“Isn’t that Chorus Mistrion?!” The voice that professed it was lost in the crowd, but it didn’t go unheard. There was a wave of confusion and questioning after, but then someone else confirmed, and then another, and another. “Why are they here?” “Are they making a comeback?” “Who are they with?” “Who is she?!”
“I found it! That’s Victori Darquees!” “The noble?” “Wasn’t her father just killed?” “She’s head of their house now!” “Why is she here?!” “Did Chorus take her under their wing?” “Chorus Mistrion’s new protege?!” “Damn I have to call my boss right now!” “New scoop, new scoop, Chorus Mistrion is mentoring Victori Darquees to be the next big star!”
“Wait, wait, wait wait wait! They’re both part of the Fiends For Hire!” “The Fiends For Hire?!” “What are they here for?!” “Are they on a job?!” “Is someone going to die?!” “Are the Drazahs here?!” “Should someone call security?!” “Who cares, just get the pictures!”
Security did in fact raise an eyebrow when the Fiends For Hire were mentioned, but there was such a commotion that they couldn’t have done anything anyways. Not that Victori could notice any of this. Her world was currently a nonstop barrage of flashing lights. Thankfully, her Fiend eyes protected her from sustaining any damage, but it still felt blinding and overstimulating.
Fortunately, Chorus dragged her along before it got too intense, whispering to her to never let the masses get too much at one time, for free anyways. They headed into the venue and all eyes were still on them. At least the paparazzi were gone. Endless whispers swirled around them as they walked forward, but no one dared approach.
A few people, even celebrities that Victori knew and admired, tried to take pictures discreetly with their phones. Some were even faced away and had their cameras pointing over their shoulders so they could make it look like they were all in the picture together.
When they got to the doors leading into the auditorium, Victori expected to at least be questioned by the security guards manning it. But instead, they opened the door and waved the two in, only to immediately stop the next guest behind them to see their invitation.
A good portion of the guests had already been seated and there was buzz around the whole room, but it stopped the moment Chorus entered. A lot of them shut up immediately, their eyes drawn to the doors. Those that they’d been conversing with had their sentences cut off as they looked around until they found the source of the disturbance.
Still pulling Victori’s hand, Chorus glided straight ahead down the aisle. A few of those seated stood up as they passed, some bowing. A couple rushed over as if they were going to say something, but were stopped in their tracks. It wasn’t due to anything tangible, they all just lost their will when they got too close.
This had been the presence that Chorus had told Victori about on the ride over. Nothing needed to be said for everyone to know that they were the most important people in the room. Victori had of course heard of Chorus and seen several things they were in, so she was a bit starstruck when they first met. But this was a completely different level. This wasn’t awe. It was pure respect—and a bit of fear in some cases.
The two marched right up to the very front row and Chorus slowly strolled down the aisle, reading through all the names in the reserved seating. Some of the names made them smile, most drew no reaction, but finally, one made Chorus scowl as if they’d just come across a pile of putrid zjik.
They picked up the name card, along with the one next to it, and ripped them to shreds. Chorus fenangled their dress a bit before slowly slipping down into the chair, making sure nothing got caught or wrinkled. They then patted the empty seat next to them, prompting Victori to sit down too. Fortunately, her dress was a bit more streamlined and only required a simple tuck to sit down without issue.
Only now that the two were seated did the room come alive again, as if the ability to exhale was gifted back to everyone else around them. The room slowly filled over the course of the next hour, right up until the start of the show.
It proceeded pretty uneventfully for most of the event. The host was entertaining enough—some jokes got more laughs than others. Each award felt a bit too drawn out for Victori’s liking, and her anxiousness grew with each one. She still didn’t know exactly what they were doing, only that it was going to happen near the end.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
What she did notice, however, was that a camera had been solely dedicated to Chorus. Their reactions were always cut to after each award was given, the whole room on edge and waiting in anticipation. If Chorus clapped, the room erupted and cheers for the winner reached deafening volumes. But if they didn’t, the applause of the others died down in moments, and the award acceptee was only met with awkward silence as they went up to the stage—some even refusing to give their speech and rushed off as quickly as possible.
