Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires.
-Francois de La Rochefoucauld
…………
Tiana's tickets had been first-class, of course, and she was treated to the finest comfort and dining she had ever experienced in her life during her six day voyage. However, having never even been any further than ten miles outside New Orleans before, let alone on a cruise across the Atlantic, Tiana spent most of the trip feeling seasick, anxious, and claustrophobic.
The ship had made remarkably good time across the ocean, arriving in Maldonia a day earlier than scheduled. Charlotte had said in her note that there would be a royal cab waiting for her when she arrived, but they were planning on her arriving tomorrow, not that day. Still, Tiana dragged her trunk off the boat almost as soon as it docked, not wanting to spend another second off of dry land.
However, there was now the little worry of finding her way around a foreign country where she didn't speak the language and didn't have the right currency and was scared and nervous as hell and had to drag along a trunk of clothes and…
She looked around on the dock, smiling a bit despite her worry. Small, quaint seaside shacks lined the shoreline, with tall, closely-packed cobblestone buildings sprouting behind them. It gave her the same feeling she got when she had looked at pictures of old-fashioned European buildings before—like stepping back in time. The air was warm, the Maldonian citizens were cheerfully bustling about their day, she was finally off that damn boat…
Turning her attention back to the people on the dock, she listened carefully for any sounds of English, hoping that someone here did speak it, and could direct her to a bank where she could exchange her American dollars for Maldonian… whatever the form of currency was in Maldonia.
"Excuse me," she said to a man who she thought had heard a "goodbye" from his lips before turning away from another man he had been speaking to. "Do you speak English?"
The man smiled at her. "Yes I do. Do you need help with anything?"
Tiana smiled gratefully. "Yes, yes, I need—can you direct me to the nearest bank? I need money for a cab, and I've only got American money…"
The man patted her arm comfortingly. "My dear, I will not have such a bright, sweet girl go about our country so alone in her first few minutes here," he said to her, his words carefully stated but still with an accent, much like Naveen's, Tiana noted—and then quickly pushed the thought out of her mind.
"I appreciate that," she said quickly, still smiling, "but really all I need is a cab to the—to where I'm staying, and then I'll be fine." She wasn't too sure if people would believe her if she said she was going to the palace.
"Of course, and that is where you shall go! I will pay for your cab myself."
"You… you will? Oh, no, that's not necessary—"
"Please. I insist."
"Well… thank you. Thank you very much!" said Tiana, grinning. She already felt much better. People here seemed to be very friendly.
The man flagged down a taxi and helped Tiana move her trunk into the back. He and the cab driver spoke in Maldonian for a few moments while Tiana listened on, trying in vain to catch at least a word or two she understood. Turning back to Tiana, the man said in English, "Where is it that you need to go?"
"Uh… well, the palace, actually," said Tiana, blushing a bit and reaching into her pocket for Charlotte's letter to prove it. "I'm a friend of Lot—of Princess Charlotte."
"Ah! A royal guest! You will have the utmost respect then." He opened the cab door for her.
Tiana laughed. "I've already been gettin' it! Thank you so much for all your help."
"My pleasure, miss."
…………
Twenty minutes later, Tiana stood with her trunk outside the palace, unable to move from her spot, so awed by the size and beauty of the place. There were so many towers, so many windows, so many entrances, that she honestly didn't know which way to proceed.
Finally, dragging her trunk a bit awkwardly behind her, she made her way to the door nearest to where the cab driver had let her out. Upon reaching it, she timidly raised her hand to knock, and—
—two palace guards suddenly grabbed her by the arms and started shouting at her in Maldonian.
"Wait, wait, please!" Tiana cried, struggling to reach for the invitation in her pocket. "I'm Tiana Wilcox—I'm a friend of Princess Charlotte—I was supposed to get in tomorrow but the ship got in a day early, and—"
One of the guards still kept his grip on her arm, but the other one instantly let go. "Oh, so you are Miss Wilcox!" he said to her. "That's a, how do you say in English, a different colored horse, yes?"
Tiana smiled shakily. "Horse of a different color."
"Yes, that's right!" The guard gave a stern look to the other guard, who was still grasping Tiana's arm. "Let her go, Lysander. She is expected."
Lysander begrudgingly released his grip. Tiana rubbed her arm, wincing a bit.
"My apologies," said the first guard. "Lysander was on a personal two week vacation, otherwise he would have known you were coming too. It is all both Princess Charlotte and Prince Naveen speak of."
"Is that so?" Tiana asked, trying to keep her voice level. She wasn't surprised to hear that Charlotte had been preoccupied with her arrival, but Naveen too? Her heart fluttered alarmingly.
