"Fairy Godmother!" Fiona gasped, surprised.

"Sweet pea!" the Godmother said, her pleasant face breaking into a benevolent smile. Her wings sprang into life and she flitted from the chair and landed in front of Fiona and her husband. "Or should I say, Your Highnesses," she continued, and curtseyed to the two of them.

Shrek’s face broke into a self-assured grin as he bowed back, but Fiona, forgetting protocol, could only ask, "What are you doing here?"

"Why, I just wanted to make sure, now that you’ve seen each other in your new forms in the light of day, that you’re happy with the results of the potion," the Godmother replied, gesturing between the prince and princess with her wand. Fiona noticed that the star-shaped tip of that wand began to emanate a dull glow. She found herself wanting to stare at it, but pulled her eyes from it and looked instead at the Godmother.

"Actually, Fairy Godmother," Fiona began, "I appreciate what you did, but –"

"After all," the Godmother continued, flitting back into the air and resting one hand on Shrek’s arm, "I must say, your husband has turned out to be quite a handsome man, don’t you think?"

"Oh, indeed!" Fiona agreed, her eyes shifting between Godmother and Shrek. "It’s just that –" Fiona then noticed their eyes. Both Shrek’s and the Godmother’s eyes were the exact same shade of light blue. How odd, the princess thought.

Just then, Fiona’s gaze was again drawn to the wand. Its star tip had begun glowing a bit brighter.

"You should have seen your husband, Princess," the Godmother said. "Showing up at my office, anxious to find some way to make you happy. I saw him in right away, of course. He then told me the sad tale of how you had sacrificed your beauty to be with him, had even offered to spend your life in that dreadful swamp if it would please him, despite your royal birthright and responsibilities."

"I –" Fiona began, trying to formulate an objection. But she was suddenly having trouble formulating any coherent thoughts. Her eyes remained transfixed on the wand’s star tip, whose glow continued to increase in intensity. As it did, in her mind’s eye Fiona thought she actually could see the ogre Shrek standing there, in front of the Godmother, head downcast. Fiona then saw him pick his chin up as the Godmother handed him a bottle of potion. Shrek began to draw the bottle to his lips. But then Fiona remembered something, despite the dissipating coherence of her thought process. Something that made this scene not quite right.

"But … what about … Donkey? He … changed, too," Fiona said, finding it a bit of a struggle both to compose the question and voice it.

"Donkey?" Shrek asked. "What donkey?"

Somewhere in Fiona’s dimming mind an alarm went off. She managed somehow to pull her eyes away from the shimmering wand – an effort that felt like she was single-handedly pulling a drawbridge up by its chain – and looked at Shrek. "What … do you mean … what Donkey?" she said, the fog in her mind starting to lift. "Donkey! Our Donkey. Our …"

From the periphery of her vision Fiona noticed the glow of the wand increasing yet again … and she felt herself being drawn back to it. She tried to resist, but her resistance was short lived. She found she could no more prevent her gaze from being drawn back to the wand than a compass needle could defy pointing northward.

With the now brilliantly glowing wand filling Fiona’s field of vision, the Godmother explained, "It was … your husband’s idea, bless his soul. He … wanted to reward your donkey for all his loyal service, and so he insisted on sharing the potion with him. Quite a commendable gesture, I thought."

"But … why … Shrek … not … remember …" Fiona stammered. She wasn’t even sure anymore whether she was speaking words now or just thinking them … in what currently passed for thinking.

"Shrek is confused, sweetheart. After all, you’ve been in this position before. You’ve been shape-shifting between that horrid ogress and your beautiful self all your life. It’s different for Shrek, and quite a shock to his system. He’s trying to adjust mentally, not just physically. He needs your help, Fiona. He needs the help of the woman that loves him. You do love him, don’t you?"

"Of … course … but …"

"Then you must show patience, sweet pea. But think of the rewards! After all, the way he looks now … isn’t this the man you’ve been pining for … waiting for … all your life? Isn’t this the prince of your dreams?"

Fiona wasn’t really seeing the wand anymore; just a bright, white, dazzling light filling her entire field of vision. The prince of her dreams. Yes. She remembered those dreams. Growing up. Her fantasies of a handsome, blond, heroic figure riding up to rescue her from the castle – and from that curse. That dreaded curse. That frightful enchantment. That handsome prince! That happily ever after. Yes. He and her and her parents, all together, all happy, for always. No conflicts. No disagreements. No differences. No need to fight. No need to argue. No need to think. Happiness. Forever. Mrs. Fiona Charming. Yes. Charming. He was charming. He was everything she dreamed of. Now. Now that he was no longer that ogre. That dreadful ogre. That horrible, ugly beast. He was gone. The beast was gone. Slain like the toy ogre on her bedroom shelf. Slain by the toy knight. Her knight. Her prince. Her charming prince. Her Prince Charming. Yes. That ogre was gone. And the ogress was gone. Gone. Prince Charming. Her dream. Here. Now. Together. Forever.

