I'm so glad you all love my story! Ya'll are so sweet!
This chapter goes out to Chicomagnifico! He's one of the sweetest guys you'll ever meet!
Disclaimer: I. Own. Nothing.
It was 12:00 midnight, and a certain prince was not getting a good night's sleep. He tossed and turned as nightmares haunted his sleep, refusing to let him sleep peacefully.
He groaned and mumbled in his sleep as the terrifying dream became more and more vivid. "No…Tiana…please, no….T.. Tiana!" He gasped as he woke up from his horrible nightmare. He looked at his wife, sleeping peacefully.
Naveen placed his face in his hands and groaned. He had to get the Shadow Man out of him. He just had his worst nightmare for the 6th time. Only this time it was different. Yes, Tiana running for her life through the bayou was still as true as could be, but when she reached that dead end, it was not Dr. Facilier who had brought the knife down on her.
It was Naveen. He himself had done it. Now, Naveen's head was filled with horrible considerations. What if the Shadow Man didn't wait until he had enough of Naveen's energy before he killed Tiana? What if, God forbid, he used Naveen to….no, Naveen couldn't live with himself if that happened. He would rather die than hurt his wife in anyway.
He needed to warn her. He had to tell her that her life was in danger. But how? The Shadow Man could get a strong hold on him anytime he wanted! And it was just getting worse…. He told him he was getting stronger by the minute.
I need help, he thought, Someone needs to know what is happening to me, that way if I….do something I'll regret, they can keep an eye on me and try to stop me.
Coming up with an idea, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked at his wife. So beautiful and peaceful. He leaned into her, and lightly kissed her on her forehead.
"I will do whatever it takes to protect you, I promise." he whispered. And it was true.
He cleared his throat and called softly, "Shadow Man?" There was no answer.
Maybe he is recharging his energy or whatever…, Naveen thought. He could have just told Tiana what was going on right then and there, but now that he knew what was inside of him, he definitely didn't want her involved! Besides, the Shadow Man might just cut the wait and kill her if he found out she knew.
He pulled himself out of bed, and pulled on his shirt and boots. "I hope I am doing the right thing." He didn't really want anyone to be part of his problem, but his wife's life was at stake.
Louis was probably out in the bayou by now, so that just left….
"Lottie? Lottie!" Naveen whispered. He sighed, and climbed up the ladder he had pressed against the wall. "Lottie, wake up! I need your help!"
Naveen only heard her snore. "I knew she snored!" he whispered to himself. "She is just the type!"
He really didn't know how big of a help Charlotte could be, but he was desperate. "Charlotte LaBouff! Open your demir window!" Naveen shouted, cursing a little in Maldonian.
Still nothing. Growling, he began to pound on her window. "Faldi Faldonza, Lottie! Peno la demir windo!" he shouted, speaking completely in Maldonian tongue.
Finally, the light clicked on. "About time!" he whispered. He walked up to the top perch of the ladder and looked through the window. "Lottie, it is me!"
Charlotte was in her long, pink nightgown, and had just removed her sleep mask. "Who's there?" she asked. She looked at her window….and saw a man peeking through it!!
"Yeeeeeiiiiii!!!!" Charlotte screamed so loudly, Naveen almost fell off his ladder. She quickly opened her window and without bothering to look at who was there, pushed the man and his ladder away from her window.
"No, no, no, no, no, LOTTIE!!!!! IT IS ME!!! NAVEEEEEEEN!!!!" Naveen cried as he and the ladder went crashing into the bushes below.
Charlotte realized what she had just done, and meekly looked out the window. "Navi, sugar? Oh dear.." She quickly pulled on her robe and headed downstairs.
"Navi, are you all right?" Charlotte asked. She looked around until she found Naveen stuck in a bush. "Oh dear, l-let me help you…" She grabbed his foot and pulled with all her might.
"Faldi Faldonza Charlotte, put your girly, skinny back into it!" Naveen called from inside the bush. There was some rustling of the leaves as he tried to squirm his way out.
Charlotte grabbed his foot again and pulled. "Well…erhhh maybe if you didn't weigh so…much .."
"I shall make you pay for that later!" Navven called.
With a final grunt, Charlotte yanked the prince out of the shrub. "There you go, right as rain." she helped him stand up, and helped brush off the leaves that were sticking to him. "You gonna tell me what you were doin' peeking through my window?"
Naveen straightened his clothes and then turned to the blond woman. "I was not peeking at you! I just need… hey, that is Kudo's Mud Mask, yes?"
Charlotte touched her face lightly. "Oh yeah, it works like a dream! I was thinking I should switch to Manny's Magic, I hear it's an improvement.."
Naveen waved his hand in dismissal. "No, no, they just say it is better because it feels better on your skin, when it actually does nothing for the pores."
