This was the biggest, most spectacular party he had ever thrown. There was always plenty of laughter and music whenever Naveen threw a party, but there was something special about this one. Maybe it was the fact that it was his birthday and he had managed to find a Maldonian band that could play jazz reasonably well. They weren't Louis Armstrong, but then again, even in America there was only one Louis Armstrong.

Naveen had to laugh once more watching the guests try to dance to what he thought was 'I Found a New Baby' (this band really needed to work on their syncopation. Their interpretation of these songs was making them almost unbearable) and utterly failing. No one knew how to dance to the Prince's favorite music genre, but it didn't matter. Naveen knew the steps and was good at leading his various partners around the ballroom, or the great hall, or the gardens, or wherever he happened to find a willing partner. And he never had to look far to find one.

If Naveen had to guess, he would say there were a few hundred people here tonight. The party had taken over the entire castle grounds, and practically the entire inside of the castle as well. There were a few servants who, despite the fact that the King and Queen were away at a diplomacy meeting, were stubborn in enforcing their rules and bared any guest from entering into certain areas. Most notably the bedrooms and the nursery where the young Prince Ravi would be attempting to sleep through the night.

This suited Naveen just fine. If there were servants making sure no one bothered Ravi, that meant those same servants would keep Ravi from bothering him, and the last thing Naveen wanted was his little brother trailing after him tonight. Besides, if he wanted to make some whoopie with someone, there were plenty of places to go besides the bedrooms, and if he was very desperate, he knew how to get into his room without anyone seeing.

But there were still so many women Naveen had yet to dance with, or flirt with, or kiss, and he wanted to do at least one of those with all the women here. By this point there was practically a line formed to dance with the prince, and Naveen welcomed it with open arms. Though he usually prefered a chase, he certainly wouldn't say no to any woman who eagerly wanted him. He wanted them too, and he craved that attention like a drug. A warm smile, a knowing glance, that spark from a first kiss, it was all so addicting.

He wanted as much of it as he could get.

So when Ria Dewan caught his eye from across the ballroom, it didn't take long for Naveen to to be by her side.

He had known Ria for years. Her family was one of the most prominent in Maldonia outside of the royal family, so they had obviously wiggled their way into the king and queen's favor. Ria had been his first kiss, and the first one he had taken to bed. She was comfortable. He never had to work hard for her, and could always be counted on to have a good time.

"Took you long enough, Prince Naveen," Ria said, once Naveen was close enough.

"It's always more fun to make you wait," he replied with a smirk. Naveen looked Ria up and down, taking his time appreciating the lovely curve of her hips, her beautiful brown skin, and those brown eyes that seemed to sparkle with mischief. But it was the dress she was wearing that caught his attention. It was shorter than anything he had ever seen anyone wear, almost to her knees. "What are you wearing?"

"Don't you like it?" Ria turned around slowly, making sure Naveen saw the sheer fabric that went all the way down to her waist. He shivered slightly at the sight of it. Naveen knew if Ria's father saw her in this dress, he would kill her. And probably him too. Ria's father thought Naveen was a bad influence, which was probably true. "Don't you think I look like an American movie star?"

She did at that. All she needed was a bobbed haircut, but Ria's long hair was her pride and joy. Naveen knew she would never cut it. "Ha, hardly," he teased. "You could pass for your grandmother in that outfit."

Ria frowned and flicked her feather boa at his face, but didn't fight when he lead her out to the dance floor. "Like you can talk, wearing that royal blue attire, Prince Naveen."

Naveen smirked. "I have to make sure that everyone knows who the prince is around here."

"You always have to be the center of attention, don't you?"

"Always." he said, and he spun them around to the music, making sure that everyone was watching. Naveen grinned as he saw heads turn their way, and cheers and applause for their dance filled the room.

When the music stopped, Naveen turned and bowed towards the guests, grinning wide. "Let's have another round of drinks!" he declared, and the room exploded in wild approval.

"Don't even think about it," Ria said, tugging him back into another dance. "I'm not ready to give you up yet."

Naveen shrugged, nonchalantly, and easily slid into another dance. Slower this time. "If you insist."

"I do. Besides, I haven't even had a chance to wish you happy birthday." Ria leaned in and pressed a light kiss to his lips, teasing him with a promise of more to come later. "Happy birthday, Prince Naveen."

"Thank you, Ria," he said.

"So, are you excited?" she asked. "It's finally official, isn't it? Your inheritance?"

