The Island
The ship had been sailing all night. The sun had barely risen but everyone was very awake. The island Merlin told them about was much further than they had expected. Artie had fallen asleep briefly, out of exhaustion, but he was very aware that Elena was using his shoulder as a pillow. The king didn't want to accidentally drool on her or humiliate himself further. But for the most part it was uncomfortable, he felt like he couldn't move so he didn't wake her and just had to accept that his arm was slowly going dead. When she woke and decided she didn't want to sleep anymore he had done his very best to pretend his arm didn't have the terrible case of pins and needles that it did. It almost wasn't fair, why did the guy always have to be the pillow? He always thought it would be magical having a girl sleep on him, it wasn't. She was now standing on the opposite side of the ship to the others, he wanted to join her, to strike up a conversation, but he didn't know what to say. It had been pretty awkward when she settled against him to sleep. In his fantasy of watching the stars with her as his wife the conversation had flowed freely, reality didn't seem to match up. But hey, what else was new?
His eyes drifted over to the others, watching in the direction the ship was heading. Shrek had slept for quite a while, and seemed to have found the hope they all wanted him to have. Artie was pretty happy about that, and that his plan for Merlin had worked. He was now hoping and praying that everything would turn out okay. The king was determined that he would help, somehow. He slowly approached them, "So, are we almost there?"
"Yer not coming with me," Shrek didn't even turn to look at him.
"Wha- No! I didn't even say anything!" Artie tripped over his speech.
"Yah, and I know what you were gonna say," Shrek silenced another protest, "Everything that has come out of yer mouth t' me this trip has been you trying t' convince me. It's not gonna work. Yer staying on this boat kid." He shook his head, sighing.
Artie shot him a short glare, "You got me out of that high school and you saved my life from Charming, twice."
"Aye, don't make it wasted effort."
The young king sighed, "Look, I just wanna help, Shrek."
"Ye have helped, Artie," Shrek looked him right in the eyes, "Ye've helped more than I deserve fer you t' have helped," he then looked back out to the sea, leaning on the railing, "I can do this part on my own. You go talk t' ye princess, that's what's important t' you."
"But-"
"Artie," Shrek's tone ended his complaints. Artie let go of the wasted breath and let his eyes drop to the ground.
"Say, is your princesa okay?" Puss redirected the conversation, he gestured to where Elena stood, alone.
"Uh, I think so," Artie scratched the back of his neck.
"Have you even spoken to her?" Donkey chipped in.
"Yeah, a bit, when she woke up," he really didn't like the way this conversation was going, he shuffled nervously.
"No no no, Artie, listen to me," Puss began. Artie sighed in response. "Hey! I have quite a talent with the ladies, no?" he fiddled with the tip of his whiskers, "Take my advice señor. Go to her, ask for her feelings, listen to her, encourage her, tell her how beautiful her eyes are," he broke his daze and looked back to the king, "they are beautiful, aren't they?"
"I guess they are," Artie shrugged. He hadn't said anything remotely romantic to her. She had been the one to suggest holding hands, she had asked if she could sleep on him. He hadn't really done anything at all. That wasn't how it was supposed to be, was it?
"And it's still kinda sunrise Artie, that's romantic, right?" Donkey nodded to the sky. He was right, the sky was still a little pink. There was just one problem though, Artie had no idea how to be romantic. He knew how to be a social outcast, he knew how to be bullied, he knew how to be a king, but he hadn't the slightest idea how to be romantic.
"Sí, the burro has a point," Puss agreed, "You have yet to capture her heart but you will. I have faith in you señor." Artie smiled at the cat uneasily.
"You should kiss her!" Donkey suddenly exclaimed, jumping up.
"What?" the young adult felt a rock form at the pit of his stomach, "I barely know her."
"Ah not on the lips señor. Perhaps... the cheek," he chuckled, then leant in closer and lowered his voice, "Or the ladies love when you kiss them just below the ear, you see? Just above the..."
"Ahh," Shrek jolted to life, "maybe not... just yet," Shrek glared at Puss.
"What? He wanted my advice," the cat shrugged defensively.
