It was a cool night when Tiana was quietly crying to herself on that balcony. She was glowing like an angel in that pretty blue gown, a tiara resting on her head. She looked like a princess, yet felt like a fool. It was almost as if the costume Lottie let her borrow was mocking her for what just occurred, losing the restaurant she put so much hard work and effort into. Years of blood, sweat, and tears, years of having friends come and go, yet all that hard work ripped from her hands just as she gained her reward. She was almost there, yet now it feels so far away. Tiana sighed while looking up at the evening star that Lottie loved so dearly since they were young little girls, believing in the fairytales her mother read to them. The star, almost as if it pitied here, shone hope in her tears. It was like an attempt to wipe them away, yet unsuccessful. She gave a quick glance at the ground and inside the room. Once the coast was clear, Tiana looked back up at that star.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Tiana mumbled to herself, hugging that magazine photo.

She closed her eyes and whispered, “Please, please, please.”

She looked back down, expecting something to happen. Giving a quick sigh of disappointment, she rested her arms on the railing and looked to her right to see a frog sitting next to her. At first she was startled, for she didn’t expect to have a guest randomly appear. Tiana then rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed, acting as if she thought the star placed the frog there as another mockery to her. 

“Very funny,” Tiana grumbled, looking back at the star. 

Looking back at the frog, she jokingly said, “What now? I reckon you want a kiss?” 

“Kissing would be nice…yes?” A low toned voice came from the frog, responding to Tiana’s question.

She immediately backed away screaming, tripping and stumbling on things her heels decided to entangle with. Did that frog really just talk? Her thoughts were racing as she crashed into a shelf of children’s toys, and finally landing to the carpeted floor. Toys piled upon her as the frog approached her frantically. 

“Sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to frighten you,” shouted the frog, trying to ease Tiana, only to be met with stuffed animals and books being thrown towards him as he screamed, “wait! No no no!”

“You have a really strong arm Princess,” he said amusingly.

“Stay back or I’ll-” Tiana shouted while raising a book to hit him, only to be cut off once again.

“Please please! Allow me to introduce myself, I am Prince Naveen,” he grunted while trying to get up on a desk, only to give Tiana a bow. 

“Prince? But I didn’t wish for any…” Tiana cried, looking at the evening star, “hold on, i-if you’re the prince, then- then who was that waltzing with Lottie on the dance floor?” 

Naveen gives a quick sigh, then looks up at Tiana stating, “All I know is that one minute I am a prince, and then the next I am tripping over these webbed feet.”

Tiana then rose the book, disgusted by the frog before her, but then Naveen once again, cut her off in excitement over how he knew the story she was holding. Tiana looked at the book cover to find she was holding The Frog Prince. The story is of a prince who finds him cursed by a warlock, and becomes a frog. The only way to lift the curse was for a princess to kiss the frog, and once she did, he was reformed into a handsome gentleman before her eyes. Naveen looked at Tiana with excitement, believing he just found the answer to his predicament. 

“You have to kiss me!” Naveen yelled to Tiana.

“Excuse me?” she replied, confused and quite disgusted at the idea of kissing a slimy frog. 

“Come!” he beckoned, only to croak out of nervousness.

“Listen, I’d really like to help but, I do not kiss frogs,” Tiana snapped, turning away from him, but that’s when it hit her, “Lottie! Lottie will kiss you!” 

“Is…Is she a princess?” asked Naveen, nervous of the sudden change in Tiana’s tone.

“Not exactly, but this has been her dream since she was little, she would always wish it upon the evening star! It’s bound to work!” Tiana exclaimed, picking up Naveen. 

