I'm not dead! Really I'm not! My brain might be though, and that's not good. It's slowly coming back to life, which I desperately need it to do, both for the sake of this story and my AP homework. The writer's block sort of went away towards the end of this chapter, but I cannot in good conscience say it's fully cured. Expect another long wait before I get an update done, especially in the next few weeks, during which I will be starting school again. Also, please note that I have changed my pen name, just so it doesn't confuse anyone. I consider Daze my NN, and if any of you knows what that means I love you and wish to talk to you.
And of course I can't forget my reviewers! 333 you all: Whiteling, Nana Cloud, Hermioneroxx77, Random Under The Sun, Naara, x-Taiiwo-x, Bane of Princes, Chocolate Tunda, HeartsWereNeverMeantToRace, Icecreampopstar, lizziemagic, Vampiress-Hannah-Tsukiyomi, WintersMoons, the one who breathes nitrogen, and AngetianPrincess18!
Hopefully I haven't lost too many of you in the long time I've been away! Now presenting: Chapter 14:)
The last time Louis had been in New Orleans was before the war started, when the people of the city still needed a little cheering up to take their minds off the severe economic crisis. As the leader of the jazz band the Firefly Five Plus Lou, he had made quite a name for himself, and became the only alligator that hunters didn't point a gun at. His success was known across the jazz community world wide. Who had ever seen a gator that could play any sort of instrument before? It was a monumental accomplishment, not just for Louis, but for the animal world. Animal trainers everywhere tried to mimic Louis's grasp of music with their own animals, but no lion or tiger or bear held a candle to the trumpet blowing reptile.
In the late twenties, the Firefly Five Plus Lou went on a tour throughout the Southern part of the United States, and when they saw how well that went, they added more concert dates up North. He was away for several years more, until Tiana asked him via letter to schedule a return engagement at her restaurant. She hoped that having a celebrity like Louis back on the stage that prompted his rise to fame would attract the costumers that Tiana's Palace had lacked since the economy took a nose-dive.
It was going to be a huge affair. Posters were put up all around town, and the newspapers each had a column advertising the band. There was a buzz on every street corner about Louis's return to the city that gave him a name.
But that had nothing to do with sales.
Sure people talked, and a rather large crowd gathered outside of Tiana's Palace the night of the engagement in hopes of capturing a picture of the portly alligator, but the tables inside the restaurant were barely half filled. The only people who could afford to eat there lived on the nicer side of town, and they had a habit of steering clear of Tiana's Palace. Racial prejudice was not something that could be cured overnight.
Needless to say, having the Firefly Five Plus Lou as their headliners didn't produce the profit Tiana, Naveen, and Eudora had wished for. Louis's fellow band members wouldn't settle for a low salary, not after the sold out concerts they'd gotten used to playing, so he had no choice but to leave his friends for another gig.
Since then, every few years he would drop by and say hello to his old friends. The fireflies of the bayou always welcomed him with open arms, and Eudora and Charlotte were ever kind to him, though he never did have the pleasure of formally meeting Charlotte's little ward. Mostly his visits were centered around a performance for Mardi Gras, and band rehearsal times were an unforgiving force.
There was a several year long gap between Louis's previous trip to New Orleans and the 1944 Mardi Gras celebration. During that time he had taken a liking to touring throughout the marshes and swamps of the south, going temporarily solo so he could give modest concerts to his fellow animals. His dream of playing with the big boys had been fulfilled, and it was time for life to quiet down a little.
But it was all too easy for Louis to be tempted back into one more night of New Orleans partying.
Of course, it was also very easy for him to get distracted from his work, which ultimately turned into a good thing on that February night. If jazz weren't so embedded into his very soul instead of his mind, his whole concentration would have been on the notes and only the notes, and he never would have noticed Charlotte's exclamation.
"Miss Charlotte! And the little frogs!" Louis cried in return, before blowing a few more hiccups of music so his trumpet could make an easy transition out of the number. "It's been years! How ya'll doin'?"
He knew they couldn't understand a thing he was saying - that ability was not retained after Tiana and Naveen turned human again - but he felt confident that he got his point across when they smiled back at him.
"It's lovely to see you too, Louis." Tiana said genuinely. Luckily, the alligator could understand English perfectly. "But we really need your help."
Louis, who had momentarily been sidetracked by an explosive fireworks display, looked at his old friend warily. If she needed directions from him again, she was out of her pretty little mind.
Naveen took over, placing a strong hand on Tiana's shoulder to steady her. "Our daughter has disappeared, and we believe Facilier is behind it. Have you seen anything unusual?" Louis's eyes widened, then took on a more thoughtful expression before he sadly shook his head 'no.' Naveen's shoulder slumped dejectedly. "Then would you happen to know of any old abandoned warehouses near the shopping district? And how to get there?"
