(ELEVATOR CHIMING)
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
Another visit so soon?
I thought perhaps you and I might
make amends over tea.
I take it destroying the girl's belief
is proving to be more challenging than expected.
Yes.
Lucy has...
quite the resilient spirit.
It's a pity.
Because if she doesn't forfeit her belief,
you'll never see your Anastasia again.
I know.
So...
tell me, what do I do?
Do you know what your mistake has always been?
You see belief as something solid...
independent.
Something easily removed with one, singular blow.
But belief is a weed. It grows wild and deep.
If you want to destroy it for good...
you have to uproot it.
So, I sever her belief by the root.
Oh, how rude of me.
Did you want a cup?
- You must be parched. - Not that swill!
I want my tea.
My special brew.
You will get your tea...
after you give me what I want.
Now, which root do I begin with?
(EXHALES) Where's Grandma? Ballet starts in ten minutes.
Hush. I'm trying to find an annoyed babysitter emoji.
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
(CHUCKLES) Aunt Sabine! What are you doing here?
IVY: Excellent question.
You know, this is a private property,
so unless you've risen up in the world from fry cook,
you don't belong here.
I just came to give Lucy this.
Your famous beignets!
They're not nearly as fun to make
- without my favorite taste tester. - (ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
(SABINE AND LUCY CHUCKLE)
Mother, I've been trying to get a hold of you for the last hour.
- Where have you been? - Funny,
here I thought you worked for me.
Run along to the herbalist and pick up a few things.
The herbalist?
Are you doing a cleanse without me?
No, Ivy...
try less whimpering and more scampering.
Sabine, what a coincidence. I was just talking about you.
- You were? Why? - I was going over your rental agreement.
And I've decided to increase your rent eight percent,
- starting this month. - You know we can't afford that.
Given the booming neighborhood, I could ask for double.
Consider it a family discount.
You can't do this, Grandma. It isn't fair.
SABINE: It's okay, Luce.
I can fight my own battles. I always have.
We both know this isn't business, Victoria.
You want to push us out? (SCOFFS)
Well, we will just push right back.
(THEME MUSIC PLAYS)
EUDORA: Ladies...
gentlemen, honored guests...
my daughter, Tiana and I would like to welcome you to our home.
Please look around.
We will begin the auction shortly.
Look at them,
picking through our stuff like vultures. It's humiliating.
Oh, it is, isn't it?
Drizella.
I didn't know we invited the nouveau riche.
Emphasis on "riche."
I have to admit, I was intrigued
when I heard of your little fête de faillite.
But it seems that everything of real value is already gone.
Oh, wait. What's this?
That shouldn't be out here. It's not for sale.
So, it is worth something.
Only to me.
It was my father's.
He earned it during the war, a reward for his heroism.
I don't know how it got out here.
Too bad that Daddy's no longer alive to save you
and your mother from ruin.
It's so sad.
That's it, Mother. I can't watch our lives be torn apart like this.
We have no choice, Tiana.
If we don't earn enough money today...
- we may have to sell the castle. - But this is our home.
We'll be tossed out onto the street? I...
The King has raised taxes on everyone in the land.
He lines his pockets while his people starve.
I thought my life would be different...
filled with balls and... and romance.
Oh Tiana, this is not what I wanted for you.
If only you could find a prince.
With all the chaos in the land, it's made heroes so scarce.
Maybe I can.
I think I have an idea of where to start looking.
Don't worry, Mother.
I will find a good man...
brave and heroic like father was...
a prince who will save us.
(GIGGLES)
HENRY: Well, I'm no cop, but for a case about a missing girl,
that doesn't seem like a whole a lot of evidence.
Which makes Eloise Gardener's disappearance
all the more difficult to solve.
The case went cold about ten years ago, this month.
It's become a kind of side project of mine.
Why is it so important to you?
We all got things that gnaw at us.
The keg room has a strong lock.
Plus, my baseball bat and friendly demeanor...
will keep away any prying eyes you're worried about.
Thanks.
I better head back to the station.
What is that?
