Beyond anything that people thought about her, being a child was easy, not because she was rich, no, it was because she always knew what was necessary to do, she always knew. Getting shipwrecked in Lian yu was easy enough to get used to, but the pain and the sadness and the constant weakness was the most terrifying feelings of all.

When she met Slade, all she knew was the anger, her body screamed, the cuts oozed blood everywhere, she woke up tied to a chair, she hurt herself to scape, but his face wasn't just that mask, no, in his eyes a couple of feelings, surprise and a little bit of respect, and she never realized how easy it was for her to read him, he was good at hiding, he was a soldier.

Now the worst feeling after she started training, even worse than the jealousy when Slade left her for Shado (brave, fierce Shado), even if that broke her beyond repair, the worst weakness was look at her sides, the wet ground under her knees, and see Shado and Sara looking at her, neither of them crying, just… waiting, and look up and see Ivo, a gun resting easily at his side, his men ready for anything coming from them and the emptiness of losing Slade, because of her.

"Ten seconds, Sweetheart" Ivo smiled in front of her, cold so cold, so broken, so crazy.

And she knew what she had to do, she couldn't think in Sara: back home, Laurel, Mom, Thea, Tommy. She couldn't think about Shado: the beginning, survive, Yao Fei, Slade… And her? What did she have? Now? She lost the man she loved, she lost her family, and maybe, in the path, she lost herself, shattered beyond any possible repair.

"Five seconds girl, I'm gonna shoot both, you already know that, come on!"

"Wait!" someone screamed, was it her? Probably, the other two wouldn't, not now, "Wait… Why shot them if I am here? I am the one who you want to kill, so why not?" Looking up she found Ivo's gaze, studying her. Time to put on a show, ladies and gentlemen, time to be a rich girl.

"Oh, please, everyone in this place knows that you won't be happy just killing one of them, you want me, you want to destroy me, but to be fair, I already lost everything, why killing them would hurt me? I'm used to pain, the only thing for me that is left to lose is my life, and you know that, so why not?"

Ivo looked puzzled, but he looked to us, all of us, Shado and Sara were crying now, struggling with their binds to get to me, and he smiled, I knew I was crying, the wet feeling when the cold wind touched my face speaking higher.

"You are absolutely right, and surprisingly good at reading people, well it seems that I get my wish!" he smiled again, this time… This time like when he explained the mirakuru, crazy, mad, insane. "Oh but for these two it would have been quick, a shot in the head, fast and painless, but you, you don't deserve painless, not even quick, good death, Sweetheart."

The truth is, I didn't hear the shot, I heard screams. Sara, Shado… and the men, they were running, why? I heard the contact of flesh on flesh, cracking bones, and the blood falling from my own mouth, drops hitting the ground, cold, very cold, I felt a woman's arms coming around my falling body, holding my head, roses, roses, Sara.

"I'm so… so sorry Sara…" the blood made my words wet, funny enough, my own tears did so too. "Does it hurt you as much as it hurts me?" She cried, sobbing, smoothing my hair from my face caressing the golden locks I used to love so much, that Slade wouldn't let me cut again, that he used to braid back everyday so it wouldn't be in my face.

"It does." She answered, sobbing, holding my head for me.

"O-okay, 'm so sorry."

"Don't be, you saved us, again, like you always did, the way you always do, we are so proud Ollie." Her tears joined mine falling on my face, falling on the leafs beside my head, mixing with the increasing amount of blood.

Slade came rushing in the clearing right after the shot rang around the forest, he didn't see anything, he just knew he needed to do something, help them, save them. He was fast enough, the mirakuru working in his system, everything felt so easy, men went flying when he hit, his eyesight was even more accurate than before.
It took 2 minutes to defeat all the men, Ivo run, the mirakuru box left behind, well, no one should be this powerful anyway.

"Shado!" I fell beside her pulling her close "You are okay, oh my God, you are okay!" she looked at my face, still crying, I let her out of the bindings, she hugged me close to her, and I forgot our surroundings, for a moment, a tiny moment I hoped that I would smell lavender, but no, that smell belonged to golden locks, a brilliant and inocent smile, love.

"Help! Please help me!" Sara cried, desperate, her tears making her voice wet.

I turned in her direction to find out she had her back to us, but her face was watching us, her face… her face was wet with more than tears… blood, whose blood?

"Sara? What.." then he spotted the grounds, the body curled between the dirt, the horrendous amount of blood, and the face, turned in our direction, two green pools, a small hurt smile in the bloodied mouth. No, no, please not her, please don't take her away!

In two seconds I fell beside her, turning her head to me, her eyes blinking slowly, almost closed.

"No no no no, hey Kid, keep your eyes open for me okay? Please don't you dare close your eyes, you remember? You remember how much I love 'hem? I love them open; can you do this for me?" She only smiled a little, but didn't answer.

"Hi"

"Hey, hi there." He could feel his own eyes fill with water, fingers tangled in the bloodied hair, marking the gold with red stains.

"I'm sorry I let you die." She spoke, more blood oozing from the shot, my free hand pressing in the wound.

"Shh, but you didn't! You saved me! Rest, don't talk, you need to keep your strength" I kissed her forehead, as I used to, the way she always loved and that used to make her melodious laugh ring. "Sara, can you take the Mirakuru?" I didn't look up, not when Shado called me, asking what was wrong.

I carried Olivia all the way to a safer place; a first aid kit was our best chance, our best shot.

"You know… I – I guess I never saw things really right" Ollie blinked slowly, her glazed eyes full of unshed tears "When I was a kid, Uncle Malcolm thought I should be taught self-defence or some other way to fight, my Dad didn't like it, so I didn't do anything. Uncle used to say I was too wild to be the Princess Daddy used to call me, no pun intended," she smiled a bit "he said I should be his Warrior Princess instead, he was really good with me and Tommy back then."

"He was right, you are my Warrior Princess, just hold on Ollie!" My eyes blurred again, with new tears.

"I know." She said again. "I'm proud of myself, proud that I could adapt when I needed, that I could find love then, a family in the worst place I have ever been." Her smile wavered at the end. "You know, when I was little, Thea wasn't more than a toddler back there, my Dad stopped saying he loved me, I never understood. When mom said it wasn't true, that he still loved me, that he was just busy. I knew it wasn't the truth, he still said it to Thea, played with her, read to her, and everything, I just wanted to find out why he didn't love me, and then, years after, he invited me for this damned trip, and here I am." Her voice wavered, but her words didn't, and she was still looking at the sky, her beloved stars, breath shallow. "It doesn't hurt anymore, Love."

"I know, Princess."