05-16-2020, 04:34 PM
05-19-2020, 09:03 PM
SCW Goddess | Katie Steward | "The Goddesses' Rage"
{The episode starts in Los Angeles, California at Katie Steward’s Church of her Lady Goddess. The scene opens up in the basement inside Katie’s personal room that she’s made for herself. This is where we find her sitting on her yoga mat. Her legs are crossed and her eyes are closed. She listens to soft ambiance sounds and incense fills the air. Katie looks to try mellow out and find her calm.}
{Sitting across from her is her Brat, Autumn Daniels. Autumn sits there with her legs crossed, but her eyes open staring at Katie. She doesn’t appear to be into any of this at all.}
{Katie starts to move her head around. She moves her whole upper body and looks uncomfortable. Something is just not right. She opens her eyes back up.}
Katie Steward: It’s not working. I’m still so irritated with SCW.
Autumn Daniels: Maybe you need some stronger incense?
Katie Steward: Ok fine, maybe all this is a bit white girl trying to find her zen, but it does help me. Usually. Maybe it is the incense. Did you sell me some bad ones?
Autumn Daniels: Is that why I’m here? You think I sold some defective incense that you purchased?
Katie Steward: No. Did you?
{Autumn doesn’t respond. She just gives her trademark cold stare at Katie.}
Katie Steward: Ok, no. You didn’t sell me anything bad, but do you have anything stronger?
Autumn Daniels: Katie, what is really going on? Why am I here?
Katie Steward: I’m just upset and anger. Did you watch the Fatal Fortunes on Breakdown last 2 weeks? Not only did Sasha completely ignore my letter I send her about me getting a tag team title match. Gigi and Maddy both got thrown into these ridiculous matches that did nothing, but embarrass them. They’re just really trying to test my faith.
Autumn Daniels: What does this have to do with me?
Katie Steward: I am feeling very angry and you’re someone who controls their anger very well. I was hoping you could teach me how to control mine. Blowing up at Sasha and SCW management will only get me in trouble.
Autumn Daniels: I am not an angry person. I’m not filled with rage all of the time. However, I am a very easily annoyed person that knows exactly how to handle said annoyance.
Katie Steward: Are you talking about me? I’m not annoying.
Autumn Daniels: Oh of course not, you’re amazing. I must’ve been thinking about TJ.
Katie Steward: Oh, well Autumn can you help me? You must know something.
Autumn Daniels: You’re upset and angry. You’re mad at the World.
Katie Steward: Well just SCW really, but yes. The World.
Autumn Daniels: Well this is easy. You just need to release your anger out on something so you won’t blow up on something important later.
Katie Steward: Wait, hold on… Are you talking about violence? I’m a Goddess. I can’t speak on violence. I have to be a pacifist.
Autumn Daniels: You’re a wrestler.
Katie Steward: I am an actress and I perform every time. So when I beat someone with a steel chair it’s art. Do I have to explain this to you?
Autumn Daniels: You probably do, but to move us along I’m going to say no.
Katie Steward: Unleash my aggression on something? Do you mean like screaming in an empty room?
Autumn Daniels: Sure.
{Katie nods at Autumn understanding what she means. Katie looks around and notices she is in a very empty room. So she goes ahead and gives it a try.}
Autumn Daniels: Wait! Let’s me leave first…
{Autumn turns and leaves the room so she can keep her hearing. The scene changes to upstairs to TJ Johnson walking down the aisle in his black suit. Everything seems normal until one of the strained glass windows shatters. TJ shields himself from any shards and looks at the window.}
TJ Johnson: What in Goddess Heaven was that? Katie’s got some vandals attacking her church.
{TJ turns around and runs outside to catch the rascals red handed. Before he makes it outside he runs into Katie running up the stairs.}
TJ Johnson: Katie, we’re being targeted by hoodlums.
Katie Steward: TJ, did you see Autumn? She was with me downstairs and left the room and I guess she took off.
TJ Johnson: What were you doing?
Katie Steward: I went to see if she could help me control my anger issues because SCW is pushing me again. It’s that time of the year.
TJ Johnson: That’s smart. Autumn has a lot of rage issues.
Katie Steward: So she stepped out of the room so I can release my anger and I guess she just left.
TJ Johnson: Release? Did you scream?
Katie Steward: Yeah.
TJ Johnson: Oh, that explains it.
Katie Steward: Explains what? TJ, what are you talking about? Have you seen Autumn?
TJ Johnson: It’s nothing. No. I haven't seen Autumn. Also I did notice that SCW was up to their tricks with Fatal Fortunes.
Katie Steward: They’re trying to push. I send Sasha a letter asking for a shot at the tag team titles and they return the favor wanting a little more out of me. If I want the titles then they’re going to want to see some of the Goddesses rage. They don’t want to see that.
{Katie walks by TJ and heads down the aisle and TJ follows her.}
TJ Johnson: Oh that’s true. They don’t know what they’re doing by angering the Goddess. It’s not a pleasant sight.
{Katie stops quickly stops dead in her tracks cause TJ to hit his brakes quickly to almost running into her. Katie turns around and looks at him.}
Katie Steward: What is that suppose to mean?
TJ Johnson: What? We don’t want an upset Goddess.
Katie Steward: I get that part, but an unpleasant sight? Like you don’t want to be around me if SCW brings out this rage like they’re trying to provoke?
TJ Johnson: No. That’s not what I meant. I’m on your side Katie. SCW is bad.
Katie Steward: Oh, I know they are and they’ll get what’s coming, but do you feel the same way as Autumn. Don’t want to be around me? Maybe I should just embrace this new found rage.
TJ Johnson: …
Katie Steward: Thank you, TJ. I needed this. No more soft Katie. No more sweet Katie. I’m taking what I want and I’ll play everyone’s game and I’ll do it better.
{Katie spins around and marches down the aisle leaving TJ behind.}
TJ Johnson: I… I want sweet Katie back.
{TJ just stands there no knowing what to do next since Katie seems to be highly anger right now and the scene fades.}
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
{The scene changes to later that night, Katie stands up at the altar of her church wearing her religious ring robe. She clutches her Goddess prayer beads in her hand as she stands in front of the cameras.}
Katie Steward: Selena Frost. What can I say? I’m not going to fight her. Well I am cause we have a match on Breakdown, but I’m not going to try to play the petty little games that she plays. She’s always seen me as that bitch. Since she shown up in SCW. She’s kept her distance from me. We’d had our matches and every time after she gets the win make some side comments trying to hurt me. I know I played that bitch when I first show up in SCW. Through that was a different time. It was a boys club then. My Goddess I was apart of the ultimate boys club when I started her. Wasn’t Greatnerity, but Explicit Content was the same thing. Shawn Winters and Chad Evans. I had to be the best. I sent out of my goal and I fought hard to make it.
Katie Steward: That was the old Katie. That is what Selena sees me as. Since I formed the Brat Pack with Robin Brooks and Paris Dannon. I had changed. I had grown. I had women in this business who I could call my friends. Together we helped Autumn Daniels moved on from her troubled relationship after she was dumped. Even Katelyn Buehler found her way. It wasn’t just my Brat Pack. When I became part of Silas’ World with Sienna Swam and Regan Street. That did mean the world to me. To have the opportunity to work along side those women was an experience I didn’t know I wanted, but I cherish it none the less. Of course they turned on Silas and tossed me aside and when I wanted some answers Sienna hurt herself and I was of course the bad girl.
{Katie laughs off her story. She shakes her head thinking with disgust at how she was treated. How she is still treated by some.}
Katie Steward: Selena thinks she’s honorable. She trying to team with Regan Street to win the Tag Team Championship so she can cling that Supreme Champion title and Selena can be her hero. It really is quite funny. From what I was and what Selena doesn’t like. She ended up being Katie Steward. I remember all her rude comments she’d say about me. Rub my face in another win. I didn’t need her. I didn’t need to be the Queen of Queens. I didn’t need to walk my pink carpet, wear my crown and sit on my throne. The fact is that I am better than Selena Frost. I can reinvent myself. I can become something else. I can become anything else. I am Katie Steward and I’m the best actress that you will ever see. I put on this robe and I build this church. I spread the word and the love of the Goddess. I blocked out the negativity that Selena tries to put out there against me and instead I am empowered.
Katie Steward: I’m feeling angry, upset and determination. From what Gigi and Maddy had to endure in Fatal Fortune to what I had to suffer in a chain on a pole match. I’m going to show up on Breakdown and I’ll show SCW that they don’t humiliate the Stewards. I don’t care what Selena does or what she wants. She’s not living in my head. She’s not going to beat me like that. Katie Steward is back to her holy crusade.
{Katie bows her head down finishing her speech. The camera backs away from her and the scene and the episode end.}
05-19-2020, 11:01 PM
OOC: Sorry in advance for any issues with format/spelling/etc. My computer died, leaving me to type my roleplays on my phone.
Her outbreak a few weeks ago still bothered her and was partly the reason she had kept mostly quiet across social media and throughout the majority of the last few weeks.
