hesitantly raised my arm to offer him the bread, hoping I would not scare him away.

"Here," a smooth, pleasant voice said. "They like fruit best."

I turned; it was Prince Wally, holding out an apple for me to take.

"Thank you," I said softly, taking the apple and moving closer to the pen. The centaur sniffed the air and his eyes focused on the apple. A smile formed on his face and he loped over to me. I threw the apple up in the air and he caught it easily. He bit into the fruit and started to chew, a content look on his sweet but simple visage.

"I always expect them to say something. Like, 'Thank you for the treat,' or 'Please stop gawking at me,'" I said.

"They're not smart enough to communicate like that. See how vacant his eyes are?" Wally motioned towards the centaur, attempting to teach me, apparently. I supposed it was a royal duty to educate one's subjects.

"If they had a language," I said, a little smirk on my face, "they still wouldn't be able to think of something to say."

Wally stared at me in surprise. Then he laughed, deep and rich. "That's funny! You're funny," he exclaimed, "Just as Sir Ruburd was." He suddenly looked abashed. "I'm sorry. It was not my intention to remind you of him."

"Don't be." I said, giving him a sincere smile, "He is never really far from my thoughts, really." I thought of Father almost all of the time.

We began to walk together along the edge of the little creek. Everyone we passed gave a bow or a curtsey to the prince, who returned their greetings with the Kyrrian Royal Bow. I did not know how I should respond, so I settled on a nod of me head and a smile as we walked past.

We found ourselves sitting under the nice shade of an oak tree; we sat and enjoyed each other's company. "Would you like an apple, as well?" He asked, holding one out for me that he had retrieved from a pocket in his cape.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Do I have the same blank look in my eyes as the centaur?" I teased him, hoping to make him laugh again, as I took the apple from him a shook my head like a centaur.

He chuckled. "No, far from it," he replied. He looked away for a moment, and then spoke again, "You know, I quite like you, Kuki." He looked at me again while he fished another apple out of a pocket in his cape for himself.

I could feel my face heating up and cursed my semi-fair skin. I hoped he would blame my red cheeks on the heat. I had to admit, I liked him, too. He was not at all like I expected a royal to be. He was not snobbish or arrogant, but rather warm and friendly. I offered him a small smile in reply.

We had arrived at the bird cages, my favorite part of the menagerie. The speaking birds were fluent in all the languages of the land, both human and otherwise. I enjoyed imitating them, and Father had told me I had a good ear for different languages and accents.

The birds' keeper, Matthew, was a friend of mine. He turned and greeted the prince with a bow, and then resumed feeding a large, dark amethyst bird.

"This one just arrived," he told us, "he speaks mainly Gnomic and I can't get him to shut up for the life of me."

",fwtchor evtoogh brzzay earth ymmadboech evtoogh brzzaY." The parrot squawked out at me.

",fwtchor evtoogh brzzay earth ymmadboech evtoogh brzzaY." I repeated. Wally turned to me in surprise again.

"You speak Gnomic!" He said in a surprised tone.

"I can imitate the noises. I only know the meanings of a couple words. I have no idea what he said." I said, giving another blush.

"Kuki does it just right, doesn't she, Your Highness?" Matthew commented, giving me a grin and a nod of approval as the parrot repeated his phrase.

Wally tried to imitate him, ",fawithkor evtuk brissay…" he said, making a rather amusing garbled noise instead. I suppressed a snicker and smiled at him indulgently. He returned this with a wide grin.

"Do you know what he's saying?" I asked Matthew. Matthew was particularly adept at Elfin, but he also knew some Gnomic and Ogrese from spending a large amount of time tending to the birds.

Matthew shook his head, his shaggy auburn hair flying about. "Do you know, Sir?" he asked Wally.

"No. It sounds like gargling to me. I did tend to neglect my language studies," he confessed to me in a whisper. It felt nice, as though we shared a private joke.