Uh, this was hers. It contains sketches, some angsty teenage poetry.
I like to thumb through it when things get quiet at the precinct.
RONI: You know, I'm all about commitment,
but, uh, I think maybe you should pick up a hobby or two.
I'll take that into consideration.
Thanks again.
All right, I'll go ahead and put this back there now.
In a minute.
First, tell me why you were in here with Ivy the other night?
I had a drink with her.
- What's the big deal? - The big deal?
Well, she is Victoria Belfrey's daughter.
Well, I don't know. I think that Ivy
may surprise you.
You know, she got a taste of standing up to her mother.
She might be willing to help us.
Henry, I've seen this story before.
Believe me, it doesn't end with you happy.
What are you doing here? I thought you were off today.
Jacinda, I have great news.
- Victoria raised our rent. - Great?
I think you mispronounced "terrible" again.
Yes, the rent hike sucks,
but what if I told you that there is a way
that we could not only pay our rent,
but we could make enough money
to escape Victoria Belfrey for good?
So, your life-saving idea is 50 pounds of flour?
Mixed with 100 eggs and 20 cups of sugar.
I am talking about my beignets, J.
I mean, you know they're amazing, Lucy knows they're amazing,
and once everyone else finds out how amazing they are,
- we will be rich in no time. - But we are not rich now.
How did you pay for all of this?
I may have dipped into the rent jar.
"Dipped"? How much is a dip?
A pinch or a dash?
All of it.
- MALE VOICE: You are not going anywhere! - (GLASS SHATTERING)
(INDISTINCT ARGUING)
I'm not going to some salt mine!
(GRUNTS)
- Where'd you find him? - Pleasure Island Cabaret.
(PANTS) He was drunk and mouthy.
Alcohol turns some people into jackasses.
Wait, you want to run your guerilla pastry operation out of here? Uh-uh.
No way. Louie...
Louie is at a regional managers convention trying
to get lucky with Cluck's on Sixth. He will never know.
I can't invest in any more of your crazy schemes.
What crazy schemes?
Okay, that's fair, but this... this is not one of them.
You're a dreamer, and I love you for it,
but I need a job, Belfrey off my case,
and a real plan to get Lucy back.
- This is too risky. - Listen to me.
Lucy is exactly the reason why you need to take this risk.
It's time that we change the game and take a big swing for once.
We owe it to ourselves. We owe it to Lucy.
I love that girl like she is family,
and when you love someone, you fight like hell for them.
Come on. Let's make her proud.
Okay.
- I'm with you. - Yeah? (LAUGHS)
Great. And with a little bit of sugar and spice
and everything nice, we are going to show that bitch who is boss.
TIANA: Excuse me.
Do you know where I can find the traveling soothsayer?
Princess Tiana?
(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)
- TIANA: No. - You've come to help us at last!
No, I'm... I'm sorry. I'm not who you think I am.
FEMALE VOICE 1: A loaf of bread...
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- FEMALE VOICE 2: Princess Tiana. - FEMALE VOICE 3: Please save us.
I'm so sorry. I...
- MALE VOICE: Please... - I'm sorry. I...
I can't... I can't help you.
- I'm so sorry. - FACILIER: I believe
the Princess is here to see me, not you lot.
Now scurry off, unless you'd rather slither or hop.
Princess, enchanté.
A tip of the hat from Dr. Facilier.
FACILIER: You've had quite a day, my dear.
But no need to fret.
There's a prince in your cards...
soon to be in your arms and poof!
All your troubles will evaporate.
But...
how did you know I was looking for a prince?
It's my job, isn't it?
And in this business, it's all about who you know.
I don't like to drop names, but I do have a few friends...
- on the other side. - Friends?
When I ask them a question...
they answer.
Do you see it?
There's a story in the patterns.
The story of a princess who grew up knowing only wealth and ease.
She had her father to thank for that...
but then he passed over to the other side...
and the story turns darker.
The king began to take more and more from the people.
The wealth dried up like a raisin in the sun...
and the people suffered without a strong ruler.
