Summary: After his defeat, Rumpelstiltskin is encaged near Shrek´s home and has been a new attraction for tourists who pass by the swamp. He then meets a strange person who will help him take the kingdom of Far far away and become king again.

I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTER! Except for the dragoyles, they are all mine.

Deep in the woods of the kingdom of Far far away lays the lone swamps where a dirty and despicable creature lived, his name was Shrek. Feared once by the people from the nearest villages and considered as a great threat. That was before he did what nobody could imagine ogres could do. He rescued a princess named Fiona from a great tower guarded by a dragon, he fell in love and got married with her. He met the King Harold and Queen Lillian of Far far away, being them the parents of Princess Fiona. He was destined to be a great King; the whole kingdom liked him and admired him like no one ever did before, but he refused to be a king and decided to look for someone to replace him. He succeeded by finding a young man named Arthur, who was elected as second choice to take the King´s place. Shrek left the castle and returned to his home in the swamp with his wife, Princess Fiona. He had a beautiful family, a wife and three babies; Fergul, Farkle and Felicia. His life was perfect but soon he got bored of it; he wanted to be feared again and not admired, he wanted his world to make sense again. He met Rumpelstiltskin, a dealmaker. Rumpelstilskin offered Shrek to give a day of his life for one day as a real ogre. Big mistake. Rumpel tricked Shrek so he could become King of Far far away by taking Shrek's birth day, it was like if he never existed at all and by the end of the day, he would disappear. Shrek´s life changed. His friends didn´t know him, his wife was never rescued, the entire kingdom was ruled by the selfish and greedy dealmaker. Shrek had to get the true love kiss from Fiona before that day ended, but it was hard forhim. The witches, servants of Rumpel, were hunting him and other ogres around, including his wife. The end was near for him when he finally made Fiona know who he really was. Rumpel was defeated then and everything went back to normal. Shrek was back again with his family and friends, and he lived happily ever after.

Or at least for now.

You may think this story talks about good guys, or about happy things. Well, it won´t have good guys, but things will be happy for one little person. One dark night, when the ogres and the villagers around were sleeping, something happened...

The crickets were making their daily music and the moon was shining over the dark sky. White thunders started decorating the sky as it was covered with grey clouds which were pouring heavy drops of rain all over the place. Nothing that could bother anyone, inside their warm and dry houses. Except for Rumpel who was in a cage, hanging on a tree right in front of Shrek's house. He tried to find something to cover himself from the rain, he was shivering and he couldn´t find a way to warm himself. He was tired of being humiliated in such a cruel way by the people who passed by everyday in that silly tourism carriage and by Shrek himself. He desired to be powerful again, rule Far far away... Oh Fifi, his beloved pet goose, the only friends he had and the only one he actually cared about. He still remembered when she blew up in front of his eyes by Fiona's singing. That was harsh.

He he hugged his legs and rested his head on his knees as the cold rain fell on his head. He stood thoughtful, his tormented mind and his rage tired him. He then fell asleep. The sound of rain pouring on the floor relaxed him. It was only when he was asleep when he could forget what happened that day Shrek and the other ogres defeated him and he dreamed again with what he once enjoyed to have; power.

An odd rustle woke him up. The leaves over him were moving like if there was something climbing on the branches of the tree his cage was hanging from. The rustling went closer to him, it seemed to be something big. Rumpel started to feel scared, he didn´t know what to do. Call someone for help? No, no one will trust him or help him at all. A great thunder lightened the whole place, the only thing Rumpelstilskin saw was a great shadow with yellow eyes in front of him. A panicked scream echoed high enough anyone close to the swamp could hear it. Shrek and Fiona ran outside their home and went into the tree where Rupel was. They only saw the rusty cage on the floor with it´s little door totally broken, Rumpelstilskin had disappeared. Shrek and Fiona were surprised by their discovery. Nothing was left from him, not even a piece of his clothes.

"What do you think has happened to him?" Asked Fiona as she walked through the doorway.

"I don´t know." Shrek sighed rubbing his forehead. "Perhaps something ate him. I don´t care. It is better if he´s not here anymore."

Rumpel woke up on his bed, he was surprised to be back inside his home carriage, He didn´t feel comfortable at all, it was somewhat wasted, rusty. Of course, he had left for several days.

"You´re awake." A deep voice took Rumpel by surprise making him jump.

"Who-who is it?"

A tall humanoid creature was sitting in front of his bed. He had long ears, sharp claws, a tail and a pair of wings on his back. He was wearing strange clothes with leather and fur. His face was half covered with something that looked like a scarf; only his bright yellow eyes were visible. Rumpel was scared; he has never seen such creature before. Shocked by its size and intimidating appearance, he let out a small squeal moving backwards until his back hit the wall.