"Would you like to learn some Elfin?" Matthew inquired, he was always eager to share his knowledge with the people who visited him. We spent a few minutes learning some phrases, before Matthew had to excuse himself and greet new visitors that had begun to arrive.

Wally waited as I bid farewell to each of the birds in Ogrese: ahthOOn SSyng! ("Much eating!"), Gnomic: iqkwo pwach brzzay ufedjeE ("Until we dig again!) Elfin: porr of pess waddo ("Stroll in the shade."), and Abdegi, the language of the giants: aiiiee ooo (howl) bek aaau! ("I am missing you already!)

We waved good-bye to Matthew as we walked towards the flower garden that separated the speaking birds from the ogres. I tried to teach Wally some phrases in different languages. He remembered them well enough, but his accent was consistently atrocious. I could not resist the chance to tease him about it, and he played along good-naturedly.

"You know, if the ogres heard you speaking their language like that, they would deem you unworthy of consumption." I said to him.

"The elves would force me to spend all day directly in the sun." Wally complained as I gave him a gentle shove out of the shade of the trees in which we walking along.

"I'm sorry, but I would have to abandon you there and enjoy myself in the cool shade." I said, giving him a smirk from the shade.

"The gnomes would hit you over the head with a shovel." I said, playfully whacked him on the head.

Our chuckles died down as we reached the ogre cages. Even though they were locked up, soldiers stood within shooting distance to guard the ogres.

Ogres were dangerous for many reasons. Not only were they large and strong, they also had slippery, slick voices with some peculiar quality that could compel human listeners to do whatever they said, particularly if they knew your secrets, your fears, and desires, and could use them to manipulate you. That was the other danger about ogres; many of them could see inside your mind, particularly if you had a very important secret, and just know things about you. It was quite a deadly combination. Their oily words could make you disregard their hideous faces, their gnarled teeth and sharp nails. With one sentence, an ogre could convince you that you worshipped him, that you would do anything to make him happy. Including boiling yourself alive or letting him eat your raw.

Wally and I kept our distance, but then I heard a soft, childish voice say something in Gnomic.

",pwich aooyea zchoak" a soft, lisping voice said.

"Did you hear that?" I asked Wally.

He frowned, looking around for the source. "It didn't sound like an ogre."

",pwich aooyea zchoak" the voice repeated, this time in a strained voice and the sound of tears.

I looked around and then I saw a little gnome poke her head out from behind a bush, right beside one of the ogre cages. "Look," I whispered to Wally, nodding toward the gnome. The ogre in the cage seemed to notice the child just as Wally saw her. I started forward, realizing the ogre could reach the gnome, but Wally beat me to her, hurrying forward and snatching the toddler up and out of harm's way. The ogre scowled at us as the frightened little gnome squirmed and twisted in Wally's arms.

"Give her here," I beckoned, hoping I could calm the child. I tried to shush her by gently rocking her.

"szEE frah myNN," the ogre hissed, glaring at Wally. "myNN SSyng zsEE. myNN thOOsh forns" Then he turned to me and his expression changed. He had begun to laugh. "mmeu ngah suSS hijyNN eMMong. myNN whadz szEE uiv. szEE AAh ohrth hahj ethSSif szEE." Tears of mirth streaked down his brown cheeks, leaving trails on his filthy face.

When he spoke, it was obvious he knew there was no need to make his voice persuasive.

"Come here, girl," he said in Kyrrian, "Come here and bring the child."

I stood my ground. This was the moment. Kami had said I could break the spell, and now, my life and the life of an innocent child depended on it. My knees began to buckle as I forced myself to stay in place. My stomach flip-flopped with nausea and I could feel perspiration beading on my forehead at the effort. Break the spell, break the spell, I chanted over and over in my head, gritting my teeth as the pain set in, cramping the muscles of my legs and shooting sharply through my joints. I tightened the grip I had on the gnome in my arms in an effort to stay still and she yelped in pain and tried to wiggle away. How I wished I could let her go, but the order stopped me from releasing her.

