"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." – Lao-Tzu

. . .

The letters on the wall were foreign to her.

They looked like they belonged on the little white Chinese food to-go boxes that sometimes littered the table at the Foundry when they were having dinner in. It was dark and Felicity had no idea where she was going. She really didn't see her getting where she needed… They were going to find her… And all she could think was…

Oliver would never find her.

Was she in Chinatown? Was she in China? Japan? Korea? Somewhere else? She had no idea. She'd been drugged and she had no idea how long she'd been gone. She was in a city somewhere foreign was all that she knew.

She was clothed in pajamas, a camisole and pajama shorts, and her feet were bare. She'd been careful as she'd run along the streets. Her feet hurt, but she was fairly sure it was mainly because of the ground rather than her actually having stepped on something like glass shards.

Felicity stopped at a market, or at least she was fairly sure it was a market without perfect vision. She was about to run out and try to find help when she was grabbed from behind. She was thrown back against a wall before she realized that there was no escape. It had been a miracle that she'd been able to escape before, but now…now she wasn't going anywhere. There were four men standing around her and she was fairly certain that none of them were happy.

"Please," she pleaded. "I just want to go home."

. . .

They spoke in a language that she didn't understand, which made it harder when they attempted to communicate with her. Felicity was fairly sure that they knew English, but they just refused to use it. It was probably their excuse for mistreating her…and the others…

Human trafficking.

That's why she was there…why they all were there, she believed. It made sense; everyone she'd seen was beautiful and young… There were a few men, but far more women. The men were also good looking and young. They were all terrified.

Felicity was terrified.

Starling City was still recovering from Slade's men and their destruction of the city… The Glades were still half destroyed. It made sense, even though she hated that fact, that they could take people from Starling and not raise flags immediately. There was so much to rebuild. People weren't showing up for jobs on a daily basis…

Today was supposed to be her day to just have to herself.

It only made tears fill her eyes as she sat in the dark corner of the cramped and crowded room. It smelled like sweat, she could sense the fear, and sobs filled her ears. Oliver and Diggle wouldn't be looking for her, not until tomorrow…or at least she thought it would be tomorrow… Would they even know where to look? Have leads?

Normally, she wouldn't have left her place so late at night, but they'd used a small child and woman in their ploy. Felicity had no idea how either could work in luring people in that kind of business, but then…sometimes you just didn't have a choice. She'd been the only one to open her front door when she'd heard the screams…

. . .

THE DAY BEFORE

She'd been about to shove a spoon into the pint of ice cream when screams caught her attention. Felicity had picked up her phone and had looked out her window, she'd been able to see that there was something going on right out in front of her place, but she hadn't been able to see what exactly.

Was it something that required the police? Did she need to call Oliver or Diggle? Could she just scare them off by opening her front door? She was certain that the police was overtaxed with the aftermath of Slade Wilson and she also knew that the dispatcher would ask her for information. If she didn't have any to give, then who knew how they'd prioritize it?

So, she slowly opened her door. Her phone was firmly in her hand as she ventured out. She looked around. No one else had come out. Only her. She knew that people were still terrified after everything that happened and probably didn't feel safe, but how could you stand by why someone was being attacked or worse? Felicity just couldn't.

Several feet away was a woman being beaten on by a man dressed in black, a little girl screaming for someone to help her mother. The girl couldn't be older than six or seven; she looked a lot like she lived on the streets. That didn't matter to Felicity, no one deserved to be beaten or terrorized like that man was doing to the woman and her scared child.

"Stop!" Felicity yelled.

He didn't even seem phased by her. He just pushed the woman into the street and onto the ground and then started to kick her. The child's voice rose to almost a shrill. Felicity raised her hand, looking down at her phone; she was about to dial when she was attacked from behind. She hadn't seen anyone else. He had an arm pulled behind her back, her phone falling to the ground and clattering across the pavement in front of her place. Felicity let out a scream and noticed that the beating stopped. She struggled against the man's hold and screamed for help, but knew that it was unlikely that any of her neighbors would leave the comfort or safety of their homes to assist her. She'd be lucky if they even put in a call to the police. The other man started to approach her and the child just ran to her mother, at least Felicity assumed it was her mother. Was it all a ploy? How—

Felicity was still struggling against the hold of the man who had snuck up on her. The other man seemed to study her, tore her glasses from her face, and threw them away. He grabbed her hair and moved her head side to side. He seemed pleased, but then all she saw was darkness a moment later.

