A/N Thank you Pca student, kitty-kat-girlyyyxxx, redrosegirl3, CrazyPops D, Setsuna Noyamano, xAngelWingsx, PlatinumGal, Chipette Star, and angel2 for reviewing! I absolutely adore you guys! You all deserve pie, ice cream, brownies, and any other kind of dessert you want! But, beware, the cake is a lie! lmao XD I never knew Artie's actions would cause such an uproar! O_O but, anyway, this is the next chapter, and i hope it's up to par. No, this is NOT the last chapter; i have more in store for Eva! Well, please read and review, since you know i love them! ^_^
I presume these are princesses. They threw Puss and Donkey in, then shoved me roughly, making me fall to the ground. One of the women helped me up.
Smiling, I said, 'Thanks'
All of the women turned to stare at me.
'What? Do I have something on my face?', I asked self consciously.
'Who are you?', one of the women asked.
'I'm Eva', I replied.
'What are you doing here, Donkey?', the ogress, whom I think is Fiona, asked, turning to Puss.
I think all of them got a pretty good shock when Donkey answered in Puss's body. Biting my lip in an effort to not giggle, I leaned against the wall and listened to Donkey explaining our situation. Fiona looked alarmed at Shrek's fate, then looked determined.
'We need to get out of here, now!', she stated forcefully.
'You're right', the princess with short black hair said. 'Ladies, assume the position'
Three of the princesses took on helpless poses, making Fiona and I scoff.
'What in Maiaera's name are you doing?' I asked disbelievingly, pushing off from the wall and crossing my arms.
'Waiting to be rescued', one of them replied, making me raise an eyebrow.
'Are you serious?', Fiona asked, striding forward until she was beside me.
'Well, what do you expect us to do? We're just four...i mean three, super hot princesses, three circus freaks, a pregnant ogre, and an old lady!', the princess with black hair asked.
'Hey, who are you calling "circus freak" human?', I growled. 'I am an elf, thank you very much, and that elf is gonna bust you all out of here!'
The elderly woman turned to me and said, 'Please excuse our manners. I'm Queen Lillian, and this is Fiona, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Doris'.
The Queen pointed to each princess in turn, landing on the more plainer woman in the cell.
The ogress smiled and turned to Donkey and Puss, saying, 'Once we get out, you two will go into town and round up the others, then meet us back at the castle'
They both saluted her with grins.
'Now, how are you going to get us out?', Fiona asked, turning to me.
Smiling, I closed my eyes and allowed some of my bloodlust to strengthen my limbs. Opening my eyes, I drew back my fist and punched the wall, breaking through the stone. Hearing faint cries of shock and amazement, I strode through the hole and did the same thing with the other wall.
Standing to one side of the wall, I ushered the princesses out, crying, 'Gánga, gánga*!'
I followed Puss out and jogged to catch up with the princesses. I heard the princesses discussing battle plans when I got there.
'Ok, Snow, when we get to the gates, there's probably gonna be guards there. I want you to control the animals and have them attack the guards on my signal', Fiona stated as we neared the gates.
She nodded and went off behind a tree while we hid behind a low wall. We carefully peeked and saw two of the tree-people that tried to kidnap us at Merlin's.
Fiona did this bird call and Snow jumped out from behind her tree, singing. Surprisingly, the animals all came out to listen to her. Then she started to scream, and the animals rushed to attack the tree-people. Once the trees were distracted, we all sprang from our hiding place and rushed to the gates, were Doris punched the lock off. We all rushed through and a few guards came rushing out. Cinderella took two out with her glass slipper while Sleeping Beauty made the other two trip over her body. Fiona and the other princesses bounced on the tarp over the high wall while I just merely jumped over it.
We ran across the roof and slid down one side. A few guards were standing behind a corner, and Doris knocked them out with a swift kick to the head. One of them had a bow and quiver on them. I bent down and stole both of them, quickly buckling the quiver onto my back and stringing the dark-wooded bow. As we went on, we encountered more guards, all of them we knocked out. By the time we met up with Puss and Donkey, it was already dark.
