"So how do you feel?" Tiana asked.

"I don't know," Naveen admitted. "The same, but also… different. It's hard to explain."

Not even an hour ago, Naveen had signed the document needed to abdicate the throne. With his parents, Tiana, and their lawyer (brought all the way from Maldonia by Sunil) as witnesses, Naveen signed his name to the paper and then the deed was done. He was no longer the crown prince of Maldonia. He wasn't really anything anymore. He was just Naveen.

Even though he had been thinking about this for weeks, it was still a little weird.

Tiana had offered to cook him up anything that he wanted to.. Celebrate? To make him feel better? She didn't really know, but she needed to do something for him, and this was all she could think of. Naveen had, of course, requested beignets, so now she was making a batch for him in her kitchen.

Naveen sat slumped in the kitchen chair, tapping his fingers absentmindedly.

"You haven't changed your mind, have you?" Tiana couldn't help but ask the question, even though she and everyone else had bombarded him with it when he was signing the document. Their lawyer had stressed quite a few times that there was no going back. Ever.

"No. It was the right thing to do," Naveen replied. He would never regret it, and in many ways he wished he had done it sooner, though he suspected if he had told his parents a few years ago, he wouldn't have received the calm and supportive response he got now.

"Can you explain what it is that feels so different for you?" Tiana asked. She pulled the beignets out of the oil and began sprinkling them with sugar.

"It's nothing bad," Naveen said. He pursed his lips, thinking. How could he put this into words? "It is only that, I didn't realize that it would feel like a part of me is gone. I still don't regret doing it, though," he quickly reiterated.

Tiana set the plate full of beignets in front of him and gently rubbed his back. "So you feel like something is missing?"

"In a way," Naveen said. He paused, thinking again, though his mouth watered from the delicious treats in front of him. "Being a prince… well, you know it was never something I wanted to be. But even so, there was a part of me that enjoyed it because… because it was the one thing I could count on to make me special."

"Oh, sweetheart. You feel like you're not special anymore?" Tiana thought her heart might break.

"It's not that, it's just.. I'm not Prince Naveen anymore. I'm just Naveen," he said. "Is that enough for you?"

"For me? Sweetheart, you have always been more than enough," Tiana said, stroking his cheek. "You know I've never cared about you being a prince. I love you for you, even when you were a frog."

Naveen smiled at that. He knew all of this, of course, but it was still nice to hear it.

"I love you too, princess. Oh no!" Naveen frowned and looked truly upset for the first time that day. "If I'm not a prince anymore, then I can't really call you princess anymore, can I?"

"I think we can make a few exceptions," Tiana said.

"I didn't even think that this would mean you weren't a princess anymore," Naveen said, almost to himself. "What if we get cursed again? How will we break the spell?"

Tiana smoothed the curls from his forehead and gave him a soft smile. "I don't think we have to worry about that. I know I don't plan on kissing any more frogs. Do you?"

Naveen chuckled. "No."

"Then we're fine." She playfully straightened his tie. "Besides, you may not be the Prince of Maldonia anymore, but you're still the prince of my heart. And that makes me the princess of yours, right?"

"Right." God he loved this woman. "Come here, princess." He gently tugged Tiana so she was sitting in his lap. "Give me some sugar."

"If you want more sugar on your beignets, then I have to get up."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"Prove it, then."

So he did.

Now that Naveen had abdicated, and the invitations had been sent, the whirlwind of wedding planning was really coming to the forefront. Before she met Naveen, whenever Tiana pictured her wedding she imagined something simple. She'd probably have the ceremony in her living room with a few of her closest friends and family, and she would hold a simple bouquet, and there would be a cake. That was it.

Then her first wedding had been so spur of the moment, and modest, that Tiana had it in her head that all weddings would be that easy to put together.

She was wrong.

Idhal wanted the best of everything for her son's wedding, and she meant everything. Lottie wanted to host the reception, and once Idhal got that news, she completely took over. From table linens to place cards to flowers to decor, Idhal had her hands in it all, and Tiana couldn't help but feel it was much too much.

