Things had not been going well for Naveen. First he had burnt his eggs. Tiana had reminded him time and time again to focus on just one thing at a time, but he'd gotten an idea for a new love song while he was fixing his breakfast, and really it was justified since it was for her.

Then he had broken a string. Oh, sure, it wasn't hard to repair an E string, at least not for him, since he was so quick to pick up tasks, but that wasn't the point. The point was, it broke.

And after that he had completely lost his inspiration. What could he say? He just couldn't write on an empty stomach.

And, finally, and this is worst of all, he had realized what day of the month it was. You see, today was the first of April. And that meant payment was due. Normally Tiana handled everything to do with her restaurant, but she'd been telling him for months about this spring fling that was happening today, and she needed him to drop off the payment because she would be busy the entire business day.

He did love that about her. That girl knew how to work. It was a skill he was still working on.

Which might explain why he woke up at noon, and how it was now almost 2pm and he still had not done the one task she asked of him today.

In his defense, he had been up until almost 2am mixing drinks! He still wasn't much of a chef (even if he had mastered mincing in minimal time) but he was a heck of a bartender. He liked shaking the tumblers to the rhythm of the live band. Louis sure knew how to play a horn!

Naveen grabbed his hat and the envelope of cash Tiana had stuck in a ceramic frog cookie jar. She'd bought the monstrosity shortly after they'd moved in together. Every month a new envelope was tucked inside, and she'd add to it as needed. Nothing came before her rent money, and until her envelope was full, she wouldn't buy herself a single luxury.

Really, the woman was insane. But he loved her anyway.

Naveen tucked the envelope into the inside pocket of his vest. He took quick glance at the clock on his way out the door. This shouldn't take more than a half an hour, and he had just over three to get it done.

Confidently he strolled down the street, thumbs tucked into his pockets. It was a gorgeous day out, the air was warm, the sun was out, it wasn't too humid or too hot yet. Perhaps April was his favorite month. The birds must have agreed, because they were singing loudly in the sunshine.

Naveen started to whistle along with them.

That was perhaps his favorite part of the city. Everything was music. The world pulsed and vibrated with the very song of the people that lived here. Construction beat the tempo. Feet tapped the rhythm. Peddlers and customers were the melody, their voices the chorus and their pitches the harmony. Babies cried like a bagpipe. Birds sang like a flute. The barking dogs were scat singers, fast and rapid like a trumpet. Bugs hummed like a violin. Engines droned like a bassoon. Everything, everywhere, was music.

And Naveen lived for music.

Whistling and vocalizing, he did a little spin, his feet tapping away in time with the orchestra in his head. A streetcar rattled past, a snare drum in his mind. The chiming of the bell as it pulled to a stop ahead was merely a notice to the passengers, but to Naveen it was a percussion solo.

He slid sideways, arms spread wide as busy pedestrians wove seamlessly amongst the dismounting and boarding passengers.

The streetcar chimed again, warning all that it was about to leave.

Wait. It was about to leave.

"Hold up!"

Naveen dashed forward. He needed to be on that car. He needed to make it to the bank on time. "Wait for me!'

At the last possible second, Naveen took a leap of faith. He snagged the rail, one foot just managing to land on the step. His body swung awkwardly about as he struggled to hang on and maintain his precarious placement. Cautiously he set his second foot down, steadying himself considerably.

He stepped up into the car and dropped his fare into the box beside the driver, then went to find himself a seat. It was crowded, as he expected, but surely he could find somewhere to sit.

He could not find somewhere to sit. Resigned to stand, he grabbed onto a pole and braced himself against the bumps and sways of travel.

"You know, this really isn't so bad after all," Naveen declared after a moment. The woman seated next to him looked vaguely interested in what he had to say, so he continued. "I am not much used to this public travel still, but I think I could get used to this. It is a very efficient way to get around, no? I can get used to this."

The lady got up as the streetcar once again slowed, so Naveen took her seat. He had a whole four more stops before he got off, he deserved to take a minute off his feet. He was, after all, a prince. A prince on an important errand.

