Naveen's fingers tapped out the beat that was in his head as he looked out over the capital city. Turning his head, he smiled softly as he saw his daughter in her bassinet, sleeping peacefully. The smile grew slightly more strained as he took in the small black shadow hanging from the mobile above her; lamp-like yellow eyes looking down at the baby with curiosity before the infant Night Fury dragon batted at one of the hanging ornaments.
At the foot of the bassinet was a snoozing tiger cub in an enclosure. Louis was keeping a close eye on both of the other animals thankfully, and Naveen was more grateful than ever that he and his wife could properly speak to animals. It would make dealing with both creatures much easier in the long run. He grinned ruefully. 'Three children for the price of one. At least Eudora will always be well-defended whether by her "siblings" or by "Uncle Louis",' he chuckled to himself, before smiling again as he felt his wife's embrace.
"What's got you smilin' so wide now?" Tiana smiled as well as she hugged Naveen, and the prince felt a swell of love and gratitude in his heart once more for how lucky he had been to have his fate collide with Tiana's. While it may not have turned out quite a "happily ever after", he had come out of the experience with a new outlook on life, and a new appreciation for dedication and hard work.
"Just thinking how lucky I am to have you and Eudora." He turned in Tiana's embrace, resting his forehead against hers for a moment, before the two kissed. They broke apart however, as a knock sounded from the royal apartments that his family were living in.
"Your Hignesses, word has come from the harbor; Prince Aladdin is on approach." Naveen frowned slightly, ticking off the days it had been since the message that the other Prince would be coming. It had been less than a week, and even with Ababwa's territories and the "gaps"in the world that made getting around faster, it wasn't that much faster...
"Thank you Roman. Which pier is his ship pulling up to? We-" Eudora started to fuss and Tiana sighed with a fondly exasperated look, picking up their daughter and moving to a rocking chair to nurse, "I'll go to meet him."
Roman shook his head even as he deliberately kept his gaze averted from Tiana. "Not a ship your Highness, the Prince has arrived on his flying carpet. However he did do us the courtesy of flying around to arrive at the port instead of flying over the city itself." Naveen's brows raised slightly at that, before he shook his head.
"Best not to keep him waiting then." Turning to give Tiana a quick kiss and Eudora a gentle stroke on the head, he stood and followed Roman down to the pier. Upon arrival he saw Admiral Von Lettow observing from a distance, the German officer watching intently as the Prince of Ababwa and a young woman with blond hair in a long braid were disembarking from an actual flying carpet. The majority of the space on said carpet was taken up by a crate of some kind, which a handful of roustabouts were assisting with.
As soon as it was relieved of its burden, the carpet had transitioned to "standing" on two of it's tassels, the other set moving as if they were hands, and a small fold in the material creating a hump that could be taken for the "head" of the entity. Thankfully none of the roustabouts had reacted too poorly, and Aladdin had just chuckled as he and his companion praised it for its work.
"A very interesting group. I would say that the fact that he came with so few could be interpreted as an insult, but it could also be a gesture of good faith in your family's ability to keep him safe." Von Lettow remarked to Naveen. Naveen nodded slowly as the officer continued. "The Prince is definitely blooded though. He moves like a fighter, and the blade on his waist isn't just for show." Naveen clapped the older man on the shoulder.
"I appreciate the warning, but I doubt it'll be something that's relevant." Von Lettow nodded shortly. "Well, best to properly greet him." With that the crown prince of Maldonia strode forward.
"Prince Aladdin! Welcome, welcome to Maldonia! We were surprised to hear that you intended to deliver your gift personally, but glad to host you!" The other prince turned and returned the smile, the two of them grasping each other's wrists in greeting.
"After hearing about Maldonia from the McCann's and Indy I knew I had to come see it for myself." The other man's smile is as bright and sharp as Naveen's own. "And Leah was the real mastermind behind the gift that we put together, so she needed to be here to actually explain how it works." Naveen extends a hand to the young woman after disengaging with Aladdin, giving her a quick kiss of the knuckles and a flash of a charming grin. She returns the expression with a smile, eyes alight with humor.
