It was a busy day at 'Tiana's Palace.' Part of it probably had to do with the temperature out side. It was a hot day and a lot of people were inside because of it. Tiana was walking around her restaurant making sure everyone was happy. That's when see saw a thin form out of the corner of her eye. She turned, knowing perfectly well who she would see. Shadowman. He was tilting back in his chair and had his legs propped up on the table. His top hat was pulled down below his eyes and there was a good chance he was asleep. None of the tables around him had anyone sitting at them. Tiana pulled one of the waitresses over to her.
"How long has he been here for?" She asked the girl. The waitress shrugged. Tiana looked at her. "Are you going to take his order?" She asked. The waitress, not surprisingly, shook her head. Sighing Tiana let her go. Taking a deep breath she walked over to him. It wasn't until she was standing over him that she realized that, in fact, he was asleep. "Hey!" she said to him, apparently startling him because he almost fell over. He lifted his hat to see who had disturbed his nap and smiled.
"Good day, Tiana," he said sweetly, causing her to roll her eyes. "Funny meeting you here."
"It's my restaurant," she said irritably. Facilier nodded and sat up, taking his legs off the table. "Shouldn't you be on a street corner somewhere hexing people?" Facilier shook his head.
"Too hot," he said. "Besides, Shadow wanted to get out of the sun." For the first time Tiana noticed Facilier's shadow hiding under the table. He, apparently, had also been asleep. Tiana put her hands on her hips and looked at Facilier, who had leaned back and closed his eyes again.
"Are you gonna buy something or are you just going to sleep?" She asked. Facilier sighed and sat up.
"Do y'all treat all your costumers like this?" He asked. She smiled.
"Only the ones that turn me into a frog," she said. That got a chuckle out of him.
"I turned Naveen into a frog, chere," he said. "Y'all didn't have to kiss him." She smiled.
"True," she said. She smiled when she thought of something. "You know, this is the second time I've gotten the drop on you. Third if you count when I broke your talisman." She saw him shudder for the first time.
"I'd rather if y'all wouldn't bring that up?" He said. He shuddered again. He was still having nightmares about that. Tiana nodded.
"So do you want anything?" She asked. He nodded.
"Two," he held up two fingers, "glasses of cold water. One with ice; the other without. Understand?" She nodded and left to get his water. When she came back he seemed to have fallen back asleep. There were people sitting around him, some uneasy, others not. And she thought she knew why. The heat seemed to have the same effect on him that it did on most people. He was tired and as a result, uninterested in anything other than resting. Like a gator in the early morning; the potential for violence was there but not the motivation. Some of the people around him must have realized that. She walked over and set the two glasses down in front of him. He opened one eye lazily then sat up.
"Much obliged, chere," he said. He removed his top hat and dumped the glass without the ice on his head. The water ran down his head, making his mess hair even messier. He shivered as the cold water ran down his back and chest. Tiana tried to stifle a laugh. If his hair wasn't funny enough, that fact that he was now soaked was. He glared at her and replaced his top hat. "I told y'all I was hot." Tiana chuckled and sat down across from him. He shivered again. "Damn that was cold," he said. She smiled.
"No one told you to dump it on your head," she said matter-of-factly. Facilier shook his head, shaking off some droplets in the process.
"Aren't y'all supposed to be scare of me?" He asked. "Given I'm the Shadowman and all?" Tiana looked at him and shook her head.
"I probably should be but the way I see it is this; if you were gonna do something today," she said, "you would have already done it." He nodded and leaned back; picking up the still full glass of water and taking a sip. He then put his hand on the table and made his deck of tarot cards appear. He looked at her and smiled.
"Anything you want to know, chere?" He asked. She shook her head. Shadow seemed to have woken up because he slid out from under the table and hovered next to his master. "Come on," he said. "There's gotta be something. Look at you; you're a princess, you own a restaurant…"
You're pregnant, Shadow chimed in even though Tiana couldn't understand him. Facilier could though and his shadow's comment caught him off guard. He fell backwards in his chair the moment Shadow finished his comment. Scrambling to his feet he dropped some coins on the table and grabbed his cards.
"Where you going?" Tiana asked the flustered witch doctor.
"Sorry darling," he said. "Something's come up." Without another word he was out the door, leaving behind a confused Tiana.