"You know, I always hoped my job would take me places. But I never imagined it would take me here." Felicity said, grinning.
They stood in front of the large castle and looked up. The fireworks were lively and colorful and Felicity and Oliver couldn't take their eyes off of them.
Felicity had always loved Disneyland. Even though she had only gone once before, it had been one of the best weeks of her life and although she wasn't a child anymore, she definitely hadn't put up a fight when Oliver told her where their next case was taking them.
Amongst the hoards of young parents with their children, Felicity felt a bit out of place. She stared intently at a mother who was holding a little boy in her arms and pointing up at the fireworks. The child looked absolutely overjoyed and mesmerized.
Felicity wondered what it'd be like to have kids of her own. Would she be a good mother? Would her children like her? It was hard to imagine her making a life, but being a mom had always appealed to her-although, maybe not at this point in time. Her life was complicated enough as it was, and working with Oliver was a dangerous gamble that no child should be involved in.
It took her a minute to realize Oliver had stopped looking at the fireworks. His gaze was now focused on her, a light smile playing on his lips. She turned to him.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" She asked, even though it was unquestionable.
Oliver never looked away from her. "Definitely."
Suddenly, a loud explosion went off. The nearby float that was being featured in the parade went up in smoke and flipped on its side, causing the dozen characters on top to tumble off.
Oliver and Felicity spun around.
People were running everywhere, screaming their heads off and trying to find safety. Paramedics were helping the fallen cast members while the firefighters were putting out the smoke and security was looking around frantically for the assailants and more bombs.
Oliver jumped into action, but not before leading Felicity into the castle and up the stairs, where the story of Sleeping Beauty was told in bits and pieces until you reached the top. This had always been Felicity's favorite place in the entire park.
"Stay here, okay? I'm gonna go help those people, but you need to stay safe." He must've seen her skeptical look, because he added, "I'm serious, Felicity. Don't move."
And with that he was gone, sprinting down the spiraling staircase and out into the open.
Felicity rushed to the stained glass window. She could see almost all of the chaos from up here.
Oliver was standing on top of a float which was no longer moving. Felicity recognized it instantly, with its underwater theme and the characters of Sebastian and Flounder huddling in the far corner.
She watched as the two masked men went to attack Oliver, clearly misjudging his fighting skills. They were both down and out in less than a minute.
Felicity looked around for more attackers, but she couldn't find any. Thankfully, it didn't look like anyone had been seriously hurt. Almost everyone had evacuated the park already and were long gone.
Felicity was tempted to go down the stairs and meet Oliver, but she thought better of it and waited silently.
"You're very pretty, my dear."
She spun around. Behind her, half cloaked in darkness, stood a man leaning against a makeshift shrine, a gun in his hand. Felicity backed up slowly.
"Oh, that won't be necessary. I promise, it'll be painless. You won't feel a thing." The man went to reach for her, but Felicity ran around him and started going down the stairs two at a time. She had almost made it to the last few stairs when an icy hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her towards him.
Felicity thrashed and kicked the man squarely in the shin, making him double over and loosen his grip, but he managed to cover her mouth with a white cloth. Before she knew what was happening, Felicity was swallowed by darkness.
"Felicity?" Oliver said cautiously, walking up the stairs. His bubbly partner seemed unusually quiet, and nowhere in sight. He was about to call out her name again as he got to the top level, but his breath was cut off and his heart stopped.
Felicity. In a shrine. Her eyes were closed, her face pale. Her hands were laying over one another on top of her stomach. It appeared as if she was dead, but even from here he could see the steady rise and fall of her chest.
Oliver swore under his breath and approached her. Her hair had been let down, falling in loose waves over her shoulders. Despite the circumstances, Oliver needed a moment to appreciate how beautiful Felicity was.
But...he had seen this before. Hadn't he? The blonde princess in an endless slumber until her true love kissed her.
"I guess you've found the princess."
The man's voice sliced across the room. Oliver turned around slowly, green hood up and mask on.
Before the man could react, Oliver had an arrow aimed directly at his heart. "Let her go!" He growled, his voice dangerously low.
The man laughed. "Oh, come on, now. You know how the story goes. Only true love's kiss can break the spell."
Oliver took a step forward. "Now!"
He didn't wait for an answer. Dropping to the the floor, Oliver swept the man's legs out from underneath him and placed him in a tight headlock. He struggled and flailed wildly, until his body became limp and Oliver threw him aside. The police would deal with him.
He walked towards the shrine that held Felicity and carefully opened the glass. This wouldn't work. Why would he even try? Magic wasn't real. He wasn't Felicity's true love. He couldn't be. He didn't deserve love and happiness.
Nevertheless, something compelled him to lean in and kiss her softly on the lips, savoring the feeling and holding on to it. He waited for a reaction, anything at all, but was met with deafening silence. Oliver growled in frustration. Had he seriously been believing in magic a moment ago? It wasn't real.
At least, that's what he thought until her eyes fluttered open.