. . .

PRESENT

She didn't know anything.

Felicity hated not knowing anything. She hated having absolutely no control over a situation and especially over her own life. She'd worked so hard through the years to cut out a piece of a future for her, one that had once seemed like just a silly dream that was absolutely unreachable for a girl who grew up in Las Vegas and her mother being a mere waitress. Felicity had wanted to talk to the others, try to comfort some of them…but she'd convinced herself that making herself stand out wasn't going to help her. She was certain that the guards were already keeping an eye on her because of her escape…she didn't need more attention brought to herself.

Her head turned upward and she stared at the dark ceiling. She closed her eyes a moment later and let the tears roll down her face. She pictured the night sky, stars in the sky and smiled a little at the thought. She'd remembered the last time she'd seen Oliver and Diggle and how they'd talked about the stars.

What would they think had happened to her?

Were they looking yet?

Would they find her?

Could she even hope for that?

. . .

THE DAY BEFORE

"What's wrong?"

She giggled and then looked over at him. "Nothing!"

"Do you have beers hidden in the Foundry that we don't know about?" Diggle teased with a smile.

Felicity shook her head. "Like there's any place to hide anything in that new place… It's a disaster, by the way…" She paused for a moment. After everything, it was sometimes hard to remember that there was still hope for the future when she looked around at the broken city, but she knew there was.

Every time she looked at Oliver, it confirmed those thoughts.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

Her smiling had to have been contagious because now Oliver was smiling just as much as she was. She looked up again. "It seems like the stars are so much brighter tonight…and beautiful…and maybe like there's about a hundred more."

"You could see so many more on Lian Yu," Oliver said.

She turned and looked to see that Oliver was looking up as well. It made her even better about how excited she was about the stars. She had to be happy about things, right? It was good for her…for them… They walked towards their cars and then Felicity realized that Oliver was walking with them and he wasn't leaving. He was sleeping in the new Foundry. "I thought you were staying?" she questioned as she stared in his direction. "Or are you finally taking one of our offers of sleeping on a couch?"

Oliver stopped and smiled. "I just thought I'd walk you out…get some air…"

"You sure? I still have a couch you could crash on…has to be better than the cot—"

"The cot is overly comfortable," Oliver countered.

"Can't ever let us forget that you got way too used to sleeping on the ground on that island," Diggle said. Felicity could hear amusement in his voice. "I'll see you two tomorrow…"

"No," Felicity countered. "We have tomorrow off. Tomorrow is a mental holiday… I'm pretty sure it's one that's well deserved and needed by all three of us before we really dive into all of the problems and obstacles we're going to be facing in order to rebuild the city, the Foundry, and get Queen Consolidated back."

Diggle let out a sigh. "Definitely well deserved."

She watched as Diggle got into his car before she turned back to Oliver. Felicity really hated that he was isolating himself and was technically homeless. They all needed their space and she knew that Oliver was used to having that space, but still. It didn't sit well with her. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah… You go…"

"I have some frozen stuff… It's not a lot, but there's that and a couch and good company!"

That seemed to cheer him up. He laughed. "Normally, I would take you up on that kind offer… I would LOVE to eat frozen dinners with you and talk about things…well, that we've never talked about—"

"I was talking about watching movies, but we could talk too," she told him quickly with a bright smile. "I have electricity…luckily…now if they'd just fix my internet… I mean, I know that it's really not a huge priority…but it's sort of nice to check my e-mail… And my phone, well-"

"I would have happily watched a movie with you, too, Felicity…"

How he said her name…

Felicity felt herself tearing up a bit. She knew that was silly and she blinked them back. Her heart was still a little torn from him taking back that he loved her. Of course, he'd not really taken it back when she'd put it out there for him to do so… She still remembered the look on his face as they stood on the shore of Lian Yu. He'd been smiling and the more she thought about everything…the more she believed that the admission had been real.

She'd known Oliver for a bit over two years now.

