OOC: Plays off the last set of roleplays. The Royal Letter is meant to be a private recording emailed to the sendee to further CD/story. Enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: The following is a work of fiction and not to be confused as complete or accurate representation of any beliefs, religions, etc. Please refer to research/articles by experts for that.
The Witches of Alden
”Motherhood”
The Edison Ballroom
New York, New York
March 26th, 2023
6:37pm
Selena was feeling a mixed series of emotions as she beheld the woman standing before her mother – the woman she knew to be her grandmother. On one hand, she honestly could not believe that she was in the same room with such a woman…
As a child, Selena had known at a relatively young age that Anastasia DeCarlo was not her real mother. At first, she had merely suspected it – her ‘mother’ and her had very little, if anything, in common. No features that looked similar, no innate personality characteristics, and there was the obvious matter that her stepmother was beyond cruel to her – something she never believed any mother should be to her children (which she ensured with her three children back home). Still, with her childish mind (and her father’s golden nugget necklace around her neck), she had merely believed that it was some sort of magic, like an enchantress or the stork or something. However, before Donovan Frost had ‘disappeared’, the young girl – now old enough to understand basic mechanics of ‘procreation’ - had confronted her father, Donovan, about Anastasia. Looking back, Selena regretted putting such a conversation topic on her poor father’s shoulders, but to his credit, Donovan had not shied away, telling Selena the truth and promising that, when she was older, he would tell her all about her actual mother…
That conversation never happened.
Still, perhaps as much as she kept wishing for her father’s return to ‘rescue her’ from the evil/unfairness of Nome, young Selena also thought about what her real mother was like, out there in the world.
I’ll bet she’s super-pretty! the child had thought.
With hair just like mine and she has to be so kind if father still spoke so wonderfully of her.
Now, to be fair, Selena had never imagined a woman like Alejandra (given her own paler than snow complexion), but she had, indeed, managed to be accurate where it mattered most. Her mother was beyond kind and sweet, and fiercely loyal to her father and her – and, of course, she saw Deanna as her own daughter as well, which meant the world to the Snow Queen.
Still, on the one hand, where she had imagined for those many ‘Nome-years’ what it would have been like to have such a mother that loved her and cared for her, never had she imagined beyond that. Never had she imagined a grandmother on her mother’s side. It just… never factored into her ‘dreams and wishes’.
So, to be standing in front of the older, dark-skinned woman that had sired her mother, Selena was not entirely sure how to feel. There was no rush of positive feelings or sense of elation. The woman was her mother’s mother… and that was it. No different than meeting a stranger on the New York subway. That truth, however, brought a sense of sadness to the Snow Queen – to feel nothing towards her own grandmother, especially after being without one after so many years since the death of Irene Frost.
Part of her simply wanted to leave. They had been all but excused by the Alden-charter and its elders, the sentence being nothing more than a reestablishment of the facts.
Exile… from a family that they wanted nothing to do with. It honestly felt like a victory to Selena. The idea of being done with this group here and now? It was what they wanted! No more being spied on! No more cryptic business cards! No more blackmailing from billionaires or whatever Raphael Alden was! Things could finally get back to normal – just as they had begun to be since the death of Killjoy! Deanna and her could get back to normal in their lives – or what counted as normal to the Frost women – including raising their children, visiting Selena’s parents (free of this burden as well) and focusing on SCW.
And probably regaining the tag-team titles.
The thought came to the Snow Queen on its own and she did not refute it or even try to hide it. If their ‘dance’ in the ballroom down the hall had shown anything to Selena, it was that her wife was of the same mind as she was. The House of Frost stood for integrity – of giving everything you had in your passion and resilience to be the best wrestler and raising the standard of excellence and integrity within SCW.
By Kimberly’s own rules for her Trios Cash-in at Breakdown, that meant that aiming to retain the tag-titles together in a few nights was not only impossible, but a clear contradiction to that belief. They would have to ‘settle’ for the tag-team titles, aiming to finish not in first or even second place (which is what the tag-titles should have been for the ‘WORLD tag-titles’ in Selena’s mind). No, it meant that they would have to let other people beat them until they were ‘sitting’ in fourth and fifth place. Much like the match was made impossible for Kimberly to walk away without being the Underground title, the chaotic woman had effectively found a way to put an ‘end-date’ on a reign no other tag-team had managed to stamp out with the House of Frost – not because of ego but because of their own beliefs…
But with this Alden matter closed, the House of Frost could work on fixing that together! They’d get their rematch and challenge for the titles at the next Pay-Per-View! Whatever happened at Breakdown wouldn’t diminish their skills as a tag-team! They were still one of the top teams in SCW. And with all these distractions behind them, they could focus on regaining the tag-titles from whoever held them.
In truth, the mystery of that was far more puzzling to Selena. While she and Deanna’s integrity prevented them from ‘settling’ for the tag-titles, she knew of others that would leap at the chance to push their way up the ranks – accepting ‘any title’ they won. Glory Braddock wanted to be Supreme Champion and the tag-team title was the last one she needed. She was clearly on the list and probably would try and stay in that ‘range’.
What if it’s a pre-established tag-team? Like Datura and Bree? The Snow Queen thought, her thoughts moving a mile a minute. The odds weren’t likely, but maybe Light in the Darkness?
Gods, if only… Selena thought, stealing a glance towards her wife, who kept her eyes on the embracing pair of Alejandra VanHohenheim and her mother, unaware of the tirade of thoughts that rapidly rampaged through Selena’s mind. A tag-team, an established tag-team in SCW, winning the tag titles could at least make for a quick salvage at the pay-per-view. The House of Frost would be the challengers this time, true enough, but at the very least, it would be another five-star tag match with the teams representing the division as it should have been! Like it was the grand prize in SCW that it was and not some fourth or fifth place prize in a demented woman’s mind!
