Chapter Text
August 12th
"Are you even listening to me?!" Vivi's frantic words escaped her lips alongside the acrid smoke of her cigarette. Jude had always wondered how her sister was able to do that; Smoke and speak at the very same time. It was an action that reminded Jude painfully too much of their father. A special skill, a tiny detail, capable of bringing Jude back to the days when she was thirteen, when the sun was setting orange and pink, and Madoc strummed his guitar singing a couple of lines from his old songs. A cigarette in his mouth. Smoking and singing.
Smoking and telling stories.
Stories of bands, music, and youth.
"When our band still played, Jude, we had dreams of eating the world alive." He had said. "I don't recall ever being so happy."
"Earth to Jude!" Chipped black nails snapped three times, way too suddenly, and way too close to Jude's face, making her flinch and growl in frustration.
"Yes, Vivi?" Jude groaned, "What do you want?"
"The band I was telling you about! Were you not listening to everything I just said? Do I have to repeat myself... again?"
"No. Please don't."
"Well, answer my stupid question, sister," Vivi said, rolling her eyes, and crossing her arms over her chest. Her yellowish gaze dug deep into Jude's, testing if she had been listening.
Which she hadn't.
With a sigh, Jude mumbled, "Can you please repeat your question?"
"So you were ignoring me!" Vivi gasped, undignified.
"I wasn't- I was just-"
"Whatever," Vivi spat as she sat on the chair to Jude's right, furiously scrolling through Instagram, finally pulling the cigarette out of her mouth, "I'll tell you again. Court of Shadows."
"Court of Shadows?" Jude repeated.
Vivi nodded, pulling her eyes from her phone to look at Jude, "Our greatest competition."
"Our greatest competition?"
"What are you, a parrot? Stop repeating what I say!"
"Sorry. Right." Jude shook her head, turning back to the vanity, and looking at herself in the hazy reflection. This dressing room was in serious need of some deep cleaning. "So... are they even good?"
"Are you joking? I just listened to one of their songs on the way here and it was pretty amazing. Have you heard any of their stuff, Jude?"
"I don't think I have. Actually, I don't think I've even heard of them."
Jude tried to recall if she had, but she wasn't sure she even knew what the members of the band looked like. Even at her job at the restaurant, where everyone raved about the local bands, she didn't think she'd heard anything about Court of Shadows. "Are they new?" Jude continued, unzipping her make-up bag to look for her favorite wine red lipstick.
"Dude. I think they started their band last year?" Vivi set her phone down on the counter as she said, "What do you mean you haven't heard of them? They're the city's literal favorites. They're the favorites to win this whole damn competition."
"Are they now?"
"Yes. Jude- seriously?" Vivi snapped as she stood, "You know, for someone so competitive I was sure you'd know even the backstories of all the members of this band." She moved her body dramatically to the beat of her words, tossing her cigarette into a random cup with water.
"Well-" Jude responded, her rings clicking with all her cosmetics as she continued the search for her lipstick, "Maybe I've been too busy worrying for our band and our performance tonight rather than another's... Say, have you seen my red lipstick?"
"No, I have not," Vivi answered, rather quickly, as she stole Jude's eyeliner from her bag and, before Jude could even protest, began to add even more make-up to her already-smokey eyes. "And I understand you being worried about our performance, but I also thought you'd be more interested in you know- our opponents."
"I am Vivi. We are watching them tonight aren't we?"
"Yes, we are. Well, now you know to keep your eyes open for Court of Shadows." Vivi exhaled at the same time as she fixed her black leather jacket and her choppy, freshly dyed, black hair.
"Jesus, are you guys done talking about them yet?" Bomb said across the small dressing room. The golden lights against her white curls and earthy green dress made her seem like a fairy.
"Almost! I still haven't found a picture of them."
"You've been looking for that picture for long enough, just type Court of Shadows on Instagram." Bomb exhaled as she took several mirror selfies.
"I really don't think they have social media. I literally cannot find them."
"How about, and hear me out on this one, Google." Bomb answered.
"Oh. True." Vivi said softly.
"Here." In a moment, Wren was sitting on Jude's left. Her blue hair was radiant, and two silver, star-shaped hair clips pulled her locks back, revealing her even darker blue eyes.
Her lips, Jude noticed, were mysteriously red wine-colored, "This is from a fan page I found."
"Thank you, Wren," Bomb commented, sarcastically.
"Are you wearing my lipstick-" But Jude didn't get far into that sentence before Vivi was crashing into Jude's side to look at Wren's phone. If Jude was being honest, as soon as she began to read the caption, the question of her lipstick instantly dissolved in her mind. Maybe she was more eager to find out who this band was than she thought.
@courtofshadowsupdates: Ugh, I just love them! Reminder that they're performing tonight at Elfhame Bar at 8 pm! It's the first night of the annual Fall/Winter Music Festival where all the bands will play for a friendly show to get to know each other!! If you can't attend, all the videos will be uploaded to YouTube, I'll post the links on my story. Make sure to support our boys and vote for them once the competition begins!