"Your homeland seems wonderful, your Highness, but I'd like to get the gift for the princess set up as soon as we can please?"
Naveen laughed. "Well, far be it from me to keep a lady waiting!"
The trip back up to the palace was quickly concluded; though along the way Aladdin inquired about a certain restaurant. "Indy mentioned his friend Remy had set up a restaurant here; I'd like to make a visit to pass on a few things to him from Indy, as well as give his food a try." Naveen clapped him on the back.
"While my Tiana is the greatest chef I've ever had the pleasure to meet, Mr. Baudoin's food is superb. I'm certain that he'd be more than happy to serve up a meal. But not before Tiana has her shot at you," Naveen shook his finger jokingly at Aladdin, prompting a laugh from the prince.
Arriving at the palace, a couple of servants brought the crate up as they made their way to the royal apartments. Naveen's smile turned soft and fond as he heard Tiana and his little brother both singing a Maldonian lullaby to Eudora. His family had embraced his wife as one of their own without hesitation, and it made him more grateful than ever to have them.
Quietly entering, Tiana and Ralphie both looked up from where Eudora was currently held in the crook of Tiana's arm, the infant princess blinking drowsily as she tried to valiantly fight off sleep. Tiana rose, but Aladdin made a gesture of negation. "Please, no bowing or anything, it's not needed. And I'd rather not disturb your daughter from getting her rest."
Ralphie had hung around for a few moments looking interested at the new arrivals, before Carpet had caught his attention. "Can I fly on them? Please?!" Aladdin chuckled slightly at the puppy-eyes Ralphie turned on him.
"If he agrees, then yes. I promise, Carpet is as careful as can be, especially with children. Your brother won't be in any danger." Naveen kept himself from replying back that there would be guards keeping an eye on things if needed. Ralphie had nearly whooped in excitement before catching himself as Eudora grumbled sleepily, then raced out with Carpet on his heels, heading for the courtyard.
Tiana laughed fondly as she watched her little brother-in-law go, before looking at Leah and Aladdin. "It's very nice to meet both of you. And I appreciate y'all bringing your gift in person like this." As she spoke there was a light scraping sound coming down the corridor. Louis nosed open the door before sauntering in... then freezing as he noticed all the newcomers that weren't used to having a massive alligator suddenly in their midst. Naveen facepalmed while Tiana just looked resigned... before a tiny bead of light shot from under the nape of Leah's braid, zipping around and chiming at the gator in a tiny young voice.
"Oh wow, you're so big! An' what's that metal thingy?" grumble "A trum-pet? Neato! But why're you scared?" hiss "Oh, 'cause Leah an' Aladdin an' other people can't understand you and don't know you're friendly? Ohohohoh! I ken help with that! You got some pretty light magic kind of clinging to you, so if I do this, and that and then..." The tiny winged child was zipping around Louis' head before Tiana or Naveen could even react; though Aladdin and Leah both looked caught off guard as well. "Annnd, there!"
"Huh, what'd you do?" Tiana gasped and Naveen looked incredulous. They were hearing Louis... as if he were speaking human.
"S'a percep-ton filter! It makes what you're saying sound like something that other people can understand!" The tiny fairy beamed brightly, before looking around at all the people's various expressions of shock. "What?"
After that, the enchanted cradle was almost an afterthought. Almost. Though the enchantments to keep Eudora protected and comfortable; along with the soft cool but dry pad of mosses that formed a "mattress" that would never need cleaning was exclaimed over by Tiana and Naveen. Leah beamed and blushed heavily under their praise, as well as Louis; the gator quick to take advantage of his new ability to speak to other humans besides his friends. Almost as much as the presents that Aladdin had brought for Tiana herself.
"Date wine, star anise... oooh, and coffee!? Aladdin you're lucky I'm a married woman already."
The look on the other prince's face had Naveen and Louis both cracking up.
Results: Aladdin has met Naveen and Tiana, who deeply appreciated his gift! Aladdin has made an incredibly favorable impression with Maldonia's ruling family. Louis the Alligator can now be understood by the average human.
