The Princess
Shrek watched the cloudless sky, he had been watching it for a while. When he started, it was dark and dotted with stars, he had watched it turn all shades of pink and orange and then turn into the perfect blue it was now. He barely slept, spending most of his time watching his children sleep and - for the past hour or so - Artie, who was staring into the ocean. Shrek was worried, worried about everything it seemed. There was the obvious surprise of his children joining him, being without his wife, things going wrong, and how Artie was coping with the trip. The ogre had tried to not concern himself, it wouldn't affect him or his life. In fact, the faster Artie made an heir, the faster his family would be disconnected to the throne. He could feel bad for the young king and comfort him as much as possible, but worry about him? Of course not. Yet he did, endlessly it seemed. Almost as if he were the kid's father. Shrek sat up, giving up on the sky. He supposed he was the only father figure Artie had in his life. The ogre shook his head, he had certainly signed up to more than he bargained for when he married Fiona; an extended family, a troublesome kingdom, and a boy who looked up to him. His thoughts were brought to an end as Shrek finally spared a glance to Donkey, whose dream was becoming vocal,
"No-no, baby don't leave, n-" his speech was cut short with a snore, a line of drool promptly falling from his mouth.
Shrek shook his head again, heaving a sigh, and lifted himself from the deck. He slowly approached the young king, "Hey."
"Hey," Artie replied simply, not moving his gaze from the water. He leant heavily on the railing that ran around the edges of the ship.
"How're ye holding up?"
"...I didn't sleep at all," Artie spoke after a moment of silence. Shrek nodded, leaning on the railing beside the king. Silence took over again, though surprisingly Artie was the one to break it, "Were the kids okay?"
Shrek paused, "Aye. But-"
"Do you think the message would have gotten back to Fiona yet?" Artie cut the ogre off, "Because I'm sure-"
"Artie," Shrek stopped his quick speech, "Ye don't need t' worry about my unruly children, they're my problem. You've got yer own right now."
"I'm the king," he chucked mirthlessly, "Everything is my problem." He slumped a little further.
Shrek moved closer, "I'm their dad, I beat you. Anyway, right now, it's Artie's problems, not King Arthur's." Shrek received a small smile in return, "Hey, everything'll work out. Always does."
Artie finally took his eyes off the ocean, to look at Shrek, eyebrows furrowing, "But-" he sighed, casting his eyes downwards again, "What if... What if I don't like her?"
Shrek watched the boy for a moment, his hopeful smile curling into a frown. Artie's unhappiness bothered the ogre, to the extent where he'd probably do anything to lift his spirits. "Then we'll go look fer another one," he paused, watching a smile creep onto the young adult's face, "And we'll keep looking until ye find someone ye like."
"You'd do that?" he looked up again.
Shrek smiled, "Aye, of course," he chuckled. "Just, yanno, don't throw her away too quick, give her a chance. Ye might not like her at first. Don't judge her before ye get t' know her, an' all that."
Artie nodded, taking a breath, "Yeah, I know. It just sucks that we have to rush into everything."
"I know, Artie," Shrek returned his gaze to the sky, "I know-"
"Land ho!"
The pair turned, and sure enough land was indeed approaching. The captain and few sailors that had so far gone unnoticed suddenly made their presence known. The sudden commotion seemed to wake the rest of the sleepers. Shrek heaved another sigh as the first one up and bounding towards them was Donkey.
"Only another day and a half left," Artie grinned, noticing his reaction.
Shrek smiled wirily in return. He looked past the approaching trouble, to find the three smaller troubles, though much to his relief they were still stationary.
"Man, we're here already, huh?" Donkey hopped his front hooves onto the side of the ship, looking at the land they were heading for, "Only been five minutes." He scooted himself down, grinning.
"A very long five minutes," Puss joined them, "thanks to you and your constant snoring!"
"Hey, you weren't so quiet too, mr purrfect," Donkey retorted. The animals glared at each other.
A gaggle of people then approached the group, beckoning Artie into the cabin. He gave Shrek a timid smile before heading off with them.
"I don't claim to be perfect, burro, however you insist you don't snore!"