When they'd first met, all that he'd done was lie to her. She'd trusted him then, she didn't know why still. It was Oliver, she just had. They had this connection, even then, that she just couldn't understand. She'd always known when Oliver was lying, when they were standing in the foyer of Queen Mansion…dark, lifeless, and barren…his 'I love you' had been the most honest thing possibly spoken within those walls in some time. He'd been so filled with emotion and she knew…she knew why, but still…

She knew Oliver.

She knew when he was lying.

He hadn't been lying.

Here they were. They were acting like things were back to normal and honestly, she was okay with that. Neither of them were really ready to even think about truly starting a relationship. How could they? They had so much to do! There was so much to rebuild! She could be content…happy…with how things were.

It came down to the fact that not only did Oliver Queen love her, but he treated her with the respect of a partner. At what had seemed like the end of the world, he'd given her the choice to do more than hide away or be a damsel in distress. She'd played a vital role in bringing down Slade Wilson. She'd helped save the city and it hadn't been from in front of a computer in the broken Foundry under Verdant. It had been on the front lines and they'd all deceived Slade Wilson in order to do it. Really, she couldn't ask for anything more beautiful from Oliver.

Trust was everything.

"You're sure?" she asked again.

"I'll tell you what, if I get lonely…I'll come by…" he offered. "If the offer still stands tomorrow?"

"Will you be in this," she said as she motioned to his workout attire. "Or your suit?"

"Do you have a preference?" he teased for a moment. Oliver grinned at her as he paused before speaking once again. "I think the hood needs the take a break too…just for a little bit."

Felicity nodded slowly. "Maybe…but this city still needs you…"

"I know."

She opened her car door, set her purse inside, and then looked back at him standing there. "And I still believe in you," Felicity whispered.

. . .

PRESENT

They didn't even say anything, at least not that Felicity had registered, before they'd come in and just started to pull people from the room. She'd been amongst those removed. They were all women, about five in all, and they were taken in the same direction down the hall. They were all brought into the same room and from what Felicity saw; it was in order to be groomed.

It was bad enough to think about human trafficking, but then Felicity started to think of the reasons why people were taken…what they were used for once they were sold… It made her want to throw up and it drove her to the point of wanting to become hysterical and break down right there… It wasn't like it was really a revelation, it was just that she'd kept telling herself that even if she didn't believe that Oliver or Diggle would find her, they'd still do it.

There were women in that room that were Asian, she was fairly sure that was a term you could use to generalize. They seemed submissive and were all on the other side of the room as the guards barked their orders before pulling the door shut behind them. Felicity realized that she was having trouble breathing; panic was hitting her even though she was really trying not to panic.

It wasn't going to get her anywhere.

Closing her eyes, she focused on breathing in and breathing out.

A gentle hand was on her arm and she jumped slightly as her eyes flew open and she stumbled backwards. It was just one of the women who seemed to be wanting to take care of her. Felicity really didn't want to be taken care of. She wanted to be left alone and she wanted to go home.

"Please," the woman pleaded. English was obviously not her first language, but she said it clearly enough for Felicity to understand. The woman was shaking and seemed to be nearly as terrified as the rest of them.

Nodding, Felicity finally went with the woman. She zoned out though as the woman sat her down after making her change into a thin white dress, it was barely enough to cover her body and thin enough fabric for nothing to be left up to the imagination. That was it, no undergarments. The woman sat her down and used a sponge to slowly wash her before tending to her hair. She didn't do anything special with it; she just brushed it and parted it. It was parted down the middle, which wasn't how she normally wore it, but Felicity didn't really think there was in point in arguing that with the woman. It didn't matter.

"Pretty," the woman spoke once more.

Felicity just stared off at nothing. She just waited, the woman sitting nearby at her side. She didn't know what to think or feel. She wasn't numb, but…how did you describe fighting hysteria? How did you describe that state of being? That's where Felicity was…

. . .

She didn't know why they had decided to shoot them up right before they were removed. Did they think that it made them less emotional? More compliant? It just made things so much blurry for her and made her feel like she'd drank a few too many. Felicity also was still feeling a lot queasy from the actual sight of the needle, let alone watching it puncture her skin before injecting her with God knew what.

They were in a different room now. It seemed like a hallway that had lights that were far too bright above their heads as they stood in a line and a man in a foreign language spoke. Felicity was fairly sure though that there were people on the other side of the black glass that they were facing. It appeared almost mirrored to them, but she knew it wasn't really a mirror, that jut didn't make sense.

