It was a crisp, cold, fall day.
A sharp wind blew the russet leaves from their fragile perch on the wooden trees to the wet freshly cut grass below.
The gust picked up the fallen golden foliage and swept it across the wide expanse of bright green lawn that surrounds the Queen Family Mansion.
The grand manor itself, surrounded by luxurious gardens and expensive statuary, was reminiscent of a mediaeval castle, built artfully from roughly hewed blocks with staged battlements and decorative 'towers'.
It was a clearly old and large building which no doubt hid many secrets and lies that have amassed over time from being in the possession of such an influential family of Starling City.
But unlike real castles built many centuries ago, this mansion was still the very epitome of modern Starling City's wealth and luxury on the inside.
The shrill call of a telephone rang out through the private study of Robert Queen, the owner of the afore mentioned manor, whom sighed and thanked whatever guardian angel was giving him a way out of this ghastly monthly meeting with the associates of the Undertaking, including Malcolm Merlyn – a man whom was once like a close brother to Robert but was now his most hated and feared enemy, worse than the men he claimed to be cleansing.
Robert Queen would never forget the fateful day Merlyn came to him with the horrific idea of the Undertaking.
The only day that had shocked him more was the unexpected sabotaging of the Queen's Gambit yacht which had ended with the demise of the crew, captain, Sara Lance and his only son, Oliver.
To this day Robert would always remember the power Malcolm held over him, and as much as it disgusted him, it was that mentality that led him with no choice but to agree to every bloody plan of Merlyn's design for the fear of the inevitable destruction of Thea and Moria, his only family left, if he were ever to disobey again.
His poor son Oliver had already become an unnecessary casualty in this dark quest, Robert didn't want anyone he loved to suffer unnecessarily.
Robert hated to even begin to think what might happen if he dared try and stop Malcolm's Undertaking ever again.
He counted himself lucky that he didn't die in the sinking, finding a life raft and a flare in time.
Robert knew that even the slightest show of disloyalty would eventuate with death befalling upon himself and his remaining unfortunate family members.
But regrettably for Mr Queen the guardian angel did not want to be thanked, for as he reached out to lift the phone from its receiver, the ringing stopped and the meeting continued without delay, but that didn't stop Robert from repetitively glancing at the phone willing it to ring once more.
Finally the meeting was over and he was just ushering out the Undertaking associates when the phone rang once more, but like before the second he grasped the phone it stopped.
Inwardly he cursed and continued to remark leaving pleasantries with men whom were planning on destroying large parts of the city, and had been for years.
Malcolm was the only member left in the room when Moria Queen rushed in with an almost unseen lack of dignity. Moria, unusually, ignored Merlyn and flew into her husband's arms shaking visibly.
"What's wrong, Moria?" He was understandably concerned that his diplomatic wife was suddenly acting unimaginably flustered, particularly in front of Merlyn. Moria wasn't given the epithet by the media as the Ice Queen for no reason.
"He's alive." Her voice was, curiously, both joyous and astounded in equal measures.
"Who's alive?" Robert Queen was now certain that some incredibly important event that he was supposed to know about had been completely missed by him for such a dramatic statement to be issued from his elegant tactful wife.
"Oliver, Oliver's alive." Her voice was almost breathless, like saying it with more emotion and force would cause it to become a lie.
"What!? Are you sure?" It was a remarkably silly question on Robert's part, Moria was never unsure about anything, she simply would never allow herself to be in such a weak and compromising position.
Besides, she would never have interrupted a meeting no matter how trivial or how close to the end it was without being so unbelievably sure about this sort of matter.
"I had the Embassy run a DNA test, I didn't tell you when they first rang in case it was some horrid joke but there's no mistake – It's Oliver. It's our son."
Robert felt weak in the knees and had to sit back down on his expensive custom made soft brown leather office chair. His precious son was alive after so long of believing that he drowned at sea.
He stared at his hands, noticing wrinkles and signs of aging that he had never observed before, in complete and utter disbelief, almost not daring to hope that this was real.
That what she said was true and not some brilliant but unbelievable dream.
That his unfortunate son, despite his many failings and mistakes, was still alive after all this time.
That Merlyn's undefeatable plan had impossibly failed for once.
"They say he was found one on of the many deserted islands between China and Japan by a fishing trawler that was forced off course by a vicious storm." Rasia it seems had urgently rushed into the room after Moria, just as jubilant by the incredible news as she was.