"I don't!"
"Dad!" a smaller voice joined the mix, "We're hungry!"
"Only a day an' a half left of this," Shrek repeated Artie's statement, wiping a hand down his face, perhaps he should have tried harder to get more sleep.
Artie forced thank you's and smiles as a couple of his squires shined his shoes, fitted his robes to his tunic and sat the crown on his head. He had to be perfect, he knew that. He wished his aunt had come with him to go over what to do again. He had an advisor with him, an advisor he particularly hated. He had a whole team of them over his years as king, the majority were good to him, a couple were not; Edmund was one of them. When Artie first started his role, they just didn't seem to understand he didn't know things. He was pretty much an orphan, he was dumped at the school and abandoned. He didn't know how to eat properly at a table, or how to make pleasant small talk with strangers. He spent most of his time eating alone in some neglected corner where no one would find him. It was a long and frustrating journey for everyone involved. Though, Artie liked to think it had paid off, well, until things like this happened and Artie was reduced to his former nervous habits. Unfortunately, he knew Edmund wasn't going to be forgiving, perhaps that was why he was the best choice. Artie gulped as the man studied him, his features were so sharp and pointy, it made the ordeal worse. His permanent frown curled a little lower,
"Stand up straight," he ordered.
"Y-yes, sorry," Artie straightened out his shoulders.
"Don't apologise so feebly to me, King Arthur. You are King Arthur, I am below you, speak with authority."
Artie hesitated, this was a common criticism he received, he cleared his throat quietly, "Yes, Edmund, thank you." He had been very confused by this advice at first and had discussed with his aunt. She told him that if he acted inferior to certain people, they would treat him as though he was inferior. That could be particularly dangerous should it happen to the wrong person, she explained to him in great detail what had happened to her late husband with the famed fairy godmother. Artie finally realised there was a difference between authority and kindness and the two could be used together. He vowed he always would.
"If you're going to clear your throat, do so loudly, with purpose," Edmund walked around him, "Do not hide it like a mere Princess should."
Artie nodded his head, only once, as he was taught.
"We've been over this time and time again, King Arthur," Edmund flicked the robe into place, "You know how to converse with another royal. The king here is of the same rank as you, no matter how much longer he has ruled. He is looking for assurance that you are a great king, of a great kingdom, and that his daughter is in strong hands."
Artie quickly glanced to his own small hands, they were hardly strong. "I understand, I know what I'm doing," he tried his hardest to sound confident. In theory, he did know what he was doing, in practice, he wasn't so sure.
The minstrels gathered with their trumpets, Artie fought the urge to run. It was time. He slowly ascended the steps out of the cabin and took a moment to look. The ship had been docked on a giant beach, there were no other boats in sight, clearly they had prepared for this moment. Everything looked incredibly perfect. Artie took a shuddery breath, barely acknowledging the sympathetic gazes of his friends. As he passed them, they each shared a few words of comfort, though it did little to ease his growing nerves. He moved slowly to where he was to exit the ship. There was a large group of people on the sand, they noticed him as he drew nearer and the chatter grew louder, some even pointed. His team of minstrels stepped onto the docks before him, as practised, and moved into their positions. All Arthur could hear was his heartbeat loud in his ears as he waited to be announced. When he first took position as king it used to terrify him, but he got used to it. If anything, he found himself enjoying the adoring attention he received. But this was different, very different.
The sound of the trumpets almost made him jump, he forced a small smile. "Announcing his majesty, King Arthur of Far Far Away!"
Taking his cue, Artie pressed forward. With practised and steady steps he walked across the dock until he reached the steps down to the beach, where he had been told to wait. Artie was too aware of everyone watching him as they clapped his arrival. He was making his best effort not to tremble as his eyes searched for the princess, but she was still hidden away. He then realised his first reaction towards her would be witnessed by a very large group of people. He gulped, hoping no one could see the falsity of his smile.