- (GASPS) - And that's why you've come to me,
is it not? To find that strong ruler,
that prince who can save you and your kingdom.
I... I have nothing to pay you.
A smile returning to that face will do.
Consider it a discount for a desperate soul.
The path before you is quite clear, Princess.
You will find the prince you seek on this very night...
if you follow the red crow.
(SIGHS)
I had to go to three different herbalists
and a sanctimonious hipster.
Now I'm tragically behind on my e-mails,
and my hair smells like I just got back from Burning Man.
I'm not remotely interested in your travails.
Mother, where are you going with those?
Where I'm going is none of your business.
And enough complaining.
Don't think for one second that I wouldn't trade in my own daughter
for an actual assistant.
- It's time you... - (ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
...shut up and earn your job title.
(CLICKING)
(CLICKS)
(KEYPAD CLICKS)
Henry, it's Ivy.
Call me back if you still want dirt on my mother.
I have a pretty good idea where to start.
(DOOR CLOSES)
So...
I think I got a lead on where we can dig up some dirt on Belfrey.
It came from Ivy.
She said that Victoria has been spending a lot of time
in some secret room
on the top floor of her building.
I can't tell what's worse.
The fact that you believe her or that...
you're falling for her.
Especially, when there's a much better
single-mother option staring you in the face.
(SIGHS) So, this is about Jacinda.
No. This is about you.
Henry, you're genuine.
Ivy...
- isn't. - I appreciate the Mama Bear routine, okay?
But the reality is...
you aren't mine.
Yeah, well, if your mother were standing here,
she'd tell you three things,
get back to writing, take Jacinda on a date...
and tip me well for giving you the advice
you so desperately need to hear.
(SIGHS)
- Where are you going? - Uh, to the bathroom,
unless you feel compelled to hold my hand in there, too.
(CELLPHONE BEEPS & VIBRATES)
(SCOFFS)
- (SIGHS) - (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Where is everyone coming from?
Uh, I billed our venture
as a one-time-only pop-up on the GetGrub app.
Mom always said, "Nothin' attracts a crowd like a crowd."
Amazing!
You're really doing it.
I saw your pop-up ad on my ballet instructor's phone.
What I won't be seeing is you
if your grandma realizes that you are here.
Don't worry. I told Grandma ballet's going late
so I could come be a part of your dream.
In fact, I have a small addition to it.
When we would make beignets, Sabine would tell me
when she was my age, she was so poor
she couldn't afford stars to wish on...
so she wished on fireflies.
(JACINDA CHUCKLES)
I love it. (SIGHS)
I love it. You know, I want you to stamp all of those bags
as our new official logo.
- (SIGHS) Sabine, this could really work. - Mm-hmm.
And we could set up a stand at the Sunday farmers' market.
Oh, nah! Farmers' markets are for Old McDonald.
No. I'm thinking jazz, luring people in
- to a popcorn-light-lit food truck. - Hmm.
We park it at festivals and movie nights...
and then serve étouffée and boudin.
Buckets of these guys.
(LAUGHING)
Oh, it finally feels like we are headed in the right direction.
- JACINDA: Mm. - (LAUGHS)
Oh! That charlatan.
There's no such thing as a red crow.
(CROW CAWING)
Huh.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER CONTINUES)
Well...
I guess the auction fell short, Princess.
But since you're here, I think I'll take those earrings
at a severe discount.
Why not bow and show some respect?
Well, she's barely a princess.
But she's still a lady, is she not?
If no manners are shown,
perhaps I'll hold my own auction.
Your legs should get a few coins,
seeing as they'll soon be half off.
Prince Marias at your service.
But please call me Robert.
Well, I'm quite grateful for you stepping in, but...
I'm afraid I'm not deserving of all this
- from a nobleman. - It's me who hopes to be deserving.
To fend off a tipsy rogue is simple...
but to learn what has led our paths to cross,
well, that requires a perilous path
few are brave enough to take on
in a tavern such as this. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Dinner.
(CHUCKLES)
Oh...
Mm...
(DIAL TONE RINGING)
Ralph, I have a job for you.
