Chapter VII: The New Dawn
Rumpel walked back with me to the throne room. He had gotten his "speech wig" back on for some reason. He did love his wigs…
I looked up to see another one of those giant balls were being hauled up by the witches. Rumpel saw and started to clap happily. "Yay, a new pretty ball..! Eh, didn't it look bigger in the catalogue…? I guess it will have to do…" Rumpel said and seemingly judged it from afar.
"There's a catalogue for that…?"
"Oh yes..! But apparently they're pretty deceiving, I mean look at it! Not nearly as big as I had wanted it!" Rumpel replied casually and shook his head in disbelief. I shrugged timidly and chuckled a bit. He was so silly at times…
"It looks fine to me…"
"Well at least you like it!" he resorted and shrugged.
Once the witches had it up and ready they began to shine bright colorful lights on to the ball and it began to shine off beautiful blue and pink colors like a disco ball. This heavily reminded me of my stupid white hair.
"YUKI AND WITCHES…! FINALLY THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! THE MAIN EVENT..!" Rumpel shouted once again in excitement. Another thing he liked to do… Yell… Wigs and yelling… Oh boy…
Suddenly, the floors under Rumpel and I began to shift and I jumped a bit and actually clung on to Rumpel a bit in fear so I didn't feel like I was going to fall into the gaping hole in the floor that was forming to reveal something.
"THE MAIN EVENT OF THE EVENING..! I PRESENT SHREK AND FIONA!" Rumpel yelled some more and I turned a little while still holding on to Rumpel a bit and looked down the hole to see Fiona and Shrek still shackled and chained to the walls and now looking up at Rumpel, me, and the hordes of witches that had come and surrounded the sides of the hole to peer down at the imprisoned ogres.
"AND NOW TO PUT THE PAST BEHIND US ONCE AND FOR ALL..! I GIVE YA, A PRINCESS'S WORST NIGHTMARE, FIONA'S OLD FRIEND AND KEEPER OF THE KEEP! DRAGON…!"
I gasped and backed up a lot and hid behind Rumpel (which was pretty dumb considering I was taller than him). My eyes widen in horror at the red dragon that roared furiously and began running forward from within the hole.
Dragons always had severely scared my kind … After all…Dragons breathe fire… Fire means quick death for a Yuki-Onna. We're scared enough of being in the sun too long but if, we even are SLIGHTLY touched with a flame of fire we would melt immediately. I know that wasn't my fate anymore because of the contract but dragon's fire breath can still kill people! Yuki-Onna or not!
The dragon roared again and fire came blazing out of its mouth and onto the ground. I was now shaking so much Rumpel could even notice it from behind him.
"Don't worry, it won't hurt ya. You're safe up here… While they…Not so much" Rumpel stated simply and glanced behind at me who was standing there and was almost tempted on fleeing away from the scene completely.
Suddenly, a familiar voice from above us was singing some song. We all looked up and Rumpel narrowed his forest green eyes.
"Donkey…?" Shrek called out.
"AND PUSS..!" Donkey replied from on top of the ball.
I narrowed my eyes a bit to try and get a better look and I saw a small but fat orange kitty in a black hat and boots slowly slid down with its claws down the rope of the ball.
D'AWWWW… N-now that was just adorable… Don't tell me I have to be against a small but chubby kitty! I don't know if I could do that! P-plus he was wearing wittle boots! AWWW
"IN BOOTS..!" The cat shouted out in a deep Spanish accent.
Once again something else suddenly happened. A loud humming noise started to shake the whole castle. Rumpel growled and looked around to see where it was coming from as did the witches.
The brand new ball suddenly broke open like a piñata and ogres began flying out of it. I screamed and began stumbling away in fear. Rumpel grabbed on to my hand and began running away as fast as he could with me as an ogre began running after Rumpel and me with a club.
"I-I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" I cried out and squealed as the ogre tried to land a hit on me but I ducked and wasn't hit, thankfully.
Two of the witches flew down and grabbed on to both Rumpel and I and put them on to the back of their brooms. I was shaking violently but was very gratefully that one of the witches saved my butt!
The witches flew up and dropped us both off at one of the two balconies in the room that over looked the throne room. I quickly skid over towards Rumpel as he jumped up on the railing and looked down at the madness in horror.
"T-this isn't g-good!" I muttered and also looked over the balcony in fear as the ogres fought with the different witches.
I frowned and narrowed my pale eyes a bit began to breathe in deeply and then blow out air from my mouth. I was doing something that I literally had never done in my life. People might think Yuki-Onnas are just fragile, gorgeous, and mysterious creatures that wander the wintry seasons, but they did not know we are actually very dangerous when we wanted to be.
