Freedom.
Igna laughed cruelly as she tortured Fiona. She used her magic to mess with her mind. She hadn't made her a servant but she made her sleep in an icy cage at night but hurt and beat her by day. Fiona wondered why Snowgre had suffered this long just to save Snowflake. She felt sorry for causing Snowgre to be exiled to the Nether world. She then fell asleep shivering. There were bruises and cuts all over her body and face but they didn't hurt more than Igna's constant dissing of her. She hoped Shrek was following her trail and would come to this castle. She smiled at this thought. Pain rushed through her body but she didn't cry out in pain, she just held it inside.
Meanwhile Shrek and Donkey were making it through the forest and had almost entered the wintry one. Donkey had been singing all the way but for some reason Shrek hadn't tried to make him stop. This made him nervous. "Are you okay? You've been pretty quiet and not telling me to stop singing or anything!" he asked him. But there was a reason why Shrek had been so quiet during their journey. He kept hearing Fiona's voice in his head screaming for help, begging for mercy and feeling pain in his body. This was because of the empathic bond they'd created because their love was strong for each other. What ever she was going through right now, he could feel and hear it but he was disturbed by this. He hoped that Fiona could make it and hang on until they got there.
Later that night he and Donkey made camp. Donkey saw the worry in his friend's eyes as he gazed into the fire and then up at the night sky. The stars were just coming out and that made him smile sadly. "Please tell me what's wrong! I may not be Fiona but you can at least tell me!" he begged excitedly. Shrek then sighed at this. "Okay I'll tell you! Ever since we've been walking through that forest, I've been hearing Fiona's voice in my head. She was always begging for mercy and telling someone to stop hurting her but I also felt the pain inflicted on her through my body. That's why I've been so quiet because I was thinking about what is happening to her." He said as a tear trickled down his cheek without him noticing. He then felt pain strike him in the chest. He gritted his teeth as he curled up into a ball to make himself feel better. "Please let it go away! I can't take having pain every minute while we're on this adventure!" he whispered to himself. Suddenly the pain stopped and he fell onto his side. Donkey was worried by this and ran to his side. He watched as his friend's brown eyes closed and fell into the sweet sleep that was calling him.
In the nether world Snowgre was watching this. He felt sorry that Fiona had to suffer because he'd done a noble act for her. He wished he could help but he was imprisoned here forever. He also regretted not being able to save Snowflake from her curse of being a statue forever. But he smiled as he watched Shrek sleep. He had a smile on his face. "At least you can help Fi. Igna is hurting her more than you know and soon she won't be able to stand being there. Hurry before it's too late to do anything to save her! I can never be with my beloved Snowflake because I'm stuck in the nether world." He whispered as he watched the inside of the icy castle. Fiona was crying herself to sleep as usual. He then had an idea as he watched sadly. He then let himself go and he left his own body. "Now to help Fiona! She feels terrible that I was sent to the nether world and thinks it's her fault but it's not!" he told himself as he entered the castle through the wall.
He then came closer to the cage she was in. "Fiona are you awake?" he whispered to her silently. She awoke at this happily. She was relieved to see him standing there. "How did you escape from the nether world?" she asked him curiously. "That's not important at the minute! I know you think it's your fault I got exiled but it wasn't. It was Igna's fault! She tried to slip you a spell disguised as a necklace to get rid of their free will and make you stay here forever. When I heard that, I couldn't let you get hurt by it so I slipped it on instead." Snowgre explained to her calmly. She perked up happily at this. "But why didn't you give it to me?" she asked confused. He smiled at her before he answered. "I couldn't give it to you because without you, Shrek would be lonely once more and a part of him that you revived called Love would've died and he would've done something awful to himself!" he said as he wiped away her tears.
He saw the bruises and snarled angrily. Igna had no feelings for anyone but herself or a heart. She was always cruel to those different from her in any way possible. If it wasn't for Snowflake, he would've given up all hope entirely and just let her win. "Fiona don't give up hope. Your husband's coming and together you could stop Igna once and for all. She tries to hurt you by taking away the things you love the most and beats you and tries to crush your spirit. Once she does that and steals your hope, then you're hers and nothing can be done to save you no matter how much your husband or anyone else cares for you." He said to her gently. Fiona then smiled at this. "Thanks Snowgre! I hope you're not wrong. I wish I can save Snowflake for you but I don't know how." She as she fell asleep , a smile on her face knowing she'd be free soon. Meanwhile Shrek was having strange dreams too. They began in the swamp when he heard a woman's voice calling to him through a cloud of mist. He then walked through it and found somebody.
It was a person he hadn't seen in a long time. She had green skin like him but had blue eyes, slender body, long blue hair, strong arms and a kind heart like his. He was shocked to see her once more. "What are you doing here?" he asked her curiously. "Don't worry honey. I'll explain everything inside." She said as she went into the house. He followed her wanting to know what had happened to her. He then sat down in his alligator chair while she stood, an expression of joy on her face.