"So, no one knows who the witch was, or for what purpose you were cursed?"
Puss asked, casually guiding Tornado along the road, talking to Fiona who was behind him.
"No… actually, we never really thought if there was an actual purpose behind it, we just assumed it was witches doing what they always do… being evil." Fiona, relaxing as she looked at the scenery, couldn't help but show a touch of dissatisfaction when speaking about witches.
Blinking, Puss couldn't help but understand her frustration—after all, the witch was the reason she had spent years confined in a tower, alone.
'On Earth, there were several theories about what it could have been. The first would be that the Fairy Godmother herself disguised as a witch and cast the spell, all as part of her plan to put the crown on her son's head. Not so much out of concern for Charming, obviously, but to satisfy her own thirst for power.'
'The second theory would be that it was indeed a witch who did it. Maybe even in the 5th movie this topic could have been addressed, but unfortunately I didn't live long enough to see that one.'
'And another theory would be that she would turn into an ogre for being the child of a magically transformed frog and a human. In light of recent information, from Aurora's past, and the discovery of dragon blood in Fiona's veins, maybe it wasn't just a simple frog + human combination, but frog + human + dragon—which would be fair, considering how powerful an ogre is.'
'...Although the third option seems the most plausible—since Aurora suffered a similar torment without being cursed by a third party—I can't help but feel that the Fairy Godmother is not completely free from suspicion. And Fiona clearly said it was a witch, so it probably wasn't just a guess, and a third party is obviously involved.'
The more Puss thought about it, the more his eyes narrowed.
But his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden question.
"Where are we going from here?" Fiona asked out of nowhere.
Puss blinked, trying to process what she had said. Once he snapped out of it, he thought for a moment.
"Well, I have a friend to ask a favor from in Far Far Away, so I plan to go there first," he said, making Fiona immediately stare at him intently.
But her expression was a bit strange—sometimes happy, sometimes worried.
He looked back at her face, puzzled.
"What is it, Fiona? Is there some problem with going there?" he asked, perplexed. He thought she'd be excited at the thought of seeing her parents.
"It's just that I… I'm really happy I'll get to see mom and dad after so many years, but the problem is I haven't broken the curse, and well… this isn't how I planned to return after so long—still cursed, and without my true love," she answered with a mix of joy at seeing her parents and worry about not meeting their expectations.
Seeing her like this, he smiled softly, reached out his hand, and took hers, which was resting on the saddle.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine, and I know they'll be more than happy that you've come back to them—curse or not. After all, they're your parents. And if you want, you can introduce me as your knight who rescued you from the tower, right?" he said firmly, and then joked at the end to lighten the mood.
Puss knew Fiona's parents loved her enough to trade the kingdom of Far Far Away just to save her from the tower, when they made the deal with Rumpelstiltskin in the reality where Shrek didn't exist.
In fact, he even suspected that they might have regretted it and wanted to rescue her, sending soldiers—but the dragon's power was too great, and they never succeeded, dying in its flames. That's why they had to go to such an extreme as trading the kingdom for her. But he wasn't sure, and probably never would be, since he had rescued Fiona from the tower a decade earlier.
Fiona, seeing the firmness in his gaze, his words that made her heart feel lighter and warmer, and the warmth of his hand holding hers, felt a sensation she had never experienced before.
Her cheeks flushed as she looked at Puss's handsome face.
Despite being a cat, the Furry Lover talent allowed women of other species to see his true appearance without species distinction. So, for Fiona, looking at Puss—even as a cat—was no different from looking at a handsome, charming man.
And Puss truly was a beautiful cat, especially after the evolution of the Mutant Cat talent which enhanced his physique, his years of training, his natural beauty, and the Furry Lover talent giving his charm an extra push.
He liked the Furry Lover talent very much because it didn't brainwash or do anything like that to women—it simply allowed his charm to be seen without the strangeness of being a different species.
A blushing Fiona and a calmly smiling Puss stared at each other, and a subtle atmosphere inevitably formed between them… which was, unfortunately, ruined by a third party.
"Hrrm…" Aurora couldn't help but growl lightly in annoyance at being ignored, feeling a bit jealous.
Hearing the dragon's complaint—which didn't seem intentional, but rather an involuntary reaction to seeing the two in their own little world—Fiona snapped out of it, embarrassed, and gently pulled her hand from beneath his.