"Do we really need all of this?" Tiana had pulled Naveen away from Idhal who was talking with Lottie about where to place the flower canopies she had ordered. The way she was describing them made it sound like it was going to transform the backyard into something of an enchanted garden.

While Tiana was sure it would be beautiful, it also seemed highly unnecessary. But Idhal seemed oblivious to Tiana's discomfort, and of course Lottie was too fully enraptured by the idea of her yard turning into a fairy tale to be of any help.

"You're not happy?" Naveen asked.

"I'm happy we're finally getting married, but this all seems a little ridiculous, don't you think?" Tiana replied. "I mean, she even wants us to come in on horseback and then bring in trained birds to fly in a synchronized pattern at the beginning of the party."

"That sounds like her," Naveen said with a chuckle. "But if you're not happy with it, then just tell her no."

"But she'll hate me."

"No she won't."

"Well, she won't be happy with me," Tiana countered. "She's doing all of this for you, you know. If I tell her no, it'll be like I don't want our wedding to be special."

"But I don't want any of it either," Naveen said. "So I'll just tell her it's too much. She can blame me."

"She'll know it was my idea."

"There's no pleasing you, is there?" Naveen asked, with a teasing smirk.

"I just don't want her to be upset, is all." Tiana glanced over at Idhal talking with Lottie. With Lottie's big gestures, Tiana had a feeling they were planning something big. Hopefully it wasn't more animals.

"You think she'll take away her blessing?" Naveen's tone had grown soft, and Tiana wanted to melt into his arms. They hadn't had much time to themselves lately. "She wouldn't do that, princess."

At the sound of the nickname, Tiana had to smile. "You don't know that."

"She's not that cruel," Naveen said. "We'll just remind her that she is not the one getting married. She'll understand."

Tiana pursed her lips. While she didn't doubt Naveen's ability to charm his mother into letting them have more control of their wedding, she also knew that he shouldn't be the one to say it. It was Tiana who was having the problems with it, and she didn't want start her relationship with Idhal on the wrong foot, even if it meant straining their already delicate friendship.

Giving into temptation, Tiana sighed into Naveen's warm embrace. "Maybe we should just elope," she joked.

"Isn't that what got us into trouble last time?" he laughed, giving her a squeeze. It felt so wonderful to finally talk about their wedding instead of imagining it. Soon he would be able to call Tiana his wife in front of anyone, anywhere! He was getting married! He was so happy he wanted to shout it from the rooftops.

"I guess you're right," Tiana sighed.

"That does happen occasionally," Naveen quipped.

Tiana playfully stuck her tongue out at him, and he went in for a quick kiss, which made her laugh. Mission accomplished.

"So, I had an idea about something," Naveen said. He let his arms rest on her waist in a casual embrace. He would tell his mother to stop all her shenanigans in a moment, but he also didn't want to waste this opportunity to have Tiana to himself.

"About the wedding?" she asked.

"About after the wedding."

Tiana gave him such a smirk, Naveen just had to kiss her again.

"So what's your idea, Froggy?"

"I know we can't really go anywhere on a proper honeymoon," Naveen started. This was true. They both wanted to get started on the restaurant after the wedding, so there wasn't time to go anywhere. Besides which, they didn't have the money.

"But going back to the boarding house after the wedding seems so...anticlimactic, no?" Naveen finished. Realizing that they would need somewhere to live once they were married, they had scoured around New Orleans looking for a place that was in their price range.

Eventually they had found a boarding house, run by an elderly widow named Mrs. Proulx. Despite needing tenants, she seemed less than thrilled at the idea of housing two newlyweds, but at last she gave in, warning them that if they broke any of the house rules they would be out of there faster than they could say their names.

It hardly seemed like the best place to spend their wedding night.

"What's your idea?" Tiana reiterated.

"What would you say if we spent the night on the river?" Naveen asked, then at Tiana's horrified look, quickly clarified, "A riverboat, I mean."

"That sounds romantic," Tiana said, straightening his tie. "But aren't the tickets out of our price range?"