You know that place selling beignets?
Wreck it.
You recognize that?
PERP: Yeah.
Ain't it the Seattle Mariners logo?
You hit like a girl.
(ROGERS SIGHS)
That notebook is evidence from a missing-person's case...
a girl that disappeared ten years ago, Eloise Gardener.
Sound familiar?
I was serving a sentence down in Stafford Creek then.
- Is that so? - Yeah.
It's where I got the tattoo.
Cellmate told me it wards off evil.
- You're a terrible liar. - Bad things happen inside.
You take whatever protection you can get.
Check my record.
Hang on.
I help you and you're leaving me in the box?
Mr. Coachman from the club didn't want to press charges.
Said it's more hassle than it's worth.
You'll be out in 10.
Hey, slugger?
That's one powerful rune.
If your lost girl was drawin' that...
I'd hate to meet whatever evil she was facing down.
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER) - JACINDA: Thank you.
Oh, hey...
thank you so much for pushing me.
I needed a nudge.
Yeah, well, that's what best friends do.
And I think today we proved our business is on fire.
(FLAMES IGNITE)
- Please let that not be literal. - (FIRE CRACKLING)
Oh, my God.
JACINDA: Oh, my God.
- (GASPS) - (JACINDA COUGHS)
Come on, Sabine.
- (SIGHS) - JACINDA: Sabine!
ROBERT: It's a beauty beyond words, Princess.
Thank you for sharing.
My father spent a lifetime building this kingdom.
ROBERT: Was this his?
Yes. It's a Firefly Ruby.
They awarded it to him after the war.
He must have been quite the hero.
He didn't start that way.
He enlisted as a cook.
But when the King's horsemen took the camp,
he was the only one left.
He threw down his ladle and picked up a sword.
And it became the turning point in the war.
It's how he caught my mother's eye.
Her love made him a prince.
After the war was won,
he rebuilt her lands into a great kingdom.
Now we might lose it all.
Not if I can help it.
Tonight was magical.
I'd like to see you again tomorrow.
That would be nice.
(GIGGLES)
(SIGHS)
Stop right there.
- (ROBERT GRUNTS) - Thief!
ROBERT: I'm sorry. I had no other choice.
It was Dr. Facilier. He made me. I didn't want to.
Facilier?
Why would I believe a prince would steal for a drifter magician?
Because I'm not a prince.
I'm just a commoner.
He took my true love captive.
He separated us in the cruelest of ways.
I'm a man, and...
my love is...
a frog.
Facilier promised he would let her free.
He said that true love's kiss would break the curse
and we could be together again if only I brought him that Firefly Ruby.
No, there must be some other way, someone else who can help you.
You've seen what it's like out there.
Who else is there to turn to?
Go. I don't ever want to see your face again. Go!
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
- (FROGS CROAKING) - (FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
Dresses and...
hairbrushes...
I've been so self-centered.
I saw the world the same way when I was your age.
But Mom, those people...
the beggars in Tent Alley and...
and the man who tried to take this from us.
It was desperation.
I've tried hard to protect you
from the realities of what the Kingdom has become.
There was no way you could have known.
So what, we just look the other way?
All your life...
you've been told great stories of your father's successes.
- I failed to find someone like him... - No.
I failed you when I sent you looking.
After the way you took action tonight, I realize...
we already have everything we need...
everything our people need.
Your father's legacy...
isn't this little prize.
It's in you.
All you have to do...
is embrace it.
(SIGHS)
(SIREN BLARING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER OVER WALKIE-TALKIE)
LUCY: Aunt Sabine!
(LUCY GRUNTS)
- I was worried. - It's okay. I'm gonna be fine.
I'm just... I'm so happy you weren't there.
- I need to talk to you. - I know what you're gonna say
and I already have it figured out.
- This was just a setback. - A setback?
Against my judgment, I let you convince me to take this huge risk,
and look what happened.
Mom, please don't fight.
I just want what's best for you and Lucy.
What is best is not giving people hope
that life will get better when it never does.
You don't live in the real world, Sabine, but I do.
