Heroes of Disney #1: Rise of the Firebird

Ch. 8: Down In New Orleans

Just like Jasmine had said, the ride from Agrabah to New Orleans was only a couple of hours. The only problem was that they were the LONGEST two hours of my life. The four children just would NOT quit talking. They kept chattering about previous missions that they've accomplished, about various things Rocket could do, and a lot about their musical talents. Leo could conduct rather well, June was a dancing expert, Quincy could play any instrument in the world (Which I find hard to believe, considering he's only 5.) And Annie was a singing sensational. These children had more talents at ages 6, 5 and 4 than most adults have. It was kind of scary.

Eventually Leo announced that we were reaching New Orleans soon, and to prepare for landing.

Thank goodness, I thought. I thought I might never get off this chatterbox. Not that I had anything against the Little Einsteins or anything, on the contrary, I thought they were kind of heroic. Well, in their own way. Every day they go out of their way to help others in trouble, never thinking about themselves. It made me want to cry. What, a hero can't tear up every now and then?

When we landed, I could see tall buildings left and right. Since it was nearing evening time, so many lights of different colors were on; spraying the town with an array of pigments and hues of many shades. Where we landed was in the middle of a very busy street, even for nighttime. People bustled left and right, like in Agrabah. But the attitude of the town was different from that of Agrabah. I could feel a sense of happiness and peacefulness emanating from the crowd, while in Agrabah, it was all rush, buy something, rush, get out of my way. Like New York City. People were a bit surprised to see Rocket landing in the middle of the street, but they quickly shook it off and waved to us, grins laid out on their faces. As I climbed out and stood on the street, I could hear music playing in the background. Jazz, If I knew my music correctly. People on the streets were dancing to the harmonious tune, and others were clapping them on. There were also people playing various instruments for money, surrounded by eager listeners. Everything was so cheerful in this town, it made me want to go and dance too.

I smiled at the scenery around me. From the sky I could see beautiful lights, but here on the ground, their prettiness was magnified. The lights shimmered in the evening light, adding beauty to the already cheerful, playful town.

I turned around to see if the Little Einsteins were coming out too, but all I could see was Leo sticking his head out of the door.

"Sorry, Jamie, we can't come with you. We've got to be somewhere. But all you have to do is look for a hotel by the name of Hotel Monteleone. It's where you'll meet Mickey. The hotel's pretty famous. I'm sure the nice townspeople here will give you directions." Leo told me. He smiled one last time and climbed back into Rocket. I smiled and waved as they lifted off into the sky and zoomed away into the fading horizon.

Once they were gone, I surveyed my surroundings. I was standing in the middle of the street, with buildings on either side. The street turned a corner on both sides. In front of me, it turned to the right. Behind me, it turned left.

I was about to ask a townsperson for directions when I noticed a poster on a building across the street. I walked over to it, careful not to bump into anyone, and examined it. The poster showed a beautiful building that must have been an old sugar mill or something. It had that cathedral look to it, but it was covered in lights from top to bottom. In the background sat a giant lake, glimmering in the moonlight. The top of the poster read:

Tiana's Palace

Where Dreams Come True

I realized with a start that this poster was an advertisement for Tiana's Palace, the restaurant owned by Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen at the end of The Princess and the Frog. I guess it didn't hit me before that EVERYTHING in the World of Disney was going to be real, including this.