Beyond the Night |Arrow| [1]

Prologue

Robert Queen beamed as he saw a young girl making her way down the pier. She smiled as her grip tightened on her duffle bag. "Hey Mr. Queen."

"Lottie. How many times have I told you to call me Robert" This time she laughed, allowing Robert to pull her into a hug.

"Too many to count." Charlotte picked up her bag that she had dropped. "Sorry, Robert."

"Do you have everything?" He asked the dark haired girl.

"I made sure she did, Robert." Moira laughed as she pulled her husband into a hug. "Now where's Oliver?"

"Running late as normal" She said as Robert choked on a laugh. "That's because he's a queen."

Moria laughed as she pulled the girl into a hug. "Have fun, sweetheart." Lottie smiled. "Thanks Moria."

"I'm just going to put up my things." Robert and Moria nodded as she moved onto the boat.

Charlotte moved through the small hallway, throwing her bag onto a bed in one of the cabins. She pulled out her phone, glancing at the picture of her parents and her. It was the last one taken before they were killed in a car crash seven years ago. The Queens had taken her in as they were friends with the Jansons. It had been Robert Queen and Kenneth Janson that ran the company. They wanted Oliver and Charlotte to run it when they couldn't anymore, hence the reason why Robert was taking them both on the business trip.

She wiped a stray tear from her face as she left the room, making her way back up to the dock to wait for Oliver. Who knew what he was up to. Probably with Laurel or Sara. Charlotte knew what was going on between the love triangle. As much as it hurted her.

The greatest mistake she ever made was thinking that she mattered to him as much as he did to her. Even since they would walk, they were attached at the hip, with their best friend Tommy. Now she is nothing but a shell, worse than a robot and bereft of a love he took for granted. Her heart isn't merely broken, it is a shadow of what it was and fading a little more every day.

She prayed to anyone or anything that this trip will change. She hoped that Oliver would take it seriously and grow up. It would take a miracle for that to happen. Why did she have to fall in love with the one person who she could never have. The one person who only saw her as a sister.

"There he is." Robert's voice got her out of her depressing thoughts.

"Speaking of the devil." She mumbled.

"Ready to go?" Oliver smiled at his father then at Charlotte. "Ready for an adventure, Lottie?"

"You betcha." She told him, giving him a forced smile.

"Goodbye, Loves." Moira said. Smiling down at the two. "Have fun. Learn lots."

"No, not really." Oliver said, shaking his head and sharing a look with Charlotte. "Well. The fun part."

"Let's go." Robert announced cheerfully. "We will have the next CEOs of Queen & Janson Consolidated when we get back."

Oliver and Charlotte smiled at each other, both forced. Charlotte was excited about learning to take over for Robert, but she knew Oliver would never be ready. It saddened her, cause she thought they would do it together, like they did everything else, but he was far from ready.

As Moria, Robert and Oliver were still saying their goodbyes, Charlotte noticed a black car pulling up. A blonde jumped out of the car, carrying a bag on her shoulder. She frowned. What was Sara doing here? Her heart started to hurt. Oliver couldn't have invited her, but yet he did. Charlotte rolled her eyes, hiding the hurt that crept inside her. This was going to be a long trip.

Robert put an arm around her as he and Oliver walked, Charlotte barely heard a word they were saying as she watched Sara jump onto the boat and hide. Oh man... She needed a miracle to get through this trip.

---

An hour or so had gone by and Charlotte hid in her room. She didn't want to see Oliver, especially not with Sara.

She walked out of her room, down the hallway into the kitchen area to find something to eat. Of course, Oliver was there grabbing a bottle of wine.

"You know he will find out she's here." Charlotte said, grabbing a glass.

"What he doesn't know, can't hurt him." Oliver said. "At the moment."

"Why are you doing this? What about Laurel?" Charlotte tried to defend her friend. "You can't keep hurting her like this." Like you are hurting me, she wanted to say.

"What do you know about this, Lottie?" Oliver snapped. "You know nothing about love." With that he walked out.

She never experienced pain this bad before. It all started when she lost her parents, then her brother, now it seemed like she was losing her best friend. It sneaked up on her quietly and took her under its arms in an instant. Every memory played like a song in her head, repeating itself for what seemed like forever. She was lost mostly because She had lost a big part of me. She couldn't get that part back and wanted it so bad that her life depended on it but it was all gone, vanished in thin air. She couldn't say it got better but it did get easier. At first, she thought pain was something bad that takes you ten feet under but soon she learned that it was just the price for loving someone.

Sadness rained down her. She looked out into the dark night. Waves crash, wind blowing, the rain beating against the yacht. Just like her emotions. It's funny how the weather always shows your emotions.

"It's getting bad out there." Robert said, moving closer to Charlotte and taking her arm. "You okay? I heard everything Oliver said."

"Yea, just wondering why he does this." Charlotte said, taking a sip.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Robert kissed the girl on the head. "He'll wake up one day and realize everything he ever needed is right in front of him."

"What?" she asked. What had Robert been talking about?

Robert smiled at the girl's shocked emotions. "It was always going to be you two against the world." He laughed. "When you guys finally admit to your feelings for each other, I will finally get to say I told you so."

"Never." Charlotte laughed. Her father figure was out of his mind. She shook her head, but jumped at the crack of thunder. "That was too close."

Charlotte screeched as the boat pitched forward. "Ollie" She cried for her best friend as she ran toward his room.

A crack appeared in the wall with a sound. A Rushing of the water was heard, as the yacht began to take water. Everything happened quickly, Charlotte was yelling then she was slammed against the wall.

Her eyesight blurred, but not because tears welled up. Everything became fuzzy; then she saw nothing at all. Her consciousness floated through an empty space filled with a thick static. Throughout the inky space her heartbeats pounded loudly, echoing in her ears, alongside fading pleas for help.

Feeling in her body drained away until finally all was black.

--

Charlotte found herself waking up, with her arms wrapped around Oliver's middle as he pressed his lips to her wet hair. The feel of her warm tears sent shivers through her body.

"Hey, you're going to be okay." Robert said.

Charlotte glanced up at him, her grip tightening on Oliver. "What happened? What's going on?"

"Shhh, little one." Robert said, placing his hand on her cheek, thumb rubbing away her tears. "The boat took a hit, but we are going to be fine, I promise."

Charlotte nodded, burying herself into Oliver's chest. His arm held her close, one hand running over her hair. He could feel her breathing slow against his chest. He wasn't sure how long it took before she was asleep.

"Dad," Oliver said quietly. "We will be saved, right?"

"Always, son. Always." Robert said.