"I have never seen either of them so eager. And that is saying a lot!" The guard opened the door for her, while Lysander moved to pick up her trunk.
Tiana drew in her breath as she stepped into the foyer. Ornately carved chairs and tables were against the just as ornate walls, the wood paneling reaching all the way up to the golden ceiling, which had to be at least thirty feet high.
"Wait here, please. We'll announce you at once," the first guard said. He and Lysander departed down a far corridor.
Left in silence, Tiana sighed in an effort to let some of her stress out of her, flopping down to sit on her trunk. She felt both exhausted and completely on edge at the same time, and the mix of the two emotions was making her tremble a little bit in honest confusion.
The silence didn't last long.
Rapidly approaching the foyer, a very familiar voice was snipping, in barely-suppressed irritation, "No. Non. I ain't got time for any interviews today! Don't any of y'all speak English? You always put words in my mouth anyway, so why are you even bothering to pretend to care about what I say?"
The doors on the other side of the room, opposite from where the guards had just left, flew open, and Charlotte pushed a group of about five reporters towards the main door without giving them a chance to defend themselves. "Why don't you go bother Parliament for a few days?" She slammed the door behind them, pressing her forehead to the door in annoyance. "Ugh!"
"Tough day, huh Lottie?" Tiana asked with a smirk.
Charlotte shrieked so loudly the chandeliers rattled. "Tiana! What are you doing here—oh my goodness, Tiana!"
The two friends flung themselves into each other's arms, laughing and hugging each other tightly. "Land sakes, Tia, you weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow!"
"The ship made great time—got in a day earlier than planned—"
"How exciting!" Charlotte squeezed Tiana even tighter. "Now we get another day to—oh no, but your room ain't ready yet, and I've got the whole day booked, and I wasn't expecting you—"
"That's fine, Lottie," laughed Tiana. "I'll sleep on the floor if I have to. I just didn't want to spend another minute on that ship! I needed to step on some actual soil!"
"And there's plenty of it here!" Charlotte quickly glanced over at the grandfather clock and sighed impatiently. "Fiddlesticks, I'm late to the art show as it is… I'll get someone to show you to your room, you're gonna love it, Tia, it's the Yellow Room and it's, well, yellow…"
"The guards who let me in here said they were gonna announce me at once," said Tiana.
"You might just meet more palace staff then… don't know what Naveen and the king and queen are up to today, but hopefully you'll catch a glimpse of them before the day's out…" Charlotte's eyes flickered back to the clock again. "Oh, Tia, I'd really love to chat with you for hours, but…"
"You're busy, you're busy," smiled Tiana. "I understand. I'm the one who got here early. Don't worry about it. We can talk later."
"We sure can!" Charlotte gave Tiana another hug before making her way to the door she had only just recently pushed the reporters out of. "I'm so glad you're here!" she said, still grinning widely. "And we got so much to talk about—I'll see you tonight at dinner, alright? We'll set an extra place for you!"
"Sounds swell, Lottie," said Tiana with a laugh. "Now you go off and do your princess thing!"
"I sure will!" Charlotte spun around in ecstasy before finally stepping outside. "Wheeeee! Today's gonna be a great day!"
…………
Today's going to be an awful day, Naveen thought with dread as he stood in his father's office, trying to interpret the stern, stony glare Shakir was sending his way. Parliament wasn't meeting that day and Naveen had had no particular plans… still, being called to his father's office was not how he had expected to spend his free day. In fact, Shakir's facial expression looked disturbingly similar to the one he had sported when he had cut Naveen off nearly a year ago.
"What did you wish to see me for, Papeto?" Naveen asked, bowing respectfully, a slight dip in the waist, but head and eyes upward—
"Housekeeping," Shakir replied bluntly.
"…Housekeeping?" Naveen repeated, confused.
"Yes. Housekeeping." Shakir stood up and moved to the front of his desk, pacing back and forth in front of it with his hands clasped behind his back. "After dinner the other night you seemed to have disappeared. You had promised to help Asher with his French lessons, remember?"
"I had? —Oh, oh yes, well, you see—"
"The last person I can find who saw you that night was Yves, the butler, who saw you and Cassia heading down the southern corridor, in the direction of, say, the Falstaff chamber?"
Oh. That night. "Well, yes, of course, I was merely escorting the young maid to—"
"And when maids went to clean the room today they found the bed sheets rumpled!" Shakir shouted, banging a fist against the desk.
"She—she was tired! She slept there!"
