A/N: Here's chapter 4. Thank you for your kind reviews!
I do not own The Princess and the Frog.
The Glory of Love
--
--
--
--
--
--
Naveen continued to lead Tiana and Avram through the town, until they reached a narrow two story house standing next to a stable. Enio was tying up his horses inside the small wooden structure. He looked up and waved at them as they approached. He walked up to them, wiping his palms on his pants. He gestured towards the open door of the house, and they followed him inside.
Tiana's nostrils were met by a delicious aroma of cooking meat and garlic. It made her now empty stomach growl loudly as she stepped into the large, airy kitchen. Tiana was suddenly reminded of her family's kitchen back home. Dried herbs and meat hung from the ceiling, an enormous wood burning stove sat in the corner, and a short plump woman stood in front of it, adding a pinch of salt to a large pot. She turned around, squealed and threw her big arms around Naveen, who chuckled and hugged her warmly. She released Naveen, and knelt down to Avram, who jumped into her waiting arms with a giggle.
The was smell was starting to make her feel queasy yet again as the woman rose and turned to her. She grasped Tiana's hands, tears welling in her eyes, and greeted Tiana in rapid Maldonian. She had no idea what the woman had said, but she smiled anyway, and returned with a tentative "De Shaze?" Her stomach plummeted when she, Enio, Naveen, and Avram all laughed. 'Oh no!' she thought. Had that been the wrong thing to say?
The woman waved her hand dismissively, and dropped a curtsey. "E vesto Oana, balla Prutta," she said in a low tone. Tiana clumsily returned her curtsy, still flushed with embarrassment. What had she been thinking, coming to a country where she didn't speak the language?
Three children, two boys and a girl, all three around eight or nine, came clamoring in from the back door of the house. They all bowed their heads respecfuly to the three royals. Enio waved a hand to them, and introduced them;"Bedaan," he said gesturing to one of the boys. Nairi was the girl, and Salim the other boy.
Oana motioned for them all to sit at the long table in the center of the kitchen. Naveen pulled out a chair for Tiana, and pushed her in when she sat. Tiana watched as Oana ladled what appeared to be some kind of stew into dishes, and passed them out, Naveen first, then Avram, Tiana, and then to her husband and children.
The brown goop bubbling in front of her made her stomach flip a bit, but she took a bite. It was delicious, spicy and flavorful. The meat wasn't one she was familiar with, but it was wonderful. She had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to hold it down, but not wanting to be rude, she ate anyway. Naveen was talking to their hosts, Avram and the other children were giggling about something; All were speaking in Maldonian. Tiana pretended to listen intently to the conversation, joining in on the laughter, nodding when the others nodded.
After they were all done, Oana rose and started clearing the table. Tiana jumped to her feet, and nudged Naveen on the shoulder. "Ask her if I can help clean up."
Naveen translated, and the older woman shook her head no. Her sons ran back out side, but Nairi stayed and helped her mother pile the dishes in the sink. "Tell her I insist," Tiana hissed again. Naveen did, and Oana considered her for a moment. She then smiled and handed Tiana a pail. She gave instructions, which Naveen translated.
"She wants to know if you can go to the pump in the back and fill this with water." Tiana smiled and nodded, and walked outside. Naveen called after her, "I am going to find us a ride to Zulima, I will be back soon!"
The back of the house was a courtyard of sorts, shared by several other houses. Avram was running around playing with Bedaan, Salim, and a few other young boys, playing hide and seek among the line of trash cans. Three woman sat in a circle outside one house, sewing and laughing together. A girl about Tiana's age was doing some washing outside another house. She looked up and smiled at Tiana as she approached the pump in the center of the courtyard. She started pumping with all her might, and let the water flow into the pail.
She saw someone coming out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see a tiny girl around three standing there. She was looking up at Tiana, her wide, dark brown eyes twinkling, her hands clasped behind her. "Vie, Prutta!" she said, very excited. Tiana smiled, and waved in greeting. The little girl pulled a yellow flower from behind her back and held it out to her.
"De Schaze," Tiana said with a grin, taking the flower from her. The little girl pointed to herself and said, "Kadri".
"Kadri?" she asked, kneeling down to her. The girl nodded excitedly. Tiana pointed to herself and said, "Tiana." Kadri giggled excitedly and threw her arms around her neck. Tiana chukled and returned the hug.
When they broke the embrace, Tiana carefully placed the flower in her hair, picked up the the bucket, and carried it back towards the Oana and Enio's house. Kadri followed her until she reached the door, then called out "Abinaza, Prutta Tiana!"
"Abinaza, Kadri!" Tiana called back as the girl retreated back to her own house. Tiana stepped into the kitchen of the house, and handed Oana the full bucket. Oana thanked her, dumped the bucket into a pot, and placed it onto the stove to heat up. Tiana stood back as Oana and her daughter flitted around the kitchen cleaning up. She wanted to help them, but wasn't sure how to go about it.
Her sickness was pestering her again, as she waited for Naveen to return. When he came in, with something tucked under his shoulder, she excused herself, and ran back outside. Naveen could hear her vomiting. He peered outside and saw her hunched over a trash bin. He apologized to Oana, explaining Tiana's recent illness to her. He ran outside to her, and Oana shook her head, an understanding smirk on her face.
