My Golden Life

Chapter 12

The wedding was truly amazing. I'm so glad that I got to be a part of it; we all had a whale of a time, and I did plenty of singing and dancing. I never ate so much food in my entire life, and quite frankly, I didn't think that I would ever do so again. As the wedding party came to an end, it was soon time for Shrek and Fiona to head off to their honeymoon. I told them that I'd be venturing back home, and Shrek instructed me to make sure that I gave my dad a piece of my mind for what he did to me.

"Oh, trust me," I laughed. "He's going to get it for sure."

"I still can't believe what he did to you, Katie," Fiona said, pulling me in for a hug. "He's a horrible person for selling you like that."

"You're telling me." I sighed. "My mum must think I've died or something."

"So, is this the final time we'll ever see you?" Shrek asked, climbing into the carriage.

"No way, I'll be back to visit you both after your honeymoon." I declared.

"Great!" He smiled, "I'll look forward to it. Well, we better get going, Fiona."

She climbed into the carriage before it rode off down the path. All the guests waved goodbye, and I did the same. Soon everyone began to head off home, and I knew it was my cue to go too.

"Hey, Katie, wait up!" I turned to see Donkey running after me. "You're not leaving now, are you?"

"Yea, I desperately need to get home," I said.

"You'll come back, right?" He asked. "I mean, it's going to get pretty lonely without you around."

"You'll be living with Dragon Donkey," I giggled. "You won't be lonely for that long."

"I know, I know. I want you to stick around, that's all."

I leaned down to stroke his head, but he jumped up to give me a massive hug instead. 

"I'll be back soon, I promise," I said.

I waved goodbye to Dragon and started the long and tedious journey back home. I had to ask several people for directions and hitchhike on a few carts. Eventually ( and thankfully), I arrived back home. Seeing the house in the distance almost brought tears to my eyes. I made my way up the path, and I spotted Daniel gently swinging on the tree swing by the side of the house. His head was low towards the ground, and he was slightly kicking his feet.

"Daniel?" I called out. His head shot up in my direction, his face immediately lit up. He jumped off the swing and dashed towards me.

"Katie? Katie, is that really you?" he cried. He leaped into my arms and tightly embraced me. It had been at least a week since I last saw him, but to me, it felt longer, and to see him again definitely lifted my spirits up for sure.

"Yea, it's me, I've missed you so much." I wept. "I'm so glad to see you."

I explained to him what had happened to me and the crazy adventure I had gone on. His eyes grew wide the more I talked, especially when I told him I rode on a dragon.

"So this Shrek guy... he's really not that scary? I mean being an ogre and all." He asked.

"No, " I replied. "He's super nice and great to be around. I mean, sure he can have his ogre moments, but he's one cool guy I can tell you."

While we were talking I heard the front door creak open, and to my utter disbelief I saw my mum standing in the doorway, a long blanket was wrapped around her body. Tears ran down my cheeks as I ran up to her and gave her a hug.

"Katie? Oh, my baby girl, y-you're ok. You're alright." She cried into my shoulder, and I hugged her even more tightly.

"I'm fine mum, I'm here now. I'm home."

We both let go of each other, and she cupped my cheeks in her hands, gently wiping away the tears. "I thought you were lost forever, I thought I'd never see you again. What happened to you, Katie? Your dad said you had been kidnapped."

I hung my head while I brushed away a strand of hair from my face, I was about to explain myself when I heard my brother walk up from behind me.

"That's not true, mum." A stern look appeared on his face "Dad is the one to blame for what happened to Katie."

"What do you mean?" Mum stuttered.

I was worried about how mum was going to handle the news; for sure, she wasn't going to take it well. I didn't want the truth to affect her already deteriorating health, but she needed to know; I couldn't lie to her, not like before.

My brother and I looked at each other before leading mum inside. We gently broke it to her, and I began to explain everything. By the look on her face afterwards, she was in utter dismay and anger. I reassured her again that I was ok and told her about Shrek, Fiona and Donkey and the adventure we had gone on for the past couple of days. She was a bit shocked, I must say, but was glad that I not only made new friends but that they had protected me the whole time.

Just then, we heard the front door opened, and that's when I saw him. I could feel my palms beginning to sweat, my body boiling. He walked into the living room and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw me sitting on the lounge chair, my eyes piercing right at him. Mum and Daniel glared at him also.

"Hey, dad," I smirked. "Happy to see me back home?"