The ogre cackled still. "Bring her here. Come, bring me the child!"

It was too much. I let out a soft whimper and took a step forward. Then another. I winced in pain and managed to stop for a moment, but my knees started to buckle once more, forcing me forward again. All I could see was the ogre's beady black eyes, dancing with sadistic glee and all the knowledge of my secrets as I drew closer and closer to his looming face.

"Kuki, where are you going!" Wally cried out in alarm.

"I-I must," I managed to choke out. The toddler gnome was crying in my arms.

"Stop! I order you to stop!" Wally's voice had risen with panic.

I almost collapsed in relief at the command. I stood, trembling like a leaf, as soldiers circled the ogre's cage, pointing their arrows at him. Wally rushed to my side and touched my shoulder, bringing me out of my stupor.

"Why did you listen to him?" Wally asked me, his beautiful green eyes boring into my amethyst ones. I was still having difficulty with the child. She was pulling on my shirt and wriggling to escape, ",pwich azzoogh fraecH" he cried. I used her distress to avoid answering Wally's question.

"He's frightened." But Wally was not distracted.

"Why did you listen to him, Kuki?" I had to answer, somehow.

I searched my mind for a plausible explanation. "It was…his-his eyes. Something in them, in the way he looked at me. I-I had to do what he said."

Wally looked horrified. "Don't tell me they've come up with a new way to compel us? I need to notify my father immediately!"

I looked away guiltily. I felt terrible for deceiving him, but it was not as though I could tell him about the curse, or even would if I could. I glanced down at the gnome child, who was still screaming and crying from the ordeal, and wondered if the parrot's phrase could calm her.

",fwtchor evtoogh brzzay earth ymmadboech evtoogh brzzaY." I repeated it to her gently, and her cries gradually turned into sniffles. She rewarded me with a wide smile that creased her chubby face and returned the phrase. I set her down on the ground, but she held onto my hand and reached for Wally's beseechingly. Wally smiled down at the gnome and took her hand.

"Where do you think she came from?" I asked Wally, "Her family must be worried."

"There's a group of Gnomic families that have a settlement on the other side of that hill," Wally informed me, pointing to the west.

"I suppose royal knowledge of the land can be useful at times," I quipped as we started in that direction, the little gnome swinging our arms in harmony. Wally beamed at me. The way the sunlight hit his face and created shadows of his long eyelashes had me blushing again and scolding myself internally. Do not be foolish. Of all the boys to feel something for, the prince? No way Wally will return your feelings, so of course you have to choose the most unattainable of them all. I contented myself with the prospect of his friendship alone. I really did enjoy his company.

As we started to descend the hill, we spotted an old female gnome sitting beside a little pond. Her head was bowed and tears trickled down her fat, wrinkled cheeks, dripping into her lap. In the near distance, several other gnomes appeared to be conducting a search, peering into bushes and knocking on logs. Our toddler gnome suddenly rushed forward, pulling Wally and I along with her and called out.

"fraecH!" The little girl shouted, as she continued to pull us towards her.

The old female looked up, a look of joy spreading across her face, and responded to her in their tongue. ",zzeHnna!" The female shouted out to the child.

The child let go of our hands and they embraced. The older gnome looked up and seemed to recognize Wally.

"Your Majesty," she spoke in Kyrrian, "thank you for returning my daughter to me."

Wally ducked his head shyly but offered her a wide smile. "We are glad to, Madam. She had wandered over to the ogre cages."

"Wa – Prince Wallabee – rescued her," I added. "And he had saved my life, as well."

The old gnome showed her gratitude with a deep bow of her head. She was very wide and short, as all gnomes were, but she was one of the most dignified people I had ever seen. "I am Delilah," she said, offering her Kyrrian name, and nodded at the child in her arms, "and this is little Zinnia." She clarified, giving the Kyrrian name for her.

