Surprises

Shrek burst into their bedroom, concern spread over his face. He was a little breathless from rushing. He'd been told he was needed by his wife and it was urgent, so urgent that childcare had to be immediate and she was literally sprinting down the hallways. His brain couldn't fathom what would even be wrong, but that only worried him more. The fate of the poor boy on the ship was irrationally brought to the forefront of his mind. Though, confusion hit him as he found his wife standing calmly on the balcony, simply watching the sunset.

"Fiona?" he ventured, "Yer mom was worried about ye," he approached her, "Why would ye be running around the castle?"

She turned and smiled at him, "Because, I have a surprise." She leant against him as he reached her side. She looked out at the sky.

He wrapped his arms around her, a smile slipping onto his face, "Oh?"

"How long has it been since we've watched the sunset like this together?" she asked instead of answering his question.

Shrek thought about it, "A while," he answered truthfully. They used to watch the sunset a lot before the kids were born and for a small while afterwards if they could time a nap just right, but things soon got chaotic and different. Partly his own fault, deciding he didn't have the time and patience for it. But for the most part it would be nearing the triplets' bedtime routine and the kids would be pushing every ounce of their luck. "What makes today so special?" he asked. He let the confusion come and go, whatever his wife had planned, it was nice to have a quiet moment with each other without worrying about anything.

"You're still my true love, right?" she giggled, pulling away from his embrace. She briefly met his gaze, a twinkle in her eye, before she looked back to the sun.

Gasping, Shrek then realised what the surprise was. The magical mist began twirling at her feet and made its way up her body. He'd only seen it the one time before, it was odd how his memory had distorted what really happened. In his mind it had taken longer to reveal her ogress form, for just as quickly as his human wife had disappeared behind the magic, his familiar ogress partner was back, smiling at him. A grin spread over his face and he pulled her against him, hugging her tight.

Fiona laughed, holding onto him just as tightly, "Surprise," she mumbled.

He shook his head, looking at her, "I can't believe... you... ye did..." he paused, sighing, his brain incapable of finding a sentence, "Well, that explains a lot," they laughed. He watched her face for a moment, she was beaming at him. It was good to hold her without worrying about hurting her. It was good to have her fit in his arms again. It was good. "Fiona..."

"Hm?"

"I love you," he spoke gently, though he couldn't help but let the corner of his mouth slip up into a smirk.

His wife giggled a little, picking up on his joke, "Really?" she asked quietly.

"Really really," he spoke with just as much certainty as before.

"I love you too."

Without a hesitation the pair were drawn together. Though, not for long. The magic soon rushed in and pulled his wife away from him. The ogre was almost as surprised as he was the last time it happened. This time, though, instead of looking panicked and confused, Fiona was smiling as the sparks began enveloping her body. A breeze picked up around him, though it didn't gain much strength. The light around the ogress got brighter but didn't hurt his eyes to watch. If anything, his wife was just glowing. The breeze strengthened suddenly, blowing the balcony door shut, Shrek squinted, shielding his face a little. The magic had peaked. Fiona slowly descended back down to the ground, the magic fading away. Shrek opened his arms to catch her as she fell against him, legs weak from the spell.

"Well, sorry about that, Princess," he grinned at her as she found her footing, "I guess yer still stuck with me."

Fiona took a moment to check herself over before settling her gaze back on him. Though the magic was gone, her eyes were sparkling, "There's no one else I'd rather be stuck with."

"Who did it?" Shrek asked simply, holding onto her.

"Merlin," she giggled.

The alarm struck him, his eyes widened. He looked down at her to make sure she was all there; she was. Once again, despite all of his doubts and protests, she was right. He shook his head chuckling. "When are we making the big announcement?"

"Well mom will be busy," Fiona spoke slowly, "Artie's taking over watching the kids and he's free all evening."

Shrek looked to the closed balcony door for a second before looking back to his wife, "Later then," he shrugged before his serious expression dissolved into a chuckle.


