Chapter Six

6.1

Naveen was staring out of the window as he finally located the two bright stars in the sky. He had only known Ray for an extremely short time and yet the firefly had taught him so many things. First of all, it didn't matter how big or small you were because even the smallest creatures, those people didn't expect anything of, could have the fiercest, bravest, most powerful souls within them. And second, if you really believed something and knew it to be true then you should hold onto it.

Despite the number of times people or frogs and other creatures, had told Ray that he was only wishing a star and Evangeline wasn't real, he had held trust in her and then Naveen truly believed he had become a star too and they could dance in the sky together. As a lightning bug, Ray wouldn't have had a long life anyway but he had made the most of it and Naveen thanked him for that.

"I wonder what you would think of my life now, old friend," Naveen laughed as he just watched the star in the sky. "I don't think you'd mind but then I am just a small frog. I am a prince, I have been turned into a frog again, yes, but I have a wife and children and a brother who love me regardless. I know that I am safe here and so I probably do not have to worry about my position right now but you know, it's not the most comforting thing."

Naveen sighed and nodded. "Or, you know, you would tell me I have exactly what I need in the way that I have Tiana. I think you would have liked my children, our children, Ray. I know you would have preferred for us to be frogs but hopefully, hopefully you'll see that being human is not such a bad thing."

Naveen was about to continue but he heard a sound behind him and then let himself relax as he heard his wife's smooth, soothing voice.

"I talk to him too," she said and Naveen turned to her. "I can just imagine how happy he is with Evangeline and he taught me that sometimes the smallest creatures can create the biggest light. I agree with Ralphie. You are too small to be heading into battle but you do have a mind with a lot of creative thoughts so I'm sure you can help. You just have to use your brains and not your body, this time, okay?"

"You are right on that," Naveen sighed before resting against the window whilst watching Tiana. "If…the worst happens and I….I mean…I wouldn't want to trap you or force you into anything or…"

"What is it you're trying to say and getting all tongue tied about?" Tiana tried to tease him and Naveen sighed.

"If I had to stay a frog and there really, truly, one-hundred percent, no way of my turning back to a human then -"

"Well there sometimes are a lot of flies in New Orleans so I'm sure I'll be able to find you something to eat," Tiana winked and then saw Naveen's fear and how serious he was about all of this. "Naveen, I married you and if you know anything about me it should be that I always keep my word."

"So you love me?" Naveen asked in a slightly cocky way, "Warts and all?"

"Warts and all," she said before kissing the top of her head. As she lifted her head and took a few steps away from him she smiled to herself. As a small girl what she had just done would have been absolutely repulsive to her but now she found it so natural. She had learned through her own time as a frog that one's soul could be put through countless attempts at shapeshifting but the actual soul would always remain the same.

She wanted the best for her family and although she hoped that one day she could have the fully physical relationship with Naveen again, she wouldn't trade his soul for anything. She wanted him to realize that.

5.2

"Ma'am," a young woman called Tiana over as she sat in one of the more expensive seats in the restaurant, a seat where she could get full view of the band with her husband. Tiana stood in an evening dress although she was still taking orders from the diners. "Ma'am, I'd like to order the house special," she said and Tiana graciously nodded.

"Okay, hon, no problem, and for you?" she asked as she looked to the large and slightly intimidating man she had brought with her.

"Are you the restaurant with that exclusive frog leg soup, the one that no one has dared to order because of the price?" he asked and Tiana smiled.

"Well yes we are. I happen to know that the legs of that frog are going to be extra firm now but there's still a delicious hunk of meat on there. I'll let the chef know at once. This is going to be dining on royalty," she laughed before going back into the kitchen.

She walked over to the chef before seeing a very secured tank with a frog sitting in it and she knew that the frog was Naveen at once but as she got closer she saw a lack of recognition in the frog's eyes. He didn't act like Naveen and yet she somehow knew he was.

"Someone asked for the frog?" the chef asked and Tiana laughed as she turned towards the tank.

"Finally, it's better to get rid of that thing before he's no longer valuable to me." She said as she tossed her head back and seemed to cackle. She went over to the tank and the frog turned to her with hollow eyes, all the life force seemed to be drained from the amphibian, "You hear that, you're finally going to serve your purpose, it will be your life's work."

The frog turned to her and Tiana didn't have a chance to say anything else before Naveen was tossed into a boiling pot of water and the lid was slammed down on top of him making any escape impossible and boiling him alive.

5.3

Tiana woke in the middle of the night and grabbed Naveen's pillow screaming into it as her eyes were wide and she felt ill again. She closed her eyes feeling the tears falling down. Naveen was her husband, the father of their children, and in the dream she just…she killed him and she seemed to do that without a second thought. She wrapped her arms around her before seeing something in front of her and she cried harder.

"Tia?" Naveen asked gently as he tilted his head to try to see her face which she was hiding from him. "What happened? You have too much of a beautiful face to want to hide it."

Tiana took deep breaths as she attempted to come to terms with the dream. She couldn't stop thinking that she had let him down. Naveen watched her and then tried to come closer.

"I hate to see you upset," he said and Tiana took a deep breath in before looking at Naveen in his tiny green form.

"I don't want to eat you," she said and Naveen laughed weakly.

"Well, uh…that's…that's good because if uh…you were in my condition then I wouldn't want to eat you either," he said slowly and Tiana bowed her head and tried to cry onto the pillow again. "Was it a dream? Or a nightmare. Sometimes nightmares are our ways of warning us on things we don't want to do."

"You are not coming to the restaurant in this form," Tiana told Naveen as she put her fingertip on his belly. "Nuh-uh, there's no way that I'm risking it. I'm not even putting frogs legs on the menu anymore because I'm sure that you wouldn't be able to explain to them that you shouldn't be eaten. I refuse to put you in any danger."

"I am grateful for that," Naveen laughed weakly. "If it would cause you greater peace of mind for me to not be anywhere near you then I will…it will hurt but I will -"

"That is the last thing that I want," Tiana said with a stubborn expression. "I would rather hand over control of the entire place than you not being a part of my life. You are to stay somewhere safe and that's my job as your wife, to ensure your safety."

Naveen smiled weakly and nodded. "I know that I'm safe when I'm with you."

5.4

Ralphie gave a half smile as he walked away from the room in which his mother and his father's advisers had been. He knew that with Naveen's 'death' he was the next in line to rule but he definitely hadn't wanted to hear things like, 'how does that power feel?' 'I don't think you ever expected this' 'I always preferred him to Naveen anyway.'

Okay, the last one had definitely been uncalled for and if he felt as if he could fire people, he would have told them to leave or apologize for saying that about his brother but the truth was that Ralphie had never felt the things they were saying to him. He had never felt a lust for power or a need to be in control.

He was quite content in being a prince and when he wasn't, he preferred to pretend to be a commoner. When he heard things about people waiting for the throne or that it was unfortunate that this person was not the next in line to the throne, he had felt sad for them. The only way in which he cared to become king is if he fell in love with a princess who was next in line to her own throne, even then she would be the powerful one.

He and Naveen had both admired their father and Ralphie had always idolized Naveen. Sure, he wasn't the perfect fit for a crown prince or a responsible teenager or adult but he had been charming, charismatic, and with a high and energetic love for life. He had wanted to spend time with his brother, to learn from him, to find out more about him on the level of friends and now they were saying that he was their successor.

Still, he needed to learn from this and keep his demeanor. They were more likely to put Naveen on a carving board rather than a crown if they were to ever find out about his situation.

End of Chapter Six

Thank you for reading

Thank you to KathyMesser for leaving a review on Chapter Five