Fiona awoke. She sat up and stretched, relishing in the ability to do so. Donkey had talked all the way until sunrise, just as he promised. The trio had fallen asleep when the sun had risen just enough to settle her restless night. She stood and wandered out of the cave she shared with the animal. Shrek was still sleeping beside the long burnt out fire. She sidestepped around him to get to the cliff edge they were sitting on the night before and looked out at the sky. The stars were gone. She couldn't find any of the constellations he spoke of; perhaps she never would. It suddenly felt like a shame. Perhaps now they knew of her pain they could show her the stars next time. It surprised the princess that she longed for it.

This journey had been eye opening in many ways. She had always expected her rescue from the tower to be eye opening, of course. How couldn't it be? However, she expected her true love to be the reason for it. She thought she would be swept off her feet, physically, emotionally, and mentally by her rescuer. She supposed Charming was pretty eye opening. She wondered if Charming ever sat, looking at the stars, considering how people didn't understand him because he was so… handsome? Stupid? Probably not.

By the position of the sun she could tell it wasn't even close to midday, she could have only slept for a few hours at the most. It was going to be a long day. And an even longer night. She could only hope her destiny was waiting for her in Duloc. She wasn't sure what she'd do if it wasn't. Return home empty handed? Breaking the promise she'd given her mother? She couldn't imagine what her parents were going through as she stood on the peaceful cliff, overlooking a breathtaking view. She wouldn't want to swap places with them, that was for sure.

She stood on the cliffside for a while more, waiting to see if anyone else would wake. She found herself lost in time, eyes searching every tiny detail in the distance. The trees looked so small, and the river seemed to be flowing steadily. Hills crowded each other in the further distance, each a different shade of green or brown. She took a deep breath, the air was clean and crisp, except for the ogre's scent of course. But finally, she didn't mind it. The nights of hiding and Charming's dull company were definitely over now. Compared to that, anything was welcome.

The two sleeping bodies behind her stayed fast asleep, both snoring in off time. Her gaze trailed to the path back to where they had been walking before. She considered her options for a moment, deciding against going back to sleep on the uncomfortable ground. The next night ahead loomed in the back of her mind, but perhaps this Lord Farquaad could prove himself useful; he was a Lord after all. He probably had some magical contact she could ask for some new sleeping potions. And then she'd be all set! Well… she wasn't sure what her new plan was, but destiny seemed to be pushing her towards Duloc, and she couldn't ignore it. Her true love was sure to be there.

The princess put the impending pain parade to the back of her mind. Whatever dreariness the previous couple of days brought her had filtered away. It was a new day and she had two strange bodyguards safely delivering to her destiny. Her spirit had been rekindled. Those bodyguards were still sleeping and the restlessness within her didn't want to hang around. She quietly hopped over the snoring log and made her exit past the giant tree that shielded them from the world.

She stopped as she came across the trail they had been walking and skipped over it onto the grass on the other side. Her stomach growled at her as she walked into the dense greenery, reminding her of the meal she'd skipped. She was quickly distracted as the birdsong swelled as she walked further into the trees. Fiona found herself glad of her decision to miss out on sleep; the morning chorus was beautiful. She could only imagine how much more beautiful it would be around sunrise. That was something she was certainly looking forward to. She'd always been a morning person after all.

Her gaze was caught by rows of bushes, proudly sporting their fruit. She hurried over and began plucking the ripe berries. She tossed them into her mouth, barely pausing to inspect each one. She lifted her skirt with one hand, creating a basket, and with her other hand threw more berries into it. Once she'd plucked a light breakfast, she wandered in the direction of the water that had trickled into her senses. She took a deep breath through her nose; she could smell how things had grown damp. She smiled, rushing over to where her ears led her. Her eyes lit up as she saw the small winding creek littered with reeds and lilypads. She approached, looking around the grass and plopped herself down in front of it.

The water almost seemed still, but she could see the places where the current was gently pulling it along. There was so much for her eyes to explore as she finished her breakfast, taking it all in. She crawled over to the water's edge, laying out flat on her stomach, allowing her hands to dip into the cold creek. Her fingers were immediately freezing, as the water trickled against them. Her grin turned into a laugh as she wiggled her fingers and scooped the water out in front of her, making a splash. She rubbed her hands together, cleaning them of her breakfast and lifted her hands out of the water, shaking them off. She stood again, turning in place. She absentmindedly wiped her hands on her dress and looked up. The trees allowed the sun to filter in. It was beautiful, just like when she had started on her solo journey into the world, before the handsome, awful stranger had disturbed her plans. Things were somehow better now.