"I'm Kuki," I offered with my best curtsy. Other gnomes noticed that Zinnia had arrived home safely, and soon we were surrounded by a small circle of friendly faces.

"How did you manage to get her to come with you?" Delilah wondered, "Zinnia doesn't trust strangers, especially humans."

"Kuki spoke to her in Gnomic," Wally replied. I thought I could detect a note of pride in his voice.

"What did you say?" a gnome in the crowd asked.

I paused for a moment. It was one thing to imitate birds and play around with Matthew and laugh at Wally's ridiculous accent, but I did not really want to embarrass myself in front of this stately, ancient gnome. I repeated the phrase anyway, ",fwthchor evtoogh brzzay eerth ymmad boech evtoogh brzzaY" noting with relief that many of the gnomes smiled widely and nodded in approval.

"Ah, no wonder she trusted you." Delilah said Zinnia let out another smile.

Zinnia squealed the phrase again and twisted excitedly in Delilah arms. Another gnome asked where I learned to speak Gnomic, so Wally and I explained about the speaking birds at the menagerie.

"What did I say to Zinnia?" I asked Delilah.

"It is a greeting we use. In your language, it means, Digging is good for the wealth and good for the health.'" She took my hand suddenly and closed her heavy eyelids. "Zinnia's life is not the only one you will save," she said, "I can see it."

Kami had told me that gnomes could see into the future! Could Delilah see if I would break my curse? "What else do you see?" I asked eagerly.

"There are no details…" I bit my tongue to keep from interrupting her. "I see three figures close to you, a journey, peril." She opened her eyes and fixed me a grave look with her sharp, dark eyes. "You cannot trust them."

On our way back towards the menagerie, Wally spoke: "I will need to double the security at the ogre cages starting tonight." He paused. "And if you should like, I will capture a centaur for you to have as your own."

"I would very much like that, Wally. Thank you." I said as he walked me back to my manor house.

We spent the walk laughing and conversing about the matters of Kyrria. We had stopped at one point, when Wally had decided to take a tumble backward onto the grass, pulling me down with him.

We gave laughter until our eyes met and we quieted ourselves. A sort of electricity had seemed to be pulsing through us. I quickly stood up, saying that I had to be home soon, not wanting to think about the fact that I would have to leave for deportment school in a mere few hours. Wally too stood up and brushed himself off, offering his arm, to which I linked with my own and we continued our walk to the manor house.

When we arrived, I could see some of the servant's heads had poked through the curtains, watching the exchange between the Prince and I. I laughed to myself, and Wally turned his head.

"What is so amusing, Kuki?" he asked me, raising an eyebrow in my direction. A command, I would have to answer him, though I would, had he not commanded it.

"It appears that my servants are watching us." I said, Wally glanced towards a window where a servant girl, Mary-Lou Sarah-Jane, stood, her blonde, curly haired face peeking out from behind a lush green drape. Her pale face blushed a magnificent scarlet as she quickly ducked her head back.

Wally gave a small chuckle as I spoke, "I'm terribly sorry about them, they can be incredibly nosy when it comes to the business of my family." I said.

"There is no need to apologize, I'm sure if the tables were turned and the young Lady of the manor was to come home with the devilishly handsome Prince on her arm, I would too be spying on the exchange." he said with a wink in my direction, causing a fountain of giggles to bubble out from my mouth.

"Don't get to cocky there, Wally."'I said in a joking manner.

"Me? Cocky? Shouldn't you be the one talking?" he said in an equally joking tone. We began laughing again, and our eyes locked. Our lips suddenly became closer until...

"Kuki." Kami called from the kitchen, just as our lips were about to meet. I opened my eyes to see Kami calling from the kitchen window. "Kuki! Come here please! I need your help with dinner, and I know how much you like to help me cook." she called out.

"Well then, my young Lady." Wally said, taking my hands in his and bringing them to his lips in a graceful bow, kissing the tops of knuckles tenderly, "I will leave you to your cooking." he said, giving another bow before he retreated back to the direction of the Castle.

