Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love.

-George Eliot

…………

"How about that one?"

"No."

"That one?"

"No."

"That one?"

"No."

"Tia, ain't you got eyes? They're all gorgeous!"

Tiana sighed with exasperation at Charlotte's disapproval of her disapproval. "Yes, and they're also all huge and loud and gaudy."

Charlotte pointed again at the last necklace she had indicated, on the very edge of the display shelf at the uptown jeweler's they were shopping at. "But that's the smallest one here!"

"Exactly."

"Come on, Tiana. You'd look pretty in this one. It ain't gaudy at all." Charlotte quickly made her way behind the shelf and barked out a command to the jeweler. "William, take that one out and try it on her. That slender one on the end there, with the emerald pendant."

William grumbled, but opened the drawer and unclasped the hook of the necklace, bringing it to Tiana's neck. Tiana could feel his irritation, an irritation to match her own uneasiness. She honestly wouldn't be all that surprised if she was the first black person to ever set foot in his shop. If she had been alone, or even with anyone else other than Charlotte, he certainly would have thrown her out by now. But no one ever argued with Big Daddy LaBouff's daughter, even before she got herself engaged to a prince, making her an official princess-to-be.

And since no one ever argued, Charlotte never even had the slightest notion that there was any problem. When it came to race she was completely colorblind, which was both a good and bad thing. Good in that she never made a distinction between blacks, whites, and any other race and just treated everyone as people rather than colors; bad in that it simply never occurred to her that others didn't share her views, that others wouldn't be as accepting of her taking Tiana to all the places she wanted to go. Tiana had been remarkably privileged to have Charlotte as a friend, getting to experience many of the white-upper-class society perks that she had. Strange to think that after today she wasn't going to have that privilege anymore.

Charlotte smiled, happily and innocently, when William fastened the necklace around Tiana's neck. "It suits you, Tia. Let me buy it for you, please! I ain't gonna get the chance to buy you pretty things for a long time now, and you simply must have this necklace! It was made for you!"

"Okay, fine," Tiana finally relented, examining herself in the small mirror perched on the display shelf. "But only this one. I don't need a thousand necklaces."

"Of course you don't!" laughed Charlotte, handing over a stack of bills to William without batting an eye. "Five hundred is a sensible amount for anyone. Let's go grab a bite to eat, I'm famished!" With a whirl, she pulled Tiana out of the shop, leaving no time for further arguments or discussions.

"Let's go to Maurice's," Charlotte was chirping excitedly, almost skipping down the street. "They've got the best po'boys you've ever tasted!"

Tiana smirked. "Even better than mine?"

"Well, not quite that good." Charlotte suddenly harrumphed crossly. "I still wish you could come to Maldonia with Naveen and me. You could be our chef! I'm sure you're better than any of the royal chefs there!"

Tiana forced out a laugh. "Even if that were true, I can't exactly just uproot my restaurant and move it across the ocean."

"I still am gonna miss your cooking though. Ooh! Do you think—" Charlotte reached into her purse and began to pull out more money.

"Lottie, for the last time, stop tryin' to give me money!"

"I ain't just givin' it to you! I know this is short notice, but if you could whip up a bunch of your beignets for me, I can pack them and take them to Maldonia with me! They won't last long, I'm sure, but at least it'll be somethin'. And I'll pay you for them, too."

Tiana finally felt herself smile a genuine smile. "Alright, when you put it that way. I could definitely use the money."

"I'm still buyin' your lunch today, though," said Charlotte.

…………

Across town, at the French quarter, a certain prince and a certain alligator were getting odd stares too… but those stares were more of the pleased and delighted variety. No one could frown at the bouncy, lively jazz music the two friends were creating, lest of all Louis and Naveen themselves.

"Achidanza!" Naveen exclaimed, laughing with such merriment that he was unable to continue playing on his ukulele any longer. "That was one of the best songs I have ever heard!"

"What's it called, Your Highness?" an onlooker asked in awe.