Fiona wandered around in circles, looking up, looking down, searching the forest. She hummed along the tune she'd sung for most of her tower stay. She twirled, and suddenly halted, stopping her song. A squirrel ran past her feet, scampering up a tree. It watched her, nose twitching. A smile grew on her face, her lips parted and she began to sing. She took a couple of inviting steps towards it. The squirrel's nose twitched once more at her and it scampered further up the tree. Turning, she saw a bird watching her from its nest. Her smile lit up once more and she twirled again, this time lifting her skirt allowing it to billow around her. These interactions with the world around her were something she'd always dreamed of since she was a child.

Despite her sudden movements, the bird didn't get scared, it looked up from where it had lowered its head. She sang three notes up and three notes down, approaching it, hands clasped together at her chest. It stood from its nest, as if summoned by her singing, and flew to a higher branch. The princess continued, but was interrupted. The bird wasn't escaping her, it sang her song back to her, mimicking the tune she'd repeated over and over. She smiled at it. Despite all the turmoil her fairy tale had suffered, she was still a princess after all. She approached the high notes, the bird was still whistling alongside her. She could only imagine how magical they sounded. Why not push herself? It was her moment after all. She did, closing her eyes, holding a delicate hand to her chest. She belted the highest note.

POP

The princesses' eyes flew open, her voice left her as the bird beside her exploded. She flinched and squeezed her eyes immediately closed again, feathers flying around the air. After a second she dared open an eye, and another eye. Hm, so much for her fairy tale. She should have learnt from Charming that manufacturing your own storybook moment often led to things being taken too far. Fiona screwed up her face as she watched the bird's legs frying upon the branch they still sat on. She glanced around her. She was sure no one was watching… she hoped no one was watching. Someone would need to revoke her princess card if they knew she sang so violently a bird exploded. Perhaps that was her sign that she needed to return to the cliffside, but the sight of the nest gave her pause. There were three eggs. Now without a mother, they would surely die. Perhaps she could take them in and give them the warmth they needed. The thought was instantly ridiculous to her, she could barely give herself the warmth she needed. And well… her team would need breakfast. It would work as a thank you for showing her kindness during the night, and prove herself useful. Given the unexpected nighttime burden that she was, she'd take anything to help.

Eggs nestled in her skirt, she hopped over the roots of the giant tree to see her captors still sleeping. Her gaze trailed back to the burnt-out fire. She recalled watching how the ogre managed to set fire to the pit he had built. She gently set aside the eggs and collected the flint he used to set the fire. After a short struggle, interrupted a few times by Donkey's fast asleep murmurings, she managed to cause a spark. She gently fanned it to help it catch flame. While the fire warmed, she wandered around looking for any kind of cooking utensil. She found herself with a couple of flat rocks, a cooking stick, and a leaf big enough to protect her. All she needed now was to remember how to cook eggs. Not that she'd ever done so before; of course not, a princess never cooks. But she had seen diagrams of it in a book in the tower. Fiona had gotten good at relying on memories, it was all she had for a very long time.

As the smell of fresh eggs spread, the ogre yawned, indicating his changed state. She didn't look up to meet his eye, concentrating on her poking of the sizzling eggs in front of her.

"Donkey, wake up." Shrek's voice interrupted Donkey's latest sleep mutterings, catching her attention.

"Eh-wha-?" Donkey too yawned.

"Morning!" she chirped at them. "Um…" She looked down at her first attempt at cooking. "How do you like your eggs?" She wasn't sure if she was able to cook eggs in a different way, but she was sure she'd figure it out if they gave her a request.

"Oh. Good morning, princess!" Donkey sat up to attention.

"What's all this about?" the ogre asked her.

"Well…" The eggs were ready, right on time. She used the leaf to hold the hot rock and stood. "I wanted to thank you for last night and… we kinda got off to a bad start yesterday. After all, you're the best rescuers I've had so far." She placed the eggs in front of them and turned away, hoping they wouldn't ask how she came about their breakfast.

"Uh… thanks." Her actions still seemed to perplex the ogre.

"Well, eat up. We've got a big day ahead of us." She turned back to them, grinning.

"On little sleep." The ogre raised an eyebrow at her. Her smile faded, but he chuckled at his joke. It was a joke. She renewed her smile, though a hint of uncertainty managed to show through. He had stayed up all night as well, even though he didn't need to. He was mostly quiet listening to Donkey's stories, staring up at the sky, so much so that she thought he had fallen asleep a few times. Donkey would always find something to say that prompted a chuckle or a scoff, or a joke between the two of them. He was awake just as long as everyone else.