Shrek – the ogre – was fading. In her mind, he was fading. His ugly green image was washing out, being cleansed from her mind. In its stead, the image of the broadly smiling, confident face of this new, bold, handsome human was taking its place. Now, in addition to her thoughts, Fiona felt her emotions changing, as if they were being kneaded into a different shape by unseen hands. She began to feel the same distaste towards Shrek’s – and her – ogre selves as she had once before. And she felt the draw of Shrek’s new, handsome visage. If he were acting differently now, what of it? Why worry about that? He was gorgeous! Dreamy! He had a face to die for, and a taut body that was the envy of every knight in the kingdom. Fiona felt herself mentally slipping back, emotionally regressing, as layers of maturity, of hard-won lessons of love, acceptance and appreciation were being peeled away. A part of her wanted this. A part of her yearned for this. It was so much simpler. So much easier to deal with. No more inner turmoil, as she had had to deal with since their arrival. No more having to balance her love for her parents against her love for Shrek. Now, Mom and Dad approved and Fiona had the man she’d always dreamed of. It was for the best. Just accept it. Everybody wins. Everybody … except for …

No. This wasn’t right. Fiona felt as if she was standing on the edge of a precipice, about to fall, and some unseen hand from somewhere had stayed her from taking the fateful plunge. Now it started pulling her back. Shrek – this new Shrek – might be charming, but he was not the man she had fallen in love with. The ogre she had fallen in love with. With effort, Fiona started pulling the images of her ogrid spouse back into her mind – from the moment he had crashed through the stone roof of her tower room through the painful memories of the day before last. With the memories, back came the emotions, with all their hues and complexities. Most of all, there was love. Love so much stronger than her little girl infatuation with her fantasy prince. Love so strong that it was able to fight whatever it was that was trying to make over her mindset into something more acceptable to everybody else. A special love, more powerful than this magical spell, for it was itself the most magical thing of all: True Love.

But it was not an easy fight. As Fiona pulled away from this spell, she felt it trying to pull her back, to force her back to the precipice. She began to feel like Dragon during the princess’s rescue, trapped by a chain that bound her to the castle. Only this chain was made of very strong rubber. But Fiona continued to fight. She pulled harder. Harder. She didn’t know how much of her ogre husband was left in the blond human, but she would not have her memory of the true Shrek altered, especially if that was all that remained of him. Plus, Fiona didn’t like having someone intrude into her mind and tinkering with it. The violation made her angry. Very angry. The force of her anger aided the power of her love, and gave her the last bit of strength she needed to snap the chain. The spell shattered abruptly, and Fiona was suddenly free. But her triumph had squeezed every ounce of mental strength out of her, and she fainted into the blond prince’s arms just as her parents entered the room. Whereas all was light just a moment before, now all faded to blackness as Fiona lapsed into unconsciousness.

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"Fiona?"

Fiona slowly and groggily opened her eyes, and immediately squinted as they were invaded by sunlight. Through the dizzying glare and the fog of her mind she thought she could make out the dim, very blurry outline of a face. It was a huge face, green, with ear stalks springing from either side.

"Shrek," Fiona whispered, her lips curling into a little smile.

"Aye, Fiona, it is me," a voice answered from the direction of the face. But again, it was not Shrek’s brogue. Slowly the blurry image began to sharpen. The ear stalks receded, the face grew smaller, and its green hue morphed into a ruddy peach color. Soon Fiona found herself looking up into the distinct features of the new Shrek, her handsome blond prince.

Fiona’s smile vanished, and she closed her eyes again. "Oh, Shrek," she moaned.

"Aye," he said again, and she felt him gently take her left hand and cup it in both of his. "I’m right here, my love."

Fiona opened her eyes again and took in the situation as the last wisps of fog cleared from her mind. She was back in her bedroom, lying atop the covers of her canopied bed, still clothed. Shrek sat on the edge of the bed beside her, holding her hand, looking down at her with a smile not quite as cocky as before and an expression that seemed to relate true concern. Behind him, anxiously looking over his shoulder, were the king and queen. Their expressions, too, relayed worry, and in the case of her father – was that a touch of guilt she was picking up? Why would that be? Perhaps because his fight with Shrek had helped lead to all this? Yes, that made sense. Then Fiona noticed one other person in the room. Behind her parents, flitting in the air so as to better see the princess, hovered the Fairy Godmother. Her expression also seemed to betray dual emotions, concern and – apprehension? What prompted that, Fiona didn’t know, and frankly, at this point, she didn’t really care.

"Fiona, are you all right?" her mother asked.

"Yes. Yes, I’m all right," Fiona replied. She closed her eyes again and raised her right hand to her right temple, trying to recall why she was in bed like this. "What happened?"

"You passed out, darling," Harold replied. "When your mother and I entered the dinner chamber, you had just fainted dead away."

"I did?" Fiona asked, opening her eyes but squinting. "I don’t remember that."

"What do you recall, sweat pea?" the Fairy Godmother inquired, still smiling benevolently but with an odd, anxious edge in her voice. She seemed to be unconsciously wringing the wand in her hands.