Rumpel glanced over at me in shock as pure icy breath began to wisp out from my mouth and cover over some of ogres and in reaction freezing them over into ice sculptures.
"I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD DO THAT…!" Rumpel yelped out in shock but sounded somewhat amused even during all this chaos.
I glanced over at him and my eyes blue icy eyes were sparkling a lot more because I was using my powers, "Y-yes well… I-I've never done that before…"
"WELL KEEP DOING IT!"
I bit my lip and looked back towards the ogres and breathed in and blew out more chilled air that carefully covered only ogres and not witches. Some of the witches and ogres even stopped fighting to take a look at me dumbfounded.
I frowned after the second blow of icy air and felt my head spin a bit. I wasn't used to using my abilities like this. It didn't help that it was summer. I was much, much more powerful during the winter.
"What are you stopping for…!? Keep freezing those ogres!" Rumpel urged and I shook my head and glanced over at him worriedly.
"I-I can only do so much…I get queasy and light-headed if I use it too much…" I resorted back but before Rumpel could reply to me. Our attention was brought back when the giant ball's holding contraption from above began to hurdle down towards the hole where Fiona, Shrek, and the dragon were.
The contraption thumped down and onto the dragon's head.
Rumpel seethed in anger and looked over at the witches that were in the balcony with us, "UGGHH GET THEM WITCHES, GET THEM!"
The witches obeyed and they pulled out these jack-o-lantern bombs and suddenly threw them over at the ogres. Which wasn't the best plan ever as some of the bombs went off and broke away some of the ice that had frozen over some of the ogres. And the remaining ogres lifted up their shields to protect themselves from the small explosions.
I glanced away from the witches and scoffed lightly as some of my hard work had been rudely destroyed because of the bombs. I looked down and then watched the dragon continue to attack Shrek and the gang. Suddenly, I saw Shrek and Fiona hanging on to some chains and there began swinging back and forth in different direction around the dragon.
I was so busy watching, I didn't notice the witches around Rumpel and I were all smacked in the face with…Chimichangas?
"CHIMICHANGAS…?!" Rumpel roared out in anger.
The chef looking ogre from below shot out another chimichanga from his stand and it almost hit me in the face but I quickly extended my hand in front of my face and luckily out of instinct froze the chimichanga into an ice block.
"I don't think, I-I like Mexican food too much r-right now…" I muttered and glanced down at the frozen chimichanga on the ground in front of me.
Rumpel saw the block of ice that held the chimichanga deep within and he suddenly grabbed it and chucked it down at one of the ogres and in reaction hitting him on the head and making him stumble backwards in a daze.
"AHA!"Rumpel shouted and laughed wickedly.
I raised my eyebrows and shook my head at Rumpel's small triumph before I looked back at Shrek and Fiona again. They were currently swinging around the dragon again but this time they looked like they had a plan. The chains began to tie across the dragon in different areas in which was beginning to render the dragon unable to move.
Rumpel pulled me out of my distraction again and grabbed on to my hand and was about to run the opposite way from a bunch of ogres that had made it onto the balcony. We turned and saw on our other side ogres were also charging forward. WE WERE TRAPPED!
I gasped and heard witches around us screaming for us to run but there was nowhere to go!
Rumpel grumbled to himself and brought me over towards the edge of the balcony as the ogres closed in on us.
I narrowed my eyes and blew out another chilled breath of air. The air lurched forward and the ogres quickly retaliated by putting up their shields so the frosty air ricocheted off of it. I felt Rumpel suddenly tug me backward and suddenly we began hurdling down from the balcony.
"AHHHHHHH…!" I screamed and grasped on to Rumpel tightly as we began to fall down. The ogres gasped loudly and watched us flabbergasted.
WHAT WAS RUMPEL THINKING…!? W-WE'RE GOING TO DIE!
But before we hit the ground Fifi flew up and we fell on to her back as she flapped her giant wings and was fleeing away.
I was hyperventilating and sat there traumatized. Rumpel on the other hand quickly jumped back up and gave a wicked smirk and began mockingly waving to the ogres.
"SO LONG…!" he yelled out but it was short-lasted as Fifi was halted in the air by a chain that connected to her leg.
I gasped and nervously positioned myself to look down from Fifi. I saw Shrek and Fiona looking up at us.
Rumpel hollered out in frustration and kept yelling at Fifi to keep flying but Fifi wasn't really moving anywhere too quickly. Shrek held on to Fiona and they began being pulled up into the air as they held onto the chain that was latched on to Fifi's leg.