"Relax, I won´t harm you, Mr. Stiltskin."

Rumpel was surprised of what he just heard. "How-how do you know my name?" He asked shaking a little from his bed.

"I´ve heard of you. One of those silly gnomes in those tourism carriages has always told your story. You can make everyone´s dreams come true, isn´t it?"

Rumpel nodded and stood in silence for a moment while analyzing that strange person. "Who... or what are you?"

The creature stood up and uncovered his face. His teeth were all sharp as a saw; his face was actually like a human. The creature bowed spreading his wing a little. "My name is Tarutham, alpha dragoyle from my clan."

"A what? Dragoyle?" Rumpel tilted his head in confusion.

"A dragon-gargoyle." Taru rolled his eyes.

"Ah." He paused. "Wh-What do you want from me?"

"I need you to do something for me. I would like you to help me. "

"Uhm, I-I don´t know."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I´m like retired, no one wants my help anymore."

"But the magic you used for helping others with their problems..."

Rumpel stared at the shelf where all his contracts were, they were all covered in dust and some were chewed by rats or insects. "Well, it seems to be useless now." Suddenly, an idea popped inside his head. It was brilliant. In just a short time he could create the best plan ever. This dragoyle seemed to be strong and probably very dangerous. There must be more like himsince he mentioned something about being leader 'his clan'. "Maybe, there can be exceptions." He snorted. "You helped me get out of that filthy swamp, so I think I must return the favor." Rumpel jumped down from his bed and sat on one of the dusty chairs that were inside. "So, what can I do for you?"

Taru sat in front of Rumpel resting his elbows on the little table."We, dragoyles, have been seeking for a way to earn respect from people, but they keep trying to get rid of us. We are considered as pests, thieves and a threat to them so we´ve been exiled from every single kingdom."

"Right..." Rumpel interrupted. "Let me guess. You want peace and love between the ones of your kind and people isn´t it?"

"Of course not. We dislike people, they don´t deserve our respect. We want power to give what they deserve. And what is the easiest way to get power? Becoming a King of course! They can do all they want to their kingdom."

Rumpel giggled. "Of course they do! I get your point, and I guess we both have something in common. You know, according to what you want, I´d like you to do something for me."

Taru sighed and stood thoughtful. "What do I have to do?"

Rumpel walked towards the shelves, pulled a paper scroll and blew the dust that was on it. "Easy, you must sign this. You and your people will get the power you want to give those who have threatened you what they deserve. BUT, you all must give something in change for me. You must be my bodyguards and personal army, work for me, be loyal and honest to me. Forever."

Taru frowned. "And why do you want us to work for you?"

"Hoh well, there is someone who treated me unfairly some time ago..."

"You mean the ogres who kept you in that cage?"

"Yes! Those filthy creatures, you know how cruel and despicable they are?"

"No doubt about it."

"SO! What do you think? You work for me and you will have to do as I say."

Taru's expression turned down Rumpel's excitement for a moment. Taru wasn´t quite happy or at least interested about what Rumpel was 'offering' to him. "What do we dragoyles have in return, besides our so called power?" His voice went deeper, scary enough.

Rumpel stood thoughtful for a second. This reaction was unexpected. He bit his lower lip and tightened his fists trying to get a good idea that might convince him. "Uhm well, you´ll be 'free' to do all what you wish to do, obey me all the time of course, but you will still do and have what you wish, also you´ll have my loyalty and honesty as well!" Rumpel didn´t know what to give in a 'fair way', he had the feeling that that guy wasn´t someone easy to fool, besides, no one could protect him if he lied completely. He really wanted to take control over these unknown creatures even if that meant to do something he didn´t want. Being 'honest' wasn´t his strong spot actually.

Taru just kept looking at him in the eyes and stood up from the chair he was sitting on. Rumpel felt nervous, his excitement could have possibly messed up things."Sounds good to me." Taru´s voice purred as he gazed outside the window. "I just hope all this is real. We dragoyles would gladly work for you but if something isn´t right about all this and our request isn´t fulfilled..."

"Oh oh, you must not worry! I´ll make the contract work this way; We will help each other all the time, but if someone does otherwise, betrayal of course, the contract will be broken, the deal will be undone and all our progress or whatever we´ve done will turn back to normal, like if nothing happened at all." Runpel grew a nervous smile on his face which twitched as he stared firmly into Taru´s big yellow eyes.

Taru smiled and gave a low chuckle. "I accept."

The day after, the sky was golden yellow over the Crown´s Nest. The wind was blowing hard making the trees lean from side to side. The witches who lived there gazed upon the sky, the clouds started to make a spiral over the forest that darkened the field.