Her legs felt ready to give, but she managed to stay upright. Felicity didn't know if it was pure will or just the fact that she was too terrified to cross them again. They hadn't hurt her before, but what if she screwed up again? Maybe they wouldn't care about selling her…

It felt like hours that they stood there under those hot lights, she was sweating and the white fabric clung to her skin. She was certain that it only made it all the more transparent. So, when the door opened and guards marched in, Felicity was actually relieved. They were leaving, they had to be. A hand took her arm firmly and led her out of the long, narrow room.

She watched in almost a confused state as she was separated from the other women that had been lined up with her. It wasn't until she'd entered the next room that she realized what this meant. The room was well furnished and had low lighting. It almost looked like a back room in a club.

She'd been sold.

Felicity was guided to the couch, where she finally collapsed. She didn't care anymore. She didn't know if it was the lack of hope or if she could blame whatever drugs were in her system, but she couldn't hold on anymore. The floodgates were unleashed and tears flooded her face. Sobs racked her chest and lungs. Felicity hadn't thought that anything could be more terrifying than Slade Wilson holding the blade of a sword to her throat and saying that he was going to kill her.

This was more terrifying.

There was a click as the door was opened. There was a woman's voice that seemed to speak in the same language that everyone else spoke. Felicity still didn't know which that was… She didn't look up; even if she had…her vision was blurred more than just with the lack of prescription lenses. The door shut again and she tensed up completely.

What would happen to her now?

The woman spoke again. Felicity didn't understand. She wondered if the woman knew that. Did she know that Felicity had been kidnapped? She had to, right? That this wasn't where she belonged?

"Shh…" another voice, another woman cooed and Felicity felt the couch shift as additional weight was added to it.

It was so odd to be taken into the arms of someone who had bought her up and gently folded her within the safety of their arms. She'd expected a man… She'd expected to be hit or something for being so upset… She hadn't expected comfort…or kindness… Right now, that was what she was labeling what was going on.

"You're safe now," the second woman whispered.

The voice…

It wasn't that the woman sounded sincere or kind. It wasn't the honesty that were in her words. It wasn't even that it was clear from just the sound of her words that English was in fact, her native language. It was that that voice was familiar. It was a voice that she hadn't expected to hear.

"Sara?" she cried out.

Was she hallucinating?

Was it really Sara Lance all the way in…where was she?

"You're going to be safe now," Sara assured as her face came into focus once she pulled away. Her hand caressed Felicity's cheek and she was smiling at her.

"That means…Nyssa?" Felicity put together a moment later and then was conscious of slurring her words. It was really getting harder not to feel like she was drunk WITH a hangover.

"Yes," Nyssa replied from behind Sara. "We should leave."

"Can you walk?" Sara questioned.

Felicity stared at her and for a moment had thought that she'd replied, but then shook her head all too slowly. She'd had a hard enough time keeping herself upright before. There was no way now with how she was feeling.

"You're safe," Sara whispered to her again as Felicity's eyes started to close.

She knew it was the truth.

. . .

When Felicity woke, she was in a bed and she was confused by her surroundings. She started to move and then realized she wasn't in the clothes she last remembered being in either. She'd been changed. Slowly, she brought herself up into a sitting position and just stared down at the sheets that seemed too good for a room that belonged to the League of Assassins.

At least, that's what she last remembered.

League of Assassins.

Sara.

Nyssa.

So, she assumed that's still where she was and they just weren't right there. Felicity groaned a bit as she cradled her head in her hands. She definitely felt like she had a hangover, it wasn't the mild kind either. Felicity wasn't sure what they'd drugged her with, but she didn't want to try that again…ever. She was okay with sticking to caffeine, that could be her drug of choice.

The door opened and Felicity was relieved that it was Sara and Nyssa. At least she knew them and at least she knew they spoke English. They both seemed to be in good spirits as they approached her and Felicity was still a bit overwhelmed by everything that had happened. "How did you find me?" Felicity found herself asking before anything else.

"We were lucky," Sara commented as she sat on the bed, facing Felicity. "And I'm glad we were…" She reached out and brushed some of the hair away from Felicity's face. "I'm sure that Oliver and Digg are worried sick about you."