"You know perfectly well where the staff sleeps, Naveen! I daresay you've been there yourself quite a few times!" Shakir glared at Naveen, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles were turning white, and Naveen felt himself almost shrink in his presence. "Didn't your mother and I make it clear to you that we will not tolerate this kind of behavior any longer? Especially now that you're married?"
Naveen averted his eyes down and to the side, flinching.
"Well?!" Shakir demanded.
Naveen flinched even more. "Yes, Papeto," he answered meekly.
"What more do I have to do to get it into your head that—that screwing around with every pretty girl you see is not proper conduct for the next in line to the throne! Do you have any explanation for this?"
Naveen's eyes flickered back to his father, having an explanation but not wanting to say it… however, he knew better than to remain silent when Shakir expected an answer. "None that you would approve of."
"It is not just you you are disgracing with your behavior," Shakir continued, not looking any less sedated. "It is not just your mother and I. It is the entire palace, the entire country! The press will soon tire of following Charlotte around, the novelty will wear off, and they will refocus back on you! And if you thought their judgments of your—of your bedroom exploits was harsh before, they—and I—will not be half as accepting now that you are married! You have a wife!"
"I know I have a wife," Naveen grumbled.
"Do not use that tone with me!"
Angering the king was never a smart idea, especially when the king happened to be your father. Naveen bowed even lower. "Yes, Your Majesty," he murmured.
Shakir opened his mouth, ready to berate Naveen even more, when suddenly the royal knock on the door interrupted him—two long knocks and three short ones. Sighing in frustration, he shouted, "Come in!" in response.
The door opened slowly, and Lysander stepped in with an awkward look on his face, having probably heard a good portion of their conversation. "Your Majesty," he said, bowing to Shakir; and then, bowing to Naveen, "Your Highness. Miss Wilcox from the United States has just arrived and is in the main foyer."
Temporarily forgetting his royal protocol, Naveen lurched forward a little bit and raised his head. "Tiana?"
"Shall I show her to her room? Is it ready yet?"
"I will show her," Naveen said quickly, standing up completely, much to Shakir's shock. "Have someone bring her luggage to her room, though. I will come greet her right away."
"As you wish, Your Highness." Lysander bowed to both of them, stepped out of the room, and closed the door.
Naveen couldn't keep still. His hands shaking with anticipation, he moved towards the door, then moved away, then moved back towards it, all the time not looking at his father, not giving the proper exit protocol—
"Naveen."
Naveen jumped and stared at Shakir. "Oh—" And he gave a bow, perhaps a bit quicker than what royal etiquette demanded, and headed back for the door—
"Naveen. Remember what I told you." Shakir glared sternly at him. "I do not want to find rumpled beds that should not be rumpled. And keep your distance from Miss Wilcox."
"I will," Naveen insisted.
"I don't believe you," Shakir countered frankly. "Your previous track record doesn't show much promise."
"I will keep my distance from Miss Wilcox," Naveen emphasized, now looking Shakir squarely in the eye. "I mean, in the sense of not leading her to spare bedrooms. You have my word."
"That amounts to very little. About as much as it meant for all the other girls you've helped find a comfortable bed."
"But I love her," Naveen replied softly. "I don't love any of the others."
Shakir raised an eyebrow.
Naveen quickly bowed again and darted out of the room before Shakir could get another word in.
…………
Tiana, still alone in the foyer, traced the patterns in the woodwork with one finger, trying to discern how long it had taken to carve all this. Surely it had to have been months, if not years! All that work just for decoration. And there had certainly been a whole crew of workers on the project as well. No wonder she on her lonesome couldn't get her restaurant off the ground. With the care and dedication so many people must have put into just this one room of the palace, let alone what all the other rooms must look like… Tiana pulled her finger away. Well, when you have lots of help, anything is possible. And when you don't…
The door the guards had left through opened and closed with a bang. "Tiana!"
Tiana spun around and felt all the rest of her worries and cares slip away. "Naveen!"
A second later they were wrapped in each other's arms, holding each other tightly and affectionately. "Achidanza," Naveen laughed, pulling away a bit to look at her. "You look wonderful!"
"I feel wonderful," Tiana answered truthfully.
"How—how did you get here? I thought you were supposed to arrive tomorrow!"
"Time was on my side," grinned Tiana. "The ship got in a day ahead of schedule."
"This is certainly a surprise! —A very fortunate surprise, of course!" Naveen hastily added. "Charlotte will be glad to know—"
"Already saw her," said Tiana, gesturing her head towards the main doors. "She's busy as a bumblebee today!"
"She left already?" Naveen's face fell dramatically. "Then I guess I will have to move your trunk all by myself!"
