It was a stormy night at the swamp and a certain ogre was having trouble sleeping. He was tossing and turning in his sleep. He'd been dreaming about the past but it wasn't happy.
Twenty years ago.
He had been seven years old at the time. His father was strict but secretly loved him deep down. His mother had been gone for a long time. She'd been looking for food for them. "Where's Mommy?" he'd asked his father. "I don't know. Go to sleep or the humans will get you." His father told him. He was about to close his eyes when he heard his father yell angrily and climbed out of bed.
He then came to the opening of their cave. His father was standing over a body. "Mommy?" he said softly. "Shrek what're you doing out of bed ?" he said angrily. He then felt his father's hand him hit his face. "Go to bed now before I throw you out and the hunters can get you and kill ya like your Mom." He told him. The youngster then went to bed.
He would never forget that night as long as he lived because that was when his father started being horrible to him. Fiona then woke up as her husband hit the floor. She saw him covered in blankets. " Are you okay?" she asked gently. "No I'm fine honey." He said softly. She could see the hurt in his eyes as she sat on the floor beside him. "You don't look fine to me. Tell me please. I am your friend even though I'm your wife." She told him.
"I'm fine. Go back to sleep okay? Don't worry about me, okay? I'm going for a walk to clear my head." He replied as he walked out of the bedroom. He then went into the bathroom. He could still hear his father's voice in his head so he picked up a razor. Fiona then was awoken by the smash of a mirror hitting the bathroom floor. She went to check it out but was scared when she entered. Her husband was lying there out cold battered and bruised with cuts over his arms. Tears fell down her cheeks at this when she heard a knock on the door.
She opened it to find an older ogre male badly bruised and hurt lying on their doorstep. He looked like an older version of her husband but was wearing a hooded cloak. She was unaware this was her father in law from her husband's side of the family. He had brown eyes like Shrek but was slender bodied. He had a goatee on his green skinned chin. She was nervous because her body was gripped with fear. She then carried him into the house gently. She made a bed for him on the floor. She laid his head on a pillow and put a blanket over him. "He's not going anywhere but I wonder who he is. He looks like a slender version of my husband but I don't know. Was this the reason my True Love was upset and couldn't sleep?" she thought as she tended to her husband. She then put him into bed and then climbed in beside him.
It was later in the morning when Fiona woke up. She heard her husband mutter worriedly as she came into the living room. "What's wrong?" she asked him quietly. "What's wrong? Let me tell you. You let the very man who abused me and hurt me after my mother was killed by hunters! The very man who thinks I'm a disgrace to ogre kind and wishes that with every new day I'd die!" he told her, anger rising in his voice. "I'm... sorry. I didn't know that he did all that to you. Is that why last night you hurt yourself and freaked me out?" she said softly to him trying to calm him down. Shrek then breathed deeply calming down before speaking. "Yes it was. I can't get what happened out of my head, okay? Seeing you with your parents made me think of that but I hid it so you wouldn't feel bad for me. Nobody ever has." he told her quietly looking away from her. There were tears welling up in his eyes and he didn't want her to see.
She watched as he walked out the door for some fresh air. She saw her father in law wake up. There was regret written in his brown eyes. "Did you really do those things my husband said you did?" she asked him quietly. "Yes I did. I was angry back then but not wth him but with myself. That night brought a hurt to my heart I would never forget. I'm sorry for taking it on him but there was a reason. If I hadn't, he would be slayed like his mother. At least he has you Fiona." he told her. " I see but how do you know me? We've never met." she asked warily. " I read your mind. My name is Ambrisa. I've been searching for him for many years so that I could make amends and that we could be a family again but I'm not sure how'll he take that." he explained. Fiona then smiled. Ambrisa had made a mistake but he'd done it for his son out of Love not out of Hate as he'd thought. She hoped that when he came back, he would be in a better mood so they could talk...