"I'm very happy for you; Moria, Robert. To find a family member that you believed gone, it must be truly elating."
With that statement, all the euphoria drained out of Robert Queen as he looked hard at Malcolm Merlyn, trying desperately to decipher the decidedly blank expression upon his set face, hoping that this news was as surprise to Merlyn as it was to himself.
Hoping that the businessman would not suddenly decide that Robert's loyalty needed to be reinforced once more by finishing the job he started five years ago.
The cold assassin blinked slowly, no expression filtering through his carefully placed mask, and Robert began to fear that Oliver mayn't live for very long if he returned to Starling City.
"Thea," The name of his daughter spilled out of his mouth uncontrollably, barely realising what he was saying. "She will be overjoyed, I need to tell her."
Moria smiled the kind of beam that her children would have sworn to have never seen since they were young children, "I will take care of it, Robert. Tommy should know too,"
Moria looked at Malcolm as if suddenly realising he was in the room, "I expect that your son will be positively thrilled to see his best friend alive."
"No doubt." Merlyn's voice was crisp and clear, giving not even the slightest indication of his inner emotions.
Rasia swept Moria away, out of the room, already inquiring to the future preparation of Oliver's room.
For over a minute nothing was said by either man, each deep in their own thoughts, and neither willing to share them.
It was, oddly enough, Malcolm whom broke the cold flat silence that surrounded the study.
"I really should be going, I have business to attend to, and for once I would like to be the one to give Tommy some good news." He stood up and began walking through the room towards the exit, stopping at the last window to look out upon the rolling expanse of wet grass.
Robert nodded absently, not really wanting to acknowledge the man whom may be currently planning the second murder attempt upon his son, one that would assuredly not fail the subsequent time.
"And Robert?" Queen stood up and turned himself to completely face Merlyn, his heart rate already speeding up at the mere thought of what Malcolm might say, "I think my point of five years ago has been made. I assure you that I am surprised as you at the recent news and I believe your loyalty will not waver. I will take no further action."
For now, was the resounding unspoken ending of that sentence that pierced through Robert's mind like an arrow.
The unbidden thought entered his brain, and not for the first time Robert wondered how he could have gotten tangled up in this complicated mess.
…/|\...
Robert Queen strode through the unnaturally sterilised, spotless white walls of Starling City General; regardless of the busy nurses, stressed doctors, harried matrons, worried visitors and sickly patients.
The crowd, recognising the local billionaire, eagerly parted letting the stately man through towards the higher levels of the hospital.
Robert took an inconspicuous chrome elevator to the top floor where only the most dire cases or extremely wealthy patients were housed.
He entered the waiting room dramatically, the double doors clanging against the white walls, to find his organised wife already there waiting patiently for the doctors to allow her access to her beloved long-lost son.
Robert sat beside her on one of the cosy red chairs, and pulled her close to him, both of them beyond shocked that their missing son of half a decade was only a few rooms away.
Dr Lamb entered the small but comfy waiting room with rather less drama then what Robert Queen had done.
The middle aged doctor was the kind of man that quite simply couldn't be imagined to have gone into any profession other than that of the medical field. He looked like the typical smart doctors one would see on an advertisement, television, or in a movie.
He was in command of a small team of the best doctors of Starling City and was used to catering to the tremendously rich or direly ill.
He crossed the room in a few long strides, a stethoscope around his neck, a wooden clipboard close in hand, which was thickly filled with medical reports all entitled, Oliver Jonas Queen.
"Mr and Mrs Queen?" He inquired as if he didn't know whom they were, as of Robert wasn't one of the largest donor to the hospital and Moria didn't hold an annual fundraiser for Starling General.
Nodding in affirmative, Robert stood up, offering his hand gentlemanly to his wife whom took it without much of the usual ceremony and stood close beside him.
"Please come this way." His voice was so carefully neutral that Moria started to worry that maybe her son wasn't nearly as well as she had been informed.
They were led through a small side corridor, the same sterilised white as the rest of the hospital, their footsteps clacking loudly against the cold hard floor.
Stopping outside the last room, Dr Lamb said cautiously, "On the outside, Oliver is at the very peak of his physical health but I would like to warn you whatever happened to him was clearly disturbing to say at the least. Twenty percent of his body is covered in scar tissue, second degree burns on his back and arms, X-Rays show twelve fractures that never properly healed."