Artie walked listlessly into the sitting room, though the sight made him smile. Lillian was singing, clapping along with the rhythm, Felicia giddily joining in. The triplets held onto each other's hands and were jumping around in a circle, their laughter loud and playful. Lillian's sparkling eyes met his. He only ever saw her that happy when she was around the kids. It was nice. Artie laughed with her. She brought her song to a close and they broke their circle, begging for her to go again. She gently hushed their excitement, and their shouts turned into breathless panting. They grinned at her as she carefully crouched down to their level, "I have to go and help Princess Elena, my little darlings."

"But that's boring," Felicia protested, "Stay here... with us!"

Lillian lovingly placed a hand on her chin, "Oh, I'd stay with the three of you forever if I could," she gently pinched Fergus's cheek, the child giggling in response.

"Who will play with us now, grandma?" Farkle asked her, innocently.

Lillian turned, all eyes then on him, "Arthur will," she smiled at him. Artie awkwardly smiled back. The children didn't seem pleased with this news. But then again, neither was Artie. He realised he'd never really spent time with the children by himself. Sure, he'd been with the kids many times and he'd had brief conversations with each of them. But there was always someone else there, and it was always someone they liked better than him. The triplets remained silent. Artie felt surprisingly judged by their gazes.

"Tomorrow we can go berry picking in the gardens," Lillian's smile widened as the children reacted happily to her statement, "I love you..." she kissed Felicia who stood next to her, "I love you..." she kissed Fergus who was the other side to her, then finally laid both hands on Farkle's face, kissing his head in turn, "and I love you." The three of them mumbled their love in return as she stood. They held onto her skirt until she reached the doorway. His aunt looked at him, "You'll be fine," she whispered. And with that she was gone. He slowly turned his gaze to the three expectant children, staring at him.

"So what are we going to do?" Felicia spoke first.

"Well, what do you want to do?" he asked, trying his best to feel hopeful. But they all just stared at him with blank faces. He didn't understand, they always seemed so energetic and full of life. He wondered why he was Fiona's first choice. He'd never really spent time with them before. Fiona had adamantly refused to hire any nannies for them. She didn't want her children looked after by strangers when there was family around. They didn't need help at home, so they wouldn't need help in the castle. Lillian had supported her decision and said she'd be overjoyed to watch the children when needed. Lillian always was. But Artie had said no such thing. They were cute and they could be funny at times. It wasn't like he didn't like them. He just wasn't sure what to do with children.

They continued to stare at him, waiting. He slowly wandered into the room, sitting uncomfortably on the couch. They followed him like ducklings and gathered where he sat, standing in front of him. Artie knew for sure he wasn't about to sing.

"You're a king," Fergus tentatively pointed at him, "Where did your crown go?"

The young adult knitted his brow, "I don't wear it all the time," he explained in short.

"Why aren't you wearing it right now?" Farkle bounded up onto the seat, sitting on the back of the chair. Artie was in half a mind to tell the child to get down, but the sudden need for their approval hit him. He didn't want to constantly bark instructions at them. He had always hated adults like that. Artie wanted to be their cool cousin, the one they wanted to hang out with as they grew up. Not that things were off to a great start.

"Um... Because I'm here to play with you," he gave a hesitant smile, though their curious expressions didn't change.

"What are we going to play?" the question was posed quickly, bringing the conversation back to where it started. Artie faltered, he was completely lost. He had no idea what children played. He began to regret not bringing Abbey along with him.

"I know!" Felicia exclaimed suddenly, much to the king's relief. He smiled at her, encouraging her to share her idea. She leapt away from them, twirling in a circle. "You're a king!" she pointed directly at him, "So you have to be the king," she jumped up and down on the spot as she explained herself, "And I will be a princess," she twirled again, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

"Because you are a princess," Artie spoke bemusedly.

"No," she corrected him, "No, not that kind of princess, a different kind of princess."

"Is there a different kind?" he pried into her flawed understanding.

"Yes," she nodded enthusiastically, "There is. The kind that-that wears pretty dresses and gets everything they want. Like the ones in the stories!" she grinned at him. Artie couldn't help but laugh at her logic.

"What kind of game is that supposed to be..." Farkle muttered beside him, sighing his disapproval.

"What would I be?" Fergus asked her tentatively. He glanced at his brother, before deciding to see exactly what his sister was proposing.

"You would be..." she paused in thought, a sly smirk crossing her face, "my servant," she giggled, running over to the arm chair away from her brother, ducking beneath it.