Still, there was no denying the numbers that Selena continuously (and often not meaning to) ran through her head. As ‘hopeful’ as she could be that The House of Frost could salvage something out of this Breakdown match, just like the odds were high that their tag-title reign would end, the odds were equally (if not higher) that their ‘opponents’ would not be an established tag-team or even associated with one another, but a pair of wrestlers that just happened to fall into the rankings and score enough points. Names like Konrad Raab, Chance Owens, maybe Amelia Blythe, Bree Lancaster if she couldn’t retain the Adrenaline title, the list was a vast one of wrestlers – some world-title worthy – and others not quite so but would not hesitate at one ‘HELL of a consolation prize’ in the tag-team titles.
And yes, that did give the House of Frost an advantage in their rematch with the match restored to tag-team rules as opposed to the slock that was the Breakdown match coming up, but still… the whole thing infuriated Selena. She didn’t want any of this. She wanted to get SCW back on track. She wanted things back to normal – or what they were raised to when she had held the World title: That standard of integrity. With her and her wife fighting to be the best tag-team in SCW, stepping in to restore the bar of integrity in the other divisions as needed, and SCW actually standing for Supreme Championship Wrestling. But, by the way things were headed for by the end of Breakdown, not to mention the ongoing sale of SCW that O. was overseeing behind closed doors…
No, she needed this thing with the Aldens to be done with so she and Deanna didn’t have to be distracted by it and could, therefore, focus on whatever fallout Breakdown had. If they were distracted, then they would not only lose the tag-titles, but also the rematch and any other opportunity that came their way. If this continued, their rematch – if Selena’s prediction came to pass – would be wasted and they would be back to square one. And with Deanna getting passed over time and time again for singles titles despite her success in the ring, not to mention Selena having no clear direction outside of the tag-team titles as well (even though she had won the majority of her singles matches since Rise to Greatness, including beating Adam Allocco, Glory Braddock and Bree Lancaster) – the Snow Queen wasn’t entirely sure what the hell they were supposed to do should everything just fall apart from the ‘Chaos-Match’ and the aftermath of it at the pay-per-view.
By sheer logic: the safety of her wife and mother, the House of Frost having the best chance at surviving the Chaos-match and the proceeding pay-per-view as the SCW World tag-team champions… she needed to just walk away here and now! Just turn around, take Deanna’s hand tightly in hers and march out of this opulent, overindulgent ballroom party and be done with it. Leave it all behind and not look back! Screw the Aldens and her grandmother!
But she couldn’t. She couldn’t ‘simply walk away’ despite so much of herself begging to. The elders of Alden had made that impossible by dragging her aunt and uncle, Caius and Sage, into their ‘punishment’. Subtly, Selena stole a glance at the two as one marched around the room angrily while the other sat in one of the many black chairs, neither sibling daring to interfere with their mother’s affectionate hug with her daughter/their sister, Alejandra. The two of them now stood at the great risk of sharing in the same exile as Selena’s mother possessed, though Alejandra had forty years to be without the Aldens and whatever ‘benefits’ lied therein. The platinum-blonde wasn’t sure it would be so easy for her aunt and uncle to adjust.
So, she was trapped in this situation, the cruelty and unfairness towards Caius and Sage keeping her in this room to discuss alternative solutions with the older Alden matriarch.
A clearing of someone’s throat caught Selena’s attention, pulling the Snow Queen back to the present time – the seconds that had passed since she had walked into the private, empty conference room feeling like an hour with the tirade of thoughts she had endured in that time, the mental debate to stay or just walk away rampaging through her.
“I suppose introductions are needed.” Alejandra VanHohenheim sighed as she guided the caned woman towards Selena. “Selena, I suppose you can guess-“
“Freya Alden.” Selena answered in regards to the black-dressed woman standing before her. “My grandmother.”
“Indeed I am.” Smiled the older woman towards her granddaughter. “And I suppose we have a lot to talk about…”
“Yeah, like how the hell can they do this?!” came the sudden spat of Sage. “How can they kick us out of the charter?”
The question was the elephant in the room and Selena didn’t mind that Sage had taken the attention to address it, staying quiet as the dark-haired woman ran a hand angrily through her ebony locks.
“I agree.” Came a reply from Deanna. “Caius, isn’t there something against the rules or… something? You’re the guy that’s ‘in the know’ right?”
The only male in the room took a deep breath before sighing out its natural exhale. “I appreciate the confidence, Deanna. But they can.”
“Seriously?” the redhead asked in surprise. “They’re that powerful that they can just decide who is in and who is out?”
“Deanna…” Selena whispered from beside her wife, gaining the redhead’s attention. “Was it any different than the Frostmeres? Or even SCW? A board of directors who can change a match or terminate a contract on the fly? A board… A clan of elders? They’re just fancy names for ‘those in power’. Besides…” the platinum-blonde sighed. “Did you see how casually those elders decided this, no hesitation or fear that they would be questioned by the majority.”
“I…” Deanna bit her lower lip. “I didn’t see that.”
“I did.” Selena remarked, turning her eyes towards her grandmother, Freya, who had left removed her gaze from her. “I suppose Caius is right and that they could easily remove you all?”
“They can.” Freya answered simply. “Not the brightest idea for their image, but they…” she seemed to search for the right words for a moment, her hand twisting her cane into the floor. “Sadly, they have to do something.”
“Why?” Alejandra asked from behind her mother, regaining the older woman’s attention. “Why do they have to ‘do’ anything? Selena, Deanna and I are happy to leave. Forget we were here or in the family. Move on like it’s been for the last forty years!”
“And what then, child?” Freya asked, her tone a little stiffer – a whiff of condescension within, causing Alejandra’s eyes to widen and her jaw muscles to tighten. “What about tomorrow? What about the next time the other charters meet up and this is known? That they let a known scandal and cause of that scandal off the hook with no punishment or something to restore dignity to the name? Hmmm?”
A moment of silence swept the room, all eyes on the oldest person – the same person that had called this impromptu meeting.
