𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐮 | 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐞𝐧

[FIFTEEN]

Golden rays of sun arched through the swamp's skyline, beaming onto the hollow log and creating a gentle yellow glow.

A frog slept in the stump, using a leaf as a blanket. He was snoring away until an acorn fell directly on his head, startling him awake.

"Ow!" He looked up to see Tiana hanging halfway through the "window".

She called out to him: "Rise and shine sleeping beauty! Gators are gone." Naveen climbed up to the hole and peeked out, laying eyes upon you, tying up the final parts of the raft.

You had woken up right at dawn that morning and begun to collect materials. As soon as you started assembling the structure, Tiana awoke from your noise and insisted on helping. Thus, the raft was made.

You looked up to see Naveen peering down at you curiously, and you grinned. A good night's sleep certainly did the trick. "We've gotta get back to New Orleans and undo this mess you got us into, pretty boy."

He hopped onto the raft and promptly made himself comfortable. Tiana stepped on after him. As he put his hands behind his head, he smugly said "I was not the one parading around in a phoney-baloney tiara." He snapped a small branch off a tree wrapped in spider webs and strummed it like a guitar. You and Tia used sticks to push the raft along in the water. "Music to paddle by," the prince said.

You shoved your stick in the water. "We could use a little help."

"So could I." The shore pranced by, and Naveen snapped off a curved hollow root as the boat passed, with holes from bugs decorating it. He tossed it to you, and you caught it with one hand. "You are a musician as well, aren't you? Join me!"

"No way, princey. Unlike some people, I don't actually want to stay a frog forever." You huffed and set the root down to paddle more.

"Oh! I will play a little louder then." He laid back, strumming a happy, upbeat tune. A set of eyes appeared from the water behind the raft.

Tiana turned around to face Naveen. "How about a little less picking and a-" ivory teeth shone as a gator's mouth opened wide, scraping the back of the boat and rocking it back and forth. Naveen's strumming stopped as he turned. He hollered and hid, quivering, behind you and Tiana, who were gripping each other tightly.

Real manly.

The gator's jaw came up to meet its mouth, not swallowing the boat, but speaking instead. "I know that tune! Dippermouth Blues!" He pulled a trumpet from the murky water and burst into song. You inched your eyes open and turned to look at Naveen behind you.

"You were playing Dippermouth? How'd you learn it?" You said, confused. He came all the way from Maldonia, yet he knows a King Oliver tune?

"Eh, through the grapevine. Play it, brother!" He swooped down and picked up his twig, plucking along. You couldn't help it either, picking up that hollow branch and played with them. Jazz was in your blood, it was instinctual.

Tiana watched as Naveen hopped on top of the gator as they whooped and hollered. You were more calm, choosing to stay on the raft. The song ended shortly, and the alligator grabbed Naveen and spun him around. "Where have y'all been all my life?!"

"Where did you learn to play like that?!" Naveen queried. The reptile set him down gently.

"Why, the bayou's the best jazz school in the world! All the greats play riverboats." Tiana looked bored, and you set the "saxophone" down, quietly apologizing for egging them on. "Old Louis would give anything to be up there jamming with the big boys." He saw you make a face out of the corner of his eye. "A-and ladies, too."

"Mhm," you said sarcastically. You stepped onto the shore and stood next to the prince.

"Why don't you?" Naveen asked Louis genuinely.

The alligator reminisced sadly. "Oh, I tried once." He had a flashback to his previous attempt, where he hopped onto a riverboat and joined the band playing there, smiling at everyone. However, he was not welcome, and was promptly sent off with gunfire. "It didn't end well."

Tiana approached where the three of you were standing. "Uh-huh. It has been a real pleasure meeting you, Louis." She grabbed your wrist as well as Naveen's and hauled you back onto the raft. "And thank you kindly for not eating us, but we best be on our way."

"What? Where y'all going?" He asked, saddened at the thought of losing his new friends.

You turned back to look at him as you paddled. "To find somebody to break this spell."

"What spell?"

Naveen hopped up and began dramatically, "brace yourself, my scaly friend. We are not frogs." He gestured to you and Tia. "We are humans."

Louis' eyes bulged and he fell to the muddy ground, laughing loudly. He belly shook as he took a breath. "Y'all serious?"

Naveen rested his leg on the cattail pillow, looking quite royal for a frog. "I am Naveen, Prince of Maldonia." His grandiose tone dropped flat as he turned to look at Tiana. "She is Tiana, the waitress. And this is Y/n, the saxophone player." He leaned close to Louis and shielded his mouth with his hand. "Do not kiss her," he whispered.

You gasped, offended. "Now, just a second." You pushed past Naveen to approach the alligator. The prince did not mind, smirking as you walked up. "This goon here got himself turned into a frog by a voodoo man, and now-"

"Voodoo?" Louis cringed. "Like the kind Mama Odie do?" He quivered in fear and superstition.

Naveen glanced at you, you shrugged, and he turned to Louis again. "Mama who-dee?"

"Mama Odie. She's the voodoo queen of the bayou." He wiggled his fingers as an attempt to be creepy. "She got magic and spells, all kinds of hoodoo."

Tiana's attention was finally caught and you spoke at the same time as your best friend. "Could you take us to her?"

The scaly creature gasped. "Through the deepest, darkest part of the bayou? Facing razor-sharp pricker bushes and trappers and hunters- with guns? No." He sat against a tree and raised the horn to his lips, starting up a soulful tune.

Tiana shrugged, but Naveen did not give up that easy. He smirked and raised a finger. "Watch and learn," he said. He walked right up to the gator and addressed him. "Louis, it is too bad we cannot help you with your dream." He picked at his nails. "If only you were smaller, less toothy, you could play jazz to adoring crowds without scaring them."

The tune stopped immediately.

"You mean like Y/n?" Louis asked. You turned your head, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Sure," Naveen brushed him off.

"Oh, Y/n, you have to tell me what it's like to have all those people listening and dancing," the gator pleaded.

You smiled softly at him. "It's the best feeling in the world- to know that you're bringing these folks joy, even when you don't know them. It's like communicating without speaking the same language."

Naveen cut you off and returned to the raft. "Anyway," he bowed, "enjoy your loneliness, my friend." He bid the gator goodbye.

Tiana was doubtful as Naveen looked confident. "Cute," she said, "but it's not gonna-"

Naveen wagged his finger and pointed at Louis, who was excited and smiley. "Hey, guys, I just had me a crazy idea! What if I asked Mama Odie to turn me human?"

The prince grabbed you hand and brought you along as Tiana followed. "Louis! You are a genius!" Naveen cheered. The three of you hopped onto of the reptile.

"Hallelujah!" Louis cannonballed into the water and an upbeat song began.