A/N: I know this chapter is a lot shorter than my others, but I thought the last sentence was a good way to end the chapter. Thanks to all my readers, followers, and reviewers. You guys are awesome.

Questions & Comments:

chloemcg: Ha ha, yeah. It's always painfully obvious in Disney who is going to be involved in a romance in a movie.

Disclaimer: Disney owns all Princess and the Frog characters.

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Where Loyalty Truly Lies- Chapter 3: The Meeting

Sam crouched down to where he could see the object better.

It was a girl.

"'A naked girl.'" He noted with interest.

She was lying on her stomach so he couldn't see much. He took his jacket off and draped it over her.

She started to stir and began to open her eyes. She gasped when she saw Sam and started to get up, but didn't when she thought of the position she was in.

Their eyes locked.

"What do you want?" she asked him.

After a moment, he answered.

"I don't-"

He was cut off when he heard a loud growl. A small tan bobcat stood protectively in front of the girl, and gnashed his bloody teeth at Sam.

Sam smirked, amused.

The girl scratched behind the bobcat's back and whispered that it was okay. The bobcat's stance relaxed, but he still glared at Sam.

"Evangeline!"

Sam, Evangeline, and the bobcat kitten turned towards the voice.

Sam took off to hide while a man ran up to Evangeline with a dress in his hands. The man turned his back while Evangeline put on the dress.

Sam's eyes widened.

Prince Naveen of Maldonia.

"Your mother is furious." He began fussing to Evangeline in a language he didn't recognize. Naveen grabbed her wrist and began pulling her in the direction he came from. The bobcat kitten dutifully trailed after them.

After they had left, Sam went to collect his discarded jacket.

"So, the princess, huh?"

He suddenly felt like he was being watched, but turned to see nothing.

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After being chewed out by her father in Maldonian, she had to hear the exact same lecture from her mother in English.

"You shouldn't run off at night." Evangeline imitated her father's brusque tone in his native tongue. (A/N: Angie can speak Maldonian and French)

"Your father and I were worried sick." She then imitated in her mother's soft tone.

She launched herself into her bed.

"Blah, blah, blah. Why am I the only one who can't run off at night?" Evangeline asked herself.

She thought about the story of the start of her parents' relationship.

"If the shadows really only want royal blood, Ray should be the one who is in the most danger, but he can still go off at night."

If anything were to happen to her grandfather, her father would be the king. With that reasoning, since Ray is the first son, even though is younger than her, he would inherit the throne.

She sighed.

Things would be a lot easier if her uncle, Ralphie, inherited the throne. That's probably a long shot, though. At 21, Ralphie has proved to be more like Naveen than anyone would have thought. His personality mirrors what Naveen's used to be. Due to this, he is one small thing away from being disowned.

Evangeline was on the verge of disbelief.

Ralphie was her favorite family member. He was so much fun to be around and he treated her more like a sister, and not a niece.

Evangeline could not imagine her dad being like that. She was just starting to drift off when Willy came through her open window.

"I can't believe you ran off like that."

"Not you, too."

"I know you don't want to hear it, but I don't care. That was dangerous. If I hadn't ran after you who knows what would have happened. Especially with that guy."

She laughed. "Yeah, because I'm sure anyone would have a lot of trouble dealing with a 2-pound bobcat kitten."

Willy growled. "That's not the point, and you know it."

Yeah okay, she knew what the point was. Anyone could have found her, and they could have taken advantage of the situation.

There was something about the boy that was different. He had covered her up with his jacket, not without getting an eyeful, she was sure. There was something in his intense gaze that didn't make him seem like a bad enough person to do something like that. In fact, it seemed like he was deep in thought about something else.

Evangeline sharply turned away from Willy. "Fine. I'm tired. Good night."

"Whatever." Willy left using the window. He doesn't understand.

"Angie." Evangeline silently lifted her covers to let her 5 year-old brother, James, in. James had seemed to notice that she was more on edge lately and decided to sleep in her bed with her. She hadn't minded. James was always a welcome presence. At least he doesn't judge her or the decisions that she makes. The big sister and little brother promptly fell asleep.

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A/N: So how was it? I am so sorry that this chapter is so short. I always try to make 1,000 words my minimum, but yeah, not this chapter. I will try to make the next chapter almost 2,000 words to make up. The next chapter features Angie and all of the minor characters. Please review!