Tiana laughed. "Don't strain yourself too much, Your Royal Highness," she teased him, leaning in closer and, without thinking, brought a hand to his cheek tenderly.
Also without thinking, Naveen returned the gesture, stroking a stray lock of her hair at the same time. "Nothing in the world can strain me as long as you're here," he said softly.
They gazed at each other for about two seconds before suddenly pulling away in shock.
"Um, well, ain't that what your servants are here for anyway?" Tiana stumbled, rubbing her hand awkwardly.
Naveen also rubbed his arm in embarrassment, trying to talk to her without actually looking at her—but it was damn near impossible to keep his eyes off of her after not having seen her for so long, she was so gorgeous and vibrant and alive and— "My—my dear Miss Wilcox, you think I have already completely forgotten your teachings? I have actually been doing some things for myself since meeting you."
"Congratulations," Tiana smirked sarcastically.
"For example—" Naveen leaned over to pick up the trunk, lifting it up rather quickly. "Whoa—it is lighter than I anticipated—"
"I ain't got much," said Tiana with an apologetic shrug.
"It will be much heavier when Charlotte is through with you," smirked Naveen. "You should hear of her plans to take you shopping!"
"Oh, I believe it!" laughed Tiana. "We might have to buy me another suitcase to get everything back to America!"
"You can discuss that with Charlotte," said Naveen, grasping the trunk in both arms and holding it in the air. "For now, let me show you to your room."
"Naveen, stop trying to carry that trunk!" Tiana cried. "Drag it like a sensible person!"
"I told you, it is not that heavy," Naveen insisted. Yes, dragging it probably would be easier, but dragging it also came with the risk of leaving one arm free, an arm that would most likely find its way back to Tiana. If ever he needed a resolve of steel, now was the time. He had to keep his distance from her. Even if he hadn't given his father his word he still had to keep his distance from her. He didn't care too much of the reputations of any other girl that he happened to strike his fancy, but Tiana did far more than merely strike his fancy. And he wasn't about to do anything that might dishonor her. She was going to be a fabulous restaurateur, she was going to be successful and amazing and someone everyone looked up to, and he didn't want "fling with a married prince" to be a blight on her record.
Tiana followed Naveen down the corridor he had arrived from, taking care to remain several steps behind him. The way she had been so quick to run to his arms, to touch him, to let her feelings for him suddenly and inexplicably start to gush out—she had told her mama months earlier, when receiving the invitation to his wedding, that she needed more time to get over him. But time hadn't dulled her feelings for him one mite; indeed, it seemed it had only intensified them. And looking at him, being with him again, made her heart both heavy with grief and soar with love at the same time. It was painful, it was confusing, it was delicious ecstasy that she wished she had never had to experience and yet was more addicting than any other emotion she had ever felt.
Naveen dropped the trunk at a closed door and turned the handle, revealing a bright, spacious room with a large four-poster bed against the wall, a large bay window letting in every ray of sunlight it could. "Here it is, de Amaril Gransha—the Yellow Room."
"Aptly named," said Tiana, taken aback by the size and warmth of the room. The wallpaper was yellow, the bed covers were yellow, the day sofa in the opposite corner was yellow, and the sunlight made the yellow shine even brighter.
"I wanted to put you in the state room," said Naveen apologetically, pushing Tiana's trunk into the room with his foot. "It is far bigger and grander than this. But the Prime Minister of England will be here in a few days, and my father insisted he have that room. Charlotte felt that this would suffice for you… although I did want to get you something with a little more flair…"
Tiana was still staring in awe at the room she was to stay in. "For goodness sake, Naveen, this room is bigger than my house. Any room bigger than this I probably woulda gotten lost in!"
"Do you like it?" Naveen asked.
Tiana turned and smiled at him. "I love it," she said. "It's beautiful."
Naveen smiled too, feeling his heart melt—like it always seemed to whenever she smiled for him. "Perfect. I, uh… I will let you get settled, then." He gave her suitcase another kick, pushing it closer to her. "After you have unpacked, I can show you the palace, yes?"
"That would be wonderful," said Tiana gratefully. "I'm afraid I'm already a little bit lost."
"Oh, it is easy to find your way around! I will show you everything."
"Everything? I'm sure there's some areas that are off-limits to mere mortals like myself…"
"Off-limits? To you? Never." Again without thinking, Naveen took Tiana's hands in his own. "While you are here you will be treated like a princess. I promise." He lifted her hands and kissed them, as politely and chastely as he could manage. "I will leave you to your unpacking." Letting go of her hands, he gave her a swift bow and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Tiana's hands were still poised in the air where Naveen had raised them, as she stared at them, watching them slowly start to tremble… then her arms, then her shoulders, then suddenly her whole body. Finally she moved; she backed up and fell onto the day sofa, grasping her hands and looking up at the ceiling helplessly. "Why do you have such an effect on me?" she murmured.