Carrying Naveen back out to the balcony, she told him to wait as she went to fetch Lottie. She told him though to stay just below the evening star as he was before, saying it was truly her wish come true on her special night. Tiana ran down the stairs, seeing Lottie getting a drink after dancing in the moonlight for so long. She ran up to her and explained how there was something on the balcony that she just had to see. Lottie was hesitant at first, but eventually agreed to leave the “prince” for a few moments to see what her best friend was dying to show her. The girls ran up the stairs of the mansion, just as the did when they were little, giggling and smiling brightly at each other, holding hands tightly. Covering her eyes, Tiana led Lottie through the room, and onto the balcony. She removed her hands to reveal Naveen sitting on the railing, smiling awkwardly. 

“The evening star brought you a frog,” whispered Tiana in a comforting tone. 

“Oh my! For me? Are you sure?” questioned Lottie, confused yet excited by Tiana’s surprise. 

“All for you, he wishes for a princess to kiss him and we already know you’re the marti gras princess,” smiles Tiana. 

Lottie squealed as she grabbed Naveen. Tiana watched anxiously, quite distrubed that her friend was about to kiss a slimy, gross frog. The wind blew harshly as Lottie kissed Naveen, and a green fog filled the balcony. Everyone was coughing from the fog that ruptured suddenly. Tiana tried to wave it away when she realized that Lottie was gone. Her stomach sank and she checked the ground below, fearing that in the midst of all the smoke, Lottie stumbled back against the ledge and fell off, landing on the hard ground below. 

“Lottie? Lottie!!” cried Tiana, choking up tears while scanning the ground.

“Ugh…What happened?” questioned Lottie, still out of Tiana’s view.

“Lottie where are you?? I can’t find you!” shouted Tiana, still in panic.

“I’m down…” Lottie stammered, looking at her hands, now green little frog hands covered in mucus, “here?!” 

Lottie started screaming in fear, realizing she was now a frog like Naveen. Tiana picked her up from the midst of her clothing, looking at her in fear. The both panicked while Naveen sat, unimpressed but definitely concerned on how the kiss didn’t turn him back. The girls bickered back and forth, not being able to make sense of what happened before their eyes. Naveen just sat rolling his eyes, already have witnessed this moment of shock. Tiana put Lottie down, pacing back and forth as she was trying to comprehend what happened. 

“You know what,” Tiana said suddenly, looking at Lottie, “stay here, I am going to go get your father for help.” 

“Be fast Tiana,” cried Lottie, sitting by Naveen.

Tiana ran down the stairs and to the party which was still bustling and blasting excited jazz music. She glanced around, scanning the yard for Lottie’s father, Mr. La Buff. Nothing. Rushing around, she asked people where he was, pleading for some sort of help. No one was interested. Eventually she found him, talking to the fake Naveen. Tiana could do nothing but stop and pause. There stood “Naveen,” dressed in elegantly, glittering in the moonlight. His hair pushed back with some sort of gel, his pearly white teeth sparkling through his smile. What stood out to Tiana though, was a necklace around his neck. It stuck out like a sore thumb, a skull with a bright red substance inside, the brown tones clashing with the cream colored outfit. It didn’t fit. “Naveen” looked at her briefly, smiling at her as if she had no clue what was truly happening. Tiana grabbed Mr. La Buff’s arm, pulling him aside and tried to explain what was happening only for him to brush her off laughing, acting as if she were crazy. It wasn’t until Tiana blurted out that Lottie was in danger that Mr. La Buff actually took her seriously. 

Excusing himself, Mr. La Buff went with Tiana, following her all the way to the balcony. There, they were met with no one, just a pink dress and tiara laying on the floor. No Lottie, no Naveen, no frogs. Tiana tried to explain herself when Mr. La Buff stopped her to shame her for making him look like a fool in front of Prince Naveen. Rambling off absurdities, he went back to the party, leaving Tiana alone with the harshest phrase she could hear, “you were never a good friend.” She fell to her knees and wept, worrying about her friend, now stuck as a frog in the insanely dangerous world around them, with a total stranger of course. Her heart shattered. Her only friend was now missing, and no one would believe her when she would explain what had happened.