As the crowd died down, the king of Far Out was announced. Artie bowed his head, it was all standard practice, he'd done it before. But never to someone whose daughter he intended to marry. This king definitely looked like a king, he stood tall, was broad shouldered and very strong. Artie decided this was not a man he wanted to let down. The strange kingdom's minstrels raised their trumpets again, announcing the princess, Arthur's bride to be. Princess Elena. The seconds he waited to see her were excruciating. Artie found himself almost restless, wanting to run somewhere just to get away, which was odd, he never liked running. But he forced himself to stay still, trapped with his own thoughts. Millions of questions were freely running around in his mind, he couldn't still them. Perhaps Donkey was completely right before, he should just stay, marry someone like the maid girl, disappoint the whole kingdom and be kicked from the throne. It would be much easier. So much easier. And better. Way better than-
The princess stepped out of the shadows and into his view, all thoughts were immediately lost. Suddenly everything seemed calm, all the crowd disappeared, the king disappeared, the boat behind him gone. All he could dumbly take in was her. Artie watched as the Princess approached him. She was... beautiful. The way the sun was positioned behind her, the way the breeze lightly flicked at the chestnut hair held at her shoulder, and tugged at her sky blue dress, it made it seem like an angel was moving towards him. Perhaps being twenty-one wouldn't be so different from what he first predicted. The king suddenly found himself self-consciously checking he wasn't gawping at her, though it didn't distract him for long. A hazy smile spread across his face. He could now imagine it all, their life together would be perfect. They'd stroll through the gardens together every night, she'd laugh at his bad jokes, he could bet she had a pretty laugh. They'd share wine over dinner and lay in the stars afterwards, but she'd gaze at him instead of course. They'd probably always end up making out, probably. She looked like she was a good kisser, but – a brief moment of panic overcame him – he'd never kissed anyone before, how would he know what to do? Sure he dreamt about kissing Guinn, but he never actually did. He knew she'd kissed Lancelot a couple of times, he boasted about it and they ended up breaking up for a couple of weeks. Well now it was Artie's turn. This wasn't just kissing behind the jousting field, this was being married, and doing everything married people do; like having kids... wow. He'd actually have a girl in his bedroom, in his bed... and... wait... Marriage, marriage came first. He dumbly blinked away his active imagination, there was no point in getting ahead of himself. He hadn't actually met her yet.
She stopped a little back from the steps and curtsied delicately, "King Arthur," her voice was soft and sweet. Wow.
It took all Artie had not to burst with excitement, fist pump the air and shout boastfully at an imaginary jousting team. Instead, he took careful steps down to the sand, he had to remind himself to concentrate otherwise he might end up laying at her feet. Much to the king's luck, he stepped onto the sand uninjured. She lifted her hand a little, in anticipation of protocol. It was a good job, Artie had all but forgotten everything. He took her hand as gently as he could, he couldn't help but notice her fingernails were glittery. It was cute, a girl had put a lot of effort into her appearance to meet him. The young adult could barely breathe, he was sure he was in love with her already. He looked to her face, about to speak her name when he caught her smile fade a little, watching their hands together. The king almost visibly cringed, his hands were so sweaty. He had forgotten that not two minutes ago he had been nervously sweating at the thought of meeting her, his body clearly hadn't caught up with his brain. He chewed back his embarrassment. "Princess Elena," he lifted her hand to his lips and gently pressed them against her fingers. Her smile renewed itself, clearly he had done it right. He let go of the breath he didn't realise he was holding. As he let her hand go, she flicked her gaze up to meet his. She had dark brown eyes, and a small dusting of freckles over her nose. Her features were dainty and all fit beautifully on her face. She was so perfect.
She took her place next to him, holding the crook of his elbow. Artie grinned, the deep royal blue of his attire perfectly matched her lighter sky blue dress, they were practically made for each other or something like that. Fiona had spoken about destiny always working out in the end, perhaps that was a sign. He suddenly caught the eye of the king, and lessened his smile a little. He didn't want to seem too eager. He didn't want the large, muscular, very manly – could probably kill you in one punch – man to get the wrong idea. Artie did his best to smile in a way that said he was going to be respectful and kind, not that he was sure a smile could convey that kind of message.
