04-15-2020, 11:11 PM
04-16-2020, 06:59 AM
04-16-2020, 01:36 PM
04-17-2020, 06:00 AM
04-17-2020, 09:25 PM
04-18-2020, 06:26 AM
04-18-2020, 09:38 PM
OOC: CD takes place immediately following the CD of the first. Promo takes place day of Cold Blooded. Enjoy and best of luck to all!
The Dark Side of the Sun
“The Ground on Which We Stand”
Frankfut Prison III
Frankfurt, Germany
April 17th, 2020
2:29pm
“Wait…” Deanna stammered, unsure that what she was seeing – or rather whom she was seeing – was actually real. “You’re…you’re Talia? As in…” slowly, her eyes drifted over to Selena, who was glaring a hole through the brunette that sat across the table from them.
“Ryan’s wife? Daughter-in-law to Malcolm Scythe, mayor of Nome, Alaska and-“ she started, her tone proud and haughty, as if she were gracing the Frost wives with her mere presence.
“What are you doing here?” Selena interjected, having never moved her glare from her childhood best-friend turned enemy. “I thought we were done.”
The lawyer, finally, turned her head to acknowledge the platinum-blonde. “I thought so too, but apparently things change.”
The exchange was not lost on the redhead as she regarded both her wife and the lawyer. “Selena.” Her tone was no longer soft and gentle but curt and sharp. “What is going on here? Why is she here?”
And in the same way, the question was not lost on the lawyer, who suddenly smiled at Selena – a knowing, amused smile. “Ahhhh.” She drawled. “You never told her, did you?”.
Her back stiffening and her jaw clenching, Selena remained silent, though she refused to move her gaze.
“What is she talking about, Selena?” Deanna asked, her eyes wide. “What happened?”
There was a moment of silence between the three, Talia waiting expectantly for Selena to make a move and Selena… who was too frantic and tight to say or do anything. She was trapped, and she knew it. She couldn’t just wave this away or dismiss this. Not when Talia was sitting just a few feet from there. Forcing a deep breath into her lungs, followed by a slow exhale, she turned her gaze over to Deanna, who was staring at her with confusion and – Selena wished beyond measure that she could not see the slight hurt that mixed in with those emerald-green orbs.
“Do…” she spoke slowly. “Do you remember that…how… when I said a few weeks ago that I had a lead on something…”
“Wait…” Deanna held her hand up before turning it to point to Talia. “SHE was your lead?!”
For an answer, Selena bit her lower lip, her head dropping down to focus on her hands in her own lap. The day had spiralled from good to horrible in minutes and there was no way she could stop it!
“Why?” Deanna asked, though the question was thrown towards Talia. “Why would you, of all people, offer any help to her?”
“Well, in your wife’s defence…” Talia mockingly explained, crossing her arms over her chest. “I had my own agenda in the matter.”
“Of course you did.” Emerald eyes narrowed at the lawyer before turning back to Selena. “One of you had better tell me everything or I’m just going back to my cell.”
Talia’s response was to merely shrug. “I don’t really care.”
“No!” Selena said at the same time, her hands latching onto Deanna’s closest arm. “I’ll tell you.” She promised, earning the entirety of her wife’s attention. “Talia…” she gestured towards the lawyer. “Recently passed the bar here in Germany… once she heard of your incarceration. She did it to get my attention. Jean sent me to Nome to investigate and Talia…she said she could get you out of here – or at least knew a way to.” Her voice trailed off, a fact that Deanna caught immediately.
“And?” the redhead pressed. “She’s a Scythe, Selena! You know how they operate! Nothing comes for nothing!”
“True enough.” Talia laughed, but went silent when both Frost wives turned their heads to glare at her, though her smile did not fade.
“I was aware of that.” Selena continued, returning her gaze towards her wife. “But what other option did I have? No lawyer here wants to take your case, Deanna. No matter how much money I threw at them. Either it was a ‘lost cause’ or they risked losing ‘reputation’, it was always some excuse. Talia is…” she cast a brief glance towards the older woman. “She’s many things, but she would not have gone to such lengths to get my attention if she didn’t have anything tangible to give me.”
“And what?” Deanna asked, turning her head to Talia. “You want us to donate a kidney or something for it? Because I know Selena would never have agreed to giving up our children.”
“Of course not!” Selena interjected in.
“Never was put on the table.” Talia answered honestly. “I knew that would never fly with her.” She added, her tone growing a bit more bitter. “No, our deal revolved around our past. Unfinished business, if you will.”
“Malcolm had brought back the ‘Snow Queen Pageant’ in Nome.” Selena explained. “In exchange for her help, Talia demanded that I enter the competition… and purposefully lose.”
The redhead’s mouth hung open. She was not ignorant. She knew the history between Selena and Talia. Throughout their years of marriage, Selena had told her every aspect of it. From their childhood of fond memories, to the downfall and eventual betrayal by Selena – prompted by her step-mother Anastasia DeCarlo – and Talia’s lifelong quest for revenge that, inevitably, resulted in her stealing Selena’s fiancee, Ryan Scythe, from her. Even if Deanna ignored whatever part Talia had played in Malcolm’s past plans to abduct their children, the younger Frost knew this woman to be dangerous – and her obsession with Selena was just as terrifying, with it all circling around one moment in their past: The Snow Queen pageant.
“But…” she turned back to Selena. “You said the whole thing ended up being a wild good chase…”
“I thought it had.” Selena answered honestly. “Half-way through the show, Malcolm intervened and called Talia out on her little act.” A bit of satisfaction was laced in her tone. “Turns out Talia, here, had been trying to pull the wool over the mayor’s eyes with getting him on board with bringing the pageant back and he wasn’t too thrilled that she had rigged the judging to get me into the final round when I was purposefully trying to eliminate myself.”
Talia’s eyes narrowed, clearly not wanting to recall that particular part of the story. Still, Selena pressed on. “So, you did hear all of that.”
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it a little.” Selena smirked back at the lawyer.
“Well, you’ve done that enough already….”
The remark, barely a grumbling whisper came not from Talia in a heated response, but from Deanna, who was now sitting a few inches away from Selena, her hands on the table and her focus on her own fingers.
Turning to Deanna, Selena’s mouth hung open a little, unsure of what she could do to fix this – the hurt clear on her wife’s face. “Deanna, I-“
“Just tell me what happened next.” She ordered, refusing to meet her wife’s gaze.
Jilted a little, Selena sat back, her outreached hand towards her wife receding to rest back in her denim-clad lap.
“Well,” she continued. “After Malcolm made his thoughts known, Talia decided to change the rules of our deal. Now, if I was to get her help, I had to, somehow, win the whole damn pageant.”
“Of course you did!” laughed Deanna, turning her head towards Selena. “Were you surprised?” she shook her head in disbelief at Selena. “I can’t believe you even entertained this notion. Of course she would change the rules and screw you over! She’s a Scythe, Selena! That’s what they do! Why did you even consider this?! And why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Because it was better than nothing!” Selena barked back. “Yes! I knew it was most likely a trap. Yes! I knew that I was probably chasing nothing but smoke or a screw job but there was a small percentage – a very small one – and all I had to do to have a chance of getting it was surrender a stupid title!”
“A title that has meant almost as much to you as your damned last name!”
“AND NEITHER OF THOSE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU!” Selena’s voice echoed throughout the room, earning the attention of every single person that was in the visitation room, including the guards standing nearby.
“Hey!” barked one of them, taking a few steps forward, his hand brushing along his nightstick that was holstered on his belt. “We having a problem here?”
“No, officer.” Talia held her hand up. “Just a little tension in a very delicate matter.”
“Well, keep it down.” He ordered, his eyes turning towards Deanna, the prisoner of this facility. “You know the rules.”
Deanna said nothing, merely nodding her head quietly. No one said a word until the guard had turned around to return to his station, his eyes, however still on the trio of women. Only then did Selena release a shaky breath before speaking.
“What would you have done, Deanna?” she whispered, her eyes locked on her wife’s. “If it was you instead of me. Even if it likely was a waste of time but there was even half a percent’s chance that it could get me out here. Bring me home. If it was you, and you had to give up a name or some part of your identity, what would you have done?”
Oh, how Deanna wanted to stay angry. How she wanted to stay mad at her wife for endangering her life like that. Mad at Selena for risking so much that mattered to the Snow Queen on some whim of fancy or some tidbit of a chance… but she knew – just as Selena knew – the reality of the situation. Because if the roles had been reversed – if it had been Deanna in Selena’s place… gods she would have done exactly what Selena had done. More! Hell, she had snuck into a hospital, stolen Selena’s frozen embryo eggs from the DeCarlos and impregnated herself just to keep Selena from doing something stupid to retrieve them herself… was she really any different from her wife when it came to the sacrifices they were willing to endure for one another – for their love?
Slowly, she shook her head. “You could have just told me.” She settled on whispering quietly.