"Rumpel, t-they're holding on!" I yelped and covered my mouth with my hands in fear.
Shrek and Fiona let go once they were pulled up far enough to get out of the hole that was closing up and back into the main throne room.
Suddenly, Shrek pulled the chain as hard as he could and Fifi honked very loudly and stumbled down in the air and Rumpel and I were sent back into the air but away from each other.
I screamed again as loud as possible while Rumpel was also yelling. We hurdled down and Fiona caught Rumpel and Shrek caught on to me bridal style, before we smashed into the ground roughly.
I was shaking and I quickly turned my gaze to look at Shrek and I yelped and struggled to free myself from him but he held on to me tightly and wouldn't let me free.
Fiona looked down and glared Rumpel deeply as he looked up at her fearfully.
Looks like we lost…
"VICTORY IS OURS…!" Fiona then declared in victory as she pulled up Rumpel by his collar and held him out like he was a trophy or something.
I glared and was about to blow out another icy breath but it was stopped as Shrek noticed and quickly shoved his green bulky hand onto my mouth. I squeaked and yelled out but it all came out muffled because of his hand.
"No more games from you, Frosty…" Shrek said and looked down at me with a straight face. I stared up at him with wide eyes and whimpered a bit and then brought back my head to dangle and closed my light sparkly blue eyes in defeat.
The ogres around us began shouting out in triumph while raising their weapons. The little kitty called Puss even started to a little dance in his boots as Donkey watched.
"Looks like we're having curly toed weirdo for breakfast..." One of the ogres said as they grabbed Rumpel away from Fiona. Shrek instead of handing me over pushed me away from him and I stumbled forward and fell to my knees while hanging my head down low.
I-I just wanted to crawl up in a hole a-and die. I think I take back what I said about wanting the ogres to win.
"I wonder what she'll taste like. Maybe she'll be like a frozen dessert!" another one of the random ogres shouted out and began cackling lowly as he stared down at me. I shuttered and grasped onto the ground roughly.
"Someone quickly tie her before she escapes." Fiona said as she glanced over at me with a smug smirk.
I sighed out shakily and stared down at my hands but mostly my ring as two ogres walked up and grabbed my arms and put them behind me and began binding my hands in rope. (Well that would make it impossible for me to escape now in a cloud of mist).
Before the ogres pulled me away Fiona walked over towards me and stared at me with a straight face.
"Now… How did you escape…?" she said and suddenly ripped my diamond tiara out of my white sparkly hair.
I hung my head and didn't speak.
"Well…?!"
"I-I escaped in a cloud of mist… I'm a Yuki-Onna. W-We can do that… I froze away the roping you had tied on to me." I stated in a quiet monotone voice.
Shrek watched the hurt on my face before speaking up, "He really did trick you too, huh..?" Shrek spoke and ignored the deadly glare from Rumpel.
Fiona gave an odd expression before looking towards Shrek and then back to me.
"Yes…" I muttered emotionlessly.
"Why did you still stay by his side if he deceived you…?" Shrek asked.
"I am confined to him by the contract of Affiance." I said plainly.
"You were forced to be with him…?" Fiona brought up with a confused expression.
I paused and brought my eyes up to look at Fiona and Shrek. What do I say…? Was I really connected to him as much as I had thought? I followed him without question; I never tried to run away. I just listened and obeyed…
I didn't want to lose him…He was my only friend…. My first friend…
"No…" I finally said silently as I now turned my gaze back down to the ground.
"No…? Why would you ever want to stay with someone who deceived you? And I'm sure you've seen the horrible things he has done!" Fiona spoke in a frustrated but confused tone. Rumpel grunted loudly but was shut up by the ogre that was holding him.
"He is…m-my only friend…M-my first and only friend…"
The room fell silent and Fiona and Shrek stared at me searchingly as if they thought I had a spark of redemption in me.
"Yuki…" Shrek spoke up solemnly.
"You deserve better than him."
I could feel without even looking at Rumpel, that he was having a fit.
I shook a bit and then shook my head broadly, "NO…!" I shouted suddenly and looked up at Shrek with narrowed eyes that began to become brimmed with cold tears.
He looked a bit taken back by my sudden outburst.
"Do what you will to me… But Rumpel is still my friend, no matter what you say about him. I-I know he's done things I don't agree with… B-but Rumpel has saved my life… He's showed me a new life I never ever would have had dreamt in a million years… A-And that…That much I have to be grateful towards him for." I said and then brought my head down and felt the tears slide down my pale face and down to the ground in small ice crystals. Rumpel stopped struggling in the ogre's arms and stared at me taken back.