“Whether you like it or not, Alejandra.” Freya spoke strictly and directly. “You committed a grievous error – some would call it a crime – against all of us. That carries some weight to the other charters. And if we just ‘let you go’ with no punishment after that? What happens then? The charter gets questioned. More credibility is lost… the other charters may even dissolve this one.”
That last prediction, while meaning little to Alejandra and even less to Deanna and Selena, caused Caius and Sage’s heads to rip towards their mother.
“Can they really do that, mother?” Caius asked, the idea clearly upsetting him more than his potential exile. “Father would have lost his-“
“Your father isn’t here, Caius.” Freya remarked with a saddening sigh. “But he would agree with my assessment.” Beside her, the man gave a slow nod of understanding.
“So that’s it?” Sage huffed. “We do the right thing for our family and the charter in tracking down Alejandra – something father begged us to do – and we get punished for it? How the fuck is that fair?!”
It was the strongest déjà vu Selena had felt in a long time. In Sage’s words, suddenly, it was Deanna saying them to her privately as they shared a bath together – the redhead beyond confused by O. D.’s set of actions. It was Selena, herself, asking those same questions in the mirror after Retribution when she had heard of the ridiculous match Kimberly had created. It was her asking the same question every time she thought of D. and his behaviour towards her and Deanna with each passing week. Even her children – specifically her eldest, Elsianna, asking a similar question (minus the curse words).
How the fuck is that fair…
And the truth was… it wasn’t. None of this was. There wasn’t one thing fair about any of this. Not here. Not in SCW. Anywhere. It was unfair what was happening to her aunt and uncle and her grandmother. It was unfair what was happening in SCW, not just to her and Deanna, but to every champion and challenger (except Kimberly, of course). The whole thing was unfair…
But what could she do? What could any of them do? The Board had signed off on the match. The elders had made their decision. Rapahel had played his hand.
“It’s not fair.” Selena finally spoke, moving closer to Deanna to, once more, take her hand in hers. “But what can be done?” she asked. “We offered an apology. We offered money. We offered some kind of help or service – damage control.” She shrugged. “What else is there? They seem set.”
Hearing such an assessment, Alejandra turned her eyes over to Freya. “Mother?” she asked. “You called this meeting.”
Again, Selena could see Freya’s hands twisting the cane into the floor, as if she could drill a hole through the wooden panels with her clockwise and counterclockwise, slow movements.
“There is a way.” Freya began slowly. “The debt of the ‘crime’ could be paid.” She eyed Alejandra.
“What do you mean?” the taller, black woman asked, raising an eyebrow before both shot up in realization. “Mother, you can’t be seriously asking me to marry Raphael!” on instinct, she threw up her hand, revealing the wedding ring she wore. “I’m married, mother. I have been for a long time! There’s no way I’m doing that to Jonathan! Not in a million-“
“Alejandra, hush!” the command was emphasized with a strong tap of Freya’s cane on the floors, once more creating a sound and echo that silenced her daughter’s tirade. “I am NOT asking you to marry Raphael.” She stressed. “And I doubt Raphael would care for that either, given we’re soon to be exiled. However, if we could…” once more, she searched for the right word. “restore you to being part of the Alden family… if you could earn that right, then the matter would be closed and everything settled.”
“Except for the fact that mother would be, once again, trapped in the Alden family.” Selena countered. “What’s to stop any of you from just enforcing your will upon her again?”
“Selena…” Alejandra tried, but the Snow Queen pushed on.
“No, let me say this.” Selena interjected, eyeing her grandmother. “When she was in the family, you tried to pawn her off to a rich family for your own sakes.”
“You know nothing of that.” Freya replied with a bit of chill.
“The hell I don’t.” Selena’s eyes narrowed, the Snow Queen taking a step towards the older woman. “Because my stepmother took her from me.” She gestured to Alejandra. “Tried to do the same thing in Nome. Contracts, bargains, dealings behind closed doors? Arranged marriages for power? Yeah, I know all about it, but I’ll do you one better! Your family ever kill, drug, or kidnap those that didn’t comply?”
Freya’s eyes widened at the accusation. “Wha…no!” she defended. “We’re not…”
“Criminals?” Selena tilted her head. “Just words. Forcing someone to do your will? Not that far off from that. But I’ll tell you: my stepmother did. She and the Scythes are the reason I almost lost my mind. Lost my father to a mineshaft ‘accident’ when I was eleven. Lost my child for nearly five long years. Why it took me over twenty years to see my real mother again. Why I was miserable. Because I didn’t have the balls to do what my mother did and leave it all behind until I had EVERYTHING taken from me and nothing else to lose or live for. So don’t stand there and tell me that I don’t ‘get it’. YOU, Freya, are the one that isn’t qualified to speak to me of ‘justifying’ forcing your own child to your will and desires!”
She could feel the heat in her cheeks, the rage leading to her features glowing a little redder as she stood her ground against the startled woman. The two simply stared each other down for what felt like several minutes, but was, actually, only a few seconds.
“She has your temper.” Freya finally breathed, stealing a glance towards Alejandra. “I can see it.”
“I take that as a compliment.” Selena shot back, regaining Freya’s gaze.
“If…” came Caius voice, the man pushing himself to stand to allow himself to step in-between the two women. “If I may…” he had both women’s attention now, but he chose to focus on Selena. “Mother’s suggestion does hold some potential.”
Instead of answer, Selena’s sapphire eyes narrowed at the man, barely allowing him to continue.
“If Alejandra can be accepted back into the family, then the charter could claim that they solved the matter within their own ranks effectively and without further incident. This would appease the other charters, get us off the radar – everyone wins.”
“Except my mother.” Selena reminded him.
“It actually does.” Caius explained. “Yes, she would technically be a member of the Alden family again but there is no real ‘amount’ she needs to be involved to do so. Maybe attend a meeting here and there but she could be a recluse like some of the elders and no one would bother her.”
Selena’s head shot over to Freya. “Is that true?”