Naveen shrugged good-naturedly. "How should I know? Louis and I only just now made it up! What do you think it's called, Louis?"

Louis pulled his trumpet away from his lips to laugh even more gleefully than Naveen had. "I think it's called 'I Can't Imagine a Better Time Than This'!"

"You can say that again!" Naveen strummed a finishing chord, which Louis immediately harmonized on his trumpet. "You have quite the ear!" Naveen said. "How on earth can you improvise so quickly?"

"It's the music in my soul, brother!"

"Good answer! And my soul has only just begun the melodies!"

"My soul needs a lunch break," Louis said apologetically, a huge rumble from his tummy accentuating his remark.

Naveen chuckled. "Very well. Where's the best place to grab a bite to eat?" he asked the crowd.

A man pointed down the street to a building caddy-corner from where they were at. "Duke's Diner's one of the best places in town."

"Excellent! Thank you, my good man." Naveen spun around and ambled his way to the restaurant, Louis lumbering behind him.

"Mm, I can't wait!" Louis said eagerly. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse! Five horses! Ten horses!"

Naveen made a face of disgust. "Horses are eaten in New Orleans? Perhaps I should be glad I'm leaving so soon!"

"Just a figure of speech… although I have heard from other gators that they're quite tasty," Louis added thoughtfully.

Naveen pushed open the door with his usual dramatic flair. "Manidaza, everyone! Do you have room for two more?"

All the customers and employees stared at the newcomers in shock. It wasn't every day that a prince nor an alligator graced the restaurant, much less both at the exact same time.

Buford got over his shock first. "Uh-uh, I don't think so! No gators in my restaurant!"

Louis recoiled back in hurt shock. "But…"

Naveen, however, just shrugged. "Alright, very well. I won't eat here either, then. You turn away my friend, you turn away me… and I am sure that is the kind of image you want for your restaurant, turning away a prince such as myself…"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Buford quickly said. "I suppose… I can make an exception… just this once…"

"Thank you!" said Naveen, tipping his cap amiably and sitting down at the front countertop.

Louis whistled, impressed. "Man, I gotta hang out with you more often!"

Naveen opened up the menu sitting in front of him and glanced over it quickly. "Now what sounds good…" He made a motion with his hand to catch the attention of the waiter. "Pardon me, my good sir. What would you suggest?"

"Well, the beignets are a local favorite, Your Highness."

The man sitting to the right of Naveen gave a low chuckle. "Yeah, they good, alright, but you shoulda come here when Tiana Wilcox is workin'! She make the best beignets in the city!"

Naveen's eyes instantly lit up. "Tiana? This is where Tiana works? Achidanza! I certainly picked the right restaurant! It is a shame she's not working today—no wait, I take that back, she is spending time with Charlotte and she certainly deserves a day off—but still! If her beignets are even half as good as her gumbo they must be to die for!"

"Hold up a minute," said Buford, who had been listening in on the conversation. "First Tiana's always got her head in the clouds going on about that dream of hers that obviously is never gonna come true but always believed it would anyway, then she suddenly gets money almost just handed off to her, and to top it all off she cooked for a prince and he's sittin' in here right now singin' her praises? What lucky star was the gal born under, anyway?"

Naveen sighed dreamily and look upwards at the ceiling. "Evangeline, I would guess."

"So, will you be ordering the beignets then?" the waiter asked.

Quickly jolting back to reality, Naveen nodded, although a bit distractedly. "Yes, yes, the beignets will be fine, thank you."

"I'll just take your everything gumbo, with extra everything, please!" said Louis cheerfully.

"Right on that… sir," said the waiter awkwardly, apparently not being sure of how to properly address an alligator.

Naveen set the menu down, his smile gone. "Louis," he said slowly, "I was wondering if I might… ask a favor of you."

"Sure thing, Naveen! What is it?"

"Well… you did say that you are planning on staying with Tiana indefinitely, correct? You don't plan on going back to the bayou anytime soon?"

"Heck no!" laughed Louis. "It's so much greater here! I can play jazz all the time, and once Tiana opens her restaurant she told me I can play in it!"