"You haven't talked to them?"

She was a little shocked by that, but she supposed that she really didn't know all the facts. This was the first time she'd been to Nanda Parbat and the League of Shadows compound…whatever it was called. For all she knew, they didn't have cell towers or internet. Perhaps the League of Assassins were like the Amish…except more like ninjas and all about killing people…and the Amish bit only came in handy when they were at their home base. Or maybe not. Maybe you had to hike somewhere to make calls. She didn't know, all Felicity knew was that she wanted to make sure that Oliver and Diggle knew that she was okay.

"Welcome to Nanda Parbat," Nyssa told her.

"We'll have to wait until we can head into a city before I can use my phone to call Oliver," Sara explained.

Felicity just nodded. "How long?"

"We have to have permission from my father, he is still not happy with my choice to bring you here," Nyssa explained. "You and I may not know each other, but Sara assures me that you'll keep our secrets."

"I'm good at keeping secrets," Felicity said quickly.

Nyssa reached out and ran a finger through her blonde hair, the deadly assassin just a foot away from her. "Good… You're going to need that here…"

Felicity wasn't too thrilled that it sounded like she was going to be there a lot longer than she'd prefer, but at least there was the fact that she was safe. "How was finding me luck?" she asked and looked from Nyssa to Sara. Maybe it was a stupid question, but she wanted to know. "And what about the others? There were others…"

"We bought you, well Nyssa did," Sara explained. "We attend those kind of sales when we know that we are able to make a…purchase…"

"Things are very…delicate in this region," Nyssa spoke up a moment later. "If we did not have to watch what enemies we make so close to…home, then I would have taken down that human trafficking ring long ago…"

It made Felicity sick, but she was still thankful for the rescue even if they had to pay for her. "What normally happens when you buy someone?" she asked curiously.

"We give them a choice… We can take them home or bring them back here," Sara spoke up.

"Most would risk ending back up taken once again if they were to return home," Nyssa filled in. "Most choose to join us here… Some learn to fight—"

"Some work in the kitchen or by cleaning…doing laundry… They're kept safe," Sara finished.

Felicity just nodded slowly. "What does that mean for me?"

"If anyone asks, you belong to me," Nyssa told her.

"Belong?" Felicity questioned. "Like property or like…" She knew that Nyssa and Sara were together, or had been, and she assumed together again because well…they were together. "Like in bed together…" Felicity said slowly. This only seemed to amuse both Nyssa and Sara. "I had hoped that your faces would tell me the answer to my question, but I'm still confused," she admitted.

"Just tell them that you belong to me, they'll understand."

"But…shouldn't I understand?" Felicity questioned.

Sara just smiled at her. "How would you feel about Nyssa and I teaching you some self defense while you're here?"

"Really?" Felicity asked and brightened so much more. Was it wrong that all she could think was this was her kind of girls' night? Well, it was more like camp…like extended sleep away camp… She'd always wanted to go to camp… It hit her that two years ago, this would have been so crazy…a girls' night would have consisted of getting her nails done and eating ice cream while watching a chick flick. Oliver had changed all of that.

"If you desire to learn, then we will instruct you," Nyssa said rather matter of factly. "We can begin today…"

"You use a bow…and I've seen Sara shoot one…so you both know how to use one…weld one? Anyways! Do I get lessons for shooting arrows too? Or is it just trying to keep myself from getting kidnapped the next time a human trafficking ring hits Starling City and targets me?"

Sara just shook her head and smiled. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Felicity told Sara and then turned to Nyssa. "And you too, even though we really don't know each other..."

. . .

Spending time in the League of Assassins refuge flew by. Maybe it was because she'd spent the whole time with Sara and Nyssa. The first night that she wasn't drugged was interesting. She hadn't expected to be sleeping in the same bed as Sara and Nyssa, but they had explained that it was part of keeping her safe and something about Nyssa's claim. It was a little awkward the first hour, but she'd felt so safe…

"I could get used to life like this," Felicity whispered as she lay in bed a bit longer. Sara and Nyssa were already up and moving. She sat up and watched them. "I mean, I get fed…and it's definitely not going to make me fat…and even if it were, all the sweating I do during the day…I'm pretty sure that burn way more than I actually consume. I'm not sure that's healthy…but so far…I'm not going to complain… I'm just you know, stating things…"

"Does that mean that you wish to remain with us?" Nyssa asked.