Charlotte nodded. "Oh I hate it when- wait, how do you know that?" When the prince didn't answer, Charlotte put her hands on her hips. "Naveen, you don't…use this stuff do you?"
Naveen looked down at his boots, and was quiet for awhile. "No," he said at last. "But if I did, it is strictly for my smooth, perfect skin!"
Charlotte gave a little snort. "Do you also pluck your eyebrows?"
She meant it as a joke, but Naveen's head instantly snapped back to her. "Who told you?!" he cried.
Charlotte quickly covered her mouth to hold back her laughter.
Naveen cleared his throat. "I am not here to discuss beauty products, I need your help."
Charlotte instantly got serious. "What's wrong, sugar?"
Naveen sighed and rubbed his face into his hands. He didn't exactly rehearse how he was going to tell her this. "The Shadow Man is inside of me," he said, bluntly.
Charlotte gave him a blank look. "Uh, is that some sort of…symbolic thing?" she asked.
Naveen shook his head. "No, I mean he is literally inside me! In my head!" He knew it sounded stupid, but he really didn't know how to explain his situation.
"In your head?" she repeated. "Naveen, isn't he a little too big…?"
"No, I mean his spirit! His spirit is in my head, forcing me to do things I do not wish to do!" Naveen cried.
Charlotte looked like she was deep in thought. "What kind of things?" she asked.
"He wants me to kill people! Including Tiana!" Naveen explained.
Charlotte's mouth dropped open. "Kill Tiana? Naveen, I thought you loved her!! Why would you want to kill her!?"
"I would sooner die before I hurt Tiana on my own free will!" Naveen cried, angry for Charlotte even thinking such a thing. "However, the Shadow Man can make me if he wants to!"
Charlotte gave a little scoff. "Don't blame dead people for your anger towards your wife!"
Naveen placed his face in his hands. Why wasn't she getting this? " Lottie, listen carefully. I do not wish to hurt Tiana. I love her more than life itself. The Shadow Man's spirit is in my head, and forcing me to hurt innocent people. I need you to keep an eye on me, so no harm can befall Tiana, O.K?"
Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Why can't you stop yourself?" she asked.
Naveen threw his hands in the air. "BECAUSE HE HAS THE POWER TO CONTROL ME!!!!" Naveen screamed into the night.
(A/n: I'm not trying to make Charlotte seem like an idiot, but she didn't see what Dr,Fecilier could really do in the movie, so it makes sense if it confuses her, right?)
"Charlotte? Princess?" Eli called from the porch., wondering what his daughter was doing outside in the middle of the night. Then he saw a man standing next to her, and his fatherly instincs kicked in. "Hey, you!" he shouted.
"Oh, good evening sir!" Naveen called. "I was just-"
But before he could finish, Big Daddy put his fingers to lips and whistled. "Here Killer!"
Naveen froze as he heard snarls come from the porch. "Lottie? I thought you had a cute little Cocker Spaniel?" he asked, nervously.
Lottie gave him a sheepish smile. "Well, Big Daddy has a backup dog… you know, in case a guy tries to harass me."
Naveen's face paled. "No, Mr. LaBouff, it is I! Na-" But before he could finish, Eli pointed at Naveen, and the Rottweiler was after him in seconds.
"Faldi Faldonza!" Naveen cried, and ran out of the yard with the dog biting at his heels. "Down boy! Heel, heel! My hiney is not your chew toy!"
Eli scowled and ran to be to Charlotte. "Are you O.K, princess?" He wrapped an arm around her.
Charlotte winced and turned to her daddy. "Uh, Big Daddy? That was Naveen, you just sentenced to death."
Eli's eyes went wide. "Really?" he asked, nervously. Charlotte nodded, slowly. "Oh dear, um, what did he want?"
Charlotte bit her lip and thought it over. "He kept speaking in riddles. I think he's having a serious fight with Tia, or something. He wanted me to make sure he doesn't do something drastic like the Shadow Man would…I think."
"Oh, that doesn't sound like Naveen…" Eli muttered.
They both cringed as they saw their ferocious dog gang up on the prince.
"No, no, no, NO! Down, Killer!" Naveen cried.
"Naveen! Look ou-" Charlotte tried to warn the prince.
"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!"
"Oooohh!!" Eli and Charlotte both winced in unison. Killer had caught up to Naveen.
"You think the boy will be all right?" Eli whispered.
Charlotte paused for a minute, then patted her father's shoulder. "I'm sure his fight with Tia hurts worse than Killer….wait, where did he bite him?"
Eli cleared his throat, trying to break the uneasy moment happening. "So…what else did Naveen say?"
Charlotte thought about it, then faced her father and said, "Did you know Naveen uses beauty products?"
