Only a few mere moments after Tiana had arrived back into the small parade, she looked up into the sky where the large float was embraced, and watched as Prince Naveen slowly placed a small ring onto the pale hand of her childhood best friend, Charlotte.

She immediately looked away as the young heiress leaned upward towards the prince and kissed him, sealing their vows. With every cheer the crowd made, and every firework that burst into the sky, it only broke her heart even more.

Still standing quietly in the alleyway, the Shadow Man cast a small, simple spell that immediately transformed Tiana back into a human.

A long, beautiful blue dress hung gracefully upon her dark skin when the transformation had ended, shimmering magnificently underneath the silver stars above.

A flash of emerald green in the distance momentarily captured the prince's attention as he finally saw Tiana after so long. He smiled at her, relieved that she was okay. She returned his gaze, but within a matter of seconds she instantly looked away from him.

'The very moment after you marry Charlotte,' Dr. Facilier had told Naveen. 'Tiana will turn back into a human and it will all be too late.'

And it was. It was all over.

"Prince Naveen!" Charlotte laughed happily to herself as she ran down the golden staircase of the float.

The prince turned around, giving the young heiress a small smile. He hesitantly stretched out his hand to her as she drew closer.

Moments after she took his hand, he slowly led her across the dance floor in a waltz. The crowd surrounding them began cheering when he lifted her up into the air and twirled her so that she could look up at the stars.

"Charlotte?" Naveen spoke after a few minutes had passed, avoiding any chance of looking at her.

"Yes, sugar?" The young heiress giggled.

"There's something I need to ask you for."

Meanwhile, behind the entire crowd, Tiana watched them both carefully, unable to prevent the tears from falling down her face.

She immediately ran back into the alleyway where the Shadow Man had once stood and fell to the ground in pain.

"Evangeline," she whispered as she looked up at the brightest star in the sky, tears filling her eyes as she redirected her gaze back at the prince. "This can't be how it ends."

Still dancing with his wife Charlotte, Naveen looked far over to the left of the parade in an attempt to catch yet another glimpse of the young waitress, but saw nothing. He felt his heart breaking more and more as he continued to lead the heiress across the pavement.

"I'll be right back," he whispered, suddenly stopping the dance.

Before he left, he gently kissed Charlotte's hand in hopes of preventing any kind of suspicion, and headed straight towards the alley once she finally looked away.

Tiana took in a deep breath, thinking only of the prince as she held on tightly to the ring.

"Please, please, please..." she looked up at Evangeline.

The dark clouds surrounding the silver star immediately enveloped the entire sky, just mere seconds before her wish could be heard.

"Tiana!" She suddenly heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

"Naveen?"

The young waitress heard quiet footsteps approaching her from the distance. But then they got louder. And louder. And louder. Picking up speed with every step that was taken.

Tiana wouldn't turn around; it hurt too much to move even in the slightest. She couldn't bear to see him.

"Tiana," Prince Naveen spoke as he stood quietly behind her. She could hear the pain in his voice. "Tiana, I —."

She took in a deep breath, wiping away the remaining tears on her face when she finally found the strength to turn around and face him.

The prince sighed, feeling helpless as he watched her suffer in pain. "I'm so sorry..."

Tiana stood there with her hands crossed over her chest, staring down at her blue slippers.

Her inner self was screaming so loudly at him to stay with her — for him to hold her as close to him as possible, telling her that everything would be all right even though it wouldn't be.

And, almost as if he had read her thoughts, that's exactly what he did.

The prince slowly stepped towards Tiana, closing the distance between them both and carefully wrapping his arms around her.

Naveen heard her soft cries in his shoulder as she held onto him, which only made him hold her even closer. Slowly brushing his fingers through the dark strands of her hair, he fought so hard to keep back his own tears that threatened to escape.

Once the embrace had ended, he leaned slightly back away from her and reached into his pocket. He lifted a single, small golden key out from the fabric and held it in his hand for as long as possible, desperate to make those few final moments between them last so much longer.

"It's the key to your restaurant," Naveen spoke, unable to look into her eyes without her seeing any tears. "I did everything I could to get it for you."

Tiana's hand trembled as she slowly took it from his hand, not saying a word. Every ounce of pain in the past hour had stolen her voice.

Still holding onto her, Naveen knew that it would be the very last time. He looked up at her, gazing deep into her dark brown eyes until she finally noticed his tears, realizing how much he truly did love her.

Without a hesitant thought, the prince leaned down towards her yet again, resting a gentle hand on her right cheek and slowly placing his lips against hers.

"I promise I'll always love you," he whispered softly once they broke apart.

"Naveen!" They both suddenly heard shouted from the distance, startling them.

It was Charlotte. He hadn't realized how much time had gone by in those final moments.

Looking back at Tiana for the very last time, he leaned forward and gave her a final kiss on her forehead, a single tear falling from his right eye. He hesitantly pulled away from her, slowly fading into the distance until he was truly gone. It was the last time she ever saw him.

And after he left, the young waitress took one final look up at the Evening Star in the skies above, its iridescent glow shimmering so brightly, until the clouds mercilessly tumbled across it once more so that no other wish could be heard.