“I know.” Selena sighed. “I should have. But I didn’t want to get your hopes up when the odds were so against us. And then, when it was over, I didn’t want to think about it. I felt foolish for even believing for a second that I had a chance. And I…” for a moment, the platinum-blonde forgot that Talia was even there. It was as it was just fifteen minutes ago – just her and her beloved wife. “I felt like a failure.” She admitted. “To fail you, and then a day later, fail Regan at the Retribution Pay-Per-View… after failing over and over again…I just… I wanted to forget it. I wanted to move on. To just…” she huffed a little in an exhale. “I wanted to just move on.” She settled on saying.
“Yeah, you and me both.” Muttered Talia, unfazed but the interaction that had just been displayed between the two wives.
“That doesn’t explain why you’re here.” Deanna suddenly countered, a sense of her own strength slightly renewed by her wife’s confession. “You got what you wanted and you got to screw with Selena. So why are you here now?”
Talia balked with a half-laugh. “I didn’t get what I wanted.” She retorted. “I lost the competition.”
“What?” Deanna asked in disbelief. “How?” she turned back to Selena. “Did you win?”
“No.” Selena answered. “I did my best but I didn’t win.”
“So…if you didn’t win…” Deanna pointed to Talia. “And you didn’t win, then who did?”
A genuine smile broke from Selena’s lips. “A young girl named Becky. Oh, you should have seen her, Deanna. She looked so much like Amiliah! Red hair, cute smile, small little thing. She was so nervous with stage fright that she ran off stage during the show.”
“Yes, and your wife encouraged her to try again, using her own time on stage of the ‘talent section’ to give her time to do so. It was sickening.”
“You would say that.” Selena shot back. “But she deserved to win that competition. We never should have been part of it.”
Clearing her throat and ignoring that last comment, Talia straightened her posture. “Anyways, that’s why I’m here.” her tone had grown more and more bitter with each passing second till her disdain was all to clear to the other two women. “It seems that our mutual friend – your children’s grandfather and my father-in-law – the ‘honourable’ mayor of Nome, had a different perception of the competition than merely ‘who won and who lost’.”
“Meaning?” Selena asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Meaning that Malcolm believes that, while you didn’t win the competition, you held up both parts of the bargain.”
“But I didn’t.” Selena answered. “I didn’t win the competition.”
“No.” Deanna’s voice trailed off. “But that really wasn’t what this was all about, was it, Talia?”
The lawyer said nothing, merely narrowing her eyes at the redhead as the platinum-blonde turned her head in confusion to her wife, who pushed on. “First, she ordered you to lose the pageant on purpose, which you did. Then, she altered the rules and demanded that in order to get her help, you’d have to beat her, right?”
“By winning the pageant, yes.” Selena answered.
“I’m sure that’s what was said and/or was implied. But that little girl, Becky, you said? You said she ran out during her performance and you gave her another chance by giving up some of your time to do so. If you hadn’t of done that, would she have won the competition?”
Talia scoffed. “Not likely.”
“There!” Deanna exclaimed. “So, because of Selena, Becky won – exo-facto – Selena was the reason you lost, Talia, meaning that…”
The conclusion was left unsaid, but all three women came to it: That because Selena had played a critical role in Becky winning the competition, she was responsible for preventing Talia from winning the pageant, effectively beating her like Talia had ordered her to, thus completing not one, but both sets of impossible demands.
Turning her gaze back over to her former childhood friend, Selena’s jaw jerked a little in disbelief. “That’s a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?”
“Contortionists don’t have that much flexibility.” Talia agreed. “But Malcolm seems to think along the same lines. And he praised your ‘brilliance’, for lack of the better word, at succeeding in such an ‘impossible game’.”
“Brilliance?” Selena laughed. “You make it sound like I planned it. All I did was do the right thing. That’s it. No plan or ulterior motives.”
“Whatever.” Huffed the lawyer. “Anyway, I was ordered to come here and hold up my end of the bargain.”
“So…” Deanna stole a glance at her wife. “You’re really going to help us? You’re really going to try and get me out of here?”
“At this point, I don’t really have much of a choice.” Grumbled Talia.
The implication, while lost to Deanna, was clear as day to the Snow Queen. “I guess you don’t.” she replied, resting her chin on her hands. “You did promise to get Deanna out if I held up on our bargain. And seeing as how you failed at the pageant, and how embarrassed Malcolm was – and from someone that knows quite a bit about how humbling… or humiliating… failure can be, I imagine the notion of you failing this now wouldn’t sit too well with him?”
Talia said nothing to the platinum-blonde, only tightening her jaw in response, which gave Selena all the information she needed. “What did he say?” she asked. “Succeed like you promised, or don’t bother coming back to Nome?”
Again, she was met with silence, telling her all she needed to know. “I see.” She replied, a mixture of feelings with her – a quick cast of a glance to her wife telling her that Deanna was feeling a similar spell of emotions. Right off the bat? A sense of justice. This whole damn situation and all the hardships that had fallen in Selena’s lap had been just a game by Talia – an obsession that had gone on for too long. To see it all blow up in Talia’s face? Neither Frost wife wanted to admit the sense of satisfaction in it they both felt. Was it wrong to feel that? Selena had felt the same when she had defeated Xander in their Last Person Standing match, ending their feud with a hard-fought victory and driving the message home to the Executioner and, she hoped, would be a similar feat this weekend if she managed to beat not only Asher Hayes but, more importantly, the Beauty Factory’s ‘hired gun’ in Glory Braddock. There was no guilt in her for wanting to feet that sort of satisfaction – of karma, or the universe, or fate finally acting on her side and those that had wronged others finally getting their ‘comeuppance’ of sorts.
But even so, and though she had no reason to feel this, she did feel a sense of guilt towards Talia – no, that wasn’t the right emotion. She quickly took a look inside herself to better identify the emotion, finally able to properly name it after a second or two. It was pity. She felt pity for Talia. With Xander, Sienna, Bree, and so many others, aside from bruised bodies, maybe some scars, all that had been taken or done was a deflation of their egos when Selena stood tall despite their best efforts. Hell, even Retribution, while an incredible loss for the Factory, aside from physical damage, the biggest damage was just to their egos – losing a match they had designed to be impossible to lose.
But with Talia? Losing here – failing here – she stood to lose so much more. Despite Malcolm, apparently, siding with Selena in this whole thing in regards to her and Talia’s ‘deal’, Selena could not possibly forget how dangerous the mayor of Nome truly was. This was, after all, the same bastard that had kidnapped her daughter, tried to kidnap her son, hunted down her family and killed her step-mother, Anastasia. And if he had threatened to exile Talia from Nome, Alaska, from her husband, Ryan, and their family, Selena believed that he was capable of doing so and that Talia had every reason to be afraid. She stood to lose everything she knew over her obsession with Selena.
Like I almost lost Regan…
For a brief moment, Selena was, once again, back on that pier, staring at the back of her beloved sister, Regan, the Hellcat looking out into the horizon, that damned note of resignation – Selena wished she never had read it, for it made the reality of almost losing her sister all too real. She saw her sister looking that letter in her mind’s eye, saw her turning it over in her hands, only this time, rather than dropping it into the waters below, Regan had turned around and handed it in – effectively gone from Selena’s life in SCW… leaving the Snow Queen all alone… because she had failed Regan over and over again.
Closing her eyes to dispel the false memory, Selena rolled her shoulders back a little. Opening her eyes, she saw Talia looking at her, still silent, but nothing needed to be said. Despite the circumstances, their fortunes: hers, Deanna’s and Talia’s, were now, effectively, tied together. The longer Deanna remained in prison, the longer Talia would have to stay here, in Germany.
“Do you have a place to stay?”
The question came out of her mouth before she had given it proper thought, surprising both Deanna and, most of all, Talia.
“What?” the lawyer asked in surprise.
“You didn’t say I was right, but if I am and Malcolm told you not to come home till you got Deanna out of here… so…” she took a breath to steel her nerves. “Do you have a place to stay?”
Confusion laced itself over the brunette’s face, brown eyes matching the expression. “I…wha-yes, I mean.. not exactly.” She answered. “He put me on a plane so fast that I didn’t have time to make proper accommodations… and with things being as they are right now-“ she implied. “Bookings were limited.”
Nodding her head, Selena saw Deanna’s expression in her peripheral vision, almost knowing where Selena was going with this.
“You can stay in the Schoenburg castle. My family is staying there till this is over.”
That offer certainly took Talia, the lawyer doing a double-take to make sure she heard her enemy properly. “What?”
“Like it or not.” Selena explained, a little to Deanna (who was choosing wisely to remain silent) but more so to Talia. “You are now tied up in this. Basically, we all win together or we fail together. I don’t know about you, but Deanna’s already spent almost a year here, and I don’t want her spending another behind these walls. And I’ll wager you want to get home to Ryan as soon as you can.”
To her surprise, Talia looked away and, in a moment of revealed weakness, she nodded her head.
“Right.” Selena slowly nodded hers as well. “So none of us are any good to the other if we’re sick or dead or whatever. So, you need a place to stay, then I’ll take care of that. We can work together on Deanna’s case much easier that way anyway.”