"Good! Good!" Naveen leaned over closer to Louis so he could continue the conversation in a lower volume. "I am glad you'll be with Tiana. It's never good for anyone to be lonely. And that's why I want you to… take care of her. —Not that she needs anyone to take care of her, she is perfectly capable of taking care of herself, I am not insinuating that she's weak or anything! But whenever she's lonely or sad, just be there for her, as a friend, you know—"

Louis knowingly crossed his stubby arms and rested them on the countertop. "Why you marryin' Charlotte, anyway?"

Naveen flinched. As if he hadn't been asking himself that very same question these last few days… "I am marrying her because I need to marry a rich young woman, that's why. It makes perfect sense—"

"It don't when it's Tiana you're in love with."

Naveen sighed helplessly. "Is it that obvious?"

"Just a little."

Sighing again, Naveen pressed his fingers to his forehead and rubbed it bitterly. "But—but that is precisely why I have to marry Charlotte. I promised to marry her only if she would help Tiana get her restaurant. Which she did, and now I have to live up to my end of the bargain. It was the only way I could help Tiana, you see? If… if I married her, I couldn't have gotten her that restaurant in time. I'm still broke, and she needed the money for it the very next day, and…" He stopped kneading his forehead and simply pressed his face into his palms helplessly. "There was nothing else I could do. This was the only thing I could do to get her her dream. And more than anything else I want to see her dreams come true." He looked back at Louis, with a sad and pleading look that the gator had never seen on his face before. "So please, Louis, since I cannot be here with her to make sure her final steps towards her dream go smoothly, can you do that for me? Just make sure that she's happy?"

"Of… of course, yeah, I can do that." Louis gave Naveen a worried look. "But what about you?"

Naveen looked straight ahead, although his body was still slumped over helplessly. "I'll manage," he murmured.

…………

Charlotte and Naveen had made plans to board the ship back to Maldonia early Saturday morning, but even then the dock was crowded with reporters and curious onlookers to get their last glimpses of the foreign prince and their own local sweetheart.

That "own local sweetheart", however, at the moment was zipping about between all the porters in a state of agitation and panic. "Be careful with that! My jewelry's in there, and—no, no, no! The ball gowns go there, the causal dresses go there! As if I'm gonna be wearing ball gowns on this cruise! And where are my lounge dresses? I can't be on an Atlantic cruise without my lounge dresses! They need to go in my cabin—my cabin's on the top deck, not down below! Honestly! And where are my hat boxes? We did bring them, didn't we? I know we packed them!"

In stark contrast to his fiancée's urgency, Naveen was simply lounging lazily on one of the boxes, his belongings already on the ship (granted, unlike Charlotte he wasn't too particular on exactly where his things went, so long as they were there), strumming his ukulele slowly. The tunes he was creating today didn't have quite the pizzazz they usually did. With a sigh, he looked up at the mismatched, small yet ornate buildings lining the streets of New Orleans.

The chord he strummed was a minor one. He looked at his ukulele in surprise. He rarely played in minor keys, and when he did it was always done on purpose. But this time, it had come out without his meaning to. Looking back at the city, he cocked his head to the side, still confused. How could looking at this amazing town move him to play a minor chord?

Because I'm leaving it, he thought sadly. Sighing, he placed his ukulele down next to him, not feeling it in his heart to play anymore.

It wasn't that he was dreading going back home. In fact, he actually missed his parents and his little brother and was looking forward to seeing them again. And there was certainly nothing dreadful in the least about his life there.

Except that Tiana's not there, he thought before he could stop himself. Groaning in irritation, he shook his head, trying to force the thought out of his head… with about as much success as he had had the past few days; that is, none at all. Alright, let's go through this again: it's GOOD that Tiana won't be there. She's staying here in New Orleans so she can finally make her dream come true. It's for the best and I've done everything I could for her, so I shouldn't be sad about it at all. I should be happy for her.

