Red Queen is owned by Victoria and Asriel is owned by me.

Before the story starts, shout out to a-little-kiwi from tumblr

for the amazing for the amazing cover art. Thank you!

The door opens, and a hooded figure slowly walks into the Barrow's Residence. Ruth looked at the stranger, their height reaching as tall as Gisa. The hooded figure pulled down his hood, showing his blond hair and pale skin. Ruth knew who this was.

The boy then asked the woman "Miss Ruth? Is Gisa here?". The woman nods and then tells the boy that she is upstairs.

"Thank you miss." He gives her a little bow before walking upstairs, where he can see Gisa, weaving silk. Although due to her broken hand, she worked at a slower pace then she usually would.

Gisa looks at him, startled, first thinking it was a Silver guard. But, she collected herself when she saw that it was only him. Asriel Calore.

"I never thought I would get a regular visit from you out of all people," She said. Asriel then walks towards her and sits down. He sighs and says "Yeah Well, I just want to talk to somebody that is outside my own family."

Gisa just chuckles and continues to weave silk. "And you think I'm the right person to talk to?" He shrugs and looks at her hands as she works, feeling slightly guilty. "I'll admit, you might not be the right person to talk to, but you're the only one."

"I-...Thanks, I guess." She said, struggling with her broken hand. Asriel noticed this and felt a bit bad for her. "Hey, do you need a little help with that?" He asked as he got closer to her. She retracts and rejects his help.

"No, no, I can do it myself. Just needs a little effort." Asriel backed away so as to not disturb her. He then leaned to the chair as he did so. "Okay then, if you say so," He said, leaving her to be.

She huffs and continues her work, the wound causing her to struggle. Silence filled the air between them. She then comes up with something to talk about with him.

"Soo...What's your story? I mean, It's rare for a prince out of all people would be hanging out with us." Asriel chuckled and leaned forward a bit. He just sighed and said, "Well, That's one of the things I wanna talk about. Might as well start from the beginning, right?"

She just shrugs. "Start where you want, This may take a while." She said. Asriel then shifts in his seat to get comfortable, since it's going to be a long story. He looks at Gisa.

"Let's start with the introductions, there's more about my family than what you would see in public." He chuckled at the end.

"I wouldn't doubt it." She said.

Let's start with my father, King Tiberias Calore The Sixth.

He is, in fairness, an excellent father. I mean, Yes, He wasn't as supportive or as a father figure as I wanted him to be. But I can't blame him for that. His first wife, Coraine, had three miscarriages.

I wouldn't blame him one bit. I feel bad for him if anything.

He did try his best to be there for all three of us. Running a kingdom while supporting a family is hard work.

He is a straightforward and calculating person. He is almost like a wolf, always seeing straight ahead, eyes on the prize. But, because of that, he has a narrow view of the world. He wouldn't see corruption until it happens right in front of his eyes.

"Sounds like a lovely guy."

He is if you know him.

Next is my mother. Elara Calore. She's silent, cruel and a bit monotone. She's very strict and being a whisperer she is, very scary. Your mind isn't even safe around her, she would read and speak inside your head.

"Oh dear god, is that what your mother is like?"

I'll be honest, I don't even know. She ignores me most of the time. And I do the same thing, Although, she hardly notices it.

Don't get me wrong. I do love my mother. I just wish she would be more of a mother figure.

"Why did you avoid her?"

When I was 5 years old, she tried to manipulate me from my mind. As a whisperer, I did try to resist it, but she overwhelms me. She did something to me. I don't like it, not one bit.

Luckily, a good night's sleep with some dreams helps reverse whatever she did to me. Ever since then, I tried to stay 5 feet or more away from her. I even try to gain more resistance.

Even with all that. I am still hopeful, maybe one day. She would be the mother that I...need. I'll admit, It's hard to even call her 'mother' to begin with. When the only person that properly raised me, well...as properly as they can get to raise was a red servant.

"So that's why you have so much sympathy for us."

The worst part is that she acted more of a mother to me than my own mother.

"Who was it?"

I'll get to that, just you wait.

Next is my brothers. Let's start with the eldest, Tiberias Calore the seventh. For the most part, he is warhead heavy, but he is also very supportive. Supportive as in true big brother to little brother supportive. He even taught me a lot of stuff like how to craft small machinery and a few war games. He's probably my favourite brother and I hate that.

"Wait, what do you mean? He sounds like an excellent brother."

Simple, My other brother Maven. Unlike Cal, he kinda doesn't exist in most of my memory. He's there and helps me here and there. Not really supportive. I sometimes wish he would be like Cal.

I mean, Maven and I share the same damn blood. We have the same parents. I even looked up to him at first. But after a while, I saw him as a puppet to mom. I had a dream of him being somebody I could ask for help. It wasn't long until that dream was shattered.

"Sorry to hear that."

It's okay. I still have hope for him. I just have to work harder. He was manipulated and controlled by my mother for so long. I need to save him one way or another.

"I wish you good luck, then."

