The Legend of The Lightning Girl: A Red Queen Fanfiction

Chapter 3: House Barrow

I studied my new pin in the mirror.

It was made of purple-painted titanium. It will never rust. Even better, it's not magnetic. No magnetrons could control it.

It was a jagged lightning bolt with a circle that met the top and bottom of the bolt.

It was about the size of my thumb. Outside our house, black banners with the same purple symbol now flutter in the wind. The announcement was made.

House Barrow stands tall.

Our house overlooks the Montfortan city. It is now the Seat of House Barrow, Samos, Farley, Warren, Cole, and more. Others followed in my footsteps.

Gisa opened a tailor shop and is teaching two apprentices. My father and brothers run a mechanical workshop. House Barrow makes fine clothes and beastly machines.

I stand on the balcony, looking at the city. I still wear my Scarlet Storm outfit. Some of the Montfortans call me Miss Storm now. I told Cal he would have to think of a new nickname, or else I blush every time a stranger calls me that.

I watch as Cal walks to just below the balcony. "May I enter?" He asks.

"You may." I agree. I wait on the balcony.

The door opens, and Cal joins me outside.

"Quite a view."

"You grew up overlooking a city just as big."

"But not as beautiful. Archeon was great but ugly. Thanks to our horrid mistreatment of Reds."

"Agreed. Still, I imagine you're here for a different view." I say, unzipping my coat slightly.

"A much more beautiful sight." He admits. "Lady Barrow."

"You forget your manners. You should kneel to a lady." I smile up at him, placing my hands behind my back and standing upright. I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Of course." He gets to a knee, becoming eye level with me.

"Good man." I kissed him. "I find myself too tired to walk to the bedroom. Fix that." I command him. He smiled, placed his arms around my thighs, and lifted me.

"That's a lot of leather." He complains.

"Choose your next words carefully," I said, this time serious. His hand moved to the back of my head and lowered me next to the bed.

"Making you pout is not the threat you think it is." He said. He unzipped my coat and let it fall around us. I kicked it aside.

I pinched his ear and pulled him down. He did not resist.

"What about angering your lady?" I asked, releasing his ear.

"That, I fear much more." He said with a smile. He kissed me, and any annoyance I had dissolved.

I took his shirt off and placed my hands on him. I ran my hands across his familiar muscles and scars.

I felt his strength. His muscles rippled with movement. The first time I felt it, it was as enticing as it was frightening. If not for my ability, I would be utterly defenseless against him, should he ever choose to harm me. My muscles weren't small. For a woman, I had a lot of strength. Farley is the only woman I know who could beat me in an arm wrestle.

But Cal outmatches me a hundred to one.

Now, of course, it does not frighten me. I know now that he will never hurt me. He is not Maven.

Instead, it feels secure. I feel most safe when I am wrapped in his muscle.

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The plane hums with electric pulsing. I watch electrical currents surge through the hull, all around us.

Cal sleeps on a bed next to mine. My relationship is a known secret. Everyone knows, but nobody dares to bring it up. Everyone but Anabel and Evangeline, who love tormenting me. Anabel has come around, for the most part. If nothing else, she has grown more tolerant of me. I suspect having my own House, however immaterial, has something to do with it.

Evangeline sleeps a few feet in front of me, Elane cuddled up next to her. Her brother wisely chose to sleep much farther from me. I am glad I've never been in a position where I could kill him without severe consequence, otherwise, I would have and Evangeline would probably have tried to get revenge. It would be a cycle that would end with one of our Houses decimated.

I sit up. Outside the windows, dawn breaks. I stand, putting my coat back on. Scarlet Storm is my name from now on. It's a codename, currently being relayed throughout the kingdoms. The Guard receives the codename, commits it to memory, and then burns all of the evidence of it. Short of a whisper, nobody will know who it refers to. To throw them off, the other electricons were given similar codenames.

We also made up one- Violet Storm. The hope is that its color will make Silvers assume it refers to me- the color of my lightning. It's been relayed to select Guardsmen who will get captured and "break" under interrogation. The nations will believe I am Violet Storm, and they will not care as much to capture the Scarlet Storm.

Other key players get a codename. Mine was Lightning, ever since I fell onto the Queenstrial shield.

The Nortans, thanks to Cal, made a holiday after the event- Thunder Day.

The day Mare Barrow accidentally lit a fuse.

Cal was telling me that it was coming up, which startled me because that would be the two-year mark- two years since I struck the shield. I was almost eighteen, and now I am almost twenty.

He, of course, wants to celebrate it. With how he talks about it, it sounds like it would be a second birthday for me. I doubt I could stop him from getting me a gift.

I am much too occupied with the war.

A month ago, the Lakelands and Piedmont made their moves. Norta and Montfort are holding their borders, but Norta is having issues. As always.

Corvium was rebuilt, to the dismay of the Guard, but we couldn't argue the strategy. Against the Lakelanders, it's a powerful defense.

And now, we head there. I was told the battlefield was cleaned, and the bodies burned or buried. But it won't wipe my memories away.

The fortress is in sight. Far in the distance, it looks like an unnatural mountain.

The truth is much darker.

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We land at Corvium. This being his land, Cal steps off first. Davidson would be here, but he is passing the reigns of Premier to the next one. Radis won the election. Normally, I would be upset at a Silver victory, but he is a trusted ally. Even the Guard Command respects him, though I don't think they are familiar with the idea of trust.

I am directly behind him, the other Command generals following. I am not the true leader, as there is no singular leader, but I am the poster girl, and appearances must be maintained. Meaning that, as much as I want to hold his hand, I must keep a healthy space between myself and Cal.

Evangeline stands by my side, ever the guardian. Her brother is behind the generals. Smart, using them as shields. Otherwise, I might fry him.

"I hate this place," I tell her, a rare moment of honesty slipping.

"Same." She admits, also surprisingly honest. "It's where our little pact started. I wish I still wanted to slice you open." She said with a smile.

"Perhaps if I fail hard enough, you might be allowed to," I suggested.

"Yeah. If you manage to lose Corvium to a simple attack, that's not gonna look too good. Being fired would be mercy." Evangeline said.

"Speaking of, let's get started." I declared.