'Ok, we have everyone', Puss stated, panting slightly.
'Oh, and we met up with Artie', Donkey added, looking pointedly at me.
'A-Artie?', Fiona and I stuttered at the same time.
'Ya, and after we talked to him, he wanted to help. He went off somewhere right before we got here', Donkey continued.
'He's up to something', I stated, drawing everyone's attention.
'How do you know?', Fiona asked, looking curious.
'I just know him that well. He is my best friend, after all', I replied, the last part softer as pain ripped through my heart.
'Well, let's go, we don't have all day!', I added, glancing around at the group.
'Alright, we need to get backstage. Any ideas?', Fiona asked, looking around for suggestions.
'There's a back door over there. We can get in that way', one of the pigs suggested, pointing to a wooden door across the courtyard.
We all glanced at each-other and nodded, starting for the door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked and unguarded. We all quietly slipped through it and snuck behind some unused props.
I spotted an unguarded area by the mountain props. It was a juncture between two mountains, and was high enough to get a good aim on Charming while remaining hidden. In the background, I heard Charming singing, then hit a high note, making me cringe. When Charming paused to take a breath, I glanced around one more time then rushed towards the place.
'What are you doing?', Fiona mouthed when I got there.
I motioned for them to stay there, then reached up to pull the bow and an arrow from the quiver.
Her eyes widened when she realized what I was gonna do.
I climbed the short ladder to a secluded platform. Making my way quietly to somewhere I could get a good shot, I heard a horn blow and Shrek rose from the ground, shackles around his wrists. I hid by a tree, carefully brushing a few leaves out of my way and nocking my bow while using the leaves to camouflage my figure. I was too far away to hear Shrek, but apparently it was pretty funny, since the crowd laughed and Charming looked pissed.
'Prepare foul beast, your time is done!', Charming sang.
'Oh, could you kill me and then sing?', Shrek asked mockingly, making the crowd roar with laughter.
I had to contain my giggles, otherwise it could give me away. Charming yelled to the crowd and then turned to Shrek, saying something. He then raised his sword, and I aimed my bow at him, pulling the bowstring back. Before I could release the arrow, Dragon flew overhead with her kids and melted the sword's metal. Every one of the group busted out onto the stage, including Fiona and the princesses.
'So, Charming, you want to let me out of these so we can settle this ogre-to-man?', Shrek asked, gesturing to his shackled wrists.
'Ooh, that sounds like fun, but I have a better idea', Charming stated, then clapped his hands.
The fairy-tale villains all busted out of their hiding places and surrounded the stage, restraining the princesses and the others. I'm lucky no one knows about me being up here.
'You will not run things this time, ogre. Kill it', Charming stated, and the villains all started for Shrek.
'Everybody stop!', a very familiar voice called out, making all of us look up.
'Artie', I breathed when I saw him.
My heart fluttered as he made his way down, but also scrunched up in pain.
'Who thinks we need to settle things this way?', he asked, making all of the villains raise their hand.
'You mean you want to be villains your whole lives?', he continued, seeing all of the raised hands.
I kept my aim on Charming as he moved towards the tree-people.
'Don't just stand there, kill them!', Charming shouted, making a tree grab him so Artie can go on.
'Fair enough, I'm not a talking tree. But you know, a good friend once told me just because people treat you like a villain, or an ogre, or an outcast because of what you are, doesn't mean you are one', Artie stated, looking around at the assembled villains.
A few even came out and stated what they wanted to do. Finally, they all threw down their weapons in a truce.
Charming fought his way out of the tree's grasp and bent down to pick up a discarded sword. He rushed towards Artie with the sword raised above his head.
I quickly let the arrow loose, hitting Charming in the arm. I quickly nocked another arrow and let it fly, hitting the man between the ribs. Charming dropped his sword after the first arrow, and fell to his knees after the second one hit him, the crown rolling across the stage.