Rumpel was outside his carriage, waiting eagerly his special guests.

Lots of winged creatures appeared, gliding over the parking zone. The witches started to scream; some were amazed, others were afraid. One by one, the dragoyles landed in the middle of the road that divided the houses and walked slowly glaring and sometimes hissing at the witches who were standing, admiring the arrival of these unknown creatures. Taru was in front of all the dragoyles, leading them to Rumpel's place.

"Ah, you have finally arrived!." Rumpel walked towards Taru with a welcoming smile. "How was your journey?"

Before Taru could answer, a female dragoyle ran towards him. "So this is the guy who will help us. He looks funny."

"Be respectful Sarkanand!" Taru whispered. "Please, pardon my partner. Her curiosity makes her say all what she thinks."

Rumpel stared confused. "Err, don´t worry."

"Now, what do you want us to do?"

Rumpel snorted. "Oh, well, there is something, a tiny little thing I´d like to do before getting my revenge against the ogres. Reunite all your friends! I have a special task for you all." He giggled. "We´ll visit someone by surprise."

"So what is the plan?" Said Sarkanand.

"Ah! I knew you´d say that!" Rumpel giggled. "I´ve been planning this the entire night. I´ve also talked with the witches about all this."

"You mean, the witches will join us?" Taru huffed.

"Well, yes. They may be a great support for us. The more we are, the more efficient will be our ambush, don´t you think?" Rumpel said rubbing his hands.

"True." Taru said. "Now, what do we have to do then?"

"We´ll make a trip to the kingdom of Far far away. But first I need someone to pull my carriage since... " Rumpel stared at his carriage and sighed. "Since I have no one to pull it anymore."

"I will." A big dragoyle gave a step forward crossing his arms.

"Perfect! That was fast!" He giggled. "Ok now, when we arrive, we must make our way directly to the castle, nothing must be in our way, you all know what I mean. When we are finally in the castle, some of you must stay outside and you will make sure no one tries to enter. The others will come with me so you can help me convince the Queen to lend her kingdom over to me. She will OBVIOUSLY refuse, so there is where you enter."

The crowd of dragoyles started to whisper to one another. Taru and Sarkanand looked at each other with a grin. "Sounds interesting."

"Excellent!" Rumpee cheered. "We will leave until the sun falls. Far far away it´s quite... far so, why don´t you all stay here for a while? You just arrived and I´m sure your journey was exhausting and you need some rest. C'mon!"

Taru and the dragoyles looked at each other. They all walked behind Rumpel's carriage where a lone yard was. There was enough space for them to install their camp. With curiosity, some witches started to walk closer to the dragoyles and started to interact with them.

"Rumpel!" One witch yelled. "I hope this plan of yours works."

"Don´t worry Griselda, I´ve got everything under control. Soon, we will finally enjoy the pleasures of being at the top of everything."

"I look forward to it." She chuckled and walked towards the crowd.

When all the dragoyles left, Sarkanand was still standing in front of Rumpel's carriage. Rumpel noticed her and smiled. "Hi."

Sarkanand walked closer with her eyes on him. "You don´t look like a normal person. What are you supposed to be?"

This question hit Rumpel's mind. His smile disappeared turning into a confused gesture. No one asked this question before. It was like a snap on his head. "Uhm, well. I´m an elf of course." He tried to smile but an uncomfortable grin was all he could do.

"Really? I´ve never seen one before. I´m intrigued." Sarkanand said sitting on her tail using it as a chair.

"Sarkanand, you need to eat something. Aren´t you coming?" Taru exclaimed while helping the other dragoyles preparing a bonfire.

"I´m not hungry Taru."

"Fine." He sighed. "Don't be begging for food later while we´re on our trip to the castle."

Watching all the dragoyles getting prepared for battle, training and fixing their armors, Rumpel felt a strange feeling in his stomach. He was almost screaming from the inside from excitement. He could almost taste the sweetness of his upcoming victory.

"So!" Sarkanand interrupted Rumpel from his daydream. "About the plan. What will happen next? I mean, Taru told me we were going to work for you... forever isn´t it?"

"Hm yeah, unless someone betrays me or if I betray you." Rumpel scratched the back of his head and rolled his eyes letting out a heavy sigh.

"You don´t seem too happy about it."

"Huh? About what?"

"Nah, nothing." Sarkanand sighed and walked behind the carriage. "Would you like to join us while we stay here?"

Rumpel smiled and raised one eyebrow. "Sure. I´ll take my time to know your friends a bit more."

END OF CHAPTER 1 To be contined...