Thoughts
Ch 3
Lillian was surprised to see her son in law show up in the middle of the night with her grand sons like this. She saw sadness on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked him as he sat down in the dining room and sipped some tea. The two boys were in Lillian's arms. "It's Fiona. We accidentally had a row and now she's considering divorce but I didn't mean it. I came to ask your counsel." He explained to her.
"Hey what's going on?" somebody asked as he came into the room. It was Artie. "What's up? You seem down since we last saw each other. Did something happen?" he said to Shrek. He smiled sadly as he looked at the teen. It'd been a while since he'd helped him find the strength within to be King. It was also during that, he'd found the power to be a good father to his triplets… "Yeah. Fiona and I… We're having some down time." He said simply to him. He nodded understandingly. "Tell me about it! That's like what Gwen's feeling at the minute. Maybe we can come up with something." He told him. A chuckle came out of his mouth at that. "Thanks Artie for that. Everything is too… crazy at the moment. More so than when I was looking for you." Shrek said smiling genuinely.
But then somebody knocked at the door. They watched as some man followed a page into the room. "Sir. There's someone here to see you." He said to Artie. But the smile on the teen's face vanished as he saw the stranger. It was his father. "Guards arrest him!" he yelled angrily. Lillian was confused. "Artie why throw him in the dungeon? Do you know him?" she asked him calmly. "Yes I do. He's… my father." He said angrily. His father was dressed in a simple brown shirt with black trousers. Shrek watched as the guards carried Artie's Dad off to the dungeon. "Poor kid. He was abandoned by that man sixteen years ago at Worchester Academy. No wonder he's angry. The same way I… felt with my Dad. Maybe Fiona can wait for a while. Artie is one of my best friends and friends help out, right?" he thought as he saw Artie sitting at the dining table miserably. He joined him. "Hey dude you okay?" he asked him. "Yeah I guess. It's… just." He said but stopped there. "Just what Artie? You know you can tell me. We are buddies right? Besides it's probably nothing I haven't heard before." Shrek said to him. Artie sighed before going on. "It's just that I was a nobody before you came along. I've been dreaming about that day when he dumped me at Worchester Academy. Now that I'm learning to be King, he shows up once more to tell me I'm not good enough to be a part of his life, to be his son." he told him quietly with fear quivering in his voice.
Artie then shook his head of those thoughts. "But it's not your problem. You've got bigger things to worry about like Fiona. I hope your kids will be great because they're a part of you. I... I just need to be alone right now, okay?" he said as he got up and ran out of the room. He had seen some tears well up in the kid's eye that worried him greatly. "I hope he'll be okay." he told himself as he went upstairs and opened Artie's door a crack. The kid was lying on the bed crying his heart out and there was something there that concerned him greatly. It was a sword. He came in quietly and looked at it. There was some blood on the blade. He saw marks on the kid's wrists. This saddened him. Artie seemed out of it. "Are ya okay?" he said as the teen woke up. "Hey man. You see what I'm up to?" he said quietly. Shrek nodded. "Aye. Let me guess you had that dream again and you got depressed. But this cutting thing isn't the answer Artie. I know what it's like to have your parents hate ya." he told him gently as he sat beside him on the bed. "What do you mean?" Artie asked him. "After they found out that I... was different from the other ogres, my Dad and Mom tried their best to help but it didn't work. Then they gave up. Then when I was thirteen, they... they." he told him.
"They did what?" Artie said curiously. Shrek sighed before going on. In his heart and mind, this part always hurt him the most. "They just abandoned me in a forest with no care. I was left to fend for myself but all those years, people made me feel like I didn't belong and I believed them until I met your cousin." he explained to the teenager who was shocked to hear this. "That was harsh man. Just because you weren't a vicous one, they abandoned you?" he said to him. Shrek nodded. He then got an idea
"What is it?" Artie asked him. "Maybe you should talk to him. Go down to the dungeon and talk to him. Maybe there was a reason he did it. Maybe he loved you but couldn't support you. You never know." he told him. He saw a scowl on Artie's face at his idea. Shrek sighed as he got up. He then made his way to the door. "Don't go. For some reason, you understand how I feel." Artie said to him. He smiled at that remark. "Okay it may be a bad idea but it might work out. I... wish I could talk to my Dad but I'm afraid..." Shrek told him. "Why? You can do anything. I know you can." Artie said to him. He smiled at that.
"Yeah I know. But in my head when ever I think of that idea, I always imagine that he'll just... push me away like before. He never listened to me before so why should I try?" he explained to the teen. He then left to talk to Lillian. Artie lay back on the bed and thought about what Shrek had told him. "Maybe I can help him. I know I can do it since I've found my inner strength, I can do anything." he told himself. His thoughts then turned to his father in the dungeon. Anger flowed through his body. He then made a decision in his mind.
He waited until everybody was asleep and went down to the dungeon. His father was in a cell staring into space. He smiled at the sight of Artie. "Hello Artie boy. I know you're becoming King and I..." he began. Artie scowled at that. "So that's why you showed up! You're trying to get into the royal court. Sorry Dad but no dice!" he said as he began to walk off. Raven Pendragon sighed at this...