The Green Dragon
AN: So, I stumbled across a whole sub-genre of romance novels that focus on shapeshifters and I couldn't stop my muse from running away with it...So, this will be a series. The first will be Oliver's backstory prior to s1ep1. The 2nd will focus on Felicity's back story and the third will pick up where the series began.
Chapter 1. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
"Fucking slow down man!" Tommy Merlyn yelled as Oliver peeled through the streets of Starling City in his Porsche. "Do you want to get pulled over by the cops?"
Oliver laughed, slowing down fractionally. "Can you blame me, brother? It's not like I'm you and can just transform and go flying in dragon form like you. This is as close as I can get. "Do you know how embarrassing that is? I'm a Queen for fucks sake. I'm not like you."
Tommy growled, clenching his hands tightly. He ripped his seatbelt off before leaping out of the convertible as Oliver brought it to a stop and turning his glowing gold eyes on his best friend as he fought down his urge to shift into his dragon form. "No, you're not like me. You still have both of your parents, whereas, my mother was murdered and my father abandoned me in his grief. Not even me shifting at the age of nine could bring him back. And why? Because I'm a BLUE dragon, like Mom, not a BLACK dragon like him."
"Tommy, it is so cool that you're a blue dragon, a healer. I can't imagine you being a black dragon. You know they are just full of poison. Your father is the prime example of that, as you well know. "And he knew that from your dragonmarks," he continued, referring to the tattoo like marks that each dragon is born with that decorate their skin in whimsical patterns in the color that they are going to be when transformed. In modern society, some communities of dragon use them to possibly take children from their parents at birth, supposedly for "extra training." His father had eschewed that practice, instead, offering the children the training if they so desired, instead of separating them. For Tommy that had meant that once his mother, Rebecca had been killed and Malcolm disappeared in his grief, Robert had found another two more blue dragons, Dr. Connor Rhodes and Dr. David Downey, both from Chicago that were willing to relocate to Starling City to teach Tommy how to control his powers.
Just like with Oliver's own green dragonmarks, a disappointment to both of his parents, marking him as a soldier, instead of inheriting the gold that Robert bore, marking him as both royalty and leader. As Robert had expected of his only son, however, Moira had remarked that at least he was marked as nobility, so they had invested time to explain to him that if he was so marked, then it was likely that his skills would be needed sooner or later and had highly encouraged him to learn to fight, however, to their mutual disappointment, he proved to be a lackluster student and even at twenty-two after a good fifteen years of instruction, he still could barely throw a punch without hurting his hand.
Oliver watched as Tommy seemed to think about what Oliver had said and sighed. He knew how his best friend tended to process any information that went counter to his long-held sense of unworthiness due to Malcolm's insults. Oliver knew that it would take several hours of pacing for Tommy to process what Oliver had said. With that in mind, Oliver reached into his jacket and pulled out the joint he'd been smoking earlier and a lighter to finish smoking it. As he lit it up, he lazily watched the smoke curl in the wind as he blew it out, imagining it was smoke from the dragon fire he'd be able to blow once he shifted.
Finally, Tommy hopped back in the car, reaching into the small ice chest they had stuck in the backseat for another can of beer. After cracking it open, he swallowed half of the contents with a happy sigh. "Want one, man? How about we switch?" he asked Oliver before holding out his hand for the glowing joint. Oliver handed the blunt over as Tommy passed him the half empty can, which he finished off in short order before reaching in and grabbing another can. After he popped the tab, he settled back into the driver's seat of Tommy's red Porsche 911 and started the engine. He revved it a couple of times before taking off into a 180 that sent gravel flying and gunning it back towards Starling City.
Oliver had made it hallway to Tommy's house before red and blue lights appeared behind him. He just looked at Tommy, who was laughing. "Why are you slowing down? I know this car can outrun them."