Fiona watched as they both devoured their eggs. Donkey slurped up his one, and Shrek finished the rest with barely time for chewing, straight from his hands. She screwed up her face just a little watching them, but she kept her spirits raised. Their breakfast was a success.

"Now… Which way?" She looked in both directions down the path.

Donkey trotted over to her and sat beside her. "Shrek, we're ready! Now those eggs were fine and all Princess, thank you, but next time maybe try adding some mushrooms or even a herb or two-"

Fiona took a step back as Donkey began chatting at her, but she startled as her back landed against something. She turned. "I'm sorry," she apologised hesitantly to the ogre who stood directly behind her.

Shrek had a look of amusement on his face. "We're going that way." He pointed down the path, sidestepped her and plodded forwards, leading their small band towards their destination. "C'mon, Donkey." He waved a hand at him. The animal hadn't paused his chatter, barely acknowledging that no one was listening to his recipe ideas.

The trio had only walked a couple of paces when Donkey's chatter abruptly stopped and his ears perked up. "Princess! I'm smelling some real destiny down that path."

"No." The ogre cut off any response she could give.

Fiona could help but grin. "Oh, I'd like to see."

The ogre turned back, raising an eyebrow at her, a smirk on his face. "Okay, how about we send Donkey down the trail t'bring yer destiny back with him and they can both just catch up."

"And walk by myself in these woods? Nuh-uh." Donkey shook his head, taking Shrek's words seriously. "But hey maybe you've got the right idea. I could be… be your sales person… or some kinda walking talking advertisement. Princess looking for destiny right here! Come and get it!"

Fiona laughed at him, she shook her head. "I'm afraid I had enough of that in the tower."

"Ah, well, they didn't know ya like I do." He trotted along closer to her. "We're friends you an' me! I could tell them that she's tall, pretty, and pretty fearless, y'know, just don't expect her to be sleeping much."

The smile grew on her face. They were friends. A band of friends-wait. She slipped a glance towards the ogre, were they friends? She wasn't sure. Donkey was friends with Shrek, that much was established upon meeting them, Donkey now claimed to be her friend. Fiona wasn't sure how friendships worked, if they were both friends with a mutual friend, did that make them qualify for the title?

She didn't have time to dwell any longer as her eyes caught sight of something. Something familiar laying on the trail ahead of them.

"My bag!" She gasped, throwing herself towards it. She barged past the ogre, falling to her knees in front of the satchel. The cloth she used to protect the knife was spilling out of it, certainly knifeless. She rummaged inside. There was her toothbrush… her comb… ah! Her hand curled around a vial, she pulled it from within - it was empty. She removed the cloth to see better and tipped the sack upside down. Only small things and crumbs fell out onto the dirt. Her knife, her money, and most importantly her potions were gone.

"No!" She threw the empty satchel to the ground and put the balls of her hands to her forehead.

No one reacted to her distress. She heard Donkey's curious steps slowly approach her. They were interrupted by Shrek's loud burp.

"Shrek!" Donkey chastised him, stopping in his tracks.

"What? It's a compliment! Better out than in, I always say." He chuckled.

"Can you… stop." She allowed her frustrations to pour out of her mouth at them. It wasn't fair to target it at them, she acknowledged it. But there was no one else to direct it at, and they weren't understanding the gravity of the situation. She took in a breath. "They've taken the sleeping potions."

"Aye. That's what robbers do, Princess."

The good will the ogre had gained from her started to disintegrate. She turned and threw him a glare, though it only seemed to amuse him further.

"Hey! Hey!" Donkey jumped up with an idea. "Maybe the robbers drank them! And they'll be sleeping! And we can steal them back! How many d'ya have?"

"Not enough…" She couldn't meet his enthusiasm. Despite not being lucid when they briefly woke her, she could tell there were definitely more than enough men to drink the two potions that were left. She stared at the ground, dejected. It's not like she thought she would ever get the potions back before she spotted her bag - she'd already suffered the one night - but seeing the possibility of it so close to her… that hope lingered and was crushed all over again.

"Ah ya never know, Princess. Like my grandma always used to say, if ya can't see it, don't believe it! Unless you can hear it. Us talking donkeys aren't common, let me tell you that. But what if you can smell it… d'you think you could believe it then…? Hey Shrek what-"

"Stop it." Shrek's foot took out Donkey's front legs and he crashed to the ground. "Look, if we hurry up t'Duloc, ye can find yer true love faster." Shrek tried to reason with her. It made sense, she supposed. Except, the satchel had been discarded next to a trail with an arrow pointing to a nearby village.