Naveen popped to his feet when the trolly finally slowed for the fifth time. He leaped to the front, tipped his hat to the driver, and sprang off into the street, fully rested. As the streetcar pulled away behind him, he realized that he hadn't a clue where he was.

"Um, excuse me!" Not one to be deterred, Naveen attempted to catch the attention of a passerby. "Excuse me, sir, do you know where the- Alright then. Ma'am, do you happen to know- Well then. Ma'am, could you- Sir? Are you- Excuse me? Ma'am? Sir! Sir? Miss!"

All around him people went about their days, simply ignoring his ever attempt to catch their attention. The air felt different here. The people were different.

The music was different.

Naveen didn't know where he was, but he was out of rhythm and unable to find his groove. This couldn't be good.

Naveen drew in a deep breath and squared his shoulders. Life had thrown odds at him before. There wasn't much odder than getting turned into a frog, after all. He could handle this. All he needed to do was to walk a little. Eventually he'd find something that was familiar.

For once Naveen walked. The streets were busy, but oddly silent. He felt like he didn't belong. It was not often that he felt like he did not belong somewhere. Afterall, he was welcome practically everywhere. But this? He did not like the feeling of this.

His hand strayed absently to his breast pocket, patting the thick envelope twice. The reassurance that he hadn't lost it bolstered him on. Tiana had trusted him with this task, he could take care of it. It was one errand. How hard could it possibly be?

The sun had sunk alarmingly further in the sky when Naveen finally gave up. By his best guess, it was almost three. Tiana's event would be finished just after five, and he had promised her he'd take her to dinner and a soiree.

It was time to ask for a little additional help.

Naveen glanced over his shoulder surreptitiously. He had wondered far enough the streets were emptier, though not devoid of life. Right now the absence of people was a benefit to his clandestine operation. Awkwardly he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Excuse me, good sir."

The dog snuffling at a nearby crate looked up. "You talking to me?"

"Why yes, I actually am. Good afternoon. If I might take a moment of your time, I could use a little help."

"You talking to me!?"

"Uh, again, yes. I am. You see, I'm in a bit of a predicament, and I could use some assistance, if you would."

"You're talking to me!" The dog's tail flew wildly as it began to race around the crate. "You're talking to me!"

"Don't mind him, sugar." A cat leaped up onto a garbage pail, the metal clanging with the weight. "We don't get many humans that talk to us around here."

The dog sprinted over to shove his head into Naveen's hands and squirm about happily. The cat spared a look of disdain before refocusing once again on Naveen.

"Ah, well, you see, I'm afraid I'm a bit lost."

"Why can you talk to us." The cat swished her tail behind her as she studied Naveen. "I don't sense magic from you."

"Not from me, no. But on me, yes. I suppose it is a side effect of having been a frog. I swore off the deal with the devil stuff after my first incident." Naveen straightened out his vest and smiled at his feline companion. "Now, as I was saying, I-"

"A frog? You couldn't have picked a better animal to become?"

"Ah, no. I couldn't. Now, as I was sayi-"

"I'm not very fond of frogs. They don't taste particularly good. I am partial to fish, if we're discussing a meal, or perhaps some nice fowl. But if we are talking about the best animal to become, you really should have picked a cat."

"Didn't exactly get a choice in the matter, I'm afraid. So as I-"

"That does explain it." The cat sighed and laid down.

"He's talking to me!" The dog was once again sprinting about Naveen and slobbering on his pants.

"As I was saying," Naveen declared yet again, "I'm afraid I've gotten myself a bit lost."

"Well that wasn't very smart of you." The cat drawled.

"I could use some assistance getting back to where I need to be." Naveen ignored the feline's prickly responses. He needed help, and he wasn't going to let a little attitude stop him from getting it.

"Well that would be easier for us to help with if we knew where you were meant to be. Clearly it isn't around here."

"No. I don't believe it is. I need to get to the bank."

The cat was silent, just watching him unblinkingly.

"So, if you could just tell me how to get there?"

"Which bank, frog brain?" The cat sighed. "Do you know how many banks there are in New Orleans? No, don't answer that. I don't believe you can count high enough. It is, after all, more than five. Which bank do you need."