"Well, what would you say if I already bought the tickets with the money I saved from street sweeping," Naveen said. He reached into his jacket pocket and presented Tiana with an envelope containing two tickets on an overnight riverboat cruise.

"Happy anniversary," he said.

"Oh my gosh, Naveen." Tiana's heart felt so full it made her eyes well up with tears, making it so she couldn't even read the name of the boat listed on the ticket. But even as she ran her thumb over it, she knew, without a doubt, that it was the very same boat Naveen had once tried to propose to her all those many months ago. He just did things that way, and it was perfect.

"You stinker," Tiana laughed through her tears. "You were supposed to spend that money on yourself. For something you wanted."

"What makes you think I don't want to spend a romantic night alone on the river with my bride?" Naveen traced his thumb down Tiana's cheek, wiping away a stray tear. "Are you upset?"

"No," Tiana said with a warm smile. "It's wonderful. You're wonderful." She took a step closer and kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

She placed a teasing finger on his nose. "Is this going to be a regular thing then? Celebrating both weddings?"

Naveen grinned as he shrugged happily. "I don't see why not."

"You just want more presents," Tiana joked.

"Not true!" Naveen replied, though the thought had crossed his mind. "We don't even have to exchange gifts at all. But the thought of not remembering our first wedding... It just breaks my heart."

Tiana gave him a soft smile and straightened his tie. "Me too."

They shared a sweet kiss, but they broke apart when they heard Idhal starting to tell Lottie of her plans for hiring someone to personally tailor outfits for all the guests in the wedding.

"Oh dear," Tiana said.

"Perhaps we should talk to her now, yes? Before she decides to bring in elephants and edible gold."

Tiana bit her lip. "Actually..."

"No!"

"Yes."

"Faldi faldonza, we'd better hurry then."

Idhal had taken the news better than either of them thought. Though it had still been a difficult discussion to have, and the way Idhal looked over both of them in that cool manner of hers left things feeling a little tense, the wedding planning seemed to be back on a more normal track. And soon enough it was Tiana that everyone was trying to reign in.

Tiana wanted to make all of the food for the wedding, including the wedding cake, and it took a full on intervention to finally convince her it was a bad idea.

She finally relented, once everyone agreed that she could make the food for the engagement party that Lottie wanted to throw them.

Why they needed an engagement party a week before the wedding was to take place, Tiana didn't know. But as Tiana's maid of honor, Lottie wanted to do everything she could to make her friend's wedding a memorable one. And who was Tiana to say no to something like that?

Besides, it also seemed like a good opportunity to meet Naveen's extended family and friends who were arriving in New Orleans in droves. While there were still a few people that Naveen wasn't particularly pleased had been invited, he had assured Tiana that there were at least a few Maldonian's and royal dignitaries that could make a nice match for Lottie if she was interested.

Then it was Tiana's turn to assure Naveen. Lottie would be interested.

In the meantime, there was still so much that needed to be done. Everyone seemed to be working overtime to get everything finished on time. Luckily, even with all the chaos going on, they hadn't really run into any snags. Everyone they were working with seemed not only delighted to help but often they went the extra mile to make everything as easy as possible.

Tiana wondered if it was because the papers were labeling this as the royal wedding of the century, despite the fact that Naveen was no longer a prince. The people of New Orleans certainly considered it a royal spectacle, and Tiana found herself more often than not surrounded by curious onlookers who gawked at her with raised eyebrows. This was the woman the prince had abdicated for? Really?

She tried not to let it bother her, and when Naveen was by her side it was a lot easier to deal with the crowds and the press who were hounding them for interviews.

Whenever that happened it was Tiana's turn to get tongue tied. Over the years she had occasionally imagined herself being interviewed, but it was always for her restaurant. In her imagination she was always confident and charming to the journalists, inspiring them to continue to write about how good her food was.

The reality she was faced with was much different. But then again, these reporters were asking very personal questions. How did you meet? When did you fall in love? Did you really give up the throne so you could live as a commoner and bus tables at a restaurant?