Outside the door, Naveen was leaning against the wall, pulling at his fingertips and also looking up at the ceiling, taking a couple of deep breaths. "Faldi faldonza," he murmured, glancing back at the door longingly, "why do you have such an effect on me?"
…………
"You spent the entire cruise in your room? Tia, that's not the way to travel!"
"Not the entire cruise!" Tiana quickly clarified. It was evening, dinner was long finished and Shakir, Avani, and Asher had already left, giving their leave to their new guest, but Charlotte and Naveen were still sitting at the royal breakfast table (much smaller and less ornate than the royal dining table, but still much grander than anything Tiana had ever seen), wanting details about everything in Tiana's life from when they had last seen her.
"Besides," she added, taking a last sip of tea from her teacup and smirking at Charlotte and Naveen, "it was a very nice room. Probably wouldn't'a wanted to leave it even if looking at the ocean hadn't made me feel more seasick."
"But Tia." Charlotte gave Tiana a look that clearly conveyed how utterly crazy she thought she was. "When you're on a cruise ship, especially one like The Siren, you don't just sit around in your cabin all day! You take in the sights of the ocean!"
"Take in the sights, and participate in all the activities the cruise has to offer!" Naveen added. "Dancing in the ballroom, playing tennis on the deck, swimming in the pool—there was a pool on the ship, right?"
"Well, yeah, but I didn't think to pack my bathin' suit," said Tiana with a shrug.
"You didn't pack your bathin' suit?" Charlotte repeated incredulously. "How are you supposed to go swimming with us in the royal pool on the twentieth? I'll have to lend you one of mine—"
"Wait a minute, there's a swimming pool in this palace?" Tiana asked, her eyes wide.
"Of course," shrugged Naveen. "Don't all palaces have a swimming pool?"
"Seeing as this is the first palace I've ever been to, I'm not the one to ask…" Tiana gave a surprised smile. "I was expecting the place to be extravagant, but not like this!"
"It ain't that big of a pool," Charlotte added with a dismissive shrug. "I've seen far grander ones."
"Lottie…" Tiana laughed helplessly. "I think you're also forgetting that I ain't much of a swimmer!"
"You seemed to swim fine to me," said Naveen levelly.
"I was a frog," Tiana reminded him. "Any skill I had at swimming at that time was because I was a frog."
Charlotte giggled. "I still woulda never believed you two were frogs if I hadn't seen you for myself! Well, I saw you as a frog anyway, Naveen."
"Have either of you told anyone about that?" Tiana asked. "The only people back in New Orleans that know are my mama and Louis. Buford and Cal probably woulda fired me for sure if I came in with such an unbelievable excuse as to why I didn't come into work."
"Yeah, sometimes the truth is pretty unbelievable, ain't it?" laughed Charlotte. "I ain't told anyone. Big Daddy knows, but he was there. Don't want people to think I'm crazy or nothin'! So no, nobody here in the palace knows except us three."
"Actually…" Naveen began.
Charlotte spun around in her seat to face him. "Actually what? Don't tell me you told someone that you were a frog!"
"I told Asher!" said Naveen with an apologetic shrug. "Even if he did believe me and told someone else, no one would believe him. He's only six years old!"
"Six and a half," Charlotte corrected with a smirk.
Tiana set down her teacup again, laughing so hard she had to hold her aching side. "Maybe I'll have to tell him I was a frog, too. Then he'll have two improbable stories to tell!"
Charlotte laughed too, straightening up in her chair. "Enough of this frog talk, Tia! You haven't said a word about your restaurant yet! Come on, tell us how that's going!"
"Yes, please tell us!" Naveen said. "You must be about ready to open it now, yes?"
Tiana's face fell. She had been so happy before they had to bring up that… that building… that building that also happened to be her life's dream, why should it depress her so? "Well, actually, I'm still getting the actual building fixed up. I've got all the junk cleared out and most of the rotten wood and floorboards replaced, though! And the windowpanes!" Tiana smiled, although she sensed it was a small one, so she forced the corners of her mouth up a little higher than they wanted to go. "Just before I got here I got all my new windowpanes put in. There ain't any broken or cracked glass anymore. The windows are all bright and shiny and new. And pretty soon I should have enough money saved to start painting."
"I can't believe how long it's taking you!" Charlotte said in disbelief.
"It's a lot of work for just one person," said Tiana.