Freya gave a nod. “And you have my word that none of us would interfere in her life after it was all said and done. Although…” she turned her head to Alejandra, her eyes fair gentler than they had been when Selena had been ambushing her with her tirade. “I would like to take the time to get to know you again, baby. See if we can fix what’s been done between us…” there was a lift of hopefulness in her voice, a mother reaching out to her daughter, but Alejandra simply crossed her arms over her chest, saying nothing.
“That’s all well and good…” came the voice of Sage in a scoff. “But we seem to be neglecting one important piece of information for Allie and the Frosts.” She seemed to eye Deanna for a moment, as if she was looking out for the redhead. It was curious to Selena until the Snow Queen recalled the help her wife had given Sage months ago in trying to reconcile with Alejandra. “The initiation and orientation process.”
Immediately, the platinum-blonde saw Caius and Freya tense up, the latter tightening her hands around the head of her cane while the other’s jaw seemed to clench, showing the defined muscles of his jawline.
“What?” Selena asked, eyeing both of them one at a time. “What is Sage talking about?”
“Please tell me this isn’t some kind of – ‘only the special few can join our ranks – and MUST face a test’ or something like that.” Deanna huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. However, when neither Freya or Caius answered right away, her arms fell to their sides in a huff. “Oh come on! It IS like that, isn’t it?!”
“Alejandra will need to be trained.” Sage spoke up, the only person brave enough to be honest and forthright with the Frosts now, it seemed. “She’ll have to meet with the elders, relearn the basic lessons children do, probably at a faster rate cause she’s an adult, take part in all their customs – which let me tell you is far from ‘fun’ and then finally, her ‘initiation ritual’ when she has passed all the tests and trials.”
“Meaning?” Selena asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It means I’ll have to be a witch again.” Alejandra sighed knowingly. “Or at least viewed as one within the clan.”
“Are you serious?” Selena huffed, earning a slow nod from both Freya and Caius. “Good gods!” she shook her head. “And what if she doesn’t want to be a witch? What if she doesn’t believe in that anymore?” Despite herself, Selena tried not to remember the books and pictures and items her mother had shown her in the week leading up to Retribution, not to mention the charm she had made to prove herself to Selena.
“I’ll do it.”
The voice came from Alejandra, causing Selena to turn back to her mother, stunned. “Mother- why?”
“Cause it’s the only way, Selena.” Alejandra reasoned. “A few months of training, working some tasks and trials and we’re all let off the hook? Everything goes back to normal for Jonathan, for me, for Caius and Sage – for you and Deanna…” she sighed. “If I have to endure that, then I will. Easily. I’ll be an A+ student or whatever they want me to be and then be done with it once and for all.” She shot a glance towards her brother and mother. “Right?!” she stressed the last word with a slight growl and narrowing of her eyes.
The two nodded in confirmation. “It should appease the other elders and charters.” Despite herself, Freya could not entirely hold back her excitement. “And I can help. We can get to know each other again, baby…”
“Easy.” Alejandra warned, holding a hand out to stop the woman’s advance. “I’m only doing this for Caius and Sage and so that my daughters never have to deal with this again. I’m not promising you anything more than that. Understand?”
Selena heard Deanna whisper beside her towards Alejandra. “Thanks… mom.” Clearly hearing the plural of ‘daughters’ in that previous statement. Freya, meanwhile, seemed to deflate a little, though she nodded her head in understanding.
“Shall we approach the elders now?” she offered, gesturing towards the door from which they entered.
“Might as well.” Alejandra breathed. She took one step forward before she felt Selena’s hand grab hers, holding her back for a moment. Turning towards the wrestler, Alejandra said nothing as her daughter eyed her.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked earnestly.
Turning to glance at the Aldens in the room, Alejandra turned her attention back to Selena before giving a nod. “Yes, I am.” She simply said before gently removing her hand from Selena’s grasp. She then lead the group, with Selena and Deanna taking up the rear, as they walked out of the room, down the hall and back into the ballroom.
“She’s very brave.” Deanna whispered.
“She is.” Selena whispered back. “Are…” she eyed her wife. “Are we okay?” she recalled the ‘power dance’ they had gone through no more than an hour ago.
“We…” Deanna breathed. “We’ll deal with that later.” She turned her emerald eyes towards Selena. “This isn’t the time now.”
The platinum-blonde nodded her head in agreement. She could already feel the beginnings of a headache coming on from the stress she was carrying. Her mother was taking a bullet for all of them when she had done nothing wrong. SCW was spiralling out of control. Her wife was losing her faith in all of it and Selena… was powerless to stop any of it from happening… including her own doubts taking root about it all.
Still, she kept quiet as the six people re-entered the ballroom, the party back into a semi-celebratory state from what it had been at the start of the whole event. Seeing the group enter, however, it did not take long for the dancing to cease, the music to stop and for all eyes to be on them. If it wasn’t so off-putting, the situation that is, Selena could almost have likened it to walking down the ramp during her entrance. She immediately felt Deanna’s arms wrap around the closest of Selena’s as they followed Alejandra and the Aldens further into the room until they were standing in the center of the dancefloor again.
A quick glance around the room showed the Snow Queen where the elders were (near the elevated platform) and where Raphael was (still on said platform, with a patient smile that she just wanted to superkick off his face).
“Ah, you’ve returned.” Raphael smiled. “Some of us were wondering…”
“I respect this family too much to not keep my word, Raphael Alden.” Freya shot back. “And you’d be wise to leave the snide remarks for your own business meetings. Not Alden meetings.”
Despite his smugness, Raphael bit back a comeback with a swift smile before nodding his head. “Shall I surrender the podium to you, Mrs. Freya Alden?”
“No need.” Freya, turning around to face the surrounding crowd and elders. “My daughter and I have reached a counteroffer to your decision, elders.” She eyed each one as she spoke, a very commanding presence that even Selena, with her years in front of a crowd, envied. “Rather than exiling the entire family and further marring our charter’s reputation, Alejandra would like to earn her place back into the family.”
Immediately, a chorus of murmurs, some interested, some hostile, filled the room. For a third time that night, however, Freya earned silenced with a swift slam of her cane onto the floor.