These were questions they had no right to ask, and yet here they were. Luckily Naveen was an expert at dealing with the press, and would get them quickly on their way with that charm of his. Though they always seemed to come back, and Tiana could have heard one of them say that there would even be newsreel cameras at their wedding.

She hoped not. That day would be nerve wracking enough as it was! She was worried enough about looking like a fool for everyone that was attending, she didn't want to worry about the entire country, hell, or even the world seeing it.

But there almost wasn't time to worry about it. Now that half the country of Maldonia was here (or it seemed like that to Tiana), they had already started trying to give them presents. Naveen had to tell them many times that what they really needed was money for the restaurant.

And so the checks started to come in.

Tiana was surprised that they didn't even wait until the wedding ceremony, or even the engagement party, but this didn't surprise Naveen at all. In Maldonia it was common to give multiple presents to someone getting married, and so they could expect many more checks to come.

With so many already in their little pile, neither could resist opening at least a few to see how much they had. Tiana gasped when she opened them.

Quite a few had given $101, but there were also a few who had given $1001! One thousand dollars! Tiana had never seen so much money all in one place in her entire life. She thought she might cry of happiness, she wanted to jump for joy, and she also thought she might faint from it all.

But she just kissed Naveen and leaned into his warm embrace instead. "Why do all of these checks have one extra dollar?" she asked.

"In Maldonia, a zero can be seen as an end, while the number one is the beginning," Naveen explained, kissing her on the cheek. "So it is in effect a blessing. A token of love and luck."

Tiana loved these little Maldonian traditions. Sometimes she felt a little sad that they weren't doing a full on Maldonian wedding ceremony because it sounded so magical. They had both agreed it would be easier to do an American style ceremony. But they would perform a few Maldonian traditions at the reception so it all worked out.

Idhal seemed to love the American wedding traditions as well. They had invited her to one of the final fittings for Tiana's wedding dress and they were going over the good luck charms needed.

"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue," Eudora explained.

"Oh how charming," Idhal replied. Her hands clasped in delight. "So what do you have so far?"

"Well, I'm going to tuck one of Daddy's mixing spoons in my bouquet," Tiana said. "That's something old."

"The dress is something new," Eudora said. "And I've outlined these green ribbons with blue thread."

"So I just need something borrowed," Tiana said.

"I think I have just the thing," Idhal said. She pulled out an elegant velvet box and handed it to Tiana. "I wore this on my wedding day, and I've been meaning to share this with you for some time now. I hope you'll accept it as your 'something borrowed'."

Tiana gasped as she opened it. An emerald tiara. Simple yet elegant. It was exactly right.

"It's beautiful," Tiana whispered. She was afraid to touch it. "Are you sure? This looks like it's only fit for a princess to wear."

"Tiana. Despite my son's abdication, you are a princess," Idhal said firmly.

Tiana's eyes glistened with tears. "Thank you." Carefully, Tiana took the tiara out of the box and placed it on her head.

"Oh Babycakes," Eudora gasped in awe. "It's perfect." Then she started to cry, which lead to Tiana crying, and then Idhal. They all wept until they started to laugh.

"Your mother said I might find you here," Naveen said with a soft smile. "Can I join you? Or would you rather be alone?"

"No please. Sit." Tiana patted the ground next to her. Naveen sat down, carefully placing his ukulele down as well.

"I should have brought you here a long time ago," Tiana said apologetically. "I wanted to, but... It's hard."

"It's alright. I understand."

In front of them was a simple grave marker. Smaller than the others around it, but freshly cleaned of dirt and leaves and new flowers had been placed in the pot nearby.

James Batiste

Loving Father and Husband

1888-1918

"I come here every year on his birthday. To clean the... Grave and to, well, talk," Tiana explained. She felt her voice start to crack from emotion so she cleared her throat. Even after all this time she still missed her Daddy terribly. Pain like this never really went away.

Naveen wrapped an arm around her shoulder and held her close.

"I don't even know if it matters," Tiana continued. "He's not really... That is his..." She cleared her throat again. "He died in the war, you know. And none of him came back."