Naveen grinned again, nodding. Yes, it was. For so many years he had bought whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it with credit. Of course his parents had always given him hell for it, as Naveen had never really paid attention to how much he was spending, but they had more than enough money so what was the harm? But now that he was twenty one, it was all his. He could do with it as he pleased, which was one of the reasons he was having this party.

It was so freeing to be out of his parents control, and he couldn't wait to see where it would take him. Judging by the look in Ria's eyes, it looks like it will soon take him to bed.

"So what are you going to do with all of that money?" Ria asked.

Naveen shrugged, casually, though the thought of having all that money, all that freedom made him want to jump for joy. He spun her a few times around the dance floor before answering. "I am not sure yet. Perhaps I will buy another yacht and take a trip."

"You're not talking about New Orleans again, are you?"

"And why not?" Naveen frowned, slowing their dance.

Ria sighed. "I know you have this obsession with jass and all-"

"Jazz. It is jazz music," Naveen interrupted.

"Right that's what I said," Ria replied. "But Prince Naveen, that's not a good reason to go halfway around the world. Wouldn't you rather stay here? With me?" Her voice was low but Naveen could still hear her over the band. They were dancing closer now, and much slower than before, despite the fast tempo of the music.

Naveen ignored this. "There is also the Mardi Gras in a few weeks. That is a good reason to go."

Ria raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is a Mardi Gras?"

"A party!" Naveen replied, picking up their dance speed once more. He twirled her once more. "The biggest party in the world!"

Ria had to laugh. "Bigger than this party? Impossible."

"Yes, it is true," Naveen grinned, "as difficult as that is to believe." He had to stop himself from talking Ria's ear off about what he knew about Mardi Gras and the jazz they played there. Well, he just mostly assumed they played jazz during Mardi Gras. It was remarkably difficult to learn anything useful about the city where jazz was born all the way from Maldonia. Any encyclopedia with information about New Orleans was out of date, and only had boring information like how many people lived there and when the city was founded. Yawn.

But there were songs about Mardi Gras, and that was enough for Naveen to know that one day he would experience it, and that it would change his life.

"If you're seriously thinking about traveling," Ria said, "don't you think it would be nice to have someone to accompany you?"

"Lawrence will be there," Naveen said, oblivious. He laughed, spotting his valet trying to carry multiple trays of pakora, samosa and kulcha around the room and failing. Hopefully the samosa was alright, that was his favorite.

Ria rolled her eyes. "I was thinking of someone else. Someone more… familiar." She pressed herself against Naveen again. "Maybe someone like me."

"Ha, your father would never let you come."

"Well, he would if our circumstances changed," Ria said.

Naveen raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Well, we've known each other for a long time. Don't you think we've been dancing around this for too long?"

Naveen blinked. "What? The ballroom?"

"No, silly. I mean," she paused. "Isn't there something you'd like to ask me?"

Oh boy. "Ria," Naveen halted their dancing and looked deep into Ria's eyes. They were brimming with hope. "Will you…..get me a samosa?"

Whenever Naveen thought about the events that followed, guilt and shame overwhelmed him to an almost unbearable degree. If only he hadn't been so rude, if only he hadn't laughed at the fury on Ria's face, if only he had thought for once about his actions, perhaps what followed could have been prevented.

But of course Naveen did none of those things, so when Ria threw up her arms in frustration he pulled her back into a fast dance. He couldn't have anyone be upset at his party, and he had every intention of making it up to her. So Naveen spun them around the room in an elaborate dance, faster and more complicated than anything they had done that evening in an attempt to make her smile again.

Ria could never stay angry with him for long, so it wasn't long before she was laughing and enjoying herself once more. Naveen lead them around the ballroom and gave Ria one final turn. In Naveen's haste, or ignorance, or stupidity, he hadn't even noticed that they were dancing near one of the many gas flames that illuminated the ballroom. Or perhaps, as he told himself later, it had never made a difference whether he danced near those or not, because none of his dance partners ever wore such elaborate wraps.

But putting the blame solely on Ria wasn't fair. He was the one who had brought them close to the flames. He was the one who guided her into that turn that made her wrap fly out. And when he pulled her back and saw the wrap on fire, he was the one that threw it to the side, once again not thinking of the consequences. He was the one who hadn't noticed the way the fire devoured the curtains and spread to the rest of the room until it was too late.

"I don't even know where to begin."

Naveen couldn't meet his father's eyes. This was a very familiar scene to him, being in his father's office about to receive a stern lecture by his parents. Ever since he was a boy this is where Naveen would come to be given his punishment for whatever wrong thing he had done. It had been a few years, though, since the last time he had sat in this chair facing his father's desk.