One problem, though: Naveen was selfish, and he knew it. And during these past few days, having to listen to Charlotte blabber on about their upcoming wedding and how she was going to be a real, bonafide princess and how absolutely perfect everything was working out, more than once it took Naveen literally biting his tongue from shouting at her, "I don't want to marry you, I want to marry Tiana." This was ridiculous—he had gotten Tiana the money she needed, and Charlotte couldn't very well take it back now that Tiana had already used it, so if he told her the truth and left her and went with Tiana instead…

Naveen sighed and rubbed his temples again. Oh yes, wouldn't that impress Tiana! She had taught him so much during the short time they had been together, including showing him how selfish he really was and teaching him how to do something for someone other than himself. And leaving Charlotte for Tiana, after he'd already promised Charlotte that he'd marry her… it didn't get much more selfish than that. As it was now, he was giving both Tiana and Charlotte all they'd ever wanted. Sure, he was going to be left unhappy, but if he followed what he wanted he would leave both of them unhappy. He sat up straighter with that thought, as if his resolve was returning. He was doing this to make Tiana happy. He had to take comfort in that. Because that really was all that he wanted, even more so than his being with her. If to make her happy he had to leave her, then… then he had to leave her. Simple as that.

"Naveen!" Charlotte shrieked, having blustered her way over to where he was sitting. "Don't just sit there, there's so much left to get loaded! Like that box you're sittin' on right now!"

Naveen shrugged, not looking at Charlotte. "I do not know where you want everything. I think I'd only get in your way."

"You're in my way right now!" Charlotte gave Naveen a shove in an attempt to push him off the crate. It really accomplished nothing, as Charlotte was quite a bit smaller than Naveen, but Naveen didn't really feel like getting into an argument with her, so he stood up and let the porters take his seat away, his ukulele still resting on top.

Charlotte was quickly distracted from berating Naveen any further, however. "Tiana!" She rushed over to where Tiana had appeared, wearing her overcoat, holding a large box, and looking as if she felt a bit out of place. "Thank goodness you made it in time! I was gettin' worried!"

Tiana gave Charlotte a small smile. "Wouldn't'a let you leave without your order, Lottie."

Charlotte smiled at Tiana, her lower lip trembling, for about three seconds before flinging herself into Tiana's arms as best she could, almost crushing the box full of beignets. "Oh, Tia, I'm gonna miss you!"

"I'm gonna miss you too, Lottie," said Tiana, struggling to keep the box from getting crushed by the hug. Naveen swiftly moved in and took the box from Tiana's hands. Tiana gave him a grateful smile before returning Charlotte's hug.

"I'll write to you," said Charlotte. "I'll write to you every day—well, every week at least. And you'll be gettin' a weddin' invitation from me, too! It'll hopefully be in a month, maybe two… the sooner the better… anyway, you're gonna be my maid of honor, of course, and don't worry, I'll pay for your ticket, I wouldn't let you miss my weddin' for the world! I just wish…"

Tiana pulled away from Charlotte. "You wish what?"

Charlotte bit her lip and, instead of saying anything, uncharacteristically remained silent and looked over her shoulder at the city.

Tiana stared at Charlotte in surprise. She doesn't want to leave.

Looking to her side, however, caused Charlotte to also catch a glimpse of Big Daddy. "Oh, Daddy!" she said tearfully, moving away to Tiana to say her goodbye to her father. Tiana continued to stare, feeling the sense of worry and despair that had been growing in her stomach all week increase tenfold.

"So, Tiana." Naveen's voice shook Tiana out of her worried glance, and she spun around to see him still holding the box of beignets with his normal playful, charming smile on his face. "What is in the box?"

"Beignets. Six dozen of 'em."

Naveen looked down at the box in awe. "Achidanza. You were quite busy last night! Let's see, six dozen, that makes seventy-two. Which should last me about… oh, one hour."

"Oh, no no no," said Tiana in mock chastisement. "Those are Lottie's beignets, not yours."

"You can't expect me to just completely ignore these delicious, scrumptious, tasty—"

"I don't expect you to. I just expect you to actually leave some for Lottie. She ordered them, after all."

