Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or Shrek or any other characters in this story.

Fiona wasn't sure what to expect today. Shrek had come back yesterday from a walk around the castle, grumbling about the humans and other nonsense. It was the third day and things were getting a little better. A little. At least her father and Shrek didn't get into another argument before noon. It might have had to do with the fact that they didn't even risk talking to each other, knowing it wouldn't end well. Her parents focused on getting the ball ready for the next few days and she was focused on making sure Shrek was on his best behavior.

"-for five minutes!" It wasn't going well. She could hear Shrek yelling at Donkey in the hallway. She wondered why they brought him but she knew that if they left him back home, he would probably wreck the place out of boredom or worse, put together a karaoke party. Besides, they couldn't stop him from coming with them even if they wanted to.

Before she could try and intervene in Shrek and Donkey's screaming match, she heard a royal guard come into the room. Her father who was sitting next to her looked up from his book.

"Yes?"

"Your majesty," the guard spoke. "There is a visitor here."

Before the guard could continue, the king stood up and hurried outside before the queen and his daughter could follow him. Once he stepped outside, he saw the sorcerer stepping out of the carriage that seemed to be driven without a rider. The king had to control himself from gaping, not expecting the man to be, well, green. Great, another green beast. Maybe I should have thought about this a little more, the king thought.

What shocked him even more wasn't the sparkly skin or the reptile eyes, but rather the young maiden following behind him. The Dark One did inform him that 'they' would arrive. Harold just didn't really expect a young women such as this beauty to be in business with him. He didn't want to think too much about it, he had his own problem he had to deal with first.

"Ah, Mr. Dark One, thank you for coming" The king said.

"Thank you and you can call me Rumplestiltskin. This is Belle." The sorcerer said, pointing towards Beauty. "I believe you said this was an 'urgent' matter of some kind?"

"Yes, uh, perhaps we should take this somewhere more quiet?" Harold asked.

Before the Dark One could reply, Harold nearly groaned as they were interrupted by the Queen who was walking down the steps.

"Harold? Is this our new visitor?" The Queen asked, doing well to hide her shock of the new visitor's appearance.

"Yes dear. This is..."

"Rumplestiltskin at your service, and this is Belle." The sorcerer introduced himself and his maid.

"Oh, well I'm glad you could come. You are just in time." Lillian smiled.

"In time?"

"Yes. We are holding a ball for our daughter's marriage."

At the mention of the princess, Belle and Rumple's ears perked up, both curious to meet the princess and her husband.

"Ah yes. You mention-"

"How about we talk about this inside, hm?" The king interrupted. Harold felt rather nervous under the gaze of the Dark One but he remained his regal form, knowing he couldn't afford to be weak in front of him. After all, his daughter was turned into an ogre. Surely dealing with the Dark One wouldn't be as bad.

After a few short nods, the four people walked up the stairs into the castle. No one knew what to expect and none of them felt that they were ready.

The king and queen led the two new guests into the castle, heading to the study where their daughter was waiting for them. When they entered, Belle did her best to hide the visible shock at the appearance and wondered if this was how people who met Rumple for the first time felt. From the look of Rumple's face, it was clear that he knew what to expect but Belle didn't think that the princess would be...well, big. Rumple had told her plenty of times that the princess and her husband were ogres but Belle didn't really prepare herself for the size. Than she remembered how he said that the ogres were probably distant cousins of the ones back home. Belle didn't really pay much mind to the green skin, having lived with Rumple all this time, she was rather use to it and didn't even notice it anymore.

"Hi. Who is this?" Fiona asked her parents.

"Dear, this is Rumplestiltskin and Belle. They will be here for a few days." Harold informed.

Just as Belle was shocked at the princess' appearance, Fiona was shocked at Rumplestiltskin's. It wasn't out of fear of the reptile eyes or the sparkly green skin, it was out of shock that they were other people out there who were also green and different. She thought Shrek would be happy to meet them.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you." Fiona said, holding out her huge hand to shake theirs. She was very pleased that the women, Belle, took her hand and didn't cower in fear. The man however simply looked at her with squinted eyes.

"So you are Princess Fiona." He smiled. "I must say, you are not as...peculiar, as I expected." Rumple winced as Belle punished him for his remark by slapping him on his arm. Before he could think of a punishment for his maid, he looked at her and remembered their bet in the carriage.

"Where is your husband?" He asked.

"Well, he's around. In fact, I will go and get him." She said, leaving her parents to deal with the new guests.

When they saw the princess leave, Belle leaned over to whisper in Rumple's ear. "Be nice. Remember, we are the guest here." She then looked over to the king and queen. "So tell us, when is this ball you are holding?"