"Um," Naveen hesitated. What bank did he need? "The one on Saint Charles and Gravier."

"Oh, sugar, you are a long way from where you need to be." The cat swished her tail and sighed. "Alright. You need to go about four miles east of here. When you reach Poydras street, you're almost there. If you can't smell the water, start heading towards it. You'll run into one of the cross streets eventually. If you're beside the water, walk away from it. Again, you'll find something familiar soon enough."

"Thank you," Naveen answered sincerely.

"He talked to meeeeeeeeee."

"You are welcome, I suppose. Go on now. It is time for my nap, and this one is far too loud for my liking."

"My apologies." Naveen glanced up towards the sky, trying to judge his direction by where the sun was. At least he would be walking with his back towards the sun, he wouldn't be squinting into the sunset all afternoon.

Four miles. He could manage four miles. That would only take him, what, about an hour? He could do this.

Spirits renewed, Naveen started off again.

Sweat was dripping down his back by the time he reached Poydras street. It had to be after four, and the bank would be closing soon. But he was nearly there. Now all he had to do was what the cat said. Which would be more helpful if he could remember. Something about water.

Oh!

Walk away from the water. Well, that was easy enough to do. Naveen turned north and started walking. He was sure to run into a street he needed soon enough.

He did not run into a street he needed.

At some point Poydras had ended and Naveen, hoping that this was intentional in the cat's instructions, had continued east. Now the sun was slipping even lower in the sky and Naveen was fairly well and convinced that he was, once again, completely lost.

Well, not completely. At least here the music felt familiar. There was a foundation, a chord he recognized. His feet knew the beat and his soul knew the song. He was never truly lost if he listened to the city, right? He could do this.

Closing his eyes, Naveen let himself get immersed once again into the tempo of New Orleans. His foot began to tap. A child ran past a fence, stick banging between the rails. Naveen shimmied with the sound of it. A car was honking and someone shouted. Naveen jumped and swayed.

He sashayed, he shimmied, he spun, he sprang, he sauntered, he swayed. The music swept him away. Trusting nothing more than his soul and his song, Naveen danced his way through the city.

Cars and people and buildings flashed by in swirls of color. Around him the city pulsed and breathed. The streets were familiar now. Tulane, Baronne, Common, Saint Charles, and at last, Gravier.

Naveen stood before the bank in victory.

He sprang up the steps and let himself into the building. It felt good to be in the shade out of the sun. The air was still and dead, but it was cooler than on the streets, and that was all he needed right now.

"Good morning, sir." Naveen smiled at the man that greeted him. "I am here about a mortgage payment for my wife."

"One moment, please."

Naveen nodded. He stepped back, shifting from foot to foot as the man finished doing….whatever it was he was doing.

Thankfully it did not take him very long before the teller once again called him forward. "Now. What was it you wanted, sir?"

"I have come to make my wife's payment on her restaurant." Naveen produced his envelope from his pocket with a flourish. "Tiana's Place. My wife is, of course, Tiana."

"One moment please."

"Take all the moments you need, good man!"

The man took too many moments. Naveen tapped his fingers anxiously against the counter and shifted his weight from one hip to the other. This should be such a simple process, what could possibly be taking so long?

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Just a moment, please."

Naveen sighed and propped his chin on his hand. This was taking too long. He was beginning to suspect that they had different definitions of "A Moment".

"Excuse me, sir, exactly what is taking this so long? Because as far as I am aware, this is not exactly a multi moment waiting request, no? This should be an easy task. You take the money, you write it down, you put it away, we're good til next week. It seems this is a bit drawn out for a me paying you type of situation."

The teller sighed heavily. "You see, sir, the problem is that the banker handling this account died last week."

"Oh." Naveen could physically feel himself freeze. That was not what he expected to hear. "I am so sorry." After a second, he frowned. "But, how exactly is this preventing me from paying the mortgage?"

The teller gave another why-am-I-dealing-with-idiots sigh. "Because the banker only has one name on this mortgage, and it is not yours."