“Alejandra’s only crime is choosing to leave the family, thus creating the scandal in the first place. If she were to earn her place back in the eyes of the elders… as recompense and restitution, then would that not only appease everyone in this room but the other charters? That we solved this matter in our own way? With the dignity and grace of the Aldens?”
Again, a faint murmur formed, but not enough to drown out one of the elders – the short Asian woman that had spoken earlier. “You say the word ‘earn’.” She started. “Do you understand, Freya, what that means?”
“Orientation, trials, and, should she prove successful… the initiation ritual.” Freya answered simply. “My daughter has agreed to all of it.”
Why does that make me uneasy… Selena thought, hearing those same words again, though she did not have time to dwell on them.
“She has agreed to be retrained as a witch?” asked the taller, fairer-skinned Alden in disbelief.
“She has.” Freya stated. “In return, this matter needs to be closed and the Frost and VanHohenheim respected in their solitude from us. What say you?”
The elders turned to one another, whispering amongst themselves. Despite straining to hear, Selena could not pick up a word from them as she stood by her mother and Deanna. For several minutes, not a word beyond the huddle of the elders was heard, the entire charter waiting on baited breath to hear. Even Raphael did not dare utter a word from his place/’perch’.
Eventually, the elders turned back to the Aldens, Frosts, and VanHohenheim, the taller male stepping forward to speak.
“We are of a mixed opinion on this.” He stated. “While we can appreciate your attempt at such an endeavour, we doubt the sincerity of it. Furthermore…” he continued, eyeing Alejandra as he spoke. “Mrs…” he caught himself before continuing. “VanHohenheim made her choice clear forty years ago. To even consider re-entry into our ranks would open a cavalcade of issues – setting a precedent that could haunt this charter for years to come in ways that we cannot, presently, even consider.”
Selena felt her jaw clench at the assessment. It was accurate. They didn’t know her mother like she did – what Alejandra was offering was a gamble at best for the Alden charter.
“However…” the man continued. “We do see merit in a new entry being considered. Particularly to one that wasn’t given a choice in the matter to begin with.”
Slowly, all the elders eyes turned away from Alejandra to land towards Selena and Deanna.
“No!” Alejandra spat out. “No! That isn’t part of the deal – Freya!”
Immediately, Freya moved in front of the elders’s gaze. “I’m afraid my granddaughter is not part of this ruling.” She quickly pressed. “They shall remain ineligible.”
“Ineligible of what?” Selena asked, gaining the attention of the others, the shorter female-elder speaking up to answer.
“We believe you were denied the choice to become a witch, yourself, Mrs. Frost.” She explained. “Your mother’s actions and abandoning you-“ Selena saw her mother wince at the cold words used by the elder. “Prevented you from learning of your own heritage. Should your mother wish to have this matter dropped and her family’s – and this charter’s – state in this matter cleared, you could take on the orientation and initiation in her place and her name.”
Selena’s eyes widened, her head jerking over to her mother, who swiftly shook her head left and right at the Snow Queen.
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Muttered Deanna, turning her head back to Selena, who gazed at her. “Just say no.” she whispered. “We can help Caius and Sage ourselves. We don’t need them.”
We don’t need them… The phrase echoed in Selena’s mind, adding to the never-ending urge to ‘walk away’ that had plagued her all night. That feeling was stronger than ever. The elders wanted her to join their family, not her mother. They wanted her to study to become… it seemed ludicrous! It wasn’t like SCW where she had suffered scars, falling off scaffolds and crates dropping on her. She had survived all that because she BELIEVED in SCW – she still believed in it… at least she thought she did.
This? Being a witch? She didn’t believe in it for a second. Nothing against those that did but… in her mind, it was in the same vein as Santa Claus and the concept of ‘God’. Where were they when she had needed them? When her father had disappeared and she had begged every person she had been taught existed to please do something to give her father back… and all had failed. When nothing had been done through the hell of Nome she had endured until she had taken her own fate into her hands.
It hadn’t been witches that had saved her, or good luck charms, or the energies of the stars and the moon, it had been her. Her will. Her desire to stay alive.
Still…
Her eyes found her mother standing there, the same woman that was now shaking her head towards Selena, who had, just moments ago, agreed to the same punishment Selena was being asked to undertake – for family members that had tried to force her to marry someone she didn’t want to. A punishment that would, ultimately, get her nothing but would spare those same members a fate that, quite frankly, was, at least, partially deserved!
Caius, Sage, and Freya had forced Alejandra to run away and had only made attempts to look for her at the bequest of her father, who probably just wanted to find her and force her back into a marriage with Raphael. She owed them nothing! Just as Selena owed nothing to Anastasia, Malcolm or Ryan Scythe. If anything, they deserved to live a fate that they had forced on Alejandra!
The thought brought Selena’s eyes to shift over to Caius, Sage and Freya, the three of them staring at her. Two of them were unreadable but Sage’s was of utter misery and unfairness – Selena knew that expression well. Sage was hating this – every second of it – and for what little it was worth, Selena was at least appreciative of her sympathy.
She sighed. She already knew the answer she was going to give – had probably already made it the second the offer had escaped the elder’s lips. She hadn’t walked away when she had the chance before… she couldn’t do it now.
“Fine.” She announced loudly. “I’ll take it on.”
“No!” Alejandra interjected, marching the few steps towards her daughter. “I will not-“
Selena’s turned to stare at her mother. “It’s the only way, mother.” She stated, repeating her mother’s earlier words. “A+ student, remember?”
Desperately, Alejandra cast her glance from Selena, to the elders, to her mother, to her siblings, before finally returning back to Selena, not able to say a word in that entire journey. “I… you can’t do this alone.”
“She won’t have to.” Came the stern voice beside her, which equally rose in volume as it was thrown towards the elders. “Hey! I’m going too.”