There isn't any room for your crazy dreams anymore.
She did this to try and help you, Mom...
to try and help us.
Yeah, well, if this is help, I don't need it.
Okay.
If that's how you feel, then you should take this.
There's enough money in there for two months' rent.
Should be enough time for you to find a new job...
and a new roommate.
(SOFTLY) Wait, please.
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
RONI: You can put away the war paint.
Henry's not coming.
I decided to save him the trouble
and stop this little game of yours before it starts.
And what game is that exactly?
Well, I don't know, Ivy. But if I had to guess...
you're either trying to piss your mother off,
or you just want to take one more thing away
- from your sister, Jacinda. - Stepsister.
And from what Henry told me, there is nothing to take.
Why are you so interested, anyway? You barely know him.
No, I know him enough to know he's a good kid.
And I won't let you mess up his life.
You might not believe this,
but I have risked a lot offering my help.
If my mother finds out about this,
I'll be cleaning her toilets. Like, for real.
And I wouldn't risk that just to stick it to Jacinda.
Well, if you're so eager to destroy your mother,
prove it.
Fine. I will.
Follow me.
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
Hmm.
She made me truck all over town for those disgusting herbs.
They smell like old feet.
RONI: Oh, this wasn't just a tea party for one.
- Who was she with? - IVY: I have no idea.
Whenever mother comes up here, she's always alone.
This is a strange place for tea...
not exactly damning.
If it makes you feel any better, I've wasted my time, too.
Maybe not such a waste after all.
- Where are you going to go? - To my mom's. I'll crash on her couch.
My mom didn't mean all that stuff she said.
She was just upset.
It's not just that. I can't make it here anymore.
I'm trying, and I'm failing.
That's not true. That's just what my grandmother wants you to think.
But you can't give up on your dream.
You know what? A lot of people have to give up on their dreams,
and sometimes bad guys win. At some point,
we have to accept that and grow up.
Grow up?
This isn't growing up. It's running away.
I'm sorry.
(SIGHS) It's just...
you're supposed to be with us...
like you always are.
I need you, too.
And you will always have me...
okay, Luce? I promise. But there are some things in life
that even I can't fight.
Had a feeling I'd see you again.
TIANA: I know you want it, so take it.
Get whatever pathetic amount of gold you can.
And in exchange, you want me to?
Hand over the woman you kidnapped.
Ah...
(LAUGHS) You mean her?
- (FACILIER CONTINUES LAUGHING) - (FROG CROAKS)
That's quite a sacrifice for a lowly frog.
Do we have a deal or not?
FACILIER: Such a powerful little thing, isn't it?
First, it transformed your father from a...
cook into a Prince.
And now you,
a sheltered Princess into someone who would sacrifice
for a man you don't even know.
Quite the transformation.
Nothing's transformed me.
That's who I always was.
I just didn't realize it.
- There's no magic in there. - (SCOFFS)
But there is. You see, I've been in a kind of prison...
trapped with one foot in this world
and one in a... a less pleasant place.
And this Ruby...
is going to set me free.
(LAUGHS)
So I'm going to keep this ruby...
and...
my little frog.
- (FACILIER LAUGHS) - (FROG CROAKS)
I've grown quite fond of her sad, little cries.
But as a gift for your part in my liberation...
I'll let you go...
just this once.
I'm not leaving without her.
I'm glad to hear it.
- (GASPS) - (EXHALES)
It feels so good to be back.
(GRUNTS)
(FACILIER GRUNTS)
I've already got the best of this bargain.
See you soon, Princess.
(SIGHS)
- (FROG CROAKS) - (CHUCKLES)
(CAR HORN HONKING)
Sabine, wait.
Lucy called and talked some sense into me.
I'm sorry for all that stupid stuff I said.
- Jacinda, don't. - No, it's true.
Every time this miserable world gets me down, you pick me up.
You help me find a way to fight.
I guess I didn't realize that...
you needed me to do that for you every once in a while.
So... I'm gonna start...
with that.
What the hell is that?
JACINDA: Come on.