For Selena, she had never intended to lose control in front of Regan as she had when she had visited her sister-in-arms at the AnteUp Academy before Fatal Fortunes had begun. Her initial reason for visiting Regan was just to check on her, spend time with the hotheaded brunette, and, perhaps, put some kind of understanding together for the upcoming two weeks of uncertainty with Fatal Fortunes, in case fortune favoured them or, more likely, Tommy Valentine struck again.
That had been the initial plan. But at some point after sparring together, trying to discuss things – something had broken in the Snow Queen’s mind and she had blurted out her selfish desire to be the one that helped Regan become Supreme Champion – to be the one that helped her acquire the last title that Regan needed – the tag-team titles. What had followed was a tearful breakdown by the platinum-blonde, she needing the support from Regan when it should have been the other way around.
It was just… it wasn’t because Selena didn’t think David Helms or Regan would make a great team. Far from it. She couldn’t praise her sister enough in terms of skill and ability. And David? The man was an inspiration to Selena – several of the defining moments of her career – he had been a part of.
But all this animosity with Tommy? That was what was fuelling David. That was what was motivating him. Yes, without a doubt, the former best friend of David and member of The Next Level tag-team had gone way too far. He had taken a few ill-picked words by Regan and used it to justify some kind of crusade against the Hellcat. Yes, Regan’s words had been harsh, but they didn’t justify what Tommy had done.
Still, Selena was grateful that Tommy and Kandis had lost the tag-team titles, and it was her hope that they would not regain them this upcoming Breakdown. It would, at least, allow David to focus on Tommy personally while she and Regan continued to get the tag-titles for Regan.
Because that’s what it was all about! Or at least… it was supposed to be. From late 2019 to now, that had been the goal. For Regan to become tag-team champion and, thus, Supreme Champion. Now, the platinum-blonde didn’t quite believe that Regan had forgotten that, but David certainly had. He was letting this grudge with Tommy take center-stage over what the true focus needed to be. And she couldn’t blame him for that, given the history and things said. Hell, she wanted to kick Tommy in the head as much as any of them.
But what about after? That was something that she wasn’t sure David was considering. If David and Regan won the tag-team titles, what about after? Would David just relax and ‘whatever happens happens’ with the tag-team titles? Would he lose the edge now that he had gotten his revenge on Tommy?
That’s what Xander’s threat to Selena last Breakdown had been. A realization for the Snow Queen. Xander had implied the notion of something stronger and better be needed for Regan to become tag-team champion, but what he had inadvertently referred to was the old notion of “becoming the champion vs staying the champion”.
And if Regan only cared about the former, she would have dropped the Television Championship at her first defence, rather than successfully defend past not just Kandis but both weeks of Fatal Fortunes.
Regan didn’t just want to win the tag-titles. She wanted to stay the tag champions. She wanted a lengthy tag-team title reign. And that was what made Selena selfish…because she wanted that too. She wanted to be the one defending the tag titles with her sister for as long as possible. She wanted to be one of the ‘tag-teams of the year’ nominees with Regan as Frozen Hell.
But how could she say that to David? How could she tell him, Regan’s husband, that she felt discarded by him coming in and demanding that he take Selena’s place like that? How could she tell Regan that Xander’s words had torn at that particular wound as well, the Executioner implying that he would team with Regan? How could she tell Regan how seeing everyone push their way into their goal – from David wanting to be ‘the one to do it with Regan’ to Datura demanding a shot on Twitter so she could ‘fight forever’ with Regan tore at the young Frost.
Was that all Selena was to Regan? A means to an end? A tool to be replaced until something or someone better came along? She had failed Regan at Trios, at the number one contender match and at the championship match at Retribution. Was Regan just done with her? Was she just through with Selena failing her over and over again?
This had been the mentality of Selena Frost since that breakdown in California weeks ago and the events of Fatal Fortunes had merely added to that. Part of her was desperately thinking of ways to keep Regan and David safe from Tommy and even Xander, but the other part? Was just waiting for the dismiss.
Perhaps that was why Selena had left immediately after the last house show last week in Arizona, opting to travel as fast as she could back to Germany, away from the wrestling and the obligations and the noise of such negative thoughts. She had fled back to Frankfurt first to visit her beloved Deanna and bury herself in her wife’s love. True, their conjugal visit was not for another week, but she could still visit Deanna and – to be honest – she needed that far more than she was willing to admit.
The few days she had spent with her wife, Selena hadn’t spoken about work. She hadn’t even driven the short hour and fifteen minutes from Fankfurt to the rest of her family staying in the castle at Schoenburg. Rather, she had rented a hotel room and spent as much time with Deanna as possible. She hadn’t spoken about work, despite her wife’s prodding, the redhead clearly seeing that something was troubling her beloved minx. Not a word about wrestling or Regan was spoken. For the moment, Selena didn’t want such things on her mind, even if, deep down, she knew she was just delaying the inevitable. She would, eventually, after to answer the missed calls from Regan. Eventually have to travel back to the states for her Breakdown match with Katie Steward and, thus, have to confront Regan about ‘what the hell was the matter with her’ – she could imagine Regan using that exact phrasing.
But for the past weekend and now day or two before she would need to return to that wrestling world, Selena had opted to either be a woman in love with her wife or a woman driven to get said wife out of prison.
It was the latter part she found herself being as she drove her rented car into the ‘drive-way’ trail that guided her into the parking grounds of the Schoenburg castle. She parked in her usual spot, the circumstances of the world leaving little business to be had for the owners, Gunther and Louisa Huttl. Still, they were happy to provide for the Frost family, Selena offering the finances (despite Gunther’s disagreeing) and Louisa and Gunther providing the meal service those finances brought in.
But, Selena would have been lying if she didn’t enjoy the notion of having a large castle for just her and her family – the only negative thought of that was the guilt of her living in one while her wife stayed in a prison cell. Soon… she told herself as she tightened her grip along the steering wheel of her already-parked car. It was what she always told herself, a reminder that Deanna’s incarceration was temporary.
With a quiet nod, the platinum-blonde pushed open her car door, after turning the engine off, and pulled herself out of the vehicle, just in time to see her oldest daughter rushing down the steps that lead into a section of the castle.
“Mother!” Elsianna cried out, waving a gloved hand and arm to Selena, who could not help but smile as she caught her rushing seven-year old into her arms.
“Hello, Snowflake.” Selena whispered, kissing her daughter’s cheek. The spring wind blew both girls’ platinum hair against it, Elsianna’s hair wild and untied while Selena’s remained in its iconic braid. Elsa, wearing a black shirt with long, see-through sleeves and blue jeans, quickly adjusted the hair that blew in front of her eyes, tucking it behind her ears as best as she could with her gloved fingers.
“How’s mom?” she asked quietly, earning a sigh and smile from her mother.
“She’s fine.” Selena assured. “She sends her love and that she misses you and David and Amiliah more than anything.”
Elsianna nodded. She had long stopped wondering and asking her mother when Deanna was ‘coming back’. For the first few months, she had – perhaps more so than David, and he was over half her age – but upon seeing how asking such an uncertain question upset both her mothers, the oldest Frost child had stopped asking altogether, even stopping young David if he ever thought about asking. For now, Elsa took the news of ‘good health’ as the best she could get.
“Anything new since I’ve been gone?” Selena asked, regaining the child’s concentration.
“No, not really. I mean, the new lady?” Elsianna started before turning her head to gaze towards the farthest ‘tower of rooms’ that the castle had’, Selena following her daughter’s gaze.
“Has she been giving you any trouble?” the Snow Queen asked, her nerves instantly on alert. “You or David?”
“No.” Elsianna answered honestly. “She mostly comes and goes early or late – I don’t see her come back that often. But she’s always there for breakfast – and she sits in a corner of the room.”
“Good.” Selena replied, a firm line forming across her lips.
“Who is she, mother?” the young child asked.
“She is someone that – that is helping me with your mom.” Selena settled on answering honestly.
“Oh…so she’s a friend? Then why doesn’t she sit with us? Why does she stay away?”
“Not exactly.” Selena replied, trying to think of a way to explain the history of negative and dangerous emotions and actions between her and the newest occupant of the castle. “You see… I’m sort of helping her as well, but she needs to keep to herself so she can work. She’s not…” Selena thought for a moment. “She’s not interested in being social. You know how, in your stories, there are princess in tall towers?”
“Yes.” Elsa nodded, her elbows resting in her hands.
“Well, she particularly prefers to stay in her tower. She doesn’t really want to be bothered by anyone.”
“Oh…okay.” Came the slightly confused reply from Selena’s daughter. “That’s a bit odd.”
“Everyone is different, remember?” Selena smiled, earning a nod from Elsianna, before standing up to her full height. Quickly, she reached into the companion front seat (or ‘shotgun’) to get the small bag of clothes sitting there. She was only going to have a day or two at the castle and had already done her laundry at the hotel in Frankfurt, hence the small luggage now. Taking her daughter’s hand in her free one, the Snow Queen continued their conversation as she walked Elsianna back into the castle. The next hour was spent catching up with her children – Elsianna, David and Amiliah – and the Huttls, who insisted that Selena have some dinner – even if she already had a quick meal before she had travelled back here from Frankfurt.