The elders were distracted by this, turning their heads towards the shouter. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Deanna Frost spoke up, taking a few steps forward towards the elders. “Selena is my wife. That makes Alejandra my mother, too! They are my family. So, if you’re pulling Selena into this, then you have to deal with me too! Otherwise, no deal and we walk!” she barked, crossing her arms over her chest. “We’re a packaged deal, see?”
The elders looked at one another, somewhat confused before returning their gazes towards Deanna. “The invitation…” the tallest elder spoke. “Was meant to be open to you as well, Mrs. Frost. Spouses are more than welcome to join with their partners.”
“Oh…” Deanna’s eyes widened, her voice a little sheepish as her head jerked towards Caius, Freya, and, lastly, Sage, who gave a shrug/nod combo as if to say ‘Yeah, it’s true…idiot.’ at the redhead. “Well…alright then. Good! School days! School days!” Deanna sang the notes of the song before scampering back to Selena’s side, ignoring the reprimanding look from the Snow Queen.
“Was that entirely-“
“Yes.” Deanna answered briskly. “It was.”
“They only needed-“
“Do. Not. Care.” The redhead stressed each word. “You’re stuck with me and I’m sticking to you like glue. Understand?” She clung to her wife’s arm again, tighter than before, as if to emphasis that statement.
For a moment, Selena simply glared at her wife before releasing a sigh, whispering under her breath. “We could have just gone for a second or third honeymoon or something.”
“I would love that.” She answered simply, though she kept her eyes locked on the elders. “Gerda can watch the kids or something.”
Though Selena nearly rolled her eyes at Deanna’s outburst and quick comebacks to her own assessments, the Snow Queen could not help but make a mental note about the honeymoon thing – she still had to apologize for keeping Deanna in the dark about this entire event, which had not gone at all like she had hoped! Still, looking around the room at the various expressions of the other members of the Alden family charter, her fears of a more gruesome outcome grew less and less. Sure, some were still giving the entourage of her, her wife, mother, aunt and uncle and grandmother some harsh glares but none of them screamed ‘immediate danger’ to her.
“Then we are in agreement?” came Freya’s voice, loud enough to be heard. “My granddaughter and her wife shall be trained. And once they have passed the trials and completed the initiation ritual, they will be full-fledged witches.”
“We are in agreement.” The short, female elder remarked. “The Aldens of Freya and Brisben’s sect can assist the two Frosts as necessary as well. We will reconvene after their trials have been concluded.”
Turning her head, the woman gave a nod to the platform where Raphael stood. With a grin, the wealthy man leaned forward to speak into the microphone at the podium. “Meeting is adjourned.” He remarked. “Please continue to party and help yourselves to fine drink and food! Musicians!”
Once again, the orchestra were playing their instruments, the waltzing music filling in the room as the mass of people dispersed. Some left the room, some stayed for more food, drink and dance.
Deanna and Selena, stayed put as the others in the group turned to them.
“You should not have done this.” Alejandra sighed, gazing at her two daughters sadly. “This-“
“No time to worry about what-ifs, dear.” Freya interrupted. “What’s done is done.” She added with a sigh, eyeing the Frost wives. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten into, do you?”
“Not a clue.” Selena remarked, feeling her wife squeezing her hand.
“But when has that ever stopped us from doing something crazy?” Deanna finished with a smile.
The older woman simply gave a shake of her head before gesturing for Caius and Sage to follow her out. She stopped to glance at the two women one last time. “We will help all we can… but your success will ultimately depend on both of you. I…” she eyed Alejandra, her daughter, once more before returning her gaze to her grandchild. “I wish you luck. I truly do.”
Without another word, she was heading for the exit, Sage and Caius in tow.
“Well…” Selena sighed, shaking her head. “She’s pleasant.”
“Yeah like a cactus.” Deanna huffed before turning to her wife and mother-in-law. “So… we’re going to be witches.”
“Apparently.” Selena sighed, rolling her eyes. “Whatever that even means.”
“It means you’re in for a difficult time.” Alejandra sighed sadly. “And there is nothing I can do now to stop it.”
“We’ll be fine, mother.” Selena tried, reaching out to take her mother’s hand tightly in hers. “We survived much worse than this, remember?”
“I…I suppose.” Alejandra sighed. “And I’ll be able to help you as much as I can. Least we’ll be able to spend more time together.”
“Yeah…” Deanna remarked before asking one last thing. “Just one question… at what point do we get to wear the pointy hats?”
_______________________________________________________________
The Royal Letter
Mr. Drach… O.…
Maybe this isn’t the most professional thing for me to do, sending you a private ‘Royal Letter’ like this. Cause, usually, these are meant for my upcoming opponents for whatever match I am in. Doesn’t exactly scream ‘professional employee/employer decorum’, I realize.
However, after having to deal with you while you were lying on a medical bed with your pants down, getting a staple out of your ass, I think ‘decorum’ can take a backseat for this. Because, as much as I want to talk about Ace and Ravyn to Ace and Ravyn, you left me in a rather difficult position last time we talked.
I’m not going to apologize for knocking Ace to the ground during that mockery of a title ceremony. I did what I did because he insulted my wife and my tag-team reign with Deanna. He sauntered into the ring and insinuated being a better partner “inside and outside the ring” than the woman I have been married to for nearly eight years. You brought my daughter into our last conversation, O., how would you feel if somebody like Ace Marshall or Adam Allocco promised to be a ‘better father and SCW-owner’ than you ever were? If he said he’d be “Sasha’s ‘new’ Daddy-D?” or whatever? Maybe you wouldn’t punch his lights out but I sure as hell would! So, I’m not sorry for it and I’d do it again if I had to!
But this letter isn’t about that – least not the core of it. This is about me and you. This is about everything that’s been going on between you and me for the last few months. And, I’ll start off by confessing something on my part. Something that I wouldn’t tell anyone else but you and Deanna.
After our last ‘talk’ on that Breakdown in Iowa? After the show? I broke down. Yeah, I saw a few fans, signed some autographs because they deserved that for coming to see the show. I was the good “Face of SCW” that I have tried to be for years. I then walked into my “Believe It!” bus and proceeded to chuck the world tag-team title against the wall and cry my eyes out.