"My good people of Far Out," she began, her voice was loud yet soft all at the same time, she held authority but her words were practically dripping with love. She was doing everything he had been taught. Perhaps she'd help him, they'd need to be a matched set. "Though I am leaving to a beautiful kingdom to take hold of my future and destiny, I am leaving with a heavy heart. This wonderful kingdom has been my home and I shall miss it dearly. Of course, I shall be leaving you, my kind people, too, that will be what I shall miss the most; my wonderful citizens. Though my title may change, I will always be your Princess, and I say that with pride." Artie scanned the crowd, they were upset, she had moved them all with a simple speech. She amazed him.
"I assure you," Artie began his portion of the speech, he had practised it over and over, "your Princess, Princess Elena," he smiled at her for a moment, "is in good hands. I will make a promise to you all that she will never be unhappy," Artie suddenly and recklessly decided to change the speech that had been approved by his advisors, he took a breath, trying not to think of the glare Edmund would be shooting at him, "and from what I have already seen of her, I can tell she will be the most wonderful queen."
The crowd cheered in agreement, the king was even clapping at his words, Artie felt a little relief wash over him. He finally looked to Elena, she was watching him, smiling. She then finished, "I bid each one of you goodbye, I hope you all have the most wonderful lives and I shall look forward to when I return to visit!"
Finally after what seemed a lifetime, everyone left the beach. Artie had painstakingly interacted with various people and her father. His name was George and he actually seemed like a pretty good man. He had been mostly complimentary to the young king, much to Artie's surprise. Artie had done his best to be the same way. He thought he succeeded, but he knew once he relayed everything back to his advisors they'd find some sort of problem. Still, he had the Princess; that was all that mattered. In fact she had spent most of her time gazing at him as he spoke. They had intended to leave in front of the crowd, but the ship had some unexpected maintenance that needed carrying out. So the pair were left alone and much to Artie's surprise, he was struggling. They had brushed over small talk, and kept lapsing into awkward silence. She didn't seem to mind at first, but now she was beginning to look a little restless.
"I'm sorry it's taking so long," he said for what seemed like the tenth time.
"It doesn't matter," she shook her head lightly, "It means we can spend some time together." She smiled a little, inching closer to him, "You can hold my hand, if you like."
"Oh," Artie spluttered, she had probably been waiting for him to make some kind of move, and of course he hadn't, "Yeah, sure."
Hesitantly he took her hand in his and her smile vanished for a second. He quickly withdrew his hand and wiped it on his tunic, "Oh I'm sorry," he exclaimed quickly, finding himself having the same problem as before, "My hands... They're sweaty, I'm sorry Princess!"
"...yes..." she spoke meekly, the corner of her mouth twitched into a hesitant smile.
"I'm sorry," he apologised again. She looked down at the sand, holding her arms. He frowned, "I was... I am nervous I guess," he laughed awkwardly at his statement.
"Whatever for?"
"Well," he shrugged, "I mean, you-you're very pretty, and we're you know, going back to live together."
Her smile returned, "Thank you," she tucked some hair behind her ear, before looking at him for a moment. "I don't mean to cause offence," she began, he could feel his heart drop to the pit of his stomach, "But you speak so... so..."
"Commonly?" he laughed despite himself. She nodded self-consciously. "I know, I-I wasn't royal my whole life. I went to a boarding school, like a normal kid, and before that my dad didn't really care about me. I never had a mom. So, my advisors hate it, but I guess I just do."
Elena listened intently to his brief explanation, her perfect brows knitting in sympathy, "Oh, I am so sorry," she placed a hand to her chest, "I knew you didn't have a royal background but I had no idea you had such a terrible childhood."
Artie smiled at her, she was probably more horrified at the school part than anything else, but nevertheless her reaction helped.
"Well, King Arthur, I withdraw my complaint," she giggled, it was just as he imagined it. She shifted closer once more, letting her hand drop to her side, next to his. He took the hint this time and held her hand, of course making sure it was relatively dry first. They smiled at each other once more.
"You can call me Artie, if you want," he finally spoke, shrugging at her. It felt odd when people who weren't serving him or looking up to him called him Arthur. Only his aunt did that, and it sounded strange to him on anyone else's tongue. "Pretty much everyone calls me that."