I briskly walked into the manor house, upon closing the door, I slid down behind, sighing out. I could not believe that I had almost kissed the Prince! I looked up and saw Mary-Lou looking at me with a knowing smile. She wiggled her eyebrows at me before she continued on with her task of dusting the book shelf.

I walked into the kitchen, glaring at Kami, "You did that on purpose." I said as she chuckled at me.

"I do not know what you are talking about, Kuki." she said in an innocent tone as she continued to stir a bowl full of batter.

"Here, taste this." she commanded, giving me a spoonful of the batter.

-

The Uno family was annoyingly punctual. I sat despondently, watching as Sir Montgomery's men loaded my things onto the Uno carriage. Mother stood at my side, while Kami watched from the back entrance to the kitchen.

Ace was eyeing my luggage beadily. "You do not have a lot of stuff," he criticized. "With so few belonging, the other students will hardly know whether you are a servant or one of us."

Mother and Sir Montgomery had seemed to be ignoring the comment made, "I appreciate you taking Kuki with you, Sir Monty," Mother said, "I know she can be a brat; I hope she doesn't trouble you that much."

Sir Montgomery waved this off with much fluttering of his hands. "Oh, she won't be bothering me, Lady J. I am not making the journey with the them. I am afraid it is much too tiring of an adventure for me. I have a very insubstantial disposition."

I mostly covered up my scoff. Sir Montgomery's disposition had seemed fine when he had guzzled wine and food at the dinner for Father. I glanced in amusement at Mother, who was struggling to cover up a death glare at the use of her name.

"Besides," Sir Montgomery continued to simper, "I am sure they will have much more fun without their doddering old papa. With a coachman and two footmen, they will be safe from everything excluding ogres. And from ogres I could offer little protection."

There was a long silence in which no one said anything to the contrary. Nigel shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. Then Mother seemed to remember her manners. I was not sure why she bothered to be so polite to this odious man, since she would normally not tolerate his inane character.

"Not old or doddering, Sir Monty, never." She turned to me and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Well, Kuki, have a good time. I'll miss you." she added, raising her voice. She gave me a hug and kissed my cheek.

The little liar.

As Nigel and Ace climbed in the carriage, I ran to Kami, who was still standing by the kitchen. I could not leave her without one more hug goodbye.

"If now were a time for big magic," I said wryly, "this would be it." I winked at her, slipping on an unaffected mask, "I think you should make them all disappear."

"Oh, Kuki, honey." She held my face in her hands. I knew she could see right through my veneer. "Everything will be fine."

"Kuki!" Mother barked, "Hurry up!" I rolled my eyes and hastened to obey. There was no point in delaying it any further. I climbed into the carriage and sat on the empty bench, resolutely staring out the window and stroking Father's ring for comfort.

"I cannot believe you just clung to the cook like that. I would never do that." Ace apparently felt the need to mention, from my peripheral vision I could see him sneering at me.

"No," I agreed, curling my lip at him, "I doubt any cook would ever let you do so."

I clung onto father's ring tightly, to abstain myself from punching Ace in the face."

"What are you holding in your hand?" Nigel asked hopefully. It seemed he wished to move the conversation onto lighter things. I kept my mouth in a thin line and remained stonily silent. Nigel's face fell, but Ace's eyes narrowed in calculation.

"Let us see it." I sighed. An order. I opened my hand so that they could see. At least there are no thieves around to steal it from me, I comforted myself. The two boys leaned forward to get a better look.

"Wow, Kuki, it's – it's very nice," Nigel sounded captivated as he reached forward.

"Don't touch it," I told him quietly.

"I bet it's worth a lot of money. I want to try it on," Ace announced suddenly.

"Well, you can't," I snipped at him.

"Listen. Let me try it on." He said in a clenched voice.

"Do I have to?" I cursed myself. What a stupid slip up! He will surely figure it out!