As the night when on, Mr. La Buff did take notice that his daughter was not on the dance floor, or throwing herself over the prince. This struck him as off. He had servants search the house and premises for her thinking she ran off with another man. Nothing came up, no signs of her except the pink dress and tiara on the floor, which was now being held by a still distraught Tiana. That’s when Mr. La Buff cancelled the party in a state of emergency, announcing his daughter was missing. The police officers who were attending the party started to sweep the grounds, and interviewing all guests who were in attendance, all except the prince of course. In this point of time, they declared Tiana as the main suspect since she was the last one to know of Lottie’s whereabouts. By three in the morning, all the guests were sent home, even Tiana who was still in her mourning. 

A few days has now passed. Signs of Lottie’s face were plastered all over town as she was still missing. Tiana stayed in her room those couple days, only leaving for a few psyche appointments since she was insistant to the police and mother that she saw Lottie turn into a frog. This morning though, Tiana stayed in her bed, bags under her eyes and hair a mess, lost in thought for hours for she didn’t sleep. Tiana’s mother knocked on the door and peeked in to see her daughter laying so still, she could be mistaken as lifeless. Walking over to her bed, her mother took a seat at the end of the bed. 

“You know, you have to continue work at sometime if you’re going to achieve that restaurant,” whispered her mother, patting her head. 

“Not today mama, not today,” grumbled Tiana, rubbing her eyes. 

“Oh come on,” blurted her mother, “where’s that hardworking girl, the one with passion burning in her eyes, that unstoppable one who let nothing get in her way?” 

“She’s gone mama, she’s taking a break,” choked Tiana, “I don’t wanna go outside knowing my best friend is missing and I look like the suspect for being the town lunatic.”

“You gotta just cheer up-” 

“I’m tired, please just go mama,” sighed Tiana, rolling away from her mother. 

“Alright, please just promise me you’ll go for a walk at some point today,” her mother said, standing up and fixing her bed. 

With that, her mother left her room with closing the door behind her. Tiana shuffled a little bit, protesting the idea of leaving her room and facing the cold world outside. She looked up from her sheets to the sunlight meeting her, peaking through the window blinds to lighten her world. Sitting up, Tiana then glanced around her now messy room, clothes splattered all over the floor, empty cups sprawled along her dresser. She truly has not left. The world didn’t want her too, so why should she have disobeyed? Tiana gave a deep sigh, and left her room. Her mother took notice, but didn’t say a word for fear of upsetting or embarrassing her, so she kept to the dishes. It wasn’t long till Tiana noticed the paper on the table, Lottie’s face still on the front page. She gave a saddened look, and hastily grabbed her jacket and left, slamming the door. She just wants to forget it ever happened.

Walking through town, Tiana definitely got harsh, disgusted looks from other people. They heard the story Tiana claims, and can only presume it was only a fable to cover her tracks, at that she really got rid of her friend out of jealousy for grabbing the young prince’s attention. Some say she killed Lottie for love, some say she killed Lottie for money, all they know is that her story possibly can’t be true. Tiana walked into one of her past jobs, where she was fired due to all of the controversy. Sitting at a table, the new waitress tossed a newspaper to her, trying to not make contact. Tiana rolled her eyes and flipped through the paper to see, this time it was not Lottie on the front page, but the fake Naveen, now wed to another young, rich female somewhere in town. She kept reading the article, scanning the page for something about Lottie, when she noticed someone sit down on the other side of her table. 

“Now who do you think you are?” Tiana questioned angrily, slamming the paper down on the table.

“Shhh, I’m only here to help,” gently whispered the man, smiling wide to her, “I heard you’re going through a little rough time right now.”

“If you’re another one of them doctor’s, I don’t want what you’re sellin’! I ain’t crazy!” scolded Tiana.

“Oh, I am not the type of doctor you’re thinking of.”

“Yeah, sure.” teased Tiana.

“My name is Dr. Facilier, I work with spirits and ghosts, maybe one of them can help find what you’re lookin’ for?” questioned Facilier.

“No, I don’t think you kind find what I lost.”

“Not even…a friend?” Facilier protested. 