And then there was the picture.
Four guys, who looked to be around the same age as them, stood all together hugging each other. Bright smiles and good times. There was a buff guy, with tattoos all over his body, he wore a green shirt to match his bright green hair. He had a crooked smile and deep hazel eyes. He didn't look like the type of guy to gather around and hug his friends with such a wide smile, and yet, he did. Unapologetically.
The next guy seemed to be a little more reserved. He had an easy grin and relaxed eyes, a shiny golden septum ring, and also had plenty of tattoos. His hair was blonde, but next to the shorter guy that was sandwiched between the green-dude and him, it could've been mistaken for a lighter brown.
The shorter guy wasn't just blonde, he was golden. It wasn't only because of his hair either, it was the entirety of him. From his soft curls to his contagious smile. He looked younger than the rest, but not by much. He was like a ray of sunshine amidst all these taller and tatted dudes with piercings.
And then there was-
"Wait..." Jude's voice hitched as she noticed the fourth guy in that picture. And then, she looked back at that golden boy, and then back at the fourth guy.
Wait...
"Is that-" Vivi started.
"Cardan Greenbriar." Taryn's voice startled Jude, she hadn't even felt when her other sister had gotten so close to the three of them. "From high school." She finished.
Cardan Greenbriar. Jude couldn't help but scowl, her mouth opened slightly in disbelief. Of all people, it had to be Cardan. How did that even make sense? Once upon a time, he had been the perfect, intolerable, rich snob from high school.
Now he was a band boy.
A band boy with tattoos running down his neck and arms. The modest and elegant prick he used to be was completely gone. The Cardan in the picture was wearing a pink top with dark low-waisted jeans which showed off the two black snake tattoos on either side of his hip bones. He still looked elegant though, Jude couldn't say otherwise. The bastard looked glorious, actually. It made frustration grow hot in the pit of her stomach.
His hair was longer now, and Jude hated how healthy it looked. What was he doing to maintain it? The thick black curls that reached his shoulder blades were pulled back by pretty shiny hair clips, which matched the pretty and shiny earrings that dangled from his ears. He had the best smokey eyes Jude had ever seen, though she would never tell Vivi that. On the right side of his nose, he wore the slightest nose ring. It was the tiniest clear gem, and even though it was small and rather minimal, he made it look cool.
Unconsciously, she touched her own nose ring. It was also a small, silvery one, but it didn't look as charming on her- And was that wine-red lipstick on his lips? Maybe she didn't want to find that stupid lipstick anymore...
With a shake of her head, Jude forced these thoughts out. This wasn't what she was supposed to think of. All over again, Jude felt a wave of frustration. Her band. She needed to focus on her band, and on doing one last vocal warm-up, and a last run of their song. They were the second in line and-
"Yes! Cardan Greenbriar from high school!" Wren giggled, "And that's Oak, his nephew."
"Those rich little pricks!" Vivi laughed, "Oh how different they look. Well, Cardan does. Oak still looks like the rich golden boy."
"Yeah, except older. And hot." Wren admitted, earning a laugh from Bomb.
"Wren! Are you serious?" Vivi exclaimed, standing and running over to the blue girl. "They're our mortal enemies!"
Wren laughed as Vivi grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly.
"Oh come on, let the girl have her fun." Bomb said as she made her way to the rest, "I say you should talk to him. Tonight. At the after party."
"YEAH," Vivi yelled.
"Wait. No." The words were out of Jude's mouth before she could even process them. But, if she was being honest, there was nothing to process here. The competition was soon to begin, sure tonight was a friendly show, but this competition relied on public vote. It was crucial to make an unforgettable first impression. Not to mention that a month from now, the first performance was due to happen.
"We shouldn't be focusing on this right now. We need to do our vocal warm-ups, and we need to run the song. The show's about to begin. We need to focus on winning."
Three groans seemed to harmonize as soon as Jude was done speaking. Taryn was simply watching, that soft and graceful smile of hers plastered on her face as she watched the scene play out.
"Judeeee– we've run this song an unholy amount of times already." Vivi.
"Girl, we already did our warm-ups." Wren.
"The show is about to start, Duarte." Bomb.
"Which is why we should run the number one last time. We are the seconds to perform." Jude insisted.
"How about," Vivi started, "we find a table to sit at. We watch the opening band. We relax, and- I don't know, have fun? Have you heard of such a phrase, dear sister of mine?"
"I don't think she has." Bomb snickered as she turned to Wren, "We're getting your hottie blondie," then turned to Vivi, "We're finding a seat and watching the opening band," and finally to Jude, "And we're going to relax and have fun because today is only a friendly performance."
"A friendly performance in which we need to make a good first impression." Jude could not help the bitterness in her tone, "Have you forgotten how important it is to get the audience's vote? Especially since this Court of Shadows are the apparent favorites?"