"No!" Fergus was offended. Artie would have to tell his friends about that one. "That's not a good person to be!" he scowled at her.

"Fergus," Farkle caught his brother's attention, jumping down from where he was perched, "Fergus, I'll be a person who comes and is really sneaky and poisons the princess and then she dies," he enthusiastically gave his best choking and dying impression, laying on the floor.

"Uh-" Artie watched, eyebrows knitted.

Fergus laughed at his brother's performance, jumping on the spot. "And then- and then you can free me and we'll take all of the princess' gold!"

"Um..." the king hesitated to interrupt them. On the one hand, they were amusing themselves, on the other he wasn't sure what to say about their imagination.

"No!" Felicia shrieked at her brothers, "No! That's not part of the game!" She strutted over to them as they continued to laugh and ignore her. She swatted at Fergus, hitting his arm. From the ground, Farkle grabbed hold of her ankles and she fell backwards, screaming. The boys laughed more at her expense.

"Hey... don't-" Artie was ignored.

Felicia stood, backing away from them but they only enthusiastically followed, everything a game. She pulled the ribbon from her hair as she ran away, a slight smile on her face. She then turned and began to make small whipping motions with it, trying to catch her brothers.

"Fergus, she has a weapon!" Farkle exclaimed.

"It's a pink bow," Fergus laughed back, braving his sister's defences to try and take it from her grasp.

Farkle aided his attempts by grabbing at the ogress' arm, to try and keep it still enough for Fergus to retrieve the ribbon.

"No Farkle! No! That hurts! No fair," she pulled against them, hitting at them with her free hand. Her lip began to wobble, "Stop!"

"Hey, guys, don't fight," Artie tried to intervene in the most friendly way he could. He had to be cool. It was enough to give them pause for a second.

"Yeah, Farkle, stop," Fergus was quick to change sides, pulling his brother to the ground.

Felicia pounced onto him while he was down, but Farkle was able to pull his other sibling down too, falling on top of Felicia. The three of them simultaneously yelped, though Fergus saw his opportunity and grabbed the ribbon from his sister.

"Hey!" Artie was completely ignored. He finally stood as the squabble intensified. "Do you ever stop fighting?" he sighed, grabbing hold of Fergus. He heaved the child away, straining with the surprise of how heavy he was. He turned and pulled Felicia off of her brother, who continued to lay, panting. The three of them separated, things grew quiet again. They all caught their breaths, including Artie. He suddenly realised why their parents seemed so tired all the time. "You can't fight, okay. That's..." he wasn't sure what to say, "That's not nice."

"My brothers aren't nice," Felicia protested, she quickly snatched the ribbon out of Fergus's unsuspecting hand.

"Hey," Artie rose his voice, dropping all intention of being cool, "Don't say that," the young king suddenly found himself fearful that his entire babysitting venture would just be trying to break up fights until their parents returned. "Maybe we won't play a game," he sighed, "Let's talk instead," he proposed. They looked at him with curious expressions. "Come here." He'd watched them gather around Lillian and chatter endlessly to her multiple times. They didn't fight then, or perhaps they did and she was just good at stopping it. Perhaps it was just Artie who couldn't control them. Singing was becoming more and more of an option.

The little ogres did as they were told. Farkle climbed up to his spot on the back of the couch, Fergus leant against the king and Felicia sat herself on Artie's lap; leaning against the arm of the seat, legs stretched out across him and her brother. Artie smiled, it was a good sign. It was also nice. He'd not really bonded with them much over the few years they'd existed.

"Are you going to put us in the dungeons?" Farkle asked, "Because we were fighting."

"Daddy said you would if we were being naughty," Fergus added.

Artie laughed, "No," though he stifled his humour quickly and smirked at them, "But I might be tempted if you fight more."

"Princesses don't go in dungeons," Felicia folded her arms, a smirk on her face.

"Oh they can if I say so," Artie winked at her. She looked genuinely shocked at him as her brothers laughed. "But I won't," he added quickly, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Just because you're my cousin," he grinned at her, her expression breaking into a smile.

"Artie, are we really family?" Fergus's question came as a shock.