Shrek looked down at the ice crystals that were once my tears and he sighed.
"You can be our friends…You're never just forever confined to one person, magical contract or not. You're free Yuki…Free to make your own decisions. "
I stayed quiet and didn't know what to say. After all I had supported, after all I had done. This ogre named Shrek still insists that I can be his friend. Not just his friend but all of them. This forgiveness is truly noble.
I felt myself choke into sobs and my whole body, fell limp, which made the ogres that were holding me, stumble a bit as all of my body weight rushed forward.
Shrek stared at me silently for a moment and soon Fiona spoke up.
"Please, hold on to her… Shrek and I really need to talk now…"
The ogres nodded and suddenly began pulling me up from my limpness and began trudging me out and away from the center of attention and next to the ogres that were holding on to Rumpel. Rumpel watched the whole time in silence… He was touched from what I had said.
"Yuki…" he muttered and I glanced over at him sadly without saying anything.
Our attention was brought away from each other as Shrek suddenly fell to the ground. Rumpel and my head shot over and looked over at Shrek as the lower part of his body began to glow and shimmer, a bright light.
He was fading away… It was almost sunrise.
Rumpel smirked widely and glanced over at the hourglass that was almost empty from the top.
"His day is up! His day is u-up-!" Rumpel started to say in hysterics but was once again shut up by the ogre that was holding him.
"Shrek…" Fiona muttered in sadness and held Shrek from on the ground.
"It's alright…" Shrek replied solemnly.
"T-there has to be something I can do…"
"You've already done everything for me Fiona…You gave me a home, a family."
"You have kids…?" Fiona replied quietly.
"We have kids!" Shrek replied, "Fargus, Fergle, and a little girl named…"
"Felicia…!" Fiona cut in shock, "I-I've always wanted to have a daughter named Felicia…"
"And someday… You will…" Shrek said and suddenly put an ogre doll in Fiona's hand.
I watched and even felt sad myself but everything was already sad to me right now. I was probably going to end up killed or something by the end of this. I still found love touching… It didn't really matter who was experiencing it.
"Do you know what the best part of today was…?" Shrek spoke up again. "I got the chance to fall in love with you all over again." Shrek said and Fiona started to cry and lean her head towards Shrek's face.
The hour glass emptied and the light began to glow brightly all around Shrek's body as Fiona kissed him deeply and Shrek began to fade away into nothing but sparkles of golden speckled dust that also began to fade away as Fiona held him.
The sun behind Fiona began to shine brightly and illuminate the whole room as she sat there on her knees with tears running down her green face.
"Fiona, the sunrise..! You're still an ogre!" Puss spoke up and Fiona's eyes widen as she began to look down at herself in shock.
"True love's form…" she trailed off.
Rumpel leaned forwards in the ogre's tight grip and seemingly wanted to lurch at Fiona in anger, "IMPOSSIBLE…!" He growled furiously.
"The kiss worked…" Fiona said and suddenly the wind began blasting into the room and brushing by everyone. My hair was being blasted heavily and was flicking wildly in the wind as I glanced around with my eyes in shock.
Rumpel looked up and I turned my gaze over towards where he was looking and saw the golden magic light that had brought us here begin to eat away at the castle's ceiling.
I began to look around frantically as I saw witches and ogres begin to puff away into puffs of yellow smoke. The kiss was making everything go back the way it was before!
The ogres that were holding Rumpel and I vanished and I quickly stumbled forward. Rumpel looked around his self horrified and then saw Fifi suddenly vanish too into a puff of smoke.
"No, Fifi!" Rumpel called out and then quickly looked back over towards me.
"Rumpel…!" I called out desperately and began running towards him.
"YUKI…!" he also yelled and also began to running towards me, but before I could grab his hand my arm that was extended out towards him began to glow yellow and my whole body was being enveloped into a bright yellow light.
"NO…! YUKI…!" He cried out and right as he reached out to grab me, I suddenly vanished into a puff of bright sparkly yellow smoke.
His green eyes widen in pure horror and he stumbled backwards and away in disbelief as my body had disappeared from his very eyes.
"N-no…! YUKI..!" Rumpel repeated miserably and started to shake his head violently.
He twisted in circles in place while holding on to his head and cried out in anger and sadness as everything around him began tearing away and disappearing.
"N-no…! NO, NO! WAIT… T-THIS CAN'T HAPPEN!" He yelled and suddenly the floor under him that was the only thing left crackled away and he began falling down into an abyss of pure golden light while screaming out as loud as possible.
