Finding Hope

Written by: KovuTheGirl

Chapter 1: Finding Hope

Five minutes. Shrek and Fiona had been back in their swamp for five minutes when they found a small bundle on their doorstep.

It appeared to be a little girl, aged around five-years-old, and she remained unmoving. The child was fair skinned with long brown hair tied up in two pigtails. The child appeared to be unconscious as far as the two ogres could tell.

"Shrek, it's a child." Fiona stated as they approached the bundle.
"what's a human child doing out here?" Shrek wondered out loud.

Fiona took a minute to study the child before responding to her husband's question. The child was dressed in a lilac colored t-shirt, a green zipper hoodie on top, and a pair of dark blue denim jeans. The ogress could tell just by looking at the little girl that she was definitely not from their land.

"I don't think she's from around here, honey." Fiona stated.
"what?" Shrek asked.
"look at her; she doesn't look like any human girl I've ever seen. She's clearly not from here." Fiona reasoned.

Shrek studied the child in turn. He couldn't help but wonder how this child ended up in the swamp to begin with, but quickly moved on. He gently picked up the sleeping child and brought her inside of their home. Fiona smiled at her husband's action; had he not done that, she had planned on asking him to take her inside.

Shrek placed the little girl on the bed as Fiona approached her to ensure everything was fine. Once she felt confident that the child had no ailments or injuries afflicting her, Fiona joined her husband in the living room of their home and let the child sleep.

"she's still asleep. Everything seems to be fine." The ogress stated.
"but how did she even end up here?" Shrek wondered.
"I have no idea, but I'm sure she'll tell us when she wakes up." Fiona reassured, curious about that as well.

Hope woke up in an unfamiliar room. The four-year-old girl had no idea how she got there and tried to remember what had happened.

In a faraway realm without magic, Hope and her parents walked through a park. They didn't usually take this route home, but Hope didn't mind. She rarely ever saw the outside world, let alone a park. Though, she knew better than to ask to stop and play; that would result in being punished when they got home.

The last time Hope asked for something that went against her parents' wishes, they locked her in her bedroom without anything to eat for three days, and her father would periodically come into her room to give her a beating. This unfortunately wasn't an uncommon occurrence in Hope's life; her parents kept her locked in her bedroom for several days on end; the only time she was allowed out of her room was on the few days a week she went to preschool.

Her mother and father held on tightly to her hands as they walked. Taking a chance, Hope broke free from her parents' grip and ran. She ran through the park as sporadically as she could, hoping she could lose her parents' in the chase. Eventually, the young girl ended up deep into the forest, and she continued to run.

She caught sight of a cave, and impulsively decided to hide in there, hoping her parents wouldn't think to look in there. She made her way deep into the cave, and it seemed to never end. Hope saw a light shine through the end of the cave. Deciding to discover where it leads was a better option than waiting around praying her parents never find her, the brave four-year-old followed the light until she was out of the cave.

On the other side, Hope was greeted by more forest. She continued to walk until she stumbled across a small cottage. Sure, it was located in a swamp, but it was the child's best bet of finding help and staying hidden. As she approached the home, the exhaustion finally took hold of her and she collapsed.

Hope examined her surroundings; she was clearly in a bedroom, laying on a large bed. This bed was a lot bigger than her bed at home, even bigger than the bed her parents slept on. The entire house seemed to be made out of a tree, a fact that seemed odd to Hope, but she quickly moved past it.

Noticing a curtain dividing the bedroom from the rest of the house, Hope approached it and took a peak. She instantly noticed that she was not alone. Catching a glimpse at—who she assumed were the owners of the cottage—Hope was startled. She had never seen anyone that looked like that. The couple sat in the living room, in complete silence. Hope studied them. The woman was at least twice the size of her own mother, but despite her green skin and strange ears, Hope thought she was quite lovely with her long braided red hair and her dark green dress. The man was much larger than her father; she guessed he was probably three times her father's size, making him just a little bit bigger than the woman. He bore a more serious demeanor than his wife but did not appear threatening to the child.

"She'll wake up soon, Fiona. I'm sure she's going to be alright." He reassured the woman.
"I hope so, Shrek. I'm sure she's a long way from home and is probably going to be terrified when she wakes up in a strange place she doesn't know." The woman, Fiona replied.

"I'm not so sure that's going to be the scariest part for her, Fiona. I mean look at us; we're not exactly the most unintimidating-looking creatures you know," Shrek exclaimed, voicing his concern.
"well, she might be a bit surprised when she realizes a couple of ogres saved her, but I don't she'll be that terrified, honey." Fiona reassured.

'so that's what they are; ogres! Like in my old fairy tale books!' Hope thought to herself.

"umm…excuse me?" she squeaked, making her presence known to the ogres.
"oh! You're awake. Are you alright little one?" Fiona asked as she turned to face the child.
"I-I'm okay. Thanks for saving me," she thanked.
"it was nothing," Shrek replied.
"what's your name sweetie?" Fiona asked with a soft smile, hoping that the child wouldn't be afraid of them.

"Hope," the little girl stated.
"it's nice to meet you Hope; my name is Fiona, and this is Shrek." The ogress introduced.
"where did you come from?" Shrek asked in turn.
"I…was running through the woods, and I…found this cave that led me here. Then I found your house and that's all I remember," Hope recalled.
"where are your parents? Surely they must be worried." Fiona asked. Hope's gaze went to the floor.
"please don't send me back there! My mommy and daddy are really mean to me… I was running away from them!" the child pleaded.
"how are they mean to you, little one?" Fiona questioned in concern.
"well, I'm not allowed to leave my room unless it's to go to preschool, but that's not often. Sometimes, they don't even give me anything to eat. Then, my dad will come into my room and hit me with his belt…" Hope explained as tears formed in her eyes.

Overwhelmed by emotion, Hope clung onto Fiona, crying into the folds of her dress. Fiona hugged the child in an attempt to comfort her. The ogress empathized with the child; she knew what it was like to live in isolation for most of one's life and knew that her husband would agree that it was no way to live at all. After sharing a quick glance with Shrek, Fiona knew what she had to do.

"Hope, I promise we will not send you back there. You're safe here. And, if you'd like, you can stay here with us; we'll keep you safe."
"really?" the child asked with hope in her eyes.
"really really," Shrek chimed in with a reassuring smile.
"Thank-you! Thank-you!" Hope exclaimed, happy tears falling freely from her eyes.

For once in her life, Hope felt as if she was safe, and that no harm would come to her. This was the beginning of a new life for her, and she couldn't wait to see where it would lead her.

A/N: Hey everyone! I know I kinda went MIA again, and I'm truly sorry (especially to those of you waiting for updates on my Cars and Lion King fics!), but this idea has been in my head for over a week and I finally had time to start writing it. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and if it sucked, it is 2:00am here in Canada so that could be why…

I'd very much appreciate any kind of feedback (please be nice, though! I cry enough on a daily basis, I don't need to cry over fanfiction on top of that…) so do tell me what you think, what you think could happen down the line in the story (as it's still being developed so nothing is really set in stone yet for it), and just your thoughts overall!

That being said, I'm off to bed! Cause morning will be here soon enough and that means I'm gonna have to make my sister breakfast!

-KovuTheGirl