Artie looked between the two of them. Puss eventually waved Shrek off and turned back towards the ocean. Arthur turned his gaze nervously to Elena. They were right. Shrek's hand was suddenly on his shoulder, "Go on," he nodded towards her, "That's yer problem over there, leave me t' mine." Artie looked at the ogre, lost. Shrek smiled grimly, "Well, Fiona always said if it's meant t' be then it will." He then pushed the king a little in her direction.
Giving one last, hopeless look back to the ogre, Artie pressed forward. He was so glad Edmund had disappeared below deck for most of the journey, he had already been the tragic recipient to a long rant about how he was treating Elena. That she should be in the shelter of the cabin, that he shouldn't leave her side, other trivial, boring things Artie didn't want to hear. Also, in the young king's opinion, they were things Elena didn't want, so he went against the advice that had been given to him. Thankfully, Edmund wasn't around to watch how skittishly the king approached her, and the look of dread on his face. Artie really didn't need the extra pressure now. Taking one step at a time, he got closer to her. He tried to imagine her in a wedding dress, standing on their bedroom balcony, because one day that would be real. And that day would be better than this. She'd be beautiful in a wedding dress he was sure. He took a breath, he only had to get through this part.
"Hey Elena," Artie quietly hoped she wouldn't mind the drop of her title.
"Arthur," she gave him a small smile.
"Uh," he chuckled uncomfortably, having already corrected her several times, "Artie." He joined her looking out at the ocean, "Are you okay?"
"Oh," she seemed surprised, "Yes, I suppose I am," her smile lessened.
Artie frowned, he wished he was like Puss, who would be able to sweep her off her feet using words alone. But he wasn't. He took a breath, "I'm really sorry things had to work out like this."
"You're not," she stared intently into the waves. Artie was taken aback by her bluntness. "I'm sorry," she suddenly shook her head, "I shouldn't have said that. That wasn't very much like a princess." She turned away from him a little.
"No, no. That's okay!" Artie responded quickly. Despite the clashing topic matter, perhaps this was her expressing herself around him. Or perhaps she was just that mad.
"I haven't been very good this whole time," she frowned. The king was worried she'd start crying.
"That's okay," he spoke as softly as he could. He took her arm, gently pulling her closer to him and desperately hoping that she was alright with that. "Hey, you can talk to me, I'll listen." He offered her a reassuring smile.
She did not return the gesture, she pulled her arm from his grip and placed her own hands on her arms instead. The princess avoided his gaze, "You won't help me."
"What?" Artie didn't know what to say. Perhaps he had it all wrong and she was simply continuing to be difficult.
"You prefer them over me," she spoke quietly.
"Well..." Artie shrugged, glancing back at them, "They're my family..." he didn't know how to respond in a way she would like. So much for the romantic words of her beauty that he had planned. Instead he'd brutally disappoint his princess with the truth, way to go.
She meekly tucked hair behind her ear, "I'm supposed to be your future wife," there was spite in her words.
"Yeah, but you won't talk to them," he tried not to raise his voice, he tried to stay sensitive, "We need to be a team here."
"But I don't have any interest in this dangerous mission. I didn't want to come here. I never wanted to be on a team in this situation," she didn't look at him, "You were supposed to come alone. This trip was supposed to be about me and you getting to know each other before I met your family," the words came flooding out and there was no way Artie was going to stop them. "Everything about this has gone wrong. There aren't supposed to be ogres or talking animals here, I didn't even expect to ever meet them! It's all so hopeless." She finally turned to him, "I just want to get to your kingdom, but we're stuck here looking for an island that's supposed to be right here, and it's not. So, please can we go? The island is nowhere to be seen and I highly doubt it's just going to pop up in front of us..." She took a deep breath and sighed.
"Uh..."
"Artie!"
Artie suddenly looked over to where Donkey had called him. The three of them were staring intently into the waves below them. He looked back to Elena, who dropped her gaze to the ground and shrugged at him. Though the king didn't have time to decide who to pay attention to as a loud rumbling sent tremors over the ship. He heard Donkey wail and Elena clutched hold of his arm, "What's going on?"
