Author's Note: Holy crap, this one is long. So this was going to be a oneshot, but the plot could actually fit in this story and then it was known as Chapter 8!

Da= The
Dat= That
Dem= Them

Once again, the above words aren't necessiarly used in the chapter, they're just for you to understand more of the pronunciation of New Orleans and the South in general, because I hear those words pronounced the same way elsewhere.

It had been a long day for Tiana and Naveen both and it was only noon. Tiana stumbled by Naveen as she told him about her morning. He was to the point of dragging her down the street. Oddly enough, Naveen was still full of energy. Usually it was the opposite with the two of them. He had spent his whole morning with his mother, father, brother, and Eudora finishing up the apartment above the restaurant-which now had running water and electricity along with some furniture. He had had to put up with their not-so-subtle hints about the uses the spare bedroom could serve.

Tiana had had a more exhausting morning at the La Bouff mansion.

"…and then Charlotte made me run up and down the stairs in my shoes and in circles around her backyard."

"Sounds terrible," Naveen commented. He put an arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

"Uh-huh. Then Big Daddy came around and Charlotte made me dance with him so I could get used to dancing in the shoes. You came by and picked me up right about the time Charlotte and I had gotten fed up with each other and were throwing her stuffed animals around the room."

Naveen laughed. "I was wondering why you were screaming 'keep away from me Lottie, or the bear gets it.' Do not worry, my princess. We are almost to the bakery." His plan was to get a little sugar in her before bringing her home for a well-deserved nap while he went the hotels and made sure the rooms for his friends and relatives were ready.

Tiana nodded, then stopped right there on the sidewalk right outside a flower shop. Naveen was worried now. Drowsiness could cloud your judgment and make you delusional.

"The bakery is two shops down," Naveen explained slowly. "Can you make it that far?"

"I want to get some daisies for Mama," Tiana mumbled, gesturing to the daisies. She forced herself to be more alert. "They're her favorite flowers."

"Alright, you get her a nice bouquet, I will stop by the bakery. Do not fall asleep while I am gone. Stay awake."

"You worry too much."

"I have to worry about you; otherwise you will work yourself to death one of these days." He gave her a long kiss on her lips, cupping her face in his hands. He grinned at her. "I will be right back."

"I'll be here," she called after him. Tiana was definitely more alert now. She'd never admit it to him but Naveen's kisses did wonders sometimes. She plucked out some flowers from the bunch, humming to herself, smiling and nodding at well-wishers as they passed. She jumped when someone dropped a rather large suitcase right next to her. Standing there was a tall bronze-skin man with dark brown eyes, short hair, and a smile that bordered on leering.

"Hello, madam," he greeted with a strangely familiar accent. "I seem to have lost my way and…you seem to know your way around the city well." Tiana had to use all her restraint not to hit the man right there. He better not be implying what she thought he was implying. "I just do not know where my hotel is." Oh, yes, he was. But she couldn't hit him like she wanted, too. There certainly were some major disadvantages to marrying a prince.

"Well, I'm sure my fiancée," she emphasized, "will be happy to give you directions." And by that, she meant "I'm sure my fiancée will have quite a few choice words for you and perhaps a fist for being such a-" No word was good enough for this pig.

"A fiancée, huh? Now why would you or your fiancée want to settle down now when you are so young and there is still so much to do, so much to see, so many people to meet." She did not like the way he moved a little closer when he said that.

Luckily, Naveen chose that moment to leave the bakery with a little white paper bag in hand. "There you are!" she called, running past the man and to Naveen. She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"I was only gone for a minute," he laughed. "What happened?"

She opened her mouth to tell him all about the horrible man. But that man spoke from right behind her.

"Hello, Naveen." Now Tiana knew where she knew that accent from, she whipped her head around toward the stranger. A grin spread across Naveen's face.

"Alberto!" he cried excitedly. His arm dropped from Tiana's waist for a moment as he embraced the man with a pat on the back. The arm went back to her waist, drawing her close. That would be comforting if it hadn't been for the fact that Naveen and the man seemed to know each other.

"You received the invitation, then?" he asked.

Alberto shook his head. "Oh, no. I was actually visiting Belgium when I heard the news. I finished up my affairs there as quick as I could and caught a ship down here. When's the wedding?"