“And you’re not afraid that I’ll kidnap your children again?” Talia asked. She had meant to give it as a tease, but her timing could not have been worse as Deanna shot her a warning glance. A glance that said “Try it and you’re fucking dead!”, which actually caused a slight shiver of fear to run down Talia’s spine, though she hid it well from the Frost wives.
“Consider you know how far I’ll go to protect them.” Selena said slowly, warning in her tone. “I’d highly advise against doing anything towards them.” Her eyes narrowing and her jaw tightening, her next words could not possibly be misconstrued. “Is that clear?”
“Yes.” Talia replied. “Sorry.” She stated honestly, again surprising the other two women. “That was meant more as a joke than anything.”
“Bad taste.” Deanna replied flatly.
“Yeah, I can see that.” Talia confessed. “I’m not interested in taking your kids, though, okay?”
“She says…” muttered Deanna.
“Not just me. Malcolm too, remember?”
“She’s right, Deanna.” Selena turned to regard her wife. “After everything, Malcolm gave orders to not do anything to any of our children. Talia screws that up, then she might as well start looking for basement dwellings in the slums of Frankfurt.”
“Essentially.” Talia confirmed. “He’s still assisting me financially, long as I’m helping you, but who knows how long that is going to last.”
“Long as you work with us.” Selena stated. “I can assist with that, too.”
“I’ll…I’ll keep that in mind.” Talia replied, her voice adopting a tone of uncertainty.
Not that Selena could really blame her. Here was her enemy – the object of her hatred and obsession, who had bested her not once but over and over again in life (mostly unknowingly, but still…) – offering her a place to stay and financial assistance should it be needed. It was confusing and frustrating at the same time to the lawyer, and only hardened her resolve and sharpened her need to get this over with and get back to Nome and never have to deal with the Frost women ever again!
It was a mistake to rope myself to her again… she thought to herself as she glared at the two women. “What’s the address?” she finally asked, pushing herself out of her seat to stand. “To the castle, I mean.”
Quickly, Selena gave the lawyer the address, who punched it into her phone GPS. “Right.” Talia nodded. “Figures the Snow Queen would be staying in a castle.”
“Actually.” Selena corrected, simply to fire back. “It belongs to a friend of the family’s.”
“Really? A Frost owning a castle?”
“Unrelated.” Selena answered. “Actually, he’s more partial to Deanna than me.” She pointed her thumb to Deanna, who merely beamed and shrugged her shoulders playfully.
“I’m cute. What can I say?” she teased Selena.
“Anyway.” The brunette sharply interjected. “Give me a few days to run some errands here and check on a few things. By next week, we can get started.”
“Fair enough.” Selena replied as Talia excused herself, straightening out her attire before marching past them, not once looking back, though Deanna and Selena certainly watched her go, a guard escorting the older woman out of sight. It wasn’t until they heard the metal door opening and closing down the hall that both the Frost wives simultaneously exhaled in relief.
“Did that just happen?” Deanna asked.
“To be honest.” Selena answered, also in slight disbelief. “I’m kind of running the whole conversation in my head right now, just to see if I missed anything important.”
The two sat there, attempting to absorb the shift in their situation that had just unravelled before them.
“Can…can we trust her?” the redhead finally asked, concern laced in her voice and in her eyes.
It was a question that Selena could not possibly blame her wife for asking. Hell, it was a question part of her was still asking. The old adage “once burned, twice shy” was blaring wildly in her mind, warning her of placing her faith in a woman that had lied, cheated, and screwed with not only her, but her entire family over and over again. For Odin’s sake, Selena had just dealt with that a few weeks ago and now? She was supposed to believe that Talia was on their side?
“I think…” she calmed her mind a little to rationally answer her wife. “I think we can trust her to look after her own best interests.” She slowly replied. “I mean… why would she be helping us if she didn’t have a choice? She gains nothing by getting you out. It’s not like we’re going to ‘owe her one’ or something like that. And we know that she’s not after the children because of Malcolm. So, unless there some super-secret ulterior motive on top of an ulterior motive that we can’t even comprehend, and based what I saw in Nome, I can’t imagine there being one, I think she’s telling the truth about why she is here. And if that’s the case… I think we can trust in her desire to end her exile and get back to Nome.”
“But do you trust her?” Deanna pressed. “What happens if she succeeds… then what? Do we just go our separate ways?”
“I’m…I’m not sure.” Selena answered honestly. “But whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together.”
Tentatively, still worried that her wife was still upset with her, the platinum-blonde reached out to take Deanna’s closest hand, relief washing over her when the redhead grasped the pale hand with her own tightly. “And then…” she added. “We’ll gather the children and we’ll…” her voice caught in her throat. “We’ll go back home.”
“Home.” Deanna’s eyes fluttered close and she took a deep breath, as if the very idea was the most wonderful, beautiful thing she could imagine. “I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it – and everything that was there with it. Our children, Obi…you.”
Gently, Selena brought Deanna’s hand to her lips, soft petals of kisses dancing over Deanna’s knuckles. “So…” she slowly spoke, earning the wrestler’s attention and gaze. “I guess you’re not the Snow Queen in Nome anymore?”
“Nope.” Selena shrugged, lowering Deanna’s hand but not releasing it.
“Do you miss it?”
She was about to answer with another ‘nope’, but something stopped her. It was the same kind of kick of reality that had made her pity Talia – not the same emotion, but the same feeling of actualization. “A little.” She admitted. “It was part of my life – part of who I was for so long – just feels weird without it.” Her gaze drifted to far away for a moment, back to the caves of her father – the mines were he had searched for gold. The mines she had spent a good portion of her young life searching as well. The isolation, the taunts – ‘the crazy miner’s daughter’, ‘The Snow Queen’ – it had all been part of her for so long. Now that one of them was effectively gone, for better or for worse, she didn’t know exactly how she felt.
“Ahem…” came the familiar voice of the guard. “I’m sorry, ladies.” The young man who had scolded them earlier replied. “But your hour of visitation is up.”
The Frost wives cast a glance at once another, a sad smile adopting both their lips.
“Alright.” Selena answered first, pushing herself up and helping Deanna get to her feet as well, the redhead rubbing her legs and rear.
“My legs and butt are asleep.” She half-laughed at the tingling sensation.
“Mine too.” Selena laughed, rubbing her jean-covered legs and looking ahead of them, seeing the guard that had spoke and another guard, this time female, waiting for them at the door.
With a sigh, she turned to Deanna and held her arms out, which the redhead quickly rushed into, allowing Selena to wrap her wife up in a warm embrace. “I’ll be back by Monday or Tuesday, depending on the flight.” She promised. “I’ll let you know how things are settling with Talia.”
“I’ll call you before that.” Deanna promised. “I want to know you’re safe after your match. No more of this.” She pointed to the scab that remained of Selena’s cut that remained from the Beauty Factory’s assault.
“Can’t promise anything, except that I’ll be careful. And you do the same, okay? Keep clear of any riots.”
“Okay.” Grumbled Deanna, the redhead hoping Selena had forgotten about the earlier topic their conversation had taken before Talia Scythe had dropped in. Gently, she cupped her wife’s face in her hands drawing her in for a soft kiss. The guards, kindly, said nothing, giving the wives the little extra time they needed to say goodbye. To that end, Selena was grateful to them, though she suspected that Deanna’s bright and good behaviour also had a hand in it.
Eventually, the two separated and Selena was escorted out first. She was just about to leave the room when she felt Deanna’s hand tug on her shirt sleeve, causing her to turn around and catch her wife in one last embrace. But it was the closeness Deanna needed so she could whisper in her wife’s ear.
“You’ll always be my Snow Queen.” Her breath ticked Selena’s ear, causing the platinum-blonde to smile and squeeze her tightly before releasing her.
“And that’s all that matters to me.” She stated honestly as she watched the guard gently escort Deanna down the opposite direction of the hallway. Selena watched her go until her wife was out of sight before turning and making her way out of the prison. She had no idea where things were going to head now with Talia staying at the castle and working the case.
Maybe they had an ally. Maybe she was a liability. Selena couldn’t be sure, but as she got into her rented car and checked her rearview mirror, seeing her reflection in the glass, she was sure she saw something in her own sapphire eyes.
It was the same thing she had seen in her dear sister, Regan’s, eyes as the Hellcat had held that Television title in her eyes. That same shine now glowed in her own sapphire orbs.
It was hope. After so much failure poisoning her mind, Selena finally felt hope fill her. And she would be damned if she let anyone take that away from her again…
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![[Image: tetXUW1.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/tetXUW1.jpg)
The camera fades in to a far and wide shot of the interior of the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Los Angelas, the sight of tonight's SCW Pay-Per-View, Cold Blooded. The ring and much of the large screens and graphics have already been set up, the faces of several SCW superstars can be seen even from the distance of the camera from the back seats. The main focus, however, is the ring that takes up the center of the shot, and the arctic blue and white lights that shine down. And, of course, there in the center of the ring, as the camera fades to a closer shot, is the Snow Queen, herself, also known as – as many in the Beauty Factory have pointed out, recently, 'The Face of SCW', Selena Frost.