Naveen nodded. "I see, I see. But why does this prevent you from accepting money for it?"

Another sigh. Naveen was beginning to tire of his sighs. "BEcause, Sir," the teller answered, "Only authorized individuals may make a payment to any one account. It's a fraud preventative. We don't want payments going to the wrong accounts or being rescinded."

Naveen pinched the bridge of his nose. "So why, exactly, did you not tell me this right off the bat?"

"Because we have been checking his paperwork to make sure he did not update the file, and to make sure you did not have a different mortgage you were attempting to apply this money to."

"Why would I lie about who this money is for!?" Naveen threw his hands in the air. "I am trying to pay for my wife's restaurant. I am married to the woman, this is our money, put it in her account!"

"I am sorry, sir, but I can not do that." The banker answered irritably. "Only authorized individuals may make a deposit or drop off."

"I'm sorry, drop off?"

"Yes. Now, I shall have to ask you to leave as you are getting quite agitated." The teller announced. He signaled for security to come their way.

Naveen huffed. "Just a moment."

Sulkily he crossed his arms and stood where he was. He stared down the teller, daring him to tell him to move.

He continued to stare down the teller as the two security guards carted him out the door, arms still crossed over his chest like a child.

Naveen hit the curb hard. "Oof." Rubbing at his backside he muttered, "Didn't have to throw me. I can walk, you know."

The prince stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. This was completely undignified, and quite unlike anything he was used to. It was nearly five now, and the bank would be closing soon. He had to get this money into the account before the end of the day so Tiana wouldn't lose her restaurant.

A bird landed on a branch nearby and started to sing.

A lightbulb went off above Naveen's head.

Five minutes later and he had obtained a pencil. He was not going to get into the details of how he-Okay, yes he was.

It had been a daring heist. It had involved stealth, and cunning, and the agility of a cat. Or of a former frog, as the case may be. He'd had to sneak past the ruthless henchmen, locate the pencil cache, infiltrate the elite employees, and obtain the pencil without detection.

Alright, fine. He'd walked back into the bank, asked the security guard for a pencil, and then been thrown out again, pencil in hand this time.

Sitting on a bench across the street from the bank, he carefully flattened out the envelope as neatly as he could. In large letters he scrawled 'For the payment of the mortgage on Tiana's Place'.

"Alright, my friend, if you could go deliver this drop off, that would be much appreciated."

"On it!" The bird accepted the envelope and soared across the street. He flew in behind a well dressed couple, and sailed across the room before landing out of sight near the roof.

The couple and the teller spoke a moment before they walked over to sit down and await a banker. The teller turned away to fetch his colleague. The bird flew down and dropped the envelope on the desk in front of him before taking off and swooping out a small open window.

Naveen looked up as the bird landed next to him once again. "So?"

"Success!"

"Yes!" Naveen patted the bird on the head gently. "Thank you. Come by the old sugar mill on the river, and I shall ensure you have the best seed in the place tomorrow!"

Singing gratefully, the bird took to the skies once more. He would be there.

Not moments later and the bank doors were locked. 5:00. End of business day. He got the envelope in just in time. Tiana would be so proud of him.

He just wouldn't tell her it took him half the day to do it.

Tiana's event would be ending now, as well. He was still drenched in sweat. He was dressed in his everyday clothes. He was not going to have any time to go home and change like he had wanted to. If he ran, he might still make it on time.

But Tiana would forgive him. After all, he was cute.

Full of self confidence, Naveen straightened his vest, turned around, and walked directly into a tree.

Naveen stumbled back, his hands pressed to his face. "Ow!"

In his blind confusion, he stepped backwards directly onto an uneven patch of ground. His ankle twisted under him and he went down. The ground was hard and unforgiving. "Ow!"

The whole world was spinning in front of his eyes from the pain and his ears were buzzing. Thankfully the effects were not long lasting. The world slowed down and settled normally. A cool wet breeze danced across his face. His ears were still buzzing.

No, his foot was buzzing.

No. Something under his foot was buzzing.