Everyone gasped and looked around for the culprit.
Well, mind as well make my appearance.
I stood up and jumped down from the platform, the bow still in my hand. The former villains all cleared a path for me to the stage. As I walked, I let the Dreyrgjarn start to take control of my actions. I stopped in front of Charming's kneeled form and drew another arrow, nocking it and drawing the bowstring back. He looked up at me with wide eyes.
'I told you before, Charming. Try to hurt Artie, I'll kill you', I stated simply, not moving to aim at Charming just yet.
'But think of it this way, I'm only getting revenge for what you did to me 11 years ago, when you raped me. A monster like you doesn't deserve to live. I'm sure you would do the same to me, if the tables were turned', I continued, finally raising the bow and aiming right between his eyes.
'See you in hell, bitch!', I growled, then released the arrow, striking him where I intended.
His head jerked back, then he fell backwards, lifeless. The crowd and the people on stage all gasped in unison. I lowered the weapon and dropped it. Taking a deep breath, I released all of my bloodlust with the exhale. I glanced around in time to see Artie walk across the stage and pick the crown up.
Shrek followed him and laid a hand on his shoulder, saying, 'It's yours if you want it, but this time it's your choice'.
He smiled at the ogre then turned to glance at me, his smile getting wider. I smiled back, but mine was more tentative than his. He walked to the edge of the stage and displayed the crown to the crowd briefly before placing it on his head. The crowd went wild, obviously over the shock of my actions.
'Artie, Artie, Artie', they chanted as a few former villains picked him up on their shoulders.
I stood off to the sidelines with a sad smile on my face; it was almost time for me to say goodbye. When they finally set him down, Artie made a bee-line towards me. My smile faded away as he got closer.
'Look, I'm sorry for what I said, back there. I didn't mean it', he apologized.
'I can understand if you don't wanna be friends anymore. I mean Iwouldn't be friends with me if I di-', he babbled, then was cut off with my embrace.
'I was never angry with you. I was scared that you meant it', I whispered, inhaling his scent.
He sighed in relief and hugged me back. My heart just about burst with joy and relief.
When we pulled apart, he smiled and said, 'I can't wait to start as King! I mean, we could have parties every night!'
I sighed and shook my head.
'I'm leaving, Artie', I stated sadly.
'W-what? Why?', Artie asked, looking confused.
'I need to go out and see the world before I settle down. I need to see where I came from and who my parents were', I explained sadly, placing my hands on Artie's shoulders.
'You can stay here! Y-you can get a job as a maid or something! Just please don't go!', Artie begged.
My heart broke at the sight of his pleading face.
'Can you see me working as a maid, Artie?', I asked gently, then added, 'I know I can't. But, I promise you, I'll come back. You know me, I never break my promises'.
He looked a bit happier at that, but not much.
'I'll miss you', he said quietly, looking at me with sad eyes.
I embraced him again and whispered, 'I will miss you, too'.
When we parted again, I stated, 'Tell you what, I'll stay for a week, to rest and resupply'
A smile slipped onto his face as he took my hand and led me to where the princesses were waiting.
'Hello again', I greeted, smiling and blushing slightly when Artie didn't let go of my hand.
They smiled and greeted us. As Artie and the Queen talked, I tried to stifle a yawn.
The Queen noticed and said, 'Oh, you two must be tired. Come, I'll show you to your rooms'
She glanced at Artie, who then followed us into the castle and into one of the halls.
She stopped at a door and said, 'This is going to be your room, Eva. Goodnight'
Artie and I shared one more hug before I entered the room, immediately flopping on the bed. I closed my eyes and let sleep wash over me.
*gánga- go
~Meerkatgirl13
A/N Ya, i know you guys must hate me because of Eva's decision. You know that saying, "distance only makes the heart grow fonder"? Well, since Artie is still unsure of his feelings for Eva...well, I'm not gonna spoil it for you. You'll just have to keep on reading to find out. ^_^ Ya, i know, i'm a bitch, lol.