"Well then, why don't you get some help?" Naveen asked. "Louis… your mother…"
"Mama's too busy with her own work," said Tiana. "And Louis did help, but his arms are a little too short to do much of the more delicate things."
"You could always hire help," said Charlotte.
"I ain't hardly got enough money for supplies, let alone…" Tiana cut herself off when she saw the expressions on both Charlotte and Naveen's faces. "And no, no, no, don't even think about it. I ain't takin' another cent from you two! I'll get it done eventually." She smiled at them, a smile that she hoped looked more reassuring than it felt. "Rome wasn't built in a day, you know."
"Rome also wasn't built by just one person workin' on their lonesome," Charlotte countered.
"When we visit New Orleans we will help you!" Naveen offered instantly. "Er, I mean…" He gave Charlotte an apologetic look. "I cannot speak for my wife, of course… but I will most certainly help you."
"Oh, Naveen, don't you know me better than that?" Charlotte chirped. "Of course I'll help you too, Tia! We're probably gonna come back around Mardi Gras, I'm thinking… we can help you put the finishing touches, and it'll be good to go!"
Tiana laughed nervously. "Yes, that's definitely how a prince and princess will wanna spend their vacation time—"
"Of course! We just said we would!" said Charlotte.
"We want to help you reach your dream!" said Naveen.
"And don't think just because we're royalty doesn't mean we can't work—oh we can work alright—"
"And if I can't, I can learn! I will learn anything to help you!"
"We want to help you, Tia, and we don't mind pitching in!"
"You have worked so hard on your own…"
Tiana felt her cheeks flush, a bit flustered but more than that, just deeply, deeply… touched. "You… you two are so sweet, y'all know that? Sweet as molasses!"
"You always act so surprised when someone cares about you," laughed Charlotte.
"After months of not really being in contact with everyone…" Quickly, Tiana changed her tone, giving a lighthearted laugh. "Look, Lottie, Naveen, I don't wanna talk about my restaurant anymore tonight. I came here to get a vacation from all that."
"Of course!" said Charlotte. She set down her teacup as well. "And since you look like you're finished with tea, it's time you saw all of my dresses! C'mon!" She stood up and pulled a surprised Tiana from her chair.
"But—but who's gonna clean the dishes?"
"The servants, silly! We don't have to clean up after ourselves here! Come on!"
Tiana had about two seconds to shoot a look to Naveen before Charlotte pulled her out of the room. "The pampered life indeed, rich boy!"
…………
Tiana's first week in the palace was hardly spent in it at all; Charlotte spent every spare moment whisking her out of the palace to go shopping, see the countryside, all that. Sometimes Naveen came along too, although never on the shopping trips, which was probably a fortunate thing for all involved. The days went by quickly, in a whirl, but Tiana was grateful for those days… because the days Charlotte and Naveen were busy, Tiana was left with little to do, still feeling a bit out of place in the huge palace.
One such day, then, a few days before Christmas, Tiana ventured from the library where she had spent most of her time alone and followed the warm, inviting smells of cooking to the palace kitchen. A bit timidly, but still with resolve to cook again, she walked in and took in the large, spacious kitchen, smiling in contentment.
A young woman, wearing a white apron and a chef's hat, stopped in her tracks, holding a large bag of flour. "Niedro alinza, meniris?"
"Oh—oh, sen, sorry, I don't speak Maldonian… do you—"
"I speak some English," the chef said, her voice halting and faltering, but still understandable.
"I just… it smells good in here. Richonaza. Delicious." She smiled, and the chef smiled too, understanding. "And I… I like to cook." Tiana made a motion as if she was holding a bowl and stirring something in it. "Can I help you? Or just watch?"
"M'aysho coquil? O buniol?" The chef smiled again. "Viz, yes, you can help! Take this! We make… we make capastinos, how you say in English?"
Tiana shrugged as she took the bag of flour in her arms. "Bread?"
"Non, no…" The chef hurriedly made her way to a shelf and pulled out a book, flipping to a page and pointing at a picture of a multi-tiered cake. "Esina!"
"Oh! Cake!" Tiana exclaimed.
"Cake!" the chef repeated. "English word is cake?"
"Yes. Viz. Cake. Ca…capa…"
"Capastino," the chef said with a smile.
Tiana returned the smile. "Capastino."
The chef pointed to the recipe. "Niedrilpa… we need trisa dovas…" She held up three fingers. "Trisa?"
"Three?" Tiana asked, also holding up three fingers.
"Three? Three—dovas." The chef rummaged around in a lower cabinet and pulled out a measuring cup.
