A/N: Chapter 9. Hope you enjoy.
I do not own The Princess and the Frog.
The Glory of Love
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Tiana slowly trudged back to her room, directed by the queen, who gave far better instructions than her son, bone tired. She didn't know how she was going to manage riding with Naveen in a few hours, she could hardly stand up straight. She opened the door to her room, and collapsed into a chair. She slipped her shoes off, and closed her eyes for a moment. The room was cool, and smelled of sea air.
She opened her eyes, and looked around the room. She noticed that her bags were missing. She panicked slightly. Had she accidently gone into the wrong room? No, it was the same one, she was sure of it. The same ivory and gold color scheme, and she could see the indent on the bed where she had sat when she changed her shoes that morning. She got to her feet and went to inspect the wardrobe, in case a servant had put all her clothes, but found it empty.
Confused, she strolled out of the room, and knocked on Naveen's door.
"Antrare," came a muffled response from inside. Tiana opened the door and peered inside. There was a lump lying in the bed, with dark brown curls sticking out the top.
"Naveen?" she asked. The lump stirred, and Naveen sat up with a grin.
"Now what would bring my lovely wife here, to me, on this beautiful afternoon?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair. Tiana had to suppress a snicker as she rolled her eyes.
"I was wondering if you knew what happened to my bags? They seem to have vanished from my room." Naveen cocked an eyebrow, and pointed to the far corner of the room. She followed his gaze, and saw them laying in a pile there. "What are they doing in here?" she demanded.
"I took it upon myself to move you in with me. I simply can not bear the thought of having you so far away from me," he answered, running a finger in circles on the satin bedspread.
"I'd be right next door," she said, opening the wardrobe. Sure enough, her dresses were hanging beside his own clothes. "Aw, you even put them away all nice and neat!"
"Tiana, anywhere you are that is not right beside me is too far," he said. "And of course I put them away neatly. I know you do not like wrinkled dresses."
"But your mother put us in separate rooms. Won't she be angry?"
"No. I'm sure it was just an oversight on her part. She did not think."
"But..."
"It will be all right," he assured her. She closed the wardrobe, and looked around his room. Much more personal than the one she had been in, obviously lived in. A bookcase stood on the opposite wall, beside the bed. A phonograph sat on one shelf, with records stacked up beside it. A dresser was on the adjacent wall. She wandered over and studied the world map hanging above it.
There were several different colored pins stuck in it. "What's this all about?" she asked.
"A system I came up with in my youth. The yellow pins are the places I wish to go, the blue are places I have been," he said, throwing off the covers and climbing out of the bed. He yawned, and strolled over to his wife, who was still inspecting the map. She had never realized before how well traveled he was. There were pins covering Europe, The Caribbean, parts of Africa and the Near East.
"What's the white one for?" she asked, pointing to the lone pin, floating in the Meditteranen between Greece and Turkey.
"That is Maldonia. It is not on most maps, so I marked it myself," he said, leaning on one hand on the dresser. His white shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his dark, well chiseled chest. She looked away pointedly, studying the map harder. The places her husband wanted to go seemed fascinating, Peking and Bombay the only two clearly marked She hoped that they might go there some day; she had always been intrigued by the far east. She found New Orleans, which was marked with a red pin.
"What's that?" she pointed out the pin.
"I have marked our beloved New Orleans with a red pin, for that is where I have lost my heart," he purred, leaning over and nuzzling her neck. She snorted, and stepped to the side.
"That was terrible..."
"What?"
"That was hands down the worst line you've ever given me," she said, looking over the items littering the top of the dresser.
There were a few photographs sitting on the dresser. She picked one up and looked at it. A couple in old fashioned clothes were the subjects. She held out the picture to him with a puzzled look on her face.
"My grandparents," he said simply. "They were the first Maldonian royal family to be photographed."
"Huh," Tiana said, setting it back down.
"And this is my parents," he continued, pointing to another picture, "My Aunt Lyra and Uncle Phillipe, he's a French diplomat; my cousins Jacqueline and Sophie, Jacqueline's son Rene, and of course you know Avram."
"Who's this?" Tiana asked, holding up a picture he had not acknowledged. His face fell, and he took it from her.
"This is my sister, Jacinda," he said, staring intently at the small child featured there.
"I didn't know you had a sister. How come I've never met her?"
"She... she died. When she was four years old. Diphtheria."
"Oh! I'm so sorry..."
He shook his head, and set the picture down. "I was only seven, I don't really remember it." He went back to the bed, and flopped down. He stared at the canopy, silent and stony faced. Tiana sat down beside him, and ran her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes and sighed. She reclined, lay down beside him, and he wrapped his arms around her.
She closed her eyes as she buried her face into his chest, and he started running a finger up her spine.
"I have missed this," he muttered, planting a kiss on her forehead.
"Missed what?" she asked, nestling down into the soft bed. She made sure to keep her head on his arm. She felt herself becoming drowsy, and knew that the minute her head touched the pillows, she would be out like a light.
"Cuddling with you like this. You have been such a sourpuss lately," he said. She looked up and glared at him, " But I know you have not been well, that you are still not well." He added hastily. He sat up, and let Tiana's head hit the pillows. He laughed as she struggled to sit up, slipping on the satin sheets, and clawing her way out of the pile of pillows.
"Eep ee..." she squealed, her face buried in the mattress.
"Sorry, what was that?" He asked with a snort. She lifted her head slightly and snapped, "Help me!"
She felt his arm snake it's way under her, and pull upward. He easily lifted her, and set her down beside him.
"This bed is defective!" she snarled, wiping away the loose hair from her face.
"You will get used to it," he chuckled.
"Why do you need so many pillows, anyway? There must be about twenty. I could have drowned!"
"I have never heard of anyone drowning in a pile of pillows, Princess," he purred, pushing her back down and snuggling up beside her.
"There's a first time for everything you know." He rolled his eyes, and adjusted her on the bed. She wasn't sinking now. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"I love you," she whispered, once again feeling drowsy. He sat up, and pulled his shirt off. He reached down and shimmied out of his pants, and dropped them on the floor. He propped himself up on one elbow and cleared his throat.
Tiana paid no attention. He cleared his throat again. Still no answer. He looked over her, and found that she had fallen asleep. He blew his hair out of his eyes, leaned over her, and gently kissed her temple.
"And I you, my Princess."
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A/N: Okay, I know I promised fluff, but gave out angst, and a wee bit of foreshadowing for a spin off fic I'm working on. So yeah. Naveen is a master of changing the subject, isn't he?
Next chapter is pure fluff, I swear. I also have an actual plot that I'm going to get on with in the next few chapters.
Nothing else to say really, except thank you for reading, and please review.