Fiona closed her eyes yet again and rubbed her temple, trying to recall her last conscious thoughts before awakening here. "I … I remember Shrek and I entering the breakfast chamber, and meeting Fairy Godmother. And then …" Fiona tried hard to think.

"Yes?" the Godmother urged.

Fiona sighed resignedly, opened her eyes and lowered her right arm. "I’m sorry," she said. "I can’t remember anything after that. It’s all blank."

The princess’s pronouncement prompted an interesting mix of reactions. Shrek and the Fairy Godmother both seemed suddenly relieved for some reason. Harold at first looked as relieved as they, but then cast his eyes downward, that odd guilty expression deepening. Lillian, instead of appearing relieved, looked even more concerned.

"Well … that’s … to be expected!" the Godmother said, suddenly chipper. "You see, my dear, I’m afraid such fainting spells are one of the side effects of the potion."

"What?!" Fiona and Lillian said together, gawking at the Fairy Godmother. Shrek and Harold also looked towards her, but remained silent.

"Oh, don’t worry. It’s a perfectly benign reaction," the Godmother assured them. "Very rare, also. I’m surprised it happened at all. But I’m confident that it won’t happen again."

"Are you sure?" Lillian asked dubiously.

"I’d stake my reputation on it, Your Majesty. And you know how valuable that is in this kingdom," the Godmother said with a voice as smooth as velvet.

"Indeed," Lillian conceded, but her voice still held some concern. "I just worry about Fiona."

"She’ll be absolutely fine, I assure you," the Godmother said. "She and Shrek may move forward now, enjoying the happily ever after they so richly deserve." She then looked longingly at the balcony window. "Well, if I’m no longer needed here, I have to get back to my factory. I must oversee the finishing touches to some especially sensitive potions I’m brewing, concoctions rather more potent than simpler methods of enchantment." She seemed to glance unconsciously and accusingly at her wand for the briefest of moments, then smiled even more deeply at the group in general and continued, "So I bid you all adieu –"

"No! Wait!" Fiona called, and pulled herself up to a sitting position on the bed beside Shrek. "Shrek’s behavior … it’s so different from before –"

"Oh, sweetheart, you already asked that," the Godmother said, then smiled sweetly. "But of course, that’s part of what you don’t remember. As I said then, Shrek is confused. After all, you’ve been in this position before. You’ve been shape-shifting between that horrid ogress and your beautiful self all your life. It’s different for Shrek, and quite a shock to his system. He’s trying to adjust mentally, not just physically. He needs your help, Fiona. He needs the help of the woman that loves him. You do love him, don’t you?"

"Of course I do," Fiona replied with mild indignation … and she felt a twinge of deja vu. The Fairy Godmother’s words also sounded vaguely familiar and … somehow rehearsed. The princess tried again to think back to earlier, but when she did so she felt a pain in her head that nearly rivaled the one in her heart.

"Then you must show patience, sweet pea. Your husband needs your help and understanding now. Remember your vow, ‘for better or for worse’. And who can deny that this is for the better?"

Fiona remained silent. The Fairy Godmother smiled sweetly once more, then flitted towards the open window of the balcony.

Suddenly Shrek called after her. "Errrr … do you anticipate any other … potential problems … Fairy Godmother?"

"Don’t worry, dear," the Godmother replied. "Your problems and troubles are as gone as if they’d walked out the front door and into oblivion."

The Fairy Godmother flashed Shrek a brief, cocky grin – oddly like the one Fiona had seen adorn this human Shrek’s face every so often. In fact, Shrek now returned it to the Godmother in kind. The Godmother then turned back to the open window, placed two fingers in her mouth, and whistled loudly. An instant later her ornate pink flying carriage, with that thin, dark-haired chauffeur Kyle driving it, screeched to a hovering halt just off the balcony, kicking up a cloud of pink fairy dust. The passenger door magically opened.

The Fairy Godmother turned back to address the royal group. "Prince Shrek still has my card if you need anything further," she said. "But I’m sure everything will be fine now. I look forward to seeing you all tonight at the ball. Until then – " here she curtseyed to the king and queen, "Your Majesties."

Harold and Lillian nodded back.

The Fairy Godmother then curtseyed to Shrek and Fiona. "Your Highnesses."

Fiona inclined her head in response, and noticed Shrek nodding back as well, his head slightly and stylishly askew. There was an ease and confidence in his gesture that surprised Fiona, who would have expected more awkwardness or discomfiture from the former ogre. Then again, perhaps she had underestimated Shrek here, as she had underestimated him so many times before. Perhaps.

The Fairy Godmother straightened, gave them all one last, confident smile – one that seemed to linger briefly on Shrek – and then flew into the carriage. The door immediately closed behind her, and a split second later the carriage had sped off, leaving a shimmering trail of fairy dust in its wake.

A few moments later the king, queen, and Shrek shifted their eyes from the balcony back to Fiona. She suddenly felt quite self-conscious and more than a bit claustrophobic.