Dressed not in her wrestling attire, but in black jeans, a maroon shirt, runners, and a leather jacket, the young woman sits cross-legged in the ring, her head tilted down a little as she takes a deep breath and exhales.
A taste. her voice is barely a whisper as she runs her tongue against her lips a little as she slowly opens her sapphire-blue eyes. That's what you promised me on Twitter, Glory Braddock. That what I experienced last Breakdown when you and five other superstars ambushed me in the ring – you said that this was only a taste of what was in store for me at Cold Blooded when it came to “The Best in the World”, “The British Bombshell” Glory Braddock. And recently, you came out to an empty dance floor and you gave me a bit more of a taste of, didn't you?
So, suffice it to say... A playful smirk comes to Selena's lips. I've gotten a good mouthful of what you bring, Braddock, as if I was at a wine-tasting exhibition... another slow breath and exhale. And much like a wine-tasting, I just want to take what you've given and spit it into a waste bucket.
In a fluid motion, Selena springs to her feet, adjusting her leather jacket as she does. And it's not because I can't stomach it, Glory. It's not because I can't handle. It's because, while you think that you're “one of a kind”, and you very well may be when it comes to what you can do in this ring, your words are anything but. A harsh chuckle comes from Selena as she begins to pace around the ring.
”Oh yes!” she cries out loudly. ”Selena Frost was part of other federations while she worked with SCW! IWC! ULW! UWA! Oh oh! Selena Frost cares only for herself, that's why she strayed to other federations for a bit! Oh oh! Selena Frost is a hypocrite! The 'yes-woman' of the SCW management!” she stops for a moment, lowering her waving arms and turning to look back at the camera. Know why I'm not mad at hearing that, Glory? Know why you're not getting under my skin? Know why I can just spit that crap out of my mouth and into the trash where it belongs?
It's because I've been hearing that same waste of saliva and promo time from day one that I walked in here. the Snow Queen shakes her head a little. From the moment I walked into this business, I got pegged as some kind of “knockoff” because of my last name. And after that? I was branded a 'traitor' because I 'wasn't there' when a superstar was hung upside down. And after that? I was a “gold-whore” because I held two titles at the same time. And all while those were happening? I had every single person in SCW not believing me for a single second. 'No way someone's that honest. No way someone cares that much! She's got to have an angle'.
Selena shrugs her shoulders. You think you're original because you called me out on that, Glory? Just roll back the archive footage to my last pay-per-view match. Check Kandis and Tommy Valentine – the tag-team champions... and now former Television champion- Selena takes a second to wink at the camera before her expression returns to seriousness. From there, I could spout out a variable 'who's who' in SCW of who thought and said the same thing and that includes your, no doubt, 'coaching team' in Bree and Sienna.
Thing is I've never given a damn what anyone thought of my past. See you, and everyone else that said the same lines, you want me to be ashamed of it. You want me to feel guilt that I worked other federations, won championships there as if I was a failure? Another shake of her head, but a slight smirk of disbelief crossing Selena's features. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Glory, and maybe, maybe, this is something that you can understand. I would not be the woman I am, the wrestler I am, if I had not been able to travel the world like I did in my early years. I learned about the different kinds of business in this profession. I learned about the different styles that exist out there. I got to have a 'taste' of what I could bring to my own repertoire and my own abilities. I learned humility. I learned to appreciate the difference in audiences and how special each and every fan is, whether they, too, booed me as a 'traitor' or 'invader' or they cheered me as an honest wrestler. You want me to regret what I went through to get where I am now, you can't make me do that, Glory, any more than you can get under my skin with your tired old lines.
Running her hand along the ropes, Selena looks out to the empty seats of the audience. Tired old lines like claiming that I'm a 'dime a dozen', right? That it's easy to lose 'Selena Frost' amidst the sea of Owen Cruzes, Regan Streets, Konrad Raabs, David Helmses, Asher Hayeses and so on and so forth, right? Maybe you're right. Selena smiles as she leans on the ropes, still gazing out to the empty seats. But you don't see me running around, shouting “BANG!” or “Meow, bitches”, now do you? You? “How could you be a hero and have moves that give concussions?”...
A laugh comes from the Snow Queen. Steal that one from Sienna, did you? You're about seven months late on that. You want to try and ban my moves next? another laugh comes from Selena before it suddenly dies away, the humour gone in her voice.
You want to lump me with those other wrestlers I mentioned? You go right ahead. I'd be honoured to stand with those people. People that actually do what you pretend to do and that's what's best for wrestling. People that actually care about this business. Care about SCW.
Turning around to face the camera, Selena raises her arms a little. You want to tell it like it is, Glory? You want us to 'get real'? Let's get real. Let's call each other out. You want to tell me about ALL the championships you've won outside of SCW? Okay. Great job, it means you're talented enough to be here. It means you're a capable wrestler in the ring. Didn't need your resume to know that, Glory. I've known that for awhile. You're the holder of the Trios Tournament, aren't you? Two years in a row, right? You want to tell me that we've had similar careers? Having to work our way to the top? Okay, I'll buy that. That you've been where I am now elsewhere? Great.
But let's be honest here, Glory, while your view of me is as stale as your insults and as off as your logic, there's a fundamental difference between you and me. A key trait that sets us apart. And it's also the reason why you don't understand why Asher Hayes doesn't “call it quits” after doing so much in his career or when things are tough.
Because while I may have failed over and over again in my life, Glory, unlike you I have never let failure conquer me. I've never let myself be destroyed by failure.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Selena flicks her head, sending her platinum-blonde braid to go behind her shoulder. I don't need to dot out all your losses and short-comings, Glory, I just need to mention one. Rise to Greatness last year.
There you were, cashing in Trios, determined to be the one to beat Syren and become World Champion. For weeks, you pestered Alistaire Allocco, telling him the same thing you're trying to sell me on. That you “do what needs to be done”. That you do “what's necessary” and use “every tool at your disposal”, unlike Alistaire, right?
And yet who won? Who pulled off the victory and became the SCW world champion, Glory? Selena shrugs.
That was probably your loudest failure here in SCW, Glory. Before that? You were cruising through SCW with the Braddock name, right? Nothing could stop you, right? So it was easy to 'play honourably'... but then it all came to a halt with that failure. The kind of failure that shakes you to your core and makes you question everything about yourself. And you were right, I've been there more times than I can count and each time, I've had my very identity and beliefs thrown back in my face and questioned. But here I am, still fighting for SCW, still believing in it with all my heart and soul. Holding no one accountable for my short-comings and failings other than myself.
What about you, Glory? You lose one match and suddenly, you throw all your morals out the goddamn window! Lowblows, underhanded tactics, ambushes, teaming up with Sienna and the Factory- Selena counts them off. Crying 'it's Sasha's fault! It's Sasha's fault!', claiming that all you do, the people you and the Factory hurt with your tactics are 'what's necessary for the business'...
It's not what's necessary for the business, Glory, it's what's necessary for you because you're too much of a coward to risk failing again. Selena's tone is cold and her blue eyes are equally so as she stares into the camera. Failure took on “The Best in the World” and conquered you, Glory, to the point where you're too scared to even try to prove yourself by yourself. And all of this? All the same lines that you've taken from the Factory's 'promo book'? The tweets of “Best in the World” over and over again? Nothing but excuses.
That's not me, Glory. That's never been me. And I know that that isn't Asher. You don't get it but I do. I know why he will always get back up like you said. It's because he loves this business, he loves being in this ring and because he won't let failure keep him down. And neither will I. You? You've shown us there's a limit to how far you'll go before you 'sell out' and take the 'shortcut'. You've proven that there's a limit to how far you can go in that ring before doing the same.
And in this triple threat match tonight, I can promise you that we will reach that limit, Glory. And when we do, I'm gonna still be getting back up, just like I kept doing at Breakdown when the six of you couldn't keep me down. And when we pass that limit where you want to bring in a chair because it's all legal? Guess what! I'm gonna still get right back up! And when you don't understand how I am doing so and you get so desperate that you call whoever is available in the Factory to save you and 'do what's right for wrestling'? Guess what? Sapphire-blue eyes narrow. I. Will. Still. Get. Back. Up.
Slowly, reaching up to her chest, the Snow Queen gently taps her heart. Because this? Right here? This love I have for being here? Being part of SCW? Being part of this show, this pay-per-view, this match, this business? To the point where I won't settle for what 'failure' wants to give me? That is what's best for wrestling, Glory! Not ambushes! Not hashtags or nicknames, but love and passion for what it truly means to be S-C-W! her voice echoes the three letters throughout the empty arena before she settles down, her tone back to cold.
You may very well be “The Best in the World”, Glory. But tonight? In this ring? You will be in our world. Selena gestures a hand towards the empty seats that will soon be filled with thousands of the SCW Universe. And when it's all said and done, you can tell us all that you're still “the Best in the World”... but when it's my arm that's raised... Selena slowly raises her arm, as if foreshadowing the future. I won't believe you.