Artie looked at him questioningly, putting his other arm around him, "Yeah, of course we are. I'm your cousin," he wasn't sure how much more he could add or whether they would understand a more complex explanation.

"But-but we don't look the same," the child observed. Fergus held his hand up next to Artie's, "See?"

"Yeah," Felicia chipped in, "my best friend Nettie has family and they all look the same. Guess what, I even saw her grandma and she looks the same too," the ogress nodded matter-of-factly.

"And now mommy is different," Farkle sounded uncharacteristically sad, "She looks like you... and grandma."

Artie forced himself to pause and think for a second. He wasn't sure he liked being the recipient of the deep questions they were asking. It was a concept even Elena struggled to understand, though she had entirely different reasons. He wasn't sure the four-year-olds would understand a biology lesson nor a drawing of a complex family tree. So the king settled for the facts, "You don't have to look the same to be family, you know."

"Then how?"

He hesitated, "By... being family." They all watched him blankly. "It's like... blood."

"Blood?"

"Yeah, it's in our blood," he nodded, "Even though we look different on the outside, we all have the same blood, no matter what." He figured it was as good of an explanation as he could get.

"But-" Farkle hesitated, "But what about when we fall and-and we get a cut. The blood comes out." He enthusiastically threw himself back so he was laying across the top of the couch, "Help," he clutched at his knee, "My family blood is falling out of my knee!" he laughed at himself, his siblings laughing too.

Artie chuckled at the silliness, "It doesn't work like that, it-"

"Hey."

Artie suddenly looked up, shocked in response to Shrek's voice. Though the biggest shock of all was Fiona standing beside him, back in her ogress form. The kids took a second to register the same thing, before they all simultaneously gasped. They flew from the couch, Artie all but forgotten about. He watched as they scrambled to be the first to hug her, exclaiming about how happy they were she was back.

Fiona crouched down and hugged them all, laughing at their responses. She stayed on their level for a moment, holding onto them. Artie swore he could see tears in his cousin's eyes. Still, the king guessed the questioning he had just received was probably nothing compared to what their mother had been subject to.

"Artie," Shrek caught his attention, "How many of 'em fer the dungeons then?"

Artie chuckled, he shook his head. The kids barely acknowledged their father's joke. Though as Artie was about to speak up about their time together, Felicia beat him to it-

"Mommy! Look!" she shrieked, holding up the ribbon, close to her mother's face, "Look what Farkle did! He pulled it out of my hair!"

The little ogress paused to whisper something into Fergus's ear. "Yeah he did mom, he did," Fergus backed up his sister's lie.

Fiona then wordlessly caught Artie's gaze, he chuckled once again, slowly shaking his head at her. She rolled her eyes, smirking.

"Oh these two?" Shrek pointed at his son and daughter, who looked up at him impatiently, having already figured out their father's empty threat.

"I did not!" Farkle was quick to defend himself, "Fergus took it! And she was trying to hit me with it... She was!" Farkle lightly pushed both of his siblings.

"Ah," Shrek smirked, "All three, just like I was expecting," he swooped the three of them up in one movement, the triplets shrieking with laughter. "Looks like ye mom and I'll be having a quiet night, eh?" The children giggled, shouting their protests, reaching for their mother. "Artie, which way is quickest?"

"Ahh, you know, I already let them off with a warning," Artie chuckled at the family.

"That's a shame," the ogre commented, dropping them down onto the unoccupied couch.

They began multitasking jumping at their father and excitedly talking at their mother. Artie watched in silence. It was cute. He'd never really thought much about having a family himself. He'd never really had much time to think about a partner until they informed him about the law when he turned twenty. It had been so casual, it was told to him in passing at the end of a council meeting as if it were nothing. Yet it turned his life upside down. Now, watching the family unit opposite him, he doubted he'd ever achieve it. He tried to imagine himself and Elena in their place, with their own children. It was almost impossible to him. His children would be brought up in royalty, Elena would make sure of it. There would be no leaping around and screaming, that was for sure. On the one hand, that might have been a good thing, but watching the smiles on the ogres' faces made it seem sad. His brain slipped into the same fantasy with Abbey. That was possible. He had to try and hide the smile on his face.

"Fiona?"

Lillian's startled voice brought everything to a close.

"Look, grandma! Mommy's back!"