"Uh…" Felicity mumbled before letting her mouth hang open for a moment. She was thankful, of course, they'd even somehow found contacts with her proper prescription. That made training with Sara and Nyssa even easier because you could actually see… "I just—I mean I'm grateful, but I—and killing—and I'm definitely not League of Assassins material… I mean do you remember when I fell off of that beam thing last week? I think I've found new ways to kill yourself on your own while running that obstacle course… Like I don't need someone chasing after me with a sword or a dagger or arrows flying the air… I can accomplish it all on my own."

Sara laughed. "You'd get the hang of it eventually, it takes time…and you haven't been here that long…"

"The killing—"

"The killing is something that you can never get used to," Sara said slowly and quietly. Felicity noticed a change in her face. She wondered how it worked now for Sara and Nyssa and being in Nanda Parbat. She was part of the League of Assassins again, right? Or was Sara like a housewife? Or did she train? Felicity wasn't sure, but she knew that Sara had said that she couldn't kill anymore…and she'd heard her when she'd broken up with Oliver. Sara had felt like she was a toxic darkness and that made Felicity sad to think that Sara felt that way. But Nyssa seemed to make her happy… "It darkens your heart and slowly eats away at your soul…"

"Not all of us are so melodramic about it," Nyssa chimed in.

"You were born the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, you had no choice in your life but to be this," Sara reminded gently.

Felicity got up from the bed and moved to where the clothes that they'd designated as hers were and started to change. She was excited; today was the day that she was actually going to get to train with weapons. The bow was what she was most looking forward to.

"I seem to spark all kinds of awkward discussions…" Felicity mumbled.

"You do no harm," Nyssa told her. She was already dressed and looking far too fabulous for an international assassin.

"I don't want either of you to ever regret your decision to save me," she told them as she pulled her shirt down and looked towards them. She knew that they could have saved any life at the 'event' and they chose to save her. Yes, Sara knew her, but they didn't have to do it. Nyssa had been in charge and she could have told Sara 'no'. In the end, she knew that she was more than lucky for the way things had turned out.

Nyssa and Sara both approached her. Sara pulled her into a hug and Felicity had to admit, she really appreciated the hugging. She held onto Sara and Nyssa ran her hand through Felicity's hair, it wasn't up in a ponytail quite yet. "That's something we'll never regret…" Sara whispered. "Women should not suffer at the hands of men…and believe me, we know what suffering you would have endured…"

"We are happy we were there when we were," Nyssa added.

"Come on," Sara said a moment later and pulled away from Felicity. "Let's get the hair up and get out to training."

Before Felicity could do it herself, Nyssa was already taking care of her hair for her. "I still don't understand how you two can run around and be all badass with your hair flying everywhere… I mean, you two are obviously gorgeous and awesome, but that one strand of my hair got loose the other day and I almost killed myself when I tumbled over that obstacle because it got in my eye."

"You'll learn," Sara told her. "Being a woman and being strong has its advantages…"

"Men normally underestimate you," Nyssa added.

"Well, and I've seen you two in full gear… They're really not looking at your weapons or your faces when they're first meeting you," Felicity said as she motioned to her chest. "They're really all frat boys…"

"Here, we are not underestimated, but that keeps us strong… You will learn."

"But, we're going to get to call Oliver soon, right?"

"Soon," Nyssa echoed.

Felicity saw the look on Sara's face; she'd briefly looked in Nyssa's direction but then had pressed a smile forward. She really wasn't sure what to think about that. She didn't think that Sara would keep her held there against her will, not just because… So, she just had to assume that there was League of Assassins politics going on that she just didn't know about.

Once her hair was up high in a ponytail, Felicity nodded. "Okay, let's go and do this…and I'll try really hard not to injure anyone…"

"Don't worry, I'll bring the first aid kit," Sara teased.

"I would really rather not learn the League of Assassins' course in stitching yourself up, especially without drugs…not the kind they gave me before, but like the kind that Diggle gave me when you sewed me up that one time, Sara."

. . .

TBC…