And neither will anybody else. An almost playful smirk comes to Selena's lips. And here's how an original does it:
Believe it!
The camera fades on Selena before going completely to black.
The Dark Side of the Sun
“The Ground on Which We Stand”
Frankfut Prison III
Frankfurt, Germany
April 17th, 2020
2:29pm
“Wait…” Deanna stammered, unsure that what she was seeing – or rather whom she was seeing – was actually real. “You’re…you’re Talia? As in…” slowly, her eyes drifted over to Selena, who was glaring a hole through the brunette that sat across the table from them.
“Ryan’s wife? Daughter-in-law to Malcolm Scythe, mayor of Nome, Alaska and-“ she started, her tone proud and haughty, as if she were gracing the Frost wives with her mere presence.
“What are you doing here?” Selena interjected, having never moved her glare from her childhood best-friend turned enemy. “I thought we were done.”
The lawyer, finally, turned her head to acknowledge the platinum-blonde. “I thought so too, but apparently things change.”
The exchange was not lost on the redhead as she regarded both her wife and the lawyer. “Selena.” Her tone was no longer soft and gentle but curt and sharp. “What is going on here? Why is she here?”
And in the same way, the question was not lost on the lawyer, who suddenly smiled at Selena – a knowing, amused smile. “Ahhhh.” She drawled. “You never told her, did you?”.
Her back stiffening and her jaw clenching, Selena remained silent, though she refused to move her gaze.
“What is she talking about, Selena?” Deanna asked, her eyes wide. “What happened?”
There was a moment of silence between the three, Talia waiting expectantly for Selena to make a move and Selena… who was too frantic and tight to say or do anything. She was trapped, and she knew it. She couldn’t just wave this away or dismiss this. Not when Talia was sitting just a few feet from there. Forcing a deep breath into her lungs, followed by a slow exhale, she turned her gaze over to Deanna, who was staring at her with confusion and – Selena wished beyond measure that she could not see the slight hurt that mixed in with those emerald-green orbs.
“Do…” she spoke slowly. “Do you remember that…how… when I said a few weeks ago that I had a lead on something…”
“Wait…” Deanna held her hand up before turning it to point to Talia. “SHE was your lead?!”
For an answer, Selena bit her lower lip, her head dropping down to focus on her hands in her own lap. The day had spiralled from good to horrible in minutes and there was no way she could stop it!
“Why?” Deanna asked, though the question was thrown towards Talia. “Why would you, of all people, offer any help to her?”
“Well, in your wife’s defence…” Talia mockingly explained, crossing her arms over her chest. “I had my own agenda in the matter.”
“Of course you did.” Emerald eyes narrowed at the lawyer before turning back to Selena. “One of you had better tell me everything or I’m just going back to my cell.”
Talia’s response was to merely shrug. “I don’t really care.”
“No!” Selena said at the same time, her hands latching onto Deanna’s closest arm. “I’ll tell you.” She promised, earning the entirety of her wife’s attention. “Talia…” she gestured towards the lawyer. “Recently passed the bar here in Germany… once she heard of your incarceration. She did it to get my attention. Jean sent me to Nome to investigate and Talia…she said she could get you out of here – or at least knew a way to.” Her voice trailed off, a fact that Deanna caught immediately.
“And?” the redhead pressed. “She’s a Scythe, Selena! You know how they operate! Nothing comes for nothing!”
“True enough.” Talia laughed, but went silent when both Frost wives turned their heads to glare at her, though her smile did not fade.
“I was aware of that.” Selena continued, returning her gaze towards her wife. “But what other option did I have? No lawyer here wants to take your case, Deanna. No matter how much money I threw at them. Either it was a ‘lost cause’ or they risked losing ‘reputation’, it was always some excuse. Talia is…” she cast a brief glance towards the older woman. “She’s many things, but she would not have gone to such lengths to get my attention if she didn’t have anything tangible to give me.”
“And what?” Deanna asked, turning her head to Talia. “You want us to donate a kidney or something for it? Because I know Selena would never have agreed to giving up our children.”
“Of course not!” Selena interjected in.
“Never was put on the table.” Talia answered honestly. “I knew that would never fly with her.” She added, her tone growing a bit more bitter. “No, our deal revolved around our past. Unfinished business, if you will.”
“Malcolm had brought back the ‘Snow Queen Pageant’ in Nome.” Selena explained. “In exchange for her help, Talia demanded that I enter the competition… and purposefully lose.”
The redhead’s mouth hung open. She was not ignorant. She knew the history between Selena and Talia. Throughout their years of marriage, Selena had told her every aspect of it. From their childhood of fond memories, to the downfall and eventual betrayal by Selena – prompted by her step-mother Anastasia DeCarlo – and Talia’s lifelong quest for revenge that, inevitably, resulted in her stealing Selena’s fiancee, Ryan Scythe, from her. Even if Deanna ignored whatever part Talia had played in Malcolm’s past plans to abduct their children, the younger Frost knew this woman to be dangerous – and her obsession with Selena was just as terrifying, with it all circling around one moment in their past: The Snow Queen pageant.
“But…” she turned back to Selena. “You said the whole thing ended up being a wild good chase…”
“I thought it had.” Selena answered honestly. “Half-way through the show, Malcolm intervened and called Talia out on her little act.” A bit of satisfaction was laced in her tone. “Turns out Talia, here, had been trying to pull the wool over the mayor’s eyes with getting him on board with bringing the pageant back and he wasn’t too thrilled that she had rigged the judging to get me into the final round when I was purposefully trying to eliminate myself.”
Talia’s eyes narrowed, clearly not wanting to recall that particular part of the story. Still, Selena pressed on. “So, you did hear all of that.”
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it a little.” Selena smirked back at the lawyer.
“Well, you’ve done that enough already….”
The remark, barely a grumbling whisper came not from Talia in a heated response, but from Deanna, who was now sitting a few inches away from Selena, her hands on the table and her focus on her own fingers.
Turning to Deanna, Selena’s mouth hung open a little, unsure of what she could do to fix this – the hurt clear on her wife’s face. “Deanna, I-“
“Just tell me what happened next.” She ordered, refusing to meet her wife’s gaze.
Jilted a little, Selena sat back, her outreached hand towards her wife receding to rest back in her denim-clad lap.
“Well,” she continued. “After Malcolm made his thoughts known, Talia decided to change the rules of our deal. Now, if I was to get her help, I had to, somehow, win the whole damn pageant.”
“Of course you did!” laughed Deanna, turning her head towards Selena. “Were you surprised?” she shook her head in disbelief at Selena. “I can’t believe you even entertained this notion. Of course she would change the rules and screw you over! She’s a Scythe, Selena! That’s what they do! Why did you even consider this?! And why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Because it was better than nothing!” Selena barked back. “Yes! I knew it was most likely a trap. Yes! I knew that I was probably chasing nothing but smoke or a screw job but there was a small percentage – a very small one – and all I had to do to have a chance of getting it was surrender a stupid title!”
“A title that has meant almost as much to you as your damned last name!”
“AND NEITHER OF THOSE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU!” Selena’s voice echoed throughout the room, earning the attention of every single person that was in the visitation room, including the guards standing nearby.
“Hey!” barked one of them, taking a few steps forward, his hand brushing along his nightstick that was holstered on his belt. “We having a problem here?”
“No, officer.” Talia held her hand up. “Just a little tension in a very delicate matter.”
“Well, keep it down.” He ordered, his eyes turning towards Deanna, the prisoner of this facility. “You know the rules.”
Deanna said nothing, merely nodding her head quietly. No one said a word until the guard had turned around to return to his station, his eyes, however still on the trio of women. Only then did Selena release a shaky breath before speaking.
“What would you have done, Deanna?” she whispered, her eyes locked on her wife’s. “If it was you instead of me. Even if it likely was a waste of time but there was even half a percent’s chance that it could get me out here. Bring me home. If it was you, and you had to give up a name or some part of your identity, what would you have done?”
Oh, how Deanna wanted to stay angry. How she wanted to stay mad at her wife for endangering her life like that. Mad at Selena for risking so much that mattered to the Snow Queen on some whim of fancy or some tidbit of a chance… but she knew – just as Selena knew – the reality of the situation. Because if the roles had been reversed – if it had been Deanna in Selena’s place… gods she would have done exactly what Selena had done. More! Hell, she had snuck into a hospital, stolen Selena’s frozen embryo eggs from the DeCarlos and impregnated herself just to keep Selena from doing something stupid to retrieve them herself… was she really any different from her wife when it came to the sacrifices they were willing to endure for one another – for their love?
Slowly, she shook her head. “You could have just told me.” She settled on whispering quietly.
“I know.” Selena sighed. “I should have. But I didn’t want to get your hopes up when the odds were so against us. And then, when it was over, I didn’t want to think about it. I felt foolish for even believing for a second that I had a chance. And I…” for a moment, the platinum-blonde forgot that Talia was even there. It was as it was just fifteen minutes ago – just her and her beloved wife. “I felt like a failure.” She admitted. “To fail you, and then a day later, fail Regan at the Retribution Pay-Per-View… after failing over and over again…I just… I wanted to forget it. I wanted to move on. To just…” she huffed a little in an exhale. “I wanted to just move on.” She settled on saying.