"Your friends?" she enquired gently.
"Uh yeah, they would... if they weren't my castle staff," he spoke quickly, she briefly looked confused, "but my family does!"
"Oh that's nice, Artie," she giggled again, "Tell me about your family."
"Hey, actually, some of them are here," Artie suddenly lit up. He figured now was a better time than any and perhaps Donkey would be useful for keeping the conversation up. He led her over to the ship, she grinned as she hurried along after him. "I have to warn you though, they're kinda weird. But I promise you'll like them!" She raised her eyebrows at his statement. He knew it'd be a shock for her, but she seemed nice, she'd get used to it. "Hey guys!" he called up to the ship, "Come meet Princess Elena."
"Oh," Elena spoke softly, taking a step closer to him, "If you'd like me to call you Artie, you can just call me Elena," she smiled at him, fluttering her eyelashes a little.
"Okay," he suddenly found it difficult to breathe as he realised how close she was to him, "Elena." Finally he dragged himself away from her gaze and corrected himself, "Come meet Elena."
Donkey and Puss suddenly appeared, Shrek behind with the triplets. Artie felt the princess suddenly jump closer to him, when he turned her face was one of great shock. He laughed, "I told you they were weird. It's okay though, they're great."
"Wait, these are the family you're talking about?" she asked him incredulously. She slipped her hand out of his and held them at her chest.
"Uh yeah," Artie mentally kicked himself, perhaps he should have told her what to expect first. It had been going so well too. The group joined them on the sand, Artie renewed his grin, "Princess Elena, this is Shrek," he gestured to the ogre. He took a quick glance at her face, she seemed even more horrified than before, "He married my cousin, Princess Fiona, you've probably heard of her," she nodded once, closing her mouth into a contempt line. He gulped, "and these are their kids, Fergus, Farkle and Felicia," the children chirped their greetings at her, unaware of what her expression read. "This is Donkey..."
"Hi Princess!" Donkey almost couldn't contain himself.
Artie winced a little as the princess drew closer to him yet again. "And Puss."
The cat bowed, removing his hat, "It is a pleasure to meet such a beautiful lady such as yourself, Princess."
Artie gave him a small appreciative smile as he watched his bride-to-be ease a little. "Yeah so, this is my family," he laughed uncomfortably.
"Okay," she finally took a breath and seemed to move past her initial reaction, "Hello, welcome to Far Out," she gave an over-compensatory smile that was all too false. "King Arthur, may we speak privately?"
"Sure," Arthur's equally forced smile disappeared as she led him away from the group. She again held fast onto her forearms. "What's wrong?" he spoke finally when she stopped.
"King Arthur..." she turned slowly to him. He almost winced at her decision to drop his nickname, "You know, my kingdom here doesn't tolerate ogres and other such beasts, so you have to understand that it makes me a little uncomfortable with them and the talking animals around."
Artie felt the disappointment wash over him like a tidal wave. He looked back to his almost family and watched the children run along the shore line. If she was about to propose a 'me or them' decision then she had just made his search for a wife much more complicated. He looked back to her, but she was just so perfect. Perhaps most princesses were like this, Fiona was too despite being half ogre herself, perhaps it would just take a little exposure for her to get used to them. He was sure that was the case. "Princess," he realised she probably didn't want him addressing her so informally anymore, "surely you knew there were ogres in my family when you offered to come to Far Far Away."
"Yes, of course I did," she responded as if it was obvious, "I've read all about the rescue of Princess Fiona, and him there," she gestured to them, "but I thought they turned down the throne and abandoned the kingdom altogether."
Artie breathed a little relief, she had just misunderstood. That was all. He hoped. "Well, yeah, they don't live in the castle..." he knitted his eyebrows, "but they visit, because they're family." She still remained concerned, standing rigidly. "Aunt Lillian, Shrek, Fiona, Puss, Donkey and the kids are the only family I've ever had," he couldn't help but let the hurt come out in his voice, "They rescued me from that stupid school where everyone picked on me, and they made me a king. Without them..." he looked over at the group again, they were all looking back at the ship where the triplets were enthusiastically pointing and running at what appeared to be thin air. He let a small smile cross his lips, "without them, I'm nothing." He looked back to her, thankfully she seemed to be sympathetic.