"She had better keep an eye on them, that's all I'm saying." A porter walked by them with only a small suitcase in his hands, and Naveen got his attention by pushing the box of beignets into his free arm. "Pack this on the ship while you're at it."

"Where do you want it, Your Highness?"

Naveen shrugged. "Someplace I can find it."

Tiana laughed at the porter's confused shrug, apparently at a loss of what to do with this vague instruction after receiving dozens of exact orders from Charlotte. "And someplace Charlotte can find it too," she added.

With his hands now free, Naveen turned his attentions back to Tiana… or rather, her neck. "Hmm, what is this flash of gold I see?" he said, touching the chain of Tiana's necklace.

Tiana drew in her breath sharply. "My necklace… L-Lottie got it for me yesterday."

Naveen pulled down the collar of her jacket to get a better look at her new jewelry. "I like it," he said earnestly. "It is… delicate, but not too delicate." Holding the pendant in his hand, he raised his gaze back to Tiana's eyes. "You wear it well."

Tiana's heart thudded madly in her chest. Don't think this way, don't think this way, he doesn't love you, he doesn't love you, he's just doing this because he wants to get you in bed—but why would he bother with this when there's no TIME to get me in bed, he HAS to love me—but if he loves me then why is he leaving me—how can he be so irresistible, has EVERY one of his past conquests felt like I have?

Naveen continued to run his fingers up and down the pendant, holding it close enough to Tiana's neck that he was by extension stroking her as well. "Tiana… I just want to tell you… thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for me. You have—" He stopped, gazing into her eyes for a few moments, apparently having lost the thread of what he was trying to say. "Thank you," he finally said again, his fingers now stroking her neck much more than her necklace.

Tiana closed her eyes for a brief second, unable to concentrate on anything other than his touch. It's a lie, her common sense was still hissing in her ear, it's a lie that he loves you, and Tiana was still inclined to agree… but right now, it was a lie worth believing, and a lie that actually seemed to make a bit of sense.

Her eyes quickly flew open. "And thank you," she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking as much as her insides were, "for helping me get my restaurant. If it weren't for you and Lottie, I'd… well, I'd be back on square one right now."

Naveen smiled warmly at her. "Your restaurant is going to be amazing, because of how hard you've worked for it… But I want you to promise me something. Do not forget to have fun, alright? Take time to enjoy yourself, enjoy life, because… I know you will have an absolutely amazing one."

"As long as you promise me that you'll actually work once in a while and get off that lazy behind of yours," Tiana countered.

Naveen laughed. "No need to worry about that. You have taught me well, waitress."

The sound of the ship's horn blasted through the air, with the porters loading the last of the luggage on board. Tiana and Naveen glanced at the ship, at Charlotte still tearfully saying goodbye to Big Daddy, and back at each other.

Tiana forced herself to smile, praying that the tears that were starting to well up in her eyes would stay put, at least until the ship left. "Better get on board, Your Highness."

Naveen sighed, getting one last wistful look at New Orleans. "I suppose…" He let go of Tiana's necklace and brought his hand to her chin. "I will miss you," he murmured, kissing her forehead. "Abinaza."

He let go of her and reluctantly turned around to board the ship, Tiana struggling to continue standing upright, made difficult due to the shaking of her knees.

"Good… goodbye," she murmured.

Charlotte had finally moved away from Big Daddy also, wiping tears away from her eyes. "It won't be so bad, Daddy, I'll be seein' you in a month or so… never been away from you that long before though…" She sniffled and determinedly took her first step on the ramp. "So it ain't goodbye, it's see you later! See you later, Daddy! See you later, Tiana!"

Tiana brought up one hand to wave while the other wiped at her eyes. "See you later," she tried to call out, but the words got caught in her throat.

Charlotte and Naveen finished climbing up the ramp and looked down at the crowd, at the city, at everything they were leaving behind… and even though the cameras were going off left and right, both found that they were unable to smile for them.