He received a look that clearly stated 'are you kidding me' from the gator and he sighed. "Right. Fair enough." Naveen turned to Daniel, who had been rather nonchalant through the one-sided conversation. It seemed the boy had finally learned that his night was going to be far from normal, and he should probably expect to see much weirder things than a King conversing with a reptile.
Running a hand through his hair, Daniel let his gaze travel from street sign to street sign, drawing a map of the city in his head as he recognized the names. "If we take that street over there a go a couple of blocks, we should be fairly close to the right track." He had know clue just how accurate that assessment was, but at that point anything was worth a shot. The rest of the group nodded and started to make their way across the street, but Tiana stopped in her tracks and shouted, "Wait!"
She ran back up to Louis and tenderly clutched his arm, signaling that she really, really needed him to focus. The concern in his eyes communicated that he understood. "Louis," the queen said slowly with as much meaning as she could muster, "I need you to do something very important for me."
Daniel observed the exchange from afar, and couldn't help but wonder just what the King and Queen's story was. Whatever it was, it must have been out of this world if they somehow befriended an alligator. He could tell the reptile was a trusted confidante, from the way Tiana so easily put a task that involved her daughter's safety in his hands - claws. Daniel had no clue what the task was, but the gator accepted without hesitation, though he did send an uneasy glance at his band mates as he abandoned them in the street.
When Tiana rejoined the rescue party, she vaguely explained what she had just done. "We can't defeat Facilier on our own. Louis offered to get back-up." Daniel looked off in the direction that Louis left in, and furrowed his brow. There was nothing but swamplands outside of that part of the city. Who could possibly be out there?
But he chose not to press the issue. The only thing he needed to be concerned with was finding Evangeline. Any explanation to the night's events would have to come later. One silent block of walking later, Eudora's bad hip started to get irritated, and after two more blocks of protesting, she finally relented to Tiana's requests that she return to the La Bouff mansion by trolley. It took many, many more blocks to get even close to their destination, but after an eternity the group finally found the correct street.
Daniel continued to lead the way, and Naveen brought up the rear, hand poised over a sword at his hip. Apparently, the gold-hilted weapon wasn't just for show. Charlotte and Tiana were sandwiched in between the two, though Tiana insisted that such a manner of protection was unnecessary and chauvinistic. Charlotte fervently disagreed.
Finally, just as their legs were turning to jelly and the women's high heels became unbearable, Daniel changed his direction and turned down the familiar dark alley. His steps were heavy and determined, and he felt like nothing in the world could stop him now.
Until he saw a dark, slender figure waiting by the old painted door at the alley's end.
The lights of the street lamps didn't reach into the alley's shadows, but every few seconds a colored glow from the fireworks display would briefly illuminate the darkness. Like lightning, only in a variety of rainbow hues. Though the light only stayed for a blink of an eye, Daniel could make out the woman's general appearance. She was dressed for a formal event, with strong cheekbones and jaw line, and full, waving hair that cascaded elegantly down her back. He knew that face and that hair - hell, he even recognized the dress.
"Evangeline?" He called hoarsely. The woman's head looked up, and another explosion from above cast an eerie green across her skin. Yes. It was her. "Evangeline!" Forgetting the adults behind him, Daniel quickened his pace to a jog and happily embraced his girlfriend - that is, if she took him back.
"Daniel! I'm so glad I found you!" Evangeline held onto him tightly, but he soon pushed her back so he could see her face. There was a thin sheen of sweat across her forehead, and her dark eyes were wild and bloodshot, like she had just seen a ghost. "And Aunt Charlotte! You wouldn't believe the night I've had."
Charlotte dabbed at her eyes and yanked Evangeline away from Daniel so she could give the girl her own hug. "Little Eva, what on Earth happened to you?"
Evangeline lowered her eyes and her voice became meek. "It was Dr. Facilier. He forced me away from the party and took me into the woods." Her eyes flicked over Charlotte's shoulder and showed little surprise in seeing the king and queen there. "He told me you were here, and that you are my real parents. He tried to convince me you were evil, but I wouldn't believe him! I managed to escape, but he's still out there and he could come back to get me!" Tiana reached out her arm, hesitating before touching the young girl's shoulder. Evangeline sniffled and put her face in her hands, crying loudly.
Daniel and Charlotte shifted uncomfortably, both caught by unpleasant surprise at the young girl's behavior. Whatever Facilier did to her, it couldn't have been good if it made her act like such a drama queen.
Naveen and Tiana, simply because they'd been around their daughter for only a couple moments, didn't notice the wails as uncharacteristic at all. Naveen's mouth returned to its serious frown, and he calmly asked, "Where is Facilier now?" And added, not so calmly, "I'll rip him to shreds myself!"