That was when Naveen understood. They hadn't sent his body back to be buried here. He was still overseas. In France, probably. In an unmarked grave? A mass grave for all the other soldiers who had died with him?

Whatever the situation, it was clearly unfitting for any man, but especially for Tiana's father.

Naveen squeezed her shoulder and placed a gentle kiss on her temple. "I know he hears you."

"That's why I'm glad you're here," Tiana said. She turned to the gravestone. "Daddy, I want you to meet Naveen. I love him, and we're getting married."

"It is my pleasure, sir," Naveen said, without hesitation. "I can assure you that I love Tiana with all my heart, and I will do everything I can to be a good husband to her. I will take care of her always, and make sure she has everything she wants. And needs."

Tiana smiled and kissed his cheek. "He would have liked you."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Naveen took up his ukulele and turned to Tiana. "Would it be alright if I... In Maldonia, we often sing songs to those we've lost. May I?"

"Please," Tiana said, giving his hand a quick squeeze. "He'd like that."

Naveen nodded, tuned his ukulele and began to strum. It was different than any music she'd heard him play, different than any type of music she'd ever heard anywhere.

The melody rose and ripped, and occasionally Naveen added depth by strumming full chord progressions. It was another reminder of just how talented Naveen was with music. New Orleans was thick with ukulele players, but none could play with such a warm and rich sound. And then when he started to sing softly, it brought tears to her eyes.

Tiana couldn't understand the Maldonian lyrics, but it didn't matter. The meaning couldn't be more clear. Yes there was sadness to the melody, but circling around and underneath was another layer. Hope and love. Forgiveness and remembrance. Strength and endurance.

It had such a hold over her, that it took Tiana a few seconds to realize that the song had ended.

"That was beautiful," she whispered. "Thank you."

She took his hand and threaded their fingers together.

"What do the lyrics mean?" Tiana asked.

"It is difficult to directly translate," Naveen said, "but essentially it is about how we are all connected, even if our loved ones are gone. It is a reminder that we will find them again, but in the meantime they are watching over us."

Tiana tilted his face towards hers and kissed him.

"Tiana," Naveen mock scolded her. "Not in front of your father."

She laughed too, and kissed him again.

It seemed impossible that the wedding was only one week away. It was finally here! Everything seemed to be making Tiana cry with tears of joy. From Eudora giving them the family quilt as a wedding present, to her finished wedding dress, to walking into the engagement party and having everyone cheer.

It was quite a large crowd, full of people Tiana had never met before, and if Naveen was honest, he didn't know many of them all that well. They were friends of his parents, who would be most displeased if they hadn't been invited. Naveen spent most of the beginning of the party introducing them all to Tiana.

She could only hope that she was making a good impression on them, but after awhile all the faces and names started to blend together. There was no way she would be able to remember them all.

True to his word, Naveen also introduced a few eligible bachelors to Lottie, and Tiana had to laugh at some of the selections. Though there was one in particular that seemed to stand out.

His name was Prajit, and he did have a title, though Tiana couldn't remember the Maldonian word for it. It roughly translated to a duke or a count.

He was very handsome, with his dark olive skin and neatly trimmed beard. Lottie was clearly smitten, and Tiana knew exactly why. It was his outfit. From his shoes all the way up to his turban, Prajit was dressed entirely in pink.

They would certainly have a lot to talk about.

But first there were speeches to be made, cake to be cut, dances to be danced. It all whirled around Tiana's head in a delightful dizzy way. She wondered if she could be drunk. It wouldn't surprise her at all if someone had spiked the drinks, or was even drinking openly. Despite the Prohibition on alcohol, New Orleans tended to ignore it on the best of days, and at parties it was completely forgotten. The police seemed to turn a blind eye as well, and there was no way that they were going to arrest all these royal dignitaries anyway.

The party had been going on for a few hours now, and even though Naveen had been by her side for most of the night, Tiana still felt like they had hardly spent any time together. Naveen seemed to feel the same way.

They shared an exasperated look, and then Naveen leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Will you sneak away with me? Just for a few minutes?"

There was nothing she wanted more. So about ten minutes later they were giggling as they ran away from the party towards the gazebo.

