So, backstory: this is my project from last year's NaNoWriMo. And partially this year's, too. And even though I'm not quite finished yet, I feel it's time to get this thing up and read. What I'm saying is, I'll have regular, once a week updates for about 15 chapters, and then after that, it might get sporadic. But I am committed to finishing this, even if I get sidetracked on occasion.
Additionally, keep an eye on the tags and the rating as I'll likely be changing both as the story progresses. Any chapters that might need a trigger warning will be posted with one, so watch this space too.
Chapter One
Lest We Forget
Astrid Nova
The house lights snap off, plunging the room into darkness. You can't see your hand in front of your face, and bodies press in close as everyone leans forward toward the stage in anticipation. The feeling in the air is heavy, feet shuffling, shifting as the crowd waits. A smattering of cheers start, early and without payoff. The stage remains black.
It doesn't take long for the crowd to get restless. Cheers start up randomly, turning to jeers and loud chants of "Regals! Regals! Regals!" but still the band refuses to make an appearance. The occasional flash of red or green strobe light gives us glimpses of the stage. Malady's drum kit flashes in the back of the stage. A row of string instruments in stands line the space in front of it; guitar and bass, as well as the more interesting selection of violin and cello.
Finally, a low, steady beat. Drums vibrating the club like a heartbeat. The crowd responds automatically, swaying forward with the upbeat and reeling back on the downbeat.
A high, vibrating wail joins the drums, Gold on his violin singing out a haunting melody. The lights stay low, keeping the musicians in darkness, forcing your attention solely on the sounds. The tune starts slow, mesmerizing, joined smoothly by a new sound, a guitar that sneaks up on you, winding through the existing rhythms. It's a different sound, it should clash with the violin, but somehow it doesn't.
The spell is being woven, the audience ensnared, too entranced now to even cheer. Like snake charmers, the Evil Regals capture their audience and move them, swaying forward and back, pulsing with the beat Malady drums out. It grows stronger, picking up speed, while on the guitar Zelena matches it with her nimble finger work, even as the violin insists on its slow and steady moan. The audience jerks and sways, a collective now, and still waiting.
At last the lights begin to raise, slowly, and now the crowd goes wild, voices raising in adoration. Finally we get to see her, lead singer Regina Mills, affectionately and accurately called the Queen by her fans, surveying her subjects, and accepting our screams as the tribute she is rightfully owed.
What follows is the most vibrant and intense Evil Regals set of their career. From the moment the Queen opens her mouth to croon Sleeping Curse, to the last dying violin wail, the crowd is under the thrall this band casts. They don't wait for us to catch up, they demand our attention and our loyalty and they command us to keep up. The Queen owns the stage and all eyes are riveted to her, to the strange and alluring combination of sultry innocence and untamed wildness that has always been her signature. We leave that night knowing, without knowing how or why, that what we have witnessed is something truly special.
And we have. We won't realize it till much later, of course. It'll sneak up on us, like Zelena's cello, and choke us with knowledge we wish weren't true. But it is, and months later we are forced to admit it: what we saw that night was the final performance of the Evil Regals.
A year and a half later, and the frenzy regarding the disappearance of the groundbreaking band has died down some, but not gone away. No longer frantic, the fans wonder in resignation: where are the Regals? What has happened to our Queen?
No explanation has ever been given for the band's sudden disappearance. And while other members of the band have been spotted in brief, unofficial, and rare outings, no one has seen or heard from Regina Mills, the Queen herself, since that performance.
The last Regal sighting occurred three months ago. The band's guitarist slash cellist, Mills' real life sister Zelena Mills, was spotted paying for a lunch shared with the band's drummer, Mallory 'Malady' Drache. And no, we aren't going to tell you what they ate or whether or not we think they're dieting. This is not that kind of blog.
Attempts at contacting the band and its representative have all failed. Phone calls go ignored, messages remain unanswered. It is truly as though they have simply ceased to exist.
Of course, speculation within the band's loyal fan base continues unabated. Theories run from the plausible (a nasty falling out resulting in the disbandment of the group), to the completely insane (both alien abduction and ritual sacrifice have been mentioned more than once), to the utterly heartbreaking (some fans imagine Regina Mills quietly dead of overdose, suicide, homicide, etc.). But not one rumor has ever been confirmed or denied, and deeper investigation reveals nothing.
The truth is, no one knows what happened. Eighteen months after that incredible, career defining performance, we are left with the same questions as ever: where have the Evil Regals gone? What is the reason for their sudden disappearance?
What happened to Regina Mills?
All we can do is guess, and hope. For answers, for a reunion, for our Queen to reclaim her crown once more. Until that moment, we'll wait, hopefully, anxiously, loyally.
Long live the Queen.
"Hey! Swan! Heads up, chica! We're on in twenty!"
Emma looked up from the tablet. Ruby had her head poked around the door, palm banging lightly on the jamb by her head. Her face was a mask of impatience and Emma knew that her disappearing act would get her a scolding later. But even through her annoyance, Ruby grinned when she saw Emma looking up at her. "Can't do much without our main attraction."
Emma made a face right back at her, and tossed the tablet, and the melodramatic article she'd been skimming, onto the table where her feet were propped. She clicked the device to sleep, not bothering to click out of the article, still lit up on a picture of the band that Emma hadn't bothered to look at.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," she muttered. Ruby stuck her tongue out and Emma flipped her off as she stood. She stretched her long body out, arching up onto her toes till she felt her spine pop. She dropped back down onto her heels and rocked on them a bit.
"Quit stalling, you freak," Ruby growled playfully, grabbing Emma's wrist to pull her out of the dressing room. "Let's get this show on the road."
Emma laughed and followed her best friend toward the stage.
"Oh good, you found her." Neither Emma nor Ruby heard the brunette that had just slipped between them approach. Ruby yelped and jumped and pressed one hand over her heart dramatically.
"Christ, Belle, you have to stop doing that!" the guitarist complained. "You're going to give me a heart attack!"
"You're just mad that I can sneak up on you when no one else can," Belle dismissed, uninterested. Belle was the bass player in Emma's band, and perhaps a little bit of a mother hen. She leveled her index finger at Emma in warning. "You need to stop hiding before shows. You scared the hell out of us!"
Emma scowled. "Okay, I wasn't hiding. It's not like I was stuffed in a cabinet or something. I was in the damn green room!"
Belle only smirked. A moment later, a tiny blonde came sprinting down the corridor at them. She had a thunderous scowl on her face, and she was aiming right at Emma. Emma had only a half a second to brace herself before her drummer slammed into her chest with open palms.
"Ow!" Emma grabbed hold of the blonde's wrists before she could smack her again. "Calm down!"
"You calm down!" Tina yelled in her face. "What's your problem, huh, Swan? You think we don't got better things to do than hunt for you before every show?"
Ruby chuckled. "We already scolded her, Tink, you can calm down."
"Don't call me that!" Tina snapped, and everyone snickered.
"You people are ridiculous," Emma muttered. "None of you would have to be this pissy if you just looked in the obvious places first."
Tina curled her fingers into Emma's shirt, and for just a second Emma thought maybe she was about to get bitten. But then Tina's hands lost their aggression and she smiled brightly, all the rage gone completely from her features. She patted Emma's shoulders. "Well, what are we waiting for?"
The rest of them just shook their heads at the sudden change in moods, well used to it by now. Belle squeezed her wrist as she followed Tina out onto the stage.
"You ready for this?" Ruby nudged Emma with her shoulder.
Emma looked out to where, in just a few moments, she'd be performing. Her stomach flipped, with nerves and excitement. She flashed a grin at Ruby.
"Let's do this, Lost Girls."