"Come on," holding onto each other, they began to run over to the others, though the pair were stopped prematurely. The waves began violently pushing the boat around. Artie grabbed for the nearest rope held fast to it. Elena held onto him, cowering against his chest. Crew members were spilling out from below the deck, trying to keep control over the vessel. He watched as Puss suddenly leapt onto the deck, Donkey launched himself backwards, trembling and mumbling to himself and even Shrek staggered backwards. The peak of what looked like a mountain suddenly began to emerge from the water in front of them. The ocean spray showered the entire boat as it rose higher and higher.
"Shrek!" Donkey yelped, "I don't wanna die!"
No one responded, everyone was staring too intently, mouths agape, at the island - that did indeed seem to be popping up right in front of them. The waves grew rougher, tossing the boat around. Eventually the crew seemed to give up and simply held onto anything they could. Elena was clinging onto Artie so tightly it almost hurt, though he put an arm around her, securing her. Perhaps that would score him points. Lancelot and the jousting team had taken a bunch of the girls from school to a dark forest once because it made the girls scared, allowing the guys to comfort them and play the hero. Artie had brushed it off as stupid but perhaps they were really onto something. He briefly took the time to look at her, she was almost in tears, not that he wasn't scared... No, but he felt okay, Shrek was there, he wouldn't let anything happen. He'd been in awful situations before, and he'd come out fine. He almost felt a little proud of his bravery.
The pride was short lived as the boat was pushed backwards, giving way to the crowds of tree tops that rose from the water. The ship was rocked perilously, Elena gave a little shriek. Artie closed his eyes, huddling into Elena's tight embrace. Rain began to fall hard from the sky, thunder roared above them. Hope was diminishing quickly. Artie suddenly found himself silently agreeing with Elena, they should have gone home and then thought up a plan.
"We're gonna die. We're all gonna die. I don't wanna die," they listened to the only voice that could be made out through the chaos; Donkey's. "I'm gonna die, but I'm too young to die."
Though much to Artie's surprise, the rain died down quickly, the waves calmed and he could feel the sun heating his damp clothing. He carefully opened one eye, questioning that maybe the boat did in fact topple over and they had all died. But no, everything was fine. The sky was clear and the water was calm. Shrek was standing with his hands on his hips, an eyebrow raised at Donkey, who was sheepishly smiling and apologising. The guys both then turned to them, Donkey's face cracked into a grin, "Hey, perhaps it's not as bad as we all thought," he laughed loudly.
Artie looked down at the princess attached to his torso, who meekly peered up to his face. They both jumped apart from each other. He shot a glare at the pair watching them, before looking at Elena, "Are you okay?" he asked, ignoring Donkey's laugh.
"Yes," she smoothed over her dress, and touched her tiara, "Yes I think so, thank you." She nodded quickly, giving him a small smile. Artie smiled at her, she seemed grateful, despite everything she had said before. That was a good thing, he allowed himself to sigh a little in relief. But then noticed Shrek was already headed to exit the ship and the panic set in once more.
"Wait!" Puss was first to jump to the ogre's aid.
"Hey!" Donkey jumped in the cat's way, "You're dry."
"Sí, I was checking the map," he spoke casually, but Donkey was glaring at him.
"Yeah, checking the map, whatever you say," he mumbled to himself as Puss continued.
"Boss, I'll come with you," he removed his hat, "You need someone to watch your back, I'll be there at your service."
"Hey hey hey," Donkey butted in, "I think if anyone's watching anyone's back, it should be the very best friend's job. Thanks, but your services aren't needed here, that right Shrek?"
Shrek's eyes then landed on Artie, waiting for some kind of proposal from him too. But the king just knitted his eyebrows at him and shrugged.
"Why would you be needed? You would simply cower if danger appeared, you're useless burro!"
"Can I just ask you something? Who saved his butt from a dragon one time? Me, that's who."
"Ha-"
"Hey!" Shrek interrupted the argument, "Discussion over! The longer you guys keep me, the longer I'm standing here while my kids are being used in there," he jabbed a finger in the direction of the island. "I can't believe I'm saying it, but I agree with the Princess here, I just wanna get home," Elena nodded curtly at him, "So let me get this over with."
"What if it's dangerous, Shrek?" Artie's voice was small.
"I won't let anyone touch them, believe me."