His parents had speculated that their eldest son was finally growing up and that's why his rowdy behavior had slowed, but in reality, Naveen was just better about not getting caught.

This time though, there was no way to avoid the consequences.

"I said I was sorry," Naveen mumbled. Sitting in this chair again made him feel like a child, so he might as well act like one. He spared a glance at the window where his mother, Idhal, was standing. It felt safer looking at her than at his father, Sunil, but mostly because she wasn't looking at him. Her arms were crossed and she was frowning, looking out at the shining waters of the ocean waves.

Sunil said, "Sorry doesn't even begin to make up for what you have done."

"I know." But it was a start, right? Why couldn't they give him that at least?

"Do you know how much damage that fire did?"

Naveen shook his head, though he had an idea of how far the fire had spread. Even before he had fled the ballroom with the rest of the guests of the party, the flames had extended beyond the curtains, and the smoke was so heavy and dark he had almost lost his way.

Sunil put on his glasses and read from the papers on his desk. "The entire ballroom is destroyed. The west parlor, the study, the drawing room, the west hall all have damage from the fire." Sunil glanced at Naveen over the rims of his glasses. "Not to mention all the rooms on the higher floors that suffered smoke damage."

"At least no one was hurt," Naveen offered. Somehow everyone had gotten out before the flames got out of control.

"But someone could have." Idhal said, her voice cracking as she turned to face her son. There were angry tears in her eyes that threatened to spill. "Do you know what room is two floors above the ballroom? Do you?"

Naveen lowered his gaze again. He knew, and this knowledge has haunted him ever since the fire. He didn't need his mother pointing it out to him. "The nursery," he finally answered softly.

"Ravi was in there!" Idhal's tone was harsh, but she hadn't raised her voice. The Queen of Maldonia didn't need to yell to make her anger known. "If the fire brigade hadn't arrived when they did… if he hadn't gotten out in time…" She blinked hard, not willing to cry at this moment. Not when she was so very very angry.

Sunil turned and reached over to his wife. He placed a warm hand on her arm, holding her steady. "But he did," he reminded her. "Ravi is safe, mia floresca. We mustn't focus on what might have happened," he turned back to Naveen, "when we must discuss what did."

Naveen's stomach dropped.

Idhal nodded and turned back to the window. "I don't recognize you anymore, Naveen," she said. "But we shouldn't be surprised, should we? Over and over again, you keep finding new ways to disappoint us. To disappoint your country."

Sunil continued, "Is it possible that you have somehow forgotten that you are the crown prince? That one day you will be the ruler of this country?"

How could he ever forget something like that? But his father just stared at him, waiting for a response, so Naveen had to answer, "No."

"Then why haven't you shown any interest in taking any of this seriously?" Sunil asked. "All you do is party and play that damned jazz music on your ukulele. And the girls, lord help me all those girls!"

Naveen felt a slight blush form on his cheeks. He didn't want to talk about all the women he had dated with his parents.

"We waited for you to turn twenty one until you received your inheritance because we thought you would have matured enough to take on this responsibility," Idhal said, turning back to face him, her anger placated, for now.

"You know it is tradition to give that money back to the people of this country by starting a charity group or a benefit foundation. Something to better our country and our people," Sunil said. "But instead you decided to selfishly throw yourself a party. You put your brother and your guests in danger, and you destroyed our ancestral home in the process."

Naveen squirmed in the chair just wishing they would finish so he could leave. The embarrassment and guilt he felt were intensifying as he listened to the truth in their words. What he really wanted more than anything was a drink.

Sunil and Idhal shared a glance, so Naveen knew his punishment was coming. In the past they had always been inconvenient but that was all. He had no reason to expect anything differently this time.

"Your mother and I have decided that you will no longer have access to your inheritance," Sunil said.

Naveen glanced up in shock.

"Or to our credit account that you have been using," Idhal added.

Naveen blinked hard trying to understand. He let out a shaky laugh. ""You're joking, yes?" But his parents said nothing. "You're really cutting me off?" This couldn't be happening. Prince Naveen without his riches? Impossible!

"Wh-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered.

"That," Sunil said, "you will have to figure out for yourself."

Explaining the story to Tiana was difficult, to put it mildly, but telling her how he had reacted to it all was too shameful even for Naveen.

Because of course he had gotten angry at his parents, telling them it wasn't fair what they were doing to him, and any number of half hearted arguments that only settled in their mind that they had made the right choice.