Moments later found Naveen sprinting down the road as fast as he could on his aching ankle, a huge swarm of angry ground hornets right behind him.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

The angry hornets chased him through the crowds, locked in on him with laser focus. He swatted desperately at the fastest of the sword tailed demons as they landed on his face, chest, arms, neck. They stung him repetitively, undeterred by his attempts to ward them away.

Fire burned from every welt they raised on his skin. He squinted tightly and shielded his eyes, trying to prevent them from blinding him. He was desperate and tired, but he couldn't possibly lay down and let them take him. He had no doubt he would die.

The air was getting thicker as he ran on. Heavier and humid now, it clung to him, the sound and the smell of the river filled his senses.

It was his only escape.

Without hesitation, Naveen leaped from the edge of the walkway and dove face first into the cool, soothing waters of the river. He frogkicked his way as far as he could downstream before he at last emerged for air.

Several meters up the bank a swarm of angry hornets buzzed and hovered over the rippling waters of his entry point. Naveen released a heavy sigh of relief. He had lost them. Just to be safe, he filled his aching, straining lungs with air once more before diving below and swimming further down the way.

At this point, it would be faster just to swim to Tiana's Place.

Tiana stood by the entrance of her restaurant, her coat pulled close around her. It was evening now and the air was getting cooler. Not cold. It was never completely cold here, of course. But cool. Cool, and calm, and collected, just like she was.

Even if her husband was late and putting them behind schedule.

This was her first night off since they'd returned from their honeymoon, and he picked tonight to slip back into his bad habits? Of all the days, today had to be the day he was behind schedule? Had a man no respect for a lady's time?

Tiana stopped her pacing and peered anxiously down the walkway in the direction he should be coming from. Surely he'd be there soon, wouldn't he? This night was so important to them both.

A soft squishing sound from behind her alterted her to the presence of another.

Tiana spun around, more than ready to defend herself. "What kind of a person sneaks up on a woman like that!"

"Sorry." Her husband gave her the most sheepish look he could. "Didn't mean to scare you, love."

"Scare me? Ha! You didn't scare me, you made me angry! Do you know how long I have been wait-What happened to you?"

Naveen's disheveled appearance had finally sunk in for her. His clothes were askew and soaking wet. His hair was plastered to his face, which appeared to be swollen and bruised. He was missing a shoe.

"Baby, what happened?" Tiana stepped forward, her hand reached out to touch him. But she didn't dare. She didn't want to cause him more pain.

Naveen managed a weak laugh. "Oh, you know. Just a bit of money management. But, I have arrived, and I would very much like to say that I can still take you out, however I am not sure I fully feel up to the endeavor."

"Oh honey." Tiana gently slipped her arm through his elbow. "Let's just head home."

The two walked arm in arm along the still air, the silence of good companions surrounding them. Naveen didn't need to explain why he'd ended up in that state. Tiana didn't need to tell him she'd forgive him for worrying her. They both knew, and they both understood.

Everyone was allowed a bad day once in a while.

It wasn't until they were almost home that Tiana spoke. "You promised me a soiree, but I think this might have been better. It has been a while since I took the time to listen to the sound of our city. I think I might finally understand what you mean when you say this place has music."

Naveen smiled down at her. "It is beautiful, no?"

"It is." Tiana sighed.

"Let us go home and make some music of our own."

And that is exactly what they did.

The clock ticked the tempo. Their feet tapped the rhythm. Crickets and bullfrogs were the melody, their voices the corus and their pitches the harmony. A baby cried like a bagpipe. Owls sang like oboes. A barking dog was the scat singer, fast and rapid like a trumpet. Bugs hummed like a violin. The neighbor's radio droned like a violin.

Everything, everywhere, was music.

And the two of them, right there, were music.

Naveen held Tiana close, waltzing around their living room to the sound of the city's music. To the music of their home. Softly he sang the song he had been composing that morning.

Tiana rested her face against his chest. She'd cleaned his wounds, wrapped his ankle, and teased him about how he was still just as much a mess as the frog she'd fallen in love with.

And he had teased her for loving as much of a mess as he was.