Chapter One
June 1921
Moira Queen heard a car driving on the gravel and wondered who could it be, since she wasn't expecting anyone. She looked out the big window and saw a black car stop in front of their entrance. Two men wearing a military uniform came out and rang the bell of the Queen Mansion.
"Mrs. Queen. There are two men from the War Department who have asked to speak with you" the housekeeper said.
"Did they say why?" She asked perplexed.
"Only that it was an urgent matter "
"Let them in then. I'll be waiting in the living room" Moira said sighing.
"Mrs. Queen, we are very sorry to disturb you without previous notice. But we didn't have time as things have happened quite rapidly. You can confirm us that your son's name is Oliver Jonas Queen?" Major Smith said after introducing himself.
Moira's heart sank "It was. Have you found his grave?" She asked resigned.
Major Smith looked straight into her eyes "No ma'am" He paused. "He is alive".
Moira Queen was a stern woman, there weren't many things that would get her. But this time she felt so weak in her legs that she had to sit down.
"This can't be. Where is he, what happened?" She said whispering.
"He is on his way to the United States now. We don't have much detailed information but he contacted the American Embassy in Dar Es Salaam a few weeks ago"
"We were told he had been killed in the Battle of Mahiwa" She objected.
"Apparently he was severely wounded and then made prisoner by the Germans. When the war ended he was still in poor condition and was taken to a local village."
"And then?"
"Then you'll have to ask your son".
Five years earlier
June 1916
Oliver Jonas Queen, aged 24, knew he was always the centre of the attention at any social event of Starling City. He was rich, handsome, charming and he had everything he wanted. He was engaged to Laurel Lance, a beautiful socialite he was planning to marry soon. His only duty was toward the Starling Weekly, a report magazine owned by his family company, Queen Industries, of which he was the editor. He approved the articles written by his staff, the layouts and the advertisement.
His father Robert Queen, of English middle class origin, was the president of the company he had founded in 1886 and rapidly brought into success. He had decided to make his son work at the magazine once he had finished university by the skin of his teeth. Robert Queen thought the magazine to be an easy experience for his son. He wanted him to mature enough so one day he could take control of the Company. He and his wife Moira had realized they had been too permissive with their son, who had become too carefree. They had another daughter, Thea. She was 16 years old and too bright for her age.
Oliver Queen woke up in the morning at 7.30. Well it happened usually just a couple of times during the week, because he often went to parties and arrived home very late. Raisa, the beloved housekeeper, would knock at his door with a cup of coffee and a couple of toasts. If she didn't get any answer she knew to come back later, because when he was up, he would usually open the door himself.
That morning he'd been up already at 6. He hadn't managed to sleep very well. He didn't understand why, he hadn't even drunk much the previous night. He had gone with Laurel to a friend's birthday dinner. Thomas Merlyn Jr was actually his best friend, son of Malcolm Merlyn, another powerful magnate of Starling City. They had grown up together, attending the same school and university, doing the same sports, going to the same places. Tommy was an only child and Oliver was like a brother to him.
Raisa raised her arm and was an inch from the door to knock it, when Oliver opened the door and smiled at her.
"Mr. Oliver" She sighed, putting her hand on her chest. "You almost frightened me!"
"I'm very sorry Raisa, I didn't mean to" he said taking the trail from her hands and putting it on his desk.
"You are already dressed Mr. " She noticed, while taking a few steps inside his room.
"I couldn't sleep. And then I became tired of turning around in my bed" He shrugged. "Is my family up?"
" is having breakfast in the dining room and Miss Thea should be ready to go to school"
"Thank you. I think I'll join Thea on her way to school. I'll ask Adam to leave me at the publishing house"
"Then I'll tell him to wait" Raisa said leaving. Oliver drank quickly his coffee and looked at himself the mirror, adjusting his necktie. Then he ran down the stairs and joined his sister in the back of their car.
"Adam told me you were coming too, but I was finding it hard to believe" Thea said amused.
"Well, I guess I can't really blame you" He said patting her knee " How is school?"
Thea grumbled "It's good but it's boring. And I'm surrounded by little minxes. Unfortunately, no matter how much I try, father won't let me transfer into a mixed school"
"Aah, boys!"
"NO! Well yes. Well I think a mixed school would be more challenging for me. And I think I would have a better education. I feel we're not getting enough here, because in the end they are just preparing us to be the wives of important men"
"I'm afraid I have to agree on that. But it was either this one, or a boarding school in England" He said.
They arrived at the school and Oliver gestured to Adam that he was going to open the car for her sister. He quickly got out and run to the other side to open the door for Thea. Then he kissed her cheek and wished her a good day.
Once he got back in the car, Adam told him "I see what you were doing sir". When he had kissed his sister, the girls around them had been swooning, whispering and sighing. He had done it on purpose.
"Thea wasn't overstating. But in the end, that's the age!" he winked. "This school has been around for years, but they should definitely be oriented in a modern way" He thought.
Adam drove Oliver to the publishing house, a nice Victorian building located downtown in King Street, which could have been compared to London's Fleet Street.
Oliver entered the building, wondering why people were surprised to see him, but when he saw his Miss Prudence, his secretary, gasping and looking at him wide-eyed, he asked.
"Is something wrong Prudence?"
"No sir. Not at all, good morning to you! Do you want a cup of coffee?"
"No thanks. But I'd like to have the magazine, it's out right?"
"Yes sir, I'll be right back. I was going to bring it to you later, because I didn't think to see you this early"
"Is it really that early?" He asked.
"You usually arrive after 10 sir" Prudence said holding her breath. Oliver looked at his pocket watch, it was 8.30. No wonder, he thought. Miss Prudence arrived a minute later with the newest copy of the Starling Weekly. He would usually flip through the pages but this time the main article of the week caught his attention quite immediately. It concerned the Lafayette Escadrille, an escadrille of the French Air Service, composed mostly by American volunteer pilots. It was something that made him think. There were young men like him, his compatriots. And they had decided to go fight a war that wasn't theirs, risking their lives each time they stepped on one of those planes. They were remarkable men, he thought with a bit of longing.
Oliver was holding the magazine in front of him and noticed how neat the printing was. As if something had changed from the last edition. He called back Prudence and asked her if she had seen that change too. His secretary nodded and wondered if it was the paper or something in the typography section. Oliver was impressed and decided to go down to talk to the supervisor. He walked down the stairs to the lower ground and entered the printing room. The place was loud as they were still printing additional copies of the magazine.
" Mr. Smoak?" he called.
"Mr Queen, good morning. What can I do for you?" he asked politely but surprised.
"Mr. Smoak" He paused to lift the magazine "What have you changed? Is it the paper or the press, but the magazine has never looked so neat"
"Ah, you noticed!" Mr. Smoak answered. Oliver didn't know if he should feel slightly offended. "We adjusted the color distribution in the press" he paused "We changed a piece in the press, that's why"
"Well done sir, the magazine has never looked better"
"Thank you, but I have to admit it was not my idea"
Oliver looked at him questioning.
"And none of the guys either. It was my daughter's "
"Does she work here too?" Oliver looked around.
"No, Felicity is just a girl, she still goes to school. But she likes all mechanical things" His father said almost apologetically "And she wants to be an engineer! Can't she just get married like all the girls?" He shook his head.
"Or she can do both, if she wants" Oliver said winking.
"Oh well…" Mr. Smoak said scratching his head.
"Please tell her that her idea was very clever and I appreciated it" Oliver bid farewell and went back to his office. He sat at his desk and kept reading the rest of the magazine.