“Yeah, you and me both.” Muttered Talia, unfazed but the interaction that had just been displayed between the two wives.
“That doesn’t explain why you’re here.” Deanna suddenly countered, a sense of her own strength slightly renewed by her wife’s confession. “You got what you wanted and you got to screw with Selena. So why are you here now?”
Talia balked with a half-laugh. “I didn’t get what I wanted.” She retorted. “I lost the competition.”
“What?” Deanna asked in disbelief. “How?” she turned back to Selena. “Did you win?”
“No.” Selena answered. “I did my best but I didn’t win.”
“So…if you didn’t win…” Deanna pointed to Talia. “And you didn’t win, then who did?”
A genuine smile broke from Selena’s lips. “A young girl named Becky. Oh, you should have seen her, Deanna. She looked so much like Amiliah! Red hair, cute smile, small little thing. She was so nervous with stage fright that she ran off stage during the show.”
“Yes, and your wife encouraged her to try again, using her own time on stage of the ‘talent section’ to give her time to do so. It was sickening.”
“You would say that.” Selena shot back. “But she deserved to win that competition. We never should have been part of it.”
Clearing her throat and ignoring that last comment, Talia straightened her posture. “Anyways, that’s why I’m here.” her tone had grown more and more bitter with each passing second till her disdain was all to clear to the other two women. “It seems that our mutual friend – your children’s grandfather and my father-in-law – the ‘honourable’ mayor of Nome, had a different perception of the competition than merely ‘who won and who lost’.”
“Meaning?” Selena asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Meaning that Malcolm believes that, while you didn’t win the competition, you held up both parts of the bargain.”
“But I didn’t.” Selena answered. “I didn’t win the competition.”
“No.” Deanna’s voice trailed off. “But that really wasn’t what this was all about, was it, Talia?”
The lawyer said nothing, merely narrowing her eyes at the redhead as the platinum-blonde turned her head in confusion to her wife, who pushed on. “First, she ordered you to lose the pageant on purpose, which you did. Then, she altered the rules and demanded that in order to get her help, you’d have to beat her, right?”
“By winning the pageant, yes.” Selena answered.
“I’m sure that’s what was said and/or was implied. But that little girl, Becky, you said? You said she ran out during her performance and you gave her another chance by giving up some of your time to do so. If you hadn’t of done that, would she have won the competition?”
Talia scoffed. “Not likely.”
“There!” Deanna exclaimed. “So, because of Selena, Becky won – exo-facto – Selena was the reason you lost, Talia, meaning that…”
The conclusion was left unsaid, but all three women came to it: That because Selena had played a critical role in Becky winning the competition, she was responsible for preventing Talia from winning the pageant, effectively beating her like Talia had ordered her to, thus completing not one, but both sets of impossible demands.
Turning her gaze back over to her former childhood friend, Selena’s jaw jerked a little in disbelief. “That’s a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?”
“Contortionists don’t have that much flexibility.” Talia agreed. “But Malcolm seems to think along the same lines. And he praised your ‘brilliance’, for lack of the better word, at succeeding in such an ‘impossible game’.”
“Brilliance?” Selena laughed. “You make it sound like I planned it. All I did was do the right thing. That’s it. No plan or ulterior motives.”
“Whatever.” Huffed the lawyer. “Anyway, I was ordered to come here and hold up my end of the bargain.”
“So…” Deanna stole a glance at her wife. “You’re really going to help us? You’re really going to try and get me out of here?”
“At this point, I don’t really have much of a choice.” Grumbled Talia.
The implication, while lost to Deanna, was clear as day to the Snow Queen. “I guess you don’t.” she replied, resting her chin on her hands. “You did promise to get Deanna out if I held up on our bargain. And seeing as how you failed at the pageant, and how embarrassed Malcolm was – and from someone that knows quite a bit about how humbling… or humiliating… failure can be, I imagine the notion of you failing this now wouldn’t sit too well with him?”
Talia said nothing to the platinum-blonde, only tightening her jaw in response, which gave Selena all the information she needed. “What did he say?” she asked. “Succeed like you promised, or don’t bother coming back to Nome?”
Again, she was met with silence, telling her all she needed to know. “I see.” She replied, a mixture of feelings with her – a quick cast of a glance to her wife telling her that Deanna was feeling a similar spell of emotions. Right off the bat? A sense of justice. This whole damn situation and all the hardships that had fallen in Selena’s lap had been just a game by Talia – an obsession that had gone on for too long. To see it all blow up in Talia’s face? Neither Frost wife wanted to admit the sense of satisfaction in it they both felt. Was it wrong to feel that? Selena had felt the same when she had defeated Xander in their Last Person Standing match, ending their feud with a hard-fought victory and driving the message home to the Executioner and, she hoped, would be a similar feat this weekend if she managed to beat not only Asher Hayes but, more importantly, the Beauty Factory’s ‘hired gun’ in Glory Braddock. There was no guilt in her for wanting to feet that sort of satisfaction – of karma, or the universe, or fate finally acting on her side and those that had wronged others finally getting their ‘comeuppance’ of sorts.
But even so, and though she had no reason to feel this, she did feel a sense of guilt towards Talia – no, that wasn’t the right emotion. She quickly took a look inside herself to better identify the emotion, finally able to properly name it after a second or two. It was pity. She felt pity for Talia. With Xander, Sienna, Bree, and so many others, aside from bruised bodies, maybe some scars, all that had been taken or done was a deflation of their egos when Selena stood tall despite their best efforts. Hell, even Retribution, while an incredible loss for the Factory, aside from physical damage, the biggest damage was just to their egos – losing a match they had designed to be impossible to lose.
But with Talia? Losing here – failing here – she stood to lose so much more. Despite Malcolm, apparently, siding with Selena in this whole thing in regards to her and Talia’s ‘deal’, Selena could not possibly forget how dangerous the mayor of Nome truly was. This was, after all, the same bastard that had kidnapped her daughter, tried to kidnap her son, hunted down her family and killed her step-mother, Anastasia. And if he had threatened to exile Talia from Nome, Alaska, from her husband, Ryan, and their family, Selena believed that he was capable of doing so and that Talia had every reason to be afraid. She stood to lose everything she knew over her obsession with Selena.
Like I almost lost Regan…
For a brief moment, Selena was, once again, back on that pier, staring at the back of her beloved sister, Regan, the Hellcat looking out into the horizon, that damned note of resignation – Selena wished she never had read it, for it made the reality of almost losing her sister all too real. She saw her sister looking that letter in her mind’s eye, saw her turning it over in her hands, only this time, rather than dropping it into the waters below, Regan had turned around and handed it in – effectively gone from Selena’s life in SCW… leaving the Snow Queen all alone… because she had failed Regan over and over again.
Closing her eyes to dispel the false memory, Selena rolled her shoulders back a little. Opening her eyes, she saw Talia looking at her, still silent, but nothing needed to be said. Despite the circumstances, their fortunes: hers, Deanna’s and Talia’s, were now, effectively, tied together. The longer Deanna remained in prison, the longer Talia would have to stay here, in Germany.
“Do you have a place to stay?”
The question came out of her mouth before she had given it proper thought, surprising both Deanna and, most of all, Talia.
“What?” the lawyer asked in surprise.
“You didn’t say I was right, but if I am and Malcolm told you not to come home till you got Deanna out of here… so…” she took a breath to steel her nerves. “Do you have a place to stay?”
Confusion laced itself over the brunette’s face, brown eyes matching the expression. “I…wha-yes, I mean.. not exactly.” She answered. “He put me on a plane so fast that I didn’t have time to make proper accommodations… and with things being as they are right now-“ she implied. “Bookings were limited.”
Nodding her head, Selena saw Deanna’s expression in her peripheral vision, almost knowing where Selena was going with this.
“You can stay in the Schoenburg castle. My family is staying there till this is over.”
That offer certainly took Talia, the lawyer doing a double-take to make sure she heard her enemy properly. “What?”
“Like it or not.” Selena explained, a little to Deanna (who was choosing wisely to remain silent) but more so to Talia. “You are now tied up in this. Basically, we all win together or we fail together. I don’t know about you, but Deanna’s already spent almost a year here, and I don’t want her spending another behind these walls. And I’ll wager you want to get home to Ryan as soon as you can.”
To her surprise, Talia looked away and, in a moment of revealed weakness, she nodded her head.
“Right.” Selena slowly nodded hers as well. “So none of us are any good to the other if we’re sick or dead or whatever. So, you need a place to stay, then I’ll take care of that. We can work together on Deanna’s case much easier that way anyway.”
“And you’re not afraid that I’ll kidnap your children again?” Talia asked. She had meant to give it as a tease, but her timing could not have been worse as Deanna shot her a warning glance. A glance that said “Try it and you’re fucking dead!”, which actually caused a slight shiver of fear to run down Talia’s spine, though she hid it well from the Frost wives.