"Hurry princess!" Naveen called softly as he ran ahead.

"I'm coming. My shoes got stuck in the grass."

"Shall I come back and carry you, then?" he chuckled.

"Don't you dare," she replied, but she was laughing too.

He was waiting for her on the footbridge, his hand held out to her. When she finally placed her hand in his, Naveen playfully pulled her further into the gazebo, and into his arms.

He looked so handsome in the moonlight, wearing his tailcoat and bowtie. Tiana was once again struck by just how remarkable it was that they were in love. He smiled at her in that way that made her insides squirm with delight. When he kissed her, it took a lot of concentration not to completely throw herself at him.

Instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed contentedly into his kiss.

"I wish we were getting married tonight," Naveen whispered when they parted.

"Me too," Tiana replied, stroking his cheek. "But it's only one more week."

"But that's seven whole days!" Naveen countered. "One hundred and sixty eight hours! Not that I'm counting."

"Right," Tiana laughed and kissed him again. "It'll go by fast. Just think, this time next week we'll be married."

Naveen made an appreciative hum as he held her close. He glanced up at the sky and saw Ray and Evangeline together. He could almost hear Ray's voice just then.

"It's about time, Cap'! What took you so long?"

Naveen chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?" Tiana asked.

"Nothing." He kissed her again, softly and sweetly on the lips. Now it was Tiana's turn to happily hum.

"Do you think they'll miss us at the party?" Tiana asked. As fun as it was to there, this was where she really wanted to be.

"I think we can stay out here for a little longer," Naveen told her. He didn't want to go back to the party either.

It was a lot longer than either of them had planned before they snuck their way back to the party. If anyone noticed them being gone, nobody brought it up, thankfully. But they were surrounded by people from almost the minute they got back, tearing them apart from each other.

Tiana glanced longingly at Naveen as she was dragged by Lottie to taste some of the Maldonian dishes available, and Naveen was taken by some of his friends from back home - no doubt looking to tease him about finally settling down.

It was some time later that Tiana finally found herself alone again. She wasn't hiding, exactly, but she certainly wasn't going to come out of this little isolated spot against the wall until she had had a nice long breather. Talking with so many people was leaving her exhausted, and she was already thinking longingly of climbing into bed.

"Do you come here often?"

Tiana looked up to find Naveen, leaning against the wall, a flirtatious grin on his face. Her heart fluttered at the sight of her husband/fiancee.

"Sometimes," Tiana replied. It felt like they were playing a game together, but she wasn't sure of the exact rules.

"Such a beautiful creature as yourself shouldn't be here all alone," Naveen said. From behind his back he produced a single flower and handed it to her.

"Well, I'm not alone, am I?" she asked, taking the flower from his hand. "You're here."

"So I am."

Whatever this game was, it was fun. It was fun to flirt with him like it was the first time they had met, especially considering how disastrous their real first encounter had been. "And who exactly are you?" she teased.

"I am Naveen," he said with a slight bow and a grin. "Prince… I mean, just Naveen."

"Well, Just Naveen," Tiana replied with a giggle. "I'm Tiana. The waitress."

"Tiana."

The way he said her name, so low, and breathless, and husky, it made her weak in the knees. How could he do that to her just by saying her name? He hadn't even touched her! She knew that it was coming though, as he took one step towards her, and then another, until she could practically feel the heat radiating off of him.

Naveen held out his hand to her. "Would you dance with me, Tiana, the waitress?"

She playfully booped the flower against his chin. "I don't dance with strangers."

"We're hardly strangers," Naveen said. "We've been introduced and everything."

"That we have." Tiana tucked the flower into his lapel. "I suppose I can make an exception. Just this once."

Their hands melded together, and they found themselves swaying gently, not at all matching the more upbeat tempo coming from the band. Neither cared.

Naveen kissed her neck softly.

"Fresh," Tiana mock scolded him, and they both giggled.

"What are you doing on Tuesday?"

Now that made her laugh. It was their wedding day. "I think I'm a little busy that day."