Tiana wanted to grimace. She still didn't like this man and he was going to be at her wedding. Naveen noticed nothing wrong.

"Twelve days away," he replied proudly.

Alberto nodded. "And who is the girl you are planning to marry?"

Tiana wanted to hit him, but Naveen laughed. "You and your jokes. Alberto, this is my wife-to-be, Tiana. Tiana, this is Alberto: my best friend since we were eight." Alberto bowed to Tiana and grabbed her hand, placing a kiss on the back of it.

"What a delight to meet you, Miss Tiana," he said.

"Charmed," Tiana replied. She discreetly wiped her hand off on her dress.

"Where will I be staying, Naveen?" Alberto asked. Naveen handed over the money to pay for the daisies.

"Oh, it is a very nice place. I will take you to it right-" he paused as he watched Tiana covered her mouth to yawn. "-right after I take Tiana home so she can nap."

Thankfully, Naveen sat between the two on the streetcar. Tiana ate her food from the bakery but it didn't do much in trying to keep her awake. She dozed in and out of consciousness, trying not to lean on Naveen. He was very animated while talking to Alberto. They switched in between Maldonian and English and despite how much she disliked Alberto, it was nice to see Naveen so happy after not seeing anybody from Maldonia outside the royal entourage for so long. Despite her best efforts, she had opened her eyes to find herself leaning on Naveen, his arm around her.

He shook her when they arrived at their stop. "Tiana, wake up," he coaxed. Tiana nodded and stood up, swaying. She kept her balance long enough to step down on to the road, then she stumbled and began to fall forward. Naveen caught her and swept her up into his arms, bridal style.

"Perhaps it is best if you do not walk, yes?" he teased. Alberto was looking around the neighborhood with a judging eye.

"So this is where you live? It seems so far from all those mansions I have read so much about." Tiana glared at him, scowling, but neither man seemed to notice.

"Only a short ride away, my friend," he replied. "Your mother is not working on your dress, is she?"

"She shouldn't be," Tiana mumbled. "She should be working on her dress, but I'd knock just to be sure." She wasn't working on the dress, but Alberto waited on the porch while Naveen ducked inside the house and into Tiana's room.

He took off her hat for her. Tiana tried to take that back from him right away.

"Let me put that away. And my shoes," she grumbled.

"No, no, no, I will put them away, Princess. You get yourself in bed." He peeled back the blankets for her and put her things away in her wardrobe. "You know," he said as he hung the hat up on its hook, "I was thinking about making Alberto my best man."

Tiana was too tired to do anything but groan.

"Is that fine with you?" he asked, putting the blanket on her again.

"It's your decision," Tiana sighed. "I can't plan everything for the wedding." Naveen tucked the sheets in around her.

"Comfy?" he asked. She nodded. He kissed her on the forehead. "I will be back in time to help you with dinner," he promised. He turned and left, closing the door quietly behind him. Tiana wanted to cry at the thought of what that horrid man would say for a speech at their wedding.

Naveen was back, as promised for dinner, talking excitedly about what he had shown Alberto around the city. He also came back with a gift: a little Maldonian flag that served as the center piece at the table. It cut diagonally across into two colors: white and teal. In the middle was a gold circle with a red phoenix on it.

"It is the national bird of Maldonia!" Naveen said proudly.

"I thought they weren't real," Tiana replied. Naveen shrugged. The people of Maldonia didn't really care, they just liked the bird. The next day, which she had planned to spend with Naveen, was spent with Naveen and Alberto.

They haven't seen each other for a while, Tina told herself. Just stay calm and remember this is making Naveen happy. Naveen is happy to see his friend. But why did he like him? Naveen was bad as far as flirting with women and partying and being lazy went before he met Tiana, but he was better now. He ignored most women, his idea of partying was dancing with Tiana in the comfort of her living room, and he actually liked to work hard. Alberto was ten times worse than Naveen was.

Alberto flirted with women, but he openly pointed them out to Naveen, wanting him to comment on their beauty. Naveen only shrugged. And Bourbon Street was the only place Alberto wanted to go…until he found out about Prohibition. But his disappointment didn't last long, because there were still plenty of places they could go to dance.