You need real food! Louisa, Gunther’s wife, had chastised. You are too skinny! she had added, causing Selena to roll her eyes. She loved her curves, and while she wasn’t as voluptuous or ‘busty’ Syren or anywhere close to Cookie over in SCW, years with Deanna and her positive attitude had made the young woman at least proud of the assets she did possess. Enough to know that her children, including Amiliah with her Deanna’s genetics, were going to grow up to be beautiful adults.
It wasn’t until after dinner and Selena, now with a rather full stomach of potatoes, rice and lamb, made her way across the castle grounds to the previously mentioned ‘farthest tower of rooms’. In truth, it wasn’t so much a tower as it was another section of the castle. Where the families, the Huttls and Frosts, were situated in the North (Huttls) and Northeast sections of the castle, Selena was heading towards the far east, her running shoes making small sounds as she walked across the stoned-tiles of the courtyard. The spring wind continued to blow as it had when she had first arrived that day, invigorating her as the cool air of the evening as it turned into night often did. It was way she did not need to wear a jacket, opting instead on a simple white, comfortably snug sweater with three pairs of buttons at the head that she left open. Her hair, free of the braid, was now flowing down and against her back, picked up by the wind every so often. The blue jeans rode comfortably on her hips but were the perfect fit to allow full movement for her stride.
In short, Selena was as comfortable as she could be in that moment, allowing her to approach the east-side of the castle. It was not ill-fortune that had put the newest occupant there. Rather, it was Selena’s own design to do so. To make it clear, even after the confession that had taken place weeks ago in the Frankfurt Prison that Deanna and she had witnessed, the platinum-blonde still did not trust Talia Scythe anymore than a rabbit would trust a hawk.
She still had no reason to. Yes, their interests may have been aligned in this moment, but this was the woman that had destroyed Selena’s engagement to Adrian - which was less of a sore spot after all this time, Selena even grateful that she had Deanna instead of him – assisted in the kidnapping of her son and oldest daughter (thankfully, Elsianna did not remember Talia in that regard), and, recently, had orchestrated a massive plot to try and humiliate Selena over their childhood competition of being “the Snow Queen” in Nome, Alaska. There as no fooling anyone. Talia still hated Selena and would much rather set her on fire as opposed to helping her in any way. And while the brunette was being forced to help Selena and Deanna in this case, Selena knew, as Deanna knew, as Talia knew, that if the opportunity came up to hurt Selena and not suffer some kind of consequence, Talia would take it without hesitation.
Thankfully, at this time, the consequences were too dire for Talia to risk such a thing.
Still, Selena had taken no chances. Talia was able to stay at the castle, but she was to stay away from the Frost children. Gunther and Louisa and Gerda, of course, constantly observed the children to make sure of that. And according to Gunther, Talia had, for the past few weeks since their ‘arrangement’ had gone along with all the rules and conditions.
So when Selena reached the door to the building Talia was staying at, she was able to knock on it with a sense of confidence in herself. A few seconds passed and the platinum-blonde, eventually, heard the sound of the door being unlocked and pulled open. Before her, dressed in a simple black nightgown and white robe, with her brunette hair free-flowing like Selena’s, Talia raised an eyebrow at her ‘visitor’.
“Come for a nightcap?” she asked flatly.
For a moment, Selena was at a loss for words, particularly at the round glasses that sat on Talia’s face. They made her rival and enemy seem…well… not so enemy-ish.
“I didn’t know you wore glasses.” Selena shrugged, gesturing to Talia’s face.
With a roll of her eyes, Talia turned to enter her room, leaving the door open. “Happens when you have a career reading fine print.” She answered.
Slowly, Selena followed Talia inside, closing the door behind her. “I’ve come for an update on-whoa…”
For the past few weeks since their initial agreement, what few times Selena had been able to visit Schoenburg and Frankfurt, she had not disturbed Talia, choosing to get all her updates from either Greta or Gunther through phone calls, text messages or emails. However, those updates had not given her any insight on how things were going with Talia’s investigation. And it wasn’t as if Talia was contacting her either to give her any idea what was going on. It was way Selena was there now, visiting Talia in person. All of that being said, she was prepared to see anything in Talia’s room, really. Papers, books, notes, even nothing at all – Yes, the Snow Queen had even be prepared to discover that Talia had accomplished nothing and was, instead just taking advantage of the hospitality being set up by the Huttls.
However, what Selena was not prepared to see was corkboard with several photos on it and so much string tied to pins in the board that it made an almost beautiful web of colors. It looked like one of those ‘movie-devices’ that instigated some kind of conspiracy theory or something. The fact that such a thing was right in front of her, and, she slowly noticed, had hers and Deanna’s picture on it added to the whole unrealism of it.
Talia, meanwhile, had returned to the couch to continue typing away on her laptop, stopping only when she realized that Selena had not moved from where she stood. “What?” she asked before following her gaze to the corkboard that hung on the wall above the painting Talia had put down against the same wall in order to borrow the nail to hang said corkboard. “Oh yeah… working in progress.” She muttered as she clicked on something on her laptop screen.
“And…” slowly stepping further into the room, Selena waved a hand towards the rather intimidating work of… was it ‘art’ or some kind of ‘project’? She wasn’t entirely sure, because she could have believed either or. “How is the ‘work in progress’ going?”
The sound of Talia’s fingers typing away on the keyboard – a stream of clicking sounds as the keys were pressed – suddenly stopped to be replaced by a humoured chuckle from the brunette. “You know, I was wondering when you would check-in on me.” She laughed. “Figured it be a lot sooner.”
“I’m not a lawyer or a detective.” Selena explained with a shrug. “But I know enough being around Jean Black to know that these kind of things take time. And – no matter how much I wish the problem could just be solved and over it – that it isn’t going to happen over night. So, I wanted to give you time before I bothered you.”
For some reason, and to the surprise of Selena, Talia seemed thrown off by this consideration, her expression displaying as much. “I…see. Malcolm would have mocked my exile or something every day and-“
“I’m not Malcolm.”
The fact came out harsher than Selena had meant for it to, but Talia’s implication had certainly hit a raw nerved. Aside the fact alone that Malcolm was a horrid man to the Snow Queen and any comparisons like that between her and him was enough to irritate her, the past few weeks of being compared as a tag-team partner to others like David Helms and Xander Valentine – she was trying NOT to think about such things right now! Trying to be productive elsewhere so she could come back to SCW with a more positive attitude!
“Sorry.” The platinum-blonde whispered for her outburst. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“It’s fine.” Talia replied quickly before closing her laptop and sitting back against the couch she currently occupied. With a sigh, the older woman removed her glasses, using the back of her hand to rub her tired eyes.
“Talia…” Selena tried, casting her eyes back towards the corkboard of photos, pins and strings. “Please tell me the situation isn’t as complicated as…this.” Once again, she gestured towards the board. “This looks like some big conspiracy-theory shit over here.”
“It’s…” Talia started before stopping herself before she pushed herself off the couch to stand, smoothing out any wrinkles she had in her nightgown. “There’s a lot going on.” She settled on saying.
“Meaning what?” Selena asked.
“Meaning that when I told you back at Nome that something was right and that I suspected I had a way to get Deanna out of prison, I actually meant it.”
“You did?!” Selena’s mouth hung open. “I thought you were just using that as bait to lure me into that pageant.”
“That was the beginning of the plan.” Talia admitted with a shrug. “But as I completed the bar and began looking into your wife’s case, some things came to me. But now? The more and more I’ve dug, the more tangled it’s become.”
A tired groan came from the Snow Queen. “No…” she sighed. “Please don’t say that.”
“Come on, Frost.” Talia huffed. “Didn’t you think it was odd that no lawyer would take on your case? That a simple pedophilia charge became a ‘no no’ to any lawyer or court in terms of an appeal?”
“Yes, I thought it.” Selena sighed. “But I thought that it was because of who Deanna was and that no one wanted to be ‘that person’ that supported a convicted pedophile, thus hurting their reputation.” She reasoned, earning only a ‘pffft’ sound from Talia.
“Reputation.” She laughed. “Can you imagine the reputation they would have if they proved your wife was innocent? If they went against what ‘the system’ said, went above and beyond and brought ‘trust justice’ to an innocent woman?”
“Then why didn’t they?” Selena asked, raising her arms only to drop them back to her sides.
“Not sure, but that’s where I began.” Talia stated. “Something has black-marked Deanna’s case so that no one would touch it with a ten-foot pole.”
“Why?” Selena asked in disbelief. “It’s not like this is uncommon and she’s…she’s a nobody to anyone else.”
“Hardly a nobody.” Talia shrugged as she moved over towards the corkboard. “She’s the wife of a rather famous wrestler. But it’s not like she’s in the spotlight that often – yet, even so, one would think that would invite representation, not scare it away.”
Now THAT Selena had been curious about in the early beginnings of being denied. No matter how much money she had thrown or how many different people she begged, even, unashamedly so, using her fame as a sort of bargaining chip. But as she mentioned a moment ago, she had eventually reasoned otherwise after so many refusals.
“That’s not what I meant.” Selena answered slowly. “She’s everything to me. But… it’s not like she has enemies. If anything, I’d be the target long before her.”