Puss didn't mind. He just gave her a playful wink, which made her turn her face to the side, ears burning. Then, with a smile, he turned his gaze to Aurora.
"Sorry for ignoring you, Aurora. But don't worry, I didn't forget for a single moment that there's a beautiful dragon girl by my side. Going to Far Far Away also has a lot to do with you, and with the request I have for a friend. But let's wait until we get there before talking more about it," he explained, easing a bit of the young centuries-old girl's jealousy.
Fiona, upon hearing that, couldn't help but roll her eyes slightly at the shameless cat, but she was still curious about what he was referring to.
"Hrrmm…" But unlike her, the dragon, upon hearing that, lowered her ears shyly and felt a little guilty for being jealous earlier.
Puss caught the guilt in her gaze and comforted her.
"Don't be like that. It's normal to feel jealous when you love someone, and I'm glad you feel that way. I'm the one who should apologize for being so selfish, both to you, Aurora, and to Fiona, and also to Elizabeth, the girl I mentioned before. I won't change, because I don't want to give up on any of you, as long as you accept me. But feeling jealous is nothing you should feel guilty about," he said seriously.
Of course, he knew there were problems in having something like a harem, and that it was unfair to the girls, but he could only do his best to make them feel good and never regret that decision.
And also, he wouldn't force them to abandon jealousy—after all, it's an emotion that naturally comes with a relationship. But he intended for them to gradually soften it over time and get used to having other women around their man.
Aurora and Fiona looked at him, stunned by his words.
'Even though he's a shameless man, at least he respects our wishes and feelings. He basically won't force us to be with him, nor will he hold us hostage with favors or anything like that, and he's even willing to help us to the end, even if we don't accept him. But if… if we accept, we're accepting the full package, which includes the fact that he has more than one woman,' Fiona pondered, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, but in the end, she relaxed them with a bitter sigh. 'Haah… what a troublesome gentleman I've gotten myself involved with.'
She thought with bitterness, but there was a touch of emotion, and even affection growing as she looked at Puss.
Realizing that he wasn't cornering them into making a decision, she realized that maybe it wouldn't be so unbearable to accept him of her own free will.
While the two girls were lost in complicated thoughts, the journey went on.
…
The day passed as they got to know each other better, and Puss began to feel more comfortable with their presence, starting to make some jokes and tease them.
The girls also had fun, and occasionally laughter echoed—or a loud, slightly hoarse sound, since Aurora had difficulty vocalizing her joy in her dragon body. At first, this embarrassed her, but with a little teasing and affection from Puss, and gentle support from Fiona, she soon loosened up and stopped caring about it.
Puss noticed that ever since he talked about respecting the girls' feelings, Fiona had started to open up more, and her confidence and uncertainties about the future began to feel lighter. The determined and kind Fiona he had seen in the movies was starting to emerge, without all that emotional baggage holding her back.
At that moment, Puss was looking at Fiona with amusement, gently massaging his ear.
"Señorita princess, your vocals are impressive, and your voice is beautiful, but when you really push yourself, you might even be able to knock out an enemy. We could call that skill something like 'The Last Song,' or the Spanish version I prefer, 'La Última Canción,' because it'll be the last thing the enemy hears in their life," he teased, after asking Fiona to sing for him—she had put on quite the show, almost bursting his eardrums.
Fiona smiled in amusement and rolled her eyes.
"The Last Song, huh? I'll get mad if you say that," she teased, knowing she could hit very high notes and being proud of it, but still amused at how Puss described it.
But Aurora beside her seemed to agree with Puss, nodding her head frantically while massaging her wing-shaped ear.
"Hahaha!" Puss laughed out loud at the dragon's reaction, which made Fiona pat his shoulder and stick her tongue out at him—only making him laugh even harder because of her childish and cute behavior.
After laughing for so long his stomach hurt—something that made the girls unable to resist joining in—he quickly composed himself and wiped away a tear.
"Haah… it's been a long time since I laughed like that. Thank you, both of you." He smiled softly, looking at them, and they returned his gaze with happy smiles of their own.
Puss then looked up at the sky and saw it was getting dark.
"Looks like it's getting close to sunset," he commented casually, but then thought about Fiona—and as expected, heard her frantic voice behind him.
"Sunset! How did it pass so quickly?! No, we have to find shelter! Now!"