After a couple more protests, Shrek then left the ship and began walking over the stony shore to where the trees were. The three of them stood by the edge of the ship and watched. He edged around different trees, peering past greenery here and there but didn't enter. In fact, it almost appeared as if he couldn't. Though the ogre didn't look back at them, he seemed determined.
"Hey, we're going after him, right?" Donkey asked quietly.
"Of course burro," Puss agreed equally softly.
Artie smirked as they both looked his way, "I'm glad we're all on the same page here."
They all settled back watching him in silence as he struggled to find a way in. Though all of a sudden the rain was pattering on the wooden decking of the ship again.
"Oh no," Donkey whimpered as the ocean grew rougher and they realised the shoreline was creeping up the island. "Wait, Shrek's gonna drown," the animal's panic grew. "Shr-ahhhh!" Donkey's call was interrupted as a wave crashed into the side of the boat, violently rocking it.
Puss wailed as he fell off the railing, claws digging firmly into the wooden boat. Artie grabbed for anything to hold onto but was caught by surprise as the ship rocked a different way and sent him sprawling onto the deck. He was shortly joined by Donkey, who crashed onto his chin, his face squashed against the side of the boat. The king didn't bother attempting to stand again, he stayed cowering on the ground waiting for it all to be over. A wave crashed over the edge of the ship soaking him, Artie couldn't help but splutter as the water filtered itself out again. His eyes then caught his crown rolling in front of him, he reached out an arm to catch it, but it simply rolled straight past. He stretched his arm out further as the boat was rocked again, but the crown sailed past him, his fingers only brushing the smooth metal and knocking it off course. Artie watched hopelessly as it rolled further away. Before he could even attempt to do anything, thunder clapped loud in the sky, he squeezed his eyes closed. Hoping with all his might that everything was fine. He could hear Donkey muttering about the island disappearing, about Shrek, about dying. Artie was thinking about those things too, but he told himself over and over that'd it'd be fine, everything was fine.
And it was. Just as before the elements died down. He heard footsteps approaching him and a clink of metal on wood. He carefully opened an eye, his crown was in front of him, he went to reach for it and then realised someone was standing behind it. Artie threw himself upright, brushing himself off. "Princess! Uh Elena, I mean." He grabbed the crown and put it back on his head. "Are you okay?" he picked himself off the floor and looked at her. She was desperately trying to suppress laughter. He bit his lip as he could feel his cheeks reddening.
"I found it all the way over there," she pointed behind her and giggled, "Don't worry, I'll keep your secret."
"Um, thanks?" Artie was confused. If he was honest, he wouldn't have cared if someone had seen him without his crown, he was only concerned that it might get lost to the ocean. What with it being passed down for generations, that wouldn't have been good for him. He looked at her questioningly but Donkey caught his attention.
"Shrek! No!" the animal wailed into the sky, "I can't see him! Is he there? Shrek! Can you hear me? Listen! We're gonna come get you okay! Just don't die in the meantime!" he began pacing around, "Oh no, first we just had to save the kids, now we've gotta save Shrek and the kids. This is serious."
Artie looked out to the empty ocean where the island had appeared and disappeared again.
"It's a magical island," Elena's voice surprised him, "He's probably fine."
He wordlessly looked back to her, she half shrugged at him.
"Oh yeah! Says you, who's hated him and me this whole time!" Donkey was in full blown panic mode, "I bet he's having a real fine time becoming fish food!"
The princess frowned at him, "Hate is a rather strong word..."
"The princesa is correct," Puss's shaky voice appeared from the edge of the ship. He threw his sodden hat down onto the deck, and, using his claws to dig into the wood, climbed over the railing and half jumped, half fell into the boat. He lay breathlessly for a moment, "I saw him get in before the island disappeared beneath the waves." He sat up shaking himself off and then frantically began licking at his fluffier wet fur.
Artie looked back at Elena, who was watching the cat in disgust, "You're right," he smiled at her. She barely smiled back.
"We can't go after him now, it's completely disappeared," Donkey peered over the edge into the vast depths of ocean below. The others soon joined him at the railing, there didn't appear to be anything under the waves at all.
"It might be further under the water than we can see," Artie offered uneasily.
"Oh great, even better. So they're all under there with the fisheys... Fisheys with big teeth, and... and sharks perhaps..."