"No I did not."
Brrrrriiiiinnnnnggg!!!! Rang the alarm clock.
Tiana groaned, and tossed her body. "Mmmhh…Naveen, could you turn that off?" No answer.
Tiana sighed and sat up. "Naveen, get…what?" She gasped as she saw her husband was not there. That slapped the sleep right her.
She leaned over and turned off the alarm clock. "Naveen?" she called. She frantically looked around the room. "Naveen?!' she called. He was no where in the room.
She was starting to get concerned, until she smelled flap jacks coming from the kitchen. No…he couldn't be…. Curious, she pulled on her robe and ran downstairs.
The scent grew stronger as she entered the kitchen. Sure enough, Naveen was at the stove flipping flap jacks. As he turned to get some flour, Tiana caught a glance at his face. She was surprised to see it was sad. Incredibly sad.
"Naveen?" she called his name.
Naveen turned his head and gave her a small smile. "My princess, you are awake." He scooped up some flap jacks and put them on a plate. "I have made you breakfast."
Tiana wondered why his voice sounded so dreary. Pondering on this, she sat down at the table. Naveen smiled and set the flap jacks down in front of her. "They will not be as good as the ones you make, but I made them from scratch."
Tiana stared at the breakfast that was in front of her. They looked burnt around the edges, but they smelled delicious. "What did you break?" she asked.
Naveen smiled and grabbed his chest dramatically. "You strike a knife in my heart once again, my princess! A good husband cooks for his wife, no?" He walked to the counter, and grabbed a rag so he could clean.
"Naveen baby, are you….limping?" she asked, noticing the little wobble in his walk.
Naveen bit his lip and said, "I hit my ankle on the table when I was cooking. I am fine though."
Tiana smiled and took a bite of her breakfast. It was crunchy, but he had added just the right amount of sugar. "Seriously, why did you wake up so early just to make me breakfast?"
Naveen stared at her for a minute, then took the rag he was holding, and placed it to his eyes. "I… I just want m-my wife to know how much I love her!" he pretended to sob. "W-Why can (gasp) you (gasp) not understand thaaaaaat?" He then put on a dramatic wail act in his rag.
Tiana rolled her eyes, but then decided to go along with the act. "Aw baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry hysterically." She stood up, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love that you made me breakfast, and I love you." She kissed him lovingly on the cheek.
Naveen threw the rag over his shoulder and said, "O.K, I feel loved again." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a kiss. "Now finish your breakfast, and then get dressed. We need to get to work."
Tiana smiled and obliged. "It feels good being on the other side of this, don't it?" she called.
"You know it does!" Naveen shouted as he walked up the stairs. He smiled as he pulled on his clothes. He wanted to cook for Tiana just in case they it was true that they had only a few hours left with each other…he wanted to do something special for her.
But the whole time he was cooking for her, the Shadow Man hadn't forced him to do anything to the flap jacks. In fact, he hadn't heard from the witch doctor all morning. Perhaps I am winning this fight after all?, he thought.
"Naveen, you're positive you're well enough to work today?" Tiana asked, as they made their way to 'Tiana's Palace.'
Naveen nodded. "I am positive, my love. I have not gotten any headaches in hours." He wrapped around his wife, lovingly. "You have to worry about me, no longer."
Tiana smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "That's good, because I was starting to think-"
"Tia! Tia, Tia, Tia!" Charlotte screamed as she ran up to the couple. She was gasping for air by the time she reached them.
"I did not know you could run so fast in those heels." Naveen laughed.
Charlotte sent him a glare before turning to Tiana. "Tia! You've been pranked!"
Tiana raised an eyebrow. "Lottie, what are you talking-"
Charlotte grabbed both Tiana and Naveen's hands. "Both of ya, follow me!" She then dragged the married couple to the side of Tiana's Palace. "Look!"
Tiana gasped. Painted on the side of her restaurant, in big red letters was this:
THE SHADOW MAN IS BACK!!
A crowd was starting to form at the side of the building. Apparently Lottie had told a few other people. They all began to whisper about the message on the wall.
"The Shadow Man?"
"What's he doing back here?"
"He's not, this is just a prank!"
"Who'd be sick enough to joke about the shadow man?"
Tiana placed a hand to her mouth, and turned to Naveen "Who… Who would do something like this?"
Naveen bit his lip so hard, he drew blood. He knew who did this. He had. (A/n: Remember the message in chapter 3?) He , at the mercy of the Shadow man, had written a warning that the witch doctor was returning.
Lottie leaned into the prince. "Does this have something to do with what we talked about last night?" she whispered in his ear,
Naveen gave her a sharp kick in the ankle. "Shut up!" he whispered. The last thing he needed was for Tiana to know he had spoken to Charlotte in the middle of the night.