“Again, I thought of that as well. But not everyone is as direct as Malcolm or myself. We go for the target, not necessarily the innocent people associated with the target.”
“Actually…” the Snow Queen blurted out. “That was something that I sort of was grateful to you about.” Again, Talia’s expression was one of surprise. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t forgive you or Malcolm for all the things you did. But, I… I come from a world filled with people that have not hesitated to threaten Deanna and my children with far more…violent means.”
For a moment, Selena was sure she spied Talia’s hands tighten at the mention of physical harm coming towards her daughters and son. She was also sure she saw Talia’s jaw clench at the idea. Still, she said nothing about the physical ticks from her former childhood friend. “And while you threatened me and implied so much about the others, you never went out of your way to harm my children or Deanna. Maybe to acquire them, but…I realized that they were never going to be hurt.” Her breath hitched as she slowly remembered the exception to that. “Except for my mother.”
Talia’s eyes widened at that. “Anastasia?” she asked, earning a nod from Selena. “Would you believe me that her death actually wasn’t related to you?”
It was Selena’s turn to be caught off-guard. “What?”
“It’s true.” Talia shrugged, disappearing into the ‘kitchen area’ of the hotel room to make herself some tea. “You want some tea?”
“No thank you.” Selena answered quickly. “What do you mean, ‘it had nothing to do with me’?”
A few minutes went by without a word until the brunette emerged from the other room, a hot cup of tea in her hands. “Anastasia had done a lot of things – caused a lot of problems with the Scythes, both legal and illegal. She thought that she could blackmail Malcolm with what she knew much in the same way you did to beat him. Before she gave the information to you, she tried to do what you did. Thing is, you’re a hard target to ‘forget’ by the world. No one would really miss Anastasia DeCarlo. And it’s not like the DeCarlos were going to step up in a family war against the Scythes. They needed us far more than we needed them. Your grandfather, Richard? He tried to talk Anastasia out of it and Malcolm warned her several times not to go this route. She wouldn’t listen. She wanted to have it all. The fortune from the DeCarlos, the fortune from the Scythes, and a perfect life with you. Malcolm wasn’t going to allow that to happen.”
“So…” Selena’s voice trailed off. “He killed her.”
Talia shrugged simply. “If she just wanted to disappear, we would have allowed that. If she had just wanted to be with you, we would have allowed that. But, she wanted it all, and it made it clear that we couldn’t trust her. And you, I’m certain, can easily understand that.”
Slowly, though it hated her to admit, Selena nodded her head. She had come to forgive her step-mother for the cruelties Anastasia had wrought on the platinum-blonde throughout her childhood and adulthood. Still, she was not naïve enough to believe that Anastasia’s crimes would not come back to haunt her one day. But she had always believed, as she had with Sirius’ death at the hands of Evangeline DeWinter, that Anastasia’s death had been her fault, brought about because of her desire to fight the Scythes and protect her family – Deanna, Elsianna, David and Amiliah.
“I’ve always hated when things have come to such ends.” Amiliah admitted. “Malcolm is the same way.”
“Killing someone?” Selena replied, the sharp tone still in her voice.
Ignoring it, Talia nodded her head. “I never considered it with you. What good would that do? Any jackass can hire a hitman or whatever. Going that far means you lack the finesse and intelligence to deal with the matter yourself. Deal with the matter like an intelligent human being. If you were smart, such matters wouldn’t be necessary. But, that can’t always be true, can it?”
Turning her head, Talia sighed. “Malcolm knew that. Your step-mother knew that. Still, she pushed.”
“So, is that the plan?” Selena asked. “You keep coming up with plans until murdering me is the only option left?”
Turning her gaze back towards the platinum-blonde, the brunette gaze a sharp smirk before shaking her head. “Killing you would be far worse than letting you live. It be the ultimate defeat. You’d die having never been bested by me. The way I see it, I could just stay here-“ she replied, flopping back on the couch. “Live in comfort – albeit a little less than in Nome but still comfort – and watch you stew away for the next nine or so years, pining for your wife if I can’t get her out. Or, if I can…” she smiled smugly. “You’ll forever be in my debt – forever owing your happiness to me.”
“Your own spin on the situation.” Selena replied flatly.
“Tell me I’m wrong.” Talia challenged.
“I can’t.” Selena replied. “You could do either or.”
“I rather be back home.” Talia admitted. “But I’m not going to look at this as a win-lose. I refuse to.”
“Fine.” Selena shrugged. “View it however you want to. If it gets Deanna out, I will happily say ‘I owe you my happiness’. Okay?”
“Pfft.” Talia laughed. “So easy.”
“Wouldn’t you do the same for Adrian- I mean, Ryan?” she asked, her tone challenging. When Talia didn’t answer, it was enough of an answer for the young Frost. “I see.”
“Ryan is a good man.” Talia stated. “For the most part. But he was a means to an end and continues to be. Long as I am useful to him and Malcolm, I am the same way. Love never really had anything to do with it.”
A sigh came from Selena. “I actually feel sorry for you then.”
“Don’t.” warned Talia.
“No, I do.” Selena stated, keeping herself rooted in her stance. “Because I think if you truly loved someone – truly understood what love was, you wouldn’t need your hatred for me. You wouldn’t have wasted so many years just trying to get back at me.”
“It wasn’t wasted.” Talia countered.
“Hasn’t it?” came the quick question. “You entered into a loveless marriage. You’re constantly watched and judged by the Scythes and – least we forget – you’re here in exile, Talia. At what point do you realize that the road you’ve travelled thanks to this hatred of me hasn’t been worth it?”
The lawyer said nothing, merely turning her head and crossing her arms.
“Fine.” Sighed Selena. “I’m not here to be your keeper or voice of reason. You do as you need to with your life. But where do we go from here in regards to Deanna?”
“Easy.” Talia replied, turning back to face Selena. “If someone is black-marking Deanna and making every other lawyer and whatnot afraid to take her, we need to find out why.”
“And how do we do that?”
The next few words spoken would haunt Selena for the rest of the week:
“By making everyone know that a lawyer has taken your wife’s case.” Talia grinned.
__________________________
Dear Steward family,
Yes, I know I should be specifically speaking with Katie Steward, as she is the one I’m facing at Breakdown tomorrow. That’s what it says on the card: Katie Steward vs. Selena Frost. Queen of Queens vs Snow Queen once again.
But be that as it may, if there’s one thing I have learned from fighting the Steward family over and over again throughout the years, it’s that you can’t believe for a moment that this is a ‘read as written’ scenario. That when you are facing a Steward, you are really facing the pack of them, as they will not hesitate to disqualify themselves just to ambush someone that their family member can’t beat.
But, according to you, Katie, that isn’t who I am facing, is it? Because you are ‘a different Katie Steward’. A different matriarch of the Steward family. That you are not the brat that I believe you are, is that it?
Well, let me go on that train of thought with you for a moment, Katie. You see, to me, you are many things: a Hall of Famer, a former world champion, one of the legends of SCW – I know I have said as much in our numerous other matches in the past – several of which have ended as I’ve already predicted, with your family dog-piling me when they realized you couldn’t beat me, but anyway: you easily have one of the longest careers here in SCW, I could go on. But you’re also an obnoxious, loud, self-entitled, woman that isn’t fooling me worth a damn.
Because if you were “so different”, Katie, then tell me why Madison, your kin, didn’t hesitate to jump on in on that pack-attack the Beauty Factory held on me? Remember a few weeks ago? Madison and I were having a decent match that went, dare I say, rather professionally. Then, Glory Braddock and the rest of the Beauty Factory jumped in en masse to take me down. And what did this Steward-family member, supposedly headed by a “different Katie Steward”, do? That’s right! She joined in on the five on one, making it six on one, stomping away at me.
But I am supposed to believe that your family – that you - have changed?
Truthfully, it doesn’t matter to me, Katie. It doesn’t matter to me what you say or what you’re trying to sell or what you’re trying to convince us all of. Between the ropes of the ring, the truth usually finds its way to be seen. To separate those of us that want to define the values of SCW and those that don’t. It’s where the workhorses like me and Regan and David and Owen and so many others shine, while those that re-tweet their nicknames like Glory does every other day, where the delusional like Bree Lancaster make excuses when they can’t beat me, and the bitter like Tommy Valentine are exposed.
And you can claim all you want, Katie, but you are the exact same as them. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be trying to retell the history you’ve had. You’d be trying to make history tonight. You’d be trying to actually re-invent yourself like you say – by seeing this match with me as a new beginning to show what SCW stands for – true wrestling. The desire to, once again, be the best this company has to offer. This match should be Pay-Per-View worthy! The Queen of Queens vs the Snow Queen! Come on! And yet, for all the times you and I have fought, it’s never been entertained for a pay-per-view, has it? Because instead of truly seeing this match as something worthwhile, you’d rather start with “I’m not fighting Selena Frost”. But you like to call this dismissive nature “reinventing yourself”.