Naveen had stormed out of the castle and had tried to buy just a simple drink, nothing extravagant, but he found that his credit was declined wherever he went.

Word was spreading as well, that their playboy prince no longer had large amounts of money to spend. As Naveen walked about, he saw reactions ranging from sly mocking behavior to full out laughter. Humiliated, he had tried to reach out to his friends, desperate for comfort, reassurances, and perhaps even a loan or two, but no one answered his calls.

Even Ria, who he had talked to after the fire, had closed the door in his face.

Fine. Naveen knew when he wasn't wanted. He would just have to go somewhere he could be appreciated, and Naveen knew just the right place to go. Alone and angry, he made Lawrence take out all of his savings to purchase the boat tickets, and they snuck away before anyone was any the wiser.

And now he was here.

His story finished, Naveen looked at his hands while he sat in silence. While he had been talking, Naveen had inadvertently moved to the edge of the porch swing away from Tiana. Now he knew why - he felt like he didn't deserve her, even the simple act of feeling her touch was too good for him.

And still, strangely, Naveen felt a sense of lightness in himself now that he had told her everything. But it was also paired with the weight of Tiana's possible reaction. He wanted to get on his knees and beg her to stay with him, to say that she still loved him, but he couldn't. That felt like something the old Naveen would do, and if anything, the telling of his story cemented the knowledge that he didn't want to be that person anymore.

So he waited, not even daring to look at Tiana's beautiful face.

He felt her shift on the bench, and Naveen braced himself for the inevitable. Because how could she still be with him after learning all of this?

She placed a hand on his arm, soft and tender and warm. Naveen let out a sob, but swallowed hard trying his best to stop the flow of tears before they started. But then she pulled him into a hug, and Naveen burst into a blubbering mess.

Tiana held him tight and stroked his hair, but that only seemed to make it worse. There weren't enough words to describe how much he loved this woman, and once more Naveen promised himself that he would do everything in his power to be the kind of man she deserved. So what was he doing now crying on her shoulder like a baby?

Naveen forced himself to stop, though it wasn't easy. He felt empty inside, and also foolishly hopeful. What did this mean that Tiana was still holding him to her and wouldn't let him move away when he had halfheartedly tried? She was still stroking his hair too. It felt nice.

"I'm sorry," Naveen said at last once he had calmed down.

"For what?" Tiana asked in reply.

Naveen took a shaky breath and let out a tired sigh. "I don't know. For everything. For being me."

"Don't ever apologize for that," Tiana said, holding him close. "I love you for the person you are."

That was enough to bring tears to his eyes again, but this time Naveen laughed forcefully through it. "How can you still love me after all of this?"

Tiana pulled back and held his face until he looked her in the eye. "Because you're my husband, no matter what we tell everyone else. And I know that my husband is a good man."

"One act doesn't define your whole life," she continued, brushing away more of his tears. "The fire was an accident, so please don't blame yourself. And as for the rest…"

Naveen inwardly flinched. Even without the fire the rest of his past behavior wasn't anything to be proud of.

"I didn't know you then, but I do know you now," Tiana said. "And the man that I know is smart, and funny, and handsome." Naveen smirked slightly. "Look, Naveen, nobody is perfect, and I know you've made a lot of mistakes in your past but you've proven to me many times that you've learned from them, and that's what matters to me."

Naveen gave her a soft smile that she returned.

"I love you, Naveen," Tiana said. "Warts and all."

He laughed his first true laugh in what felt like hours, and when she kissed him, Naveen's heart felt lighter than in had in weeks. He should have told her what happened a long time ago, but better late than never as they say. And it was better. So so much better.

"I love you too, Tiana," Naveen said when they parted. He pulled her into another embrace, letting the relief truly sink in as he gently rocked them back and forth on the porch swing.

They sat in silence for a long while, until Tiana said, "Naveen… if we're telling each other everything, there's something I need to tell you, too."

Naveen blinked in surprise. In his mind Tiana was incapable of doing anything wrong, especially in comparison to his earlier confession. But if she needed to get something off of her chest he certainly wasn't about to tell her no. "Alright."

"It's… it's about the Shadow Man."

A shiver went through him uncontrollably. Any thoughts of the Shadow Man had been forcefully pushed to the back of his mind, and Naveen wasn't sure he wanted to hear about it right now. But, shit, he remembered how distraught she had been that night when they were frogs and she hadn't wanted to tell him what had happened until she was ready. Now it seemed like it was that time.

Naveen pulled her closer, offering her what comfort he could, and kissed her temple. "Tell me, love."

