Forever [Henry Mills || OUAT || Double Swan #7]

24 - A Taste of the Heights

Flashback

Tiana and Prince Naveen row out to the middle of the bayou.

Tiana sighed, "So, what exactly is our plan here?" Tiana asked.

"Well, we sit, quietly. When we see the alligator, we'll kill it before it kills us," Prince Naveen said.

"You can't even be serious, can you?" Tiana said.

Prince Naveen laughed, "And you can't stop controlling everything. Like you tried to control the hunt back there. What was that about?" Tiana didn't reply and he chuckled, "Oh, come on, Your Majesty. We're in the middle of a bog. No one else can hear us but the frogs," Prince Naveen said.

"Who am I supposed to trust? I'm the Queen now. People are looking to me, and I have to help them because that is what a good Queen does. Not that you would understand. You are hunting an alligator for glory," Tiana said.

"Actually, I'm not. I'm hunting this gator because it... Because it killed my brother," Prince Naveen said.

"It did? I'm sorry," Tiana said.

"My brother and I always did our royal duties together. And that's the way we planned to rule. Now it's all on me. And ruling alone is the last thing I ever wanted. It's hard, and it's lonely. And eventually, you have to find people you trust to help me," Prince Naveen said.

"Well, perhaps we could start by making a royal alliance in the hunt for this alligator," Tiana said.

Prince Naveen laughed softly, "I'll drink to that," Prince Naveen said.

"Mm," Prince Naveen chuckled as he took out a flask and drunk from it, then Tiana noticed a familiar necklace in the prince's bag, "What is that?" Tiana asked.

"Ah, that was my brother's. He was the real hunter," Prince Naveen said.

"It looks just like Dr Facilier's," Tiana said.

"Who's Dr Facilier?" Prince Naveen asked.

Tiana stood up on the rowboat and pointed the spear at him, "I think you know exactly who he is," Tiana said.

"I don't," Prince Naveen said.

"Are you working for him? Did he set this up?" Tiana asked.