You’re not re-inventing yourself. You’re just repackaging the messiah complex you’ve always had. You’re just using that old “Goddess” nonsense you’ve been peddling for years. You’re just using a slightly different coat of paint with words like ‘building the church’ and ‘holy crusade’. That’s not new, Katie. It’s you wanting what you’ve always wanted. For people to worship you.
Re-inventing yourself, Katie? That requires finding something in you that needs to be changed. Something that needs to be improved. Weaknesses in strategy, ability, performance, social skills – somewhere. It requires something you have never possessed, and that is humility. The understanding that you are not perfect. That you are not the be all and end all of something here in SCW.
And if your promo showed anything to me, Katie, it’s that, even now, you still don’t believe there is a single flaw about you. You still believe that you are this goddess deserving of worship. That you are this perfect individual.
Well, I am not. I am not perfect. I’ve never pretended to be perfect. And I sure as hell never saw myself as a goddess. Say what you will about my Snow Queen nickname, but I have been in the trenches and had my head shoved in the dirt with the best of them. I am not superior to the amazing people that make up the SCW Universe. I do not make them, you understand? They make me. They make SCW. They are responsible for us being able to be here. They do not owe you worship, Katie - you owe them!
But again, seeing flaws in yourself, clearly, is something that you will not do. And that’s fine. I’m not interested in convincing you by beating you again. I know that, win or lose, you’ll be back next week, proclaiming the same nonsense you always have. Still seeking worship, still twisting the narrative like the Beauty Factory and Infamous, demanding pity parties instead of seeking true reinvention. And that’s on you.
But if you want to try and use me as the catalysis for your ‘holy crusade’, then I’m going to use you for a message of my own.
You see, at Fatal Fortunes, three different things happened that involve me. First, Glory Braddock was beaten by me, and she settled on a beat down rather than trying to beat me. And again, I got back up and, again, I was still standing at the end of it all. Even with my partner bailing on me, I was still standing.
The second thing that happened was that new tag-team champions were crowned in Owen Cruze and Blake Mason, congratulations by the way. Now, the Butt Connection have instantly gotten their rematch this coming Breakdown as well, which begs the question when Regan and I are going to get our opportunity again at the titles, because while I am more than happy to kick Tommy Valentine in the face for what he has done, I much rather see David Helms do it in a one-on-one match while Regan and I do what we have wanted to do for months.
And the third thing that happened at Fatal Fortunes was that Xander Valentine questioned whether I was a the right ‘weapon’ to get Regan to the tag-team titles and ‘Supreme Champion status’. And you know what? For the last week or so, I was asking myself the same thing. I’ve not done the best for Regan Street, despite my best efforts. I failed her in the Trios Tournament. I failed her at Retribution. I have wanted so badly to do right by Regan and get her that Supreme status, that my shortcomings have haunted me for some time.
But do those shortcomings mean that I need to be replaced? That Xander feels that it should be him?
Let me segway a little from Breakdown to quickly remind you of something, Xander… The first time you thought I wasn’t “strong enough” or “deadly enough” or “weak”? I knocked you out in the shortest match of your life. The second time you thought I wasn’t “strong enough”? I knocked you out again, this time for ten seconds.
See, as much as I love being seen as “Regan’s partner” and “sister”, it seems that people on the roster, including you and Tommy Valentine, have forgotten just who I am. It seems that people have forgotten just why Regan chose me as her tag partner in the first place. It seems to me that the Beauty Factory, from Glory to Bree, have forgotten what I can do in and out of a wrestling ring.
So Breakdown, Katie, you will be the reminder. Whether you are a “new Katie” or the same brat I think you are, it does not matter. I will address all three issues in our match. First, I will remind Glory and the Beauty Factory of what I do best by taking everything you, and inevitably your family, can throw at me, and keep getting back up! By refusing to simply fall!
Second, I’ll remind the unrelated Valentines – Tommy and Xander – just how “blunt” I can be when I take you down with a swift kick! I will remind both Tommy and Xander just how dangerous I am and why I possess two of the deadliest strikes in SCW: The Defying Gravity and the Glass Shard.
And finally, I will do all I can to remind the tag-team champions, whether it’s Owen and Blake or the Butt Connection, that not only is Regan going nowhere but NEITHER is Selena Frost! And you can call that whatever you want, Katie: a fake-crusade, a fool’s mission, a pipe-dream, it doesn’t matter to me.
Because, when it’s all said and done, it will still happen. Whether you want to admit it to yourself or not. Because I am done failing dreams. It’s time I started making them come true again. Believe it!
Sincerely,
Selena Michelle Frost
The Dark Side of the Sun
”Checkout to Check-in”
Her outbreak a few weeks ago still bothered her and was partly the reason she had kept mostly quiet across social media and throughout the majority of the last few weeks.
For Selena, she had never intended to lose control in front of Regan as she had when she had visited her sister-in-arms at the AnteUp Academy before Fatal Fortunes had begun. Her initial reason for visiting Regan was just to check on her, spend time with the hotheaded brunette, and, perhaps, put some kind of understanding together for the upcoming two weeks of uncertainty with Fatal Fortunes, in case fortune favoured them or, more likely, Tommy Valentine struck again.
That had been the initial plan. But at some point after sparring together, trying to discuss things – something had broken in the Snow Queen’s mind and she had blurted out her selfish desire to be the one that helped Regan become Supreme Champion – to be the one that helped her acquire the last title that Regan needed – the tag-team titles. What had followed was a tearful breakdown by the platinum-blonde, she needing the support from Regan when it should have been the other way around.
It was just… it wasn’t because Selena didn’t think David Helms or Regan would make a great team. Far from it. She couldn’t praise her sister enough in terms of skill and ability. And David? The man was an inspiration to Selena – several of the defining moments of her career – he had been a part of.
But all this animosity with Tommy? That was what was fuelling David. That was what was motivating him. Yes, without a doubt, the former best friend of David and member of The Next Level tag-team had gone way too far. He had taken a few ill-picked words by Regan and used it to justify some kind of crusade against the Hellcat. Yes, Regan’s words had been harsh, but they didn’t justify what Tommy had done.
Still, Selena was grateful that Tommy and Kandis had lost the tag-team titles, and it was her hope that they would not regain them this upcoming Breakdown. It would, at least, allow David to focus on Tommy personally while she and Regan continued to get the tag-titles for Regan.
Because that’s what it was all about! Or at least… it was supposed to be. From late 2019 to now, that had been the goal. For Regan to become tag-team champion and, thus, Supreme Champion. Now, the platinum-blonde didn’t quite believe that Regan had forgotten that, but David certainly had. He was letting this grudge with Tommy take center-stage over what the true focus needed to be. And she couldn’t blame him for that, given the history and things said. Hell, she wanted to kick Tommy in the head as much as any of them.
But what about after? That was something that she wasn’t sure David was considering. If David and Regan won the tag-team titles, what about after? Would David just relax and ‘whatever happens happens’ with the tag-team titles? Would he lose the edge now that he had gotten his revenge on Tommy?
That’s what Xander’s threat to Selena last Breakdown had been. A realization for the Snow Queen. Xander had implied the notion of something stronger and better be needed for Regan to become tag-team champion, but what he had inadvertently referred to was the old notion of “becoming the champion vs staying the champion”.
And if Regan only cared about the former, she would have dropped the Television Championship at her first defence, rather than successfully defend past not just Kandis but both weeks of Fatal Fortunes.
Regan didn’t just want to win the tag-titles. She wanted to stay the tag champions. She wanted a lengthy tag-team title reign. And that was what made Selena selfish…because she wanted that too. She wanted to be the one defending the tag titles with her sister for as long as possible. She wanted to be one of the ‘tag-teams of the year’ nominees with Regan as Frozen Hell.
But how could she say that to David? How could she tell him, Regan’s husband, that she felt discarded by him coming in and demanding that he take Selena’s place like that? How could she tell Regan that Xander’s words had torn at that particular wound as well, the Executioner implying that he would team with Regan? How could she tell Regan how seeing everyone push their way into their goal – from David wanting to be ‘the one to do it with Regan’ to Datura demanding a shot on Twitter so she could ‘fight forever’ with Regan tore at the young Frost.
Was that all Selena was to Regan? A means to an end? A tool to be replaced until something or someone better came along? She had failed Regan at Trios, at the number one contender match and at the championship match at Retribution. Was Regan just done with her? Was she just through with Selena failing her over and over again?
This had been the mentality of Selena Frost since that breakdown in California weeks ago and the events of Fatal Fortunes had merely added to that. Part of her was desperately thinking of ways to keep Regan and David safe from Tommy and even Xander, but the other part? Was just waiting for the dismiss.
Perhaps that was why Selena had left immediately after the last house show last week in Arizona, opting to travel as fast as she could back to Germany, away from the wrestling and the obligations and the noise of such negative thoughts. She had fled back to Frankfurt first to visit her beloved Deanna and bury herself in her wife’s love. True, their conjugal visit was not for another week, but she could still visit Deanna and – to be honest – she needed that far more than she was willing to admit.
