Song: So Close

Original Movie: Enchanted

Charlotte

A life goes by,

Romantic dreams must die

So I bid mine goodbye and never knew

So close was waiting, waiting here with you

Truth be told, of course she was more in love with the idea of being a princess than she was with Naveen. Rather, who she thought was Naveen at the time. But he was handsome, and he was a prince. That was enough to get her attention.

The problem was that she also believed that, like in the fairy tales, he would come to be her one true love. That just one kiss would be enough for them to want to be together forever.

But what came to her mind first when the fake Naveen asked her to marry him was the title of princess. What she'd been dreaming about since she was a little girl. She loved that title, the idea that it might go before her name. Princess Charlotte had such a nice ring to it. There hadn't been any hesitation on her part.

When the real Naveen, in all his currently amphibious glory, showed up and told her what had happened, she listened carefully to his story.

And she finally really got it.

The point of those stories were not about how a girl from a poor family went to being a princess (not that she'd ever fully be able to relate to those, being the daughter of the richest man in town, possibly in the state). Being a princess was just a detail.

The part that mattered was the love. Looking past everything to see the man or woman inside, and fall in love with what was there. Whether the man inside was hidden behind a beast or a frog.

She'd thought she had felt twinges with Naveen's imposter, but she knew better than to think it was love. Charlotte was spoiled, not naïve or stupid. But suddenly that was what she wanted. She still wanted the princess title, but she wanted the true love more.

About a month later at the grand opening of Tiana's Palace, she joked to Naveen's little brother that she could wait for him. He'd smiled before running off. "Cute kid," she said to herself. She still wasn't sure herself whether she was joking about waiting for him or not.

"Miss Charlotte?"

"Travis?" Charlotte was more than a little surprised to see Travis at the opening. She hadn't been aware that he and Tiana were friends. But there he was, looking at her hopefully.

"Ahem, that is..." he coughed weakly. "Does 'later' still mean 'never'?"

"Sometimes."

"So..."

Charlotte sighed dramatically, "Travis, when a girl doesn't say much but doesn't push you away, it means she's bein' coy. You know? Hard to get?" She waited for him to take the hint.

"Will you give me the pleasure of having this dance, Charlotte?" Travis tried again.

Charlotte studied him for a moment. He was from a well off family, but he was certainly no prince. Still, he did genuinely seem to care about her. "Until the right one comes along," she said, taking the hand he proffered to her.

"What changed your mind?" Travis asked as the music turned slower - Naveen and Tiana had just reemerged on the dance floor together, amid loud applause.

Charlotte pulled away for a moment, watching her best friend. "Prince or no prince..." she looked Travis in the eye. "I don't care anymore. I just...I want what they have."