"Tiana, are you all right?" he asked as he stood by her side. He rubbed her back gently, as she heaved. When she was finished, she stood up straight, and brushed off her dress.
"I'm all right," she insisted as he reached up to wiped her mouth. "Did you find us a ride?"
"Yes, we should go if we want to catch them! AVRAM!" he called. The boy crawled out from under the house where the ladies sat sewing, causing a few shrieks. He ran over to his brother and latched onto his leg. He called out to the boys he'd been playing with, who came out of their hiding spots to wave to him. They went back into the house, where they said their goodbyes. Oana kissed Tiana on both cheeks, and gave her a wink.
They left the house, and walked briskly to the edge of the town. The soon came upon another wagon, this one larger and filled with straw. Naveen threw their bags inside, and looked around for the driver. Avram pointed to the flower in Tiana's hair, "That's pretty."
A clock chimed from somewhere. Naveen listened to the chimes carefully. Two o'clock. "Faldi Faldonza, it's that late?" he exclaimed. Tiana looked at him, eyebrow raised.
"Problem?"
"Of course not," he said, regaining his composure. "We can make it by seven, no problem. We just have to leave very soon."
"Where's the driver?" she demanded.
"He said he'd be leaving on the hour, so he should be here... Ah, here he is now!"
Tiana turned to look. A young man was running to meet them. One of the young men, she realized with a sinking feeling, that had seen her upchucking in the olive grove earlier. He recognized her, too. She could tell from the look he gave her when he first saw her. But the look soon softened, and he gave a little bow to her. He said something to her while placing a soft kiss on her hand.
"What did he say?" Tiana whispered to Naveen. 'That's it!' she thought, 'first thing I do when we get to the castle is find someone to teach me Maldonian!'
He smiled down at her, and whispered back, "He wants to know if you are feeling better?" She smiled at the boy, and nodded. He gave a little jerk of his head and climbed up into the driver's seat. Naveen helped Tiana climb up, and then handed her Avram, who she sat beside her. Naveen hopped in after them, and when they were all settled in, the driver started down the road. Naveen lay back on the straw and turned to Tiana.
"So how do you like Maldonia so far?"
"It's... different...." she said, "People are... very friendly."
"Yes, we Maldonians are an affectionate people. We are not ones for formality amongst ourselves, as I'm sure you noticed," he said reaching behind him and producing the bundle he had been carrying.
"Oh yeah, I noticed," Tiana said with a laugh. "It's sweet, though. They really seem to love you two."
"Yes, well, they do..."
"What does that mean?" Tiana asked, laying down beside him.
"Well, the people in Iola and Prazidio know me only as the prince. They are not places I visited very frequently, so they know less of my reputation. You will see when we get to Zulima and Calkirii that we will receive somewhat different treatment."
"Exactly how wild did you go?" she demanded. From the way he had been received by the other Maldonians, it was a bit jarring to think that some may treat him... differently.
"Well, it was enough to make my parents cut me off, was it not? That should give something of a clue, no?"
"Well yes..."
"But there is a plus side to the cities..."
"Oh?"
"Most people there speak at least some English!"
She laughed, "Well, that is good news!"
"Yes, I will have to translate less!" he joked, reaching over and touching the flower in her hair. She playfully poked him in the cheek.
"Are you sure we're gonna make it tonight?" she asked, rolling over on her stomach. She loved the smell of straw, she had ever since she was little.
"It will be close, but yes, I think we will. Napier has a few stops to make along the way, otherwise we would be there with an hour or so to spare." Naveen said matter of factly. He toyed with the brightly colored bundle.
"Naveen?"
"Hmm...?"
"What is that thing?"
He snapped back to attention. "Oh, this is for you."
"What is it?" she asked, giving it a look.
"A blanket. I bought it for you."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted you to take a nap until we get to Zulima."
"Naveen, I never nap..."
"But you are ill. You need sleep to get well again." He said, unfolding the blanket and tossing it over her. He gently pushed her head down into the straw, and tucked her in. She shook her head, but stayed lying down. She DID feel a bit sleepy, she had to admit. She nestled down, and soon had drifted off to sleep, Naveen still watching her, with a peaceful smile on his face.
--
--
--
--
A/N: First off, I want to apologize if Tiana seems more uptight than usual. She doesn't feel well, plus she isn't very comfortable in her new country yet. She's desperate to give a good first impression, and boy is she not off to a good start. So if she seems like she has a stick up her butt, I apologize. She's just not herself lately... ;)
That part with the little girl is based on a real life experience I had, where a little girl came up and gave me a big hug because she thought I was a real princess. (I was all dressed up and wearing a tiara...)
I want to thank everyone who is reading this story so far. I deeply appreciate all your support. I just want to give a quick warning that this will be a fairly lengthy story. It's also the first of many I'm planning, so I'm going to try to keep the updates coming pretty often. I have this massive, extensive head canon, and I'm just itching to write it all. Many future fics, and possibly even a few prequels. Just a heads up.
Hope you enjoyed it, and please review.