Lillian hurried over to her daughter, asking questions, voicing happiness. Artie just watched. It was nice, though he would be lying to himself if he denied the slight feeling of loneliness he held. Of course, he was included in most family arrangements whenever they came to visit. But there was always at least one moment where he realised just how left out he was. They were a real family, he was the extended family who just stuck around. It always made him wonder if things would have been different if his own mom had been there. He'd still have been king, except, he'd have his own family unit to have moments with. He tried his best to shake away the forlorn thoughts. His low mood was just bringing about unwanted emotions. Though as he smiled at them, something caught his eye in the doorway.

Elena was watching him, she smiled as he caught her gaze. She glanced, self-consciously at the family – who hadn't noticed her – and silently beckoned him out. He left the room, seemingly forgotten about for the moment and finally found himself face to face with his bride-to-be. He greeted her awkwardly. The last time she'd seen him was in the hospital when he was insisting everything was okay and the doctor was insisting it wasn't.

"Arth-Artie," she corrected herself, glancing down self-consciously, "Lillian told me what happened," she was concerned, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Artie wanted to melt away. He hadn't intended at all for his aunt to tell her too. His brain had been so full of everything else in the carriage he didn't think to instruct her not to. Still, the princess was being kind enough, "No, no, it's fine. It happens all the time," he shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck.

"If you get... stressed in the future it won't have to happen," she smiled a little at him.

"Why?" Artie was lost.

She giggled, "Because I will be handling things." Her laugh faded, she seemed to watch him for a response.

Artie forced a smile, "Huh, yeah, you will," he nodded, feeling himself blush. He was an idiot. Of course she would be handling things, she would be queen. The queen that everyone felt was so essential to his existence he would be literally be dethroned without. He desperately tried to keep the smile from fading, "That's great."

"Are you sure I can't do anything?" she asked again.

She touched his arm, Artie did everything he could to not stare at her hand. He laughed a little, "You could not tell your dad, that would help."

She laughed with him, "It's fine, it happens all the time," she quoted him humorously. Artie breathed a little relief, if she was willing to joke about it, then she genuinely didn't mind. The king then realised she'd not joked around him before, she was opening up more. He supposed being engaged to a person would make that happen. Still, he gulped, Puss and Donkey couldn't think of anything to help, other than telling her the truth and calling off the wedding. But that meant consequences no one was prepared for. Artie didn't want Elena to get too close to him, only to get heartbroken when they did finally figure out a solution. They still had a while before he turned twenty-one, a few months. He could try and put it off for as long as possible. He mustered a little hope in that.

"Speaking about my father..." she seemed hesitant, "I just received word from him," she brightened a little, "He sends well wishes and great relief that we're okay. But he's assisting an ally kingdom's war efforts..."

Artie's face fell. War was something he had to avoid in his job description. There had been a couple of threats, empty ones. Though they still terrified him. The last war the kingdom had was that of the witch. Artie didn't intend to be in any history books with a fight next to his name. He expected Elena's family had hidden this detail from even herself to not let it affect her chances of marrying him and tying their kingdoms together. He supposed even finding out about it now would allow him to refuse her and send her home... technically anyway. People would still think that was a terrible thing to do, especially after the day they'd shared.

"He will be away for months, unable to return," she began to explain herself, "He's feeling optimistic about his return, but... you have to understand, I can't get married without him there," there was desperation in her eyes. Artie realised she wasn't asking for help. "We legally must be married before you turn twenty-one, but he won't have returned by then." The princess took a breath, delicately closing her eyes for a moment, "Arthur, I propose we get married before he leaves," she nodded unsurely.

"When is that...?" Artie was hesitant.

"Next week."

Artie couldn't help but wish she had asked for help with a war instead.


AN: This chapter is a lot lighter than the past few chapters, was like a well needed break. Well... for the most part.

Thought I was on a roll with this and would finish it soon but I just got offered a full time job where I work so RIP my free time. Not that anyone even knows I'm writing this as I'm writing it. Still. I know. And it's a little annoying for me. It's feb 2018 right now, I started this is may 2016... you can imagine my frustration. I'm still determined to not hit the two year mark.

(July 2018 Hannah is amused by her previous determination)