The few days she had spent with her wife, Selena hadn’t spoken about work. She hadn’t even driven the short hour and fifteen minutes from Fankfurt to the rest of her family staying in the castle at Schoenburg. Rather, she had rented a hotel room and spent as much time with Deanna as possible. She hadn’t spoken about work, despite her wife’s prodding, the redhead clearly seeing that something was troubling her beloved minx. Not a word about wrestling or Regan was spoken. For the moment, Selena didn’t want such things on her mind, even if, deep down, she knew she was just delaying the inevitable. She would, eventually, after to answer the missed calls from Regan. Eventually have to travel back to the states for her Breakdown match with Katie Steward and, thus, have to confront Regan about ‘what the hell was the matter with her’ – she could imagine Regan using that exact phrasing.
But for the past weekend and now day or two before she would need to return to that wrestling world, Selena had opted to either be a woman in love with her wife or a woman driven to get said wife out of prison.
It was the latter part she found herself being as she drove her rented car into the ‘drive-way’ trail that guided her into the parking grounds of the Schoenburg castle. She parked in her usual spot, the circumstances of the world leaving little business to be had for the owners, Gunther and Louisa Huttl. Still, they were happy to provide for the Frost family, Selena offering the finances (despite Gunther’s disagreeing) and Louisa and Gunther providing the meal service those finances brought in.
But, Selena would have been lying if she didn’t enjoy the notion of having a large castle for just her and her family – the only negative thought of that was the guilt of her living in one while her wife stayed in a prison cell. Soon… she told herself as she tightened her grip along the steering wheel of her already-parked car. It was what she always told herself, a reminder that Deanna’s incarceration was temporary.
With a quiet nod, the platinum-blonde pushed open her car door, after turning the engine off, and pulled herself out of the vehicle, just in time to see her oldest daughter rushing down the steps that lead into a section of the castle.
“Mother!” Elsianna cried out, waving a gloved hand and arm to Selena, who could not help but smile as she caught her rushing seven-year old into her arms.
“Hello, Snowflake.” Selena whispered, kissing her daughter’s cheek. The spring wind blew both girls’ platinum hair against it, Elsianna’s hair wild and untied while Selena’s remained in its iconic braid. Elsa, wearing a black shirt with long, see-through sleeves and blue jeans, quickly adjusted the hair that blew in front of her eyes, tucking it behind her ears as best as she could with her gloved fingers.
“How’s mom?” she asked quietly, earning a sigh and smile from her mother.
“She’s fine.” Selena assured. “She sends her love and that she misses you and David and Amiliah more than anything.”
Elsianna nodded. She had long stopped wondering and asking her mother when Deanna was ‘coming back’. For the first few months, she had – perhaps more so than David, and he was over half her age – but upon seeing how asking such an uncertain question upset both her mothers, the oldest Frost child had stopped asking altogether, even stopping young David if he ever thought about asking. For now, Elsa took the news of ‘good health’ as the best she could get.
“Anything new since I’ve been gone?” Selena asked, regaining the child’s concentration.
“No, not really. I mean, the new lady?” Elsianna started before turning her head to gaze towards the farthest ‘tower of rooms’ that the castle had’, Selena following her daughter’s gaze.
“Has she been giving you any trouble?” the Snow Queen asked, her nerves instantly on alert. “You or David?”
“No.” Elsianna answered honestly. “She mostly comes and goes early or late – I don’t see her come back that often. But she’s always there for breakfast – and she sits in a corner of the room.”
“Good.” Selena replied, a firm line forming across her lips.
“Who is she, mother?” the young child asked.
“She is someone that – that is helping me with your mom.” Selena settled on answering honestly.
“Oh…so she’s a friend? Then why doesn’t she sit with us? Why does she stay away?”
“Not exactly.” Selena replied, trying to think of a way to explain the history of negative and dangerous emotions and actions between her and the newest occupant of the castle. “You see… I’m sort of helping her as well, but she needs to keep to herself so she can work. She’s not…” Selena thought for a moment. “She’s not interested in being social. You know how, in your stories, there are princess in tall towers?”
“Yes.” Elsa nodded, her elbows resting in her hands.
“Well, she particularly prefers to stay in her tower. She doesn’t really want to be bothered by anyone.”
“Oh…okay.” Came the slightly confused reply from Selena’s daughter. “That’s a bit odd.”
“Everyone is different, remember?” Selena smiled, earning a nod from Elsianna, before standing up to her full height. Quickly, she reached into the companion front seat (or ‘shotgun’) to get the small bag of clothes sitting there. She was only going to have a day or two at the castle and had already done her laundry at the hotel in Frankfurt, hence the small luggage now. Taking her daughter’s hand in her free one, the Snow Queen continued their conversation as she walked Elsianna back into the castle. The next hour was spent catching up with her children – Elsianna, David and Amiliah – and the Huttls, who insisted that Selena have some dinner – even if she already had a quick meal before she had travelled back here from Frankfurt.
You need real food! Louisa, Gunther’s wife, had chastised. You are too skinny! she had added, causing Selena to roll her eyes. She loved her curves, and while she wasn’t as voluptuous or ‘busty’ Syren or anywhere close to Cookie over in SCW, years with Deanna and her positive attitude had made the young woman at least proud of the assets she did possess. Enough to know that her children, including Amiliah with her Deanna’s genetics, were going to grow up to be beautiful adults.
It wasn’t until after dinner and Selena, now with a rather full stomach of potatoes, rice and lamb, made her way across the castle grounds to the previously mentioned ‘farthest tower of rooms’. In truth, it wasn’t so much a tower as it was another section of the castle. Where the families, the Huttls and Frosts, were situated in the North (Huttls) and Northeast sections of the castle, Selena was heading towards the far east, her running shoes making small sounds as she walked across the stoned-tiles of the courtyard. The spring wind continued to blow as it had when she had first arrived that day, invigorating her as the cool air of the evening as it turned into night often did. It was way she did not need to wear a jacket, opting instead on a simple white, comfortably snug sweater with three pairs of buttons at the head that she left open. Her hair, free of the braid, was now flowing down and against her back, picked up by the wind every so often. The blue jeans rode comfortably on her hips but were the perfect fit to allow full movement for her stride.
In short, Selena was as comfortable as she could be in that moment, allowing her to approach the east-side of the castle. It was not ill-fortune that had put the newest occupant there. Rather, it was Selena’s own design to do so. To make it clear, even after the confession that had taken place weeks ago in the Frankfurt Prison that Deanna and she had witnessed, the platinum-blonde still did not trust Talia Scythe anymore than a rabbit would trust a hawk.
She still had no reason to. Yes, their interests may have been aligned in this moment, but this was the woman that had destroyed Selena’s engagement to Adrian - which was less of a sore spot after all this time, Selena even grateful that she had Deanna instead of him – assisted in the kidnapping of her son and oldest daughter (thankfully, Elsianna did not remember Talia in that regard), and, recently, had orchestrated a massive plot to try and humiliate Selena over their childhood competition of being “the Snow Queen” in Nome, Alaska. There as no fooling anyone. Talia still hated Selena and would much rather set her on fire as opposed to helping her in any way. And while the brunette was being forced to help Selena and Deanna in this case, Selena knew, as Deanna knew, as Talia knew, that if the opportunity came up to hurt Selena and not suffer some kind of consequence, Talia would take it without hesitation.
Thankfully, at this time, the consequences were too dire for Talia to risk such a thing.
Still, Selena had taken no chances. Talia was able to stay at the castle, but she was to stay away from the Frost children. Gunther and Louisa and Gerda, of course, constantly observed the children to make sure of that. And according to Gunther, Talia had, for the past few weeks since their ‘arrangement’ had gone along with all the rules and conditions.
So when Selena reached the door to the building Talia was staying at, she was able to knock on it with a sense of confidence in herself. A few seconds passed and the platinum-blonde, eventually, heard the sound of the door being unlocked and pulled open. Before her, dressed in a simple black nightgown and white robe, with her brunette hair free-flowing like Selena’s, Talia raised an eyebrow at her ‘visitor’.
“Come for a nightcap?” she asked flatly.
For a moment, Selena was at a loss for words, particularly at the round glasses that sat on Talia’s face. They made her rival and enemy seem…well… not so enemy-ish.
“I didn’t know you wore glasses.” Selena shrugged, gesturing to Talia’s face.
With a roll of her eyes, Talia turned to enter her room, leaving the door open. “Happens when you have a career reading fine print.” She answered.
Slowly, Selena followed Talia inside, closing the door behind her. “I’ve come for an update on-whoa…”
For the past few weeks since their initial agreement, what few times Selena had been able to visit Schoenburg and Frankfurt, she had not disturbed Talia, choosing to get all her updates from either Greta or Gunther through phone calls, text messages or emails. However, those updates had not given her any insight on how things were going with Talia’s investigation. And it wasn’t as if Talia was contacting her either to give her any idea what was going on. It was way Selena was there now, visiting Talia in person. All of that being said, she was prepared to see anything in Talia’s room, really. Papers, books, notes, even nothing at all – Yes, the Snow Queen had even be prepared to discover that Talia had accomplished nothing and was, instead just taking advantage of the hospitality being set up by the Huttls.