“Consider you know how far I’ll go to protect them.” Selena said slowly, warning in her tone. “I’d highly advise against doing anything towards them.” Her eyes narrowing and her jaw tightening, her next words could not possibly be misconstrued. “Is that clear?”
“Yes.” Talia replied. “Sorry.” She stated honestly, again surprising the other two women. “That was meant more as a joke than anything.”
“Bad taste.” Deanna replied flatly.
“Yeah, I can see that.” Talia confessed. “I’m not interested in taking your kids, though, okay?”
“She says…” muttered Deanna.
“Not just me. Malcolm too, remember?”
“She’s right, Deanna.” Selena turned to regard her wife. “After everything, Malcolm gave orders to not do anything to any of our children. Talia screws that up, then she might as well start looking for basement dwellings in the slums of Frankfurt.”
“Essentially.” Talia confirmed. “He’s still assisting me financially, long as I’m helping you, but who knows how long that is going to last.”
“Long as you work with us.” Selena stated. “I can assist with that, too.”
“I’ll…I’ll keep that in mind.” Talia replied, her voice adopting a tone of uncertainty.
Not that Selena could really blame her. Here was her enemy – the object of her hatred and obsession, who had bested her not once but over and over again in life (mostly unknowingly, but still…) – offering her a place to stay and financial assistance should it be needed. It was confusing and frustrating at the same time to the lawyer, and only hardened her resolve and sharpened her need to get this over with and get back to Nome and never have to deal with the Frost women ever again!
It was a mistake to rope myself to her again… she thought to herself as she glared at the two women. “What’s the address?” she finally asked, pushing herself out of her seat to stand. “To the castle, I mean.”
Quickly, Selena gave the lawyer the address, who punched it into her phone GPS. “Right.” Talia nodded. “Figures the Snow Queen would be staying in a castle.”
“Actually.” Selena corrected, simply to fire back. “It belongs to a friend of the family’s.”
“Really? A Frost owning a castle?”
“Unrelated.” Selena answered. “Actually, he’s more partial to Deanna than me.” She pointed her thumb to Deanna, who merely beamed and shrugged her shoulders playfully.
“I’m cute. What can I say?” she teased Selena.
“Anyway.” The brunette sharply interjected. “Give me a few days to run some errands here and check on a few things. By next week, we can get started.”
“Fair enough.” Selena replied as Talia excused herself, straightening out her attire before marching past them, not once looking back, though Deanna and Selena certainly watched her go, a guard escorting the older woman out of sight. It wasn’t until they heard the metal door opening and closing down the hall that both the Frost wives simultaneously exhaled in relief.
“Did that just happen?” Deanna asked.
“To be honest.” Selena answered, also in slight disbelief. “I’m kind of running the whole conversation in my head right now, just to see if I missed anything important.”
The two sat there, attempting to absorb the shift in their situation that had just unravelled before them.
“Can…can we trust her?” the redhead finally asked, concern laced in her voice and in her eyes.
It was a question that Selena could not possibly blame her wife for asking. Hell, it was a question part of her was still asking. The old adage “once burned, twice shy” was blaring wildly in her mind, warning her of placing her faith in a woman that had lied, cheated, and screwed with not only her, but her entire family over and over again. For Odin’s sake, Selena had just dealt with that a few weeks ago and now? She was supposed to believe that Talia was on their side?
“I think…” she calmed her mind a little to rationally answer her wife. “I think we can trust her to look after her own best interests.” She slowly replied. “I mean… why would she be helping us if she didn’t have a choice? She gains nothing by getting you out. It’s not like we’re going to ‘owe her one’ or something like that. And we know that she’s not after the children because of Malcolm. So, unless there some super-secret ulterior motive on top of an ulterior motive that we can’t even comprehend, and based what I saw in Nome, I can’t imagine there being one, I think she’s telling the truth about why she is here. And if that’s the case… I think we can trust in her desire to end her exile and get back to Nome.”
“But do you trust her?” Deanna pressed. “What happens if she succeeds… then what? Do we just go our separate ways?”
“I’m…I’m not sure.” Selena answered honestly. “But whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together.”
Tentatively, still worried that her wife was still upset with her, the platinum-blonde reached out to take Deanna’s closest hand, relief washing over her when the redhead grasped the pale hand with her own tightly. “And then…” she added. “We’ll gather the children and we’ll…” her voice caught in her throat. “We’ll go back home.”
“Home.” Deanna’s eyes fluttered close and she took a deep breath, as if the very idea was the most wonderful, beautiful thing she could imagine. “I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it – and everything that was there with it. Our children, Obi…you.”
Gently, Selena brought Deanna’s hand to her lips, soft petals of kisses dancing over Deanna’s knuckles. “So…” she slowly spoke, earning the wrestler’s attention and gaze. “I guess you’re not the Snow Queen in Nome anymore?”
“Nope.” Selena shrugged, lowering Deanna’s hand but not releasing it.
“Do you miss it?”
She was about to answer with another ‘nope’, but something stopped her. It was the same kind of kick of reality that had made her pity Talia – not the same emotion, but the same feeling of actualization. “A little.” She admitted. “It was part of my life – part of who I was for so long – just feels weird without it.” Her gaze drifted to far away for a moment, back to the caves of her father – the mines were he had searched for gold. The mines she had spent a good portion of her young life searching as well. The isolation, the taunts – ‘the crazy miner’s daughter’, ‘The Snow Queen’ – it had all been part of her for so long. Now that one of them was effectively gone, for better or for worse, she didn’t know exactly how she felt.
“Ahem…” came the familiar voice of the guard. “I’m sorry, ladies.” The young man who had scolded them earlier replied. “But your hour of visitation is up.”
The Frost wives cast a glance at once another, a sad smile adopting both their lips.
“Alright.” Selena answered first, pushing herself up and helping Deanna get to her feet as well, the redhead rubbing her legs and rear.
“My legs and butt are asleep.” She half-laughed at the tingling sensation.
“Mine too.” Selena laughed, rubbing her jean-covered legs and looking ahead of them, seeing the guard that had spoke and another guard, this time female, waiting for them at the door.
With a sigh, she turned to Deanna and held her arms out, which the redhead quickly rushed into, allowing Selena to wrap her wife up in a warm embrace. “I’ll be back by Monday or Tuesday, depending on the flight.” She promised. “I’ll let you know how things are settling with Talia.”
“I’ll call you before that.” Deanna promised. “I want to know you’re safe after your match. No more of this.” She pointed to the scab that remained of Selena’s cut that remained from the Beauty Factory’s assault.
“Can’t promise anything, except that I’ll be careful. And you do the same, okay? Keep clear of any riots.”
“Okay.” Grumbled Deanna, the redhead hoping Selena had forgotten about the earlier topic their conversation had taken before Talia Scythe had dropped in. Gently, she cupped her wife’s face in her hands drawing her in for a soft kiss. The guards, kindly, said nothing, giving the wives the little extra time they needed to say goodbye. To that end, Selena was grateful to them, though she suspected that Deanna’s bright and good behaviour also had a hand in it.
Eventually, the two separated and Selena was escorted out first. She was just about to leave the room when she felt Deanna’s hand tug on her shirt sleeve, causing her to turn around and catch her wife in one last embrace. But it was the closeness Deanna needed so she could whisper in her wife’s ear.
“You’ll always be my Snow Queen.” Her breath ticked Selena’s ear, causing the platinum-blonde to smile and squeeze her tightly before releasing her.
“And that’s all that matters to me.” She stated honestly as she watched the guard gently escort Deanna down the opposite direction of the hallway. Selena watched her go until her wife was out of sight before turning and making her way out of the prison. She had no idea where things were going to head now with Talia staying at the castle and working the case.
Maybe they had an ally. Maybe she was a liability. Selena couldn’t be sure, but as she got into her rented car and checked her rearview mirror, seeing her reflection in the glass, she was sure she saw something in her own sapphire eyes.
It was the same thing she had seen in her dear sister, Regan’s, eyes as the Hellcat had held that Television title in her eyes. That same shine now glowed in her own sapphire orbs.
It was hope. After so much failure poisoning her mind, Selena finally felt hope fill her. And she would be damned if she let anyone take that away from her again…
____________________________________________________
The camera fades in to a far and wide shot of the interior of the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Los Angelas, the sight of tonight's SCW Pay-Per-View, Cold Blooded. The ring and much of the large screens and graphics have already been set up, the faces of several SCW superstars can be seen even from the distance of the camera from the back seats. The main focus, however, is the ring that takes up the center of the shot, and the arctic blue and white lights that shine down. And, of course, there in the center of the ring, as the camera fades to a closer shot, is the Snow Queen, herself, also known as – as many in the Beauty Factory have pointed out, recently, 'The Face of SCW', Selena Frost.
Dressed not in her wrestling attire, but in black jeans, a maroon shirt, runners, and a leather jacket, the young woman sits cross-legged in the ring, her head tilted down a little as she takes a deep breath and exhales.