It's your food truck.
Or... our food truck...
if you'll still have me.
You bought a food truck?
- How? - Detective Rogers helped out.
And the impound lot has some really good deals.
So, you used the money that I gave you.
- The rent money? - Yeah.
I took a big swing, just like you taught me.
- (CHUCKLES) - Because you're right, Sabine.
Because that is what best friends do.
They...
- nudge each other. - (SABINE CHUCKLES)
(JACINDA SHRIEKS AND LAUGHS)
TIANA: Prince Marias.
Wait.
It's just me.
- Have you come to arrest me? - No.
I have this.
- (FROG CROAKS) - (ROBERT GASPS)
(LAUGHS) You got her!
I'm sorry about before.
I finally figured out I don't need a hero if I can be a hero.
You sound like your father.
Well, then it sounds like I'm on the right path.
The rumor is that the king will be holding a ball
to find his son a bride...
which means his fortress of a castle will be open.
I'm hoping to use that opportunity to...
turn the tide.
Sounds like you've cooked up a plan.
I was hoping that you and your ladylove could join me...
that is, of course, once you deliver true love's kiss.
Um...
ROBERT: About my ladylove...
I kind of...
misled you before.
- About what? - (EXHALES)
(CROAKS)
Oh, and thank you.
We'll never forget you.
(FROGS CROAKING)
(SCOFFS)
You're welcome.
Hey there.
ROGERS: Hi.
- Those for me? - Hmm.
The last of the beignets for you and your buddies.
Jacinda told me that you helped get us the food truck.
No problem, it was part of this month's impound auction.
It was confiscated in a drug sting.
You should probably clean it pretty thoroughly
- bleach, really high heat. - We will.
- Thank you. - I'm glad you came.
The inspector's just finished. Whatever happened at Cluck's...
- it was deliberate. - What?
The cameras were destroyed, so there's no luck there, I'm afraid.
(SIGHS)
But I think we both have a good idea who caused this.
She didn't do it by herself, anyway.
Might get a nasty smudge on her tiny blazer.
Sounds like we're both talking about the same person.
SABINE: Mm-hmm.
Hey. Yeah, it's me.
We got a problem.
Someone's looking for the girl.
(KNOCK ON DOOR)
Mother, it seems like you had a bad day.
I wanted to know if there was anything I could do for you.
(SIGHS) Ivy, that's kind of you.
I always rather liked the idea of raising a daughter...
guiding her...
and eventually there'd come a day where the roles would reverse
and she'd be there...
for me to lean on.
But...
not all daughters are created equal.
It's embarrassing
watching you flailing around, Ivy.
Not understanding all the things you're capable of.
All the ways you're going to fall short.
Think about it.
And fix your makeup.
- (DOOR CLOSES) - (FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
Hey.
- You wanted to see me? - Yes,
I have something to show you, but first um...
Listen, I answered a text on your phone from Ivy...
and met her at Belfrey Tower.
- Wait, wait, wait, wait. What? You... - I know. It was wrong.
I just wanted to know if we could trust her.
Well, so, can we?
Maybe. But that's not important...
because while we were in there...
I found this.
I have no idea where that is.
And I have never owned clothes like those in my life.
Plus, I have no idea who that kid is.
I do.
That's me.
(ELEVATOR CHIMING)
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
Hello?
(IVY YELPS)
Damn it!
Seriously? Lurk much?
You're the one that asked me to hide.
From her, from Roni.
Ugh! You scared the hell out of me.
We really need to find you a stylist.
- (TEACUPS CLATTER) - Did it work?
Do they trust you?
Yes. Of course.
They might even trust me as much as mother does...
fool that she is.
Your mother thinks she sees and knows all.
You did a good job at convincing her she's in charge.
What can I say? I'm a clever girl.
And a good one, too.
She may not see that...
but I do.
Well, when she comes back up here, tell her that you...
broke this and demand that she make you more of your brew
and just play the charade out until the end.
My sweet Ivy...
you know I'll do just that.
Good.
And don't call me Ivy.
It's Drizella.