Moria implored worried, "Has he said anything about what happened?"
"No, he's barely said anything." The doctor was clearly apprehensive.
The two parents looked through the glass window inbuilt in the wooden frame of the door at the tall solid man wearing a simple white shirt and ill-fitting blue trousers.
The blonde man was looking determinedly out though the floor to ceiling windows at Starling City's bright lit-up skyline outside.
"Moria, Robert," Lamb continued, "I'd like you to prepare yourself. The Oliver you lost might not be the one they found."
Moria gingerly opened the door, Robert hesitantly following her. When the man did not turn Moria carefully questioned, "Oliver?"
He turned around slowly and it was then the true realisation of the amount of time that had passed since they had last seen each other hit the elder Queens suddenly.
Oliver's blonde hair was cut close in a reminiscently militaristic style, any softness on his face was long gone having been replaced by a hard defined lines, and his cool blue-green eyes were shielded and carefully emotionless, but it was unmistakeably Oliver Jonas Queen.
He tilted his head slightly sideways, his mouth quirking up in something akin to a smile.
"Mom, Dad." He said so quietly, so unlike the loud flamboyant Oliver of their memories. He walked over, standing just in front of Moria looking deep into her eyes, as if looking for something within his mother's eyes.
"Oh…. My beautiful boy." She said overwhelmed, tears welling in her eyes. She hugged him emotionally, which he returned somewhat stiffly, they parted and Robert Queen reached out to clasp his son's hand, which he reverted with a subtle strength that seemed more like an unconscious action then a mindful one.
Oliver smiled slightly but the joyous emotion associated with that type of expression never reached his speckled jade and cerulean indifferent eyes.
Moria, unable to keep away, pulled Oliver once more into a compassionate hug holding him as close as possible as if he would disappear completely if he wasn't grounded to her physically, pressing a motherly kiss on near Oliver's ear.
Robert suddenly stepped back, some primal instinct deep within him warning him that there was danger, overwhelming his happiness that had accompanied him ever since he found out that his precious son was alive.
Oliver looked at him over his mother's shoulder, and suddenly for just a split second, Robert felt like a skittish deer cornered before a powerful hungry wolf.
As if his son was a predator and he was the prey.
But in the blink of an eye, Oliver changed back to looking harmless and content instead of incredibly dangerous and angry.
Robert shook the feeling of fear off, putting it down to the unsettling meeting earlier with Malcom Merlyn and leaned forward to hug his son once more, not noticing how the muscles of Oliver were rolling and powerful – powerful enough to rip a man apart or snap a spine with relative ease.
Oliver looked at his parents, almost as delighted to see them as they were but he instinctively hid it, as it was an emotion, and all genuine emotions should be hidden.
At least, that was the habit Oliver had slipped into after five years of hell.
Examining at his parents he was almost startled that they had hardly changed at all, aside from deeper worry lines and greyer hair.
His father stood tall, but to Oliver's surprise, not as tall as he was now, still in his business suit presumably coming to the hospital from the office.
His mother was as elegant as ever despite her emotional state, wearing an expensive yet modest dress and jewellery that would probably fetch an immense amount on any market, black or otherwise.
Oliver had always known that the hardest person to fool would almost certainly be her.
Hearing her talk with Dr Lamb before she entered the room only confirmed his suspicions that of anyone was to try and successfully work out anything that had happened to him in the last few years it would be her.
It was she whom had the resources, passion and ruthless determination to find out the truth.
In fact, Oliver thought that she may be even more of a threat than someone who didn't know him before, someone without any preconceived notions about him. Like Dr Lamb, whom admittedly did the medical examination and saw his scars.
Oliver was didn't miss his ill-omened but truthful warning about him not being the Oliver they remembered.
He was now so far removed from young playboy Ollie Queen it felt beyond strange coming home and taking his 'rightful' place as the Queen heir.
And yet it was the thought of coming home to his family that kept him going, proving to them that he wasn't the selfish womanising jerk that was shipwrecked but someone who wants to make right their wrongs and just maybe be worthy of their love despite the unmeasurable blood on his hands, the many mistakes he had made, horrors he had committed, and the wretched poison that now ran deep in his veins.
Someone that could be called a decent man.
…/|\...