Oliver nodded and gunned it again, swerving around cars going a more sedate pace, blowing through yellow lights. He had just reached The Glades when more police cars and a helicopter joined the chase, so, out of habit he signaled a left and took the corner on squealing tires. He looked around quickly and realized he was by the old Queen Steel factory, that his father had closed a couple of months ago. Thankfully, he had spent a good couple of years hanging out around the factory, so he knew the streets like he back of his hand. That in mind, he twisted the wheel back and forth easily losing the pursuing cops, that is until one car cut him off, two blocks past the plant. Thankfully, the breaks on the Porsche were top of the line and they stopped mere inches from the black and white. The door opened and Oliver looked on as Officer Lance (Laurel's father and a red dragon and on the dragon council charged with the well-being of the town) stepped out, his gun drawn. "Queen, Merlyn, get outta that car with your hands up!
Tommy just giggled maniacally as he reached down for another beer. "What's up Quinton?"
"Merlyn, don't try me. You know that your father has given me leave to deal with you as I see fit if he is not I town, right? Queen, are you drunk and high? Are you mad? The kinda stuff that gets dragons impaired is just as likely to kill you as get you high. 75% of the time they are laced with aqua regia, which you know is fatal to dragon on skin contact, can you imagine the agony that you would go through if ingested?"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever dude, "Tommy said laconically, reaching down and popping the tab of the beer and chugging it. Oliver just held back a giggling fit at Tommy's performance, he knew his best friend was just trying to take the heat off him, so that Robert wouldn't punish him yet again since Oliver had finally gotten back in his good graces and off what he referred to as "probation". So far, it was working; Oliver had obediently gotten out of the car and moved to the sidewalk, his hands crossed behind his head. He shifted impatiently from foot to foot, trying to relieve the ever increasing pressure the multiple beers were putting on his bladder. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, so he stepped away, towards the police car and tried to be discrete as he lowered his zipped and breathed sigh of relief as he emptied his bladder. He was so focused on the relief that he failed to hear the scuttle of feet in the alleyway behind him, but once the light of the camera came on, he quickly straitened himself. If there was one thing he knew, he did not want the paparazzi to get a dick shot of him. He was well endowed, as most shifters were and he did not want to put up with the sluts and tramps throwing themselves at him based on a picture of his junk. So, he pasted the Fake smile on his face and turned to see an adorable brunette standing with a microphone thrust in his direction.
"Olilie! Why were you urinating on Officer Lance's car? Trouble with your prospective feather-in-law?"
Oliver felt a bolt of anger shoot through him. He hated that is and Laurel's relationship was so public. Neither of them could even go out with friends without the paps asking if they had broken up yet again. The pressure from her, expecting to become the new Mrs. Queen, coupled with the frustration of not being able to shift yet and led him down a self-destructive path and with as many times that he had cheated on her, he knew that they were definitely not meant for each other. Not like their parents. Robert and Moira along with Quentin and Dinah and Malcolm and Rebecca were mated dragons. Deep down Oliver had always hoped to find his mate, that one woman in the world that was meant for him and him alone.
Oliver knew as soon as he walked into the house, he was in trouble. His father rarely used verbal speech with him and Thea, instead opting to use dragon speech. So, when as soon as the door closed behind him, he heard Robert Queen bellow, "Oliver! Get in my office NOW!"
Oliver ducked his head and dragged his feet, not ready for the lecture he was about to get. He knew getting drunk and high was irresponsible, but he was chafing under the restrictions that his parents kept on him. That and the and pressure he was under to marry his girlfriend, from both his parent and hers since she was a silver dragon (basically the dragon equivalent of a queen) Laurel Lance. His parents had arranged their marriage when they were mere children Starling City was a sanctuary for all shifters wanting to escape the purely human world. And when it had been founded, it was written into the binding shifter charter that the shifters of the city would always be ruled by a dragon King or Queen and their true mate. That was why Robert and Moira had made the arrangement with the Lances'; They were direct descendants of a daughter born of Guinevere and Lancelot whereas if Tommy had been a girl of Malcolm and Rebecca had borne a female child, Oliver would have been betrothed to her since they were direct descendants of a son born to Arthur and Guinevere with the help of the wizard Merlin.