Evangeline's lips curled at his statement, but turned to Charlotte and answered, "He's at the restaurant, the Palace! He says he's taking it for himself. Come on! We have to go!" She grabbed hold of Charlotte and Daniel's arms and started to drag them back towards the street with a savage force that they concluded must have been from an adrenaline rush. The royal couple was only steps behind, both trying to hide the hurt that Evangeline had pretty much ignored them.
"I can't believe he's trying to ruin my restaurant! How much of my life does he want to destroy?" Tiana's eyes no longer held the threat of tears, sadness and worry replaced by livid fire. She looked like she was ready to punch the first person unlucky enough to step in her way.
Daniel, meanwhile, was trying to calm down her daughter. "Evangeline!" He resisted against the teenager's grip, but she was holding on so tight that he wouldn't be surprised if there was a hand shaped bruise there in the morning. "You need to think about this first. We can't just barge in there like an angry stampede!"
"I have thought about this. A lot." Evangeline stated simply without turning around. "I know very well what I'm doing, the entire plan's all set up."
"What plan?" Daniel yelled with frustration. "You just said you came straight from the restaurant when we found you. There's no way you set up a plan." She ignored him, and he hissed as her nails dug further into the skin on his arm, creating her own tears in his tattered scarecrow shirt. Charlotte huffed along side him, constantly stumbling as her expensive heels, that she couldn't bare to discard, caught on stones and cracks in the street.
"I can see it!" Naveen suddenly cried out, and he pointed up the street to a yellow glow. Indeed, it was the restaurant, plain to see because it was the only building in sight still lit up, even on Mardi Gras. "Oh Tiana, it's still just as it was when we last saw it."
"Yeah, and it better stay that way." She said with firm determination. "Alright, Evangeline, sweetie, what's the plan?"
Evangeline said nothing and kept walking, while the rest of the group stopped at a corner a short block from the restaurant.
"Evangeline? Hello?" Charlotte called out waving her gloved hand for emphasis. Finally, the young woman turned, annoyance clearly present in her eyes at having to slow the mission. The light from the streetlight gave her face and even eerier look, casting purple shadowr over her eyes and below her nose and mouth. She appeared…creepily skeletal.
"Don't worry about the plan. I have it all under control, just follow me." Under control? Daniel thought critically. That's a far cry from the girl who broke down crying in the alley not forty-five minutes ago.
Charlotte, too, picked up on yet another oddity about Evangeline, though her more shallow nature kept her from delving deeper than the girl's façade. It was her dress, actually, the Romanesque gown. Not a bit of it was tattered or even wrinkled. It was as pristine as it was earlier in the evening, save for some dirt at the hem from their walking.
But still, they both dismissed their observations, chalking them up to shock and stress. Evangeline pressed on in the night like she hadn't a worry in the world. That much could not be said for the others, who crept along and jumped at the slightest sound. They put their faith in Evangeline, and trusted her to make the right decisions. Why wouldn't she.
Much too soon, they were under the red awning of the Palace's grand front door. Through the glass nothing in the restaurant seemed out of place. The maitre-d's podium was untouched, the tables were clear and standing upright, and no chandeliers had fallen. Tiana let out a huge sigh of relief and placed a hand over her calming heart.
"It…looks safe." Naveen said hesitantly. Evangeline smiled to herself and agreed:
"We should check around inside. Just to make sure." She took the liberty of going in first, courteously holding the door for the others.
The restaurant was indeed very still, very calm. It was hard to believe that Dr. Facilier had been there at all, and it made them all wonder if Evangeline was telling the truth. But of course she was! She would never lie about something like that, it's just silly. The only thing out of place was that the lighting came from candles mounted on the walls, a feature that Tiana had never approved to be added. Perhaps Eudora had thought it would be nice for a mood effect?
"Come over here! I found something!" Evangeline cried out of the blue, her tone so urgent that Naveen went as far as to leap over a table to reach her more quickly. His wife shook her head and chuckled. She had a feeling Naveen would take the fatherhood thing a bit far.
They group gathered around Evangeline's discovery on the clean floor, and she backed away to allow Charlotte to squeeze into the huddle. Taking a seat on a table a good ten feet away, Evangeline crossed her legs and leaned back, using her arms to support herself. She kept a satisfied smile on her face and yawned, watching as each person debated on what the object on the floor meant.
She didn't need to get a closer look at it, she knew what it was. It was a tarot card, just like the ones Facilier had used to show her all the lies that had been fed to her throughout her life. It was only right to show these people to truth as well, and the image on the card accomplished that task quite well. The picture showed a solar eclipse, the moon blocking out the sun over a group of people that strangely resembled the very personalities that were examining the card.
Evangeline tilted her head thoughtfully, and lifted up on hand, her middle finger and thumb pressed against each other. She almost felt guilty. Tiana, Naveen, and Charlotte were so oblivious, and Daniel was cute. But she still had revenge to seek before she could think about forgiving them.
"Bye bye, sun. Hello shadows." Her fingers snapped.