However, what Selena was not prepared to see was corkboard with several photos on it and so much string tied to pins in the board that it made an almost beautiful web of colors. It looked like one of those ‘movie-devices’ that instigated some kind of conspiracy theory or something. The fact that such a thing was right in front of her, and, she slowly noticed, had hers and Deanna’s picture on it added to the whole unrealism of it.
Talia, meanwhile, had returned to the couch to continue typing away on her laptop, stopping only when she realized that Selena had not moved from where she stood. “What?” she asked before following her gaze to the corkboard that hung on the wall above the painting Talia had put down against the same wall in order to borrow the nail to hang said corkboard. “Oh yeah… working in progress.” She muttered as she clicked on something on her laptop screen.
“And…” slowly stepping further into the room, Selena waved a hand towards the rather intimidating work of… was it ‘art’ or some kind of ‘project’? She wasn’t entirely sure, because she could have believed either or. “How is the ‘work in progress’ going?”
The sound of Talia’s fingers typing away on the keyboard – a stream of clicking sounds as the keys were pressed – suddenly stopped to be replaced by a humoured chuckle from the brunette. “You know, I was wondering when you would check-in on me.” She laughed. “Figured it be a lot sooner.”
“I’m not a lawyer or a detective.” Selena explained with a shrug. “But I know enough being around Jean Black to know that these kind of things take time. And – no matter how much I wish the problem could just be solved and over it – that it isn’t going to happen over night. So, I wanted to give you time before I bothered you.”
For some reason, and to the surprise of Selena, Talia seemed thrown off by this consideration, her expression displaying as much. “I…see. Malcolm would have mocked my exile or something every day and-“
“I’m not Malcolm.”
The fact came out harsher than Selena had meant for it to, but Talia’s implication had certainly hit a raw nerved. Aside the fact alone that Malcolm was a horrid man to the Snow Queen and any comparisons like that between her and him was enough to irritate her, the past few weeks of being compared as a tag-team partner to others like David Helms and Xander Valentine – she was trying NOT to think about such things right now! Trying to be productive elsewhere so she could come back to SCW with a more positive attitude!
“Sorry.” The platinum-blonde whispered for her outburst. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“It’s fine.” Talia replied quickly before closing her laptop and sitting back against the couch she currently occupied. With a sigh, the older woman removed her glasses, using the back of her hand to rub her tired eyes.
“Talia…” Selena tried, casting her eyes back towards the corkboard of photos, pins and strings. “Please tell me the situation isn’t as complicated as…this.” Once again, she gestured towards the board. “This looks like some big conspiracy-theory shit over here.”
“It’s…” Talia started before stopping herself before she pushed herself off the couch to stand, smoothing out any wrinkles she had in her nightgown. “There’s a lot going on.” She settled on saying.
“Meaning what?” Selena asked.
“Meaning that when I told you back at Nome that something was right and that I suspected I had a way to get Deanna out of prison, I actually meant it.”
“You did?!” Selena’s mouth hung open. “I thought you were just using that as bait to lure me into that pageant.”
“That was the beginning of the plan.” Talia admitted with a shrug. “But as I completed the bar and began looking into your wife’s case, some things came to me. But now? The more and more I’ve dug, the more tangled it’s become.”
A tired groan came from the Snow Queen. “No…” she sighed. “Please don’t say that.”
“Come on, Frost.” Talia huffed. “Didn’t you think it was odd that no lawyer would take on your case? That a simple pedophilia charge became a ‘no no’ to any lawyer or court in terms of an appeal?”
“Yes, I thought it.” Selena sighed. “But I thought that it was because of who Deanna was and that no one wanted to be ‘that person’ that supported a convicted pedophile, thus hurting their reputation.” She reasoned, earning only a ‘pffft’ sound from Talia.
“Reputation.” She laughed. “Can you imagine the reputation they would have if they proved your wife was innocent? If they went against what ‘the system’ said, went above and beyond and brought ‘trust justice’ to an innocent woman?”
“Then why didn’t they?” Selena asked, raising her arms only to drop them back to her sides.
“Not sure, but that’s where I began.” Talia stated. “Something has black-marked Deanna’s case so that no one would touch it with a ten-foot pole.”
“Why?” Selena asked in disbelief. “It’s not like this is uncommon and she’s…she’s a nobody to anyone else.”
“Hardly a nobody.” Talia shrugged as she moved over towards the corkboard. “She’s the wife of a rather famous wrestler. But it’s not like she’s in the spotlight that often – yet, even so, one would think that would invite representation, not scare it away.”
Now THAT Selena had been curious about in the early beginnings of being denied. No matter how much money she had thrown or how many different people she begged, even, unashamedly so, using her fame as a sort of bargaining chip. But as she mentioned a moment ago, she had eventually reasoned otherwise after so many refusals.
“That’s not what I meant.” Selena answered slowly. “She’s everything to me. But… it’s not like she has enemies. If anything, I’d be the target long before her.”
“Again, I thought of that as well. But not everyone is as direct as Malcolm or myself. We go for the target, not necessarily the innocent people associated with the target.”
“Actually…” the Snow Queen blurted out. “That was something that I sort of was grateful to you about.” Again, Talia’s expression was one of surprise. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t forgive you or Malcolm for all the things you did. But, I… I come from a world filled with people that have not hesitated to threaten Deanna and my children with far more…violent means.”
For a moment, Selena was sure she spied Talia’s hands tighten at the mention of physical harm coming towards her daughters and son. She was also sure she saw Talia’s jaw clench at the idea. Still, she said nothing about the physical ticks from her former childhood friend. “And while you threatened me and implied so much about the others, you never went out of your way to harm my children or Deanna. Maybe to acquire them, but…I realized that they were never going to be hurt.” Her breath hitched as she slowly remembered the exception to that. “Except for my mother.”
Talia’s eyes widened at that. “Anastasia?” she asked, earning a nod from Selena. “Would you believe me that her death actually wasn’t related to you?”
It was Selena’s turn to be caught off-guard. “What?”
“It’s true.” Talia shrugged, disappearing into the ‘kitchen area’ of the hotel room to make herself some tea. “You want some tea?”
“No thank you.” Selena answered quickly. “What do you mean, ‘it had nothing to do with me’?”
A few minutes went by without a word until the brunette emerged from the other room, a hot cup of tea in her hands. “Anastasia had done a lot of things – caused a lot of problems with the Scythes, both legal and illegal. She thought that she could blackmail Malcolm with what she knew much in the same way you did to beat him. Before she gave the information to you, she tried to do what you did. Thing is, you’re a hard target to ‘forget’ by the world. No one would really miss Anastasia DeCarlo. And it’s not like the DeCarlos were going to step up in a family war against the Scythes. They needed us far more than we needed them. Your grandfather, Richard? He tried to talk Anastasia out of it and Malcolm warned her several times not to go this route. She wouldn’t listen. She wanted to have it all. The fortune from the DeCarlos, the fortune from the Scythes, and a perfect life with you. Malcolm wasn’t going to allow that to happen.”
“So…” Selena’s voice trailed off. “He killed her.”
Talia shrugged simply. “If she just wanted to disappear, we would have allowed that. If she had just wanted to be with you, we would have allowed that. But, she wanted it all, and it made it clear that we couldn’t trust her. And you, I’m certain, can easily understand that.”
Slowly, though it hated her to admit, Selena nodded her head. She had come to forgive her step-mother for the cruelties Anastasia had wrought on the platinum-blonde throughout her childhood and adulthood. Still, she was not naïve enough to believe that Anastasia’s crimes would not come back to haunt her one day. But she had always believed, as she had with Sirius’ death at the hands of Evangeline DeWinter, that Anastasia’s death had been her fault, brought about because of her desire to fight the Scythes and protect her family – Deanna, Elsianna, David and Amiliah.
“I’ve always hated when things have come to such ends.” Amiliah admitted. “Malcolm is the same way.”
“Killing someone?” Selena replied, the sharp tone still in her voice.
Ignoring it, Talia nodded her head. “I never considered it with you. What good would that do? Any jackass can hire a hitman or whatever. Going that far means you lack the finesse and intelligence to deal with the matter yourself. Deal with the matter like an intelligent human being. If you were smart, such matters wouldn’t be necessary. But, that can’t always be true, can it?”
Turning her head, Talia sighed. “Malcolm knew that. Your step-mother knew that. Still, she pushed.”
“So, is that the plan?” Selena asked. “You keep coming up with plans until murdering me is the only option left?”
Turning her gaze back towards the platinum-blonde, the brunette gaze a sharp smirk before shaking her head. “Killing you would be far worse than letting you live. It be the ultimate defeat. You’d die having never been bested by me. The way I see it, I could just stay here-“ she replied, flopping back on the couch. “Live in comfort – albeit a little less than in Nome but still comfort – and watch you stew away for the next nine or so years, pining for your wife if I can’t get her out. Or, if I can…” she smiled smugly. “You’ll forever be in my debt – forever owing your happiness to me.”
“Your own spin on the situation.” Selena replied flatly.
“Tell me I’m wrong.” Talia challenged.
“I can’t.” Selena replied. “You could do either or.”
“I rather be back home.” Talia admitted. “But I’m not going to look at this as a win-lose. I refuse to.”