Ace eyes gleamed with something new, something beyond anger and disgust. "Yes," he said slowly, "yes, you have to."

I made a show of changing my mind about the matter and handed it over. I had to look away as he slipped it on his finger. The sight was almost physically painful.

"Let me try it on, too, Kuki," Nigel begged. Nevertheless, it was still a command.

"Not right now, Nigel," Ace said imperiously, examining the ring on his finger in the dim light.

I reached for Ace's fingers. The curse was starting to make me feel ill, and the jostling of the carriage did not help. "Let him have a try."

"Hah!" Nigel exclaimed, grinning at me, "See, Kuki says I can, Ace. Hand it over."

"No, Nigel, you always get everything. Girls always like you better, and you always make friends first. So I get this first." Ace said in his superior voice.

I could not stand it any longer. I rose from my seat and lunged at Ace. I pinned Ace's broad hand down with both my arms and yanked the ring off him before he could have a chance to react.

"Don't let him have it," Ace said, "Give it back to me."

I did so.

Apparently Nigel's courage grew when he was deprived of something he desired. "You're being really mean, Ace. Kuki, you do not have to listen to him. Give it here."

I grabbed the ring back from Ace just as he was about to slip it on and shoved it into Nigel's waiting hands.

Ace stopped arguing and stared at me. I could practically see the cogs turning in his head.

"Are you always so obedient? Give me that ring." He said, each word spoken in a slow manner, as if he was testing his theory.

"Ace, I just got it," Nigel whined, but he looked cowed by a glare his brother sent him and he handed it over. Ace slipped it onto his hand again.

My mind searched desperately for something to distract them. "That was Father's ring," I tried, "and his father's before that. It has been in my family for –"

"You know, I think you should give me the ring. As a sign of our friendship."

"We are not friends," I snapped at him, my eyes burning with fire.

"Of course we are," Ace smiled nastily, "Nigel likes you too, don't you Nigel?"

Nig nodded stupidly. "Of course I do."

Ace continued as if Nigel had not spoken. "I think you'll give it to me if I say you have to," he said slowly, a calculating look in his eyes. "So give me the ring. To seal our friendship. You must."

I bit my lips together, seeing red. No, I would not. I would not. No. "It's yours," the words spewed out of my mouth on a gasp of air.

"Well, thank you," Ace sneered. "Gee, Nigie, what a generous friend we have." I collapsed in my seat and fixed my gaze out the window blindly.

"Kuku." Ace's voice had me gritting my teeth. I ignored him. "Pay attention." I sighed and turned towards him.

"What?" I bit out.

He glared at me. "Our servants did not do a very good job of cleaning out the carriage before we left." He nodded towards a clump of mud underfoot that he had probably brought in with his shoe. "Pick that up."

Gladly, I thought. I scooped up the mud and smeared it down the front of his shirt. My satisfaction did not last long, however. At first, it looked as though he was about to hit me, but he stopped, and a smirk spread across his face.

-

HAHAHA! WHAT A BIG CLIFFIE! Man! I am on a freaking roll with this! There's probably going to be around 20-30 chapters...I don't know yet. So please review!

I really hope you guys keep on reviewing, I've notice a decline in them since the story started, and it makes me not want to update since in my eyes, it shows that people no longer hold an interest in the story.

I can not wait until we get to deportment school, things will be getting a little better…

Next Chapter: Nigel feels left out and asks for something from Kuki for their friendship. Nigel gets slapped, Kuki is tortured by Ace, and with the arrival at Gallagher's brings many old favorite characters back and even a friend for Kuki is found!

Well that is!

~LatinMagicWriter

Oh! If you love Kuki Enchanted you will love my new story! I am starting another story called A Midsummer Night's Dream. It is not the actual play itself, but it holds the same meaning. A bunch of one-shots around cracky pairing that are super cute. I have two chapters already, and I like the pairings very much. So please go and read that!

Until next chapter, dear readers!