Thanks. However, they aren't the only family members I have. I do have a step-uncle.

His name is Julian Jacos. One of the last and if not, the last person to hold the Jacos name. And if you didn't know, Jacos is the house of Singers. The only other house that can manipulate people's minds.

"Jacos, I'm guessing he's related to the late Queen Coraine. Is he the youngest of the family or something?"

Nope, he's the eldest, and he's still the original person to be head of the Jacos family.

"Wait really!? How old is he? And How come he hasn't settled down with anyone yet?"

Well supposedly, he would have settled down with a woman named Sara Skonos. From what Julian told me, She grew up with him and Coraine. However, since Coraine's death, they sorta fall apart I think. Things grew even worse when she was forced to cut her own tongue, and since she's a skin healer. She can't heal herself

"Sheesh, never thought drama in a silver house would be that bad."

It is rarely easy. In terms of my relation with them both. It's pretty good. For Julian, He treat me like his own nephew even though I'm not, Which I appreciate very much. He even taught me how to sing, as in a talent and not as an ability. It got me into piano, too.

As for Sara, we don't really need to talk physically to interact with each other. A few benefits of being a whisperer, you can talk to mute people. Sara is a great woman to talk to, she has a lot of tales and often is a good person to talk to.

"So that's all of your family then?"

In the simplest terms- Yes. There's more but I'll get to that later on.

I think we got the introductions done and sorted. Now that I think back, maybe that isn't necessary.

"Maybe, but so far It's been interesting."

Right, I guess it started a few months ago. Around 6 months before the Queenstrail.

6 months before Queenstrail

At the time, we are still at Archeon, Capital of Norta of course. Also where my family lives. I was at the hidden workshop that me and Cal shared. I was working on a secret device while Cal worked on his death trap he called a Cycle.

There was silence between us. I started up a conversation. "Hey Cal, I was wondering. I knew as a fact that your mother is Coraine. What is she like?"

Cal just stopped mid way. Frozen by my question. I can feel that my question hit something. I immediately regret it because I thought I asked something that's very sensitive to Cal.

"Honestly, I don't know. She died not long after I was born" He said, sounds so normal. I guess he accepted it already. That's good I guessed. I stopped working on my device for a moment and looked at him.

"Dad didn't tell you much about her?" I asked, He just shook his head and continue his work as he said "He rather not talk about her much, especially since..well...you know"

I just agree with him. I rather not continue that conversation, It's sensitive, I can feel it. Before I could continue my work, Cal then asked me "How's your device doing? You still haven't told me what it does you know."

I smirk and continue my work. "It's a special device alright, But I want it as a surprise. You'll see". Cal just shrugs. He stood up and looked at the clock. We're running out of free time. Mostly him, Because I'm the last child of my family. I don't have much of an important role. Hence, a lot more freedom and free time. Which I am very grateful for.

Cal, being the eldest son, has the Queenstrail and he can't really do anything.

Now, The Queenstrail original was for the prince to choose the strongest lady out of all of The Silver High Houses. Well...Not this year, my dad thinks it's a good idea to rig the whole event. Making Evageline my soon to be (at the time) sister in law.

I don't like that, not one bit. She's very scary and very cruel. Cal knew this! Maven Knew this! Almost everyone knew this! But for some reason, Dad doesn't see it. I would know, I once checked...well.."Checked" his head. The only thing he sees is a gain for the war.

This is why I said that dad is like a wolf. A being that can only see what's in front of them, and a very stubborn person. I once did try to talk dad about it, at least giving Cal to choose which High House daughter to marry with. He won't accept it.

So my words fell to deaf ears.

I realized that I tend to go off topic.

"Yeah, you do that alot. I don't mind though, So far It's been interesting"

I'll try to keep myself from going off topic

Back to the story

I also notice the clock, We are running out of time, Me and cal have to go training soon, even Maven. Cal has to train about War tactics while I try to strengthen my whisper ability.

I looked at Cal and say "Hey Cal, look at the time, I think we should pack up"

He looked at the clock and wiped off his hand from the oil. "Yeah, Let's go. Almost finished with that?" I just shrug and put all the tools and components into a drawer as I clean myself a bit.

"Sorta, I should have it done by next month though. Oh and Don't forget about your bracelet, make sure it's on too." I said as I grabbed his bracelet from a nearby table and passed over to him.

"Why do you insist on taking them off everytime I work anyway?" He asked. I looked at him with a plain face and said directly at him "You work with oil that is highly flammable, you blew up….twice...this month alone, and I rather not die. Heck, this is why I requested fire proof clothing, not because I was planning to train with you or Maven, mostly because of this."

"Right, sorry about the last time. Nothing permanent right?" Cal asked as we just cleaned up ourselves."If there is something permanent, skin healers make sure to cover it up as best as they could."

Cal nodded and we both walked out from the workshop.

In the hallway, I was in deep thoughts. Cal noticed this and asked "Hey Az, you okay there? You look like you're thinking something major."