"Just you and me, friend," he said, gesturing to the dance hall in front of them. "We will stay up until the sun rises and maybe I will find a girl to show me around the city some more."

Tiana scowled as she looked in a shop window. How could Naveen be so blind to what his friend was saying? He wanted to come to New Orleans for women of the night (her Mama's words, not hers); not to see his best friend married.

"Sorry, Alberto," Naveen shrugged. "I am getting up early tomorrow with Tiana so we can finish up our apartment. It is going to be right above her restaurant, yes, Princess?" Naveen squeezed her shoulders and kissed her cheek.

"Yeah, that's right," she mumbled, blushing.

"Well I will meet you two tomorrow," Alberto decided. Tiana's slightly lifted mood dropped again. No. She did not want him in her restaurant, in her apartment where she and Naveen would be living.

"What time should I come by? Early afternoon?"

Never, Tiana wanted to say. But Naveen said that was great and they would see each other then. She wanted to insult him, hit him, anything, but she couldn't because she wasn't just Tiana anymore. She was Princess Tiana, and princesses had to act like princesses.

The next morning, Tiana was determined to be in a good mood because she'd have hours with Naveen to herself before Alberto showed up. She dressed in a pretty teal dress with translucent, flowing sleeves and white heels. She threw a white shawl around her shoulders and drew her hair up in a bun. Partly, she was dressing up for Naveen but she was also dressing up in an outfit she liked so she would be in a better mood, no matter what.

They had fun as the hours ticked by. Tiana swept the floors while Naveen arranged the little things they had in the cabinets and on shelves. The happiness Tiana felt didn't last long. Just as promised, Alberto knocked on the door frame of their apartment and invited himself in.

"It is not much, Naveen," he commented. "Your bedroom back at your castle is much larger. I think the broom closet is about this size, though." Tiana gripped the broom tighter, using sheer force of will not to hit him with it.

"True, but with this apartment, I will have a much harder time losing anything," Naveen quipped. Tiana sighed and leaned the broom against the wall.

"Naveen, I'm gonna go get those linens Mama made us," she decided. Along with the wedding dress, her Mama had worked tirelessly on quilts, sheets, and table cloths for the young couple.

"Do you need any-?"

"No," Tiana interrupted, already out the door, and tying her shawl around her waist. The box rested at the bottom of the stairs of the restaurant and she probably should have accepted his help. The box was heavier than she realized, but she got it up the stairs alright. She was going toward the door when she heard Alberto begin to speak.

"Naveen, while she is gone, I have to ask: when is the joke over?"

Naveen laughed. "What joke?"

"This! The whole thing! You, settling down and getting…married." He said the last word like it was diseased. Tiana set the box down and stood there, out of sight, listening intently.

"Alberto, it is not a joke, I really-"

"And this whole 'working in a restaurant' business is completely laughable. You are a prince. You do not even have to think about working until you are king. But the marriage-that is just too unbelievable. Especially when you look at whom you are going to marry. Everyone expects you to marry a rich girl from a well-off family, preferably from nobility. But this girl is nobody and comes from nowhere. Nobody will take this marriage seriously at all."

Hot, angry tears welled up in Tiana's eyes. Now Alberto revealed his true and full colors. She had every reason, every right to go in there now and give him a thorough tongue-lashing, but she couldn't. Being a princess meant she couldn't act rashly anymore. Not even to this pig.

Tiana flew silently and swiftly down the steps. Louis, as luck would have it, was just waking up from his nap. Too bad Alberto hadn't seen him when he walked in, but Louis had chosen the darkest corner to nap in that day after practicing on his trumpet.

"Hey, Miss Tiana!" he called rather loudly. "What's wrong? Hey! Where you goin'?" Tiana wrenched open the door to the restaurant as she heard footsteps above her.

"Tiana!" Naveen called, but she was gone.

Tiana went straight home, feeling miserable. She locked herself up in her room and only felt in the mood for making cornbread for dinner: something simple, just like her and she didn't care who thought that wasn't enough. Eudora didn't ask anything and let her daughter go to bed without saying a word.

