A/N Thank you kitty-kat-girlyyyxxx, Pca student, Chipette Star, QueenOfHearts, Setsuna Noyamano, and PlatinumGal for reviewing! I love you guys! A cookie and a slice of cake for all of you! ^_^ Well, this is the next chapter. This is the chapter with the fire scene, and it includes a revilation! ^_^ I hope you enjoy!

Eva

I staggered my way to the trees, partly because I had to go to the bathroom. The other was because I wanted to get away from everyone and have some time to think.

I wandered through the trees until I came across a small flowing creek. Great, now I really need to go. After retreating to a bush to do my business, I spotted a weeping willow tree beside the creek. I made my way to it and carefully sat beneath the low branches of the tree.

Gently dipping my fingers into the stream, I watched the small rapids rush by, without a care in the world. It doesn't care if it runs through a battlefield or not, or if it witnesses the slaughter of an entire race. It probably doesn't care if red blood was washed into its waters, it just carries on, laughing and playing among the trees.

If only people were the same way. There wouldn't be any wars, slaughter, hate, abuse, sorrow, pain. We would all be living in a world of peace and love, and children would be running and playing, much like this stream. Our biggest worries would be being on time for dinner.

But, of course, people aren't like this stream. Some enjoy pain and slaughter, and the glory that comes with it. Heh, glory, what a stupid and pathetic excuse for killing another living thing. Why would you want to be known for killing and slaughtering things in your path? It's plain ass stupid! I rather be known for helping take care of life, not taking it away.

But, then again, I can't really talk. I mean, I've killed a few people, but it was only out of self defense.

The elves aren't that innocent, either. They killed hundreds of humans and burned down hundreds of homes, despite their love for life.

It really is a shame people of any race are blinded to the similarities that we all share. We share the same earth, the same sky, the same moon, the same sun, the same water and air, the same passion in our hearts. We share the same tears for the same reasons, the same pain and sorrow. We are all blinded to all of that, because of our greed and envy. The humans envied the elves' natural abilities, so what did that do? They declared war against us. The elves envied the success the humans had, so what did we do? We burned down their resources. All of this could have been prevented if we had seen past our jealousy and envy and looked at our similarities, instead of our differences.

Heh, I am such a hypocrite! Even though I want peace and dislike killing, I plan on killing the man that took my innocence away when I was a child. Once Artie gets settled as king, or rather if he gets settled as king, I'm going to find the bastard and rid the universe of him.

Then, I might go back, or I might wander around for a while, then go back. Either way, I'm going back to Artie. Perhaps we'll get together, or we'll remain as friends. It'll practically kill me if we do, but I rather keep his friendship then to throw it away for one selfish act.

A small touch on my shoulder broke me out of my thoughts, and startled me to no end. I jumped up and spun around, habitually drawing my sword. Standing there is a very scared-looking Artie, his green eyes wide. Taking a deep breath, I lowered my sword, feeling my entire body trembling from fear and adrenaline.

'Don't do that, I could have killed you!', I stated in a trembling voice, not wanting to imagine what could of happened.

He drew in a shaky breath and said, 'Sorry, I was starting to get worried, so I decided to try to find you, in case you passed out or something.'

I sheathed my sword and stated, 'No, I'm the one that should be apologizing. I shouldn't have reacted like that.'

I smiled softly and he returned it. We walked back together to the clearing, where there was a roaring fire near the log. Shrek was cooking some poor animal on a spit over the flames.

'Well, it looks like I'm going hungry tonight', I muttered, taking a seat as far away from the ogre as I could.

Artie seated himself beside me and gazed at the animals hungrily. I only shook my head and pulled out a few blank sheets of parchment from my quiver, along with various sizes of brushes, a quill, and some black ink. Using my diary as a surface, I placed a sheet over it and popped the ink open, carefully dipping a small brush in it and painting the clearing. That took up the better part of an hour before I had to set it aside to let it dry. As I glanced up, I saw that the sun was almost touching the horizon.

'Here', Shrek stated before shoving a cooked field rat into my hands.

My stomach churned at the sickening smell as I passed it off to Artie.

'She doesn't eat meat', Artie explained as I held my stomach, willing myself not to puke again.

It was a bit after the others had eaten that my stomach finally settled down. After a little bit, Merlin came out with a small bag in one of his hands.

'Now, all of you, look into the Fire of Truth and tell me what you see!', he said dramatically, then threw some of the powder into the fire, making it flare up.

'Ooh, charades! Okay, I see a Dutch fudge torte with cinnamon swirls!', Donkey stated, sitting down and looking into the fire eagerly.

'Ok, monster, now your turn', Merlin stated to Shrek.