"We will." It was Taryn now. Her sister's soft hands intertwined with Jude's calloused ones. "Jude, we will. We're good. We're very good. We are Nightfell, after all."
Taryn had this gift of having the most motherly and sugary tone when it came to these things. It always reminded Jude that her shoulders were too tense, her teeth were too clenched, and that her mind was working overtime. Reminded her to take a breath and slow down.
Slow. Down. Jude told herself.
And yet, a million things crossed her mind as she met her band member's eyes. Almost all of them anyway, as Wren was again scrolling on her phone, probably looking at Oak.
There were plenty of things to be said. Like how Jude needed this win. Like how it's been years since they've actually performed before an audience since they broke up two years ago. Extra rehearsal time was crucial.
"Oh my god. GUYS." Wren's voice shook Jude out of her thoughts, "GUESS WHO THE OPENING BAND IS!"
"You're joking!" Vivi screamed.
"Nope!" Wren was all smiles and starry eyes.
"We need to go get a table. NOW." Bomb giggled as she grabbed Wren's wrist, "We'll get to see your blonde hottie!"
"Whoop! Whoop! Blondie hottie!" Vivi repeated as she too was grabbed by Bomb. Without even sparing a look at Jude, they vanished from the dressing room door, out into the small hallway that connected this bar's dirty bathrooms, dressing rooms, and the stairs that led to the mid-sized stage.
Jude stared at the entrance for several seconds. It was like second nature to be so tense all the time. Especially with band members like these. There were so many things that could go wrong. So many miscalculations that they could potentially run into. A missed cue. An offbeat strum of a guitar. A forgotten lyric. Jude was dreading all the possibilities, already calculating how she would try and save each and every one of them. Revising all the things she could do to win the audience's hearts, to intimidate her competition. Plotting everything she would to best Court of Shadows.
Because there was no world where Jude Duarte lost to Cardan Greenbriar.
A voice echoed in her mind.
You are no star, Jude.
Madoc's.
A question rang in her ears.
What would happen when this was all over, and their band, once again, broke apart?
You are no star.
"Jude." Taryn again, this time, with her hands on Jude's shoulder blades, her fingers pressing down on all her knots, making Jude flinch. "You are way too tense."
"I know," Jude said softly, as she looked over at her sister. She wore the same horns Jude did. Back in high school and their first year of college, when their band was still together, their horns were their signature hairstyle. Iconic. Everyone used to call them. There go the Duarte twins ready to take on the music industry.
That was a long while ago before their band was torn apart because of, 'different dreams.'
Or at least, that's what Taryn had said. Bomb too. Wren and Vivi sort of accepted it all. And, reluctantly, so had Jude. Once in college, they all went their separate ways. Until now. Until Jude was forced to forget her self-pride and beg her girls to come back if only for this year's competition. If only to help her win this year's prize.
A record deal.
She could picture it well. Jude Duarte winning and finally getting a chance. Jude finally proving Madoc wrong, and convincing her band to stay. Sure, maybe she wasn't a star, but with her band, she could be. With her girls, Jude was unstoppable.
"Remember we won't be here for long, Jude. Don't be so harsh." Taryn smiled as if that was a good thing.
"Sure."
"Relax. Let's go watch our greatest competition."
Jude forced a smile, "I guess watching them won't be so bad if I get to pick their performance apart."
With a soft giggle, Taryn said, "Sure. But don't forget to have fun."
"Oh, I will. Cardan deserves it." Jude couldn't help her immaturity. Couldn't help but remember all the times he was a stuck-up, pretentious, douchebag.
"He was a little bitch in high school wasn't he?"
"He was. He probably still is. He's rich! Why does he need to join this competition anyway? His parents could buy him the record deal."
"Maybe he wants to work for it." Taryn shrugged. Her kind eyes were truly thoughtful, but Jude knew better.
"Cardan doesn't work for anything. He's as lazy as it gets."
"Whatever! Let's not focus on them too much. Let's have a good time. Remember. Friendly perfo-"
"Friendly performance. Got it." Jude said, allowing herself to relax a little. Letting Taryn lock her hands with Jude's.
Together, they walked out into the main bar, where bodies radiated heat. The smell of cigarettes, cheap perfumes, sweat, and alcohol blended in an almost comforting way. Across the bar, the rest of Nightfell were sitting at a table laughing. Jude felt something prickle inside of her with a strange sort of longing. A strange wish to sit down and laugh along.
Instead, her mind raced once again. She thought of her father, of how little faith he had in Jude, and of how she'd prove him wrong. She thought of how she was going to manage to convince her girls to stay in the band after they'd won.
She was thinking of Cardan Greenbriar, and of how, when, and why he became a band boy.
In Jude's heart, she didn't wish to be just a musician, she wished to be one of the best. And winning this competition was just the beginning.
You are no star, Jude.
You'll see, Madoc. You'll see.