Tiana woke early the next morning, still feeling miserable, but was aroused by the smell of her Mama making breakfast. She changed into a lavender dress and pulled her hair back into a pony tail before shuffling out to the kitchen table, her eyes half-closed. She sunk down into her chair and buried her face in her arms, listening to her Mama behind her. Her stomach grumbled loudly once or twice at the smell of the food. Normally, she would help, but today she really wasn't up for it. Her Mama always understood.

The noises behind her stopped and instead, she heard and felt things being placed on the kitchen table. She instantly felt more awake at the smell of coffee being placed in front of her. When she heard the chair next to her being pulled out and being settled down in, Tiana finally lifted her head, rubbed her eyes, and turned to thank her Mama for making breakfast. Boy did she ever get the start of her life.

It was Naveen sitting there. A plate of crepes was in the center of the table, the Maldonian flag above them. He had his own steaming mug of copy and two plates and forks. Now that Tiana's head was lifted, he handed her one of the plates and forks. She tucked a napkin in her lap, confused. She looked at the two jars of preserves, wondering what fruit was in them.

"I finally procured the recipe for crepes from the royal chef," he said proudly. "They are a very popular breakfast dish in my country. Would you like strawberries or apples on yours?"

Tiana blinked. "You made me breakfast?" she asked, confused.

"Drink your coffee," Naveen sighed. He grabbed her plate and put a crepe on it. With a spoon, he scooped out the strawberries and spread them on the crepe before rolling it up and using another spoon to sprinkle powdered sugar over it. He gave the plate back to her.

"Yes, I made breakfast for you. You have already made meals for me countless times. I felt like returning the favor and I remember watching the chefs make crepes and it looked ridiculously easy and I was right."

Tiana took another gulp of her coffee and stared at the crepe. "You made me breakfast," she repeated.

"Eat," Naveen ordered. "Is it so unbelievable that I would take the time to make you breakfast? No, don't answer that. Just try it and decide if I'm allowed to make them again." Tiana consented, taking a cautious bite. She nodded, surprised again that it actually tasted decent.

"Can I have the recipe?" Tiana asked when she had consumed her third crepe. Naveen produced a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. She smiled, clutching the paper to her chest, before setting it carefully down on the table.

"Something has come up with Alberto," Naveen announced. Tiana slumped a little. They were having such a good time. Why did he have to bring him up? "He decided to skip out on the wedding and go visit the Caribbean instead," Naveen continued.

Tiana waited, with cautious ears. "Yeah?" she prodded.

"It came up very suddenly, but there was no stopping him. Perhaps I will ask my cousin, Alexander to be my best man instead. I would ask Nathaniel, but he is too young. Plus, Alexander was a much more faithful friend to me throughout the years. He is also the one who helped me when I was struggling to learn English."

Tiana nodded. "Whoever you think is best," she said. "I'm gonna go get my shoes." Tiana stood and walked only a few steps from the table before stopping, deliberating silently to herself for a moment, and turning back to Naveen, flinging her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed.

"You are most welcome," Naveen laughed. Tiana sat on his leg, grinning at him. "Now that that is out of the way, what do you recommend I put on this?" he held up his hand, showing bright red and purple knuckles.

"Did you burn yourself?" she gasped. Naveen shook his head.

"No, my Evangeline. This is from my…discussion with Alberto yesterday."

"Discussion?"

"Well it began as a discussion; albeit a very non-verbal discussion. It stopped being a discussion when Louis bit his pants off. He runs amazingly fast for a man with no pants on."

"So you hit him?" Tiana pried.

"A few times, yes, but he deserved it!" Naveen insisted as Tiana went into the kitchen to look for something to put on Naveen's hands.

"A few?" she pressed.

"Alright, I hit him more than a few times. But why do you sound angry? I was sure you disliked him."

"I do," Tiana insisted, "but did you ever stop to think that maybe I wanted to hit him, too?"

Naveen laughed, then hissed through his teeth as Tiana began to dab a salve with a cloth on his knuckles. "Well, if we ever run in to him again, you can hit him, I promise."

Naveen's Maldonian breakfast is actually what I have on special occasions for breakfast: Easter, Christmas, Fourth of July, etc. And they are really easy to make. Wasn't Alberto a jerk? He just wanted some hookers. Being around him is probably what got Naveen a worse reputation than he deserved. But at least he beat the ever-living crap out of him. Yay!