"Ow! That hurt!" She scowled.
"Now we are even for last night!" he growled.
He paused as Tiana turned to him. "Naveen, do you have any idea who might of done this?"
Naveen was about to lie, but stopped. A drumming noise was starting in his head. It was getting louder and louder by the minute. "No…no!" Naveen cried. He knew what the drumming noise meant.
"I was just asking," Tiana muttered.
Naveen held his head in pain, but he could still hear the voices of the lookers.
"Wait…isn't that Naveen's hand writing?" One of the chef's said.
"Yeah, I'd say so.." Another one said.
Tiana scowled at them. "Are you actually suggesting my husband vandalized our restaurant?" She pointed to the two chefs. "I ought to fire you guys for even thinking he would do such a thing!"
Naveen's head was ringing with pain. He is too strong…Naveen thought to himself. He has become to strong… He is…winning.
Naveen realized this was it. The Shadow Man had enough strength to take over his body completely. He had to warn everyone. "It is true!" he shouted.
Tiana, confused, turned to her husband. "What?"
"I am the one who wrote the message on the wall!!" He shouted, still holding his head.
Everyone gasped. Tiana was just more confused. "Naveen, I don't understand…why would you do this?"
Naveen grabbed his wife's hands and looked into her eyes. "Because he made me!" Suddenly the drumming in his head, became as sharp as a knife. He gave a cry of pain as he crumbled to the dirt.
"Naveen!" Tiana cried, and knelt down beside him. "Naveen! What's wrong!?"
I thought we had an agreement about telling the wife about me!! Dr. Facilier shouted in the prince's head.
"No! Leave me alone!" Naveen shouted out loud.
Tiana thought he was referring to her, and was deeply hurt by this. "Why won't you let me help you!?" she cried.
Naveen weakly looked up at his wife. He couldn't be around her, not when the Shadow Man was livid with rage. "No! No.. Tiana you need to stay away from me!"
"What are you talking about!? Naveen, please tell me!" She cried, desperately.
"What's up with guy?" someone whispered.
Naveen slowly got up to his feet. The pain in his head was practically killing him. "Tiana….I love you so much…that is why… you must stay away from me!"
With that, he ran as fast as his legs could carry him, tears starting to form in his eyes. I am sorry, Tiana… I love you. he thought.
"Naveen, wait!" Tiana called. She quickly kicked off her heels, and ran after him. "Naveen, please!" Tears were starting to form in her eyes to.
She ran until she caught up with him in the middle of the street. She grabbed his arm, rather sharply. "Tiana, let me go!"
Tiana only tightened her grip. "No, Naveen I demand to know what's going on with you!" It took all her strength not to let her tears fall.
"Tiana, I cannot tell you!" Naveen cried, desperate for her to give up.
But is Tiana known for giving up? No. "Naveen, whatever's going on with you, I'll help you with it! I love you, and I wish you would stop pushing me away!"
"Tiana, I could not tell you even if I wished it!" Naveen cried.
"Why not?!" she asked, mixed with emotions.
"Because-"
But before he could finish, a car started honking at them. They snapped their heads to see the car heading straight for them. "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!! I CAN'T STOP!!!!"
Everything happened so fast. The car heading towards them at full speed. "TIANA!!" Naveen screamed as he pushed her out road. But he was still standing in the open.
"NAVEEN!!" Tiana shouted from the sidewalk.
Naveen focused all his voodoo energy into his hands until they glowed with purple flames. Tiana's eyes went wide, but before she could cry out, Naveen let out a roar and sent the flames towards the car.
"Naveen, wait!" She cried out, at last. But it was too late.
BAAAAAANNNNNGGGG!!!!!
The car blew up into a million pieces. Everything was quiet after that. Tiana was breathing heavily. How did he…? She thought. "N-Naveen…" That was all she could say.
Naveen was gasping for air, ignoring the ambulences he heard in the back ground. He lost. He lost his control. The shadow man…won. Naveen had just killed a man.
Wow, your first victim. Yes, that soul is going straight to the other side! this could be the start of a beautiful partnership! And just think, that soul is the first of many!
Naveen was gasping even harder. A man was trapped in the other side, because he had killed him. Anyone who he killed was going to the Hell. If he killed Tiana…
"NO!" Naveen shouted. He placed his face in his hands. "No! This cannot be happening!"
"Naveen!" Tiana cried out.
Naveen turned to his beloved wife. "Tiana… I will always love you....but I can no longer be your husband." And with that, he ran for his life, hearing Tiana scream his name as he ran.
He didn't know where he was going.
And he really didn't care.
All he knew was that he could never return to his princess.
Did you cry? It's O.K, you can tell me! The transformation is just about complete… Please review!