"Three cups?" said Tiana. "Of—" She pointed to the bag of flour she was still holding. "Of flour?"
"Viz! I will get genilvos."
Tiana didn't have a clue what genilvos were, but she decided not to worry about it right then. She set down the bag of flour, opened it, and dipped in the measuring cup. She needed three… trisa. Listening to Naveen, Shakir, Avani, and Asher speak amongst each other, Tiana had picked up a few Maldonian words, such as viz (yes), non (no), maricilpen (thank you), sen (sorry), and clardio (of course)… but, clardio, she certainly didn't know enough to carry on a conversation in Maldonian. But at least she was learning enough to be halfway understood.
The chef returned, holding a carton of eggs. Ah, so genilvos must be eggs. Tiana made a mental note of that.
"My name's Tiana," she said, pointing to herself before evening out the flour in the cup. "What's your name?"
The chef smiled. "Ianthe," she said, pointing to herself. "I am glad to know you, Tiana."
"I'm glad to know you too, Ianthe!" said Tiana with a grin. "Thank you for letting me help. Maricilpen."
"Fara nondra. Is nothing." Ianthe set down the eggs and motioned to a large mixing bowl on the counter next to them. "De trisa dovas—fra abrí." She pointed into the bowl.
Smiling, Tiana pulled her perfectly straight and level cup of flour and dumped it in, quickly dipping in her measuring cup for the second cup.
The familiar quick patter of small footsteps echoed down the hallway, thus making Asher's enthusiastic appearance into the kitchen come as no great shock. "Ianthe, Ianthe! Telpo galtizias m'fara?"
Ianthe grinned at Asher's excitement. "Clardio, lonven pruto." She turned to Tiana. "Trisa dovas lo bilne, o quermi genilvos." She held up four fingers and pointed at the eggs.
Tiana held up four fingers too. "Quermi genilvos—four eggs. Viz, clardio."
"Tiana, why are you in the kitchen? Working?" Asher gave her a look of utter confusion.
Tiana smiled at the young prince. "Because cooking and baking is what I like to do, Asher. It's hardly work at all when you're enjoying yourself!"
"What are you making?" Asher asked eagerly.
"Capastino." Tiana lowered the book with the recipe and picture of the cake down so that Asher could see it.
"Achidanza!" Asher exclaimed, grinning. "We always have great capastinos at Navilstom!"
"Navilstom?" Tiana asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"Chris—Christmastime," Asher said, having to think for a moment to remember the English word. "All the cooks make great capastinos o galtizias!"
"And galtizias are…"
Ianthe returned with a plate of brightly decorated Christmas cookies for Asher. "Abrí, mio pruto. Sol lun." Glancing at Tiana, she held up one finger and grinned. "Lun galtizia! Nondra ma!"
"One cookie?" said Tiana, giving Asher a crestfallen look. "Only one cookie?"
"Only one cookie," sighed Asher, looking even more crestfallen than Tiana. He plucked a cookie from the tray without even looking at it.
Tiana looked at the tray, then at Ianthe, and pointed to herself hopefully. Understanding, Ianthe grinned even wider and held the tray in front of Tiana. "Viz, clardio! Per sol lun!" She held up one finger again, to make absolutely sure Tiana understood.
"Sol lun," Tiana repeated, taking a single cookie from the tray. "Maricilpen, Ianthe."
"Fara nondra." Ianthe turned to Asher and said something to him in Maldonian, her voice too quick for Tiana to be able to pick apart individual words. Asher nodded and Ianthe gave a quick smile to both him and Tiana before making her way to another part of the kitchen.
Asher looked up at Tiana. "She wanted me to tell you that she's going to be baking more cookies over there, but you should continue with the flour and the eggs," he said, his mouth full of cookie.
"That's all I can do," said Tiana with a bit of a helpless laugh. "I can't read anything else of this recipe." She dumped the third and final cup of flour into the mixing bowl. "Maybe you could help me?"
"I can't read food books!" Asher protested.
Tiana giggled. "I suppose not. You're probably busy, anyway."
Asher's face fell. "Viz… Papeto wants me to play croquet with him and Naveen. I hate croquet! Almost as much as I hate my lessons!"
"It can't be that bad, Asher," said Tiana, cracking an egg into the mixing bowl. "You're lucky to have so many opportunities. When I was your age all I had to play with was a ball to kick around."
"That is all croquet is," Asher countered, crossing his arms and pouting. "Kicking around a ball. With sticks."
"Well, it's fun though, ain't it?"
Asher shrugged, relenting a bit. "Kind of fun… more fun than my lessons… but eating cookies is the most fun of all," he added.