“Fine.” Selena shrugged. “View it however you want to. If it gets Deanna out, I will happily say ‘I owe you my happiness’. Okay?”
“Pfft.” Talia laughed. “So easy.”
“Wouldn’t you do the same for Adrian- I mean, Ryan?” she asked, her tone challenging. When Talia didn’t answer, it was enough of an answer for the young Frost. “I see.”
“Ryan is a good man.” Talia stated. “For the most part. But he was a means to an end and continues to be. Long as I am useful to him and Malcolm, I am the same way. Love never really had anything to do with it.”
A sigh came from Selena. “I actually feel sorry for you then.”
“Don’t.” warned Talia.
“No, I do.” Selena stated, keeping herself rooted in her stance. “Because I think if you truly loved someone – truly understood what love was, you wouldn’t need your hatred for me. You wouldn’t have wasted so many years just trying to get back at me.”
“It wasn’t wasted.” Talia countered.
“Hasn’t it?” came the quick question. “You entered into a loveless marriage. You’re constantly watched and judged by the Scythes and – least we forget – you’re here in exile, Talia. At what point do you realize that the road you’ve travelled thanks to this hatred of me hasn’t been worth it?”
The lawyer said nothing, merely turning her head and crossing her arms.
“Fine.” Sighed Selena. “I’m not here to be your keeper or voice of reason. You do as you need to with your life. But where do we go from here in regards to Deanna?”
“Easy.” Talia replied, turning back to face Selena. “If someone is black-marking Deanna and making every other lawyer and whatnot afraid to take her, we need to find out why.”
“And how do we do that?”
The next few words spoken would haunt Selena for the rest of the week:
“By making everyone know that a lawyer has taken your wife’s case.” Talia grinned.
__________________________
The Royal Letter
Dear Steward family,
Yes, I know I should be specifically speaking with Katie Steward, as she is the one I’m facing at Breakdown tomorrow. That’s what it says on the card: Katie Steward vs. Selena Frost. Queen of Queens vs Snow Queen once again.
But be that as it may, if there’s one thing I have learned from fighting the Steward family over and over again throughout the years, it’s that you can’t believe for a moment that this is a ‘read as written’ scenario. That when you are facing a Steward, you are really facing the pack of them, as they will not hesitate to disqualify themselves just to ambush someone that their family member can’t beat.
But, according to you, Katie, that isn’t who I am facing, is it? Because you are ‘a different Katie Steward’. A different matriarch of the Steward family. That you are not the brat that I believe you are, is that it?
Well, let me go on that train of thought with you for a moment, Katie. You see, to me, you are many things: a Hall of Famer, a former world champion, one of the legends of SCW – I know I have said as much in our numerous other matches in the past – several of which have ended as I’ve already predicted, with your family dog-piling me when they realized you couldn’t beat me, but anyway: you easily have one of the longest careers here in SCW, I could go on. But you’re also an obnoxious, loud, self-entitled, woman that isn’t fooling me worth a damn.
Because if you were “so different”, Katie, then tell me why Madison, your kin, didn’t hesitate to jump on in on that pack-attack the Beauty Factory held on me? Remember a few weeks ago? Madison and I were having a decent match that went, dare I say, rather professionally. Then, Glory Braddock and the rest of the Beauty Factory jumped in en masse to take me down. And what did this Steward-family member, supposedly headed by a “different Katie Steward”, do? That’s right! She joined in on the five on one, making it six on one, stomping away at me.
But I am supposed to believe that your family – that you - have changed?
Truthfully, it doesn’t matter to me, Katie. It doesn’t matter to me what you say or what you’re trying to sell or what you’re trying to convince us all of. Between the ropes of the ring, the truth usually finds its way to be seen. To separate those of us that want to define the values of SCW and those that don’t. It’s where the workhorses like me and Regan and David and Owen and so many others shine, while those that re-tweet their nicknames like Glory does every other day, where the delusional like Bree Lancaster make excuses when they can’t beat me, and the bitter like Tommy Valentine are exposed.
And you can claim all you want, Katie, but you are the exact same as them. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be trying to retell the history you’ve had. You’d be trying to make history tonight. You’d be trying to actually re-invent yourself like you say – by seeing this match with me as a new beginning to show what SCW stands for – true wrestling. The desire to, once again, be the best this company has to offer. This match should be Pay-Per-View worthy! The Queen of Queens vs the Snow Queen! Come on! And yet, for all the times you and I have fought, it’s never been entertained for a pay-per-view, has it? Because instead of truly seeing this match as something worthwhile, you’d rather start with “I’m not fighting Selena Frost”. But you like to call this dismissive nature “reinventing yourself”.
You’re not re-inventing yourself. You’re just repackaging the messiah complex you’ve always had. You’re just using that old “Goddess” nonsense you’ve been peddling for years. You’re just using a slightly different coat of paint with words like ‘building the church’ and ‘holy crusade’. That’s not new, Katie. It’s you wanting what you’ve always wanted. For people to worship you.
Re-inventing yourself, Katie? That requires finding something in you that needs to be changed. Something that needs to be improved. Weaknesses in strategy, ability, performance, social skills – somewhere. It requires something you have never possessed, and that is humility. The understanding that you are not perfect. That you are not the be all and end all of something here in SCW.
And if your promo showed anything to me, Katie, it’s that, even now, you still don’t believe there is a single flaw about you. You still believe that you are this goddess deserving of worship. That you are this perfect individual.
Well, I am not. I am not perfect. I’ve never pretended to be perfect. And I sure as hell never saw myself as a goddess. Say what you will about my Snow Queen nickname, but I have been in the trenches and had my head shoved in the dirt with the best of them. I am not superior to the amazing people that make up the SCW Universe. I do not make them, you understand? They make me. They make SCW. They are responsible for us being able to be here. They do not owe you worship, Katie - you owe them!
But again, seeing flaws in yourself, clearly, is something that you will not do. And that’s fine. I’m not interested in convincing you by beating you again. I know that, win or lose, you’ll be back next week, proclaiming the same nonsense you always have. Still seeking worship, still twisting the narrative like the Beauty Factory and Infamous, demanding pity parties instead of seeking true reinvention. And that’s on you.
But if you want to try and use me as the catalysis for your ‘holy crusade’, then I’m going to use you for a message of my own.
You see, at Fatal Fortunes, three different things happened that involve me. First, Glory Braddock was beaten by me, and she settled on a beat down rather than trying to beat me. And again, I got back up and, again, I was still standing at the end of it all. Even with my partner bailing on me, I was still standing.
The second thing that happened was that new tag-team champions were crowned in Owen Cruze and Blake Mason, congratulations by the way. Now, the Butt Connection have instantly gotten their rematch this coming Breakdown as well, which begs the question when Regan and I are going to get our opportunity again at the titles, because while I am more than happy to kick Tommy Valentine in the face for what he has done, I much rather see David Helms do it in a one-on-one match while Regan and I do what we have wanted to do for months.
And the third thing that happened at Fatal Fortunes was that Xander Valentine questioned whether I was a the right ‘weapon’ to get Regan to the tag-team titles and ‘Supreme Champion status’. And you know what? For the last week or so, I was asking myself the same thing. I’ve not done the best for Regan Street, despite my best efforts. I failed her in the Trios Tournament. I failed her at Retribution. I have wanted so badly to do right by Regan and get her that Supreme status, that my shortcomings have haunted me for some time.
But do those shortcomings mean that I need to be replaced? That Xander feels that it should be him?
Let me segway a little from Breakdown to quickly remind you of something, Xander… The first time you thought I wasn’t “strong enough” or “deadly enough” or “weak”? I knocked you out in the shortest match of your life. The second time you thought I wasn’t “strong enough”? I knocked you out again, this time for ten seconds.
See, as much as I love being seen as “Regan’s partner” and “sister”, it seems that people on the roster, including you and Tommy Valentine, have forgotten just who I am. It seems that people have forgotten just why Regan chose me as her tag partner in the first place. It seems to me that the Beauty Factory, from Glory to Bree, have forgotten what I can do in and out of a wrestling ring.
So Breakdown, Katie, you will be the reminder. Whether you are a “new Katie” or the same brat I think you are, it does not matter. I will address all three issues in our match. First, I will remind Glory and the Beauty Factory of what I do best by taking everything you, and inevitably your family, can throw at me, and keep getting back up! By refusing to simply fall!
Second, I’ll remind the unrelated Valentines – Tommy and Xander – just how “blunt” I can be when I take you down with a swift kick! I will remind both Tommy and Xander just how dangerous I am and why I possess two of the deadliest strikes in SCW: The Defying Gravity and the Glass Shard.
And finally, I will do all I can to remind the tag-team champions, whether it’s Owen and Blake or the Butt Connection, that not only is Regan going nowhere but NEITHER is Selena Frost! And you can call that whatever you want, Katie: a fake-crusade, a fool’s mission, a pipe-dream, it doesn’t matter to me.
Because, when it’s all said and done, it will still happen. Whether you want to admit it to yourself or not. Because I am done failing dreams. It’s time I started making them come true again. Believe it!
Sincerely,
Selena Michelle Frost