The room fell quiet, how did he know? How did he know she lost her very best friend. Tiana gave in and listened to him, taking in all the information he had about his job to her. Facilier stood up and handed her a card, telling her to meet him at the address if she is interested. Then he left just as quickly as he came. Tiana sat there for a minute, in disbelief she didn’t know what to do. She knew this may be the only way for her friend to be found, as well as the true prince. But, she knew every deal with magic came with strings, that a deal is a deal and that you can’t call it quits once you accepted. She argued back and forth in her mind, unsure if she should really feed into this idea that magic would find her friend. But it turned her into a frog in the first place, didn’t it? And the police sure wouldn’t find her because they were looking for a human, not a frog. Tiana got up and left, heading to the address on the card. 

Once she arrived at the door labeled “Dr. Facilier’s Voodoo Emporium,” Tiana knocked on the door hesitantly. Seemingly by itself, the door opened to reveal Dr. Facilier playing with a deck of Tarot cards. She stepped inside, nervous beyond belief, shaking as she found herself somewhat consumed by the dim light. 

“You came just in time,” Facilier shouted, “I just found your little froggy friends.”

“What?” stuttered Tiana, stumbling closer to him.

“My friends found them for me, they’ll be a use even if you don’t take the deal,” he answered, holding up two2 jars, each containing a frog. 

“Oh my goodness! They’re ok!” Tiana exclaimed, reaching for the jars.

“Nuh uh, you can’t have them just yet, we haven’t discussed a deal or…payment.”

Tiana froze in disbelief, her friend was so close yet she couldn’t have her yet. She tried her best to grab them from him, kicking and yelling at Facilier only to now prevail. His shadow friends grabbed her, pulling her away from Facilier as he taunted her with the jars. 

“Oh, what shall the price be?” teased Facilier.

“Please, I’ll pay anything!” cried Tiana in a rash response.

“More than a prince? My most recent client just got married to a rich gal while disguised as the prince. If I keep the frogs, I’ll keep getting paid money from him,” explained Facilier, pacing around Tiana.

“I can give you more than that,” she quickly responded, “I can guarantee I’ll give you more than that imposter will ever give you.” 

“Hm?”

“I am on my way to be one of the best chefs in this country, if I get my restaurant, I’ll give you all funds I make from it,” pleaded Tiana. 

“Well, I’d want a little more than that, you are just a small girl in New Orleans,” replied Facilier, intrigued by the offer. 

“I’ll be one of your puppets as well, I’ll do whatever work you put my way, I’ll do anything,” Tiana cried. 

“Put her down,” Facilier ordered. 

The shadows released Tiana, dropping her to her knees before Facilier. Accepting her offer, he set both jars on the table as he approached her. Smiling, Facilier ordered the shadows and puppets to turn Tiana into one as well. 

“Watch well, Lottie, for your friend is now taking your place,” snickered Facilier.

“No! Tiana!” shouted Lottie from the jar, “Please don’t do this!” 

“I’m sorry Lottie, but you got a life with a prince ahead of you,” said Tiana gently, “plus, I’m almost there, if this is my ticket, it’ll be the one I take.” 

“Tiana…” whimpered Lottie as Tiana was then turned into a cloth, voodoo puppet before them.

From there, the jars miraculously opened, and both frogs were returned to their previous human forms. Lottie ran over and held her once dear friend, sobbing as she fell to her knees. Naveen, with a hand on her shoulder, assured her that it was for the best and what she wanted. Facilier called the police, alerting them that the girl was found with the prince, and that he was taking care of them in his shop while waiting for the officers to arrive. Once they did, everything seemingly went back to normal. Lottie tried to explain what Tiana said was true, everyone thought she was lying. Missing posters for Tiana went up, and never came back down. Naveen married another girl, Lottie married another man, and everyone seemingly fell apart, but in the back of their minds, they would never forget what Tiana did for them. They lived on hoping that someday, Tiana would get her happily ever after.