"Well, you'll get plenty of cookies when Christmas Day comes," smiled Tiana. "And cake, too. But for now…"
The door suddenly swung open and Naveen walked in, noticing Asher before Tiana. "Asher! Albró esso! Sapi t'enconquini abrí." He playfully scooped Asher up off the ground, Asher laughing and looking to Tiana for help… only then did Naveen realize Tiana was there, jumping back a bit in shock. "Faldi faldonza, Tiana, what are you doing here? Do not tell me they have put you to work!"
"I put myself to work," smirked Tiana. "It's been a long time since I've been in a kitchen and I just needed to make something. Language barriers aside, I think I'm going pretty well. I'm makin' a capastino."
"Mm, a cake? What kind of cake?" Still holding Asher, Naveen peered over Tiana's shoulder at the recipe. "Triple chocolate fudge! Achidanza! When will it be finished?"
"Not for awhile, Prince Greedy-Pants," Tiana admonished playfully. "Especially considering I can't even read this recipe."
"Oh, it is simple," said Naveen. "Three cups of flour, four eggs, three teaspoons… baking soda? There is soda used in baking? And what is a teaspoon?"
"You are absolutely hopeless, Naveen," sighed Tiana, but smiling despite herself.
"At least I can read it," Naveen shot back, grinning playfully at her.
"It ain't my language! You're the one who can't even understand it, even though it is your language!"
"It is not. Cooking and baking is not my language."
"Clardio."
Naveen grinned even wider. "And clearly Maldonian is not your language. You do not roll your r's properly."
"Put me down, Naveen!" Asher demanded, kicking his legs.
"With pleasure. You are getting far too heavy." Naveen began to lower Asher back on the ground, but suddenly stopped. "I will let you go on one condition."
"What?"
"Bring me a couple of Ianthe's cookies."
Tiana laughed. "Sen, Naveen. Sol lun."
"She talks as if she was running this kitchen," Naveen murmured to Asher. Asher giggled.
"Ianthe only let her and me take one. So you only get one too."
"Oh, very well. Fair is fair. Bring me a cookie." Naveen set Asher down and the young prince immediately scampered off to where Ianthe had set down the plate of cookies.
"In all seriousness, Tiana, you sell yourself short," said Naveen, now peering at the mixing bowl that Tiana was adding baking soda to. "Considering you have only been here a week, your Maldonian is very good. You speak it far better than Charlotte."
Tiana smirked. "Lottie was never one for learning anything that took longer than a few minutes to master."
"No, but really, you are a quick learner!" Naveen took the teaspoon from Tiana's hand after she had deposited the second spoonful. "May I?"
"You? Cook?"
"I can learn too. I think I can still remember how to mince!"
"Too bad mincin' ain't a requirement for baking cakes…"
Naveen's face fell. Tiana couldn't help but laugh and squeeze his free hand affectionately.
"If you wanna help me, translate the recipe for me. I might speak Maldonian pretty well after only a week here, but I still can't really understand it."
"Very well." Naveen handed the teaspoon back to Tiana. "Since I speak Maldonian, and you speak cooking, together we will make beautiful music together! —I mean cakes! Cakes!"
Tiana curled away from Naveen a bit, chuckling awkwardly. "Yes, of course. Cakes."
Naveen cleared his throat, looking almost more awkward than Tiana, and turned back to the recipe. "Cakes. Ahem. You will now need… a teaspoon of baking powder." He blinked in confusion. "Baking powder, baking soda… what is the difference?"
Tiana felt herself laugh again, so suddenly and fully that it caught her off-guard. "Naveen, I swear, I really… tolerate you. I really, really… tolerate you." To say that was an understatement was in itself an understatement. She loved him. And the more time she spent with him, the more that love grew. So much that it was getting harder and harder to hide, and she had to let it out somehow… even if that "somehow" was under the mask of "tolerate".
Naveen laughed too, smiling warmly at her. "I will take that as a compliment coming from you, Tiana! And I certainly… tolerate you too." He in fact much more than tolerated her, and wished he could tell her, but "tolerate" seemed to be as far as he was allowed to vocalize it. So it would have to do.
Mixing in the baking soda, Tiana opened the cupboard above her again and found the baking powder, smiling and feeling her cheeks flush. "I've never been so happy to be tolerated before," she murmured softly.
"Neither have I," murmured Naveen.
She turned her attention from the baking powder to him. He turned his attention from the recipe to her.
They held their gaze for a few delicate moments.
Then, quickly and with stubborn resolve, they both turned back to their tasks, neither knowing that their thoughts were the same.
Tolerate is far too weak a word… but it will have to do.