The ogre glared at the wizard for a split second before bending down and gazing into the fire. He looked distressed for a moment, then blew at the smoke.

'I see a rainbow pony', he stated nervously.

'Wonderful work! Now the boy', Merlin stated enthusiastically, turning to Artie.

'This is lame', he muttered, earning a smack to the back of his head.

I snorted in amusement, earning myself a glare from my best friend. He sighed and gazed into the flames.

'Ok. There's a baby bird and a father bird sitting in a nest', He stated.

I listened with rapt attention and tried to block out Merlin's annoying drumming.

'Wait, the dad just flew away. Why did he leave the little bird all alone? It's trying to fly, but it doesn't know how to. It's gonna fall!' He drumming stopped abruptly.

I put my arm around Artie and squeezed slightly, then let my arm fall to my side again.

'Whew, proper head case you are! Now, the elf', Merlin commented, turning to me.

I sighed and stated. 'Let's just get this over with'

The old man threw another handful of that powder in the flames. As I gazed into the flames, I saw a scene forming.

Two wolves formed, one black with a silver tiara on its head, the other white, with a black crown. The black one laid down on its side and gave birth to a violet wolf. The two wolves nuzzled their pup affectionately, then the white one looked up and barked a warning. A group of wild cats attacked and killed the two adult wolves after the black one hid the pup. The pup was found by two foxes, one golden colored, and one with white butterfly-like wings. They led the wolf to shelter, where they stayed awhile. The golden fox grew a bit, along with the pup. The butterfly-winged fox left the shelter, and then the golden fox took advantage of the wolf and did unspeakable things to her. The winged fox returned and chased the pup out of the den, snapping at her hind legs. The pup wandered alone until she accidentally bumped into an old bear. The pup cowered, expecting to be killed on the spot, but the bear led her to a huge place where rabbits and birds lived. She stayed there, and the old bear taught her how to use her claws and teeth in battle. The wolf pup couldn't get close to any of the birds or rabbits; they feared she would kill them. Once, the pup went out of the shelter and ran into two snakes. The snakes attacked the pup, but she quickly killed them, using the moves the bear taught her. After that, she ran back into the shelter, and never left it. The pup grew under the bear's care, until he died. The wolf howled in sorrow as she watched him die, tears staining her violet coat. The adult rabbits and birds then had her loaded to a carriage, then watched her leave. She arrived at another building, where cats lived. The only bird there, one with golden feathers and startling green eyes, went out of their way to greet her.

A small touch on my hand startled me out of my trance. Looking around, I saw that everyone were staring at me with worried expressions on their faces.

'What did you see?', Merlin asked excitedly.

I locked my jaw and shook my head.

'No? Well, in that case, I'm going to bed', Merlin announced, heading into his house and shutting the door after him.

The others all turned back to me.

'What?', I asked defensively.

'Eva, I know you're upset about something. Can you at least tell me what's wrong?', Artie asked, his green eyes gazing at me in worry.

I looked around at the others, and they nodded encouragingly.

Finally, I sighed and stated, 'Fine, but once I start, I'm not gonna stop.'

After that, I took a deep breath and told them what I saw, and what I think my visions meant. Well, basically, I told them my entire past, except the names of the people. After I uttered my last sentence, there was a shocked silence. I braced myself for the questions, but they never came. Instead, I felt arms wrap around my figure and squeeze. Instinctively, I returned the gesture, knowing who it was. I felt my heart beat faster at the gesture.

'I don't know how you can deal with a past like yours. All I can really say is, I'm sorry', Artie whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

When we finally pulled away from each other, there were no knowing looks from Donkey or Puss, only identical looks of sympathy. Shrek doused the fire and sat on the log beside a ways down from us. Artie and him shared a small smile. Ok, what the hell did I miss? Just a few hours ago, they were at each-others' throats!

I gave Artie a questioning look, but he just grinned and whispered, 'I'll tell you later'.

I nodded and settled on the ground to sleep.

'Atra larua, Artie*', I whispered to the figure beside me.

'Atra larua, Eva*', he whispered back, followed by silence.

I closed my eyes and let a tear slip down my cheek before sleep claimed me.

A/N Ok, what Eva saw in the fire was her entire past, just substituting the people with animals. I have a little challange for you! If the elf race was still alive, what do you think Eva's standing would be among them, based on the hints in the fire scene? please PM me with your guess, just in case you guess right! That doesn't mean not review, because you know i love them! Oh, and what do you think would be a good theme song for Eva (or Artie/Eva) would be? Thank you for reading, and please, please review! ^_^ I don't own Shrek 3 or its characters, I only own Eva, Mr. Jonson, Maiaera, and any other OC that's in here!

*Atra larua- Goodnight

~Meerkatgirl13