"It will be in a few days and we would appreciate it if you two joined us." Lillian smiled.

"We shouldn't be here long. I just came here for some business and once I settle it, I will leave." The Dark One said.

"What business exactly are you here for?"

Before Rumple could respond and before the king could interrupt, the doors opened and the princess walked in with another green ogre, slightly bigger, walking behind her. Belle saw that he looked rather peeved to be here. She smiled as it reminded her of someone.

"Rumplestiltskin, Belle, I would like you to meet my husband, Shrek." Fiona smiled.

When their eyes laid on the husband, Belle ignored the cocky expression on her master's face as he looked at her. She only smiled back, knowing the bet wasn't over yet, not by a long shot.

"It is nice to meet you Shrek." Belle smiled, holding out her hand.

Shrek looked down on the hand the women offered, curious to why she wasn't cowering in fear and disgust like everyone else. Not wanting to hurt the girl, he politely declined her hand, awkwardly smiling. He then noticed the thing behind her.

"Who the heck are you?" Shrek asked, pointing towards the Dark One.

"Shrek! Be nice." Fiona scolded.

"What?! I was just asking."

"These are our guest. They will be attending the ball." The queen informed.

"What? No we won't. I've already told you-"

"We will love to stay." Belle interrupted.

"We are not staying Belle."

"Yes we are."

"No we are not."

"Yes we are."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because, you didn't win just yet." Belle said, smiling proudly.

Rumple stood with his mouth slightly gaping open, ready to rebuttal his maid's response. He looked towards the royals and noticed their confused looks. He looked back at Belle, smiling.

"Fine. We will stay. But only for one week."

"That's great. I hope you enjoy your stay." The queen said.

"Oh, I'm sure we will." Rumple smiled. Maybe this could be fun after all, he thought.

The king and queen had a few guards lead Rumplestiltskin and his maid to their rooms in the castle. Before Belle could decline their kind offer, Lillian stated that since they were here visiting at Harold' request, they would be treated with royal hospitality.

They were both surprised at the hospitality. The only issue they had was that before they could inform the king and queen on anything, they were lead to their room. Emphasizes on 'their'.

Rumple took in a deep breath and let out a sigh as the door closed behind them, their bags on the floor. He finally decided that this was going to be a horrible week.

"At least there are two beds." Belle smiled, slight nervous about the living arrangements. Living in the same castle with her master was one thing, sleeping in the same room was another.

"I'm sure it would be perfectly fine if you told them that you want two different rooms." Rumple said.

"No, it's okay. Really. Besides, it's only one week. I'm sure that we will be gone before you know it." She said, carrying her bag to one of the beds.

"Wait, why do you get that bed?"

Belle looked around the room. The beds were next to each other on one side of the room. There were double french doors on both sides of the room, one leading to the hall and the other to the balcony. On the far side of the room was the fireplace. Belle saw that the bed she unconsciously picked was the one closest to the balcony.

"Do you want this one?"

"Maybe."

"Than take it." Belle smiled.

"No, you can have it."

"You just said-"

"It's okay Belle, really. I was just joking."

Belle smiled at him. Before she could realize, Rumple used his magic to unpack their bags and get everything settled in the room.

"Although I agree that magic can be useful, maybe you should use less of it."

"What?! That wasn't part of the deal!" Rumple cried.

"I'm just saying that you don't know what you might need it for. After all, this isn't really your Dark Castle. Who knows what we will run into."

"If we run into any trouble, I have plenty of magic to protect us."

Belle smiled at Rumple before headed towards the balcony. Rumple watched his maid open the doors and step outside into the air. It was afternoon already and the sun was at its high point. He suddenly remembered what he had told her during their ride, knowing that this kingdom had plenty of shops for her to enjoy.

"I believe I remember telling you that you were free to shop while you were here. Why don't you head into town and shop while I talk to the king in private." Rumple said, conjuring up a big bag of coins for her to use.

"Thank you." Belle smiled, taking the money. "Try to be nice to the king. He seemed very nervous already."

"No guarantees dear. I am the Dark One after all." He sneered, watching his maid leave into town.

Rumple took a moment to grasp hold of the situation. Here he was in Far Far Away, with his maid, sharing one room for a whole week, and a ball to attend to. Also, he had to talk to the king about business, still not knowing what the king wanted his help with. With his maid and their bet, and the king and the ogres, Rumple wasn't sure if this was a vacation or business.

I just loved how Rumple and Belle had a lover's quarrel in front of the others. They were totally acting like a married couple. :) It was my favorite part of the chapter. Also, I can't wait to see how they deal with staying in the same room. I just love torturing my OTP. :) :) :)