I snapped away from my thoughts and looked at him. I signed and said "Well….The Queenstrail is in six months, and we both know the whole thing is rigged. I've been trying my best to think up a way to at the very least let you have a word in this"

Cal stopped mid way, so did I. I turned around and looked at him. He crouches down to my eye level and with a soft expression. He told me "Asriel, it's going to be alright. I know you want to help me and I appreciate it. Just let me handle it alright?"

"But Cal! You're gonna marry a very scary woman, that I can say is a sentient bubonic plague. Nobody wants to be near her, and almost nobody likes her." I exclaim.

He then rubs my head a bit "Like I said, it's going to be alright, I've been through alot worse than a scary woman." He stood back up and we both continued our walk through the halls. He then tapped his head twice.

Me and him knew what this meant, It's simple. Talk in our heads. "What is it Cal?"

"Look, how about this, I don't know much of Evangeline, and a great general always sends a scout to know what they're going to face. How about you dig around a bit about her, see if you can give me a heads up" He said in his thoughts.

"Well...I'll see what I can do, just give me some clearance would you?" I asked him.

"Sure thing, although, might take a bit. If I can't get you clearance...well...you still have camera access." Cal said in his thoughts.

"Don't worry Cal, I'll make sure to give you a heads up for anything." I then took a turn towards the library, where I would meet Julian.

"Studying or something?"

Sorta, There's the general history studying and there's training my ability.

"But aren't you a whisperer? You're already more powerful than most Silvers"

That's true. However, don't forget that mom is also a whisperer, so to prevent her from going to my mind. I have to re enforce it, by training. It's all about sheer will power really.

"Didn't think Will Power would be something a Silver have to be train with"

Most soldiers do.

"I've heard how things are between you and Cal, what about Maven?"

I'll be honest, it's worse. Let's skip forward in time around...2 months? 4 months before Queenstrail.

4 months before Queenstrail….

"Wait, why 2 months later?"

Because at this moment, there's a perfect example of the relationship between me and Maven. Let's start with morning. Like any other day….well...I guess for you, mine is different than yours.

Start the day with getting off from the bed, freshen up. Usually takes 20 minutes but I took 15, mostly because I don't really bother with my hair.

"That explains the mess."

Hey, It's easier and I like it. Shows that I have some sort of rebel in me. You think I should change?

"Nah, looks cute on you."

T-thanks. Anyway!

I walked out and walked towards my brother's room. First one is Cal of course. I walked to his room and saw him walking out.

"Hai Cal!" I said as I caught up to him. I then said in a sly tone "Any dreams of your future wife?"

He shoved me a little and we continued to walk "Oh har-har, I don't call them dreams, more like nightmares." I giggled by that.

"Anyway, regular schedule Cal?" Cal nodded."How's progress on...well.."

"Still getting myself some clearance, good news is that I've gained some eyes. Mostly in Summerton" Cal looked at me, slightly surprised. He then glanced at me, glanced upward for a moment and back at me.

"What is it Cal?" I talked to him telepathically. "How did you get access to the cameras?" He asked. I just reply with a simple "Who says anything about cameras?" and with a smug in my face.

"Either way, I have to see Maven, good luck Cal!" I said as I ran over to Maven's room.

I saw Maven walk out from his room, I went to greet him. "Morning Maven! How was your sleep? Any dreams?" I said with a small smirk.

Maven look at me with a hint of envy and just reply "pretty good, although nothing special"

Lie number 1.

"Really? Oh well, Busy today? I thought maybe we could hang out a bit." I asked with a hopeful tune. He started walking away and said "Can't, Too busy."

Lie number 2

I caught up to him "oh, well maybe we could another day". He continues to walk. "Uhh, Maybe, Look, Let's talk next time, alright?"

I stopped mid way...that was Lie number 3...As you can see, he wasn't really honest and didn't want to bother me that much..

"How can you tell he was lying?"

You can feel it. One of the few things..that I sorta have a love hate thing. Sometimes It's better to be ignorant to the truth than facing the harsh and sometimes painful truth.

"Gisa! It's time for lunch, ask the prince if he wants to join" says Miss ruth. Asriel perks up and looks at Gisa as she clears a bit of her work space "Lunch? I guess the pay is good enough to have lunch?"

She nodded and started to walk downstairs. Asriel followed behind her. "Shouldn't you be back to the castle? I think we wasted almost 2 hours for the story alone." He just waved it off and took a seat at the dining table.

"Nah, I got Julian to cover for me. I can be here for days and nobody would bat an , I wanna try out what you guys having." He said with a calm tone to his voice. Miss Ruth Barrow started setting up the table, Gisa went to help her.

Asriel then gets up and helps them as well. "Oh Azzy, you don't need to help, you're our guest."

"It would be a bit rude if I don't. I insist."

As he helps them setting up the table, 2 figures walk inside

"Mom! We're ho-..oh...you."

Hai there readers. Thank you for reading.

This is my first Red Queen Fanfic, so all criticism and advice is welcome. More will come, a bit slow. So be patient.