Fiona looked up at the sign and then down the path it pointed to. Shrek sighed. She met the ogre's eye. "We'll be quick, I promise."

"Mesdames et messieurs! I have something that will blow your very minds, like nothing you've ever seen before!"

As soon as they got close to the village, they could hear a man's accented voice shouting for attention.

"A shilling to try and wake him. Good luck, you'll certainly need it, no?"

The trio peered around the corner of a house they had ducked behind for cover. A man lay on the ground, snoring. At first, she thought it was some kind of play, but no - it really seemed like he was fast asleep. Two men pranced around him, calling to the townsfolk. All three were wearing green. She narrowed her eyes. The person doing the most of the sales had a sheath of red feathered arrows on his back. She immediately recognised him from the inn at her last civilised stop. In her recognition of him came the recognition of the other two. They hounded her while she ate her supper and she had to quickly excuse herself to bed. They clearly followed her and stole from her when she fell asleep. And her potions - well… she watched as a young boy tossed a coin into a box and then kicked the sleeping man in the side. He remained asleep.

Setting a frown on her face she took a step out from their hiding place… and was quickly dragged back. She turned her head, her brow furrowed. "Hey!"

"What'ya gonna do? Walk out there and ask nicely fer ye potions back?"

"No." She took another look. "I was going to demand them back, actually."

Shrek chucked.

"Nuh-uh, Princess, they won't hand 'em back to ya. They've got a whole business set up!"

"Well, I don't care about their business," she huffed.

Fiona once again stepped out into their view and began walking confidently over to them. Once she was close enough, the plain looking guy caught sight of her. He back peddled to the ring leader, nudging him and pointing her way. The red arrow man took a step forward, almost as if he was greeting her, but froze suddenly. His eyes widened. She smiled, ah, they both recognised her - good. And they didn't seem too pleased about it either.

"OGRE!"

There was a scream. It paused Fiona's movement. She suddenly realised, the leader wasn't the only one staring in her general direction with wide eyes. She hadn't noticed the strange hush that fell over that area of town. The smile wiped off of her face as she looked back. Shrek had left their cover too, slowly approaching behind her, taking his own sure and steady steps. Her expression flattened, she had it!

He lifted his arms, elbows at right angles, curled his fingers and let loose a roar. She widened her eyes and sucked in a breath. The alarm that ran through her meant she couldn't even register how bad his breath smelt. The roar was almost deafening, the force of it blew a lock of hair out from behind her ear. She screwed up her face, cringing at the loud noise, though she didn't cover her ears. People around her were screaming. They ran for cover. She stood still and firm. She turned back to the people who had robbed her. They didn't run. The one guy remained sleeping.

"Hey, you don't get a try without paying, monster."

Fiona saw her opportunity and took it. She walked up to him. "We'd love to pay, except someone took my money." She jabbed a finger directly into his chest.

"Uh, Mademoiselle, you must have gotten us confused with someone else. Take your beast away, you're hurting our reputation."

"Hurting your-" She rolled her eyes. "Look pal, we know that's a sleeping potion. IT'S A SLEEPING POTION," she shouted to anyone who had dared stay.

"You petite morveuse," the friend muttered, glancing around.

Before she could take another breath there was a knife in her face. She startled backwards at the flash of silver.

"Princess!" Donkey called for her.

The ring leader's serious expression suddenly softened, eyes wide. He lowered his knife. "You… you are a princess?" he asked, voice hesitant.

A small smile crossed her face. "Yes, yes I am. I happen to not be wearing my crown today. I'm travelling to my betrothed, a lord from a kingdom near here."

"Oh!" His brow raised. "Interesting."

"Monsieur! That is why she had so much gold!" right-hand whispered behind him.

"Hm," he hummed at her, running his eyes up and down her. "Well, allow me to introduce myself. It might give you some… helpful context about our uh-meeting." He flashed her a smirk, eyes darkening. He pointed the knife at Shrek behind her. The expression he bore reminded her of Charming. It was self-assured, cocky. She was sure he had many a woman swooning at his feet because of that face. She wanted to punch it.

He stepped back away from her, placing his hands on his hips, one hand curved over his mouth to amplify his voice. "Oh merry m-AGH!"

She hit him. If she couldn't get her sleeping potions back, well, she'd get revenge instead. Opportunities like that didn't land in her lap too frequently.