Isn’t that interesting, O.? I’ve had Vixen Cain kidnap my child. I’ve had Xander Valentine break my bones. I’ve had Trinity Street crack my ribs. Regan Street, my sister, scarred my back with barbed wire cat-o’-nine-tails. Sienna Swann dropped a crate on my foot. Giovanni Aries threw me off several feet of scaffolding. My head’s been smashed with a monitor. None of that has ever broken me. None of it truly made me think twice about what I was doing here in SCW and what it was worth.
But you look at me and say… THAT… to me?
And I actually break down. I cry. I think about…
I think about a lot of things. And poor Deanna has to coach me through it all. She has to endure me blubbering like a child because of you. I’m embarrassed when I think about it but… I needed it. I needed to have a good cry to get my head on straight. To be able to sit down like this and talk to you about what I should have said in that arena-medic room in Iowa.
How I should have, after you tried to call me out and call my wife out – how I should have called you out, O. D.!
Because you keep talking about how I “don’t know everything”. That I don’t know all the details of you selling SCW. Of who is running the Board and making the choices. But you know what? Who’s fault is that? Who’s the one keeping me in the dark? Who’s the one keeping all of SCW in the dark! Face it, you wouldn’t have said anything to the fans and the people RESPONSIBLE for the success of SCW and the billions of dollars you have, if it weren’t for Deanna and I hounding you. You’re the one that’s been lying and hiding things from all of us, fan, roster and crew member alike, and you want to use that as some kind of ‘defense’? That we are ignorant while you’re making closed-door dealings?
And you talk down to me like you have the high ground? That I have no right to talk to you like this. Like who the hell is Selena Frost?
You want to know who I am, O.? I’m the woman that stayed here while superstar after superstar, every main-eventer you’ve backed for the past decade, left. When Regan had to leave, when Amy had to leave, when Bree had to take a leave, when Shilo had to leave, when people like Xander and Adam and Kennedy and Shaun Cruze weren’t around, when the Braddocks and all their relatives came and went on and off. Cid left, Asher left, Chris Cannon left, Syren kept taking breaks, Christy left – on and on they all left: I’m the one that stayed behind. I held it down. No injury slowed me down. No attack put me on the shelf for months or ‘indefinitely’. Whenever SCW – whenever YOU – needed someone to protect SCW, I was there! I was the one that stepped up time and time again for SCW, for the SCW Universe, the True Believers and for YOU and your vision of SCW that I BELIEVED in!
I’m the one that held the fort even when you, yourself, left! I’m the one that raised the bar, even when it hurt like hell for me to do it. Even when it cost me time with my wife and children. Even when my wife was in prison for a crime she never committed, I STAYED here! I did all I could to push SCW to the next level. Hell, you came to me to represent SCW in the World Series of Wrestling and I made the world even more aware of SCW and what it could be by finishing 8th out of 65 of the best wrestlers in the world!
I didn’t do movies.
I didn’t do part-time schedules.
I didn’t take time off.
I didn’t ‘do other things’.
I was here.
You think there weren’t times that I wasn’t happy or times where I felt I was on the short end of the hockey stick? Or felt that I wasn’t where I was supposed to be? I spent FOUR YEARS trying to get back to the world title picture because the Board didn’t see me there, no matter who I beat! But being in SCW, caring about SCW, was more important to me than being pushed to some title.
That’s who I am, O.. I may not be as pretty as Kelcey or as rich as Blake Mason or Jenni Anderson. I may not be ‘deserving’ to share your VIP lounge when you show up for TV shows and Pay-Per-Views like them. But when they all left you, or turned on you, or left SCW to live or die on its own, I was still here! I’m the one that cares about the place more than any other superstar in this company and I’ve proven it – I’ve lived it – day after day, night after night, for nearly a decade!
So, yeah, maybe I felt I DESERVED better than your constant dismissals and constant shutdowns about my ignorance or whatever. Maybe I deserved better than your vague answers and you insulting my wife simply because she wants to try and be better around here and has more guts than I do to call you out on things where I’ve kept my head down and just powered through. Maybe I, after my near decade of work, just like all the SCW Universe, deserved a little fucking transparency from the guy who we made into a billionaire!
But you want to look at me and turn it around on me. You want to say I’m, how did you put it? ‘Not the Selena Frost I hired’. Same with Deanna, right? Why? Because we care that the tag-team titles are held with some integrity and prestige and not some ‘consolation prize’? Let me make it clear, O. D.! If the tag-titles had been put on the line in a match where the BEST person/team won the tag-titles, where the WINNER or WINNERS became the tag-team champions of the world, you wouldn’t hear a peep from me. I’d have accepted it and worked with Deanna back up to get a rematch. Simple as that. That’s NOT what YOU and the Board of Directors allowed that night. You allowed the winner of the match to become the world champion and all the losers to be given consolation prizes. You told ALL of SCW and the entire world that titles like the Adrenaline and the Underground and the Tag-Team titles – titles that people, including me, have won tournaments for, fought for months to acquire, broke their bodies and risked their lives for, were ‘good enough’ to be door prizes for the runners-up in that chaos match!
THAT’S what made me angry! Because Deanna and I worked our asses off to become tag-team champions, just like we will this weekend to try and be tag-team champions once again! Josh Hudson, though I hate him, worked his ass off to regain the United States title from Glory Braddock. And Bree came back from a pregnancy to be good enough to win the Adrenaline title! You’re telling me that all of that effort and sacrifice really only amounts to second to seventh place in the grand scheme of things? That your Tag-Team champions of the WORLD only amount to the fourth or fifth placed best in SCW and not the definition of integrity and tag-team wrestling that should be putting SCW on the goddamn map?!
You think Light in the Darkness faced their demons and came back here for fourth or fifth place?
You think Bree and Datura became number one contenders for fourth or fifth place?!