Starling City has been protected by the Queen family for hundreds of years, an ancient line, the Dragomir line, descended from the dragon kings of Russia and Robert was desperate to keep it under Dragonmir control. The only other way was if Oliver met his true mate, but both him and Moira had decided that would never happen. The Dragomir line was renowned for their elemental control, and when the decision was made, or so it is told, to move to America, they moved to an impoverished city that happened to lay upon great deposits of gold, silver and precious gems and proceeded to build the largest hoard ever known to any dragon line. However, they did not just sit on their richest, no. They gifted a good bit to the human city, who would then forevermore swear an oath to protect their secrets. The Lance clan was eager to join their families together and increase their own hoard. Robert had tried to instill respectability into his children; a respectability that that he believed Oliver was just lost since his future father-in-law cop who had just cited him for public intoxication, he knew there would be hell to pay once the story hit the wire. So, to hear his father bellow for him as soon as he crossed the threshold was not a surprise. He hung his head as he walked into the office. "Father, I am very sorry."
"Sorry?! What in the world were you thinking, Oliver? Disappointed does nor even begin to describe what I am feeling towards you right now. In one minute, you have destroyed public perception of this family. All the news channels are laughing at us. And why? Because you can't control your bladder. And really, Quentin Lances' patrol car?"
Oliver held up his hands. "In my defense, I did not urinate on his patrol car, just on the other side," he began.
"In this case, a picture is worth a million words…"
"I simply had turned a bit, so the camera did not get my dick on film. Should I have let the paps see how unusually well-endowed I am in that area? You know that shifters are larger than the average human, and I am larger than the average shifter…" Oliver felt heat rising to his cheeks as he made that admission.
"No, you are correct, this is the better of those scenarios. We can at least spin this as a rich boy sowing wild oats, but that means you are really going to have to buckle down and become more involved in the business. Saying Sorry does not make up for the hit that this family will take. What is it going to take for you to understand exactly how important the family image is? Not just for the company, but for the city as well." Robert sighed as Oliver just kept his head down, refusing to look up. "Son, I know that you are chafing under the restraints, but if you are going to lead this family and the company, I need to see that you are truly ready. Neither your mother nor I are going to live forever and we both want to see you happily settled with your mate and maybe have some grandchildren as well. For me to see if you are ready for your starter hoard from the family vaults, you will need to come with me to China for this business meeting. We will be meeting with investors and a company to hopefully start a new Applied Sciences division. Walter and I have been actively recruiting some of the brightest minds from schools like MIT and CalTech. We've already got a promising response from a few of their brightest students."
Oliver sighed this time, knowing that his father would not relent. He finally raised his head. "When do we leave?" he asked, already thinking about the weekend he had planned with Tommy, his best friend. They had practically grown up together as their parents were best friends as well. In fact, Oliver still called Tommy's father 'Uncle Malcolm' and had called his mom 'Aunt Rebecca' until her death; Tommy did the same to his parents.
"We will leave Friday morning, just before dawn. It will take several days to make it to Hong Kong on the boat, but this will give us time to bond and you a chance to get in touch with your inner dragon. You really need to start shifting, especially since helping the city out with controlling the rain will fall to you when I am gone. It's important to keep it consistent so the outlying farms will thrive and you will be able to call down the rain in case of large fires."
Oliver nodded, knowing the truth behind his father's statement. He could still remember an incident from when he was five or six. A fireworks warehouse in the glades had caught on fire; Robert had called the rain down, but not nearly enough. The warehouse had exploded, taking out three surrounding blocks as well. Fifteen people had died in the explosion, and three firefighters before he had called the rain. Oliver still remembered how upset his father had been and how he had helped the families of the 18 victims by paying for the funerals and setting up trust funds to help them with whatever expenses they had over the years... It was also the first time, Robert had sat him down to explain why it was important that he'd done what he had and why it was their family's responsibility to handle disasters like that.
"I remember, Dad. I promise to work on getting in touch with my dragon and being the person I need to be to take over the company. How about I bring the college brochures with me and we can decide which college would be best for me?"
Robert nodded, relief filling his eyes. "I think that would be best, son. I will let your mother know. I'm proud of the maturity that you are showing, buy know this, you need to lay off the drinking and drugs. As it is, I think it would be best that we manufacture a rehab for you to go to."