She brought them back to that fateful night and told him about the way the Shadow Man had tempted her with her dream restaurant. So exactly like she had always pictured it, it was almost scary. It had everything exactly right, except for one thing.

Naveen.

It was a strange sense of pride that Naveen felt as she told him that, because he wasn't in the illusion, that there was no love present in her restaurant, Tiana had been able to break free from the Shadow Man's hold.

Then she told him about how she broke the talisman, and Tiana started to shake. Naveen squeezed her tightly, but it didn't seem to help. He pulled her into his lap and held her close, whispering that she didn't need to tell him anymore, but Tiana persisted.

She told him how the shadows had come, and the Shadow Man's pleading to give him more time, but they were relentless in their effort to pull him away into their hellscape. Tiana had been afraid they would get her too, but had managed to hide behind one of the tombstones in the cemetery. If they had been interested in her though, it would have been easy to find her, and this made her shake all the harder.

Tiana remembered the Shadow Man's screams as he was dragged into what must be an eternity of torment and misfortune. The drums and the chanting had been so loud and frightening, there was nothing Tiana could have done except watch the Shadow Man be swallowed by the demon mask.

"Shit," Naveen whispered and held her tighter. "My poor darling. I am so sorry you had to see all of that. But you're safe now. The Shadow Man is gone, and the shadows have gone with him. Nothing will hurt you, I promise."

Tiana nodded, though she was still trembling slightly. She clutched tight to Naveen's shirt as the memories of that horrible night flashed before her. That had been the most terrifying thing she had ever seen, and it still haunted her. But that wasn't why she had told him this story. "But it's not… that's not… didn't you hear what I said?"

"Of course I did. I-"

"Naveen, I killed him!" Tiana said.

"Whoa. Okay, hold on." Naveen tried to calm her down, to speak words of comfort but she plowed ahead.

"I'm a murderer," she stated firmly, pulling away from his embrace. "I almost said something when we went to the police today, but I was afraid…. And now… oh god." Tiana buried her face in her hands.

"Darling, that's not true!" Naveen said, reaching for her again.

"When I broke the talisman, that's what made the shadows come for him," Tiana said. "If I hadn't he would still be alive."

"And we would still be frogs," Naveen countered. "Or worse!"

Tiana shook her head vehemently. "You don't know that."

"Yes I do," Naveen said. "Lawrence told me his plan. Once he had the LaBouff's fortune in his hand, he was going to let the shadows loose on the whole city. And once that happened he would have no more use for Mr. LaBouff, or Charlotte, or Lawrence, or… or me." Naveen's thumb brushed the scar on his hand.

"He was going to kill us all, and leave our souls for the shadows to take," Naveen continued. He cupped Tiana's cheek, lightly stroking it. "He would have killed you too for taking the talisman. Like he killed Ray."

Tiana was rubbing her arms up and down, hugging herself tight. "That doesn't excuse what I did. I'm still a murderer even if he was a bad person."

"No, darling. It was the shadows who did it, not you," Naveen said. "The talisman had power, yes, but, it wasn't tied to his life. Breaking it was like breaching a contract. The Shadow Man had so many deals with those 'friends' of his that there was no way he could have come out of it any other way."

Tiana rubbed her arms a few times before she said teasingly, "You sure do know a lot about those shadows. Are you sure that's the real Naveen in there?"

He chuckled softly. "Well, I was captured by them multiple times, I should know a few things about them. Besides," Naveen continued, "Lawrence and I had quite a long chat when we were holed up in that church." Not much of it was in Naveen's favor. This did remind him though, that he should probably pay a visit to his former valet.

Turning serious, Naveen said, "You saved a lot of people, Tiana. All of New Orleans, your best friend, and myself. I am forever grateful to you."

Tiana hugged herself tightly once more, then nodded. Naveen knew that this signaled the end of this conversation, at least for now.

"Tiana, can I ask you a question?" Naveen asked after a moment.

She nodded.

"Why do you hold your arms like that?"

"Huh? Oh." Tiana immediately put her arms by her side. She hadn't even been aware that she had been hugging herself again. "I don't know. I've always kind of done it. I guess it's like… like I'm hugging myself. I think… I think especially after Daddy died it was like, I couldn't get a hug from him anymore, so I had to do it myself. "

"Tiana," Naveen said after a moment. "The next time you feel the need to do that, will you do me a favor?" When she nodded, Naveen continued. "Will you come find me and hug me instead?"

She smiled at him, and fell back into his open arms. Once more, Naveen pulled her into his lap, and they held each other for a long time.