You think my sister fought to the bitter end of her career in a tournament for fourth or fifth place?!! DO YOU?!!
Pfft… I’m not the ‘same Selena Frost’ you hired.
You know what, O.? You’re not the same O. D. that hired me! There! I said it! You’re the one that isn’t the same! The man that told me that you could achieve anything if you work hard enough and strive to be the best! The man that told me that SCW was about integrity. Of representing the best talent, passion, and hard work in professional wrestling! In being ‘the leading force in sports entertainment today!’. Remember that? You only play it every show and pay-per-view!
And you have no idea how long and how much I’ve been dying to call you out on that! Want to know how long?
January 26th, 2023! Breakdown. You remember that date? That was when you came back from another hiatus. Do you remember what you said? Don’t worry, I’ll spare you the time tracking the video down on YouTube.
You said you’d ‘be damned if SCW has to stoop so low to Slapfight Championship Wrestling, damn it!’. Forgive the impression. I’m not a voice actor. You said meddling would have consequences in SCW! And who could blame you for saying that. Lexy steals the SCW World title, people are fighting up and down the halls – utter chaos. You come out and say you’re going to restore order. That actions will have repercussions. Do you remember that?
I do. Because I was watching that segment. THAT was the O. D. that hired me! That was the man that stood by his beliefs that integrity and skill should be the definers of SCW, not chaos, bedlam, politics, and whatever sells the most pay-per-views! That was the man who’s vision I believed in and spent nearly a decade fighting for.
You know why that night is emblazoned in my mind, O.. Because it was the same night that, after making that vow to all of SCW – and to me – you turned around and let Kim Williams meddle in my wife’s match – scratch that! YOU meddled in my wife’s match! You turned it into a highlight for the pay-per-view. Another stepping stone for the world title match. Not for her sake, but for Owen’s sake over a choice that HE made!
You meddled. As the officials said – it was BY YOUR ORDER.
…
Where were the repercussions? Where were the consequences?
And fast forward to now and what has happened? How much have meddlers like Ravyn gotten their consequences? How about Lexy meddling? Or James Evans interfering? Where are the consequences? You know what? Let’s not even put that out there. Let’s get back to you and our last talk.
Let’s talk about how you where there, standing in front of me, freshly ‘unstapled’. Let’s talk about how you, the man that vowed ‘meddling would have consequences’, were now bumbling and fumbling, DEFENDING all the meddling you and the Board have allowed, not the least of which was by the hands of Kimberly Williams!
“It’s not my fault!”
“I don’t have the authority!”
“You don’t know what’s going on!”
You know what I realized was missing in that entire rant of yours, O.? What was absent while you kept trying to turn it all on me and blame me? The same thing you accused me of not having. Accountability. Not ONCE did I hear you take responsibility for the shit YOU allowed. Kimberly stapled you! Where were her consequences? You ALLOWED it. Ace Marshall stole Konrad’s car and defaced it with a ‘Believe it!’ spray-painted on it – another stab at who I am and what The House of Frost represents. You ALLOWED it. But you want to feign innocence because you don’t have ‘the authority’ anymore?
You know what? Maybe it’s not so much me changing that has you upset with me, O.. Maybe it’s the fact that you’re the one that’s changing. You sound the same and you say the same things that inspired me, but one thing you proved as you were getting that staple out, is that your words aren’t beliefs for you anymore. They aren’t backed up by actions. They’re just words. Words that you spiral and spin and backtrack on the second someone calls you out. Especially someone that can see through the BS you spew and, in her heart, knows what is right and what is wrong, regardless of the source.
I believed you in January that accountability would return to SCW by your hand. I don’t believe you now. I don’t believe you give a damn about that. I don’t know, maybe you were trying to shine up SCW for the buyers so that the buying price could go up. Maybe you were trying to put some edge on some sale or buy-ins or whatever with some ‘keywords’, or maybe you actually believe that the fans actually want this kind of chaos all the time in SCW – delusional as such a concept is. But, whatever the reason, you made and broke your word in one, single night and you’ve been breaking it ever since, all while having the audacity to hide the truth from me and the SCW Universe.
So, maybe it’s up to me to actually do what I’ve always done and clean up this mess. Maybe it’s up to me to do what I did with the likes of Xander, Vixen, and The Brand. Maybe it’s up to me to be one that issues accountability in SCW again.
Because do you expect me to believe that Ravyn and Ace Marshall – yes, MARSHALL – will believe in any of that? You think they’re going to care about accountability or integrity where the tag-team titles are concerned? You heard Ravyn. She’s going to do ‘whatever it takes’ to win the tag-titles. She’s got Lexy getting involved, Ace has Konrad getting angrier, probably get him involved. Deanna and I? None of that. We don’t want people involved, even to help us. We want to regain the tag-team titles on our own skill and by being the best team in SCW. But if your own commentators, Jonathan and Adam, are any indication, we’re looking at another mass interference just like in January – incited by Ace and Ravyn. So, what the hell are you going to do about that meddling, O.?
You’re gonna sit at home and nurse your bruised ass. That’s what you’re going to do. Because I realized that ‘accountability’ from you only applies when it benefits you and what the Board wants. Not necessarily what benefits SCW and what SCW is meant to stand for.
Well, this weekend, O.? Whether you stay in the back or at home, only speaking when The Board gives you permission to, I’ll be out there with my beloved wife, doing what you SHOULD have been doing all this time. Defending SCW’s name and SCW’s standard of integrity. I’ll be doing what I’ve done for almost ten years non-stop. Towing the company line and raising the bar higher and higher to help this company stand above every other company. I’ll be the one doing what you, clearly, don’t have the guts to do any more. Saying ‘No’ to the meddlers and those that want to win by any cheap trick, cheat or plot and standing up for this company!
Enjoy your meetings and fancy champagne while you watch Playing the Wildcard on your padded seat, O.. Because at least you can rest easy knowing someone is still fighting for your company and what it stands for… even if you won’t!
With regards,
Selena Michelle Frost
‘The Face of SCW’