Ch 6
Fiona watched as her husband woke up. He then watched as she took the babies from him. He then remembered something and went past her. "Where're you going?" she asked him. "Don't worry. I'm going to… check on somebody." He told her. She watched as he closed the door. He then saw Artie was awake. "Hey are you okay? Did you sleep?" he asked him as he sat down beside him. He had brought him some breakfast. "I didn't sleep good. I stayed awake all night worrying about the kingdom." He answered him. "I'm sorry you didn't sleep well. I'm worried about you." He said quietly as he went back inside the house.
"I hope he doesn't do anything dumb or snap. Fiona would be like that if she knew." Shrek thought as he kissed his wife. She wondered what was wrong but he shrugged it off. As he ate breakfast, he heard somebody yell and ran outside. A man clad in armour was talking to Artie angrily but he saw a cut on his friend's face. He was angry. "Hey leave him alone! He hasn't done any harm." Shrek said to him. "Back away beast! This has nothing to do with you." he said to him. Artie looked angry at the man. "Dad leave him alone. He's... my friend and helped me become King." he yelled at the knight. Shrek was worried by this but smiled. "So you're the one who abandoned him at Worchester and makes him think he's a loser." he told him as he prepared to fight him but Artie stopped them from fighting. Shrek could see he didn't want them to fight and went into the house. Artie's father scowled and ran off. He heard Artie cry a little as he entered the house. Artie was in the bath room cleaning up. Fiona wondered what was wrong. "His father showed up and we were gonna fight but Artie stopped us." he explained. Fiona understood. "My Dad said Artie's father was a jerk ass knight who only cared about himself. When he heard that his wife the former Lady of the Lake was having a child, he got nervous but she died. After that, he tried taking care of Artie until he was thirteen, then he dumped him at Worchester for the rest of his teenage life." Fiona told him.
He understood. Artie then came out of the bathroom. "Hey guys. I'm sorry you had to see my father. He's a brute. I wondered if I had a Mom. He told me she left but I have a feeling she didn't." he said quietly. Fiona shot Shrek a look. "I'm sure she's still alive. Maybe you'll be together again." he told him. Artie smiled at this. He watched as he sat at the table drinking coffee. He felt bad for Artie. He knew what it was like to never meet his mother. He'd kept that hidden from Fiona. "You're feeling very depressed at the moment, aren't you?" Fiona asked him. Artie nodded in reply. She wanted to tell him the truth but knew what might happen if she did. "Artie I have something to tell you. Your Mom didn't leave you ad your Dad, she died after giving birth... to you." she said softly.
Shrek saw tears well in Artie's eyes. "I never knew that. He... lied to me. What did she do before she gave birth to me?" he asked her quietly. "She was the Lafy of the Lake. I'm sorry Artie. I know how you wanted to meet her. I'm sure she's proud of you being King of my late Dad's kingdom." Shrek said to him. He nodded. "How do you know what it's like?" he asked his ogre friend. "Because... I never met my Mom either." he told them. Artie then smiled sadly at him. "Did she die too?" Artie asked nervously. "I think she did. It still hurts but Fiona makes me feel better." he answered pointing to his heart. Fiona was shocked. "Is there any more secrets you don't want me to know?" she asked him. Artie shot him a look. He couldn't spill the secret about the war Zeke was planning between humans and ogres. "No I don't." he told her.