She nodded, "Okay, I understand," Artie wasn't sure whether to entirely believe her, "I lost my mother when I was young and I found comfort in the laundry lady, of all the people in the world," she giggled, he laughed along with her in relief, "Clearly there are stranger comforts than her."
Artie grinned, "Thanks." Though he could tell by the way she still looked at them she didn't really understand, she was trying to. And that could be worked on. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. Artie couldn't help but think it was a super close call. "So..." Artie felt the awkwardness rush back to him, he guessed it would be like that a lot at first. He'd have to fight through it, they'd make it eventually. He couldn't help but feel the tiny pulls of disappointment tug at him every now and again. Perhaps he was expecting too much of her. Perhaps she'd never come to terms with everyone he was close to. Perhaps she'd let that cloud her view of him from now on. No, Lillian had told him to stay positive, just like she had when he was new at being king, it had worked then and it'd work now. He wasn't a silly teenager being targeted for some cruel joke, this was real. "Shall we go back?" he ventured hesitantly. Her expression betrayed a little disgust at the idea, she looked at them apprehensively. "...or we could stay here for a bit longer?"
She looked at him hopefully, "I'd prefer that," her voice was soft. "I'm sure I'll get to know them on the ship," the princess gave him a small smile.
He sighed quietly, "Yeah, okay I- woah." The king was interrupted by a sudden strong wind billowing around them. The trees were almost bending over on themselves. Elena even gave a small shriek as the wind whipped at her dress, she held onto her hair in attempt to keep it in place. Artie began to move towards her, "What-" Again, he was interrupted, but this time by a giant crash. The pair watched as the ship was disintegrated in front of them. There must have been rocks or something the other side of where it had been docked, Artie didn't recall even giving a second glance. It was almost comical how the giant boat broke down, the sailors jumping into the water below them. The wind died down, back to its usual coastal breeze, the royal pair met each other's eyes and began to laugh despite themselves.
"I shall have to send for a new ship," Elena smiled.
"Yeah, that'd be nice if you could, Princess," Artie laughed again.
"Hey!"
Artie's attention was quickly drawn away by Shrek's shout. Though it wasn't at him, he was bounding up the steps and across the docks. As Artie's eyes searched the beach he realised who was missing.
"Oh no," all but forgetting Elena, Artie sprinted over the beach. A rock formed at the pit of his stomach as he watched Shrek search the water in front of him, even from a distance the young king could see the growing concern the ogre was displaying. Without thinking, Artie unclasped the robes from his shoulders, letting them fall to the beach. He vaguely heard Elena raise her voice from behind him, trying to catch his attention. He ignored her. Or at least he might not have done if it weren't for the scream. It was a high pitched scream, a child's scream. Artie felt his heart begin to race as he, Donkey and Puss ran to where Shrek stood. Not that the ogre acknowledged them at all. His attention was on the water, specifically a crate which had separated itself from the rest of the wreckage and was bobbing away into the ocean.
"No."
Artie just about heard the ogre mutter under his breath before he jumped in after them. There were more screams, a chorus of them, as little green arms and waving hands emerged from afar.
"Daddy, help!"
The voices were practically breaking Artie's heart, he couldn't imagine what it was doing to the ogre. He ran back and forth a little, trying to find something to help. There were no boats to be seen, the citizens had cleared them from these docks for his appearance, there was no way to chase them. Artie finally found a rope and grabbed it. "Shrek!" he yelled, "Catch!" He then launched the rope into the sea, using more might than he thought he was ever capable of. In any kind of sporting activity, he was usually used as the target, but now he was a player. He ran to the edge of the dock, watching as Shrek threw one end of the rope, it went impressively far, but not far enough. Shrek was calling for them over and over again. They couldn't swim, they were too young, Artie knew it. The young adult jumped in and fought through the waves to join the ogre, if anything to just be there.
The ogre finally stopped as Artie reached his side. He turned a little, his voice hoarse, "They're gone..."