Adrenaline rushed through her as people expressed their surprise. She shook out her punching arm. She'd never punched someone before. She grinned as he looked up at her from where he had doubled over, cradling his nose. She could certainly get used to it. The princess didn't have long to celebrate as the other man lunged at her. She twisted her whole body on one leg, raising the other so it met the man in perfect time; her foot hitting him hard in the chest. It knocked the wind out of him and sent him flying to the ground. She turned her gaze to the leader of the gang with his thoroughly bloody nose. He was scowling at her, but it wasn't what caught her attention. In the commotion, his tunic had gotten messed up and caught on something in his pocket. From her view, it looked suspiciously like the cap to a potion vial. She found herself glad she hadn't knocked him hard to the ground, lest it smash.

"Look out!" Shrek's warning was loud.

She looked up, bloody nose was advancing towards her, slower now.

"No, there!"

Fiona looked in both directions beside her, two men dressed in equally green outfits were running at her. No problem. Shrek didn't come closer to her to help, no, he was yelling at her to make her run away. She could have, she was quick enough, but she needed that vial. The leader was close to her, one hand still covering his nose, the other with a knife pointed in her direction. She hit his knife-wielding hand upwards, grabbing his wrist and pushed it over his head. He wasn't about to leave his nose unguarded to fight back. With the ball of her other hand, she smashed his hand into his nose again, before ducking just in time for the two others to crash head first into each other. She leapt forward so the pair didn't land on her, springing on her hands, and flipped herself over bloody nose's crumpled form on the ground. He let out a choked scream-sob combo. She turned to face him and the others, and crouched. She darted a hand into his pocket, grasped the glass and ran, leaping over the fallen people.

Finally, she could see what had Shrek so distracted. Someone else had come for her from the behind. The ogre had swiftly dealt with him and he too was sprawled on the ground like the rest of his merry men. She ran towards her companions, Donkey cowering behind Shrek's legs. She looked at what she held in her grasp. There it was. A full vial of a sleeping potion. The last one.

"I got it!" she shrieked as she flew past them, cackling her glee. There was no time to stop; no one was out cold, except for the one guy who had clearly been the guinea pig for the potions - he continued to snore. Shrek and Donkey joined her in running away.

She kept running past the entrance to the village, down the path, finally darting into some trees. She slowed to a halt, laughing.

"Woah, Princess." Donkey heaved some breaths. "We did it!" His enthusiasm was tainted by a couple of spluttered coughs.

She beamed, spinning around, holding the potion to her chest. "We did!" She allowed the shared credit. She was definitely the muscle of the group in that instance, but she wasn't sure she could have done it without them. Her sparkling eyes met the ogre's. He was breathing hard too, his face broke out into a grin.

Fiona skipped out back onto the trail. She hadn't seen anyone emerge from the village. She supposed a sleeping potion wasn't worth so much to them, not like what it was worth to her. She waited for her group to follow her, they were slower.

"I think I had you beat back there." The princess couldn't hide her smirk as the ogre fell into step with her.

"Huh?"

"Sure, you were very scary. But I really hit the nail on the head."

"Ye hit more than a nail on his head, Princess," he laughed. She had expected a sarcastic comment in defence, but nothing followed. Instead, he slowed, placing his hands on his hips, watching her.

"What?" She turned, walking backwards.

He raised his eyebrows at her, not judgemental or impatient or joking like she'd seen from him before. He was impressed. "Yer not exactly what I expected."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't judge people before you get to know them." She shrugged at him.

His face seemed to freeze as he realised what she was referring to. She had very much heard him during the night. He seemed to blink away his initial reaction, and lifted the corner of his mouth into an unsure smile.

She caught herself smiling back. It was genuine. Interesting. She didn't need to tell herself to smile this time. Still, apart from that moment where she had impressed him, he was grouchy and mostly unreasonable. She shouldn't be smiling at him at all. So far, every man she'd come across had shown her a multitude of reasons why she shouldn't smile at them, nor get caught in any kind of fantasy. Except… this wasn't a man. Of course she wouldn't get caught in a fantasy with an ogre. When her true love presented himself she would absolutely know. It would be different. Different to anything she'd ever imagined. But… different in a good way. Not the kind of different she had already experienced. Yes. It was perfectly safe and good to be smiling with her new friends. Her steps turned rhythmic, swaying her arms in time as she began to sing as she walked.

. . .

Yay FFN was revived, the emails are back! Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter! It's fun ruining little moments in the timeline, and stitching things back together. Hope you liked!