When there were only a few awards left, Chorus got up and dragged Victori backstage. Of course their absence was noted, but the show proceeded as planned. Only now did Chorus finally share their machinations and give Victori instructions of their role in all this.
Chorus went up to one of the presenters and the two of them quickly vanished from sight. Victori had been instructed to take their place in line, fearing every moment that someone would come over and question her, but no one ever did. Eventually, an envelope and an award was stuffed into her hands by the showrunner.
She was presenting the final award of the night for ‘Most Inspiring’. It had been added a few years ago and was meant to give those who normally weren’t front-and-center in the industry a chance to be noticed. It came after best actor, actress, picture, etc, so that it would be the last thing people remembered for the night.
The award went to a stand-out worker who had gone above and beyond for their production. Some past winners included a lighting technician, an assistant director, an editor, and a food caterer—people who would likely never be on anyone’s radar otherwise, let alone receive an award.
Victori’s legs were like a baby Freer’s the first step after she was shoved onto the stage, wobbling like crazy, but she got more confident and graceful with each step—acting like the prim noble she was raised to be. It helped that everyone was staring at her with serious and intrigued eyes—none of them laughing at her which had been her most irrational fear.
She cleared her throat when she got to the podium. Thankfully, there was a prompter in front of her with her lines already written. Clearly, Chorus had a hand in altering them, since they’d been tailored specifically for her. She didn’t think anything would come out when her mouth opened, but the words flowed endlessly without a single flub.
“Good evening, everyone. Most of you don’t know me, but that’s likely to change very soon. I’m Victori Darquees, now head of the Darquees house, and I work in Public Relations for the Fiends For Hire. Even though I’ve only joined recently, I, like many of you, have found myself working alongside incredibly talented individuals that don’t always get the appreciation they deserve.”
“That’s why we have this award, to celebrate those who allow us to succeed, who build the foundation so that we can be the best that we can be. Now without further ado, tonight's award for ‘Most Inspirational’ goes to—”
“Me!” Chorus appeared in a puff of smoke, their stint as a magician still having its uses.
Before anyone could react, Victori quickly pulled out her phone and pressed a button. It turned on a jammer that immediately killed all broadcasts in the room. Everyone outside of the auditorium would have no idea what was going on, but that was all to build suspense for later—letting the rest of the world craft theories about the award show that ended abruptly.
Chorus grabbed the trophy from Victori’s hands and held it up proudly. “Now, I’m not such a Draz that I would deny this award to its proper recipient, but I was told I was ineligible during my last few years. So let me have this for a moment, would you? You all know the inspiration I’ve provided to the medium.”
They then shifted gears. “I’d like to be the first to thank you all for coming tonight. It’s been an… adequate show. But it’s not over yet. No one is going anywhere. Please tell them why, Victori.”
This was her queue to activate her Curse. She pulled up the prompt on her phone since she needed to get the wording just right. “Everyone should remain calm and stay seated, because they don’t know what will happen to them if they get up to leave. Would they really want to risk it?”
There had been some stirring during the farce of an award acceptance, and some had already stood up from their seats to storm off, but everyone quickly returned to their chairs and settled down. Victori then stepped away from the mic and called the pre-inputted number on her phone for the venue's security director. She relayed a rumor to them as well while Chorus addressed the crowd.
“So here’s what’s going to happen. I’m working on a new project, several actually, but I need opinions. There are only a few hundred clips to show, which may take a few hours… or days… but we’ll get through them as quickly as possible. And you all will be attentive and eager to give your feedback during the process because…” Chorus gestured for Victori to speak once more.
“Because you all are the most talented and well-versed titans of the industry. Your opinions carry more weight than anyone else. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to help the most famous actor create the best product imaginable, knowing that you were a part of something spectacular from the very beginning?” Her Curse wormed their way into the crowd's ears once more.
“Thank you, Victori. Tonight wouldn’t be possible without you. Now let’s get started, shall we? Roll the first clip!”