𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐮 | 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐞𝐧

[TWENTY-ONE]

"Well, Miss Froggy, do you understand what you need now, child?"

"Yes. I do, Mama Odie. I need to dig a little deeper and work even harder to get Tia's restaurant." You said, the most determined you've ever been.

Mama Odie put her face in her hand, and the birds that were dancing before all groaned exasperatedly.

Ray said, "All right, y'all, one more time!" He tried to start the song over from the top, but the birds he was next to walked away. "Nobody is going to sing with Ray? Okay."

"Well, if y'all are set on being human, there's only one way." The old woman began to hobble off, and you, Naveen, and Tiana scrambled after her.

Her gumbo pot steamed and bubbled as she stirred it with her club. She began to chant, "Gumbo, gumbo, in the pot. We need a princess, whatcha got?" A golden light began to swirl around within the gumbo, eventually opening up to reveal a sleeping Charlotte. She was in deep sleep, snoring with a mask covering her eyes. You turned to Tiana, confused.

"Lottie? But she's not a princess," you stated.

"Hush up and look at the gumbo."

Charlotte's father burst through the door, dressed head to toe in deep reds and fur, a crown perched upon his head. He held a little blue pillow that had a delicate tiara resting on top. Charlotte squealed in delight and jumped up to greet her father.

"That's right," Tiana said, "Big Daddy's King of the Mardi Gras parade, so that makes Lottie-"

"A princess," you said, your stomach dropping in dread. You watched as Big Daddy placed the tiara on your best friend's head. She looked so happy.

"Does that count?" Naveen asked, and you patted his shoulder.

Mama Odie explained, "Yes, it does, but only 'til midnight when Mardi Gras is over." You turned to your friends in shock as the old witch kept talking. "Hop along, you only got till then to get that princess to kiss you." A golden image of a princess and three frogs appeared in the gumbo, "Once she does, boom!" The three frogs turned into humans, "You all turn human!"

"Midnight?" Naveen restated.

You were worried, turning to him. "That doesn't give us much time."

Louis jumped around excitedly. "What about me, Mama? I want to be human, too, so I can play jazz with the big boys." He batted his eyelashes. "I want fingers and toes and a bellybutton. Not the kind that sticks out but the kind that goes in."

Mama Odie grabbed him by the mouth. "Jabber Jaws, you dig a little deeper, you'll find everything you need." She pushed him towards the door. "Come on, come on, come on. There's a lot of river between here and New Orleans. Y'all best get to swimming."

"Wait!" Louis exclaimed, stopping himself from leaving, "I got a better idea."

A steamboat chugged down the river, white steam pouring out as the paddles spun in the murky water. The bannisters were decorated with banners and lights and people mingled about, talking with friends and family.

Towards the back of the boat, a scaly head peeked over the railing. Deeming the coast clear, Louis jumped onto the deck, trumpet in hand. He whistled, signaling that you could come out.

As he was humming along with some jazz coming from another part of the boat, Louis turned to see the shadows of several men, seemingly with guns in their hands. He exclaimed in fear, and scrambled for a place to hide. He dove into an exhaust pipe, and the rest of your group hid behind it. Louis, couldn't fit, however, and just shut his eyes, hoping the men wouldn't notice.

The alleged weaponry turned out to be instruments as the men passed by, each of them dressed as a different animal. One of them turned around and pinched Louis, who slowly opened his eyes. "Man, that is one killer-diller costume!"

Another man pointed at him. "Hey, gator, can you blow that horn?" Louis let out a soulful riff, pleasing the men.

"Come on, sit in with us! We're playing Mardi Gras," they said. Louis sighed, relaxing. He got up quickly and ran after the men to join them, playing his trumpet along the way.

You and Naveen looked after the gator, and turned to find that you were holding each other. He had one hand around your waist, another around your upper back. Both of your arms circled his middle, and you were pressed incredibly close together. You both backed away, releasing each other and nervously smiling.

"We can't miss this! Little Louis going to finally play with the big boys!" Ray shouted, speeding off after him. Tiana followed Ray, leaving just you and Naveen.

You sighed dreamily. "I know those guys. They're in my band."

Naveen looked at you sympathetically. "Do you miss it?"

"Miss what?" You were broken out of a daydream and stared at the prince with half-lidded eyes.

"The music. Your friends," he said, gesturing after the men.

"I don't know," you admitted. "In the beginning, saxophone was a hobby, but then James died and it just- Tia was so set on getting that restaurant, and I wanted to be a good friend, so I made it my job. It took all the fun out of it; music became all work and no play. I can't remember the last time I picked up a saxophone to just have fun. And of course, with more and more work, I had no time to see my friends. Tia and I haven't been out dancing in nearly a year, I think." You said, exhaling. You turned to see Naveen frowning at you. "I said too much, didn't I?"

He grabbed your hands. "You said just enough." You squeezed his hands before dropping them and hopping forward.

Turning around to face him, you asked, "Naveen? Are you coming?"

"Oh," he said, "I'll catch up with you later." He watched as you hopped off, turning the corner and disappearing from view. He blinked a few times, and his gaze turned to a necklace discarded on the floor. Next to it was a wire muselet and a cork from someone's champagne. He grabbed the muselet and the necklace and got to work.

A while later, Naveen was finishing up the ring he had made, putting it inside a walnut shell and closing it up. He looked up to the sky with his brows drawn.

"Oh, Evangeline. Why can't I just look her in the eye and say," he opened the ring box, getting down onto one knee, "'I will do whatever it takes to make all your dreams come true because... because I love you.'?"

Ray, who had just flown in to hear the end of his speech, became furious. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Cap! You making goo-goo eyes at my girl?" His light turned red as he flew straight for Naveen. Naveen blocked the insect's punches with the palm of his hand.

"No, no, no!" He protested, but Ray would not hear it.

"That's it! Put 'em up! I'm going to make some shoes out of you!"

"No, Ray! I am not in love with Evangeline, I am in love with Y/n!" The prince explained.

Ray stopped his attacks, his demeanor becoming pleasant once again. "Ooh, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! You come here, you!" He began to kiss Naveen on the cheek repeatedly.

Naveen continued, "And I can no longer marry Miss Charlotte La Bouff."

Ray was not listening, as his tangent went on and on, "You're going to be so happy together-"

"I'll find another way to get Tiana her restaurant." The frog pondered.

"-and you're going to have the cutest little tadpoles!"

"I will get a job. Maybe two. Maybe three." He became very determined.

Ray shot into the air and made a heart out of light with an arrow going through it. "I can't wait to tell chère!"

Naveen grabbed him midair. "No, no, no. I must tell her. Alone."

"Right," Ray agreed, "You rascal!"