A taste. her voice is barely a whisper as she runs her tongue against her lips a little as she slowly opens her sapphire-blue eyes. That's what you promised me on Twitter, Glory Braddock. That what I experienced last Breakdown when you and five other superstars ambushed me in the ring – you said that this was only a taste of what was in store for me at Cold Blooded when it came to “The Best in the World”, “The British Bombshell” Glory Braddock. And recently, you came out to an empty dance floor and you gave me a bit more of a taste of, didn't you?
So, suffice it to say... A playful smirk comes to Selena's lips. I've gotten a good mouthful of what you bring, Braddock, as if I was at a wine-tasting exhibition... another slow breath and exhale. And much like a wine-tasting, I just want to take what you've given and spit it into a waste bucket.
In a fluid motion, Selena springs to her feet, adjusting her leather jacket as she does. And it's not because I can't stomach it, Glory. It's not because I can't handle. It's because, while you think that you're “one of a kind”, and you very well may be when it comes to what you can do in this ring, your words are anything but. A harsh chuckle comes from Selena as she begins to pace around the ring.
”Oh yes!” she cries out loudly. ”Selena Frost was part of other federations while she worked with SCW! IWC! ULW! UWA! Oh oh! Selena Frost cares only for herself, that's why she strayed to other federations for a bit! Oh oh! Selena Frost is a hypocrite! The 'yes-woman' of the SCW management!” she stops for a moment, lowering her waving arms and turning to look back at the camera. Know why I'm not mad at hearing that, Glory? Know why you're not getting under my skin? Know why I can just spit that crap out of my mouth and into the trash where it belongs?
It's because I've been hearing that same waste of saliva and promo time from day one that I walked in here. the Snow Queen shakes her head a little. From the moment I walked into this business, I got pegged as some kind of “knockoff” because of my last name. And after that? I was branded a 'traitor' because I 'wasn't there' when a superstar was hung upside down. And after that? I was a “gold-whore” because I held two titles at the same time. And all while those were happening? I had every single person in SCW not believing me for a single second. 'No way someone's that honest. No way someone cares that much! She's got to have an angle'.
Selena shrugs her shoulders. You think you're original because you called me out on that, Glory? Just roll back the archive footage to my last pay-per-view match. Check Kandis and Tommy Valentine – the tag-team champions... and now former Television champion- Selena takes a second to wink at the camera before her expression returns to seriousness. From there, I could spout out a variable 'who's who' in SCW of who thought and said the same thing and that includes your, no doubt, 'coaching team' in Bree and Sienna.
Thing is I've never given a damn what anyone thought of my past. See you, and everyone else that said the same lines, you want me to be ashamed of it. You want me to feel guilt that I worked other federations, won championships there as if I was a failure? Another shake of her head, but a slight smirk of disbelief crossing Selena's features. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Glory, and maybe, maybe, this is something that you can understand. I would not be the woman I am, the wrestler I am, if I had not been able to travel the world like I did in my early years. I learned about the different kinds of business in this profession. I learned about the different styles that exist out there. I got to have a 'taste' of what I could bring to my own repertoire and my own abilities. I learned humility. I learned to appreciate the difference in audiences and how special each and every fan is, whether they, too, booed me as a 'traitor' or 'invader' or they cheered me as an honest wrestler. You want me to regret what I went through to get where I am now, you can't make me do that, Glory, any more than you can get under my skin with your tired old lines.
Running her hand along the ropes, Selena looks out to the empty seats of the audience. Tired old lines like claiming that I'm a 'dime a dozen', right? That it's easy to lose 'Selena Frost' amidst the sea of Owen Cruzes, Regan Streets, Konrad Raabs, David Helmses, Asher Hayeses and so on and so forth, right? Maybe you're right. Selena smiles as she leans on the ropes, still gazing out to the empty seats. But you don't see me running around, shouting “BANG!” or “Meow, bitches”, now do you? You? “How could you be a hero and have moves that give concussions?”...
A laugh comes from the Snow Queen. Steal that one from Sienna, did you? You're about seven months late on that. You want to try and ban my moves next? another laugh comes from Selena before it suddenly dies away, the humour gone in her voice.
You want to lump me with those other wrestlers I mentioned? You go right ahead. I'd be honoured to stand with those people. People that actually do what you pretend to do and that's what's best for wrestling. People that actually care about this business. Care about SCW.
Turning around to face the camera, Selena raises her arms a little. You want to tell it like it is, Glory? You want us to 'get real'? Let's get real. Let's call each other out. You want to tell me about ALL the championships you've won outside of SCW? Okay. Great job, it means you're talented enough to be here. It means you're a capable wrestler in the ring. Didn't need your resume to know that, Glory. I've known that for awhile. You're the holder of the Trios Tournament, aren't you? Two years in a row, right? You want to tell me that we've had similar careers? Having to work our way to the top? Okay, I'll buy that. That you've been where I am now elsewhere? Great.
But let's be honest here, Glory, while your view of me is as stale as your insults and as off as your logic, there's a fundamental difference between you and me. A key trait that sets us apart. And it's also the reason why you don't understand why Asher Hayes doesn't “call it quits” after doing so much in his career or when things are tough.
Because while I may have failed over and over again in my life, Glory, unlike you I have never let failure conquer me. I've never let myself be destroyed by failure.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Selena flicks her head, sending her platinum-blonde braid to go behind her shoulder. I don't need to dot out all your losses and short-comings, Glory, I just need to mention one. Rise to Greatness last year.
There you were, cashing in Trios, determined to be the one to beat Syren and become World Champion. For weeks, you pestered Alistaire Allocco, telling him the same thing you're trying to sell me on. That you “do what needs to be done”. That you do “what's necessary” and use “every tool at your disposal”, unlike Alistaire, right?
And yet who won? Who pulled off the victory and became the SCW world champion, Glory? Selena shrugs.
That was probably your loudest failure here in SCW, Glory. Before that? You were cruising through SCW with the Braddock name, right? Nothing could stop you, right? So it was easy to 'play honourably'... but then it all came to a halt with that failure. The kind of failure that shakes you to your core and makes you question everything about yourself. And you were right, I've been there more times than I can count and each time, I've had my very identity and beliefs thrown back in my face and questioned. But here I am, still fighting for SCW, still believing in it with all my heart and soul. Holding no one accountable for my short-comings and failings other than myself.
What about you, Glory? You lose one match and suddenly, you throw all your morals out the goddamn window! Lowblows, underhanded tactics, ambushes, teaming up with Sienna and the Factory- Selena counts them off. Crying 'it's Sasha's fault! It's Sasha's fault!', claiming that all you do, the people you and the Factory hurt with your tactics are 'what's necessary for the business'...
It's not what's necessary for the business, Glory, it's what's necessary for you because you're too much of a coward to risk failing again. Selena's tone is cold and her blue eyes are equally so as she stares into the camera. Failure took on “The Best in the World” and conquered you, Glory, to the point where you're too scared to even try to prove yourself by yourself. And all of this? All the same lines that you've taken from the Factory's 'promo book'? The tweets of “Best in the World” over and over again? Nothing but excuses.
That's not me, Glory. That's never been me. And I know that that isn't Asher. You don't get it but I do. I know why he will always get back up like you said. It's because he loves this business, he loves being in this ring and because he won't let failure keep him down. And neither will I. You? You've shown us there's a limit to how far you'll go before you 'sell out' and take the 'shortcut'. You've proven that there's a limit to how far you can go in that ring before doing the same.
And in this triple threat match tonight, I can promise you that we will reach that limit, Glory. And when we do, I'm gonna still be getting back up, just like I kept doing at Breakdown when the six of you couldn't keep me down. And when we pass that limit where you want to bring in a chair because it's all legal? Guess what! I'm gonna still get right back up! And when you don't understand how I am doing so and you get so desperate that you call whoever is available in the Factory to save you and 'do what's right for wrestling'? Guess what? Sapphire-blue eyes narrow. I. Will. Still. Get. Back. Up.
Slowly, reaching up to her chest, the Snow Queen gently taps her heart. Because this? Right here? This love I have for being here? Being part of SCW? Being part of this show, this pay-per-view, this match, this business? To the point where I won't settle for what 'failure' wants to give me? That is what's best for wrestling, Glory! Not ambushes! Not hashtags or nicknames, but love and passion for what it truly means to be S-C-W! her voice echoes the three letters throughout the empty arena before she settles down, her tone back to cold.
You may very well be “The Best in the World”, Glory. But tonight? In this ring? You will be in our world. Selena gestures a hand towards the empty seats that will soon be filled with thousands of the SCW Universe. And when it's all said and done, you can tell us all that you're still “the Best in the World”... but when it's my arm that's raised... Selena slowly raises her arm, as if foreshadowing the future. I won't believe you.
And neither will anybody else. An almost playful smirk comes to Selena's lips. And here's how an original does it:
Believe it!
The camera fades on Selena before going completely to black.
04-18-2020, 10:00 PM